Images

Aerial images of the wilderness breach: a) Aerial photograph taken several days after Hurricane Sandy (photo credit: NOAA); b) Aerial mosaic of the breach in June 2015 showing the location of erosion on the ocean side of the breach and deposition that results in the seasonal formation of a spit.

Gas hydrate at the seafloor on the U.S. Atlantic margin. The icy deposit formed as gas bubbles emitted from the seafloor transformed into methane hydrate beneath the overhanging rock.

USGS hydrologic technician Kurt Weidich services continuous monitoring instruments at the Dumbarton Bridge in south San Francisco Bay.

A squat lobster and small Black belly rosefish huddle near a den on a small ledge in Baltimore Canyon.

A venus flytrap anemone on the lip of a small ridge, with numerous other small animals.

Closeup view of Paragorgia arborea (bubblegum coral), seen during the Deepwater Canyons 2012 Expedition.

Satellite image of Hurricane Sandy (courtesy NASA GOES http://weather.msfc.nasa.gov/GOES/)

Acoustic backscatter intensity data are an indication of the relative hardness or softness of the sea floor, which is closely related to sediment texture and cohesion. The map shows acoustic backscatter intensity of the sea floor in the Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts.

USGS hydrologist Kaitlyn Colella and a Shinnecock Nation member work together gathering oyster and bed sediment samples along Long Island, New York, coast.

 Left to right: Mike Bastoni (volunteer) and Lisa Engler (Massachusetts Bays Program) deploying the USGS-desgined SEABed Observation and Sampling System (SEABOSS) from Ocean Survey Vessel Bold, with Marinna Martini (USGS) running the winch

Perspective view of seafloor offshore of Half Moon Bay, showing scarp (arrows) along the eastern strand of the San Gregorio fault zone. Rocks are notably upwarped and folded adjacent to the fault.

Close-up of a squat lobster, Eumunida picta, in a thicket of Lophelia pertusa coral.

Fish like this Atlantic Roughy (Hoplostethus occidentalis) congregate near deep-sea corals (background is Lophelia pertusa coral).

A cleaner shrimp (Plesionika sp.) with vivid blue eyes rests in a coral thicket next to a red soft coral (Anthomastus agassizii).

A massive colony of Paragorgia (bubble gum coral) with a squat lobster hiding among the polyps.

 Westco discrete nutrient analyzer measures low-levels of nutrients in water samples

Extreme storms can drastically increase water levels and wave energy causing a breach, or complete erosion of the island itself. Hurricane Sandy created a breach in the Otis Pike High Dunes Wilderness Area at Fire Island National Seashore in NY.

Hurricane Sandy leveled dunes and moved eroded sediment from the dunes and beach across the island and into the estuary (Great South Bay) at Fire Island, NY.

USGS scientist Nancy Prouty collects samples from a CTD. A CTD is package of electronic instruments that measure conductivity, temperature, and depth of water.

The streamer is flaked out on the deck with a make shift workbench for tools.  The technical staff (Geological Survey of Canada) are sharing a lighter moment during trouble shooting and repair aboard CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent.