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St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center images.

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Two-panel image. Top: scientists stand by a personal watercraft on beach. Bottom: woman pulls an instrument across the water.
Using unique methods to measure nearshore and coastal geology
Using unique methods to measure nearshore and coastal geology
Using unique methods to measure nearshore and coastal geology

USGS scientists use specialized equipment to measure sediment dynamics in nearshore and coastal systems. Access by boat is limited in these areas, so personal watercraft are equipped with GPS and echosounders to collect bathymetric data. Seismic sleds are pulled along transects from the beach across the water to measure changes in sediment type below the water.

USGS scientists use specialized equipment to measure sediment dynamics in nearshore and coastal systems. Access by boat is limited in these areas, so personal watercraft are equipped with GPS and echosounders to collect bathymetric data. Seismic sleds are pulled along transects from the beach across the water to measure changes in sediment type below the water.

A scientist stands on a sled with two pontoons next to a vessel, operating scientific instruments.
Seismic sled used for sub-bottom surveying
Seismic sled used for sub-bottom surveying
Seismic sled used for sub-bottom surveying

USGS scientist Chelsea Stalk stands on a floating sled that enables sub‐bottom surveying in shallow water, nearshore, and shore‐face environments. The sled is equipped with an EdgeTech SB‐512i CHIRP system and single‐beam sonar. This equipment is used to collect seismic sub‐bottom profiles and single‐beam bathymetry.

USGS scientist Chelsea Stalk stands on a floating sled that enables sub‐bottom surveying in shallow water, nearshore, and shore‐face environments. The sled is equipped with an EdgeTech SB‐512i CHIRP system and single‐beam sonar. This equipment is used to collect seismic sub‐bottom profiles and single‐beam bathymetry.

a colorful sunrise over a calm ocean
Sunrise in Melbourne, FL
Sunrise in Melbourne, FL
Sunrise in Melbourne, FL

A colorful sunrise appears over the horizon of a calm ocean offshore of Melbourne, Florida. USGS Scientist RC Mickey collects data for location and elevation of sea turtle crawls and associated beach profiles this stretch of coastline.

A colorful sunrise appears over the horizon of a calm ocean offshore of Melbourne, Florida. USGS Scientist RC Mickey collects data for location and elevation of sea turtle crawls and associated beach profiles this stretch of coastline.

Scientific equipment mounted on two yellow pontoons floating on the surface of green water under a blue sky
SQUID-5 - Structure-from-Motion Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device
SQUID-5 - Structure-from-Motion Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device
SQUID-5 - Structure-from-Motion Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device

The SQUID-5, or a Structure-from-Motion (SfM) Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with 5 cameras is a towed surface vehicle with an onboard Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and 5 downward-looking cameras with overlapping views of the seafloor.

The SQUID-5, or a Structure-from-Motion (SfM) Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with 5 cameras is a towed surface vehicle with an onboard Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and 5 downward-looking cameras with overlapping views of the seafloor.

Image shows two sea urchins with the ocean in the background
Red Sea Urchins
Red Sea Urchins
Red Sea Urchins

Two red sea urchins (Mesocentrotus franciscanus) sit on the deck of the R/V Falkor. These sea urchins were collected during the #HuntingBubbles research cruise led by the USGS and Schmidt Ocean Institute, which focused on exploring and understanding methane seeps and the communities that depend on them along the Cascadia Margin.

Two red sea urchins (Mesocentrotus franciscanus) sit on the deck of the R/V Falkor. These sea urchins were collected during the #HuntingBubbles research cruise led by the USGS and Schmidt Ocean Institute, which focused on exploring and understanding methane seeps and the communities that depend on them along the Cascadia Margin.

A woman wearing a life vest holds a small coral sample on a boat near a tropical island
Ilsa Kuffner studying brain coral in USVI
Ilsa Kuffner studying brain coral in USVI
Ilsa Kuffner studying brain coral in USVI

USGS Research Marine Biologist Dr. Ilsa Kuffner holds a brain coral on board a research vessel while research on coral growth in Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, VI.

USGS Research Marine Biologist Dr. Ilsa Kuffner holds a brain coral on board a research vessel while research on coral growth in Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, VI.

Photos before and after Hurricane Sandy opened a breach on Fire Island
Photos before and after Hurricane Sandy opened a breach on Fire Island
Photos before and after Hurricane Sandy opened a breach on Fire Island
a square cinderblock on the ocean floor with two small round plates with small corals on top. Diver in background
Coral Growth Experiment in Buck Island, St. Croix, USVI
Coral Growth Experiment in Buck Island, St. Croix, USVI
Coral Growth Experiment in Buck Island, St. Croix, USVI

USGS studies the growth rates of corals at a network of coral growth assessment stations throughout Buck Island National Monument in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. These data provide resource managers with information needed to understand how coral populations are doing in the park.

