Images

Schematic depiction of wave runup (h_runup) with its components of setup (h_setup) and time-varying swash (dashed lines). Wave runup is the time-varying elevation of water level at the shoreline, measured here in reference to the still-water level (SWL).

Lobed star coral (Orbicella annularis) bleaching during the 2026 marine heatwave in the Florida Keys. Taken on July 12, 2026 at Newfound Harbor, an inshore patch reef in the Lower Florida Keys.

Starlet coral (Siderastrea siderea) bleaching during the 2026 marine heatwave in the Florida Keys. Taken on July 12, 2026 at Newfound Harbor, an inshore patch reef in the Lower Florida Keys.

Animated GIF of aerial images showing Milton Pass, FL, before and after Hurricanes Helene and Milton

Aerial image of Milton Pass pre-Hurricane Helene.

Aerial image of Midnight Pass pre-Hurricane Helene.

Map of aerial survey area in western Florida.

Aerial image of Milton Pass post-Hurricane Milton.

Aerial image of Midnight Pass post-Hurricane Milton.

Image 4. An illustration of a beach complex showing a "swash regime" - the relative level that the water reaches during everyday wave conditions. Water stays low on the beach and never reaches the dune toe. 

Image 5. An illustration of a beach complex showing a "collision regime" - a type of storm impact on a dune system where total water levels (including tide, surge, and waves) exceed the dune toe and break directly against the front of the dune. Loss of sand will reduce beach area for recreational use.

Image 6. An illustration of a beach complex showing an "overwash regime." Tides and storm surge push water up to the dune crest. Storm-induced waves then break over the top of the dune, transporting sand over the dune crest and depositing it behind the dune. The beach becomes greatly altered/degraded.

Image 7. This illustration of a beach complex shows an "inundation regime" where water levels exceed the beach complex and dune crest, submerging the entire beach and dune, and flooding the community behind it. An inundation regime describes the frequency, duration, and depth of tidal or storm-induced flooding in a given location.

An animation of the evolution of storm impact regimes: swash, collision, overwash and inundation.

Image 1A. A depiction of the entire beach complex (the whole beach and dune system) which includes the beach, the dune toe (where the dune begins), and the dune crest (its highest point).

a) A schematic representation of mean water level (h₅₀) and extreme water level (h₉₈, (or total water level) referenced to a beach complex where beach slope (b_m), shoreline, dune base (z_b), and dune crest (z_c) have all been calculated.

Non-profit organizations Transom Story Lab and Atlantic Public Media hosted a weekend-long science storytelling workshop called "Making Waves." It was attended by 11 scientists from scientific institutions throughout Woods Hole, Massachusetts, including USGS scientists Jin-Si Over, Ellen Lalk, and Sara Zeigler.

Non-profit organizations Transom Story Lab and Atlantic Public Media hosted a weekend-long science storytelling workshop called "Making Waves." It was attended by 11 scientists from scientific institutions throughout Woods Hole, Massachusetts, including USGS scientists Jin-Si Over, Ellen Lalk, and Sara Zeigler.

USGS scientist collects elevation data during a walking survey at Madeira Beach, FL.

USGS scientist collects elevation data from a personal water craft at Madeira Beach, FL.

Cartoon created image of all the APPROACH proxies, a coral x-ray, sediment core, clam shell, and a foraminifera.