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Renee Takesue

Research Geologist with the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

I grew up exploring tide pools and visiting family who threw nets to catch reef fish and harvested ʻopihi. This close connection with the ocean from an early age shaped my path to become a marine scientist. My degrees in oceanography taught me to use physical sciences to understand influences on coastal resources. I study land-to-sea runoff of sediment and contaminants driven by both natural processes and human activities and their effects on coastal communities. My studies span a wide range of topics – urban contaminants in nearshore food webs, wildfire contaminants entering coastal streams and biota, post-hurricane mass wasting to coral reefs, and blue carbon burial in seagrass beds. Insights about how these systems function help decision-makers balance the needs of society and well-functioning ecosystems that provide resources, reduce risks from climate change, and improve human well-being.

Professional Experience

  • Research Geologist, USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program

  • Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow, USGS Volcano Hazards Program

  • Graduate Fellow, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D., Columbia University, Chemical Oceanography

  • B.S., Cal Poly Humboldt, Geological Oceanography

Science and Products

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Coral head that looks like lettuce sits on sandy bottom in clear blue water and is surrounded by brightly colored fish.

Coral Reef Project

Explore the fascinating undersea world of coral reefs. Learn how we map, monitor, and model coral reefs so we can better understand, protect, and preserve our Nation's reefs.
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Coral Reef Project

Explore the fascinating undersea world of coral reefs. Learn how we map, monitor, and model coral reefs so we can better understand, protect, and preserve our Nation's reefs.
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Mouth of the Elwha River during dam removal

Landscape Response to Disturbance

This project characterizes and measures sediment-related effects of landscape disturbances (such as major storms, drought, or wildfire) and river management. We focus primarily on the U.S. west coast, and our work relates to natural hazards and resource management.
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Sediment Lab Suite and Carbon Analysis Laboratory, Big Sur Landslides
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Landscape Response to Disturbance

This project characterizes and measures sediment-related effects of landscape disturbances (such as major storms, drought, or wildfire) and river management. We focus primarily on the U.S. west coast, and our work relates to natural hazards and resource management.
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Beach seine Bainbridge Island

Puget Sound Priority Ecosystems Science

Puget Sound Priority Ecosystem Science (PES) supports interdisciplinary ecological research in the Puget Sound, Washington, watershed and nearshore.
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Puget Sound Priority Ecosystems Science

Puget Sound Priority Ecosystem Science (PES) supports interdisciplinary ecological research in the Puget Sound, Washington, watershed and nearshore.
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Illustration showing an oblique view of the Puget Sound watershed.

Estuaries and large river deltas in the Pacific Northwest

Essential habitat for wild salmon and other wildlife borders river deltas and estuaries in the Pacific Northwest. These estuaries also support industry, agriculture, and a large human population that’s expected to double by the year 2060, but each could suffer from more severe river floods, higher sea level, and storm surges caused by climate change.
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Estuaries and large river deltas in the Pacific Northwest

Essential habitat for wild salmon and other wildlife borders river deltas and estuaries in the Pacific Northwest. These estuaries also support industry, agriculture, and a large human population that’s expected to double by the year 2060, but each could suffer from more severe river floods, higher sea level, and storm surges caused by climate change.
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Eelgrass and substrate characteristics in Bellingham Bay, Washington, July 2019 and July-August 2020

Eelgrass (Zostera marina) characteristics, sediment grain size distributions, sediment total organic carbon contents (TOC), carbon isotope ratios of sediment organic matter, and total carbon to total nitrogen ratios were measured at four lower intertidal sites in Bellingham Bay, Washington, July 2-5, 2019, and three subtidal sites (grain-size and TOC only) on July 11, 2019.
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Geochemistry of fine sediment from San Francisco Bay shoals (2012) and tributaries (2010, 2012, 2013)

Elemental chemistry and weight percent of the less than 0.063 mm fine sediment fraction are reported for surface sediments from shoals, the ebb tide delta, local tributaries, and inland rivers that carry sediment to San Francisco Bay, California.
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Geochemistry of surface sediment and sediment cores in Bellingham Bay, Whatcom County, Washington, in February 2020