USGS studies the growth rates of corals at a network of coral growth assessment stations throughout Buck Island National Monument in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. These data provide resource managers with information needed to understand how coral populations are doing in the park.

Congressman Charlie Crist visits the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Congressman Charlie Crist visits the SPCMSC
Congressman Charlie Crist visits the SPCMSC
Congressman Charlie Crist visits the SPCMSC

On May 6, 2019, Congressman Charlie Crist (13th district, FL) and Operations and Outreach Director Mr. Kendrick Lewis will visit the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC). Congressman Crist requested this visit because he is interested to learn more about the Center and to discuss needs/priorities that we may have.

On May 6, 2019, Congressman Charlie Crist (13th district, FL) and Operations and Outreach Director Mr. Kendrick Lewis will visit the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC). Congressman Crist requested this visit because he is interested to learn more about the Center and to discuss needs/priorities that we may have.

Scuba diver on a coral reef in Dry Tortugas National Park
USGS scuba diver on coral reef in Dry Tortugas National Park, FL, USA
USGS scuba diver on coral reef in Dry Tortugas National Park, FL, USA
USGS scuba diver on coral reef in Dry Tortugas National Park, FL, USA

The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting research to guide the recovery of the threatened Elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, in Dry Tortugas National Park and throughout the western Atlantic.

Jessica Rodysill (Reston) and Hunter Wilcox (SPCMSC) deploying a corer in Lake Enriquillo.
Researchers deploying a corer in Lake Enriquillo.
Researchers deploying a corer in Lake Enriquillo.
Researchers deploying a corer in Lake Enriquillo.

Jessica Rodysill (Reston) and Hunter Wilcox (SPCMSC) deploying a corer in Lake Enriquillo. The scientists will use the cores to construct precipitation changes in Dominican Republic over the late Holocene (~5000 years ago to present) time period.

Jessica Rodysill (Reston) and Hunter Wilcox (SPCMSC) deploying a corer in Lake Enriquillo. The scientists will use the cores to construct precipitation changes in Dominican Republic over the late Holocene (~5000 years ago to present) time period.

Cheryl Morrison and Christina Kellogg collect water from the two Niskin bottles after they were removed from the ROV post-dive
Christina Kellogg collecting water samples
Christina Kellogg collecting water samples
Christina Kellogg collecting water samples

Cheryl Morrison and Christina Kellogg collect water from the two Niskin bottles after they were removed from the ROV post-dive.

Cheryl Morrison and Christina Kellogg collect water from the two Niskin bottles after they were removed from the ROV post-dive.

Divers meet in the center of the image, looking at eroded coral
Researchers collect measurements of reef erosion
Researchers collect measurements of reef erosion
Researchers collect measurements of reef erosion

Lauren Toth (Research Physical Scientist, SPCMSC) and collaborator Mike Colella (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) collect measurements of reef erosion at Molasses reef off Key Largo, FL.

Lauren Toth (Research Physical Scientist, SPCMSC) and collaborator Mike Colella (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) collect measurements of reef erosion at Molasses reef off Key Largo, FL.

Photo taken as SPMSC scientist Lauren Toth conducts a photographic survey of Porter Patch reef off Key Largo
SPMSC scientist Lauren Toth conducts a photographic survey of the reef
SPMSC scientist Lauren Toth conducts a photographic survey of the reef
SPMSC scientist Lauren Toth conducts a photographic survey of the reef

SPMSC scientist Lauren Toth conducts a photographic survey of Porter Patch reef off Key Largo, one of the sites that has been surveyed as part of FWRI’s Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring project since 1996.

USGS pilots landing a Unmanned Aerial Systems (uas) on  Dauphin Island, Alabama
USGS pilot landing an unmanned aerial system on Dauphin Island, AL
USGS pilot landing an unmanned aerial system on Dauphin Island, AL
USGS pilot landing an unmanned aerial system on Dauphin Island, AL

 USGS unmanned aerial system (drone) pilot collecting aerial imagery and ground control points for the Coastal Resource Evaulation for Management Applications (CREMA) project on Dauphin Island, Alabama

Photo collage of images from Fire Island
Photo collage of images from Fire Island
Photo collage of images from Fire Island
Photo collage of images from Fire Island

 Photo collage of images from Fire Island showing dunes and beaches

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