Coasts border all bodies of water on Earth, marking the transition from land to water. They are home to over 127 million people—more than 40% of the Nation’s population and provides $8.6 trillion in goods and services each year. USGS research and tools help our Nation manage vital, healthy, and sustainable coastal areas.
Our Nation's coasts are places of beauty where memories are made. They provide homes and livelihoods for people and wildlife, where tourism, commerce, and communities depend on healthy and resilient resources. Our coasts provide services such as food resources, vital habitat for wildlife, critical protection from storms, and iconic landscapes to explore or unwind with surf and sky. Our coasts are valuable to all of us, whether it is your backyard, place of work, or somewhere you hope to visit one day.
Science for Changing Coasts
Coastal Storm Modeling System (CoSMoS)
Tools: Technical Capabilities and Applications
Preparing for Hazards
Reducing Risk
Managing our Coasts for Wildlife
Our coasts can be sandy, rocky, lined with marshes or coral reefs, or contain other types of geologic features such as cliffs or frozen permafrost bluffs and also include coastal areas surrounding the Great Lakes. The USGS studies the geology of these various coastal areas, how they change over time, and the hazards and ecosystems associated with these changes.
USGS science helps to:
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Better understand our changing coasts, and inform strategies for our coastal communities to adapt with them
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Analyze coastal systems and develop products that inform coastal engineering, municipal, commercial, and industrial development decisions along our ports and coastal waterways
-
Develop tools to visualize and analyze coastal change, related processes and associated hazards
-
Prepare for impacts associated with current and future coastal hazards such as extreme storms, flooding, erosion, and sea-level rise
-
Inform partners and engage with at-risk communities on the best ways to manage, protect, and restore our coastal wildlife and ecosystems
-
Provide assessments about how changes in sediment management and coastal habitats can affect wildlife like sea turtles, migratory birds and coastal fisheries in order to better manage impacts from these activities
-
Characterize where legacy mine wastes occur in offshore coastal environments so that managers and partners can decide on the best mitigation measures
Coasts, Storms, and Sea Level Rise Geonarratives
Our Coasts Geonarrative
How is the Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 Coastal/Aerosol Band 1 used?
The Operational Land Imager Band 1 (0.433-0.453 µm) on Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 is useful for imaging shallow water and tracking fine atmospheric particles like dust and smoke. Band 1 reflects blues and violets, where light is scattered by dust, smoke, and water particles in the air. Collecting data with enough sensitivity at this spectrum is difficult. Since water absorbs and scatters light...
What are the official definitions of regions in the United States like "the Midwest," "the South," or the “East Coast”?
The U.S. Board on Geographic Names does not define the extents of geographic regions, nor are they recorded in Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). The names and boundaries of regions are application-driven; that is, defined by a specific entity on a case-by-case basis according to a specific need, characteristics, or perception. Individuals might agree on the core of a region, but the...
- Overview
Our Nation's coasts are places of beauty where memories are made. They provide homes and livelihoods for people and wildlife, where tourism, commerce, and communities depend on healthy and resilient resources. Our coasts provide services such as food resources, vital habitat for wildlife, critical protection from storms, and iconic landscapes to explore or unwind with surf and sky. Our coasts are valuable to all of us, whether it is your backyard, place of work, or somewhere you hope to visit one day.
Science for Changing CoastsScience for Changing CoastsCoastal Storm Modeling System (CoSMoS)Coastal Storm Modeling System (CoSMoS)Tools: Technical Capabilities and ApplicationsTools: Technical Capabilities and ApplicationsPreparing for HazardsPreparing for HazardsReducing RiskReducing RiskManaging our Coasts for WildlifeManaging our Coasts for WildlifeOur coasts can be sandy, rocky, lined with marshes or coral reefs, or contain other types of geologic features such as cliffs or frozen permafrost bluffs and also include coastal areas surrounding the Great Lakes. The USGS studies the geology of these various coastal areas, how they change over time, and the hazards and ecosystems associated with these changes.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.USGS science helps to:
-
Better understand our changing coasts, and inform strategies for our coastal communities to adapt with them
-
Analyze coastal systems and develop products that inform coastal engineering, municipal, commercial, and industrial development decisions along our ports and coastal waterways
-
Develop tools to visualize and analyze coastal change, related processes and associated hazards
-
Prepare for impacts associated with current and future coastal hazards such as extreme storms, flooding, erosion, and sea-level rise
-
Inform partners and engage with at-risk communities on the best ways to manage, protect, and restore our coastal wildlife and ecosystems
-
Provide assessments about how changes in sediment management and coastal habitats can affect wildlife like sea turtles, migratory birds and coastal fisheries in order to better manage impacts from these activities
-
Characterize where legacy mine wastes occur in offshore coastal environments so that managers and partners can decide on the best mitigation measures
-
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Coasts, Storms, and Sea Level Rise GeonarrativesCoasts, Storms, and Sea Level Rise GeonarrativesOur Coasts GeonarrativeOur Coasts Geonarrative
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How is the Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 Coastal/Aerosol Band 1 used?
The Operational Land Imager Band 1 (0.433-0.453 µm) on Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 is useful for imaging shallow water and tracking fine atmospheric particles like dust and smoke. Band 1 reflects blues and violets, where light is scattered by dust, smoke, and water particles in the air. Collecting data with enough sensitivity at this spectrum is difficult. Since water absorbs and scatters light...
What are the official definitions of regions in the United States like "the Midwest," "the South," or the “East Coast”?
The U.S. Board on Geographic Names does not define the extents of geographic regions, nor are they recorded in Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). The names and boundaries of regions are application-driven; that is, defined by a specific entity on a case-by-case basis according to a specific need, characteristics, or perception. Individuals might agree on the core of a region, but the...