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Coastal Change

Coastal change poses potential risk to coastal communities across the nation. Powerful storms generate surge, waves and currents that can move large amounts of sediment, destroy roads, buildings and other critical infrastructure as well as alter natural habitats. The USGS performs a range of studies that document, assess and model coastal change, risk, and vulnerability.

DSAS

Digital Shoreline Analysis System Logo

The Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) v5 software is an add-in to Esri ArcGIS desktop (10.4-10.7+) that enables a user to calculate rate-of-change statistics from multiple historical shoreline positions. 

Digital Shoreline Analysis System

MICS

Waves break between houses in Sandwich, MA

Coastal erosion, intense storm events and sea-level rise pose threats to coastal communities and infrastructure..  The Massachusetts Integrated Coastal Studies (MICS) is conducting a multi-tiered research initiative consisting of shoreline change characterization, sediment transport numerical modeling and seafloor mapping in Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Integrated Coastal Studies

Marconi Beach

Scouting Marconi Beach

Two video cameras are mounted on a bluff above Marconi Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore, Wellfleet, MA. The cameras are part of a U.S. Geological Survey research project to study the beach and nearshore environment shared by beachgoers, shorebirds, seals, and sharks. 

Video Imagery to Study Marconi Beach

Browse Topics

Filter Total Items: 30
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Adult and juvenile Piping Plovers (Kaiti Titherington/USFWS)

Beach-dependent Shorebirds

Policy-makers, individuals from government agencies, and natural resource managers are under increasing pressure to manage changing coastal areas to meet social, economic, and natural resource demands, particularly under a regime of sea-level rise. Scientific knowledge of coastal processes and habitat-use can support decision-makers as they balance these often-conflicting human and ecological...
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Hurricane Sandy, USGS Science in Long Island Sound and its Watershed
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Beach-dependent Shorebirds

Policy-makers, individuals from government agencies, and natural resource managers are under increasing pressure to manage changing coastal areas to meet social, economic, and natural resource demands, particularly under a regime of sea-level rise. Scientific knowledge of coastal processes and habitat-use can support decision-makers as they balance these often-conflicting human and ecological...
Learn More
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3D computer image shows corrugations beneath the seafloor where tectonic plates move past each other.

Caribbean Tsunami and Earthquake Hazards Studies

Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are located at an active plate boundary between the North American plate and the northeast corner of the Caribbean plate. Plate movements have caused large magnitude earthquakes and devastating tsunamis. The USGS has an ongoing program to identify and map the faults in this region using various geophysical and geological methods in order to estimate the location...
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Deep Sea Exploration, Mapping and Characterization, Subduction Zone Science
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Caribbean Tsunami and Earthquake Hazards Studies

Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are located at an active plate boundary between the North American plate and the northeast corner of the Caribbean plate. Plate movements have caused large magnitude earthquakes and devastating tsunamis. The USGS has an ongoing program to identify and map the faults in this region using various geophysical and geological methods in order to estimate the location...
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Cape Hatteras, N.C.

Coastal Change Processes

The primary objective of this project is to increase our understanding of the physical processes that cause coastal change, and ultimately improve our capability to predict the processes and their impacts. This will be approached by using geophysical surveys, oceanographic studies, and predictive models to investigate the interactions of shoreline, nearshore, and offshore sediment transport...
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Coastal Change Processes

The primary objective of this project is to increase our understanding of the physical processes that cause coastal change, and ultimately improve our capability to predict the processes and their impacts. This will be approached by using geophysical surveys, oceanographic studies, and predictive models to investigate the interactions of shoreline, nearshore, and offshore sediment transport...
Learn More
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Map of Research Areas

Geologic Mapping Offshore of Rhode Island

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is mapping sea-floor geology and sedimentary environments offshore of Rhode Island. This site provides links to bathymetric, sidescan-sonar, sediment, photographic, seismic-reflection, and interpretive datasets, all presented in Geographic Information System (GIS) formats and...
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Geologic Mapping Offshore of Rhode Island

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is mapping sea-floor geology and sedimentary environments offshore of Rhode Island. This site provides links to bathymetric, sidescan-sonar, sediment, photographic, seismic-reflection, and interpretive datasets, all presented in Geographic Information System (GIS) formats and...
Learn More
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Map of  Relative Coastal Vulnerability for Virgin Islands National Park.

Relative Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of National Park Units to Sea-Level Rise

The National Park Service (NPS) is responsible for managing nearly 12,000 km (7,500 miles) of shoreline along oceans and lakes. In 2001 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in partnership with the NPS Geologic Resources Division, began conducting hazard assessments of future sea-level change by creating maps to assist NPS in managing its valuable resources. This website contains results of the...
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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Relative Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of National Park Units to Sea-Level Rise

The National Park Service (NPS) is responsible for managing nearly 12,000 km (7,500 miles) of shoreline along oceans and lakes. In 2001 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in partnership with the NPS Geologic Resources Division, began conducting hazard assessments of future sea-level change by creating maps to assist NPS in managing its valuable resources. This website contains results of the...
Learn More
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Chincoteague Bay, MD

North Carolina Regional Coastal Erosion Studies

This project is complete and the website is archived and no longer updated. The USGS, the State of North Carolina and university researchers, mapped the regional sedimentary framework of the inner shelf of northern North Carolina to understand coastal processes, including erosion and the impacts of shoreline change. The study area includes communities along the Outer Banks, several national and...
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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
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North Carolina Regional Coastal Erosion Studies

This project is complete and the website is archived and no longer updated. The USGS, the State of North Carolina and university researchers, mapped the regional sedimentary framework of the inner shelf of northern North Carolina to understand coastal processes, including erosion and the impacts of shoreline change. The study area includes communities along the Outer Banks, several national and...
Learn More