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Earthquake recurrence estimates for northern Caribbean faults from combinatorial optimization

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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

2023 Annual Report

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Pragmatically mapping Phragmites with unoccupied aerial systems: A comparison of invasive species land cover classification using RGB and multispectral imagery

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Hydroacoustic observations reveal drivers of mixing and salinization of a karst subterranean estuary during intense precipitation

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Scientific literature and information products produced by Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center staff

Featured Journal Article

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Pragmatically mapping Phragmites with unoccupied aerial systems: A comparison of invasive species land cover classification using RGB and multispectral imagery

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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center—2023 Annual Report.  The 2023 annual report highlights accomplishments, includes a list of publications, and summarizes the work of the center and each of the science groups.

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Coastal and Marine Research News from Across the USGS

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Filter Total Items: 1737

Along-strike segmentation in the northern Caribbean plate boundary zone (Hispaniola sector): Tectonic implications Along-strike segmentation in the northern Caribbean plate boundary zone (Hispaniola sector): Tectonic implications

The North American (NOAM) plate converges with the Caribbean (CARIB) plate at a rate of 20.0 ± 0.4 mm/yr. towards 254 ± 1°. Plate convergence is highly oblique (20–10°), resulting in a complex crustal boundary with along-strike segmentation, strain partitioning and microplate tectonics. We study the oblique convergence of the NOAM and CARIB plates between southeastern Cuba to northern...
Authors
A. Rodriguez-Zurrunero, J. L. Granja-Bruna, A. Muñoz-Martín, Sarah LeRoy, Uri S. ten Brink, J.M. Gorosabel-Araus, L. Gomez de la Pena, M Druet, A. Carbo- Gorosabel
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Using the Lomb-Scargle method for wave statistics from gappy time series Using the Lomb-Scargle method for wave statistics from gappy time series

Sandwich Town Neck Beach in Sandwich, MA, has experienced substantial erosion and has been the subject of efforts by the town and private landowners to limit the sand loss. Erosion has been particularly dramatic in the past five years with the loss of dwellings. Sandwich's nourishment efforts presented a unique opportunity for scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey Woods Hole Coastal...
Authors
Marinna A. Martini, Alfredo Aretxabaleta, Christopher R. Sherwood
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Understanding tidal marsh trajectories: Evaluation of multiple indicators of marsh persistence Understanding tidal marsh trajectories: Evaluation of multiple indicators of marsh persistence

Robust assessments of ecosystem stability are critical for informing conservation and management decisions. Tidal marsh ecosystems provide vital services, yet are globally threatened by anthropogenic alterations to physical and biological processes. A variety of monitoring and modeling approaches have been undertaken to determine which tidal marshes are likely to persist into the future...
Authors
Kerstin Wasson, Neil K. Ganju, Zafer Defne, Charlie Endris, Tracy Elsey-Quirk, Karen M. Thorne, Chase M. Freeman, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Daniel J. Nowacki, Kenneth B. Raposa
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Wave-current interaction between Hurricane Matthew wave fields and the Gulf Stream Wave-current interaction between Hurricane Matthew wave fields and the Gulf Stream

Hurricanes interact with the Gulf Stream in the South Atlantic Bight (SAB) through a wide variety of processes, which are crucial to understand for prediction of open-ocean and coastal hazards during storms. However, it remains unclear how waves are modified by large-scale ocean currents under storm conditions, when waves are aligned with the storm-driven circulation and tightly coupled...
Authors
Christie Hegermiller, John C. Warner, Maitane Olabarrieta, Christopher R. Sherwood
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center—2018 annual report Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center—2018 annual report

The 2018 annual report of the U.S. Geological Survey Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center summarizes the work of the center, as well as the work of each of its science groups, highlights accomplishments of 2018, and includes a list of publications published in 2018. This product allows readers to gain a general understanding of the focus areas of the center’s scientific research...
Authors
Sara Ernst
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Simple metrics predict salt-marsh sediment fluxes Simple metrics predict salt-marsh sediment fluxes

The growth (or decay) of salt marshes depends on suspended-sediment flux into and out of the marsh. Suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) is a key element of the flux, and SSC-based metrics reflect the long-term sediment-flux trajectories of a variety of salt marshes. One metric, the flood–ebb SSC differential, correlates with area-normalized sediment flux and can indicate salt-marsh...
Authors
Daniel J. Nowacki, Neil K. Ganju
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

