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Coral reefs act like submerged breakwaters by breaking waves and dissipating their energy offshore before they flood coastal properties and communities. This is an enormously valuable function: In 2017, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria alone caused over \$265 billion in damage across the nation.
USGS Research Geologist Curt Storlazzi explains how healthy coral reefs in places like the Caribbean and Pacific Islands serve as national, natural infrastructure. Restored reefs not only support critical biodiversity and coastal economies—they also reduce flood risks to coastal communities from storms and sea-level rise.
Video is Public Domain. Music: "Deep Sea Walk" by Lama House and "Vibrant" by Lofive, used with permission from Epidemic Sound. Additional footage used with permission from Envato Elements.
Along reef-lined shores of the Pacific Islands, USGS Research Geologist and Oceanographer Ferdinand Oberle studies how warming surface waters, nutrient runoff, and increasingly powerful storms impact coral reefs.
Along reef-lined shores of the Pacific Islands, USGS Research Geologist and Oceanographer Ferdinand Oberle studies how warming surface waters, nutrient runoff, and increasingly powerful storms impact coral reefs.
Along reef-lined shores of the Pacific Islands, USGS Research Geologist and Oceanographer Ferdinand Oberle studies how warming surface waters, nutrient runoff, and increasingly powerful storms impact coral reefs.
Along reef-lined shores of the Pacific Islands, USGS Research Geologist and Oceanographer Ferdinand Oberle studies how warming surface waters, nutrient runoff, and increasingly powerful storms impact coral reefs.