Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Publications
Search for scientific reports, publications, and information products produced by Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center staff. Also browse the USGS Publications Warehouse to broaden your search with enhanced filtering.
Featured Journal Article
Research published in the journal Science Advances reveals how the interaction between ocean islands and extreme storms can generate underwater currents that make the storms more powerful.
Read articleFeatured USGS Report
USGS report investigates the sedimentary and geomorphic processes in eastern Chuckwalla Valley, California, a region of arid, basin-and-range terrain where extensive solar-energy development is planned.
Read reportSound Waves Newsletter
Our newsletter, produced by the USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Reources Program, presents coastal and ocean research news from across the USGS.
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Short communication: evidence for geologic control of rip channels along Prince Edward Island, Canada
Rip currents can move unsuspecting swimmers offshore rapidly and represent a significant risk to beach users worldwide, including along the northern coast of Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada. Although many rip currents are ephemeral and/or spatially variable in response to changes in the nearshore bar morphology and wave and tidal forcing, it is...
Wernette, Phillipe Alan; Houser, Chris Rapid observations of ocean dynamics and stratification along a steep island coast during Hurricane María
Hurricanes are extreme storms that affect coastal communities, but the linkages between hurricane forcing and ocean dynamics remain poorly understood. Here, we present full water column observations at unprecedented resolution from the southwest Puerto Rico insular shelf and slope during Hurricane María, representing a rare set of high-frequency,...
Cheriton, Olivia; Storlazzi, Curt; Rosenberger, Kurt J.; Sherman, Clark E; Schmidt, Wilford Coral reef restorations can be optimized to reduce coastal flooding hazards
Coral reefs are effective natural coastal flood barriers that protect adjacent communities. Coral degradation compromises the coastal protection value of reefs while also reducing their other ecosystem services, making them a target for restoration. Here we provide a physics-based evaluation of how coral restoration can reduce coastal flooding for...
Roelvink, Floortje; Storlazzi, Curt; van Dongeren, Ap; Pearson, Stuart Changes in seabed mining
Chapter 23 of the First World Ocean Assessment (WOA I) focused on marine mining, and particularly on established extractive industries, which are predominantly confined to near-shore areas, where shallow-water, near-shore aggregate and placer deposits, and somewhat deeper water phosphate deposits are found (United Nations, 2017a). At the time of...
Hein, James R.; Madureira, Pedro; Bebianno, Maria João; Colaço, Ana; Pinheiro, Luis M.; Roth, Richard; Singh, Pradeep K.; Strati, Anastasia; Tuhumwire, Joshua T. The value of US coral reefs for flood risk reduction
Habitats, such as coral reefs, can mitigate increasing flood damages through coastal protection services. We provide a fine-scale, national valuation of the flood risk reduction benefits of coral habitats to people, property, economies and infrastructure. Across 3,100 km of US coastline, the top-most 1 m of coral reefs prevents the 100-yr flood...
Reguero, Borja G.; Storlazzi, Curt; Gibbs, Ann E.; Shope, James B.; Cole, Aaron D.; Cumming, Kristen A.; Beck, Mike
Landscape evolution in eastern Chuckwalla Valley, Riverside County, California
This study investigates sedimentary and geomorphic processes in eastern Chuckwalla Valley, Riverside County, California, a region of arid, basin-and-range terrain where extensive solar-energy development is planned. The objectives of this study were to (1) measure local weather parameters and use them to model aeolian sediment-transport potential...
East, Amy E.; Gray, Harrison J.; Redsteer, Margaret Hiza; Ballmer, Matthew Expanding the repertoire of electron acceptors for the anaerobic oxidation of methane in carbonates in the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean
Authigenic carbonates represent a significant microbial sink for methane, yet little is known about the microbiome responsible for the methane removal. We identify carbonate microbiomes distributed over 21 locations hosted by seven different cold seeps in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans by carrying out a gene-based survey using 16S rRNA- and ...
