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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

Invasive Phragmites plants on the shore of a lake

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

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Featured USGS Series

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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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Sound Waves

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Coastal and Marine Research News from Across the USGS

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Filter Total Items: 1737

Character, distribution, and ecological significance of storm wave-induced scour in Rhode Island Sound, USA Character, distribution, and ecological significance of storm wave-induced scour in Rhode Island Sound, USA

Multibeam bathymetry, collected during NOAA hydrographic surveys in 2008 and 2009, is coupled with USGS data from sampling and photographic stations to map the seabed morphology and composition of Rhode Island Sound along the US Atlantic coast, and to provide information on sediment transport and benthic habitats. Patchworks of scour depressions cover large areas on seaward-facing slopes...
Authors
Katherine Y. McMullen, Lawrence J. Poppe, Castle E. Parker
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Permafrost-associated gas hydrate: is it really approximately 1% of the global system? Permafrost-associated gas hydrate: is it really approximately 1% of the global system?

Permafrost-associated gas hydrates are often assumed to contain ∼1 % of the global gas-in-place in gas hydrates based on a study26 published over three decades ago. As knowledge of permafrost-associated gas hydrates has grown, it has become clear that many permafrost-associated gas hydrates are inextricably linked to an associated conventional petroleum system, and that their formation...
Authors
Carolyn Ruppel
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

The potential for sea-level-rise-induced barrier island loss: Insights from the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, USA The potential for sea-level-rise-induced barrier island loss: Insights from the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, USA

As sea level rises and hurricanes become more intense, barrier islands around the world become increasingly vulnerable to conversion from self-sustaining migrating landforms to submerging or subaqueous sand bodies. To explore the mechanism by which such state changes occur and to assess the factors leading to island disintegration, we develop a suite of numerical simulations for the...
Authors
Laura J. Moore, Kiki Patsch, Jeffrey H. List, S. Jeffress Williams
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Formation of fine sediment deposit from a flash flood river in the Mediterranean Sea Formation of fine sediment deposit from a flash flood river in the Mediterranean Sea

We identify the mechanisms controlling fine deposits on the inner-shelf in front of the Besòs River, in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. This river is characterized by a flash flood regime discharging large amounts of water (more than 20 times the mean water discharge) and sediment in very short periods lasting from hours to few days. Numerical model output was compared with bottom...
Authors
Manel Grifoll, Vicenc Gracia, Alfredo L. Aretxabaleta, Jorge Guillen, Manuel Espino, John C. Warner
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Investigation of hurricane Ivan using the coupled ocean-atmosphere-wave-sediment transport (COAWST) model Investigation of hurricane Ivan using the coupled ocean-atmosphere-wave-sediment transport (COAWST) model

The coupled ocean–atmosphere–wave–sediment transport (COAWST) model is used to hindcast Hurricane Ivan (2004), an extremely intense tropical cyclone (TC) translating through the Gulf of Mexico. Sensitivity experiments with increasing complexity in ocean–atmosphere–wave coupled exchange processes are performed to assess the impacts of coupling on the predictions of the atmosphere, ocean...
Authors
Joseph B. Zambon, Ruoying He, John C. Warner
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Sea-floor morphology and sedimentary environments of western Block Island Sound, northeast of Gardiners Island, New York Sea-floor morphology and sedimentary environments of western Block Island Sound, northeast of Gardiners Island, New York

Multibeam-echosounder data, collected during survey H12299 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in a 162-square-kilometer area of Block Island Sound, northeast of Gardiners Island, New York, are used along with sediment samples and bottom photography, collected at 37 stations in this area by the U.S. Geological Survey during cruise 2013-005-FA, to interpret sea-floor...
Authors
Katherine Y. McMullen, Lawrence J. Poppe, William W. Danforth, Dann S. Blackwood, Andrew R. Clos, Castle E. Parker
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Modification of the Quaternary stratigraphic framework of the inner-continental shelf by Holocene marine transgression: An example offshore of Fire Island, New York Modification of the Quaternary stratigraphic framework of the inner-continental shelf by Holocene marine transgression: An example offshore of Fire Island, New York

