Images

USGS samples water within wetlands to understand which environmental drivers impact carbon cycle and sediment accretion. Here USGS staff (Jennifer O'Keefe Suttles) pumps water from at Phragmites wetland, Mashpee, MA, to analyze at the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Environmental Geochemistry lab.

Diagram of the SQUID-5 towed surface vehicle and the waterproof camera housings with labeled components. The camera mounting mechanism aligns the camera axially with the dome and allows the camera to be adjusted fore and aft to accommodate various lens types and enable alignment with the glass port radius of curvature for minimal distortion.

Perspective view of large SfM point cloud of region of Fort Funston, CA., without automated data cleaning (masking).

Lab Manager, Adrian Mann, analyzes pore water samples on an Ion Chromatograph.

A glass micromodel (upper left) allows fluid flow through gaps between solid cylinders (gap size of 100 micrometers is shown in the upper-right image). Injecting fine-grained materials allows us to characterize the conditions in which clogs occur, as they have done in the upper- and lower-right pictures.

The USGS Gas Hydrates Project manages the standalone Hydrate Pressure Core Analysis Laboratory (HyPrCAL) at the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center (WHCMSC) to study hydrate-bearing sediments in support of energy resources a

Hurricane Sandy (2012) modeling: Modeling can reveal the contributions from underlying processes individually. These images show contribution from offshore surge (change in water level) and offshore waves to maximum water levels (in meters) within a bay during a coastal storm.

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.

As part of the Remote Sensing of Coastal Change and Florence Supplemental projects we have been developing novel workflows for repeat-mapping of ­­­coastal environments at order decimeter resolution over up to hundreds of kilometers in a single day, using Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry or SfM, from crewed aerial platforms.

Perspective view of large SfM point cloud of region of Fort Funston, CA., with automated data cleaning (masking). This cleaned data has 50% fewer points.

The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting research to guide the recovery of the threatened Elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, in Dry Tortugas National Park and throughout the western Atlantic.

Ocean Beach in San Francisco looking north

A) Conditions during a 2015 munitions mobility experiment in Duck, NC, and B) cartographic visualization of hindcast probability of munitions’ complete burial during the experiment.

The U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center is conducting research to guide the restoration and recovery of the threatened elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, in Dry Tortugas National Park and throughout the western Atlantic.

The USGS will be using an autonomous surf vehicle, built by Peter Traykovski of WHOI, to map the bathymetry of the Pea Island DUNEX Experiment Site. 

The autonomous surf vehicle, built and controlled remotely  by Peter Traykovski of WHOI, is used to map the bathymetry of the Pea Island DUNEX Experiment Site. 

Far out, man... where science meets art

Tropical Storm Eta affected beaches along Florida's Gulf Coast in November 2020. Some dunes were eroded up to several feet due to the high water levels associated with the storm. Madeira Beach is home to many people and animals, and erosion events such as this can affect both habitat and infrastructure.

A view of a salt marsh pond on the left, and a tidal creek on the right at Plum Island, Massachusetts.

Tropical Storm Eta had effects on Florida's Gulf Coast beaches, including dune erosion and overwash. This image from the coast cam at Madeira Beach, Florida captured high water levels and resulting overwash of sand onto the patio of the Shoreline Resort.

Robert Scharping, a post-doctoral fellow jointly appointed by the USGS and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) measures water chemistry 40’ underwater and underground in Double Keyhole Cave near the coastline of Tampa Bay Florida.