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Publications

Scientific reports, journal articles, and information products produced by USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center scientists.

Filter Total Items: 1426

Identification of storm events and contiguous coastal sections for deterministic modeling of extreme coastal flood events in response to climate change Identification of storm events and contiguous coastal sections for deterministic modeling of extreme coastal flood events in response to climate change

Deterministic dynamical modeling of future climate conditions and associated hazards, such as flooding, can be computationally-expensive if century-long time-series of waves, sea level variations, and overland flow patterns are simulated. To alleviate some of the computational costs, local impacts of individual coastal storms can be explored by first identifying particular events or...
Authors
Li H. Erikson, Antonio Espejo, Patrick L. Barnard, Katherine A. Serafin, Christie Hegermiller, Andrea C. O'Neill, Peter Ruggerio, Patrick W. Limber, Fernando J. Mendez

Subsurface controls on the development of the Cape Fear Slide Complex, central US Atlantic Margin Subsurface controls on the development of the Cape Fear Slide Complex, central US Atlantic Margin

The Cape Fear Slide is one of the largest (>25 000 km3) submarine slope failure complexes on the US Atlantic margin. Here we use a combination of new high-resolution multichannel seismic data (MCS) from the National Science Foundation Geodynamic Processes at Rifting and Subducting Margins (NSF GeoPRISMS) Community Seismic Experiment and legacy industry MCS to derive detailed stratigraphy...
Authors
Jenna C. Hill, Daniel S. Brothers, Matthew J. Hornbach, Derek E. Sawyer, Donna J. Shillington, Anne Becel

Inhibition of grain boundary sliding creep in fine-grained ice by inter-granular particles: Implications for planetary ice masses Inhibition of grain boundary sliding creep in fine-grained ice by inter-granular particles: Implications for planetary ice masses

Ice in both terrestrial and planetary settings often contains rock particles. Here we present an experimental investigation of the influence of intergranular particles on the rheological behavior of ice. Experiments were performed on samples fabricated from 10‐μm ice powders +1‐μm graphite or 0.8‐μm alumina particles and subjected to elevated confining pressures. A critical particle...
Authors
Chao Qi, Laura A. Stern, Asmin Pathare, William B. Durham, David L. Goldsby

Do we know how much fluvial sediment reaches the sea? Decreased river monitoring of U.S. coastal rivers Do we know how much fluvial sediment reaches the sea? Decreased river monitoring of U.S. coastal rivers

Given the present and future changing climate and human changes to land use and river control, river sediment fluxes to coastal systems are changing and will continue to change in the future. To delineate these changes and their effects, it is increasingly important to document the fluxes of river-borne sediment discharged to the sea. Unfortunately, broad-scale river sediment monitoring...
Authors
Jonathan A. Warrick, John D. Milliman

Bed shear stress estimation under wave conditions using near-bottom measurements: Comparison of methods Bed shear stress estimation under wave conditions using near-bottom measurements: Comparison of methods

Understanding the influence of waves on bed shear stress is critical for predicting morphodynamical behaviours in coastal areas. Near-bed flow was measured on the middle and lower intertidal mudflats along the Jiangsu coast, China, using a three-dimensional acoustic velocimeter that collected a 3.5-cm vertical profile at 1mm resolution and sample rate of 25 Hz. On the lower and middle...
Authors
Qian Zhang, Zheng Gong, Changkuan Zhang, Jessica R. Lacy, Bruce E. Jaffe, Beibei Xu

Modeling morphodynamic development in the Alviso Slough system, South San Francisco Bay, California Modeling morphodynamic development in the Alviso Slough system, South San Francisco Bay, California

Alviso Slough area, South San Francisco Bay, California, is the site of an ongoing effort to restore former salt production ponds to intertidal habitat. As restoration proceeds and the levees surrounding the former salt production ponds are breached, the increase in tidal prism and associated sediment scour in the sloughs will remobilize legacy mercury deposits. A numerical model that is...
Authors
Mick Van der Wegen, Johan Reyes, Bruce Jaffe, Amy Foxgrover

