Images

A pavilion/lookout deck with exposed support pilings after a series of storms, Fire Island, NY. Resources for beachgoers drive tourism for many coastal communities. Having boardwalks, seating, and walkways can enhance access to the beach. However, these structures are at risk of damage from high water events due to their proximity to the beach.

Scientists from the USGS St Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) capture the smooth water of the tidal creek reflecting a pastel sky and soft clouds while heading out for field work at early dawn.

• Scenic photograph of Grand Bay estuary taken from a boat just before sunset following a day in the field.

Scientists deploy a Chirp seismic instrument from the beach. Seismic data provide view of sub-seafloor geology, which records depositional and erosional events and reveals geologic controls on sediment supply.

Samples are recovered from the sediment trap once every 9-12 months. Cruises to recover and redeploy the mooring take place on the UNOLS vessel, R/V Pelican, operated by LUMCON, in Cocodrie, Louisianna.

A net sedimentation tile (NST) is used by scientists to measure surface sediment deposition in wetlands over short time scales. Scientists installed several NSTs on the surface of the marsh to measure sediment deposition. The samples are retrieved and measured in the lab to identify short-term sediment deposition rates on the marsh surface.

At Fire Island, estuarine, wetland, coastal, and oceanic processes interact, affecting natural and human communities. The CMHRP has been conducting scientific investigations at Fire Island in order to protect coastal infrastructure.

Participants at the September 2016 Argus Workshop at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Field Research Facility in Duck, North Carolina, including many of the scientists named in this article (labeled). Rob Holman (Oregon State University) took the photo with a drone.

A healthy thicket of elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata in Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. This species is critical for shoreline protection because it is the only species that builds reef-crest habitat in the Caribbean region.

The USGS strives to put coastal change data and information at the fingertips of users such as planners and emergency managers. The explicit goal is to enable users to integrate and apply USGS data and tools to address their specific needs. Online resources such as the Coastal Change Hazards (CCH) portal are designed with applied use of data in mind.

Schematic showing how sediment on the seafloor moves in response to a force created by the combined action of tides, ocean waves, and wind-driven currents.

Video-camera station installed by Jenna Brown and Joe Long atop a hotel in Madeira Beach, Florida.

Wave runup at Madeira Beach, Florida, during Tropical Storm Colin

Location of geophysical and sediment core data collected between 2009 and 2013, and used in the Mississippi Coastal Improvement Project (MsCIP) project.

Winter Storm Jonas in January 2016 brough high water and coastal flooding to Fire Island, NY. This storm eroded much of the beach and dune that the recreational pavilion/lookout deck was built on and damaged some public access point stairs. 

USGS research oceanographers Jenna Brown and Joe Long installed this video camera atop the Shoreline Island Resort hotel in Madeira Beach, Florida. Starting in February 2017, the camera has recorded video for 17 minutes every hour during daylight hours.

A high resolution digital video camera is installed atop a waterfront hotel at Madeira Beach, Florida, overlooking the Gulf of America coast.

Lush thicket of staghorn coral in the Dry Tortugas National Park

Kathryn Smith of the USGS St.

USGS scientists Lauren Toth and Jen Flannery of the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center discuss how they study corals to better understand past climate change. The Center participates in the St. Petersburg Science Festival each year. 

Jennifer Flannery at the USGS exhibitor booth at the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) in Long Beach, California, from October 13–15, 2016