Images

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

Photograph shows a USGS scientist navigating an all-terrain vehicle equipped with GPS, collecting topographic data on Rio Del Mar State Beach in Aptos, California. Gathering this type of information helps USGS scientists to document the changes in beach and nearshore morphology (or form and structure), caused by seasonal variations and storms.

A USGS scientist guides a personal watercraft toward Seabright Beach near the Santa Cruz Harbor entrance during bathymetric surveys.

Panoramic view from the cliffs above the San Lorenzo River and east of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and Main Beach. Santa Cruz municipal pier and other buildings are visible in the background.

USGS acting Marine Operations Manager Tim Elfers navigates a personal watercraft toward Cowell Beach in Santa Cruz to record bathymetric (depth) data along a transect.

USGS scientist surveying the ocean floor in front of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, October 20, 2014.

USGS scientist Jackson Currie navigates a personal watercraft towards Santa Cruz's Main Beach, to record bathymetric data along a transect.

A USGS technician surveys the seafloor bathymetry using a personal watercraft outfitted with global positioning systems (GPS) and echo sounders.

Location: Santa Cruz, California (near Wharf).

A USGS technician surveys the seafloor bathymetry using a personal watercraft outfitted with global positioning systems (GPS) and echo sounders.

Location: Santa Cruz, California (near Steamers Lane).

Photograph of a USGS technician on a USGS coastal survey vessel that maps seafloor bathymetry using global positioning systems (GPS) and echo sounders.

Location:Santa Cruz, California (near Wharf).

A USGS technician surveys the seafloor bathymetry using a personal watercraft outfitted with global positioning systems (GPS) and echo sounders.

Location:Santa Cruz, California (near Santa Cruz Boardwalk).

USGS scientist Jackson Currie deploys a chirp sub-bottom profiler (in the center) from research vessel Parke Snavely. The chirp is attached to pontoons to keep the equipment from running aground in the shallow waters of San Pablo Bay, California.

Visitors at Glines Canyon East Abutment in Olympic National Park, the location of the Elwha River Restoration project. Image available at Olympic National Park flickr site.

Scientists recover the Benthic OBservation camera Sled, or “BOB Sled,” onto the research vessel Parke Snavely

Photograph from a mounted time-lapse camera looking eastward along Barter Island’s north shore document how the coastal bluffs and beach changed during a single summer. The photograph shows a late-summer extreme storm with waves crashing into the bluff (September 3, 2014).