Images

Pacific Missile Range Facility-Barking Sands in Hawai'i, operated by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Banner image for the Coastal Science Navigator, an online gateway for users such as state and local planners, resources managers, consultants, and researchers to more easily gain access to USGS coastal science data, products, tools, and information.

The USGS is actively mapping the seafloor surface and its underlying structure in coastal to deep sea environments. These maps provide the scientific foundation needed to address national priorities, including #publicsafety, #nationalsecurity, #energydominance, and #economicprosperity. 

Water flux through a tidal creek with a small, moderate, and extreme tide range during (A) a flood tide and (B) an ebb tide. Creek velocity legend applies to all tide ranges.

Map of study area: China Camp State Park and the adjacent shallows of San Pablo Bay. Black and gray bathymetry lines indicate the location of mean higher high water (MHHW) and mean lower low water (MLLW), respectively. Elevations in meters of those tidal datums are referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988

Non-profit organizations Transom Story Lab and Atlantic Public Media hosted a weekend-long science storytelling workshop called "Making Waves." It was attended by 11 scientists from scientific institutions throughout Woods Hole, Massachusetts, including USGS scientists Jin-Si Over, Ellen Lalk, and Sara Zeigler.

USGS marks the spot! Our science is key to understanding seabed resources. Our maps characterizing the seafloor can help find #criticalminerals, precious metals, and other vital resources in high demand. 

Composites of hydrodynamic and morphological responses to (a–c) ENSO phases and (d–f) the strongest El Niño events during winter (DJF) over 1997–2022.

Map of the North American West Coast, the monitored coastline is shown in light yellow. Dashed boxes delineate the different subregions of the study area. Pie charts show the regional distribution of advancing/retreating waterline trends during 2000–2022 derived from the dataset presented in this study.

Non-profit organizations Transom Story Lab and Atlantic Public Media hosted a weekend-long science storytelling workshop called "Making Waves." It was attended by 11 scientists from scientific institutions throughout Woods Hole, Massachusetts, including USGS scientists Jin-Si Over, Ellen Lalk, and Sara Zeigler.

Photos of (a) coastal wetland, (b) coral reef, (c) dryland, and (d) alpine ecosystems. These ecosystems are chronically exposed to high levels of abiotic stress that approach physiological tolerance limits.

An introductory course for small uncrewed aircraft system (sUAS) pilots was held at the New York State Emergency Preparedness Training Facility in Oriskany, New York. Instructors from across the country, including Sandy Brosnahan (lead instructor) and Seth Ackerman of the USGS WHCMSC, collaborated to deliver the training.

WFSU produced a documentary covering a research cruise offshore Oregon to Astoria Canyon (2023) and smaller campaigns to the Hydrate Ridge seep system (2024) to study the cycling dynamics of dissolved organic matter at methane seeps.

The USGS hosted a webinar highlighting new USGS tools developed for use in Long Island Sound.

WFSU produced a documentary covering a research cruise offshore Oregon to Astoria Canyon (2023) and smaller campaigns to the Hydrate Ridge seep system (2024) to study the cycling dynamics of dissolved organic matter at methane seeps.

Depiction of a horizontal levee (A) and study location in San Francisco Bay, CA(B and C). Transects used in the hydrodynamic simulations are shown by the white lines in (C).

A seafloor mapping survey in Long Island Sound took place in May with collaborators from the University of Connecticut and the University of New Haven. They are mapping the area’s geology and biota to identify seasonal changes from their previous survey in November 2024.

USGS Coastal Change Likelihood (CCL) outcomes are displayed for Wallops Joint Expeditionary Base in Virginia. Warm colors indicate areas of high expected coastal change and cool colors indicate areas with lower expected change.

The Coastal Landscape Response assessment creates multidecadal predictions of where and when the coast is likely to adapt or inundate. Results are produced for four decades—the 2020s, 2030s, 2050s, and 2080s.

A seafloor mapping survey in Long Island Sound took place in May with collaborators from the University of Connecticut and the University of New Haven. They are mapping the area’s geology and biota to identify seasonal changes from their previous survey in November 2024.

(A) Inset: Map showing location of (B–F). (B), (C) The C-CAP land cover for 1996 and 2016, respectively. (D) Land cover in the C-CAP datasets changed for coastal, noncoastal and low elevation (less than 1 m), and noncoastal land classes between 1996 and 2016.