Images

A close-up of the Paramuricea polyps when open.

Large Lophelia colonies and numerous anemones at a depth of about 1,500 feet in Mississippi Canyon. Red laser beams, projected from a remotely operated vehicle, represent a separation of 10 centimeters (about 4 inches). A western roughy is seen to the left of the structure.

Underwater photograph off Molokaʻi Hawaiʻi, showing some of the impacts of land-based pollution, such as terrestrial sediment, on coral reefs: burial by sediment, algal overgrowth, and coral bleaching.

High tide (left) and low tide (right) at study site in Lynch Cove, at the head of Hood Canal, Washington. Summer 2012 USGS fieldwork was made possible by Dr. Bill Portuese and his family, who graciously offered the use of their dock and beach for the USGS experiments.

Well cluster installed in June 2012 to a depth of 10 meters (33 feet) below the beach face. Photograph taken at low tide; the white PVC extensions prevented the wells from being flooded during high tide (compare with photograph of research team standing on same dock, above).

Figure 2 from the 2012 publication, "Arrival and Expansion of the Invasive Foraminifera Trochammina hadai Uchio in Padilla Bay, Washington," by McGann, et al. Trochammina hadai Uchio: A, dorsal view; B, edge view; C, ventral view.

Perspective view of seafloor offshore of Half Moon Bay, showing scarp (arrows) along the eastern strand of the San Gregorio fault zone. Rocks are notably upwarped and folded adjacent to the fault.

A massive colony of Paragorgia (bubble gum coral) with a squat lobster hiding among the polyps.

A squat lobster and small Black belly rosefish huddle near a den on a small ledge in Baltimore Canyon.

A venus flytrap anemone on the lip of a small ridge, with numerous other small animals.

USGS hydrologist Kaitlyn Colella and a Shinnecock Nation member work together gathering oyster and bed sediment samples along Long Island, New York, coast.

Lidar data collected December 11, 2012 (yellow), in comparison with lidar data collected October 29, 2010 (red), showing change in beach profile. Spot marked by vertical arrow was 1.08 meters higher at time of 2012 survey than at time of 2010 survey.

Scan by the new lidar scanner at Younger Lagoon in Santa Cruz, California, on December 11, 2012. Shaded swath from left of center to lower right corresponds to swath of yellow data in image below. True colors (tans, greens, and so on) are created by combining lidar data with imagery from a high-resolution digital camera attached to the scanner.

USGS scientist Nancy Prouty collects samples from a CTD. A CTD is package of electronic instruments that measure conductivity, temperature, and depth of water.

Breaking ice in the Arctic ocean with the Canadian ice breaker Louis St. Laurent out in front. Taken atop the bridge over the bow of the Coast Guard Cutter Healy

The streamer is flaked out on the deck with a make shift workbench for tools.  The technical staff (Geological Survey of Canada) are sharing a lighter moment during trouble shooting and repair aboard CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent.

Smaller version of Colored Shaded-Relief Bathymetry (Sheet 1) from USGS Scientific Investigations Map 3225, California State Waters Map Series—Hueneme Canyon and Vicinity, California, as an example of the different kinds of maps (“sheets”) produced within a coastal map “block”.

Smaller version of Acoustic Backscatter (Sheet 3) from USGS Scientific Investigations Map 3225, California State Waters Map Series—Hueneme Canyon and Vicinity, California, as an example of the different kinds of maps (“sheets”) produced within a coastal map “block”.

Smaller version of Seafloor Character (Sheet 5) from USGS Scientific Investigations Map 3225, California State Waters Map Series—Hueneme Canyon and Vicinity, California, as an example of the different kinds of maps (“sheets”) produced within a coastal map “block”.

Smaller version of Seismic-Reflection Profiles (Sheet 8) from USGS Scientific Investigations Map 3225, California State Waters Map Series—Hueneme Canyon and Vicinity, California, as an example of the different kinds of maps (“sheets”) produced within a coastal map “block”.

Smaller version of Detailed Geology and Geomorphology (Sheet 11) from USGS Scientific Investigations Map 3225, California State Waters Map Series—Hueneme Canyon and Vicinity, California, as an example of the different kinds of maps (“sheets”) produced within a coastal map “block”.