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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center images.

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View along shore. Smooth blue water with bands of snow-covered ice (left) beside dark bluffs topped with brown grass (right).
North shore of Barter Island on Alaska’s Arctic coast
North shore of Barter Island on Alaska’s Arctic coast
North shore of Barter Island on Alaska’s Arctic coast

Photo from a time-lapse camera looking eastward along the north shore of Barter Island on Alaska’s Arctic coast, June 15, 2014. View the complete time-lapse sequence to see how the coastal bluffs and beach changed during a single summer.

Cerulean waves break over low-lying areas around an island atoll, island is center in background.
Overwash event in Marshall Islands
Overwash event in Marshall Islands
Overwash event in Marshall Islands

Large swells from the north-northeast with heights up to 5 meters (16 feet) combined with unusually high tides inundated much of the Republic of the Marshall Islands on March 2, 2014.

Large swells from the north-northeast with heights up to 5 meters (16 feet) combined with unusually high tides inundated much of the Republic of the Marshall Islands on March 2, 2014.

View of a roadway on a tropical island with palm trees, the area is being overwashed by waves and flooded.
Waves wash over a road on Roi-Namur Island
Waves wash over a road on Roi-Namur Island
Waves wash over a road on Roi-Namur Island

Waves wash over a road on Roi-Namur Island, Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, during a particularly high tidal event. USGS is studying how slightly reduced rainfall combined with sea-level rise affect freshwater sources on low-lying Pacific coral islands.

Waves wash over a road on Roi-Namur Island, Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, during a particularly high tidal event. USGS is studying how slightly reduced rainfall combined with sea-level rise affect freshwater sources on low-lying Pacific coral islands.

Complex illustration looking at an extinct volcanic island, the ocean water around it, and how water moves through the ground.
Schematic geologic cross section of Southern Oʻahu
Schematic geologic cross section of Southern Oʻahu
Schematic geologic cross section of Southern Oʻahu

Schematic geologic cross section of Southern Oʻahu showing groundwater–seawater interaction in the vicinity of Honolulu, HI (modified from Frans et al., 2012).

A person stands far off in the distance on a gravelly bed with large pieces of tree and vegetation growing behind the person.
Surveying Elwha River bank
Surveying Elwha River bank
Surveying Elwha River bank

After dam removal on the Elwha River, the site of a previous survey had finer grained sediment. Surveyor in the distance is James Starr of the USGS Washington Water Science Center.

After dam removal on the Elwha River, the site of a previous survey had finer grained sediment. Surveyor in the distance is James Starr of the USGS Washington Water Science Center.

Satellite image of an island showing its terrain
Satellite image of Hawaiʻi
Satellite image of Hawaiʻi
Satellite image of Hawaiʻi

Satellite image of Hawaiʻi captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite on January 26, 2014

Satellite image of Hawaiʻi captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite on January 26, 2014

Map of water and land with outlines on land and pointers to areas to identify areas of study.
Hood Canal and Lynch Cove
Hood Canal and Lynch Cove
Hood Canal and Lynch Cove

Northwestern Washington, showing locations of Puget Sound, Hood Canal, and Lynch Cove. Boundaries of Olympic National Park are outlined in red.

Northwestern Washington, showing locations of Puget Sound, Hood Canal, and Lynch Cove. Boundaries of Olympic National Park are outlined in red.

Photo of a floating platform with instruments on it, to collect water data.
Collecting data over a submarine groundwater vent
Collecting data over a submarine groundwater vent
Collecting data over a submarine groundwater vent

An inflatable boat floating above a submarine groundwater vent was used as a multi-day mooring platform for making time-series measurements of the naturally occurring groundwater tracers radon (222Rn) and thoron (220Rn). Gray surface buoys closer to the beach mark locations of thermistor arrays and wave/tide gauges.

An inflatable boat floating above a submarine groundwater vent was used as a multi-day mooring platform for making time-series measurements of the naturally occurring groundwater tracers radon (222Rn) and thoron (220Rn). Gray surface buoys closer to the beach mark locations of thermistor arrays and wave/tide gauges.

Underwater photo of a camera system that is controlled from a boat and can be guided through the water with a propeller.
BOBSled suspended by its tow cable
BOBSled suspended by its tow cable
BOBSled suspended by its tow cable

BOBSled suspended by its tow cable. The tow cable has one single-mode fiber-optic line for video transmission, eight conductors for system power and control, a Kevlar layer for strength, and a urethane jacket for abrasion resistance and water exclusion.

BOBSled suspended by its tow cable. The tow cable has one single-mode fiber-optic line for video transmission, eight conductors for system power and control, a Kevlar layer for strength, and a urethane jacket for abrasion resistance and water exclusion.