Geochemical data are reported for surface sediments and long sediment cores from Bellingham Bay, Whatcom County, Washington, collected in early February 2020 after flood conditions on the Nooksack River. Data include total organic carbon content (TOC), carbonate content (CaCO3), ratios of stable carbon 13/12 isotopes (d13C), ratios of total carbon to total nitrogen (C:N), short-lived cosmogenic ra
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Metal and other element partitioning in southwest Puerto Rico ultramafic soil, Rio Loco sediment, and Guanica Bay sediment

Five-stage sequential extractions were performed on ultramafic soil from Bosque Susua and Guanica Dry Forest, stream sediment from Rios Loco and Yauco, and nearshore sediment from Guanica Bay in southwest Puerto Rico. Sequential extractions showed partitioning of geologically enriched metals and other elements among five phases: 1) adsorbed and calcium-bound, 2) iron-, manganese-oxyhydroxide-bound
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Organic Geochemistry Laboratory, Trace Inorganic Geochemistry Laboratory

Geophysical properties, geochronologic, and geochemical data of sediment cores collected from San Pablo Bay, California, October 17-20, 2016

Geophysical properties (P-wave velocity, gamma ray density, and magnetic susceptibility), geochronologic (radiocarbon, excess Lead-210, and Cesium-137), and geochemical data (organic carbon content and 60 element contents) are reported for select vibracores collected aboard the S/V Retriever October 17-20, 2016 in San Pablo Bay, California. Geophysical properties were measured with a Geotek Multi-
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Multi-Sensor Core Logger Laboratory, San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary

Parent and alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in north San Francisco Bay, Napa River, and Sonoma Creek in 2018 and 2019

Sediment grain-size distributions, stable carbon isotope ratios (d13C), total carbon to total nitrogen ratios (C:N), short-lived radionuclides (Beryllium-7, Cesium-137, and Lead-210), concentrations of 76 parent and alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and concentrations of 33 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were measured in the northern reach of San Francisco Bay (San Pabl
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Geochemistry of fine-grained sediment in Bellingham Bay, Nooksack River, and small creeks from June 2017 to September 2019

Elemental compositions are reported for the fine fraction of surface sediments from Bellingham Bay (June 2017 and March 2019) and in the fine fraction of streambank sediment from the Nooksack River (September 2017, March 2019, September 2019), Squalicum Creek (March and September 2019), Whatcom Creek (March and September 2019), and Padden Creek (March and September 2019). Major oxide percentages a
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Eelgrass distributions and bathymetry of the Nisqually River delta, Washington

This data release presents eelgrass distributions and bathymetric data from repeated surveys performed on the Nisqually River delta to document interannual changes in eelgrass abundance and coastal morphology following the removal of dikes in 2009 that restored tidal processes to over 300 ha of former freshwater wetlands. Survey operations were conducted by a team of scientists from the U.S. Geolo
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Geochemistry of sediment and organic matter in drainages burned by the Altas and Nuns wildfires in October 2017 and of nearshore seabed sediment in north San Francisco Bay from March to April 2018

Fine-grained sediment was collected from the banks of Napa River, Sonoma Creek, and tributaries in March 2018 and from shallow nearshore areas of the northern reach of San Francisco Bay in April 2018. Bulk sediment was dated using activities of short-lived cosmogenic radionuclides (beryllium-7, cesium-137, and lead-210). Contents of potentially toxic metals and source-rock-indicative elements, inc
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Geochemical and isotopic compositions of stream sediment, parent rock, and nearshore sediment from southwest Puerto Rico, April 2017-June 2018

Geochemical and isotopic compositions were determined in stream sediment and parent rocks collected in April 2017 and June 2017 and in nearshore sediment collected bimonthly in sediment traps from May 2017 to June 2018 in the coastal zone and 12 drainages of southwest Puerto Rico: Rio Loco, Yauco, Guayanilla, Macana, Tallaboa, Matilde, Portugues, Bucana, Inabon, Jacaquas, Descalabrado, and Coamo.
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Hurricane Maria, Hurricanes

