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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program images.

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Photo of a crab sitting on the grass.
Dungeness crab
Dungeness crab
Dungeness crab

The Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister), whose range extends from the Aleutian Islands to the coast of California, is one of the species whose populations in San Francisco Bay have increased with a large-scale climatic shift that began in 1999. Photograph courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister), whose range extends from the Aleutian Islands to the coast of California, is one of the species whose populations in San Francisco Bay have increased with a large-scale climatic shift that began in 1999. Photograph courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Shallow, crystal-clear coastal water with rounded, black rocks jutting out of a white sandy bottom.
Stromatolites of Australia
Stromatolites of Australia
Stromatolites of Australia

Stromatolites growing in Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve, Shark Bay in Western Australia. Photo by Paul Harrison, Reading, UK, CC BY-SA 3.0

Stromatolites growing in Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve, Shark Bay in Western Australia. Photo by Paul Harrison, Reading, UK, CC BY-SA 3.0

View from the sky overlooking a severely flooded town with lingering pooled water and heavily damaged structures and roadways.
Banda Aceh after the December 2004 Earthquake and Tsunami
Banda Aceh after the December 2004 Earthquake and Tsunami
Banda Aceh after the December 2004 Earthquake and Tsunami

An International Tsunami Survey Team studying the effects of the December 26, 2004 tsunami on Indonesia“‘’’s island of Sumatra documented wave heights of 20 to 30 m (65 to 100 ft) at the island's northwest end and found evidence suggesting that wave heights may have ranged from 15 to 30 m (50 to 100 ft) along at least a 100-km (60 mi) stretch of the northwest coast.

An International Tsunami Survey Team studying the effects of the December 26, 2004 tsunami on Indonesia“‘’’s island of Sumatra documented wave heights of 20 to 30 m (65 to 100 ft) at the island's northwest end and found evidence suggesting that wave heights may have ranged from 15 to 30 m (50 to 100 ft) along at least a 100-km (60 mi) stretch of the northwest coast.

A man stands next to a tree whose trunk is snapped off, he is holding a stadia rod with metric measurements.
Measuring tsunami elevations in Sumatra in 2005
Measuring tsunami elevations in Sumatra in 2005
Measuring tsunami elevations in Sumatra in 2005

As part of an international tsunami survey team, Andy Moore of Kent State University takes measurement of a snapped-off tree trunk in Leupueng, Aceh in 2005, shortly after the deadly tsunami struck the island of Sumatra.

As part of an international tsunami survey team, Andy Moore of Kent State University takes measurement of a snapped-off tree trunk in Leupueng, Aceh in 2005, shortly after the deadly tsunami struck the island of Sumatra.

A man stands in water on a beach, holding a rod with a measurement ruler marked on it, near partially submerged tree stumps.
Measuring tree heights and water depth
Measuring tree heights and water depth
Measuring tree heights and water depth

In Leupueng, Indonesia, on the island of Sumatra, Dr. Guy Gelfenbaum measures the height of snapped-off tree trunks and sea level changes shortly after the December 26, 2004 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean.

In Leupueng, Indonesia, on the island of Sumatra, Dr. Guy Gelfenbaum measures the height of snapped-off tree trunks and sea level changes shortly after the December 26, 2004 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean.

A home, severely damaged by the tsunami that hit Sumatra on December 26, 2004, sits atop debris.
Heavily damaged home in Banda Aceh, Sumatra from the 2004 tsunami
Heavily damaged home in Banda Aceh, Sumatra from the 2004 tsunami
Heavily damaged home in Banda Aceh, Sumatra from the 2004 tsunami

A severely damaged home, or a portion of one, sits atop debris in Banda Aceh on the island of Sumatra. Damage was caused by a massive, highly destructive tsunami, triggered by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake just offshore of Sumatra, on December 26, 2004.

A severely damaged home, or a portion of one, sits atop debris in Banda Aceh on the island of Sumatra. Damage was caused by a massive, highly destructive tsunami, triggered by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake just offshore of Sumatra, on December 26, 2004.

