Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

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.

News

link

Coastal Communities on U.S. East Coast Face Growing Subsidence-Related Hazards

link

Where Ice Gave Way to Fire: New Study Sheds Light on British Columbia's Deglacial Volcanoes

link

Photo Roundup: November-December 2023

Publications

Slowly but surely: Exposure of communities and infrastructure to subsidence on the US east coast

Coastal communities are vulnerable to multihazards, which are exacerbated by land subsidence. On the US east coast, the high density of population and assets amplifies the region's exposure to coastal hazards. We utilized measurements of vertical land motion rates obtained from analysis of radar datasets to evaluate the subsidence-hazard exposure to population, assets, and infrastructure systems/f
Authors
Leonard O. Ohenhen, Manoochehr Shirzaei, Patrick L. Barnard

Bayesian hierarchical modeling for probabilistic estimation of tsunami amplitude from far-field earthquake sources

Evaluation of tsunami disaster risk for a coastal region requires reliable estimation of tsunami hazard, for example, wave amplitude close to the shore. Observed tsunami data are scarce and have poor spatial coverage, and for this reason probabilistic tsunami hazard analysis (PTHA) traditionally relies on numerical simulation of “synthetic” tsunami generation and propagation toward the coast. Such
Authors
Georgios Boumis, Eric L. Geist, Danhyang Lee

Pacific coastal and marine science of the U.S. Geological Survey in Santa Cruz, California

IntroductionThe Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center is one of three U.S. Geological Survey science centers that serve the mission of the Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, the primary Federal marine geology and physical science research program focused on the Nation’s coastal and marine landscape. Our portfolio of coastal and marine projects in the Pacific Ocean provides the s
Authors
Peter Pearsall

Science

USGS CoastCams

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) uses a nationwide network of coastal observing cameras, or CoastCams, to monitor coastal conditions in near real-time and support research by the USGS and its partners into a variety of coastal processes and hazards. The most recent CoastCam images are made publicly available within minutes of data collection and can be accessed using the links below or by...
link

USGS CoastCams

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) uses a nationwide network of coastal observing cameras, or CoastCams, to monitor coastal conditions in near real-time and support research by the USGS and its partners into a variety of coastal processes and hazards. The most recent CoastCam images are made publicly available within minutes of data collection and can be accessed using the links below or by...
Learn More

Klamath Dam Removal Studies

In January of 2024, the removal of four dams along the mainstem Klamath River will allow for volitional fish passage above the dams and will create more dynamic flow and sediment transport conditions below the dams. The release of reservoir sediment to downstream river reaches during and following dam removal may result in novel water quality, sediment transport, and geomorphic conditions. The...
link

Klamath Dam Removal Studies

In January of 2024, the removal of four dams along the mainstem Klamath River will allow for volitional fish passage above the dams and will create more dynamic flow and sediment transport conditions below the dams. The release of reservoir sediment to downstream river reaches during and following dam removal may result in novel water quality, sediment transport, and geomorphic conditions. The...
Learn More

Delineating the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf

The United States has an interest in knowing the full extent of its continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from shore (called the extended continental shelf, or ECS) so that it can better protect, manage and use the resources of the seabed and subsoil contained therein. The USGS contributes to the ECS effort through membership and leadership on the interagency U.S. ECS Task Force, a group...
link

Delineating the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf

The United States has an interest in knowing the full extent of its continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from shore (called the extended continental shelf, or ECS) so that it can better protect, manage and use the resources of the seabed and subsoil contained therein. The USGS contributes to the ECS effort through membership and leadership on the interagency U.S. ECS Task Force, a group...
Learn More