Inorganic compositional data for fine-grained Puget Sound sediment along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail line, September 2015

Nearshore surface sediment was collected with a petit ponar grab sampler between April 22 and September 17, 2015, at five sites in Puget Sound, Washington. Four sites were adjacent to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail line in urban and non-urban areas, and one site was in an urban area that was not adjacent to the rail line. Total and near-total major, minor, trace, and rare earth element cont
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Background of coral reefs beneath waves. Overlaid photo of a smiling Asian woman with long black hair wearing a USGS lifevest link
Coral reefs beneath waves. Overlaid with photo of smiling Asian woman with long black hair wearing USGS life vest. AD icon. link
Filter Total Items: 24

Fluvial delivery and wave resuspension of sediment in a sheltered, urbanized Pacific Northwest estuary

The sequence and timing of sediment delivery and redistribution in coastal systems is important for shoreline stability, ecosystem services, and remediation planning. In temperate estuaries, understanding the role of fluvial sediment delivery and dispersal relative to wind and wave remobilization processes is particularly important to address the fate of contaminants, many of which adsorb to fine
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Daniel J. Nowacki, Andrew W. Stevens, Renee K. Takesue, Eric E. Grossman
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Element concentrations and grain size of sediment from the Similkameen River above Enloe Dam (Enloe Reservoir) near Oroville, Washington, 2019

In 2019, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a reconnaissance survey of concentrations of 41 trace elements present in bed sediment in the reservoir on the Similkameen River upstream from Enloe Dam, near Oroville, Washington. The Similkameen River drains a watershed containing highly mineralized geologic deposits with current (2019) and historical mining activity. Results of this survey indicated

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Stephen E. Cox, Christopher A. Curran, Andrew R. Spanjer, Chad C. Opatz, Renee K. Takesue, J. Lynn Bell
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Water Resources Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Washington Water Science Center

Marine paleoseismic evidence for seismic and aseismic slip along the Hayward-Rodgers Creek fault system in northern San Pablo Bay

Distinguishing between seismic and aseismic fault slip in the geologic record is difficult, yet fundamental to estimating the seismic potential of faults and the likelihood of multi-fault ruptures. We integrated chirp sub-bottom imaging with targeted cross-fault coring and core analyses of sedimentary proxy data to characterize vertical deformation and slip behavior within an extensional fault ben
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Janet Watt, Mary McGann, Renee K. Takesue, Thomas Lorenson
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Core Preparation and Analysis Laboratory and Sample Repositories, Multi-Sensor Core Logger Laboratory

Land-based sediment sources and transport to southwest Puerto Rico coral reefs after Hurricane Maria, May 2017 to June 2018

The effects of runoff from land on nearshore ecosystems, including coral reef communities, are influenced by both sediment supply and removal by coastal processes. Integrated studies across the land-sea interface describing sources and transport of terrestrial sediment and its nearshore fate allow reef protection initiatives to target key onshore and offshore areas. Geochemical signatures in the f
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Renee K. Takesue, Clark E Sherman, Aaron O. Reyes, Olivia Cheriton, Natalia I. Ramirez, Roberto Viqueira Ríos, Curt Storlazzi
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria, Hurricanes

Legacy and current-use toxic contaminants in Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes personatus) from Puget Sound, Washington

Forage fish are primary prey for seabirds, fish and marine mammals. Elevated levels of pollutants in Puget Sound, Washington salmon and killer whale tissues potentially could be sufficiently high to elicit adverse effects and hamper population recovery efforts. Contaminant transfer and biomagnification of the toxic compounds measured in this study likely contribute to those elevated concentrations
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Kathleen E. Conn, Theresa L. Liedtke, Renee K. Takesue, Richard S. Dinicola
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Washington Water Science Center, Western Fisheries Research Center, Columbia River Research Laboratory (CRRL)

Physicochemical controls on zones of higher coral stress where Black Band Disease occurs at Mākua Reef, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi

