Images

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.

A USGS researcher collects beach elevation profile data on Fire Island, New York.

The survival of Elkhorn Coral, shown here composing a healthy thicket, is critical for shoreline protection because it is the only species that builds reef-crest habitat in the Caribbean region.

Fire Island Lighthouse at Fire Island National Seashore

Since Hurricane Sandy, we have developed techniques to monitor short-term changes to the upper beach where both storm impacts and subsequent beach recovery are easily observed and measured.

A USGS researcher measures water and sediment movement at Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey.

A peat auger core collected from the back-barrier marsh of Assateague Island, Maryland. An inorganic-rich layer found at the top of the core was delivered to the marsh via Hurricane Sandy. Visual contrast in sediment down-core reveal similar layers as that observed at the top of the core (i.e., Hurricane Sandy layer).

Perspective view of coastal bathymetry looking onshore, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, mapped using lidar and depicted with false-color, showing detailed submerged features, including coral reefs.

USGS researchers can study beach recovery by collecting repeat elevation profiles at Fire Island, NY.

Cores can contain sediment units deposited in different environmental settings. Core photos and X-rays illuminate how sediment units can have contrasting color and density.  

Three Arctica islandica shells that have been washed and set out to dry.                                     

Researchers at the USGS study the long-term change of the beaches and dunes at Fire Island, NY.

Clean, sandy beach on Fire Island with a researcher on a PWC in the surf zone in the background 

USGS researchers collect repeat geophysical data from the nearshore at Fire Island, NY to study bathymetric change over time.