Remote Sensing Coastal Change
Science Center Objects
We use remote-sensing technologies—such as aerial photography, satellite imagery, structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry, and lidar (laser-based surveying)—to measure coastal change along U.S. shorelines.
Quantifying coastal change is essential for calculating trends in erosion, evaluating processes that shape coastal landscapes, and predicting how the coast will respond to future storms and sea-level rise, all critical for U.S. coastal communities.
Rapid developments have occurred in remote-sensing technologies during the 21st century. With our collaborators in and beyond the Department of the Interior, we seek to apply these technologies in innovative ways to advance understanding of coastal systems and their hazards.
Using video imagery to study coastal change
Currently, video cameras are installed at these locations:
- Dream Inn hotel in Santa Cruz, California
- Head of the Meadow Beach, Massachusetts
- Marconi Beach, Massachusetts
- Sunset State Beach, California
- Tres Palmas in Rincón, Puerto Rico
USGS researchers analyze the imagery and video collected from these cameras in order to remotely sense a range of processes, which include shoreline position, sandbar migration, rip-channel formation, wave run-up on the beach, alongshore current, and nearshore bathymetry.
USGS plans to install similar systems in other remote locations. The knowledge gained will improve computer-derived simulations of coastal flooding and shoreline change that communities can use to plan for sea-level rise, changing storm patterns, and other threats to beaches.
Photogrammetry of California’s Big Sur coast
On May 20, 2017, the steep slopes at Mud Creek on California’s Big Sur coast, about 140 miles south of San Francisco, suffered a catastrophic collapse. USGS scientists from the Pacific Coastal and Marine and the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Centers continue to monitor this section of the coastline, in collaboration with the California Department of Transportation.
On January 28, 2021, following a two-day deluge of heavy rain totalling more than 8 inches, another catastrophic failure and complete washout of Highway 1 occurred at Rat Creek, about 12 miles north of Mud Creek. USGS once again flew a reconnaissance flight along the coast on January 29, collecting highly detailed photography of much of the Big Sur coastline.
USGS air photo of the Mud Creek landslide, taken on May 27, 2017.
USGS air photo of the Rat Creek landslide, taken on January 29, 2021.
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Date published: June 1, 2021Status: ActiveSQUID-5 camera system
The SQUID-5 is a Structure-from-Motion Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with 5 cameras.
Contacts: Gerry Hatcher -
Date published: March 5, 2021Status: ActiveUsing Video Imagery to Study Marconi Beach
Two video cameras are mounted on a bluff above Marconi Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore, Wellfleet, MA. One camera looks alongshore toward the northeast, and the second looks directly offshore (east). The cameras are part of a U.S. Geological Survey research project to study the beach and nearshore environment shared by beachgoers, shorebirds, seals, and sharks. The work is being conducted...
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Date published: February 2, 2021Status: ActiveBig Sur Landslides
On California’s Big Sur coast, the steep slopes at Mud Creek suffered a catastrophic collapse (May 20, 2017). On January 28, 2021, heavy rains from a two-day storm caused debris from fire-scarred slopes to wash out another section of road at Rat Creek. USGS scientists are monitoring this 100-mile section of the California coastline, in collaboration with the CA Department of Transportation....
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Date published: November 16, 2020Status: ActiveUsing Video Imagery to Study Coastal Change: Sunset State Beach
Two video cameras overlook the coast at Sunset State Beach in Watsonville, California. Camera 1 looks northwest while Camera 2 looks north. The cameras are part of the Remote Sensing Coastal Change project.
Contacts: Jonathan Warrick -
Date published: October 8, 2020Status: ActiveUsing Video Imagery to Study Coastal Change: Santa Cruz Beaches
Two video cameras atop the Dream Inn hotel in Santa Cruz, California, overlook the coast in northern Monterey Bay. One camera looks eastward over Santa Cruz Main Beach and boardwalk, while the other looks southward over Cowells Beach.