Pervasive and sustained coral diseases contribute to the systemic degradation of reef ecosystems, however, to date an understanding of the physicochemical controls on a coral disease event is still largely lacking. Water circulation and residence times and submarine groundwater discharge all determine the degree to which reef organisms are exposed to the variable chemistry of overlying waters; und
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Ferdinand Oberle, Curt D. Storlazzi, Olivia Cheriton, Renee K. Takesue, Daniel J. Hoover, Joshua B. Logan, Christina M. Runyon, Christina A. Kellogg, Cordell Johnson, Peter W. Swarzenski
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, and metals in ambient sediment at mussel biomonitoring sites, Puget Sound, Washington

Caged mussels used as biomonitors can provide insights about ambient contaminant assemblages and spatial patterns, sources of contaminants, and contaminant exposure risks for consumers of wild and farmed mussels. This study explored the potential role of ambient sediment in the uptake of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and potentially toxic inorganic elem

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Renee K. Takesue, Pamela L. Campbell‐Swarzenski, Kathleen E. Conn
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Washington Water Science Center, Organic Geochemistry Laboratory

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Pacific sand lance, Puget Sound, Washington

Forage fish are small, abundant, schooling planktivores that form a critical link in marine food webs by transferring energy from plankton up to birds, fishes, and marine mammals. Forage fishes in Puget Sound include the iconic Pacific herring as well as lesser known species such as surf smelt and the Pacific sand lance. There are significant knowledge gaps regarding the basic life history and p
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Theresa Liedtke, Kathleen Conn, Richard Dinicola, Renee Takesue
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Washington Water Science Center, Western Fisheries Research Center, Columbia River Research Laboratory (CRRL)

Sources, timing, and fate of sediment and contaminants in the nearshore: insights from geochemistry

Rivers in Cascade watersheds carry sediment with a volcanic composition that is distinct from the plutonic composition of the Puget lowlands. Compositional properties (signatures) allow discrimination of river-sourced Cascade from lowland sediment, and inferences about transport pathways. Surface sediment on land contains atmospheric radionuclides whose known decay rates define monthly (7Be) and d

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Renee K. Takesue, Kathleen E. Conn, Margaret Dutch
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Stream sediment geochemistry of four small drainages on the north shore of Kauai west of Hanalei

Geochemical compositions of fine-grained stream sediment from four drainages on the north shore of the island of Kauai, Hawaii, west of Hanalei and two back-beach sites were explored to increase understanding about land-based runoff and ecological risk from runoff to nearshore coral communities. Stream and beach sediment were collected between July 30 and August 2, 2016, and major, minor, and trac
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Renee K. Takesue, Curt D. Storlazzi
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Contaminant baselines and sediment provenance along the Puget Sound Energy Transport Corridor, 2015

The transport of coal and oil can result in contaminated soil, water, and organisms from unintended releases. Trains carrying coal and crude oil regularly pass through Puget Sound, Washington, and an increase in the number of coal and oil trains is expected in the future. This study characterized levels of potentially toxic contaminants in sediment in September 2015: arsenic, metals, and polycycli
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Renee K. Takesue, Pamela L. Campbell
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, California Water Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Organic Geochemistry Laboratory

A snapshot of women of the U.S. Geological Survey in STEM and related careers

IntroductionThe term “STEM” has been used to group together the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and to describe education and professions related to these fields. The professional fields connected to STEM education are thought of as engineering, medicine, and computer technology. Yet these professional fields are merely the tip of the iceberg. Numerous opportunities in
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Susan C. Aragon-Long, Virginia R. Burkett, Holly S. Weyers, Susan M. Haig, Marjorie S. Davenport, Kelly L. Warner
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Western Fisheries Research Center
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Celebrating Women’s History Month: Advice for the Next Generation of Women in Climate Science

To celebrate Women’s History Month, USGS climate scientists were asked what advice they would give to their younger selves and to aspiring scientists...

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Sediment sampling following California wildfires

In the lab, USGS scientists analyze sediment samples collected from stream banks to test for contaminants produced by wildfires. The toxic chemicals...

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Tracking the movement of sediment and contaminants from northern California wildfire areas to San Francisco Bay

USGS research geologist Renee Takesue of the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center collected 20 sediment samples from Sonoma Creek and Napa River...

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