Coral Reef Project
Science Center Objects
Explore the fascinating undersea world of coral reefs. Learn how we map, monitor, and model coral reefs so we can better understand, protect, and preserve our Nation's reefs.
Cerulean damselfish dart around lettuce coral off the Cape Range National Park along the Ningaloo Coast in Western Australia. USGS researchers combined forces with Australian colleagues in this UNESCO World Heritage Site to conduct the most extensive study of how erosion of reefs contribute sand to the beaches—a coast’s natural armor. With the threat of a rising sea and changes to the climate, understanding this connection can tell us how resilient the coast will be.
Coral reefs are unique ecosystems of plants, animals, and their associated geological framework. Coral reefs cover less than 0.5 percent of the earth's surface, but are home to an estimated 25 percent of all marine species. Second only to tropical rainforests in size and complexity, some scientists estimate that more than one million species of plants and animals are associated with coral reefs. Coral reefs are also of great economic importance to those who live on or visit islands in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Reefs shelter and provide nursery grounds for many commercially and culturally important species of fish and invertebrates, they protect the islands' harbors, beaches, and shorelines from erosion and wave damage by storms, and they are vital to the marine tourism industry. These diverse ecosystems provide valuable goods and services worth about $4 billion each year to the U.S.’s coastal communities. Yet, as important as coral reefs are, these ecosystems are being threatened worldwide.
More than 8,500 square miles (22,000 square kilometers) of coral reef habitat is found in U.S. waters. Most of these coral reefs still appear to be relatively healthy, but some areas of dead and dying coral have been found in recent years. The causes of this degradation are poorly known, but are probably in part related to human activities.
Photograph of waves breaking over the fringing coral reef that protects the shoreline of Waikīkī and infrastructure of Hawaiʻi's capital, Honolulu.
Credit: Brian Schmidt, licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), working closely with academic institutions, state, and other Federal agencies, is spearheading an effort to better understand the geologic and oceanographic controls on the structure and processes of our Nation's coral reef ecosystems.
This web site is a gateway to USGS studies of coral reefs. We focus on the geophysical processes that influence the health and sustainability of coral reefs. From this work we are gaining new insight into the structure of coral reefs, providing the basis for future monitoring, and understanding better both the influences of natural processes and impacts of human activities on coral reef health. These efforts will help to preserve and protect the biodiversity, health, and social and economic value of these remarkable habitats.
Read more coral reef facts.
Underwater photograph off Molokaʻi Hawaiʻi, showing some of the impacts of land-based pollution, such as terrestrial sediment, on coral reefs: burial by sediment, algal overgrowth, and coral bleaching.
Learn about our current studies by topic.
Climate Change and Land-use Histories
We are developing new and unique oceanographic and environmental archives from coral skeleton records to better understand the compounding effects of land-use and environmental change on coral reef health.
We are conducting geophysical and geochemical research to address questions about coastal groundwater-to-reef flow and coral reef health, with the goal of informing management decisions related to planning and implementing activities in priority watershed-coral reef systems.
Reef Hydrodynamics and Sediment Processes
We are developing a better understanding how tides, waves, currents, and both land- and reef-derived sediment influence the development of coral reefs and their adjacent shorelines.
Role of Reefs in Coastal Protection
We are combining ocean, engineering, ecologic, social, and economic modeling to provide a high-resolution, rigorous, spatially-explicit valuation of the coastal flood protection benefits provided by coral reefs and the cost effectiveness of reef restoration for enhancing those benefits.
Reef Resource Assessments - Planning for the Future
We are mapping and assessing all of the important geologic and oceanographic factors to identify those coral reefs most at risk and those reefs that are potentially the most resilient and the most likely to recover from natural and human-driven impacts.
Also, learn about our studies by location:
- Guam
- Hawai‛i
- Kaho‛olawe
- Kaua‛i
- Kwajalein Island
- Lāna‛i
- Maui
- Moloka‛i
- O‛ahu
- Puerto Rico
- Roi-Namur Island
- Tutuila
Please also see the associated Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies (CREST) Project website.
Our partners are numerous and include:
- U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF)
- Department of the Interior
- Other Federal Partners
- State Partners
- Territorial and Commonwealth Partners
- Guam Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources
- Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Land and Natural Resources
- American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources
- Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources
- U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources
- Academia
- University of California Santa Cruz - Institute of Marine Sciences
- University of Western Australia - Oceans Institute
- University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez - Center for Applied Ocean Science & Engineering
- University of Hawaiʻi - Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution - Department of Geology and Geophysics
- Delft University of Technology - Department of Hydraulic Engineering
- Queen's University - Department of Civil Engineering
- University of Cantabria - Department of Sciences and Techniques in Water and Environment
- Non-governmental Organizations
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Date published: April 15, 2021Status: ActiveCoral Reef Project: Puerto Rico
To better understand how waves move across coral reefs and cause flooding on tropical shorelines, USGS scientists have installed video cameras and oceanographic instruments off San Juan and Rincón, Puerto Rico. Their work is part of a study funded by USGS after Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The offshore instruments measure wave heights and speeds; the onshore video cameras show where waves break...