Contacts: Jonathan Warrick -
Date published: October 8, 2020Status: ActiveUsing Video Imagery to Study Wave Dynamics: Tres Palmas
Four video cameras look westward over the coast and the coral reef at Tres Palmas in Rincón, on the west coast of Puerto Rico. Two cameras look out at the horizon and over the ocean for the mid-field view; one camera offers a zoomed-in, far-field view overlooking the reef and out to the island of Desecheo, a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge; and another camera focuses on the beach.
Contacts: Curt Storlazzi, PhD, Miguel Canals-Silander, Patricia Chardon Maldonado -
Date published: November 29, 2019Status: CompletedUsing Video Imagery to Study Coastal Change: Whidbey Island
From May of 2018 through November of 2019, USGS scientists collected imagery from video cameras overlooking the coast along a beach on Whidbey Island, Island County at the northern boundary of Puget Sound in western Washington.
Contacts: Eric Grossman -
Date published: October 17, 2019Status: ActiveUsing Video Imagery to Study Wave Dynamics: Unalakleet
USGS scientists installed two video cameras atop a windmill tower in Unalakleet, Alaska, pointing westward over Norton Sound, to observe and quantify coastal processes such as wave run-up, development of rip channels, bluff erosion, and movement of sandbars and ice floes.
Contacts: Ann Gibbs, Li Erikson -
Date published: July 22, 2019Status: CompletedUsing Video Imagery to Study Wave Dynamics: Isla Verde
USGS scientists installed video cameras atop a building and oceanographic instruments off San Juan, Puerto Rico, to better understand how waves move across coral reefs and cause flooding on tropical shorelines.
Contacts: Curt Storlazzi, PhD -
Date published: April 1, 2019Status: CompletedUsing Video Imagery to Study Coastal Change: Barter Island, Alaska
For a short study period, two video cameras overlooked the coast from atop the coastal bluff of Barter Island in northern Alaska. The purpose was to observe and quantify coastal processes such as wave run-up, development of rip channels, bluff erosion, and movement of sandbars and ice floes.
Contacts: Li Erikson, Ann Gibbs
Processing coastal imagery with Agisoft Metashape Professional Edition, version 1.6—Structure from motion workflow documentation
IntroductionStructure from motion (SFM) has become an integral technique in coastal change assessment; the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) used Agisoft Metashape Professional Edition photogrammetry software to develop a workflow that processes coastline aerial imagery collected in response to storms since Hurricane Florence in 2018. This report...
Over, Jin-Si R.; Ritchie, Andrew C.; Kranenburg, Christine J.; Brown, Jenna A.; Buscombe, Daniel D.; Noble, Tom; Sherwood, Christopher R.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Wernette, Phillipe A.
Littoral sediment from rivers: Patterns, rates and processes of river mouth morphodynamics
Rivers provide important sediment inputs to many littoral cells, thereby replenishing sand and gravel of beaches around the world. However, there is limited information about the patterns and processes of littoral-grade sediment transfer from rivers into coastal systems. Here I address these information gaps by examining topographic and...
Warrick, Jonathan
Cliff Feature Delineation Tool and Baseline Builder version 1.0 user guide
Coastal cliffs constitute 80 percent of the world’s coastline, with seacliffs fronting a large proportion of the U.S. West Coast shoreline, particularly in California. Erosion of coastal cliffs can threaten infrastructure and human life, yet the spatial and temporal scope of cliff studies have been limited by cumbersome traditional methods that...
Seymour, Alexander C.; Hapke, Cheryl J.; Warrick, Jonathan
Community for data integration 2018 funded project report
The U.S. Geological Survey Community for Data Integration annually funds small projects focusing on data integration for interdisciplinary research, innovative data management, and demonstration of new technologies. This report provides a summary of the 10 projects funded in fiscal year 2018, outlining their goals, activities, and accomplishments.
Hsu, Leslie; Andrews, Caitlin M.; Bradford, John B.; Buscombe, Daniel D.; Chase, Katherine J.; Daniel, Wesley M.; Jones, Jeanne M.; Fuller, Pam; Mirus, Benjamin B.; Neilson, Matthew E.; Vraga, Hans W.; Walker, Jessica J.; Walworth, Dennis H.; Warrick, Jonathan; Weltzin, Jake; Wieferich, Daniel J.; Wood, Nathan J. Accurate bathymetric maps from underwater digital imagery without ground control
Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry can be used with digital underwater photographs to generate high-resolution bathymetry and orthomosaics with millimeter-to-centimeter scale resolution at relatively low cost. Although these products are useful for assessing species diversity and health, they have additional utility for quantifying benthic...
Hatcher, Gerry; Warrick, Jonathan; Ritchie, Andrew C.; Dailey, Evan; Zawada, David G.; Kranenburg, Christine J.; Yates, Kimberly K. Optical wave gauging using deep neural networks
We develop a remote wave gauging technique to estimate wave height and period from imagery of waves in the surf zone. In this proof-of-concept study, we apply the same framework to three datasets: the first, a set of close-range monochrome infrared (IR) images of individual nearshore waves at Duck, NC, USA; the second, a set of visible (i.e. RGB)...
Buscombe, Daniel; Carini, Roxanne J; Harrison, Shawn; Chickadel, C Chris; Warrick, Jonathan Commentary: Variability in shelf sedimentation in response to fluvial sediment supply and coastal erosion over the past 1,000 Years in Monterey Bay, CA, United States
A commentary on: Variability in Shelf Sedimentation in Response to Fluvial Sediment Supply and Coastal Erosion Over the Past 1,000 Years in Monterey Bay, CA, United States. by Carlin J., Addison J., Wagner A., Schwartz V., Hayward J., Severin V. (2019) Front. Earth Sci., 7:113. doi: 10.3389/feart.2019.00113
Warrick, Jonathan; East, Amy E.; Storlazzi, Curt D.; Conrad, James E. Characterizing the catastrophic 2017 Mud Creek Landslide, California, using repeat Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry
Along the rugged coast of Big Sur, California, the Mud Creek landslide failed catastrophically on May 20, 2017 and destroyed over 400 m of scenic California State Highway 1. We collected structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry data using airborne platforms that, when combined with existing airborne lidar data, revealed that the area exhibited...
Warrick, Jonathan; Ritchie, Andrew C.; Reid, Mark E.; Schmidt, Kevin; Logan, Joshua B.
Decadal-scale analysis of coastal landslides along the Big Sur coast: rates and processes
Hapke, Cheryl J.; Green, Krystal R.
Rates of landsliding and cliff retreat along the Big Sur Coast, California--measuring a crucial baseline
Hapke, Cheryl J.; Green, Krystal R. Map showing coastal cliff retreat rates along the Big Sur coast, Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties, California
The average coastal cliff retreat rate along the Big Sur coast is 18 ? 6 cm/yr as measured over a 52-year time period. The erosion reference features measured as the cliff edge include the well-defined cliff edges common to marine terraces, slight breaks in the slope defining the upper edge of the active lower slope, and the road grade. Cliff...
Hapke, Cheryl J.; Green, Krystal R. Maps showing estimated sediment yield from coastal landslides and active slope distribution along the Big Sur coast, Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties, California
The 1982-83 and 1997-98 El Ni?os brought very high precipitation to California?s central coast; this precipitation resulted in raised groundwater levels, coastal flooding, and destabilized slopes throughout the region. Large landslides in the coastal mountains of Big Sur in Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties blocked sections of California State...
Hapke, Cheryl J.; Green, Krystal R.; Dallas, Kate-
Date published: June 2, 2021Aerial Photogrammetry Data and Products of the North Carolina coast: 2018-10-06 to 2018-10-08, post-Hurricane Florence
This data release presents structure-from-motion products derived from imagery taken along the North Carolina coast in response to storm events and the recovery process. USGS researchers use the aerial photogrammetry data and products to assess future coastal vulnerability, nesting habitats for wildlife, and provide data for hurricane impact models.
