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Sound Waves Newsletter

Read the November-December 2021 Issue Now!

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Seeking Coastal and Marine Postdoctoral Research Candidates

The Mendenhall Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program provides Fellows research experiences that enhance their scientific stature and credentials

Learn About Opportunities, and Apply!

Searching for Evidence of Past Tsunamis in Sediment Cores

Scientists can use evidence of past tsunamis to understand how tsunamis behave, and to assess the hazards they pose to coastal communities

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Deciphering Nature's Seismograph

To assemble a detailed earthquake history of an area and understand how faults may behave in the future, scientists go back in time

Explore Geonarrative

The Weight of Cities

Those living on or near the coast face natural hazards that will only worsen with climate change

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The Role of Sediment in Coastal Resiliency

The delivery and deposition of sediment along coastlines is essential to building barriers that protect coastal communities from storms and sea-level rise

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How Wildfires Threaten Water Supplies by Unleashing Sediment

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Eyes in the Sky

How Satellite Imagery Transforms Shoreline Monitoring From "Data-Poor" to "Data-Rich"

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Tracking Changes to Barrier Islands in the Arctic

Barrier islands and spits shelter coastlines from storms, protecting coastal communities and providing habitat for native species

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Offshore Fault Mapping

USGS scientists and colleagues completed a research cruise studying the Queen Charlotte Fault off the coast of southeast Alaska and British Columbia

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Join Our Next Science Seminar

Details to come!

Seminar Info

Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

We conduct multidisciplinary scientific research in the coastal and offshore areas of California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii, and other US Pacific Islands; and in other waterways of the United States.

Research Projects

Five people, spread out along a beach with rocky and sandy areas, walk parallel to the water's edge carrying gear.

Read about our science projects, find out where we are working, and discover the reasons why our research matters.

Explore Our Science

Science Seminar

View looking across water-drowned marsh grasses.

Join our next virtual Science Seminar! Details will be posted on our Seminar page.

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News

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Eelgrass research in Puget Sound

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Sound Waves Newsletter - November-December 2021

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Photo Roundup - November-December 2021

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Publications

Drivers, dynamics and impacts of changing Arctic coasts

Arctic coasts are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including rising sea levels and the loss of permafrost, sea ice and glaciers. Assessing the influence of anthropogenic warming on Arctic coastal dynamics, however, is challenged by the limited availability of observational, oceanographic and environmental data. Yet, with the majority of permafrost coasts being erosive, coupled with pro
By
Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Gas hydrates on Alaskan marine margins

Gas hydrate distributions on the marine margins of the U.S. state of Alaska are more poorly known than those on other U.S. margins, where bottom simulating reflections have been systematically mapped on marine seismic data to support modern, quantitative assessments of gas-in-place in gas hydrates. The extent of bottom simulating reflections in the U.S. Beaufort Sea has been known since the late 1
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Geochemical insights into formation of enigmatic ironstones from Rio Grande rise, South Atlantic Ocean

Rio Grande Rise (RGR) is an intraplate oceanic elevation in the South Atlantic Ocean that formed at a hotspot on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge during the Cretaceous. In spreading center and hotspot environments, ironstones form mainly by biomineralization of reduced Fe from hydrothermal fluids or oxidation of sulfide deposits. However, RGR has been considered aseismic and volcanically inactive for the pa
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Science

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Inlet into Pleasant bay, looking north to Nauset Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore, Chatham, MA

State of Our Nation's Coast

The USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program (CMHRP) established a Coastal Change Hazards (CCH) programmatic focus to support the optimization of resources, improve the visibility of USGS coastal hazards science, and prioritize science, products, and tools that meet stakeholder needs. Important work by CMHRP scientists and staff within CCH supports hazard mitigation along our nation’s...
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
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State of Our Nation's Coast

The USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program (CMHRP) established a Coastal Change Hazards (CCH) programmatic focus to support the optimization of resources, improve the visibility of USGS coastal hazards science, and prioritize science, products, and tools that meet stakeholder needs. Important work by CMHRP scientists and staff within CCH supports hazard mitigation along our nation’s...
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Aerial photograph of a wetland area, with waterways, islands, peninsulas, and a town visible.

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...
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
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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...
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Collage of black nodules or rocks of varying sizes and shapes, each 1-7 inches wide, broken in half to show their cores.

Global Marine Mineral Resources

Researching mineral resources that occur within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and areas beyond national jurisdictions.
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Global Marine Mineral Resources

Researching mineral resources that occur within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and areas beyond national jurisdictions.
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