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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program images.

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USGS personnel recovering ocean bottom seismometers
Ocean Bottom Seismometer Recovery
Ocean Bottom Seismometer Recovery
Ocean Bottom Seismometer Recovery

A WHCMSC and WHOI team recovered six intermediate period ocean bottom seismographs from the continental slope offshore New England in Georges Bank. The instruments had been deployed for about ten months to record background, ambient seismic noise.

A WHCMSC and WHOI team recovered six intermediate period ocean bottom seismographs from the continental slope offshore New England in Georges Bank. The instruments had been deployed for about ten months to record background, ambient seismic noise.

Colorfully shaded map of the seafloor showing the many unique canyons created by nearby rivers.
Topography and Bathymetry of Southern Cascadia
Topography and Bathymetry of Southern Cascadia
Topography and Bathymetry of Southern Cascadia

Topography and bathymetry of southern Cascadia, which includes southern Oregon and northern California (seafloor depths between 200 and 3000 m are shown in the spectrum color scale from red (shallower) to purple (deeper). The land and continental shelf are shown in grayscale slope shading where darker colors represent steeper slopes.

Topography and bathymetry of southern Cascadia, which includes southern Oregon and northern California (seafloor depths between 200 and 3000 m are shown in the spectrum color scale from red (shallower) to purple (deeper). The land and continental shelf are shown in grayscale slope shading where darker colors represent steeper slopes.

examples of fieldwork done in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta
Fieldwork in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta
Fieldwork in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta
Fieldwork in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta

Top row, left to right: Cordell Johnson (left) and Evan Dailey use the USGS R/V Fast Eddy to collect water samples. Cordell Johnson (left) and Jessie Lacy prepare to deploy a tripod holding instruments to measure water level, currents, and suspended sediment.

Top row, left to right: Cordell Johnson (left) and Evan Dailey use the USGS R/V Fast Eddy to collect water samples. Cordell Johnson (left) and Jessie Lacy prepare to deploy a tripod holding instruments to measure water level, currents, and suspended sediment.

 Three-dimensional model of Chimney Bluffs, New York along Lake Ontario
Three-dimensional model of Chimney Bluffs, New York along Lake Ontari
Three-dimensional model of Chimney Bluffs, New York along Lake Ontari
Three-dimensional model of Chimney Bluffs, New York along Lake Ontari

Three-dimensional model of Chimney Bluffs, New York along Lake Ontario created from low-altitude digital images collected from an unmanned aerial system (UAS).

Coastal bathymetry, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, mapped using lidar and depicted with false-color
Coastal bathymetry, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, mapped using lidar
Coastal bathymetry, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, mapped using lidar
Coastal bathymetry, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, mapped using lidar

Coastal bathymetry, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, mapped using lidar and depicted with false-color (purple is deep, orange is shallow). Land areas are depicted with satellite imagery.

View from the sky of a massive lava flow with glowing lava and smoke coming from a fissure in the earth.
Fissure 8 cone and 8-mile lava flow
Fissure 8 cone and 8-mile lava flow
Fissure 8 cone and 8-mile lava flow

An aerial view, collected from a USGS UAS, of Hawai‛i’s fissure 8 cone, and the start of the 8-mile lava flow to reach the ocean entry point.

An aerial view, collected from a USGS UAS, of Hawai‛i’s fissure 8 cone, and the start of the 8-mile lava flow to reach the ocean entry point.

sphalerite, cubes of pyrite, and covellite
Sulfide minerals
Sulfide minerals
Sulfide minerals

Examples of sulfide minerals that occur at hydrothermal vents and are being studied by Amy Gartman: (left to right) sphalerite, an ore of zinc that often contains iron ([Zn,Fe]S); cubes of pyrite, rich in iron (FeS2); and covellite, containing copper and sulfur (CuS).The pyrite cubes are a little more than half an inch on a side.

Examples of sulfide minerals that occur at hydrothermal vents and are being studied by Amy Gartman: (left to right) sphalerite, an ore of zinc that often contains iron ([Zn,Fe]S); cubes of pyrite, rich in iron (FeS2); and covellite, containing copper and sulfur (CuS).The pyrite cubes are a little more than half an inch on a side.

Image showing example of seafloor images and deployment of the SEABOSS sampler.
SEABOSS Collage
SEABOSS Collage
SEABOSS Collage

SEABed Observation and Sampling System (SEABOSS) (center image) and the MiniSEABOSS (right) designed for rapid, inexpensive, and effective collection of seabed imagery (photographs and video) as well sediment samples from the coastal/inner-continental shelf regions.

SEABed Observation and Sampling System (SEABOSS) (center image) and the MiniSEABOSS (right) designed for rapid, inexpensive, and effective collection of seabed imagery (photographs and video) as well sediment samples from the coastal/inner-continental shelf regions.