Contacts: Curt Storlazzi, PhD -
Date published: April 15, 2021Status: ActiveRole of Reefs in Coastal Protection
We are combining ocean, engineering, ecologic, social, and economic modeling to provide a high-resolution, rigorous, spatially-explicit valuation of the coastal flood protection benefits provided by coral reefs and the cost effectiveness of reef restoration for enhancing those benefits.
Contacts: Curt Storlazzi, PhD -
Date published: April 15, 2021Status: ActiveLow-lying areas of tropical Pacific islands
Sea level is rising faster than projected in the western Pacific, so understanding how wave-driven coastal flooding will affect inhabited, low-lying islands—most notably, the familiar ring-shaped atolls—as well as the low-elevation areas of high islands in the Pacific Ocean, is critical for decision-makers in protecting infrastructure or relocating resources and people.
Contacts: Curt Storlazzi, PhD -
Date published: April 15, 2021Status: ActiveCoral Reef Project: Oʻahu
As part of the Coral Reef Project, the USGS is working closely with other local groups to investigate poor water quality issues in Maunalua Bay on the southeast coast of Oʻahu.
Contacts: Curt Storlazzi, PhDAttribution: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center -
Date published: April 15, 2021Status: ActiveCoral Reef Project: Hawaiʻi
As part of the USGS Coral Reef Project, the USGS is working on the Kona (west) coast of Hawaiʻi to evaluate geologic resources at two historical parks.
Contacts: Curt Storlazzi, PhDAttribution: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center -
Date published: April 15, 2021Status: ActiveCoral Reef Project: Kauaʻi
As part of the USGS Coral Reef Project, the USGS is working on the island of Kauaʻi to identify circulation patterns and a sediment budget for Hanalei Bay to help determine any effects to the coastal marine ecosystem.
Contacts: Curt Storlazzi, PhDAttribution: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center -
Date published: April 15, 2021Status: ActiveCoral Reef Project: Tutuila
As part of the USGS Coral Reef Project, the USGS is working on Tutuila with its partners: 1.) in Faga’alu Bay to better understand the impacts of land-based pollutants on the coral reefs, and 2.) on the north coast to help determine the effects of circulation on nearshore waters.
Contacts: Curt Storlazzi, PhDAttribution: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center -
Date published: April 15, 2021Status: ActiveCoral Reef Project: Guam
As part of the USGS Coral Reef Project, the USGS is working on the west coast of Guam to help determine the effects of sedimentation in nearshore waters.
Contacts: Curt Storlazzi, PhDAttribution: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center -
Date published: April 15, 2021Status: ActiveCoral Reef Project: Kahoʻolawe
As part of the USGS Coral Reef Project, the USGS is trying to better understand how nearshore processes impact the deeper, scattered coral reef communities of Kahoʻolawe.
Contacts: Curt Storlazzi, PhDAttribution: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center -
Date published: April 15, 2021Status: ActiveCoral Reef Project: Lānaʻi
Little is actually known about the overall extent, biodiversity, morphology, or health of Lānaʻi’s reef tracks. As part of the USGS Coral Reef Project, the USGS collected high-resolution swath bathymetry data and underwater video and photography in early 2013 in order to develop high-resolution seafloor habitat and...
Contacts: Curt Storlazzi, PhDAttribution: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Year Published: 2019Rigorously valuing the role of U.S. coral reefs in coastal hazard risk reduction
The degradation of coastal habitats, particularly coral reefs, raises risks by increasing the exposure of coastal communities to flooding hazards. The protective services of these natural defenses are not assessed in the same rigorous economic terms as artificial defenses, such as seawalls, and therefore often are not considered in decision making...
Storlazzi, Curt D.; Reguero, Borja G.; Cole, Aaron D.; Lowe, Erik; Shope, James B.; Gibbs, Ann E.; Nickel, Barry A.; McCall, Robert T.; van Dongeren, Ap R.; Beck, Michael W.Attribution: Coasts, Natural Hazards, Other, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, United States of America, SamoaView CitationStorlazzi, C.D., Reguero, B.G., Cole, A.D., Lowe, E., Shope, J.B., Gibbs, A.E., Nickel, B.A., McCall, R.T., van Dongeren, A.R., and Beck, M.W., 2019, Rigorously valuing the role of U.S. coral reefs in coastal hazard risk reduction: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2019–1027, 42 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20191027.
