Images

Joseph Terrano of the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center prepares water level loggers to install near the marsh shoreline in Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Mississippi.

Joseph Terrano collects field notes in the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Mississippi marsh. 

Mounds of sand cleared from the roadway stand high on both sides of a road near the beach in Pensacola Beach, Florida, in October 2004 after Hurricane Ivan.

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researcher Dave Thompson stands next to a garage in Gulf Shores, Alabama, that filled with sand after Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

This coral garden was discovered in the Stetson-Miami Deepwater HAPC during the 2019 Southeastern U.S. Deep-sea Exploration in an area that may mark the eastern extent of the Million Mounds region.

Established in 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Coral Assessment Network (USGS-CAN) provides data on coral-growth (calcification) rates throughout the Florida Keys. Pictured here is a coral at Crocker Reef in the upper Florida Keys.

Established in 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Coral Assessment Network (USGS-CAN) provides data on coral-growth (calcification) rates throughout the Florida Keys and St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Pictured here is one of 30 stations located in Buck Island Reef National Monument.

This instrument, the Edgetech SB-516 or "chirp", emits acoustic signals that penetrate the sediment on the seafloor. The reflected sound is recorded and is used to create a cross-section image, or profile, of the sub-bottom.

A view of the mouth of the Klamath River where it meets the Pacific Ocean in northern California. The river runs from Oregon to California. Four dams along the Klamath are pending removal. USGS is studying coastal watershed response to dam removal, including long-term before-after/control-impact (BACI) studies.

A science crew on M/V (marine vessel) Bold Horizon retrieve gear from offshore San Francisco.

Sediments in estuarine and marsh environments contain organic peat, or material derived from life, that plays an important role in ecosystem health. Here, USGS geologist Chris Smith of the St.

USGS scientists on the back deck of M/V Bold Horizon in San Francisco Bay: (back row, standing: left to right) Brandon Nasr, Danny Brothers, Travis Alonghi (USGS student contractor), Gerry Hatcher, Jenna Hill, Pete Dal Ferro, and Jenny McKee; (front row, kneeling: left to right) USGS scientists Janet Watt and Nora Nieminski.

The Rossfelder P-5 vibracorer, with its polybuterate liner visible, is secured on the deck of the research vessel Bold Horizon, awaiting deployment off the coast of California just north of San Francisco. More liners are stored in a cage off to the side.

USGS science crew from Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center work together to get the vibracorer coring device in position to collect sediment core samples off San Francisco, California.

The USGS uses the Rossfelder P-5 vibracorer to collect deep-water sediment samples from the seafloor. Here, they are heading out offshore of San Francisco with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.

USGS scientists Brandon Nasr, Jenna Hill, Nora Nieminski, and Jenny McKee removing a sediment-filled core liner from the jumbo piston core barrel with the picturesque northern California coastline in the background.

UCSC student Travis Alonghi and USGS scientist Danny Brothers deploying the Chirp sub-bottom profiler at sunset from M/V Bold Horizon.

The USGS Coastal and Estuarine Dynamics Group will be deploying a cross shore array at Pea Island, various intruments will be connected to the poles to measure oceanographic conditions

USGS scientists Nora Nieminski, Jenna Hill, and Brandon Nasr working to cap and secure a trigger core on deck. Trigger cores can provide important information about seafloor sediments just below the seafloor

The crew of research vessel Bold Horizon with USGS science crew prepare to launch the Chirp sub-bottom profiler off the west coast near northern California and southern Oregon.

After recovery, the jumbo piston corer sits on the deck of research vessel Bold Horizon in its launch and recovery system. This muddy collar is removed to reveal the removable length of the core, which sits within a stiff plastic tube inside the metal tube.