The inner-continental shelf off Fire Island, New York was mapped in 2011 using interferometric sonar and high-resolution chirp seismic-reflection systems. The area mapped is approximately 50 km long by 8 km wide, extending from Moriches Inlet to Fire Island Inlet in water depths ranging from 8 to 32 m. The morphology of this inner-continental shelf region and modern sediment distribution...
Authors
William C. Schwab, Wayne E. Baldwin, Jane F. Denny, Cheryl J. Hapke, Paul T. Gayes, Jeffrey H. List, John C. Warner
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Hurricane Sandy

Widespread methane leakage from the sea floor on the northern US Atlantic margin Widespread methane leakage from the sea floor on the northern US Atlantic margin

Methane emissions from the sea floor affect methane inputs into the atmosphere, ocean acidification and de-oxygenation, the distribution of chemosynthetic communities and energy resources. Global methane flux from seabed cold seeps has only been estimated for continental shelves, at 8 to 65 Tg CH4 yr−1, yet other parts of marine continental margins are also emitting methane. The US...
Authors
Adam Skarke, Carolyn Ruppel, Mali’o Kodis, Daniel S. Brothers, Elizabeth A. Lobecker
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Continuous resistivity profiling and seismic-reflection data collected in April 2010 from Indian River Bay, Delaware Continuous resistivity profiling and seismic-reflection data collected in April 2010 from Indian River Bay, Delaware

A geophysical survey to delineate the fresh-saline groundwater interface and associated sub-bottom sedimentary structures beneath Indian River Bay, Delaware, was carried out in April 2010. This included surveying at higher spatial resolution in the vicinity of a study site at Holts Landing, where intensive onshore and offshore studies were subsequently completed. The total length of...
Authors
V.A. Cross, J.F. Bratton, H.A. Michael, K.D. Kroeger, Adrian G. Mann, Emile M. Bergeron
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Modeling future scenarios of light attenuation and potential seagrass success in a eutrophic estuary Modeling future scenarios of light attenuation and potential seagrass success in a eutrophic estuary

Estuarine eutrophication has led to numerous ecological changes, including loss of seagrass beds. One potential cause of these losses is a reduction in light availability due to increased attenuation by phytoplankton. Future sea level rise will also tend to reduce light penetration and modify seagrass habitat. In the present study, we integrate a spectral irradiance model into a...
Authors
Pilar del Barrio, Neil K. Ganju, Alfredo L. Aretxabaleta, Melanie Hayn, Andres Garcia, Robert W. Howarth
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Chirp seismic-reflection data from the Baltimore, Washington, and Norfolk Canyons, U.S. mid-Atlantic margin Chirp seismic-reflection data from the Baltimore, Washington, and Norfolk Canyons, U.S. mid-Atlantic margin

A large number of high-resolution geophysical surveys between Cape Hatteras and Georges Bank have been conducted by federal, state, and academic institutions since the turn of the century. A major goal of these surveys is providing a continuous view of bathymetry and shallow stratigraphy at the shelf edge in order to assess levels of geological activity during the current sea level...
Authors
Jeffrey B. Obelcz, Daniel S. Brothers, Uri S. ten Brink, Jason D. Chaytor, Charles R. Worley, Eric M. Moore
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Event sedimentation in low-latitude deep-water carbonate basins, Anegada passage, northeast Caribbean Event sedimentation in low-latitude deep-water carbonate basins, Anegada passage, northeast Caribbean

The Virgin Islands and Whiting basins in the Northeast Caribbean are deep, structurally controlled depocentres partially bound by shallow-water carbonate platforms. Closed basins such as these are thought to document earthquake and hurricane events through the accumulation of event layers such as debris flow and turbidity current deposits and the internal deformation of deposited...
Authors
Jason D. Chaytor, Uri S. ten Brink
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, 2020 Puerto Rico Earthquakes
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