Images

Dredging operations aboard the research vessel Alpha Crucis. The first dredge with successful rock recovery is wrangled back on deck.

Digital elevation model (left) and orthomosaic (right) of the middle Elwha River

Carmel River channel in the former reservoir above San Clemente Dam in Monterey, California.

Our Coast, Our Future web viewer showing an example of flood projections for the Russian River.

CoSMoS’s approach to projecting flood hazards: global winds, waves, tides, and anomalous water levels are scaled down to the local scale for  projecting nearshore wave heights, flooding, and shoreline change, including beach erosion and cliff failures.

Learn more at usgs.gov/cosmos

Example of CoSMoS projection displayed in the Our Coast, Our Future (OCOF) online tool.

Example of CoSMoS projected flooding extents for a 1.5 meter sea level rise in combination with possible 100 year return period coastal storms.

Underwater photograph showing corals in Tāfeu Cove, National Park of American Samoa, north shore of Tutuila Island, American Samoa.

“Variance” images derived from the same videos used in the studies. Left, Madeira Beach; right, Cowells Beach. In a variance image, the more variation in light intensity at a given pixel, the brighter the value assigned to that pixel. Bright areas indicate many changes in light intensity, caused by a lot of movement.

Close-up views of the toe of the Mud Creek landslide created from air photos taken May 27 (top), June 13 (middle), and June 26 (bottom). Caltrans built roads on top of the slide for assessment and monitoring activities.

Topographic-change image produced by comparing 3D map derived from May 27 air photos with that derived from June 13 air photos. Note that material has eroded from the seaward edge of the toe (yellow and orange tones), and material has built up on beaches to either side of the slide (blue tones).

Exposed bedrock on the beach, below the University of California, Santa Barbara

Shawn Harrison uses his new skills to check out the surf at Santa Cruz, California.

Multichannel seismic-reflection profile across the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault, acquired aboard the R/V Norseman in August 2016. Dashed red line in enlarged section at lower right is the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault. m, meter; km, kilometer; ms, millisecond.

A look into the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center’s Marine Minerals Laboratory Suite.

Marine geology enthusiasts at the Council for Geoscience (CGS) conference.

Elkhorn corals (Acropora palmata) on the seafloor along the northeastern coast of Buck Island, U.S. Virgin Islands, have died and collapsed into rubble. As coral reef structure degrades, habitat for marine life is lost and nearby coastlines become more susceptible to storms, waves, and erosion.

Healthy elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) on the seafloor along the southeastern coast of Buck Island, U.S. Virgin Islands. Elkhorn coral is one of many important reef-building species that create 3D structure on the seafloor. Coral reef structure provides habitat for marine life and helps break up waves as they approach the coastline.

Eroding bluffs on Moss Landing State Beach, California, March 2016

Perspective views of multibeam bathymetry data acquired by the USGS aboard the R/V Medeia. Shallower depths in red. Arrows point to the distinct line in the seafloor associated with the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault.

Left: Key features in and around the Gulf of Alaska. A black rectangle outlines our 2016 study area along the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault. Red arrows indicate relative tectonic plate motions. Right: A shaded relief map of the 2016 study area. Rainbow colors show seafloor depths acquired by the USGS in 2015 and 2016. Red indicates shallower depths.