Images

Sunset over Blackwater River photographed from the wildlife drive at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). Blackwater NWR is one of 560 refuges in the refuge system administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife System. Photo credit: Ray Paterra, USFWS 

Overwash processes caused by storms, like the one seen here following Hurricane Sandy on a barrier island in Virginia, push sand landward over dunes to create low-elevation, minimally vegetated sandy habitats used by a variety of species, like piping plovers.

The streamer is flaked out on the deck with a make shift workbench for tools.  The technical staff (Geological Survey of Canada) are sharing a lighter moment during trouble shooting and repair aboard CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent.

Digital still photograph from Ipswich Bay near Salisbury, MA, showing a lobster, sponges, and brachiopods, on cobbles and ledge covered with bubblegum algae and red filamentous algae.  A thin veneer of coarse sand and gravelly sediment partially cover the rocks. Water depth at this location is approximately 24 meters.

Macroalgae, seagrass, and litter in West Falmouth Harbor, MA

 Sunrise with a recently deployed buoy measuring meteorological data off Fire Island, NY in 2012.  The data collected is part of a study of the coastal processes that mobilize and transport sediment in the region

Anti-fouling treatment is applied to a sensor on a platform about to be deployed off Fire Island, NY in 2012.  The data collected is part of a study of the coastal processes that mobilize and transport sediment in the region

Map showing Holocene (modern) sediment thickness in meters overlain on bathymetry. Regional bathymetric contours are in meters. Note the shoreface-attached sand ridges west of Watch Hill.

Cape Hatteras, N.C.

Oceanographic equipment recovery 

Map C.  Backscatter intensity and sun-illuminated topography.  Blue= "soft" seabed, Green, orange = "hard" seabed

Map of Fire Island, N.Y. study area

Schematic of system designed to control movement and logging of data collected by the Moving Arm Tripod at Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory in 2011.

Bathymetry of the New England inner shelf and south shore of Martha’s Vineyard with model grids

Worldwide distribution of observed and inferred gas hydrates in marine and permafrost-associated settings that have been the subject of drilling programs. The color coding refers to the primary sediment type in each location and therefore designates the likely type of gas hydrate reservoir at each site.

Deployment period storm analysis. (A) significant wave height (red line) and wind speed and direction (arrows). Shading represents storm type (blue = cold front, red = warm front, yellow = low-pressure). (B) Vertical profiles of suspended-sediment concentration. (C) Cumulative along-shore and cross-shore sediment flux.

Map of Long Bay, S.C. study area

Study area map of coastal South Carolina

Stellwagen Bank project research areas in the United States and Canada

Brian Buczkowski of the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center uses a benchtop spectrometer to measure carbonate ion (CO₃²⁻) concentration in a seawater sample during the 7-week 2011 research cruise in the Arctic Ocean aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy. USGS photograph by Lisa Robbins.