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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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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

Backyard bolides: Finding a buried impact crater Backyard bolides: Finding a buried impact crater

Geologist Wylie Poag explains how he happened to find a major impact crater buried beneath Chesapeake Bay.
Authors
C. Wylie Poag
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

New seismic images of the cascadia subduction zone from cruise SO 108-ORWELL New seismic images of the cascadia subduction zone from cruise SO 108-ORWELL

In April and May 1996, a geophysical study of the Cascadia continental margin off Oregon and Washington was conducted aboard the German R/V Sonne. This cooperative experiment by GEOMAR and the USGS acquired wide-angle reflection and refraction seismic data, using ocean-bottom seismometers (OBS) and hydrophones (OBH), and multichannel seismic reflection (MCS) data. The main goal of this...
Authors
E.R. Flueh, M. A. Fisher, J. Bialas, J.R. Childs, D. Klaeschen, Nina Kukowski, T. Parsons, D.W. Scholl, Uri S. ten Brink, A.M. Trehu, N. Vidal
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

The Chesapeake Bay bolide: Modern consequences of an ancient cataclysm The Chesapeake Bay bolide: Modern consequences of an ancient cataclysm

During the late Eocene, the formerly quiescent geological regime of the Virginia Coastal Plain was dramatically transformed when a bolide struck in the vicinity of the Delmarva Peninsula, and produced the following principal consequences:The bolide carved a roughly circular crater twice the size of the state of Rhode Island (~6400 km2), and nearly as deep as the Grand Canyon (1.3 km deep...
Authors
C. Wylie Poag
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Evidence from Lake Baikal for Siberian glaciation during oxygen-isotope substage 5d Evidence from Lake Baikal for Siberian glaciation during oxygen-isotope substage 5d

The paleoclimatic record from bottom sediments of Lake Baikal (eastern Siberia) reveals new evidence for an abrupt and intense glaciation during the initial part of the last interglacial period (isotope substage 5d). This glaciation lasted about 12 000 yr from 117 000 to 105 000 yr BP according to correlation with the SPEC-MAP isotope chronology. Lithological and biogeochemical evidence...
Authors
E.B. Karabanov, A.A. Prokopenko, D. F. Williams, Steven M. Colman
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Evidence for faulting related to dissociation of gas hydrate and release of methane off the southeastern United States Evidence for faulting related to dissociation of gas hydrate and release of methane off the southeastern United States

This paper is part of the special publication Gas hydrates: relevance to world margin stability and climatic change (eds J.P. Henriet and J. Mienert). An irregular, faulted, collapse depression about 38 x 18 km in extent is located on the crest of the Blake Ridge offshore from the south- eastern United States. Faults disrupt the sea floor and terminate or sole out about 40-500 m below...
Authors
William P. Dillon, W. W. Danforth, D. R. Hutchinson, R.M. Drury, M.H. Taylor, J.S. Booth
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Brief notes on habitat geology and clay pipe habitat on Stellwagen Bank Brief notes on habitat geology and clay pipe habitat on Stellwagen Bank

In our studies of sea floor habitats, my colleagues and I use both biological and geological approaches. We call our studies “habitat geology,” a term coined by a biologist friend of mine. We view it as the study of sea floor materials and biological and geological processes that influence where species live. Some of the factors that we consider are the following:composition of the sea...
Authors
Page C. Valentine
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Water-level changes in Lake Baikal, Siberia: Tectonism versus climate Water-level changes in Lake Baikal, Siberia: Tectonism versus climate

Relative changes in the level of Lake Baikal, amounting to hundreds of meters in Quaternary time, are well documented. Data presented here show that tectonic displacements of the lake outlet or former shoreline features are entirely sufficient to explain these relative lake-level changes. In contrast, the morphology and hydrology of the lake make its level hydrologically insensitive to...
Authors
Steven M. Colman
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Recovery and validation of historical sediment quality data from coastal and estuarine areas: An integrated approach Recovery and validation of historical sediment quality data from coastal and estuarine areas: An integrated approach

A comprehensive database of sediment chemistry and environmental parameters has been compiled for Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay. This work illustrates methodologies for rescuing and validating sediment data from heterogeneous historical sources. It greatly expands spatial and temporal data coverage of estuarine and coastal sediments. The database contains about 3500 samples...
Authors
F.T. Manheim, Marilyn R. Buchholtz ten Brink, E.L. Mecray
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Chemical gradients in sediment cores from an EPA reference site off the Farallon Islands - Assessing chemical indicators of dredged material disposal in the deep sea Chemical gradients in sediment cores from an EPA reference site off the Farallon Islands - Assessing chemical indicators of dredged material disposal in the deep sea

Heavy metal and organic contaminants have been determined in undisturbed sediment cores from the US Environmental Protection Agency reference site for dredged material on the continental slope off San Francisco. As expected, the concentrations are significantly lower than toxic effects guidelines, but concentrations of PCBs, PAHs, Hg, Pb, and Clostridium perfringens (a bacterium spore...
Authors
Michael H. Bothner, P.W. Gill, W.S. Boothman, B.B. Taylor, Herman A. Karl
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Metal concentrations in surface sediments of Boston Harbor: Changes with time Metal concentrations in surface sediments of Boston Harbor: Changes with time

The concentrations of metals in surface sediments of Boston Harbor have decreased during the period 1977–1993. This conclusion is supported by analysis of: (1) surface sediments collected at monitoring stations in the outer harbor between 1977 and 1993; (2) metal concentration profiles in sediment cores from depositional areas of the harbor; and (3) historical data from a contaminated...
Authors
Michael H. Bothner, Marilyn R. Buchholtz ten Brink, F.T. Manheim
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Hydrodynamic forcing and sediment character in Boston Harbor Hydrodynamic forcing and sediment character in Boston Harbor

Calculated annual excess skin friction stress at various locations in Quincy Bay (outer Boston Harbor) was found to be correlated positively with sediment sand content. The correlation was optimized when a critical shear stress (??c) of 0.085 Pa was assumed for the bay. The excess shear stress was correlated negatively with sediment lead (Pb) and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)...
Authors
T.M. Ravens, O.S. Madsen, R. P. Signell, E.E. Adams, P.M. Gschwend
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Oceanic methane hydrate: The character of the Blake Ridge hydrate stability zone, and the potential for methane extraction Oceanic methane hydrate: The character of the Blake Ridge hydrate stability zone, and the potential for methane extraction

Oceanic methane hydrates are mineral deposits formed from a crystalline 'ice' of methane and water in sea-floor sediments (buried to less than about 1 km) in water depths greater than about 500 m; economic hydrate deposits are probably restricted to water depths of between 1.5 km and 4 km. Gas hydrates increase a sediment's strength both by 'freezing' the sediment and by filling the pore...
Authors
M.D. Max, William P. Dillon
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
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