Images

The USGS booth at the 2025 Woods Hole Science Stroll on August 9, 2025. During this free event, a variety of booths line the streets, docks, and Waterfront Park to deliver hands-on science activities, games, demonstrations, and more to visitors of all ages. 

We setup a shake table that moves in different directions, at varying frequencies to demonstrate the power of earthquakes. People built structures out of Legos to put on the shake table to test how buildings, bridges, and other infrastructure would behave during a real seismic event. 

Zafer Defne discussed discussed ocean and coastal dynamics with attendees and provided details about the COAWST modeling system. The COAWST model allows many sophisticated models to work together to accurately simulate physical processes during a storm.

The USGS office in Woods Hole, MA recently conducted a survey of Long Pond—a local waterbody in the town of Falmouth. Long Pond has been Falmouth’s primary drinking water source since 1898.

In August, the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center had four great presentations from summer interns discussing various aspects of salt marsh science!

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and USGS prepared four activities for the Preserving Our Homelands Summer Camp on July 22nd. EPA hosted an air quality monitoring activity that involved the campers conducting tests and participating in a guided discussion about factors contributing to air quality and its implications on people and habitat.

A recent USGS study highlights the impacts of #hurricanes and #storms on #barrierislands, focusing on the outwash process, where flooding from behind the dunes removes sand, plants, and seeds, washing them into the #ocean. 

The USGS used #drones to collect aerial remote sensing data across the Lower #DarbyCreek Area Superfund Site and the adjacent #JohnHeinzNationalWildlifeRefuge, about 5 miles outside of #Philadelphia, PA. The data release is now available: https://doi.org/10.5066/P134HU3Y.  

New data release presents an update to the Coastal Response Likelihood model—a spatially explicit, probabilistic model that evaluates coastal response for the Northeastern U.S. under various sea-level scenarios. https://doi.org/10.5066/P13JKJUT  

Preparing equipment to map the geologic framework of Nantucket Sound, offshore Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

The USGS is actively mapping the seafloor surface and its underlying structure in coastal to deep sea environments. These maps provide the scientific foundation needed to address national priorities, including #publicsafety, #nationalsecurity, #energydominance, and #economicprosperity. 

Non-profit organizations Transom Story Lab and Atlantic Public Media hosted a weekend-long science storytelling workshop called "Making Waves." It was attended by 11 scientists from scientific institutions throughout Woods Hole, Massachusetts, including USGS scientists Jin-Si Over, Ellen Lalk, and Sara Zeigler.

USGS marks the spot! Our science is key to understanding seabed resources. Our maps characterizing the seafloor can help find #criticalminerals, precious metals, and other vital resources in high demand. 

Non-profit organizations Transom Story Lab and Atlantic Public Media hosted a weekend-long science storytelling workshop called "Making Waves." It was attended by 11 scientists from scientific institutions throughout Woods Hole, Massachusetts, including USGS scientists Jin-Si Over, Ellen Lalk, and Sara Zeigler.

An introductory course for small uncrewed aircraft system (sUAS) pilots was held at the New York State Emergency Preparedness Training Facility in Oriskany, New York. Instructors from across the country, including Sandy Brosnahan (lead instructor) and Seth Ackerman of the USGS WHCMSC, collaborated to deliver the training.

WFSU produced a documentary covering a research cruise offshore Oregon to Astoria Canyon (2023) and smaller campaigns to the Hydrate Ridge seep system (2024) to study the cycling dynamics of dissolved organic matter at methane seeps.

WFSU produced a documentary covering a research cruise offshore Oregon to Astoria Canyon (2023) and smaller campaigns to the Hydrate Ridge seep system (2024) to study the cycling dynamics of dissolved organic matter at methane seeps.

The USGS hosted a webinar highlighting new USGS tools developed for use in Long Island Sound.

A seafloor mapping survey in Long Island Sound took place in May with collaborators from the University of Connecticut and the University of New Haven. They are mapping the area’s geology and biota to identify seasonal changes from their previous survey in November 2024.

The Coastal Landscape Response assessment creates multidecadal predictions of where and when the coast is likely to adapt or inundate. Results are produced for four decades—the 2020s, 2030s, 2050s, and 2080s.

USGS Coastal Change Likelihood (CCL) outcomes are displayed for Wallops Joint Expeditionary Base in Virginia. Warm colors indicate areas of high expected coastal change and cool colors indicate areas with lower expected change.