A tool used to dig down through sand and sediment layers along a cross-section of sediment to show thickness of layers.
Tsunami sand deposit
Tsunami sand deposit
Tsunami sand deposit

Tsunami sand deposit at Nilaveli Beach on the northeastern coast of Sri Lanka following the December 26th, 2004 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean. The sand deposited by the tsunami is light colored and overlies a pre-tsunami darker sandy soil.

Tsunami sand deposit at Nilaveli Beach on the northeastern coast of Sri Lanka following the December 26th, 2004 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean. The sand deposited by the tsunami is light colored and overlies a pre-tsunami darker sandy soil.

Poster with illustrations of the underwater part of the ocean, with text about the work done in the area.
Tsunami Hazards in the Santa Barbara Channel
Tsunami Hazards in the Santa Barbara Channel
Tsunami Hazards in the Santa Barbara Channel

Large-scale poster describing USGS work.

The USGS, in cooperation with Moss Landing Marine Laboratory, mapped the slopes of the Santa Barbara Channel using sonar. We combined this with deep sea drilling records and seismic records to make these maps.

Large-scale poster describing USGS work.

The USGS, in cooperation with Moss Landing Marine Laboratory, mapped the slopes of the Santa Barbara Channel using sonar. We combined this with deep sea drilling records and seismic records to make these maps.

Poster laid out with photos, images, and text.
Big Sur Coastal Landslides
Big Sur Coastal Landslides
Big Sur Coastal Landslides

Large-scale poster describing USGS work.

The USGS studied air photos of the Big Sur coast taken in 1942 and 1994, in cooperation with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC).

Large-scale poster describing USGS work.

The USGS studied air photos of the Big Sur coast taken in 1942 and 1994, in cooperation with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC).

A woman in a brown coat emerges from the hatch of an orange submarine.
Dr. Christina Kellogg emerges from the submersible Delta
Dr. Christina Kellogg emerges from the submersible Delta
Dr. Christina Kellogg emerges from the submersible Delta

Dr. Christina Kellogg emerges from the submersible Delta after collecting coral samples in the Aleutian Islands in 2004.

Five images of a coral with differing amounts of shading over the quadrants of the coral, shown at progressive dates.
Coral shading experiment during a bleaching event
Coral shading experiment during a bleaching event
Coral shading experiment during a bleaching event

Here are shown a series of photographs of a rice coral (Montipora capitata) shaded with light filters during a natural “coral bleaching” event observed during anomalously high ocean temperatures in Autumn of 2004 on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi.

Here are shown a series of photographs of a rice coral (Montipora capitata) shaded with light filters during a natural “coral bleaching” event observed during anomalously high ocean temperatures in Autumn of 2004 on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi.

Close up aerial photo of storm-damaged home
Closeup photograph of home damaged by Hurricane Jeanne in Florida
Closeup photograph of home damaged by Hurricane Jeanne in Florida
Aerial satellite view of land and ocean with visible sediment runoff patterns and brightly colored features in the water.
Great Barrier Reef satellite image
Great Barrier Reef satellite image
Great Barrier Reef satellite image

The Great Barrier Reef arches over 2000 kilometers along the northeast coast of Australia. The white calcium carbonate that coats the coral reflects light, making the water above the reef appear bright blue from space.

The Great Barrier Reef arches over 2000 kilometers along the northeast coast of Australia. The white calcium carbonate that coats the coral reflects light, making the water above the reef appear bright blue from space.

Swath bathymetric map of the Cape Fear submarine slide
Swath bathymetric map of the Cape Fear submarine slide
Swath bathymetric map of the Cape Fear submarine slide
Swath bathymetric map of the Cape Fear submarine slide

Swath bathymetric map of the Cape Fear submarine slide, the largest slide on the US Atlantic coast. Data were collected on the R/V Atlantis in 2003.

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