Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

What We Do: Coastal and Marine Science at USGS Santa Cruz

New booklet offers overview of our work!

USGS Researchers Return to Eastern Galapágos Spreading Center

Read about the expedition!

PCMSC Scientists Among USGS Contributors to National Climate Assessment

Learn more and read the report!

Why we have better maps of Mars than of the seafloor—and what USGS is doing to change that

Read the science snippet!

Shifting Practices of Dam Management and Dam Removal in a Changing World

Read the new commentary!

USGS-Led Study Reassesses Earthquake Hazard Potential for Central California’s Hosgri Fault

Read the study!

Seafloor Mapping, Machine Learning Uncover Historical Ocean Dumping Grounds

Read the study!

Methane Seep Distribution in the Cascadia Subduction Zone

Read the study!

Using Climate Models for Global Storm Surge Projections

Read the study!

Hawaiian Drowned Reefs Expedition

Coral Cores Provide Glimpse into Climate Past and Future

Learn more about the expedition!

Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

We conduct multidisciplinary scientific research in the coastal and offshore areas of California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii, and other US Pacific Islands; and in other waterways of the United States.

Research Projects

Five people, spread out along a beach with rocky and sandy areas, walk parallel to the water's edge carrying gear.

Read about our science projects, find out where we are working, and discover the reasons why our research matters.

Explore Our Science

Science Seminar Series

Small ridges of sand growing downwind of beachgrass clusters as a result of the grass slowing the wind.

Join us for virtual science seminars via Microsoft Teams. Details will be posted here!

Learn More

Quick Links

News

link

What We Do: Coastal and Marine Science at USGS Santa Cruz

link

USGS Researchers Return to Eastern Galapágos Spreading Center

link

PCMSC Scientists Among USGS Contributors to National Climate Assessment

View All

Publications

Pacific coastal and marine science of the U.S. Geological Survey in Santa Cruz, California

IntroductionThe Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center is one of three U.S. Geological Survey science centers that serve the mission of the Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, the primary Federal marine geology and physical science research program focused on the Nation’s coastal and marine landscape. Our portfolio of coastal and marine projects in the Pacific Ocean provides the s
Authors
Peter Pearsall
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Shifted sediment-transport regimes by climate change and amplified hydrological variability in cryosphere-fed rivers

Climate change affects cryosphere-fed rivers and alters seasonal sediment dynamics, affecting cyclical fluvial material supply and year-round water-food-energy provisions to downstream communities. Here, we demonstrate seasonal sediment-transport regime shifts from the 1960s to 2000s in four cryosphere-fed rivers characterized by glacial, nival, pluvial, and mixed regimes, respectively. Spring see
Authors
Tinghu Zhang, Dongfeng Li, Amy E. East, Albert J. Kettner, James L. Best, Jinren Ni, Xixi Lu
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

High-resolution geophysical and geochronological analysis of a relict shoreface deposit offshore central California: Implications for slip rate along the Hosgri fault

The Cross-Hosgri slope is a bathymetric lineament that crosses the main strand of the Hosgri fault offshore Point Estero, central California. Recently collected chirp seismic reflection profiles and sediment cores provide the basis for a reassessment of Cross-Hosgri slope origin and the lateral slip rate of the Hosgri fault based on offset of the lower slope break of the Cross-Hosgri slope. The Cr
Authors
Jared W. Kluesner, Samuel Y. Johnson, Stuart P. Nishenko, Elisa Medri, Alex Simms, Gary Greene, Harrison J. Gray, Shannon A. Mahan, Jason Scott Padgett, Emma Taylor Krolczyk, Daniel S. Brothers, James E. Conrad
By
Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
View All

Science

link
A pole has two shaded cameras mounted on it and they are pointing at a beach from high up on a grassy bluff.

USGS CoastCams

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) uses a nationwide network of coastal observing cameras, or CoastCams, to monitor coastal conditions in near real-time and support research by the USGS and its partners into a variety of coastal processes and hazards. The most recent CoastCam images are made publicly available within minutes of data collection and can be accessed using the links below or by...
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
link

USGS CoastCams

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) uses a nationwide network of coastal observing cameras, or CoastCams, to monitor coastal conditions in near real-time and support research by the USGS and its partners into a variety of coastal processes and hazards. The most recent CoastCam images are made publicly available within minutes of data collection and can be accessed using the links below or by...
Learn More
link
areal view of the Klamath River, Iron Gate Dam and Hatchery. A portion of the Iron Gate Reservoir can be seen to the right.

Klamath Dam Removal Studies

Following the removal of four dams along the Klamath River, more naturally dynamic flow conditions may result in novel water quality, sediment transport, and geomorphic conditions leading to temporary or longer-term ecological impacts. USGS continuous and discrete monitoring data on aspects related to sediment and geomorphic conditions will be integral to post-dam removal assessments and...
By
California Water Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Western Geographic Science Center
link

Klamath Dam Removal Studies

Following the removal of four dams along the Klamath River, more naturally dynamic flow conditions may result in novel water quality, sediment transport, and geomorphic conditions leading to temporary or longer-term ecological impacts. USGS continuous and discrete monitoring data on aspects related to sediment and geomorphic conditions will be integral to post-dam removal assessments and...
Learn More
link
Image: USCGC Healy in Heavy Ice Passing CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent

Delineating the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf

The United States has an interest in knowing the full extent of its continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from shore (called the extended continental shelf, or ECS) so that it can better protect, manage and use the resources of the seabed and subsoil contained therein. The USGS contributes to the ECS effort through membership and leadership on the interagency U.S. ECS Task Force, a group...
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Deep Sea Exploration, Mapping and Characterization
link

Delineating the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf

The United States has an interest in knowing the full extent of its continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from shore (called the extended continental shelf, or ECS) so that it can better protect, manage and use the resources of the seabed and subsoil contained therein. The USGS contributes to the ECS effort through membership and leadership on the interagency U.S. ECS Task Force, a group...
Learn More
View All