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Date published: February 22, 2021Aerial imagery and structure-from-motion data products from UAS survey of the intertidal zone at Puget Creek and Dickman Mill Park, Ruston Way, Tacoma, WA, June 2019
An unmanned aerial system (UAS) was used to acquire high-resolution imagery of the intertidal zone at Puget Creek and Dickman Mill Park in Tacoma, Washington on June 3, 2019. This imagery was processed using structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetric techniques to derive high-resolution digital surface models (DSM), orthomosaic imagery, and topographic point clouds.
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Date published: February 22, 2021Aerial imagery and structure-from-motion data products from UAS survey of the intertidal zone at Post Point, Bellingham Bay, WA, June 2019
An unmanned aerial system (UAS) was used to acquire high-resolution imagery of the intertidal zone at Post Point in Bellingham Bay, Washington on June 6, 2019. This imagery was processed using structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetric techniques to derive high-resolution digital surface models (DSM), orthomosaic imagery, and topographic point clouds.
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Date published: November 4, 2020Bathymetry and acoustic backscatter data collected in 2008 offshore Tijuana River Estuary, California during USGS Field Activity S-5-08-SC
In 2008 the USGS collected bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data offshore the Tijuana River Estuary, California. Mapping was conducted as part of the Tijuana Estuary Fine Sediment Fate and Transport Demonstration Project, which was developed by a number of State of California, federal, and private industry partners to provide information about the directions, rates, and processes of fine...
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Date published: November 4, 2020Bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data collected in 2016 offshore the Elwha River mouth, Washington, during USGS Field Activity 2016-605-FA
This data release provides bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data collected during a 2016 SWATHPlus-M survey offshore the Elwha River mouth, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington. Data were collected and processed by the USGS during field activity 2016-605-FA. This survey, along with two other surveys, was conducted to map changes that have occurred following sediment input from dam removals...
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Date published: May 4, 2020SQUID-5 structure-from-motion point clouds, bathymetric maps, orthomosaics, and underwater photos of coral reefs in Florida, 2019
The new structure-from-motion (SfM) quantitative underwater imaging device with five cameras (SQUID-5) was tested in July 2019 at Crocker Reef in the Florida Keys. The SQUID-5 was developed to meet the unique challenges of collecting SfM underwater imagery, including multiple cameras with different perspectives, accurate geographic locations of images, accurate and precise scaling of derived...
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Date published: March 18, 2019Topographic point clouds for the Mud Creek landslide, Big Sur, California from structure-from-motion photogrammetry from aerial photographs
This data release contains structure-from-motion (SfM) point-cloud data from aerial surveys conducted over the Mud Creek landslide on Big Sur from 1967-2018. Data sources include scanned aerial photographs, digital images collected from fixed-wing aircraft, and digital images collected from multirotor UAS.
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Date published: August 25, 2020
squid5-software
squid5-software was developed for and is used by the structure-from-motion (SfM) quantitative underwater imaging device with five cameras (SQUID-5) project.
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Date published: August 19, 2020Cliff Feature Delineation Tool and Baseline Builder
The Cliff Feature Delineation Tool scans digital elevation models (DEM) to delineate features on seacliffs like the cliff top, midline, toe, and convexities/concavities on the cliff face, outputting linear features as polylines and point shapefiles.
Marconi Beach shoreline
Two video cameras are mounted on a bluff above Marconi Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore, Wellfleet, MA. Every half hour during daylight hours, the video camera collects imagery for 10 minutes and processes it. This is the snapshot image, like a photo, taken at the beginning of the 10-minute window and looking northeast. [
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California Coastal Highway 1 in Big Sur south of Rat Creek
A section of Highway 1 along the California coast in Big Sur with more examples of the numerous debris flows and mudslides that occur following a heavy rain. This section is just south of the Rat Creek debris flow that completely washed out a large chunk of the highway.
Highway 1 washout at Rat Creek
The atmospheric river, a narrow, powerful track of water vapor that can deliver tremendous volumes of rain, hit the central California coast and stalled there between January 26 and 28, 2021 — with catastrophic consequences. The area around Rat Creek, about 20 miles south of Big Sur's town center,
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Camera 1 Snapshot at Tres Palmas, Puerto Rico
Video camera snapshot at Tres Palmas in Rincón, on the west coast of Puerto Rico.
