Images

Photograph shows a USGS ATV equipped with GPS, ready to collect topographic data on Seacliff Beach in Aptos, California.

Map view. Colored shaded-relief bathymetry map of Offshore of Half Moon Bay map area, generated from multibeam echosounder data. Colors show depth: reds and oranges indicate shallower areas; light blues, deeper areas. Illumination azimuth is 300°, from 45° above horizon.

Acoustic backscatter data show the intensity of an acoustic pulse off the seafloor and back to a ship. Brighter tones indicate a strong intensity (possibly harder seafloor?), while darker ones indicate a weaker intensity (possibly softer seafloor?).

Example of a high-resolution seismic-reflection profile collected by the USGS offshore of Point Sal. The profile shows a cross-section of the earth's crust down to about 240 meters. The dashed red lines show the Hosgri Fault Zone, part of a strike-slip fault system that extends for about 400 kilometers along the California coast from Point Arguello to Bolinas.

Special camera rig and precision GPS receiver (right) designed to take Structure from Motion photos from a small airplane.

USGS scientist Tim Elfers conducts a bathymetric (depth) survey from a personal watercraft with onboard GPS and echo sounder equipment, in Santa Cruz, California.

This is an example of a lidar image created from the “point cloud” that shows objects’ reflectivity near the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and the mouth of the San Lorenzo River.

San Clemente Dam was a 106-foot-high concrete arch dam that was located approximately 18.5 miles from the Pacific Ocean on the Carmel River.

Santa Cruz Main Beach and Boardwalk two days after a "Super Soaker" winter storm hit with 2.5 inches of rain in just a few hours' time.

Santa Cruz Main Beach and Boardwalk just before a "Super Soaker" winter storm hit with 2.5 inches of rain in just a few hours' time.

A digital still image can be overlaid onto the lidar “point cloud” data to give it a realistic 3D look.

USGS Geographer Josh Logan sets up the lidar scanner near Capitola before the December 11, 2014 "Super Soaker" storm.

PCMSC scientists maneuver the camera sled for deployment off R/V Parke Snavely in Monterey Bay. They will navigate the camera sled just above the seafloor to get a close-up view. Video, photographs, and real-time observations of seafloor geology and biological cover help develop and verify the maps created from sonar data.

USGS Pacific Ocastal and Marine Science Center's research vessel R/V Parke Snavely motors into Santa Cruz Harbor. The lighthouse, also known as the Santa Cruz Breakwater Lighthouse, was remodeled and renamed the Walton Lighthouse on June 9, 2002.

Seismic reflection streamer (long blue hose) gets a depth-control bird and bird float attached.

Jenny White driving the USGS research vessel (R/V) Parke Snavely in November 2014 near the entrance to the Santa Cruz Harbor in Santa Cruz, California.

USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center's research vessel Parke Snavely motors slowly up into the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor where she docks.

The USGS research vessel, R/V Parke Snavely, passes under a bridge near the Santa Cruz Harbor where she docks. Snavely is owned and operated by the USGS Pacific Coastal and Mairne Science Center in Santa Cruz, California.

View looks down from a bridge as USGS research vessel R/V Parke Snavely passes beneath.

Antonio Espejo Hermosa uses a handheld computer and GPS equipment to record beach topography data near Sunset State Beach in Santa Cruz.

USGS scientist Alex Snyder gathers topographic data by walking beach transects northwest of Moss Landing to help researchers understand how Monterey Bay will respond to changing environmental conditions.