Images

The left panel shows the threatened elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) alive and performing the critical ecosystem service of building the reef crest that protects shorelines during storms. The right panel shows a dead and quickly eroding skeleton of Elkhorn Coral.

Dredging operations aboard the research vessel Alpha Crucis. The first dredge with successful rock recovery is wrangled back on deck.

Digital elevation model (left) and orthomosaic (right) of the middle Elwha River

Core racks filled with split cores in D-tubes in the K.O. Emery Geotechnical Wing walk-in refrigerator

Erika Lentz, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Research Geologist interviewed by WBZ Boston Meterologist, Danielle Niles fora segment on sea-level rise

Research geologist, Erika Lentz, interviewed on Trunk River Beach, Falmouth, MA, by WBZ meterologist, Danielle Niles, about the future impacts of sea-level rise

Dawn breaks behind one of the bottom landers on deployment day.

Sediment transport team members attach a quick-release to the top of a bottom lander prior to deployment

Sediment transport team members manage tag lines to control the motion of the bottom lander as it is deployed.

Sediment transport team members prepare to deploy a buoy instrumented with Meteorological sensors

An instrumented bottom lander platform is lowered off the stern of the R/V Savannah during deploment

 Sediment transport team members assemble chain, shackles and pear links that are are attached to the anchor and floats as part of deploying a mooring.

The buoy that measures meteorological conditions at the site after deployment.

A look into the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center’s Marine Minerals Laboratory Suite.

A look into the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center’s Marine Minerals Laboratory Suite.

Photo shows results of wave-driven flooding and overwash on Roi-Namur Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Map showing the amount of sea-level rise that will double the chances of today’s “50-year floods,” which have a 2 percent chance of happening in any year. Warmer colors indicate areas at greater risk.

USGS pilot Sandy Brosnahan and Senate Pro Tempore Marc Pacheco discuss the use of Umanned Aerial Systems (UASs, also known as drones) to collect data in coastal environments.

Hill-shaded bathymetric, backscatter, and photographic data collected by NOAA and the USGS. Backscatter data give indications of seafloor character. In general, low-backscatter intensity (blue) corresponds to finer-grained material, whereas high-backscatter intensity (orange) corresponds to coarser substrate.

The USGS conducted surveys on the inner continental shelf of the Delmarva Peninsula (shown in green) to complement related datasets previously collected in the area by partners NOAA and BOEM. The inset map shows location of the study area.

Orthomosaic images of Matanzas, Florida, from (a) before and (b) after Hurricane Matthew, and (c) a digital elevation model (DEM) showing the associated topographic change. Note, these results were produced by applying Structure-from-Motion (SfM) to NOAA oblique photographs, but similar results can be obtained using UAS aerial imagery.