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
A new study published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports looks at how even modest sea-level rise threatens coastal communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems by pushing them past their “tipping points.”
Read articleFeatured USGS Report
In this USGS Open-File Report, researchers combined engineering, ecologic, geospatial, social, and economic data and tools to value the increased risks in Florida and Puerto Rico from hurricane-induced damages to their adjacent coral reefs.
Read reportSound Waves Newsletter
In this special issue of the Sound Waves newsletter, explore the benefits provided by coral reefs off Florida and Puerto Rico - including flood risk reduction and protection for people, property, and natural resources.
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Rigorously valuing the coastal hazard risks reduction provided by potential coral reef restoration in Florida and Puerto Rico
The restoration of coastal habitats, particularly coral reefs, can reduce risks by decreasing the exposure of coastal communities to flooding hazards. In the United States, the protective services provided by coral reefs were recently assessed in social and economic terms, with the annual protection provided by U.S. coral reefs off the coasts of...
Storlazzi, Curt D.; Reguero, Borja G.; Cumming, Kristen A.; Cole, Aaron D.; Shope, James B.; Gaido L., Camila; Viehman, T. Shay; Nickel, Barry A.; Beck, Michael W.
Rigorously valuing the impact of projected coral reef degradation on coastal hazard risk in Florida
The degradation of coastal habitats, particularly coral reefs, raises risks by increasing the exposure of coastal communities to flooding hazards. In the United States, the physical protective services provided by coral reefs were recently assessed, in social and economic terms, with the annual protection provided by U.S. coral reefs off the coast...
Storlazzi, Curt D.; Reguero, Borja G.; Yates, Kimberly K.; Cumming, Kristen A.; Cole, Aaron D.; Shope, James B.; Gaido L., Camila; Zawada, David G.; Arsenault, Stephanie R.; Fehr, Zachery W.; Nickel, Barry A.; Beck, Michael W.
Rigorously valuing the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on coastal hazard risks in Florida and Puerto Rico
The degradation of coastal habitats, particularly coral reefs, raises risks by increasing the exposure of coastal communities to flooding hazards. In the United States, the physical protective services provided by coral reefs were recently assessed in social and economic terms, with the annual protection provided by U.S. coral reefs off the coasts...
Storlazzi, Curt D.; Reguero, Borja G.; Viehman, T. Shay; Cumming, Kristen A.; Cole, Aaron D.; Shope, James B.; Groves, Sarah H.; Gaido L., Camila; Nickel, Barry A.; Beck, Michael W.
Watershed sediment yield following the 2018 Carr Fire, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, northern California
Wildfire risk has increased in recent decades over many regions, due to warming climate and other factors. Increased sediment export from recently burned landscapes can jeopardize downstream infrastructure and water resources, but physical landscape response to fire has not been quantified for some at-risk areas, including much of northern...
East, Amy E.; Logan, Joshua B.; Dartnell, Peter; Lieber-Kotz, Oren; Cavagnaro, David B.; McCoy, Scott W.; Lindsay, Donald N. Labeling poststorm coastal imagery for machine learning: Measurement of interrater agreement
Classifying images using supervised machine learning (ML) relies on labeled training data—classes or text descriptions, for example, associated with each image. Data-driven models are only as good as the data used for training, and this points to the importance of high-quality labeled data for developing a ML model that has predictive skill....
Goldstein, Evan B.; Buscombe, Daniel D.; Lazarus, Eli D.; Mohanty, Somya; Rafique, Shah N.; Anarde, K A; Ashton, Andrew D; Beuzen, Tomas; Castagno, Katherine A.; Cohn, Nicholas; Conlin, Matthew P.; Ellenson, Ashley; Gillen, Megan; Hovenga, Paige A.; Over, Jin-Si R.; Palermo, Rose V.; Ratlif, Katherine; Reeves, Ian R; Sanborn, Lily H.; Straub, Jessamin A.; Taylor, Luke A.; Wallace, Elizabeth J.; Warrick, Jonathan; Wernette, Phillipe Alan; Williams, Hannah E Flooding duration and volume more important than peak discharge in explaining 18 years of gravel–cobble river change
Floods play a critical role in geomorphic change, but whether peak magnitude, duration, volume, or frequency determines the resulting magnitude of erosion and deposition is a question often proposed in geomorphic effectiveness studies. This study investigated that question using digital elevation model differencing to compare and contrast three...
Gervasi, Arielle; Pasternack, Gregory; East, Amy E. Rebounds, regresses, and recovery: A 15-year study of the coral reef community at Pila‘a, Kaua‘i after decades of natural and anthropogenic stress events
Pila‘a reef on the north shore of Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i was subjected to a major flood event in 2001 that deposited extensive sediment on the reef flat, resulting in high coral mortality. To document potential recovery, this study replicated benthic and sediment surveys conducted immediately following the event and 15 years later. Coral cores were...
Rodgers, Ku'ulei S.; Richards Dona, A.; Stender, Y. O.; Tsang, A. O.; Han, J. H. J.; Weible, Rebecca; Prouty, Nancy G.; Storlazzi, Curt D.; Graham, Andrew M.
Assessment of barrier island morphological change in northern Alaska
Arctic barriers islands are highly dynamic features influenced by a variety of oceanographic, geologic, and environmental factors. Many Alaskan barrier islands and spits serve as habitat and protection for native species, as well as shelter the coast from waves and storms that cause flooding and degradation of coastal villages. This study...
Hamilton, Anna I.; Gibbs, Ann E.; Erikson, Li H.; Engelstad, Anita C. Drivers of extreme water levels in a large, urban, high-energy coastal estuary – A case study of the San Francisco Bay
Reliable and long-term hindcast data of water levels are essential in quantifying return period and values of extreme water levels. In order to inform design decisions on a local flood control district level, process-based numerical modeling has proven an essential tool to provide the needed temporal and spatial coverage for different extreme...
Nederhoff, Kees; Saleh, Rohin; Tehranirad, Babak; Herdman, Liv M.; Erikson, Li H.; Barnard, Patrick L.; Van der Wegen, Mick Cohesive sediment modeling in a shallow estuary: Model and environmental implications of sediment parameter variation
Numerical models of sediment transport in estuarine systems rely on parameter values that are often poorly constrained and can vary on timescales relevant to model processes. The selection of parameter values can affect the accuracy of model predictions, while environmental variation of these parameters can impact the temporal and spatial ranges...
Allen, Rachel; Lacy, Jessica R.; Stevens, Andrew W. Miocene phosphatization of rocks from the summit of Rio Grande Rise, Southwest Atlantic Ocean
Marine phosphorites are an important part of the oceanic phosphorus cycle and are related to the effects of long-term global climate changes. We use petrography, mineralogy, rare earth elements contents, and 87Sr/86Sr-determined carbonate fluorapatite (CFA) and calcite ages to investigate the paragenesis and history of phosphatization of...
Benites, Mariana; Hein, James R.; Mizell, Kira; Jovane, Luigi
Geologic and geophysical maps of the Santa Maria and part of the Point Conception 30'×60' quadrangles, California
This report presents digital geologic, gravity, and aeromagnetic maps for the onshore parts of the Santa Maria and Point Conception 30'x60' quadrangles at a compilation scale of 1:100,000. The map depicts the distribution of bedrock units, surficial deposits, paleontological data, geophysical data and structural features in the Santa Maria basin...
Sweetkind, Donald S.; Langenheim, Victoria E.; McDougall-Reid, Kristin; Sorlien, Christopher C.; Demas, Shiera C.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Johnson, Samuel Y.