Images

The USGS strives to put coastal change data and information at the fingertips of users such as planners and emergency managers. The explicit goal is to enable users to integrate and apply USGS data and tools to address their specific needs. Online resources such as the Coastal Change Hazards (CCH) portal are designed with applied use of data in mind.

Photographs taken during Tropical Storm Colin (left, June 6, 2016) and one day later (right) on Sunset Beach in the town of St. Pete Beach, Florida. Storm waves eroded the beach and dune, producing a cliff-like feature called a beach scarp. Continuous video collected during a storm could provide more information about the processes causing this coastal change.

USGS ocean engineer Gerry Hatcher with the camera system he helped create for recording the precise time and geographic location of each air photo it takes. The system is mounted in the cargo compartment of a Cessna 182R airplane and takes photos through a window cut into a removable cargo door (right).

Southern California cliff and cliff-top development in Isla Vista, California

On October 6, 2016, scientists lower an instrument package on a taut-wire mooring into the canyon. The sediment trap (long funnel-shaped device) is designed to capture mud and sand carried in turbidity flows; the other sensors measure currents and suspended sediment.

Sediment trap is being prepared for deployment into Monterey Canyon offshore of Monterey, California.

Six USGS scientists presented their research at the 6th International Symposium on Deep-Sea Corals in September, 2016. This all-female force hailed from USGS centers in West Virginia, California, and Florida. Left to right: Jill Bourque, Cheryl Morrison, Nancy Prouty, Katharine Coykendall, Amanda Demopoulos, Christina Kellogg.

USGS is studying climate change impacts to U.S. Pacific and Arctic coasts. Alaska’s north coast is predominantly erosional, retreating on average about 1.4 meters per year.

USGS geologist Amy East was delighted to observe a Chinook salmon carcass upstream from two dams recently removed from the Elwha River in Washington State. River restoration has allowed salmon to reach upstream spawning grounds for the first time in more than a century.

Participants at the September 2016 Argus Workshop at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Field Research Facility in Duck, North Carolina. Labels provide names of four participants from USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program (Long, Plant, Brown, Harrison) and two participants from Oregon State University (Holman, Stanley).

View from Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park, Washington, looking at the Elwha River basin.

Adult polar bear walking across a recently overwashed barrier island during a large Arctic storm in September 2016. The barrier island is offshore of Barter Island on Alaska’s north coast.

Two scientists on the Arctic coastal bluff preparing a study location with cameras that they hope will run continuously, collecting images.

Christie gears up to survey beach elevation in Santa Cruz, CA with a precise and accurate GPS unit mounted to her backpack. The GPS unit on her backpack communicates with a nearby "base station" to minimize errors in location.

USGS scientists Jonathan Warrick and Jeff Duda receiving Riverprize recognition in New Delhi, India. Image courtesy of International Riverfoundation.

A polar bear rests in a field on Barter Island, Alaska.

Polar bear lounging on Alaska’s north coast.

USGS coral reef scientists, from left to right: Jill Bourque, Cheryl Morrison, Nancy Prouty, Katharine Coykendall, Amanda Demopoulos, and Christina Kellogg. All women presented their research at the 6th International Symposium of Deep Sea Corals, September 11-16, 2016.

Aerial photograph of the mouth of the Elwha River showing sediment deposits from dam removal. Aerial assistance by LightHawk and plane piloted by Dr. Milton Bennett.

During the symposium, participants could tour the facilities at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, such as this radiocarbon lab. Here scientists analyze the amount of radiocarbon in such material as coral or wood to help determine their age. Photo credit: Amy West, USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Time-lapse cameras on Barter Island, North Slope of Alaska, incurred damage from polar bears who used the camera pole as a scratching post.