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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center images.

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A group of six photographs showing equipment used for collecting data in the field.
Field equipment for bathymetric and topographic surveys
Field equipment for bathymetric and topographic surveys
Field equipment for bathymetric and topographic surveys

Field equipment used by USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center scientists for bathymetric and topographic surveys in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California

A thermal image of people standing near the water's edge on a beach.
Thermal image of ocean and groundwater
Thermal image of ocean and groundwater
Thermal image of ocean and groundwater

Thermal infrared image of two USGS researchers standing on the coastline and looking out (up on the image) over a coastal groundwater plume that is non-visible to the naked eye but can be observed in this thermal image due to the temperature differences between the cooler (blue) groundwater and warmer (pink) ocean water over the coral reefs.

Thermal infrared image of two USGS researchers standing on the coastline and looking out (up on the image) over a coastal groundwater plume that is non-visible to the naked eye but can be observed in this thermal image due to the temperature differences between the cooler (blue) groundwater and warmer (pink) ocean water over the coral reefs.

Aerial image of Searsville Dam and Lake
Aerial image of Searsville Dam and Lake
Aerial image of Searsville Dam and Lake
Aerial image of Searsville Dam and Lake

Aerial image of Searsville Dam and Lake near Stanford, California, taken during coring operations in February 2020.

Scientific equipment mounted on two yellow pontoons being towed behind a research vessel over clear blue tropical water
SQUID-5 - Structure-from-Motion Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device
SQUID-5 - Structure-from-Motion Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device
SQUID-5 - Structure-from-Motion Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device

The SQUID-5, or a Structure-from-Motion (SfM) Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with 5 cameras is a towed surface vehicle with an onboard Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and 5 downward-looking cameras with overlapping views of the seafloor.

People at a table talking and writing on sticky notes
State of Our Nation’s Coast Stakeholder Engagement Workshop
State of Our Nation’s Coast Stakeholder Engagement Workshop
State of Our Nation’s Coast Stakeholder Engagement Workshop

A group of participants at the Coastal Change Hazards State of Our Nation’s Coast stakeholder engagement workshop at the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Reserve in Falmouth, MA. Here participants are pictured writing the names of tools they use on sticky notes.

Room full of people sitting in groups at different tables
State of Our Nation’s Coast Stakeholder Engagement Workshop
State of Our Nation’s Coast Stakeholder Engagement Workshop
State of Our Nation’s Coast Stakeholder Engagement Workshop

Participants of the Coastal Change Hazards State of Our Nation’s Coast stakeholder engagement workshop at the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Reserve in Falmouth, MA. Participants are pictured here talking in small groups.

A man wearing safety gear stands on the fantail of a small boat preparing a box core for deployment.
GOMEX box corer
GOMEX box corer
GOMEX box corer

USGS marine engineering technician Dan Powers from the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center retrieves the GOMEX box corer from Bellingham Bay, Washington.

USGS marine engineering technician Dan Powers from the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center retrieves the GOMEX box corer from Bellingham Bay, Washington.

Underwater photograph of a shallow area with coral reef and sand.
Porites and Acropora corals in American Samoa
Porites and Acropora corals in American Samoa
Porites and Acropora corals in American Samoa

Porites and Acropora coral species in reef flat pools in the National Park of American Samoa on Ofu, Manuʻa Islands Group, American Samoa.

A stainless steel box coring device for sampling sediment sits on the deck of a boat.
GOMEX box corer
GOMEX box corer
GOMEX box corer

The GOMEX box corer is constructed of stainless steel and is used to sample soft sediments at the bottom of lakes, bays, and the ocean. The GOMEX box coring sampler is so-named because it is popular for sampling work in the Gulf oMexico.

The GOMEX box corer is constructed of stainless steel and is used to sample soft sediments at the bottom of lakes, bays, and the ocean. The GOMEX box coring sampler is so-named because it is popular for sampling work in the Gulf oMexico.

Underwater photo of divers wearing oxygen tanks, placing instruments on coral reef.
Divers install monitoring instruments on coral reef
Divers install monitoring instruments on coral reef
Divers install monitoring instruments on coral reef

Dive operations with National Park Service and the National Park of American Samoa installing tide, wave, temperature, and salinity sensors on the fore reef in NPSA off the south shore of Ofu, Manuʻa.

Dive operations with National Park Service and the National Park of American Samoa installing tide, wave, temperature, and salinity sensors on the fore reef in NPSA off the south shore of Ofu, Manuʻa.

A man pushes a pole upright into its stabilization frame, surrounded by other equipment and palm trees.
Installing a thermal imaging system
Installing a thermal imaging system
Installing a thermal imaging system

USGS scientists install a thermal imaging system in the National Park of American Samoa off the south shore of Ofu, Manua. The system detects temperature variations, like a colder freshwater plume that emanates from the shore.

USGS scientists install a thermal imaging system in the National Park of American Samoa off the south shore of Ofu, Manua. The system detects temperature variations, like a colder freshwater plume that emanates from the shore.

A photograph shows a boat sitting at a dock, with tall grasses in the foreground and the setting sun in the distance.
Preparing for a day of sampling on Grizzly Bay
Preparing for a day of sampling on Grizzly Bay
Preparing for a day of sampling on Grizzly Bay

Scientists from the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in their vessel jewell, docked at Belden's Landing Water Access Facility on Montezuma Slough. They are preparing for a day of sampling on Grizzly Bay, where they study how sediment moves through sensitive coastal environments.

