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.
The village of Unalakleet is established on a low-lying barrier spit at the eastern end of Norton Sound at the mouth of the Unalakleet River. The region is vulnerable to marine flooding during large storm events. Storm surge in Norton Sound typically occurs in the fall and winter months when the coastline is protected by shorefast ice. Warming trends in the Arctic have resulted in reduced ice coverage and increased occurrence of wave events impacting coasts. This camera system was installed by the USGS in collaboration with Alaska DGGS (Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys), the Native Village of Unalakleet, and the City of Unalakleet to better understand wave and water-level dynamics in Norton Sound.
Every half hour during daylight hours, the cameras collected snapshots and video for 10 minutes. Examples of the types of images collected are shown below.
These and other images are used to observe and quantify coastal processes such as wave run-up, development of rip channels, bluff erosion, and movement of sandbars and ice floes. For water level and meteorological observations at the Unalakleet station, visit the NOAA Tides & Currents site.
Currently, USGS video cameras are active 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
The knowledge gained from these coastal camera studies will improve computer-derived simulations of shoreline change that communities can use to plan for sea-level rise, changing storm patterns, and other threats to coasts.
Click the image below to access the latest imagery and wave data.
Webcams and wave-buoy data show coastal imagery and wave characteristics in Unalakleet, AK
Below are the projects that use the data collected by the video cameras, as well as other locations where similar video cameras are or were previously installed.
Remote Sensing Coastal Change
Climate impacts to Arctic coasts
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 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
- Overview
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.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Unalakleet village on the low-lying barrier spit at the inlet of the Unalakleet River and Norton Sound, Alaska. The village of Unalakleet is established on a low-lying barrier spit at the eastern end of Norton Sound at the mouth of the Unalakleet River. The region is vulnerable to marine flooding during large storm events. Storm surge in Norton Sound typically occurs in the fall and winter months when the coastline is protected by shorefast ice. Warming trends in the Arctic have resulted in reduced ice coverage and increased occurrence of wave events impacting coasts. This camera system was installed by the USGS in collaboration with Alaska DGGS (Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys), the Native Village of Unalakleet, and the City of Unalakleet to better understand wave and water-level dynamics in Norton Sound.
Every half hour during daylight hours, the cameras collected snapshots and video for 10 minutes. Examples of the types of images collected are shown below.
These and other images are used to observe and quantify coastal processes such as wave run-up, development of rip channels, bluff erosion, and movement of sandbars and ice floes. For water level and meteorological observations at the Unalakleet station, visit the NOAA Tides & Currents site.
Currently, USGS video cameras are active 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
The knowledge gained from these coastal camera studies will improve computer-derived simulations of shoreline change that communities can use to plan for sea-level rise, changing storm patterns, and other threats to coasts.
Click the image below to access the latest imagery and wave data.
Webcams and wave-buoy data show coastal imagery and wave characteristics in Unalakleet, AKWebcams and wave-buoy data show coastal imagery and wave characteristics in Unalakleet, AK - Science
Below are the projects that use the data collected by the video cameras, as well as other locations where similar video cameras are or were previously installed.
Remote Sensing Coastal Change
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.Climate impacts to Arctic coasts
The Arctic region is warming faster than anywhere else in the nation. Understanding the rates and causes of coastal change in Alaska is needed to identify and mitigate hazards that might affect people and animals that call Alaska home.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 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... - Partners