Mineral phase-element associations based on sequential leaching of ferromanganese crusts, Amerasia Basin Arctic Ocean Mineral phase-element associations based on sequential leaching of ferromanganese crusts, Amerasia Basin Arctic Ocean

Ferromanganese (FeMn) crusts from Mendeleev Ridge, Chukchi Borderland, and Alpha Ridge, in the Amerasia Basin, Arctic Ocean, are similar based on morphology and chemical composition. The crusts are characterized by a two- to four-layered stratigraphy. The chemical composition of the Arctic crusts differs significantly from hydrogenetic crusts from elsewhere of global ocean by high mean...
Authors
Natalia Konstantinova, James R. Hein, Amy Gartman, Kira Mizell, Pedro Barrulas, Georgy Cherkashov, Pavel Mikhailik, Alexander Khanchuk

Tropical cyclone projections: Changing climate threats for Pacific Island defense installations Tropical cyclone projections: Changing climate threats for Pacific Island defense installations

Potential changing climate threats in the tropical and subtropical North Pacific Ocean were assessed, using coupled ocean-atmosphere and atmosphere-only general circulation models, to explore their response to projected increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Tropical cyclone occurrence, described by their frequency and intensity, near islands housing major U.S. defense installations was...
Authors
Matthew J. Widlansky, Hariharasubramanian Annamalai, Stephen B. Gingerich, Curt D. Storlazzi, John J. Marra, Kevin I. Hodges, Barry Choy, Akio Kitoh

SPT-based probabilistic and deterministic assessment of seismic soil liquefaction triggering hazard SPT-based probabilistic and deterministic assessment of seismic soil liquefaction triggering hazard

This study serves as an update to the Cetin et al. (2000, 2004) [1,2] databases and presents new liquefaction triggering curves. Compared with these studies from over a decade ago, the resulting new Standard Penetration Test (SPT)-based triggering curves have shifted to slightly higher CSR-levels for a given N1,60,CS for values of N1,60,CS greater than 15 blows/ft, but the correlation...
Authors
K. Onder Cetin, Raymond B. Seed, Armen Der Kiureghian, Robert Kayen, Robb E. S. Moss, H. Tolga Bilge, M. Ilgac, S.M. Chowdhury, Kohji Tokimatsu

Formation and occurrence of ferromanganese crusts: Earth’s storehouse for critical metals Formation and occurrence of ferromanganese crusts: Earth’s storehouse for critical metals

Marine ferromanganese oxide crusts (Fe–Mn crusts) are potentially important metal resources formed on the seafloor by precipitation of dissolved and colloidal components from ambient seawater onto rocky surfaces. The unique properties and slow growth rates of the crusts promote adsorption of numerous elements from seawater: some, such as Te and Co, reach concentrations rarely encountered...
Authors
Paul A. Lusty, James R. Hein, Pierre Josso

Mineralization at oceanic transform faults and fracture zones Mineralization at oceanic transform faults and fracture zones

Mineral formation in the modern oceans can take place over millions of years as a result precipitation from ambient ocean water, or orders of magnitude more rapidly from hydrothermal activity related to magmatic and tectonic processes. Here, we review associations between transform faults and related fracture zones and marine minerals. We define marine transform faults as strike-slip or...
Authors
Amy Gartman, James R. Hein

Hydrodynamics of a tidally‐forced coral reef atoll Hydrodynamics of a tidally‐forced coral reef atoll

The hydrodynamics of a tidally forced semi‐enclosed coral reef atoll (North Scott) at the edge of the continental shelf of northwestern Australia were investigated by combining field observations and numerical modeling. The observations revealed that the spring tidal range outside the atoll reaches 4 m, and as the water level drops below mean sea level, the reef rim surrounding the...
Authors
Rebecca H. Green, Ryan J. Lowe, Mark L. Buckley
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