Isla Verde Video Camera 1 Snapshot
Snapshot of Isla Verde in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from a coastal video monitoring station
Video camera setup at Isla Verde
Shawn Harrison stands near video cameras on top of a building overlooking Isla Verde in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The cameras measure wave run-up and flooding as part of a study in response to Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria.
Unalakleet video camera snapshot
Two video cameras overlook the coast from atop a windmill tower in Unalakleet, Alaska where they look westward over Norton Sound. This is a snapshot taken from one of the cameras. The camera system was installed by the USGS in collaboration with Alaska DNR DGGS (Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys), the Native Village of
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Sunset State Beach Video Camera 1 snapshot
Two video cameras overlook the coast at Sunset State Beach in Watsonville, California. Camera 1 looks northwest while Camera 2 looks north. Every half hour during daylight hours, the cameras collect snapshots and video for 10 minutes. The various imagery collected:
- Snapshot: first frame of the video, just like a standard photo
- Timex (time-exposure):
Whidbey Island Video Cameras
USGS oceanographer Shawn Harrison set up this video camera assemblage up high on a coastal bluff on Whidbey Island, Puget Sound. The cameras are part of the Remote Sensing Coastal Change project and are used to monitor a range of processes including shoreline position, sandbar migration, rip-channel
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Camera 1, Main Beach Snapshot, Santa Cruz
The view from one of two video cameras atop the Dream Inn hotel in Santa Cruz, California, that overlook the coast in northern Monterey Bay. This view, from camera 1, looks eastward over Santa Cruz Main Beach and boardwalk.
Cowells Beach in Santa Cruz, California
Cowells Beach in Santa Cruz, California, from a 10-minute video shot on May 6, 2017. Snapshot on the left; time-averaged image on the right.
Eyes on the Coast—Video Cameras Help Forecast Coastal Change
Coastal communities count on beaches for recreation and for protection from large waves, but beaches are vulnerable to threats such as erosion by storms and flooding. Whether beaches grow, shrink, or even disappear depends in part on what happens just offshore. How do features like shifting sandbars affect waves, currents, and the movement of sand from the beach to offshore and back?
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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 12, 2018USGS coastal flood maps assist emergency planning for Hurricane Lane
As Hurricane Lane approached Hawaiʻi, personnel in the Honolulu Emergency Operations Center on Oahu contacted Curt Storlazzi of the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center to ask for information on potential coastal flooding that could help them direct emergency-management services to areas of higher risk.
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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: July 18, 2018Time-lapse view of California Highway 1 reconstruction after 2017 landslide
USGS scientists produced an animated GIF in coordination with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) re-opening of State Highway 1 through Big Sur on July 18, 2018.
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Date published: May 30, 2018Video cameras monitor coastal change on Whidbey Island, Washington
Video cameras installed by the USGS Remote Sensing Coastal Change project overlook the coast on Whidbey Island, Washington, about 25 miles north of Seattle.
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Date published: November 15, 2017LA Times story about Big Sur landslide features quotes, imagery from USGS
USGS geologists Jon Warrick and Kevin Schmidt are quoted in a November 9, 2017 Los Angeles Times story.
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Date published: November 6, 2017Video shot from drones yields details about changing landslide on California’s Big Sur coast
On October 12, 2017, USGS unmanned aerial systems collected video footage of the Mud Creek landslide, which buried California State Highway 1 under a third-of-a-mile-wide mass of rock and dirt on May 20, 2017.
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Date published: July 14, 2017USGS maps underwater part of Big Sur landslide at Mud Creek
Scientists from the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center mapped the offshore extent of the Mud Creek landslide on California’s Big Sur coast on July 11, 2017.
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Date published: July 11, 2017
Huge landslide on California’s Big Sur coast continues to change
The Mud Creek landslide on California’s Big Sur coast keeps eroding.
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Date published: June 15, 2017New Land Created by Slide on Big Sur Coast is Eroding
USGS analysis of air photos collected June 13 shows that new land created by a May 20 landslide on California’s Big Sur coast is eroding.