As Hurricane Marco heads to a predicted landfall along the central Gulf Coast, USGS scientists are predicting that nearly half of the barrier islands and beaches across the region will see some storm-caused erosion, with effects concentrated in Louisiana and Mississippi. Across the four-state region from Alabama through Southeast Texas, other USGS scientists were in the field on Sunday, Aug. 23 setting out special instruments called storm-tide sensors that will measure Marco’s storm surge. Those instruments will stay in place to record the effects of Tropical Storm Laura if it strikes the same general area later in the week, as it is currently expected to do.