Images

USGS pilot Sandy Brosnahan and Senate Pro Tempore Marc Pacheco discuss the use of Umanned Aerial Systems (UASs, also known as drones) to collect data in coastal environments.

(Top) Methane plumes at the Norfolk Canyon seeps (~1600 meters or 5250 feet) were detected using the EK60 sonar. The water column plumes are shown above the sub-seafloor structure as imaged by high-resolution multichannel seismic data acquired by the USGS and processed by J. Kluesner.

Map of the general expedition area on the northern U.S. Atlantic Margin between Baltimore Canyon and Cape Hatteras

 Map of distribution of fine- and coarse-grained sand, Stellwagen Bank.  Blue and purple = boulder ridges.  Redlines = leading edges of sand sheets

Methane bubbles emerging from the seafloor at a seep site colonized by chemosynthetic mussels at ~1000 m water depth on the Virginia margin. Photograph taken by the Global Explorer operated by Oceaneering Inc.

USGS ocean engineers Peter Dal Ferro and Gerry Hatcher, from the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in Santa Cruz, California, deploying a multicorer to sample the seafloor near an Atlantic margin methane seep site.

It's a bird? It's a plane? It's a drone! USGS drone pilot Emily Sturdivant (seated) demonstrates flying an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), much to the delight of the onlookers. 

Fieldtrip participants at the former San Clemente Dam site.

Hill-shaded bathymetric, backscatter, and photographic data collected by NOAA and the USGS. Backscatter data give indications of seafloor character. In general, low-backscatter intensity (blue) corresponds to finer-grained material, whereas high-backscatter intensity (orange) corresponds to coarser substrate.

The USGS conducted surveys on the inner continental shelf of the Delmarva Peninsula (shown in green) to complement related datasets previously collected in the area by partners NOAA and BOEM. The inset map shows location of the study area.

The 3DR Solo with GoPro Hero4 camera and gimbal. Coming to a survey area near you soon.

Shawn Harrison uses a GPS-equipped backpack to measure sand elevations during a post-storm survey of beaches in Santa Cruz, California. 

USGS scientist Zafer Defne measures water and sediment movement at Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey. Defne is co-author with Neil Ganju of a 2017 study on how to estimate coastal salt marshes’ potential longevity, based on their sediment budgets and the ratio of open water to vegetation.

Seafloor photograph of a spider crab, sediment, rocks, taken by the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center SeaBOSS during a deployment off the R/V Connecticut in Long Island Sound

Long Island Sound Survey mapping team.  This project is a collaboration of several agencies and institutions including Univ of Connecticut, Univ of New Haven, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, NOAA, LDEO, USGS

Image of the SeaBOSS and USGS personnel on the fantail of the R/V Connecticut in Long Island Sound

USGS personnel adjust equipment on the SeaBOSS on the fantail of the R/V Connecticut on Long Island Sound

SeaBOSS on the fantail of the R/V Connecticut on Long Island Sound at sunrise

SeaBOSS on the fantail of R/V Connecticut on Long Island Sound

Storm overwash on Surf Drive Beach, Falmouth, MA  

Storm overwash, Surf Drive Beach, Falmouth, MA