Beckmann, Sabrina; Farag, Ibrahim F.; Zhao, Rui; Christman, Glenn; Prouty, Nancy G.; Biddle, Jennifer F. Potential use of the benthic foraminifers Bulimina denudata and Eggerelloides advenus in marine sediment toxicity testing
The benthic foraminifers Bulimina denudata and Eggerelloides advenus are commonly abundant in offshore regions in the Pacific Ocean, especially in waste-discharge sites. The relationship between their abundance and standard macrofaunal sediment toxicity tests (amphipod survival and sea urchin fertilization) as well as sediment...
McGann, Mary The making of the NEAM Tsunami Hazard Model 2018 (NEAMTHM18)
The NEAM Tsunami Hazard Model 2018 (NEAMTHM18) is a probabilistic hazard model for tsunamis generated by earthquakes. It covers the coastlines of the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and connected seas (NEAM). NEAMTHM18 was designed as a three-phase project. The first two phases were dedicated to the model development and hazard...
Basili, Roberto; Brizuela, Beatriz; Herrero, Andre; Iqbal, Sarfraz; Lorito, Stefano; Maesano, Francesco Emanuele; Murphy, Shane; Perfetti, Paolo; Romano, Fabrizio; Scala, Antonio; Selva, Jacopo; Taroni, Matteo; Tiberti, Mara Monica; Thio, Hong Kie; Tonini, R.; Volpe, Manuela; Glimsdal, Sylfest; Harbitz, Carl B.; Lovholt, Finn; Baptista, Maria Ana; Carrilho, Fernando; Matias, Luis M. A.; Omira, Rachid; Babeyko, Andrey; Hoechner, Andreas; Gurbuz, Mucahit; Pekcan, Onur; Yalciner, A.; Canals, Miquel; Lastras, Galderic; Agalos, Apostolos; Papadapoulos, Gerassimo; Triantafyllou, Ioanna; Benchekroun, Sabah; Jaouadi, Hedi Agrebi; Abdallah, Samir Ben; Bouallegue, Atef; Hamdi, Hassene; Oueslati, Foued; Amato, A.; Armigliato, Alberto; Behrens, Jörn; Davies, Gareth; Di Bucci, Daniela; Dolce, Mauro; Geist, Eric L.; Gonzalez Vida, Jose Manuel; Gonzalez, Mauricio; Sanchez, Jorges Macias; Meletti, C.; Sozdinler, Ceren Ozer; Pagani, Marco; Parsons, Tom; Polet, Jascha; Power, William; Sorensen, Mathilde B.; Zaytsev, Andrey The role of surges during periods of very shallow water on sediment transport over tidal flats
Periods of very shallow water (water depth in the order of 10 cm) occur daily on tidal flats because of the propagation of tides over very gently sloping beds, leading to distinct morphodynamical phenomena. To improve the understanding of the characteristics of velocity and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) surges and their contribution to...
Zhang, Qian; Gong, Zheng; Zhang, Changkuan; Lacy, Jessica R.; Jaffe, Bruce E.; Xu, Beibei; Chen, Xindi Deepwater debrites and linked megaturbidites in confined basins: An example from the Onnuri Basin, East Sea of Korea
We analyzed data from seven piston cores, multi-channel seismic-reflection (MCS) and chirp profiles, and multibeam echosounder (MBES) data to study the distribution, emplacement time, sedimentary facies, and depositional processes of sediment-gravity-flow deposits in the Onnuri Basin, a confined basin in the East Sea. These data reveal that debris...
Cukur, Deniz; Um, In-Kwon; Chun, Jong-Hwa; Lee, Gwang-Soo; Kong, Gee-Too; Johnson, Samuel; Horozal, Senay Preconditioning by sediment accumulation can produce powerful turbidity currents without major external triggers
Turbidity currents dominate sediment transfer into the deep ocean, and can damage critical seabed infrastructure. It is commonly inferred that powerful turbidity currents are triggered by major external events, such as storms, river floods, or earthquakes. However, basic models for turbidity current triggering remain poorly tested, with few...
Bailey, Lewis; Clare, Michael; Rosenberger, Kurt J.; Cartigny, Matthieu J.B.; Talling, Peter J.; Paull, Charles K.; Gwiazda, Roberto; Parsons, Daniel; Simmons, Stephen; Xu, Jingping; Haigh, Ivan; Maier, Katherine L.; McGann, Mary; Lundsten, Eve M.