Images

Oblique aerial photograph near Rodanthe, North Carolina, looking south along the coast on August 30, 2011, three days after landfall of Hurricane Irene. 

Deploying the airgun array from CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent. USCGC Healy can be seen in the background.

The airgun sled is painted orange and suspended from the A-frame.  The three airguns are suspended beneath the sled. The multichannel digital streamer (yellow cable going into the water from the sled) is towed from the the weighted sled to keep it under the ice. This photo shows the number of crew required to safely deploy the airgun sled.

CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent following the path created by USCGC Healy

A breach in the coastline of Rodanthe, North Carolina, caused by Hurricane Irene in 2011. Repeated storm impacts, combined with sea level rise, make the development and improvement of models that help forecast coastal change very important to planners working to build more resilient communities

Personal watercraft fitted with sonar and GPS were among the tools used by USGS scientists to map the bottom of shallow coastal waters near the mouth of the Elwha River. This shot was taken August 25, 2011, during a survey conducted just a few weeks before dam removal began.

Construction of the two newest additions to the U.S. Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Center's fleet of large research vessels is nearing completion. The two new USGS research vessels will replace the aging vessels on lakes Erie and Ontario.

Construction of the two newest additions to the U.S. Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Center's fleet of large research vessels is nearing completion. The two new USGS research vessels will replace the aging vessels on lakes Erie and Ontario.

Jenny (seated) repairing a seismic airgun (sound source) on the R/V Marcus G. Langseth in the Bering Sea, where the USGS collected data in August 2011 for the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf Project.

Electronics for controlling the moving arm in the open pressure housing.

Christina Kellogg and David Zawada using SCUBA gear to sample the microbiomes of corals at Loggerhead Key, Dry Tortugas, Florida. Chris Kellogg studies corals to understand coral heath and potential diseases. 

Aerial view looking northwest of Makapuu Beach Park (foreground) and Waimanalo Bay in the distance, southeast Oahu, Hawaii.

U.S. Geological Survey scientist collecting elevation data on the bluff of Alaska’s north coast.

USGS geologists, from left, Bruce Richmond, Ann Gibbs, Li Erikson, and Curt Storlazzi pose together on a snowy field in Alaska.

Eider duck eggs in a nest on Arey Island, Alaska. 

The large white radar dome is a former Distant Early Warning Line site, which sits atop a permafrost bluff on Barter Island, Alaska.

USGS scientist Li Erikson poses for a picture in Alaska. Learn more about Li's research about climate impacts to Arctic coasts: https://www.usgs.gov/centers/pcmsc/science/climate-impacts-arctic-coasts.

Large waves (6 meters /20 feet high) resuspend terrestrial flood sediment on the coral reefs off Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site and Kawaihae Harbor, Hawaiʻi.

USGS scientists Bruce Jaffe and Bruce Richmond visited Japan following the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami. They collected time-sensitive data to help determine the height of tsunami waves at various sites and the distances the waves traveled inland.

Four tan cables, each 6 kilometers long, trail behind R/V Marcus G. Langseth. These cables record seismic sound waves that travel down into the Earth and reflect back from layers beneath the seafloor. The green cables provide the sound.

Damage as seen in Natori, Japan, in May 2011. The March 11, 2011 magnitude 9.1 earthquake off the east coast of Japan caused an epic tsunami. USGS scientist standing near the wrecked boat, and a car on the road, provide scale. Damage to the building indicates a 10-meter flow depth.