Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

SEABed Observation and Sampling System (SEABOSS) (center image) and the MiniSEABOSS (right) designed for rapid, inexpensive, and effective collection of seabed imagery (photographs and video) as well sediment samples from the coastal/inner-continental shelf regions.  Images from coastal Massachusetts show purple algae-encrusted cobbles and boulders covered with sea-stars (

3D Image of a multi-channel seismic (MCS) line showing gas (blue/green) migrating up through fractures in the subsurface, culminating in a 600 meter tall plume of methane gas in the water column that was captured using a Simrad EK60 split beam echo sounder.  Background bathymetry was downloaded from USGS Open-File Report 2012-1266 (

Three-dimensional model of Chimney Bluffs, New York along Lake Ontario created from low-altitude digital images collected from an unmanned aerial system (UAS).

Displaying fixed bin options (left) for rates of change for an example dataset (LRR, EPR, WLR), and scaled to data (right) (NSM).

Data visualization with (A) fixed and (B) scaled options applied. Examples of NSM and SCE are also displayed (C and D respectively). The data itself has not changed – only the scaling and statistic selected through the DSAS Data Visualization tool.

 Example of a section of DSAS summary report highlighting the use of DSAS_group to organize output statistics.

Image showing a collage of examples of multi-channel and single-channel seismic data collected by the USGS, seismic equipment deployed from a research vessel, and seismic equipment on a research vessel.  These data are critical to the CMG Program as they define the geology in marine and coastal environments.

Screenshot of a point cloud containing more than 50 million points from a photogrammetry project of the Quissett Campus.  This point cloud was created from 633 photographs taken from a unmanned aircraft system (UAS) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts in July 2018

Upper Left:  Dann Blackwood operating the SEABOSS winch during a sampling cruise; Lower left: Bill Schwab, Laura Brothers and Emile Bergeron on the deck of a research vessel; Center Left: Tom O'Brien carrying equipment during a research cruise; Center: USGS staff deploying a seismic system from a research vessel; left: Chuck Worley ready to deploy a multibeam echosounder

USGS Research Geologist Dr. Erika Lentz is conducting real-time kinematic GPS surveys on barrier island dunes, part of her research looking at how coastal landscapes respond to sea-level rise.

USGS personnel on the deck of the R/V Hugh R. Sharp during retrieval of seismic airguns.  The streamer that receives the seismic signals generated by the airguns is towed behind the ship and is here shown