Publications
Scientific reports, journal articles, and information products produced by USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center scientists.
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Filter Total Items: 1466
The influence of wave energy and sediment transport on seagrass distribution The influence of wave energy and sediment transport on seagrass distribution
A coupled hydrodynamic and sediment transport model (Delft3D) was used to simulate the water levels, waves, and currents associated with a seagrass (Zostera marina) landscape along a 4-km stretch of coast in Puget Sound, WA, USA. A hydroacoustic survey of seagrass percent cover and nearshore bathymetry was conducted, and sediment grain size was sampled at 53 locations. Wave energy is a...
Authors
Andrew W. Stevens, Jessica R. Lacy
Basins in ARC-continental collisions Basins in ARC-continental collisions
Arc-continent collisions occur commonly in the plate-tectonic cycle and result in rapidly formed and rapidly collapsing orogens, often spanning just 5-15 My. Growth of continental masses through arc-continent collision is widely thought to be a major process governing the structural and geochemical evolution of the continental crust over geologic time. Collisions of intra-oceanic arcs...
Authors
Amy E. Draut, Peter D. Clift
Chapter two: Phenomenology of tsunamis II: Scaling, event statistics, and inter-event triggering Chapter two: Phenomenology of tsunamis II: Scaling, event statistics, and inter-event triggering
Observations related to tsunami catalogs are reviewed and described in a phenomenological framework. An examination of scaling relationships between earthquake size (as expressed by scalar seismic moment and mean slip) and tsunami size (as expressed by mean and maximum local run-up and maximum far-field amplitude) indicates that scaling is significant at the 95% confidence level...
Authors
Eric L. Geist
The FOBIMO (FOraminiferal BIo-MOnitoring) initiative—Towards a standardised protocol for soft-bottom benthic foraminiferal monitoring studies The FOBIMO (FOraminiferal BIo-MOnitoring) initiative—Towards a standardised protocol for soft-bottom benthic foraminiferal monitoring studies
The European Community Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) was established to provide guidelines for monitoring the quality of marine ecosystems. Monitoring the status of marine environments is traditionally based on macrofauna surveys, for which standardised methods have been established. Benthic foraminifera are also good indicators of environmental status because of their fast...
Authors
Joachim Schoenfeld, Elisabeth Alve, Emmanuelle Geslin, Frans Jorissen, Sergei Korsun, Silva Spezzaferri, Sigal Abramovich, Ahuva Almogi-Labin, Eric Armynot du Chatelet, Christine Barras, Luisa Bergamin, Erica Bicchi, Vincent Bouchet, Alejandro Cearreta, Letizia Di Bella, Noortje Dijkstra, Sibelle Trevisan Disaro, Luciana Ferraro, Fabrizio Frontalini, Giordana Gennari, Elena Golikova, Kristin Haynert, Silvia Hess, Katrine Husum, Virginia Martins, Mary McGann, Shai Oron, Elena Romano, Silvia Mello Sousa, Akira Tsujimoto
Slip rate on the San Diego trough fault zone, inner California Borderland, and the 1986 Oceanside earthquake swarm revisited Slip rate on the San Diego trough fault zone, inner California Borderland, and the 1986 Oceanside earthquake swarm revisited
The San Diego trough fault zone (SDTFZ) is part of a 90-km-wide zone of faults within the inner California Borderland that accommodates motion between the Pacific and North American plates. Along with most faults offshore southern California, the slip rate and paleoseismic history of the SDTFZ are unknown. We present new seismic reflection data that show that the fault zone steps across...
Authors
Holly F. Ryan, James E. Conrad, C. K. Paull, Mary McGann
Synthesis study of an erosion hot spot, Ocean Beach, California Synthesis study of an erosion hot spot, Ocean Beach, California
A synthesis of multiple coastal morphodynamic research efforts is presented to identify the processes responsible for persistent erosion along a 1-km segment of 7-km-long Ocean Beach in San Francisco, California. The beach is situated adjacent to a major tidal inlet and in the shadow of the ebb-tidal delta at the mouth of San Francisco Bay. Ocean Beach is exposed to a high-energy wave...