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 Amory; Beck, Mike Role of future reef growth on morphological response of coral reef islands to sea-level rise
Coral reefs are widely recognised for providing a natural breakwater effect that modulates erosion and flooding hazards on low‐lying sedimentary reef islands. Increased water depth across reef platforms due sea‐level rise (SLR) can compromise this breakwater effect and enhance island exposure to these hazards, but reef accretion in response to SLR...
Masselink, Gerd; McCall, Robert T.; Beetham, Eddie; Kench, Paul; Storlazzi, Curt
Nearshore water quality and coral health indicators along the west coast of the Island of Hawaiʻi, 2010–2014
Coral reefs worldwide are experiencing rapid degradation in response to climate and land-use change, namely effects of warming sea-surface temperatures, contaminant runoff, and overfishing. Extensive coral bleaching caused by the steady rise of sea-surface temperatures is projected to increase, but our understanding and ability to predict where...
Grossman, Eric E.; Marrack, Lisa; vanArendonk, Nathan R. Spectral wave-driven bedload transport across a coral reef flat/lagoon complex
Coral reefs are an important source of sediment for reef-lined coasts by helping to maintain beaches while also providing protection in the form of wave energy dissipation. Understanding the mechanisms by which sediment is delivered to the coast as well as better constraining the total volumes generated are critical for projecting future coastal...
Rosenberger, Kurt J.; Storlazzi, Curt D.; Cheriton, Olivia; Pomeroy, Andrew; Hansen, Jeff E.; Lowe, Ryan; Buckley, Mark Internal tides can provide thermal refugia that will buffer some coral reefs from future global warming
Observations show ocean temperatures are rising due to climate change, resulting in a fivefold increase in the incidence of regional-scale coral bleaching events since the 1980s; analyses based on global climate models forecast bleaching will become an annual event for most of the world’s coral reefs within 30–50 yr. Internal waves at tidal...
Storlazzi, Curt D.; Cheriton, Olivia; Van Hooidonk, Ruben; Zhao, Zhongxiang; Brainard, Russell E. The importance of explicitly modelling sea-swell waves for runup on reef-lined coasts
The importance of explicitly modelling sea-swell waves for runup was examined using a 2D XBeach short wave-averaged (surfbeat, “XB-SB”) and a wave-resolving (non-hydrostatic, “XB-NH”) model of Roi-Namur Island on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of Marshall Islands. Field observations on water levels, wave heights, and wave runup were used to drive...
Quataert, Ellen; Storlazzi, Curt D.; van Dongeren, Ap; McCall, Robert T. Hydro-morphological characterization of coral reefs for wave runup prediction
Many coral reef-lined coasts are low-lying with elevations <4 m above mean sea level. Climate-change-driven sea-level rise, coral reef degradation, and changes in storm wave climate will lead to greater occurrence and impacts of wave-driven flooding. This poses a significant threat to their coastal communities. While greatly at risk, the...
Scott, Fred; Antolinez, Jose A. A.; McCall, Robert T.; Storlazzi, Curt D.; Reiners, Ad; Pearson, Stuart Physicochemical controls on zones of higher coral stress where Black Band Disease occurs at Mākua Reef, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi
Pervasive and sustained coral diseases contribute to the systemic degradation of reef ecosystems, however, to date an understanding of the physicochemical controls on a coral disease event is still largely lacking. Water circulation and residence times and submarine groundwater discharge all determine the degree to which reef organisms are exposed...
Oberle, Ferdinand; Storlazzi, Curt D.; Cheriton, Olivia; Takesue, Renee K.; Hoover, Daniel J.; Logan, Joshua B.; Runyon, Christina M.; Kellogg, Christina A.; Johnson, Cordell; Swarzenski, Peter W.
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 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 Assessing morphologic controls on atoll island alongshore sediment transport gradients due to future sea-level rise
Atoll islands’ alongshore sediment transport gradients depend on how island and reef morphology affect incident wave energy. It is unclear, though, how potential atoll morphologic configurations influence shoreline erosion and/or accretion patterns, and how these relationships will respond to future sea-level rise (SLR). Schematic atoll models...
