From May of 2018 through November of 2019, USGS scientists collected imagery from video cameras overlooking the coast along a beach on Whidbey Island, Island County at the northern boundary of Puget Sound in western Washington.
The study area has some of the highest rates of coastal bluff retreat in Puget Sound. In fact, towards the end of 2019, the cliff area where the cameras were installed showed signs of failure, so the cameras were removed.
An interagency team led by the USGS is researching how extreme-storm water levels and waves affect bluff erosion and the movement of sediment along beaches. The video-based remote-sensing tools measured storm water levels, waves, currents, and beach, and bluff changes to property, infrastructure, and habitats. The data enabled scientists to examine sediment transport that affects habitats for valued juvenile salmon, forage fish, and shellfish. In particular, the research is evaluating the extent that waves and sediment modify habitat complexity and its role in wave runup as well as shellfish biomass and diversity. Ultimately, the research will help guide and improve numerical model predictions of coastal and habitat change associated with sea-level rise, storms, and waves to inform resilience planning.
USGS projects that will benefit from this study include:
- Puget Sound Coastal Storm Modeling System (PS-CoSMoS)
- Estuaries and large river deltas in the Pacific Northwest
- Coastal Habitats in Puget Sound
Every half hour during daylight hours, from May of 2018 through November of 2019, video cameras installed on the high coastal bluff collected snapshots and video for 10 minutes. Some examples of the imagery are shown here.
Below are the projects that use the data collected by the video cameras.
Remote Sensing Coastal Change
Coastal Habitats in Puget Sound
PS-CoSMoS: Puget Sound Coastal Storm Modeling System
Estuaries and large river deltas in the Pacific Northwest
- Overview
From May of 2018 through November of 2019, USGS scientists collected imagery from video cameras overlooking the coast along a beach on Whidbey Island, Island County at the northern boundary of Puget Sound in western Washington.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.View of beach on Whidbey Island, looking north. The study area has some of the highest rates of coastal bluff retreat in Puget Sound. In fact, towards the end of 2019, the cliff area where the cameras were installed showed signs of failure, so the cameras were removed.
An interagency team led by the USGS is researching how extreme-storm water levels and waves affect bluff erosion and the movement of sediment along beaches. The video-based remote-sensing tools measured storm water levels, waves, currents, and beach, and bluff changes to property, infrastructure, and habitats. The data enabled scientists to examine sediment transport that affects habitats for valued juvenile salmon, forage fish, and shellfish. In particular, the research is evaluating the extent that waves and sediment modify habitat complexity and its role in wave runup as well as shellfish biomass and diversity. Ultimately, the research will help guide and improve numerical model predictions of coastal and habitat change associated with sea-level rise, storms, and waves to inform resilience planning.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.The video cameras are secured to a tree. USGS projects that will benefit from this study include:
- Puget Sound Coastal Storm Modeling System (PS-CoSMoS)
- Estuaries and large river deltas in the Pacific Northwest
- Coastal Habitats in Puget Sound
Every half hour during daylight hours, from May of 2018 through November of 2019, video cameras installed on the high coastal bluff collected snapshots and video for 10 minutes. Some examples of the imagery are shown here.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Snapshot: the first frame of the video, just like a standard photo.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. Visit Media to see details.Timex (time-exposure) image: a time-averaged image of all frames, smoothing away surface waves and determining the location of persistent wave-breaking (indicative of shallow sandbars).
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. Visit Media to see details.Bright image: the brightest pixel values throughout the video, useful for identifying the position of maximum wave run-up on the beach, position of all breaking waves, and sea-state.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. Visit Media to see details.Dark image: the darkest pixel values throughout the video, useful for tracking sediment plumes, tracking floating debris, and filtering out breaking waves.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. Visit Media to see details.Variance image: the standard deviation of pixel intensity throughout the video, and it is useful for determining how much variation or movement is occurring at a given location. - Science
Below are the projects that use the data collected by the video cameras.
Remote Sensing Coastal Change
We use remote-sensing technologies—such as aerial photography, satellite imagery, structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry, and lidar (laser-based surveying)—to measure coastal change along U.S. shorelines.Coastal Habitats in Puget Sound
A Pacific Northwest icon, Puget Sound is the second-largest estuary in the United States. Its unique geology, climate, and nutrient-rich waters produce and sustain biologically productive coastal habitats. These same natural characteristics also contribute to a high quality of life that has led to growth in human population and urbanization. This growth has played a role in degrading the Sound...PS-CoSMoS: Puget Sound Coastal Storm Modeling System
The CoSMoS model is currently available for most of the California coast and is now being expanded to support the 4.5 million coastal residents of the Puget Sound region, with emphasis on the communities bordering the sound.Estuaries and large river deltas in the Pacific Northwest
Essential habitat for wild salmon and other wildlife borders river deltas and estuaries in the Pacific Northwest. These estuaries also support industry, agriculture, and a large human population that’s expected to double by the year 2060, but each could suffer from more severe river floods, higher sea level, and storm surges caused by climate change.