A camera system sits on a boat deck with all its components attached to a frame sits on a boat deck.
BOBSled with its major components labeled
BOBSled with its major components labeled
BOBSled with its major components labeled

BOBSled with its major components labeled. The system collects high-definition (HD) video images of seafloor as deep as 100 meters and is easily hand deployed from a small boat. The video imagery is viewed and recorded in real time at the surface.

BOBSled with its major components labeled. The system collects high-definition (HD) video images of seafloor as deep as 100 meters and is easily hand deployed from a small boat. The video imagery is viewed and recorded in real time at the surface.

A collage of imagery showing a couple of seafloor photos with a map to show where the underwater photos were taken.
Screenshot of the California Seafloor video and photo portal
Screenshot of the California Seafloor video and photo portal
Screenshot of the California Seafloor video and photo portal

Interactive map (here with added labels) allows viewers to zoom into areas of interest; video tracklines appear in purple and photograph locations (dots) in red. (At scales shown here, red dots are too closely spaced to distinguish.) Clicking on a trackline starts video in the lower-left window and associated photographs in the lower-right window.

Interactive map (here with added labels) allows viewers to zoom into areas of interest; video tracklines appear in purple and photograph locations (dots) in red. (At scales shown here, red dots are too closely spaced to distinguish.) Clicking on a trackline starts video in the lower-left window and associated photographs in the lower-right window.

Examples of map products produced for an offshore canyon area of the seafloor.
Hueneme Canyon and Vicinity example maps
Hueneme Canyon and Vicinity example maps
Hueneme Canyon and Vicinity example maps

Six of 12 map sheets included in the USGS CSMP map-set publication “Hueneme Canyon and Vicinity,” the first CSMP Santa Barbara Channel map set to be published. A, bathymetry; B, seafloor character; C, perspective views; D, potential habitats; E, shallow subsurface geology and structure; F, offshore-onshore geology and geomorphology.

Six of 12 map sheets included in the USGS CSMP map-set publication “Hueneme Canyon and Vicinity,” the first CSMP Santa Barbara Channel map set to be published. A, bathymetry; B, seafloor character; C, perspective views; D, potential habitats; E, shallow subsurface geology and structure; F, offshore-onshore geology and geomorphology.

 Many species of invertebrates living together on a steep submarine canyon wall
Assemblage of invertebrates living on a steep submarine canyon wall
Assemblage of invertebrates living on a steep submarine canyon wall
A narrow waterway, in a wet, marshy area with brown grasses, winds its way to a larger body of water, hills in the background.
Estuarine salt marsh of San Francisco Bay
Estuarine salt marsh of San Francisco Bay
Estuarine salt marsh of San Francisco Bay

Photo for upcoming seminar titled, “Sediment delivery across the bay-marsh interface of an estuarine salt marsh,” by Jessie Lacy.

Image: Rocky and Sandy Seafloor Offshore California
Rocky and Sandy Seafloor Offshore California
Rocky and Sandy Seafloor Offshore California
Rocky and Sandy Seafloor Offshore California

Image of ripples in sand, next to a rocky surface on the seafloor 2.5 km (1.5 miles) offshore San Mateo County, California at a depth of 24.6 meters (81 feet). The two red dots in the image (from lasers mounted on the camera and used as reference points) are 15 cm (6 inches) apart.

 

Image of ripples in sand, next to a rocky surface on the seafloor 2.5 km (1.5 miles) offshore San Mateo County, California at a depth of 24.6 meters (81 feet). The two red dots in the image (from lasers mounted on the camera and used as reference points) are 15 cm (6 inches) apart.

 

Mouth of the Elwha River during dam removal
Mouth of the Elwha River during dam removal
Mouth of the Elwha River during dam removal
Mouth of the Elwha River during dam removal

Aerial photograph of the mouth of the Elwha River where it meets the Strait of Juan de Fuca during the removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams, Washington State, USA. Aerial assistance by LightHawk and plane piloted by Dr. Hunter Handsfield.

Aerial photograph of the mouth of the Elwha River where it meets the Strait of Juan de Fuca during the removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams, Washington State, USA. Aerial assistance by LightHawk and plane piloted by Dr. Hunter Handsfield.

A man carries a bundle of material along a dock near a boat.
Research vessel Centennial
Research vessel Centennial
Research vessel Centennial

Loading the research vessel (R/V) Centennial at its home port, Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington, on San Juan Island, Washington.

Loading the research vessel (R/V) Centennial at its home port, Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington, on San Juan Island, Washington.

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