Shope, James B.; Storlazzi, Curt D. Spatial and temporal variability in ripple formation and migration across a coral reef flat and lagoon
The transport of carbonate sediment across reefs to the shoreline is of great interest to the research community and coastal managers alike. This sediment is generated by the breakdown of reef skeletal structure and a critical source for beach nourishment that provides a buffer to coastal flooding as sea levels rise. Understanding the physical...
Rosenberger, Kurt J.; Storlazzi, Curt D.; Pomeroy, Andrew; Cheriton, Olivia; Lowe, Ryan J.; Hansen, Jeff-
Date published: March 26, 2021Cross-reef wave and water level data from coral reef environments
Direct field observations of wave dynamics across coral reefs and the resulting water levels are limited. Here we provide direct in situ measurements of waves and water levels across a number of coral reefs, extending from the fore reef, across the reef crest, and to the shoreline. These measurements are provided to help better understand the evolution of waves across coral reefs and...
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Date published: January 27, 2021Jurabi, Exmouth, Western Australia, 2016 Coral Reef Circulation and Sediment Dynamics Experiment
Carbonate reefs are a major source of sediment for coastlines in much of the tropical regions of the world, contributing to significant shoreline accretion and beach nourishment. A collaborative experiment between USGS and University of Western Australia was conducted to investigate determine the primary oceanographic processes responsible for cross-reef sediment transport. Data will be added...
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Date published: December 31, 2020Geochemistry time series and growth parameters from Tutuila, American Samoa coral record
Geochemical analysis (including radiocarbon, stable carbon isotope, and elemental composition) and growth parameters (including calcification rate, density, and extension information) were measured from a coral core collected from a reef off the southern side of Tutuila, American Samoa. The core was collected near Matautuloa Point on 8 April 2012 in collaboration with the Ecosys
Attribution: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center -
Date published: October 20, 2020
Model parameter input files to study three-dimensional flow over coral reef spur-and-groove morphology
This data set consists of physics-based Delft3D-FLOW and SWAN hydrodynamic models input files used to study the wave-induced 3D flow over spur-and-groove (SAG) formations. SAG are a common and impressive characteristic of coral reefs. They are composed of a series of submerged shore-normal coral ridges (spurs) separated by shore-normal patches of sediment (grooves) on the fore reef of
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Date published: August 10, 2020
Modeled effects of depth and semidiurnal temperature fluctuations on predictions of year that coral reef locations reach annual severe bleaching for various global climate model projections
Using global climate model projections of sea-surface temperature at coral reef sites, we modeled the effects of depth and exposure to semidiurnal temperature fluctuations to examine how these effects may alter the projected year of annual severe bleaching for coral reef sites globally. Here we present the first global maps of the effects these processes have on bleaching projections for three...
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Date published: May 8, 2020
Model parameter input files to compare wave-averaged versus wave-resolving XBeach coastal flooding models for coral reef-lined coasts
This data release includes the XBeach input data files used to evaluate the importance of explicitly modeling sea-swell waves for runup. This was examined using a 2D XBeach short wave-averaged (surfbeat, XB-SB) and a wave-resolving (non-hydrostatic, XB-NH) model of Roi-Namur Island on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of Marshall Islands. Results show that explicitly modelling the sea-s
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Date published: April 29, 2020
Coral reef profiles for wave-runup prediction
This data release includes representative cluster profiles (RCPs) from a large (>24,000) selection of coral reef topobathymetric cross-shore profiles (Scott and others, 2020). We used statistics, machine learning, and numerical modelling to develop the set of RCPs, which can be used to accurately represent the shoreline hydrodynamics of a large variety of coral reef-lined
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Date published: April 8, 2019Nearshore water properties and estuary conditions along the coral reef coastline of west Hawaii Island (2010-2014)
Spatial and continuous time-series measurements of water properties, including temperature, salinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen, from a range of depths and distances from shore, were collected along the west coast of the Island of Hawaii. These data and associated analyses help characterize the variability of coral reef habitats...
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Date published: April 8, 2019
Nearshore water properties and estuary conditions along the coral reef coastline of west Hawaii Island (2010-2014)
Spatial and continuous time-series measurements of water properties, including temperature, salinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen, from a range of depths and distances from shore, were collected along the west coast of the Island of Hawaii. These data and associated analyses help characterize the variability of coral reef habitats...
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Date published: February 14, 2019Coral cover and health determined from seafloor photographs and diver observations, West Hawai'i, 2010-2011
The data described here were collected as part of a larger study to examine habitat conditions and coral health with respect to exposure to submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) and urban land uses.
The Role of U.S. Coral Reefs in Coastal Protection
U.S. Geological Survey research on flood protection provided by coral reefs. This is a story map that introduces research to understand the role of US coral reefs in coastal protection.
