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Images related to natural hazards.

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View from a plane over the ocean looking at a coastal cliff region with a newly engineered roadway cut along it.
Repaired section of California Highway 1 at Mud Creek
Repaired section of California Highway 1 at Mud Creek
Repaired section of California Highway 1 at Mud Creek

On May 20, 2017, this section of the Big Sur coastline experienced a huge landslide that wiped out scenic coastal Highway 1. By July 2018 the roadway was reopened.

View from the sky looking down on a steep, coastal cliff with a road, bridge over a stream feeding muddy water into ocean.
Big Creek Bridge
Big Creek Bridge
Big Creek Bridge

A two-day rainstorm from January 26-28, 2021 caused numerous mudslides, debris flows, and other issues along California's coastal Highway 1 through Big Sur. This is Big Creek Bridge, and Big Creek is still murky. Plumes of the muddy runoff are clearly visible in the ocean.

A two-day rainstorm from January 26-28, 2021 caused numerous mudslides, debris flows, and other issues along California's coastal Highway 1 through Big Sur. This is Big Creek Bridge, and Big Creek is still murky. Plumes of the muddy runoff are clearly visible in the ocean.

road on side of cliff above ocean showing part of road taken out by a landslide
Big Sur, California Landslide - January 26 and 28, 2021
Big Sur, California Landslide - January 26 and 28, 2021
Big Sur, California Landslide - January 26 and 28, 2021

The storm that hit California’s coast between Jan. 26 and 28, 2021, blew out a portion of Hwy 1 near Big Sur. On Saturday, a USGS reconnaissance flight snapped this dramatic photo above the Rat Creek drainage showing the debris flow.

The storm that hit California’s coast between Jan. 26 and 28, 2021, blew out a portion of Hwy 1 near Big Sur. On Saturday, a USGS reconnaissance flight snapped this dramatic photo above the Rat Creek drainage showing the debris flow.

tan pickup truck surrounded by mud and rocks up to the top of the door
Debris flow at Limekiln site after River Fire in California.
Debris flow at Limekiln site after River Fire in California.
Debris flow at Limekiln site after River Fire in California.

On Sunday, August 16, 2020 at approximately 3:00 PM PST, the River wildfire ignited in Monterey County, California, just west of the Salinas River Valley.

a pile of large boulders and tree parts up against a guardrail next to a road
Tumalt Creek Debris Flow
Tumalt Creek Debris Flow
Tumalt Creek Debris Flow

 Debris flow deposit at the outlet of the Tumalt Creek drainage basin, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon,  following storms in January 2021.

 Debris flow deposit at the outlet of the Tumalt Creek drainage basin, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon,  following storms in January 2021.

Center map shows landslide locations. Hills slope from sides down to center of figure with descriptive labels and arrows.
Sample pages from the "Landslide Hazard Guidebook for Residents of Puerto Rico"
Sample pages from the "Landslide Hazard Guidebook for Residents of Puerto Rico"
Sample pages from the "Landslide Hazard Guidebook for Residents of Puerto Rico"

The University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez, the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado Boulder, and the USGS Landslide Hazards Program collaborated to create educational materials for residents of Puerto Rico to learn about how to prepare for, mitigate, respond to, and recover from landslides.

The University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez, the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado Boulder, and the USGS Landslide Hazards Program collaborated to create educational materials for residents of Puerto Rico to learn about how to prepare for, mitigate, respond to, and recover from landslides.

Photograph of scientist analyzing sediment carbon
Analyzing Sediment Carbon
Analyzing Sediment Carbon
Analyzing Sediment Carbon

WHOI/MIT PhD. Student, Sheron Luk, analyses sediment carbon on an Elemental Analyzer at Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center.

WHOI/MIT PhD. Student, Sheron Luk, analyses sediment carbon on an Elemental Analyzer at Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center.

Photograph of USGS scientist collecting water samples in a marsh
Collecting Water Samples
Collecting Water Samples
Collecting Water Samples

USGS samples water within wetlands to understand which environmental drivers impact carbon cycle and sediment accretion. Here USGS staff (Jennifer O'Keefe Suttles) pumps water from at Phragmites wetland, Mashpee, MA, to analyze at the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Environmental Geochemistry lab.

USGS samples water within wetlands to understand which environmental drivers impact carbon cycle and sediment accretion. Here USGS staff (Jennifer O'Keefe Suttles) pumps water from at Phragmites wetland, Mashpee, MA, to analyze at the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Environmental Geochemistry lab.

Two images show the same cliff region, one has fewer data points by eliminating the frothy beach waves.
Fort Funston Structure-from-Motion point clouds
Fort Funston Structure-from-Motion point clouds
Fort Funston Structure-from-Motion point clouds

As part of the Remote Sensing of Coastal Change and Florence Supplemental projects we have been developing novel workflows for repeat-mapping of ­­­coastal environments at order decimeter resolution over up to hundreds of kilometers in a single day, using Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry or SfM, from crewed aerial platforms.

As part of the Remote Sensing of Coastal Change and Florence Supplemental projects we have been developing novel workflows for repeat-mapping of ­­­coastal environments at order decimeter resolution over up to hundreds of kilometers in a single day, using Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry or SfM, from crewed aerial platforms.

An illustration of a coastal cliff looking from the sky at an angle.
Fort Funston Structure-from-Motion point cloud, masked
Fort Funston Structure-from-Motion point cloud, masked
Fort Funston Structure-from-Motion point cloud, masked

Perspective view of large SfM point cloud of region of Fort Funston, CA., with automated data cleaning (masking). This cleaned data has 50% fewer points.

Coral on a cinderblock and a scuba diver on a coral reef
USGS scuba diver on a coral reef in Dry Tortugas National Park
USGS scuba diver on a coral reef in Dry Tortugas National Park
USGS scuba diver on a coral reef in Dry Tortugas National Park

The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting research to guide the recovery of the threatened Elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, in Dry Tortugas National Park and throughout the western Atlantic.

An orange branching coral grows on a cinderblock on a reef in clear water.
Experimental elkhorn coral in Dry Tortugas National Park
Experimental elkhorn coral in Dry Tortugas National Park
Experimental elkhorn coral in Dry Tortugas National Park

The U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center is conducting research to guide the restoration and recovery of the threatened elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, in Dry Tortugas National Park and throughout the western Atlantic.

a small yellow boat on green brown water with waves breaking
Autonomous Surf Vehicle in Action
Autonomous Surf Vehicle in Action
Autonomous Surf Vehicle in Action

The autonomous surf vehicle, built and controlled remotely  by Peter Traykovski of WHOI, is used to map the bathymetry of the Pea Island DUNEX Experiment Site. 

a dune that has been eroded several feet
Erosion of dunes following Tropical Storm Eta
Erosion of dunes following Tropical Storm Eta
Erosion of dunes following Tropical Storm Eta

Tropical Storm Eta affected beaches along Florida's Gulf Coast in November 2020. Some dunes were eroded up to several feet due to the high water levels associated with the storm. Madeira Beach is home to many people and animals, and erosion events such as this can affect both habitat and infrastructure.

Tropical Storm Eta affected beaches along Florida's Gulf Coast in November 2020. Some dunes were eroded up to several feet due to the high water levels associated with the storm. Madeira Beach is home to many people and animals, and erosion events such as this can affect both habitat and infrastructure.

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