Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
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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
Read about our science projects, find out where we are working, and why it matters
Explore Our ScienceSeminar Series
Join us for public seminars at the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in Santa Cruz, CA
Upcoming SeminarsNews
The Challenges of Arctic Fieldwork
On a far-away island along Alaska’s North Slope coast, conducting fieldwork can be challenging.
Resilience along the West Coast—Science and Policy Coming Together to Strengthen Communities and the Environment
On Dec. 4, 2019, USGS scientist Patrick Barnard participated with other panelists in a congressional briefing looking at the issue of coastal impacts and solutions to lessen risk from sea-level rise, coastal inundation and storms along the west coast of the U.S.
Sound Waves Newsletter - October-December 2019
The USGS loses a dear friend, the challenges of conducting Arctic fieldwork, congressional briefing on coastal impacts and resiliency, the USGS at the St. Petersburg Science Festival, and more in this October-December 2019 issue of Sound Waves.
Publications
Controls on sediment distribution in the coastal zone of the central California transform continental margin, USA
We use >10,000 km of high-resolution seismic-reflection data together with multibeam bathymetry to document complex and highly variable post-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) sediment distribution and thickness in the coastal zone (~10 m isobath to 5.6 km offshore) along a ~800 km section of central California's transform...
Johnson, Samuel; Beeson, Jeffrey W.; Watt, Janet; Sliter, Ray; Papesh, Antoinette Seasonal variation in sediment delivery across the bay-marsh interface of an estuarine salt marsh
Sediment transport across bay–marsh interfaces depends on wave energy, vegetation, and marsh-edge morphology, and varies over a range of timescales. We investigated these dynamics in a tidal salt marsh with a gently-sloped, vegetated edge adjacent to northern San Francisco Bay. Spartina foliosa (cordgrass) inhabits the lower marsh and Salicornia...
Lacy, Jessica R.; Foster-Martinez, Madeline R.; Allen, Rachel (Contractor); Ferner, Matthew C.; Callaway, John C. Pulse sediment event does not impact the metabolism of a mixed coral reef community
Sedimentation can bury corals, cause physical abrasion, and alter both spectral intensity and quality; however, few studies have quantified the effects of sedimentation on coral reef metabolism in the context of episodic sedimentation events. Here, we present the first study to measure coral community metabolism - calcification and photosynthesis...
Keisha Bahr; Ku'ulei Rodgers; Paul Jokiel; Prouty, Nancy G.; Storlazzi, Curt D.