Authors
Patrick L. Barnard, Jeff E. Hansen, Li H. Erikson
Time-dependent onshore tsunami response Time-dependent onshore tsunami response
While bulk measures of the onshore impact of a tsunami, including the maximum run-up elevation and inundation distance, are important for hazard planning, the temporal evolution of the onshore flow dynamics likely controls the extent of the onshore destruction and the erosion and deposition of sediment that occurs. However, the time-varying dynamics of actual tsunamis are even more...
Authors
Alex Apotsos, Guy R. Gelfenbaum, Bruce E. Jaffe
Validation of a coupled wave-flow model in a high-energy setting: the mouth of the Columbia River Validation of a coupled wave-flow model in a high-energy setting: the mouth of the Columbia River
A monthlong time series of wave, current, salinity, and suspended-sediment measurements was made at five sites on a transect across the Mouth of Columbia River (MCR). These data were used to calibrate and evaluate the performance of a coupled hydrodynamic and wave model for the MCR based on the Delft3D modeling system. The MCR is a dynamic estuary inlet in which tidal currents, river...
Authors
Edwin P.L. Elias, Guy R. Gelfenbaum, Andre J. van der Westhuysen
Beach response dynamics of a littoral cell using a 17-year single-point time series of sand thickness Beach response dynamics of a littoral cell using a 17-year single-point time series of sand thickness
A 17-year time series of near-daily sand thickness measurements at a single intertidal location was compared with 5 years of semi-annual 3-dimensional beach surveys at the same beach, and at two other beaches within the same littoral cell. The daily single point measurements correlated extremely well with the mean beach elevation and shoreline position of ten high-spatial resolution...
Authors
Patrick L. Barnard, D.M. Hubbard, J.E. Dugan
Macondo-1 well oil-derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in mesozooplankton from the northern Gulf of Mexico Macondo-1 well oil-derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in mesozooplankton from the northern Gulf of Mexico
Mesozooplankton (>200 μm) collected in August and September of 2010 from the northern Gulf of Mexico show evidence of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that distributions of PAHs extracted from mesozooplankton were related to the oil released from the ruptured British Petroleum Macondo-1 (M-1) well associated with the R...
Authors
Siddhartha Mitra, David G. Kimmel, Jessica Snyder, Kimberly Scalise, Benjamin D. McGlaughon, Michael R. Roman, Ginger L. Jahn, James J. Pierson, Stephen B. Brandt, Joseph P. Montoya, Robert J. Rosenbauer, T.D. Lorenson, Florence L. Wong, Pamela L. Campbell
Nearshore bathymetric evolution on a high-energy beach during the 2009-10 El Nino winter Nearshore bathymetric evolution on a high-energy beach during the 2009-10 El Nino winter
The nearshore bathymetric evolution of a high-energy beach at the mouth of San Francisco Bay, California (USA), was tracked before, during, and after the powerful El Niño winter of 2009-10 to quantify alongshore bar formation and migration as well as the magnitude and alongshore variability of cross-shore transport. The observed deep-water winter wave energy was among the highest ever...
Authors
Patrick L. Barnard, Daniel J. Hoover, Jeffrey A. Hansen
Palos Verdes Shelf oceanographic study; data report for observations December 2007–April 2008 Palos Verdes Shelf oceanographic study; data report for observations December 2007–April 2008
Beginning in 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defined a contaminated section of the Palos Verdes Shelf region in southern California as a Superfund Site, initiating a continuing investigation of this area. The investigation involved the EPA, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts...
Authors
Kurt J. Rosenberger, Marlene A. Noble, Christopher R. Sherwood, Marinna M. Martini, Joanne T. Ferreira, Ellyn T. Montgomery