2D micromodel study of clogging behavior of fine-grained particles associated with gas hydrate production in NGHP-02 gas hydrate reservoir sediments 2D micromodel study of clogging behavior of fine-grained particles associated with gas hydrate production in NGHP-02 gas hydrate reservoir sediments

Fine-grained particles (fines) commonly coexist with coarse-grained sediments that host gas hydrate. These fines can be mobilized by liquid and gas flow during gas hydrate production. Once mobilized, fines can clog pore throats and reduce reservoir permeability. Even where particle sizes are smaller than pore-throat sizes, clogs can form due to clusters of fines. For certain types of...
Authors
S.C. Cao, Junbong Jang, William F. Waite, Timothy Collett, Jenni Junger, P. Kumar
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Semi-automated bathymetric spectral decomposition delineates the impact of mass wasting on the morphological evolution of the continental slope, offshore Israel Semi-automated bathymetric spectral decomposition delineates the impact of mass wasting on the morphological evolution of the continental slope, offshore Israel

Understanding continental slope morphological evolution is essential for predicting depositional systems and reservoirs in the adjacent basin. However, present-day slope seafloor-morphology is complicated by shaping processes, which are not readily separable through pure bathymetric analysis. This study aims to explore the utility of bathymetric spectral decomposition in order to...
Authors
Godol Omri, Gideon Tibor, Uri S. ten Brink, John K. Hall, Gavrielle Groves-Gidney, Gideon Bar-Am, Christian Hubscher, Yizhaq Makovsky
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Hydrodynamic and morphologic response of a back-barrier estuary to an extratropical storm Hydrodynamic and morphologic response of a back-barrier estuary to an extratropical storm

We investigated the hydrodynamic and morphologic response of Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, USA to Hurricane Sandy. We implemented a three-dimensional, coupled ocean-wave-sediment transport model of the estuary and explored the role of offshore water levels, offshore waves, local winds and waves by systematically removing forcings from a series of simulations. Offshore water...
Authors
Zafer Defne, Neil K. Ganju, Julia M. Moriarty
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Sediment classification and the characterization, identification, and mapping of geologic substrates for the glaciated Gulf of Maine seabed and other terrains, providing a physical framework for ecological research and seabed management Sediment classification and the characterization, identification, and mapping of geologic substrates for the glaciated Gulf of Maine seabed and other terrains, providing a physical framework for ecological research and seabed management

A geologic substrate is a surface (or volume) of sediment or rock where physical, chemical, and biological processes occur, such as the movement and deposition of sediment, the formation of bedforms, and the attachment, burrowing, feeding, reproduction, and sheltering of organisms. Seabed mapping surveys in the Stellwagen Bank region off Boston, Massachusetts, from 1993 to 2004 have led...
Authors
Page C. Valentine
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Evaluating barrier island characteristics and piping plover (Charadrius melodus) habitat availability along the U.S. Atlantic Coast—Geospatial approaches and methodology Evaluating barrier island characteristics and piping plover (Charadrius melodus) habitat availability along the U.S. Atlantic Coast—Geospatial approaches and methodology

Policy makers, individuals from government agencies, and natural resource managers face increasing demands to manage coastal areas in a way that meets economic, social, and ecological needs as sea levels rise. Scientific knowledge of how coastal processes drive beach and barrier island changes and how those changes affect habitat use can support decision makers as they balance sometimes
Authors
Sara L. Zeigler, Emily J. Sturdivant, Benjamin T. Gutierrez
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Plate boundary localization, slip-rates and rupture segmentation of the Queen Charlotte Fault based on submarine tectonic geomorphology Plate boundary localization, slip-rates and rupture segmentation of the Queen Charlotte Fault based on submarine tectonic geomorphology

Linking fault behavior over many earthquake cycles to individual earthquake behavior is a primary goal in tectonic geomorphology, particularly across an entire plate boundary. Here, we examine the 1150-km-long, right-lateral Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault system using comprehensive multibeam bathymetry data acquired along the Queen Charlotte Fault (QCF) offshore southeastern Alaska...
Authors
Daniel S. Brothers, Nathaniel C. Miller, Vaughn Barrie, Peter J. Haeussler, H. Gary Greene, Brian D. Andrews, Olaf Zielke, Peter Dartnell
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Alaska Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Core Preparation and Analysis Laboratory and Sample Repositories, Multi-Sensor Core Logger Laboratory
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