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.
Seafloor mapping technology
Ocean Engineer Gerry Hatcher of the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center (PCMSC) and Dave Zawada of the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) are two of the lead scientists behind the creation of the “Structure-from-Motion Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with 5 Cameras” system, or SQUID-5. The SQUID-5 is the product of a cross-center partnership. The Remote Sensing Coastal Change team at PCMSC has engineered the device, and the the Processes Impacting Seafloor Change and Ecosystem Services team (PISCES) at SPCMSC is tasked with its deployment and data collection.
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
- Norton Sound, Unalakleet, Alaska
- Nuvuk (Point Barrow), Alaska
- Sunset State Beach, California
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 additional systems at other U.S. 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.
We are using video imagery, scanned aerial photographs, digital images collected from fixed-wing aircraft, and digital images collected from multi-rotor UAS to study coastal processes.
SQUID-5 camera system
Using Video Imagery to Study Coastal Change: Santa Cruz Beaches
Using Video Imagery to Study Coastal Change: Sunset State Beach
Using Video Imagery to Study Wave Dynamics: Unalakleet
Using Video Imagery to Study Sediment Transport and Wave Dynamics: Nuvuk (Point Barrow)
Using Video Imagery to Study Head of the Meadow Beach
Using Video Imagery to Study Marconi Beach
Big Sur Landslides
Using Video Imagery to Study Coastal Change: Barter Island, Alaska
The Mud Creek landslide on California’s Big Sur coast
Big Sur Coastal Landslides
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Tracking Coastal Change with Photogrammetry
Monitoring coastal changes is important for the millions of people that live along coasts in the United States, particularly as climate change hastens coastal erosion by raising sea levels and fueling powerful storms.
- Overview
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.
Seafloor mapping technology
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Curious dolphins frolic nearby as SQUID-5 is towed from a boat. Ocean Engineer Gerry Hatcher of the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center (PCMSC) and Dave Zawada of the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) are two of the lead scientists behind the creation of the “Structure-from-Motion Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with 5 Cameras” system, or SQUID-5. The SQUID-5 is the product of a cross-center partnership. The Remote Sensing Coastal Change team at PCMSC has engineered the device, and the the Processes Impacting Seafloor Change and Ecosystem Services team (PISCES) at SPCMSC is tasked with its deployment and data collection.
Using video imagery to study coastal change
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Gerry Hatcher (left) and Shawn Harrison work on their video-camera station atop a hotel in Santa Cruz, California. Currently, video cameras are installed at these locations:
- Dream Inn hotel in Santa Cruz, California
- Head of the Meadow Beach, Massachusetts
- Marconi Beach, Massachusetts
- Norton Sound, Unalakleet, Alaska
- Nuvuk (Point Barrow), Alaska
- Sunset State Beach, California
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 additional systems at other U.S. 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
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Special camera rig and precision GPS receiver (right) designed to take Structure from Motion photos from a small airplane. 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.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. Visit Media to see details.USGS air photo of the Mud Creek landslide, taken on May 27, 2017.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.USGS air photo of the Rat Creek landslide, taken on January 29, 2021. - Science
We are using video imagery, scanned aerial photographs, digital images collected from fixed-wing aircraft, and digital images collected from multi-rotor UAS to study coastal processes.
SQUID-5 camera system
The SQUID-5 is a Structure-from-Motion Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with 5 cameras.Using 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.Using 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.Using 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.Using Video Imagery to Study Sediment Transport and Wave Dynamics: Nuvuk (Point Barrow)
Two coastal observing video cameras are installed atop a utility pole near the northernmost point of land in the United States, at Nuvuk (Point Barrow), Alaska. The cameras point northwest toward the Arctic Ocean and the boundary between the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, and will be used to observe and quantify coastal processes such as wave run-up, bluff erosion, movement of sandbars and ice floes...Using Video Imagery to Study Head of the Meadow Beach
Two video cameras are mounted on a bluff near Head of the Meadow Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore, North Truro, MA. One camera looks alongshore toward the north-northeast, and the second looks directly offshore (northeast). 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...Using 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 under...Big 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.Using 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.The Mud Creek landslide on 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 are monitoring this section of the coastline, in collaboration with the California Department of Transportation.Big Sur Coastal Landslides
Information about USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center studies on coastal landslides in the Big Sur area - Data
- Multimedia
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Tracking Coastal Change with Photogrammetry
Monitoring coastal changes is important for the millions of people that live along coasts in the United States, particularly as climate change hastens coastal erosion by raising sea levels and fueling powerful storms.
- Publications
- Software
- News