How Our Reefs Protect Us: Valuing the Benefits of U.S. Reefs
The degradation of coastal habitats, particularly coral reefs, raises risks by increasing the exposure of coastal communities to flooding hazards during storms. The protective services of these natural defenses are not assessed in the same rigorous economic terms as artificial defenses, such as seawalls, and therefore often are not considered in decision-making. Here we
PubTalk 4/2018 - Coral Reefs
Title: The Role of U.S. Coral Reefs in Coastal Protection - Rigorously valuing flood reduction benefits to inform coastal zone management decisions
- Coral reefs are a first line of coastal defense
- We can account for the physical defense that reefs provide
- We can provide value-based information to guide restoration efforts at management-relevant
What's Drifting Beneath Kauai's Ocean?
Residents and visitors both revel in Kauai’s lush landscape, and beneath its seascape. However, it’s underwater where things don’t look so healthy. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey put together a detailed picture of the physical environment of the coral reefs at Makua Beach. Understanding just what these reefs are exposed to and for how long, may help explain why
Breaking Down Reefs, Building Up Beaches
On the remote western coast of Australia lies a UNESCO World Heritage Site above and below the sea. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey and University of Western Australia convened here at Ningaloo Reef and Jurabi Coastal Reserve to embark on the most extensive study EVER done into how coral reefs shape our coasts.
Exploring Causes of Coral Disease
The Hawaiian Islands’ beautiful ocean and beaches attract more than 8.5 million tourists each year. The USGS aims to help Hawaii preserve its underwater natural resources by tracing how oceanography may influence coral disease outbreaks. Looking into contaminants in the freshwater, or how quickly a bay may or may not flush, will help enrich future and past studies about
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Date published: February 4, 2020USGS collaborates with National Park Service to study threatened coral reefs in American Samoa
USGS scientists from the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center and the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center are cooperating with the National Park Service to better understand links between coastal groundwater and coral reef health on the island of Ofu in the National Park of American Samoa (NPSA).
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Date published: July 1, 2019Maui-area coral reefs described in detail, including threats
A new USGS Open-File Report describes the coral reefs of Maui, Moloka‘i, Lānaʻi, and Kahoʻolawe in detail, including location, extent, coral cover, and connectivity.
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Date published: April 30, 2019Coral Reef Barriers Provide Flood Protection for More Than 18,000 People and $1.8 Billion Worth of Coastal Infrastructure and Economic Activity Annually
Today, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released the findings of a new, in-depth study titled “Rigorously Valuing the Role of U.S. Coral Reefs in Coastal Hazard Risk Reduction,” – funded in part by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Office of Insular Affairs –
Attribution: Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center -
Date published: November 29, 2018Studying flood hazards in San Juan, Puerto Rico
USGS scientists from Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, along with with NOAA, the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, and Arrecifes Pro Ciudad, are using video imagery and wave measurements to study flood hazards in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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Date published: September 7, 2018Hurricane Maria’s impacts on deep-water coral reefs off Puerto Rico
USGS research geologist Curt Storlazzi was quoted in an August 22 Nature news article about Hurricane Maria’s effects on deep-water coral reefs off Puerto Rico.
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Date published: May 7, 2018Public lecture on coral reefs as coastal protection
On Thursday, April 26, research geologist Curt Storlazzi of the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center gave a public lecture on “The Role of U.S. Coral Reefs in Coastal Protection—Rigorously valuing flood reduction benefits to inform coastal zone management decisions.”
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Date published: March 30, 2018Polluted Groundwater Threatens Hawaiian Coral Reefs
According to a study by USGS scientists, polluted, low-pH groundwater discharging onto a shallow coral reef off Kahekili Beach Park in west Maui, Hawai‘i, further increases seawater acidity and exposes corals to nitrate concentrations 50 times higher than normal.
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Date published: March 8, 2018Fulbright Scholar Joins Coral Reef Project at Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
The Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center (PCMSC) in Santa Cruz, California, recently welcomed Andrew Pomeroy, a Fulbright scholar from Australia who will spend approximately 6 months here conducting research on sediment movement in coral reef systems.
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Date published: February 13, 2018International workshop on “Understanding Flooding on Reef-lined Island Coastlines”
USGS research geologist Curt Storlazzi led a workshop on “Understanding Flooding on Reef-lined Island Coastlines” (UFORIC) in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, from 5–7 February.
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Date published: November 27, 2017Polluted groundwater threatens coral reefs
Coral reefs already stressed by ocean acidification are particularly vulnerable to polluted groundwater, according to a recent study by USGS geologist Nancy Prouty and colleagues.