Images

These Elkhorn corals (Acropora palmata) near Buck Island, U.S. Virgin Islands have died and collapsed into rubble. As coral reef structure degrades, valuable habitat for marine life is lost and nearby coastlines become more susceptible to storms, waves and erosion.

Near vertical (top, middle) and low angle oblique (bottom) aerial photographs of Bear Inlet, North Carolina. View looking northwest along the North Carolina shore. High waves and storm surge from Hurricane Joaquin eroded the beaches, moving sand inland (green arrow) and reshaping the flood-tidal shoals.

Aerial images of the wilderness breach: a) Aerial photograph taken several days after Hurricane Sandy (photo credit: NOAA); b) Aerial mosaic of the breach in June 2015 showing the location of erosion on the ocean side of the breach and deposition that results in the seasonal formation of a spit (photo credit: Stonybrook University).

USGS scientist Lisa Robbins next to the research vessel (R/V) Atlantis, which is owned by the U.S. Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

USGS scientist BJ Reynolds sets up a solar-powered, satellite-uplinked GPS base station in the Fire Island Wilderness Area to support detailed elevation surveys.

Near vertical (top, middle) and low angle oblique (bottom) aerial photographs of Topsail, North Carolina. View looking northwest along the North Carolina shore. Elevated storm-induced water levels overtopped the low dunes here causing the dune to overwash. Sand was transported landward, burying the marsh (green arrow).

Graphics and photos showing the overwash characteristics of 3 locations at Fire Island, NY

This USGS vessel acquires single-beam bathymetry in shallow nearshore environments. We acquire repeat bathymetry surveys over multiple years and compute changes in bathymetry, thus allowing us to identify hotspots of erosion and deposition on short timescales.

Waves breaking over offshore reefs on Kwajalein Atoll, in the Marshall Islands, where reefs are protecting developed land from flooding.

View of Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve in Hawaii. Hanauma is located along the southeast coast of the Island of Oʻahu. It is known for its abundance of marine life and is a popular snorkeling location.

Aerial image showing beach and offshore reef

Aerial image showing beach and offshore reef

Two colonies of the mustard hill coral, Porites astreoides, one apparently healthy (left) and one visibly bleached (right) during a coral-bleaching event at Hen and Chickens Sanctuary Preservation Area, Plantation Key, FL, USA. When ocean temperatures were unusually warm in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in October 2015, coral ble

Concrete and stainless-steel marker photographed 17 years after being installed into the reef in 1998 by Harold Hudson, NOAA. Scraping and grazing by parrotfish, chemical erosion from sponges, and wave action all combine to winnow away the dead skeletons of coral—a process known as reef erosion.

Here are shown two mustard hill corals (Porites astreoides) growing side-by-side, one (right) that has succumbed to heat stress and lost its symbiotic algae, and one (left) that has not.

Photo of undercut coral taken at Hen and Chickens Reef Sanctuary Preservation Area, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

A diver peeks from behind a badly bleached coral in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in October 2015. Coral bleaching events caused by abnormally warm ocean temperatures continue to regularly claim the lives of coral populations around the globe. 

U.S. Geological Survey scientist walks on a coastal bluff in Alaska.

This flooded airport runway used to be the main lifeline for inhabitants of Barter Island, Alaska, before it was relocated in response to consistent flooding.

Time-averaged image, or “timex,” created by averaging the intensity of light recorded at each spot, or “pixel,” during a video taken at Duck, North Carolina, on September 1, 2015. Blurred white zones show where waves are breaking. Light band paralleling the shore marks an offshore sandbar. Dark bands extending away from the beach indicate rip channels.

We collect terrestrial (barrier island) and marine (nearshore and estuarine) sediment cores to understand the history of barrier island formation and erosion.