Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

California Deepwater Investigations and Groundtruthing

BOEM, USGS, and State of CA consider the implications and potential impacts of wind energy development miles offshore of Morro Bay

Read News

Finding Evidence of Ancient Waves on Mars

Scientists found evidence that ripples seen on lakebed deposits in Gale Crater were likely caused by waves at the lake surface

Read More

Climate Science Champions

USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center scientists featured in video series

Watch Videos

Women Making History in Coastal and Marine Science

Meet some of our women staff and scientists across the Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program and how they are paving the way towards a brighter future

Read article

Fire plus Flood equals Beach

A new study combines decades of coastal satellite imagery with hydrologic and oceanographic data to look at how changes on land affect coastlines in Big Sur, California

Learn More

Thermal Refugia in Reefs

Repeated heat stress can eventually kill off entire colonies of coral, turning once vibrant ecosystems into comparatively barren ones

Read News

Seven Decades of Coastal Change at Barter Island, Alaska

Exploring the importance of waves and temperature on erosion of coastal permafrost bluffs

Read News

Eelgrass Research in Puget Sound

Understanding the function of nearshore habitats, and developing approaches to restore their resiliency

Read News

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

Sound Waves Newsletter

View looks along an Arctic coastal bluff with permafrost and gentle waves and a drainage that has spilled out onto the beach.

Read issues of the Sound Waves Newsletter, featuring "Coastal and Marine Research News from Across the USGS"

Sound Waves Newsletter

Quick Links

News

link

USGS Leads Research Expedition to Deep-sea Escanaba Trough

link

Deep Dive: Marine Geology in Escanaba Trough

link

Deep Dive: Hydrothermal Systems in Escanaba Trough

View All

Publications

California Deepwater Investigations and Groundtruthing (Cal DIG) I, volume 3 — Benthic habitat characterization offshore Morro Bay, California

Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) geoform, substrate, and biotic component geographic information system (GIS) products were developed for the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (U.S. EEZ) of south-central California in the region of Santa Lucia Bank motivated by interest in development of offshore wind-energy capacity and infrastructure. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Ancient winds, waves, and atmosphere in Gale Crater, Mars, inferred from sedimentary structures and wave modeling

Wave modeling and analysis of sedimentary structures were used to evaluate whether four examples of symmetrical, reversing, or straight-crested bedforms in Gale crater sandstones are preserved wave ripples; deposition by waves would demonstrate that the lake was not covered by ice at that time. Wave modeling indicates that regardless of atmospheric density, winds that exceeded the threshold of aeo
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Astrogeology Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Fire (plus) flood (equals) beach: Coastal response to an exceptional river sediment discharge event

Wildfire and post-fire rainfall have resounding effects on hillslope processes and sediment yields of mountainous landscapes. Yet, it remains unclear how fire–flood sequences influence downstream coastal littoral systems. It is timely to examine terrestrial–coastal connections because climate change is increasing the frequency, size, and intensity of wildfires, altering precipitation rates, and ac
By
Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
View All

Science

link
View from the sky of a large estuary with large and small waterways surrounded by villages and agriculture, hills in background.

Coastal watershed and estuary restoration in the Monterey Bay area

Objectives: Support further work by the USGS and collaborating federal, state, and local agencies and academic partners in analyzing the effectiveness of restoration work in coastal watersheds and estuaries in the Monterey Bay area. The USGS will play a supporting role in field efforts led by NOAA and California State University - Monterey Bay to measure physical and ecological changes in the...
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
link

Coastal watershed and estuary restoration in the Monterey Bay area

Objectives: Support further work by the USGS and collaborating federal, state, and local agencies and academic partners in analyzing the effectiveness of restoration work in coastal watersheds and estuaries in the Monterey Bay area. The USGS will play a supporting role in field efforts led by NOAA and California State University - Monterey Bay to measure physical and ecological changes in the...
Learn More
link
Two adjacent poles holding video cameras near top, one control box near bottom, one man holding small tool near control box.

Using Video Imagery to Study Coastal Change: Santa Cruz Beaches

Two video cameras atop the Dream Inn hotel in Santa Cruz, California, overlook the coast in northern Monterey Bay. One camera looks eastward over Santa Cruz Main Beach and boardwalk, while the other looks southward over Cowells Beach.
By
Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
link

Using Video Imagery to Study Coastal Change: Santa Cruz Beaches

Two video cameras atop the Dream Inn hotel in Santa Cruz, California, overlook the coast in northern Monterey Bay. One camera looks eastward over Santa Cruz Main Beach and boardwalk, while the other looks southward over Cowells Beach.
Learn More
link
Colored shaded-relief bathymetry map of Monterey Canyon and Vicinity, California

Marine Geomorphology, Evolution, and Habitats

Seafloor resource managers and modelers need seafloor maps that can be combined in GIS, modeling, and statistical analysis environments and related successfully to biologic and oceanographic data. The Marine Geomorphology, Evolution, and Habitats Project encompasses mapping activities and the development of new mapping systems and methodologies. The emphasis is on the role of geologic processes in...
By
Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
link

Marine Geomorphology, Evolution, and Habitats

Seafloor resource managers and modelers need seafloor maps that can be combined in GIS, modeling, and statistical analysis environments and related successfully to biologic and oceanographic data. The Marine Geomorphology, Evolution, and Habitats Project encompasses mapping activities and the development of new mapping systems and methodologies. The emphasis is on the role of geologic processes in...
Learn More
View All