Images

The wee strand is a beach along the head of of Loch Indaal, Scotland. Loch Indaal is an ocean bay on Islay, the southernmost island of the Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland.

Upgraded USGS jumbo piston corer being readied for deployment off the research vessel Hugh R. Sharp in April 2022.

PCMSC scientist measuring land-surface elevation near the bay-marsh edge of Whale's Tail South marsh in Eden Landing Ecological Reserve, Hayward, CA, with birds foraging on the South San Francisco Bay mudflats at low tide in the background.

Percent of U.S. waters that remain unmapped as of January 2022: U.S. total – 52% of 3,590,500 square nautical miles (snm). 

USGS scientists survey the precise location of a camera calibration target. The surveyed locations are used to georeference USGS CoastCam imagery.

USGS scientist cuts open core taken in the field to sample soils and vegetation for chemical analysis. 

By circulating water downward through a clear chamber (“capture cone”), bubbles of gas can be held, imaged and studied over time.  The left image shows bubbles of xenon in the process of developing coatings of gas hydrate.  The shiny bubble indicated near the top is hydrate-free, the white/opaque bubbles have coatings of xenon hydrate.  A few bubbles

Pre- and post-Hurricane Dorian aerial imagery showing extreme sediment transport, overwash and breaches along the barrier islands of the North Carolina coast.

The marshes of Plum Island Estuary are among those predicted by scientists to submerge during the next century under conservative projections of sea-level rise.

Geologist Alisha Ellis kneels in the marsh grass while collecting sediment samples in Mississippi.

Scientists from PCMSC deploying instruments to measure water level and suspended-sediment concentration in Whale's Tail South marsh in Eden Landing Ecological Reserve, Hayward, CA.

Grain density results obtained using a pycnometer inform other geotechnical testing, such as the consolidation results from the laboratory’s oedometers.

 The USGS Gas Hydrates Project develops and tests new tools to address the critical knowledge gaps identified as scientists analyze hydrate-bearing pressure cores recovered during field programs. HyPrCal Laboratory analysis using Pressure Core Characterization Tools.

Dune restoration efforts in Isabela, Puerto Rico, using wooden planks to promote sand accumulation.

Wooden boardwalk built to protect fragile dunes from pedestrians in Isabela, Puerto Rico.

Mangroves grow along the coast in La Parguera, Lajas, Puerto Rico. Mangroves help protect the coast during storms.

Coral reef in La Parguera, Lajas Puerto Rico shows a sea fan coral (Gorgonia) in the center, surrounded other corals and fishes.

Coral reef in La Parguera, Lajas Puerto Rico shows various types and conditions of corals, including sea fan corals (Gorgonia) in the center.

This image from a video camera pointed at the coast tracks the brightest pixels in the camera view over 10 minutes of video. The resulting image is useful for identifying features such as the position of maximum wave run-up on the beach, the position of all breaking waves, and sea-state.

Two video cameras are temporarily mounted on a dune at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The cameras are imaging the southern DUNEX experiment site and are designed to have a stereo view of the beach and potential overwash path until late October. Instruments from the U.S.

Sophie Kuhl, Simone Gibson, Meagan Eagle, and Lindsey Smith in a coastal wetland, Mashpee, Massachusetts. Photo credit Jen O'Keefe Suttles (USG