Images

Aerial imagery collected by airplane in the Outer Banks of North Carolina continued in FY22 as part of rapid response to storms and recovery monitoring after Hurricane Florence (2018) and Dorian (2019). Analysis of the flooding and erosion of North Core Banks during Hurricane Dorian was published.

Photo Contest | Winter 2022 | Honorable Mention 2
Aerial view of four vehicles parked on the beach at Ocracoke Inlet

Fieldwork was conducted in North Core Banks, North Carolina as part of rapid response to storms and recovery monitoring after Hurricane Florence (2018) and Dorian (2019). This work is supported by the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for the Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (Public Law 116–120, 113 Stat. 871).

Aerial imagery collected in the Outer Banks of North Carolina continued as part of rapid response to storms and recovery monitoring after Hurricane Florence (2018) and Dorian (2019). Analysis of the flooding and erosion of North Core Banks during Hurricane Dorian was published.

Jen Cramer of the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center working with a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) rover in North Core Banks, North Carolina as part of rapid response to storms and recovery monitoring after Hurricane Florence (2018) and Dorian (2019).

By circulating water downward through a clear chamber (“capture cone”), bubbles of gas can be held, imaged and studied over time.  The left image shows bubbles of xenon in the process of developing coatings of gas hydrate.  The shiny bubble indicated near the top is hydrate-free, the white/opaque bubbles have coatings of xenon hydrate.  A few bubbles

The AIM group sent three members to Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina to train new U.S. National Park Service uncrewed aircraft system pilots in structure from motion best practices. The group was able to map the Bodie Island Lighthouse (pictured here) and a section of the beach at Ocracoke Inlet.

Detailed bathymetric maps of Buffalo Reef.  Improvements in grid resolution between the 2018 (left) and 2021 (right) surveys were facilitated by decreasing line spacing from 50 meters to 35 meters or less between adjacent lines.  

Photo Contest Winner | September 2021 | People

Robert (Bo) Bales works on a Aquadopp for deployment

USGS scientist cuts open core taken in the field to sample soils and vegetation for chemical analysis. 

Tidally restricted Typha wetland in the Herring River Estuary.  Learn more about  Continuous Water Level, Salinity, and Temperature Data from Monitoring Wells in Herring River Wetlands, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2020-2021 

Unrestricted Phragmites wetland in Sage Lot Pond, Cape Cod, MA. Learn more about Continuous Water Level, Salinity, and Temperature Data from Monitoring Wells in Wetlands on the South Shore of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2020

Monitoring well in a restored marsh on Cape Cod, MA.  Learn more about Continuous Water Level, Salinity, and Temperature Data from Monitoring Wells in Herring River Wetlands, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2020-2021

 Bathymetric map of Grand Traverse Bay, Lake Superior.  The 2018 data are shown in gray hillshade, with the combined 2021 data superimposed in color.  Index map at lower right shows the extent of each survey. 

Pre- and post-Hurricane Dorian aerial imagery showing extreme sediment transport, overwash and breaches along the barrier islands of the North Carolina coast.

The marshes of Plum Island Estuary are among those predicted by scientists to submerge during the next century under conservative projections of sea-level rise.

Grain density results obtained using a pycnometer inform other geotechnical testing, such as the consolidation results from the laboratory’s oedometers.

 The USGS Gas Hydrates Project develops and tests new tools to address the critical knowledge gaps identified as scientists analyze hydrate-bearing pressure cores recovered during field programs. HyPrCal Laboratory analysis using Pressure Core Characterization Tools.

The USGS, including scientists from the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, participated in the multiagency DUNEX (During Nearshore Event Experiment) project in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, September through October 2021. Maps of the beach were made at regular intervals.

Example from development of an atmospheric model for Hurricane Florence. The images display a comparison between the control case, WRF-ROMS-SWAN modeling system and the multi-sensor (radar and rain) precipitation observations during the calibration of the model.

Hurricane Florence numerical modeling: Cape Fear River basin boundaries, topography, river streams and measurement locations. USGS streamflow and rain gages, and Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) gages are shown. Stream order increases going from branches to the main channel indicating merging surface water flow.