Scientists from the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in their vessel jewell, docked at Belden's Landing Water Access Facility on Montezuma Slough. They are preparing for a day of sampling on Grizzly Bay, where they study how sediment moves through sensitive coastal environments.

People sit in a small boat floating the water, preparing a sampling device to collect sediment from the bottom of the water.
Preparing the GOMEX on Grizzly Bay
Preparing the GOMEX on Grizzly Bay
Preparing the GOMEX on Grizzly Bay

From left to right, USGS scientists Sam McGill, Lucas WinklerPrins, David Hart, Selina Davila Olivera, and Pete Dal Ferro work on Grizzly Bay on the vessel Jewell, to collect sediment samples using the GOMEX box corer.

From left to right, USGS scientists Sam McGill, Lucas WinklerPrins, David Hart, Selina Davila Olivera, and Pete Dal Ferro work on Grizzly Bay on the vessel Jewell, to collect sediment samples using the GOMEX box corer.

Five people on a small boat in calm water work on a sampling device being retrieved from the water.
Sediment collected in a GOMEX box corer
Sediment collected in a GOMEX box corer
Sediment collected in a GOMEX box corer

USGS science crew works to free the muddy sediment from a GOMEX box corer. They are on board the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center's vessel Jewell on Grizzly Bay in the San Francisco Bay area.

USGS science crew works to free the muddy sediment from a GOMEX box corer. They are on board the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center's vessel Jewell on Grizzly Bay in the San Francisco Bay area.

A structure made of wooden pilings with a platform around the top stands in water with fog and hills in the far background.
Grizzly Bay dolphin with weather station installed on top
Grizzly Bay dolphin with weather station installed on top
Grizzly Bay dolphin with weather station installed on top

A structure called a dolphin, permanently affixed in the sediment, stands in Grizzly Bay near San Francisco, CA, with a weather station installed on top. The USGS will use the data from the weather station in conjunction with other oceanographic data, in their studies of sediment movement in the bay.

A structure called a dolphin, permanently affixed in the sediment, stands in Grizzly Bay near San Francisco, CA, with a weather station installed on top. The USGS will use the data from the weather station in conjunction with other oceanographic data, in their studies of sediment movement in the bay.

A boat floats on calm waters with some people sitting in it.
Sampling on Grizzly Bay
Sampling on Grizzly Bay
Sampling on Grizzly Bay

On PCMSC vessel Jewell, a team of USGS scientists sit in Grizzly Bay, a baylet of San Francisco Bay in Solano County, California. USGS collects sediment samples to study how sediment moves through sensitive coastal environments like this.

On PCMSC vessel Jewell, a team of USGS scientists sit in Grizzly Bay, a baylet of San Francisco Bay in Solano County, California. USGS collects sediment samples to study how sediment moves through sensitive coastal environments like this.

Two people install instruments atop a permanent mooring called a dolphin, large wooden pilings affixed in shallow water.
Installing weather station in Grizzly Bay
Installing weather station in Grizzly Bay
Installing weather station in Grizzly Bay

Pete Dal Ferro and Andrew Stevens, both from the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center (PCMSC) in Santa Cruz, California, install a Vaisala WXT weather station in Grizzly Bay, east of San Pablo Bay and northeast of San Francisco.

Pete Dal Ferro and Andrew Stevens, both from the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center (PCMSC) in Santa Cruz, California, install a Vaisala WXT weather station in Grizzly Bay, east of San Pablo Bay and northeast of San Francisco.

A nondescript white instrument box sits up high atop piers in the water with cables and a small solar panel.
Weather station power supply and modem
Weather station power supply and modem
Weather station power supply and modem

A weather station, installed in the middle of Grizzly Bay east of San Pablo Bay (near San Francisco), gets its power from a small solar panel. Data collected from the station is transmitted via a wireless modem. Far in the background is the city of Benicia, and the plume rising into the sky is water vapor emitted from the Benicia oil refinery.

A weather station, installed in the middle of Grizzly Bay east of San Pablo Bay (near San Francisco), gets its power from a small solar panel. Data collected from the station is transmitted via a wireless modem. Far in the background is the city of Benicia, and the plume rising into the sky is water vapor emitted from the Benicia oil refinery.

Illustration of a bay and delta region with different colors to depict varying depths of water.
Bathymetric map of the northern portion of San Francisco Bay (MLLW)
Bathymetric map of the northern portion of San Francisco Bay (MLLW)
Bathymetric map of the northern portion of San Francisco Bay (MLLW)

Digital elevation model (DEM) of northern San Francisco Bay, California, created using bathymetry data collected between 1999 and 2016 (MLLW)

Photo of a rugged coastline with bluffs, gentle waves, and rocks jutting out from the sand.
California coastline
California coastline
California coastline

The U.S. west coast is an area of complex coastal geography. This photograph depicts several examples of geological features along the California coastline that are shaped by varied coastal processes. The gently sloping beach, stark bluffs, and presence of smooth rocks suggests that the coastal processes shaping this coastline are complex.

The U.S. west coast is an area of complex coastal geography. This photograph depicts several examples of geological features along the California coastline that are shaped by varied coastal processes. The gently sloping beach, stark bluffs, and presence of smooth rocks suggests that the coastal processes shaping this coastline are complex.

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