 Department of Interior UAS pilots
UAS pilots at Kilauea
UAS pilots at Kilauea
UAS pilots at Kilauea

Department of Interior UAS pilots from left to right – Elizabeth Pendleton (USGS, Woods Hole, MA), Colin Milone (Office of Aviation Services, AK), John Vogel (USGS; Flagstaff, AZ), Sandy Brosnahan (USGS, Woods Hole, MA), Brandon Forbes (USGS; Tucson, AZ), Chris Holmquist-Johnson (USGS; Fort Collins, CO),&nb

Department of Interior UAS pilots from left to right – Elizabeth Pendleton (USGS, Woods Hole, MA), Colin Milone (Office of Aviation Services, AK), John Vogel (USGS; Flagstaff, AZ), Sandy Brosnahan (USGS, Woods Hole, MA), Brandon Forbes (USGS; Tucson, AZ), Chris Holmquist-Johnson (USGS; Fort Collins, CO),&nb

Map of distribution sediment textures from Nantucket and Marthas Vineyard, Massachusetts
Sediment textures distribution from Nantucket and Marthas Vineyard, MA
Sediment textures distribution from Nantucket and Marthas Vineyard, MA
Sediment textures distribution from Nantucket and Marthas Vineyard, MA

The distribution of sediment textures within the study area. The bottom-type classification is from Barnhardt and others (1998) and is based on 16 sediment classes. The classification is based on four sediment units that include gravel (G), mud (M), rock (R), and sand (S). If the texture is greater than 90 percent, it is labeled with a single letter.

The distribution of sediment textures within the study area. The bottom-type classification is from Barnhardt and others (1998) and is based on 16 sediment classes. The classification is based on four sediment units that include gravel (G), mud (M), rock (R), and sand (S). If the texture is greater than 90 percent, it is labeled with a single letter.

Scientist surveying the presence and behavior of birds at Pelican Island, Alabama.
Scientist surveying the behavior of birds at Pelican Island, Alabama
Scientist surveying the behavior of birds at Pelican Island, Alabama
Scientist surveying the behavior of birds at Pelican Island, Alabama

Scientist surveying the presence and behavior of birds at Pelican Island, Alabama. The CMHRP is working with personnel within the Ecosystems Mission Area on this project to identify how physical characteristics of barrier islands influence use by wintering shorebirds.

Scientist surveying the presence and behavior of birds at Pelican Island, Alabama. The CMHRP is working with personnel within the Ecosystems Mission Area on this project to identify how physical characteristics of barrier islands influence use by wintering shorebirds.

Photo from above looking down on two people leaning over the edge of a boat in shallow water with a turtle in the water.
Releasing a loggerhead with radio tag
Releasing a loggerhead with radio tag
Releasing a loggerhead with radio tag

A loggerhead sea turtle, outfitted with a popoff ADL package (orange item on the turtle’s back), is released by New England Aquarium Biologist Nick Whitney.

A loggerhead sea turtle, outfitted with a popoff ADL package (orange item on the turtle’s back), is released by New England Aquarium Biologist Nick Whitney.

A seismic instrument on pontoon floats is deployed from the beach to the water.
Deployment of the chirp seismic instrument from the beach
Deployment of the chirp seismic instrument from the beach
Deployment of the chirp seismic instrument from the beach

Most underwater seismic data is collected from large research vessels; however, the shoreface environment is shallower than areas in which most seismic surveys occur. To get the information we need to assess changes in shoreface geology, we mount our seismic instruments on pontoon floats and deploy the instrument from the beach.

Most underwater seismic data is collected from large research vessels; however, the shoreface environment is shallower than areas in which most seismic surveys occur. To get the information we need to assess changes in shoreface geology, we mount our seismic instruments on pontoon floats and deploy the instrument from the beach.

A seismic instrument mounted on pontoon floats with wheels is staged on a sandy beach near the ocean.
Seismic instrument on pontoon floats deployed from the beach
Seismic instrument on pontoon floats deployed from the beach
Seismic instrument on pontoon floats deployed from the beach

We mount our seismic instrument on pontoon floats with wheels. This setup is deployed from the beach and eventually towed behind our survey vessel.

Perspective view of coastal bathymetry looking onshore, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
Perspective lidar view of coastal bathymetry at St. Thomas, USVI
Perspective lidar view of coastal bathymetry at St. Thomas, USVI
Perspective lidar view of coastal bathymetry at St. Thomas, USVI

Perspective view of coastal bathymetry looking onshore, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, mapped using lidar and depicted with false-color, showing detailed submerged features, including coral reefs.

A small boat sits at a dock.
PCMSC vessel San Lorenzo
PCMSC vessel San Lorenzo
PCMSC vessel San Lorenzo

USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center's research vessel R/V San Lorenzo.

Sunset in background on a body of water with a small boat in the foreground.
PCMSC vessel San Lorenzo at sunset
PCMSC vessel San Lorenzo at sunset
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