Images

Detail of the near-infrared point cloud over a portion of Nauset Marsh. The faint reddish tinges are the first glimmer of spring growth at the edges of the marsh.

A diver examines the coral reef along Molokini Crater off of the island of Maui, Hawaii.

Phosphorite rock formed on the seafloor in Southern California.

The map on sheet 7 shows “potential” marine benthic habitats in the Monterey Canyon and Vicinity map area, representing a substrate type, geomorphology, seafloor process, or any other attribute that may provide a habitat for a specific species or assemblage of organisms.

Animated GIF of wave runup and setup on a beach on a stormy day during Tropical Storm Colin in Florida. Full b-roll video: https://www.usgs.gov/media/videos/wave-runup-during-tropical-storm-coli…

Screenshot of Total Water Level and Coastal Change Forecast Viewer on June 4, 2016, two days before Tropical Storm Colin was expected to hit Florida’s Gulf of Mexico coast.

Marinna Martini is deploying a weather buoy off the coast of Plymouth Ma.

A specialized wave buoy was deployed at the site farthest from shore to measure the height, period, and direction of surface waves and telemeter the data to the Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP)

Tripod deployed on the reef flat off Jurabi, Ningaloo World Heritage Site, Western Australia, with instrumentation designed to measure tides, waves, currents, and sediment being transported across the reef.

Cerulean damselfish dart around lettuce coral off the Cape Range National Park along the Ningaloo Coast in Western Australia. USGS researchers combined forces with Australian colleagues in this UNESCO World Heritage Site to conduct the most extensive study of how erosion of reefs contribute sand to the beaches—a coast’s natural armor.

USGS scientists are working to model shorebird habitat availability both today and in the future, given processes like sea-level rise, in an effort to support the efficient management of beaches for both people and nesting shorebirds.

USGS scientists are working to model shorebird habitat availability both today and in the future, given processes like sea-level rise, in an effort to support the efficient management of beaches for both people and nesting shorebirds.

The beach-dependent shorebirds project at the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center models current and future habitat availability for nesting shorebirds in an effort to map current and likely future habitat availability on a range of sites along the U.S. Atlantic coast.

USGS scientists are working to model shorebird habitat availability both today and in the future, given processes like sea-level rise, in an effort to support the efficient management of beaches for both people and nesting shorebirds.

USGS collaborators from Marine Biological Laboratory preparing to measure greenhouse gas flux from a salt marsh study site (Cape Cod, MA).

Tripod holding instruments and cameras used to measure and study aspects of sediment movement in and around the reef.

USGS scientists are working to model shorebird habitat availability both today and in the future, given processes like sea-level rise, in an effort to support the efficient management of beaches for both people and nesting shorebirds. This photo shows an area on Long Beach Island, NJ where high quality shorebird habitat has been closed off to beach recreation.

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center scientists aboard the RV Rafael prepare to launch the Mini SEABOSS just off of Nantucket!  The Mini SEABOSS collects samples, photos and video of the seafloor. 

Sampling seawater every 4 hours for a period of 72 hours required the team to work during the early hours of the day. Left to right: Chris Gallagher (Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center), Kim Yates (St.

The colored bands on this map of La Jolla, California, illustrate how far cliffs could erode in different sea level rise scenarios, according to CoSMoS forecasts.

Thirty-five years after the data were originally collected as part of a study of glacial geology of the western Gulf of Maine, USGS seismic and sampling data are being used to assist coastal communities in locating offshore sand resources for mitigating coastal erosion.

A 14-cm upland peat auger sediment core of a brown peat above fine tan silty sand was collected from the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in May, 2016.