Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program

Wave-driven flooding behind dunes unlikely on SE Atlantic coast, USGS predicts

This news release was updated August 3 based on the latest coastal change forecast.

To learn more about USGS’s role providing science to decision makers before, during and after Tropical Storm Isaias, visit https://www.usgs.gov/isaias.

A new paper published in March 2020 in Fish and Fisheries reviews the state of knowledge and the research needed to update our understanding and population status of the sand lance, a zooplanktivorous fish that spans coastal temperate to polar waters in the Northern Hemisphere.

There is a growing need by marine scientists and managers for acquiring direct evidence of how various environmental conditions affect the behavior of marine life.

Much of the USGS fieldwork has been delayed, postponed, or canceled in the face of COVID-19. USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program (CMHRP) scientists were able to safely venture out to collect beach elevations; biogeochemistry samples; water, soil, and meteorological data; and coral and algal samples, in San Francisco, Florida, Massachusetts, and the US Virgin Islands.

A selection of coastal and marine images and videos from across the USGS

Coastal and marine news highlights from across the USGS

In this issue of Sound Waves, we pay tribute to a beloved USGS colleague, Monty Hampton, and highlight his work on sand waves and sand lance in the Pacific Northwest; we also highlight USGS work on sand lance in the Atlantic and on tracking sea turtles to examine how changing environment affects marine life.

Sand waves and ripples in a deep-water channel in Puget Sound are on the move, but they are migrating so slowly that they will continue to provide stable habitat for Pacific sand lance—a forage fish important to young salmon, lingcod, and other fish, marine mammals, and seabirds.

List of recent USGS publications and data releases based on coastal and marine research.

SPCMSC Physical Scientist Alex Seymour presented a virtual seminar on fusing DEMs in complex landscapes to scientists in the Ocean Sciences Division at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory on June 26, 2020. 

The USGS formally announces the establishment of a program focus on Coastal Change Hazards to coordinate research and tools needed to respond to challenges related to risks and hazards along our Nation's coastlines.