Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Publications
An introduction to the “Oceans and Society: Blue Planet” Initiative
We live on a blue planet, and Earth’s waters benefit many sectors of society. The future of our blue planet is increasingly reliant on the services delivered by marine, coastal and inland waters and on the advancement of effective, evidence-based decisions on sustainable development. “Oceans and Society: Blue Planet” (hereafter denoted as “GEO...
Smail, Emily A; DiGiacomo, Paul; Seeave, Sophie; Djavidnia, Samy; Celliers, Louis; Le Traon, Pierre-Yves; Gault, Jeremy; Escobar-Briones, Elva; Plag, Hans-Peter; Pequignet, Christine; Bajona, Lenore; Zhang, Lin; Pearlman, Jay; Steven, Andy; Hodge, Jon; Racault, Fanny-Mae; Storlazzi, Curt D.; Skirving, Willam
Offshore shallow structure and sediment distribution, Point Sur to Point Arguello, central California
This publication consists of three map sheets that display shallow geologic structure, along with sediment distribution and thickness, for an about 225-km-long offshore section of the central California coast between Point Sur and Point Arguello. Each map sheet includes three maps, at scales of either 1:150,000 or 1:200,000, as well as a set of...
Johnson, Samuel Y.; Hartwell, Stephen R.; Watt, Janet T.; Beeson, Jeffrey W.; Dartnell, Peter Morphology and genesis of giant seafloor depressions on the southeasterncontinental shelf of the Korean Peninsula
We identify and describe five giant seafloor depressions from the southeastern continental shelf of the Korean Peninsula using multibeam bathymetry, sub-bottom profiler, and multi-channel seismic reflection data, supplemented by piston cores. Multibeam bathymetry data from the shelf show four crescent-shaped depressions (SD1 to SD4) and one near-...
Cukur, Deniz; Kong, Gee-Soo; Chun, Jong-Hwa; Kang, Moo-Hee; Um, In-Kwon; Kwon, Taekhyun; Johnson, Samuel; Kim, Kyong-O A combinatorial approach to determine earthquake magnitude distributions on a variable slip-rate fault
Combinatorial methods are used to determine the spatial distribution of earthquake magnitudes on a fault whose slip rate varies along strike. Input to the problem is a finite sample of earthquake magnitudes that span 5 kyr drawn from a truncated Pareto distribution. The primary constraints to the problem are maximum and minimum values around the...
Geist, Eric L.; Parsons, Thomas E.
The major coral reefs of Maui Nui, Hawai‘i—distribution, physical characteristics, oceanographic controls, and environmental threats
Coral reefs are widely recognized as critical to Hawaiʻi’s economy, food resources, and protection from damaging storm waves. Yet overfishing, land-based pollution, and climate change are threatening the health and sustainability of those reefs, and accordingly, both the Federal and State governments have called for protection and effective...
Field, Michael E.; Storlazzi, Curt D.; Gibbs, Ann E.; D'Antonio, Nicole L.; Cochran, Susan A. The roles of flow acceleration and deceleration in sediment suspension in the surf zone
Prediction of sediment suspension in the surf zone remains elusive. We explore how suspended sediment concentration at 19 cm above the bed in the mid-surf zone during a storm is influenced by flow acceleration and deceleration. There is a tendency for higher suspended sediment concentrations during onshore flow, with decelerating onshore flows...
Jaffe, Bruce E.; La Selle, Seanpaul Linking direct measurements of turbidity currents to submarine canyon-floor deposits
Submarine canyons are conduits for episodic and powerful sediment density flows (commonly called turbidity currents) that move globally significant amounts of terrestrial sediment and organic carbon into the deep sea, forming some of the largest sedimentary deposits on Earth. The only record available for most turbidity currents is the deposit...
Maier, Katherine L.; Gales, Jenny; Paull, Charles K.; Rosenberger, Kurt J.; Talling, Peter J.; Simmons, Stephen; Gwiazda, Roberto; McGann, Mary; Cartigny, Matthieu J.B.; Lundsten, Eve M.; Anderson, Krystle; Clare, Michael; Xu, Jingping; Parsons, Daniel; Barry, James P.; Wolfson-Schwher, Monica; Nieminski, Nora M.; Sumner, Esther J The risk reduction benefits of the Mesoamerican Reef in Mexico
Coastal development and climate change are dramatically increasing the risks of flooding, erosion, and extreme weather events. Coral reefs and other coastal ecosystems act as natural defenses against coastal hazards, but their degradation increases risk to people and property. Environmental degradation, however, has rarely been quantified as a...
Reguero, Borja G.; Secaira, Fernando; Toimil, Alexandra; Escudero, Mireille; Diaz-Simal, Pedro; Beck, Michael W.; Silva, Rodolfo; Storlazzi, Curt D.; Losada, Iñigo The influence of sea level on incident and infragravity wave-driven sediment dynamics across a fringing coral reef
Coral reefs generate significant volumes of carbonate sediment that becomes the primary source of beach material along many low-latitude shorelines that protect hundreds of millions of people globally. Despite this fact, there is little understanding of the specific processes that transport the carbonate sediment produced on the outer portions of...
Storlazzi, Curt D.; Cheriton, Olivia; Rosenberger, Kurt J.; Pomeroy, Andrew; Lowe, Ryan J. Measuring settling velocity in a strongly tidal estuary
Predicting sediment transport in estuarine systems requires understanding sediment settling velocity, its range of fluctuations, and the shortcomings of the tools to measure it. Previous studies have used Laser In-Situ Scattering and Transmissometry (LISST) instruments to measure particle size and Acoustic Doppler Velocimeters (ADV) to return...
Allen, Rachel (Contractor); Lacy, Jessica R.; Variano, Evan A Controls on sediment transport over coral reefs off southwest Puerto Rico: Seasonal patterns and Hurricane Maria
Guánica Bay in southwest Puerto Rico is highly turbid and has some of the highest PCB concentrations in the USA. To investigate how and to what extent the bay waters influence coral reef ecosystem health along the coastline, 6 months of hydrodynamic data were collected at 8 sites on the insular shelf. Bed shear stresses were primarily driven by...
Cheriton, Olivia; Storlazzi, Curt D.; Rosenberger, Kurt J.; Sherman, Clark Evidence for frequent, large tsunamis spanning locked and creeping parts of the Aleutian megathrust
At the eastern end of the 1957 Andreanof Islands magnitude-8.6 earthquake rupture, Driftwood Bay (Umnak Island) and Stardust Bay (Sedanka Island) lie along presently locked and creeping parts of the Aleutian megathrust, respectively, based on satellite geodesy onshore. Both bays, located 200-km apart, face the Aleutian trench and harbor coastal...
Witter, Robert C.; Briggs, Richard W.; Engelhart, Simon E.; Gelfenbaum, Guy R.; Koehler, Richard D; Nelson, Alan R.; La Selle, Seanpaul; Corbett, Reide; Wallace, Kristi