Images

Map showing Holocene (modern) sediment thickness in meters overlain on bathymetry. Regional bathymetric contours are in meters. Note the shoreface-attached sand ridges west of Watch Hill.

Cape Hatteras, N.C.

Oceanographic equipment recovery 

The orange layer just below geologist's hiking pole is the Mazama ash (about 7700 ybp). Below that are glacial deposits. Above the Mazama is about a meter consisting mostly of fine-grained tephras from Glacier Peak, capped by soil and plants. That the tephras sit directly on top of the Mazama indicates that "Dusty" eruptions commenced about 7,000 years ago.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist conducts an interview at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano in 2011.

Bird's-eye view map of a section of the seafloor off southern California, made with depth data. The map shows a channel wall that has been cut by the San Diego Trough fault and moved about 20 meters. This feature is about 1,000 meters below sea level.

Map C.  Backscatter intensity and sun-illuminated topography.  Blue= "soft" seabed, Green, orange = "hard" seabed

Schematic of system designed to control movement and logging of data collected by the Moving Arm Tripod at Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory in 2011.

At Kīlauea, when the lava column drops below the water table, groundwater may come into contact with with magma or hot rocks, causing violent steam explosions.

Bathymetry of the New England inner shelf and south shore of Martha’s Vineyard with model grids

Worldwide distribution of observed and inferred gas hydrates in marine and permafrost-associated settings that have been the subject of drilling programs. The color coding refers to the primary sediment type in each location and therefore designates the likely type of gas hydrate reservoir at each site.

Deployment period storm analysis. (A) significant wave height (red line) and wind speed and direction (arrows). Shading represents storm type (blue = cold front, red = warm front, yellow = low-pressure). (B) Vertical profiles of suspended-sediment concentration. (C) Cumulative along-shore and cross-shore sediment flux.

Map of Long Bay, S.C. study area

Study area map of coastal South Carolina

Mount Rainier rises above Tacoma, Washington and boat harbor, which may be impacted during the next eruption of the volcano.

USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center field crew showing off the new magnetometer, named Magnetron, on fantail of Research Vessel (R/V) Parke Snavely.

Stellwagen Bank project research areas in the United States and Canada

Map of Fire Island, N.Y. study area

A new fissure eruption in September 2011 on the flank of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō on Kīlauea Volcano's east rift zone reminds us of the need to be aware of our ever-changing volcanic environment on Hawai‘i Island. "Volcano Awareness Month" events in January 2012 offer island residents and visitors many opportunities to learn more about Hawai‘i's active volcanoes.

This thermal image shows the western portion of the West Ka‘ili‘ili ocean entry, which hosts numerous small entry points. Active breakouts can be seen on the coastal plain along the west margin of the flow field.

Lava has continued to enter the ocean at West Ka‘ili‘ili, with numerous entry points scattered along a broad section of the coast. The small boat in the center of the image provides a rough sense of scale.