Publications

Along the rugged coast of Big Sur, California, the Mud Creek landslide failed catastrophically on May 20, 2017 and destroyed over 400 m of scenic California State Highway 1. We collected structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry data using airborne platforms that, when combined with existing airborne lidar data, revealed that the area exhibited significant topographic change and...

Geochemical compositions of fine-grained stream sediment from four drainages on the north shore of the island of Kauai, Hawaii, west of Hanalei and two back-beach sites were explored to increase understanding about land-based runoff and ecological risk from runoff to nearshore coral communities. Stream and beach sediment were collected between July 30 and August 2, 2016, and major, minor...

Arctic permafrost stores vast amounts of methane (CH4) in subsurface reservoirs. Thawing permafrost creates areas for this potent greenhouse gas to be released to the atmosphere. Identifying ‘hot spots’ of methane flux on a local scale has been limited by the spatial scales of traditional ground-based or satellite-based methane-sampling methods. Here we present a reliable and an easily...

The purpose of this work is to identify genetic affinities among 48 crude oil samples from the onshore and offshore Santa Maria basins. A total of 21 source-related biomarker and stable carbon isotope ratios among the samples were assessed to assure that they were unaffected by secondary processes. Chemometric analysis of these data identifies six oil families with map and stratigraphic

Despite the prevalence of rippled scour depression (RSD) on the world's continental shelves and their importance as nursery habitats for many commercially-important species, the processes responsible for their formation and geomorphic evolution are still not well understood. Most studies that focused on RSD evolution have been based on data acquired over multiple years to decades, and...

Coastal wetlands have a long history of degradation and destruction due to human development. Now recognized as one of the most productive ecosystems in the world, substantial efforts are being made to restore this critical habitat. While wetland restoration efforts are generally viewed as beneficial in terms of providing wildlife habitat and flood control, they are often accompanied by...

Far‐field tsunami deposits observed in the Kahana Valley, O'ahu, Hawai'i (USA), were investigated for their organic‐geochemical content. During short high‐energy events, (tsunamis and storms) organic and chemical components are transported with sediment from marine to terrestrial areas. This study investigates the use of anthropogenic based organic geochemical compounds (such as...

Interactions between oceanic and atmospheric processes within coral reefs can significantly alter local-scale ( 60%) over most of this system; however, the bleaching patterns were not uniform. Little is known about the processes governing thermodynamic variability within atolls, particularly those that are dominated by large amplitude tides. Here, we identify three mechanisms at Scott...

The transport of coal and oil can result in contaminated soil, water, and organisms from unintended releases. Trains carrying coal and crude oil regularly pass through Puget Sound, Washington, and an increase in the number of coal and oil trains is expected in the future. This study characterized levels of potentially toxic contaminants in sediment in September 2015: arsenic, metals, and

The 2013 Craig, Alaska MW 7.5 earthquake ruptured along ∼150 km of the Queen Charlotte Fault (QCF), a right-lateral strike-slip plate boundary fault separating the Pacific and North American plates. Regional shear wave analyses suggest that the Craig earthquake rupturepropagated in the northward direction faster than the S-wave (supershear). Theoretical studies suggest that a bimaterial...

One of the desired outcomes of dam decommissioning and removal is the recovery of aquatic and riparian ecosystems. To investigate this common objective, we synthesized information from empirical studies and ecological theory into conceptual models that depict key physical and biological links driving ecological responses to removing dams. We define models for three distinct spatial...

A time series of three closely-spaced data sets are used to track the early expansion of the invasive Japanese benthic foraminifera Trochammina hadai in the southern portion of San Francisco Bay known as South Bay. The species initially appeared in 1983, comprising only 1.5% of the assemblage in one of four samples that were dominated by the native species Ammonia tepida and...