Images

Cliff erosion is a common storm-induced hazard along the West Coast. Two condemned apartment buildings along Esplanade Avenue in Pacifica, California are shown here before their demolition in 2016 and 2017.

Map showing the tracklines and grab sample sites of the 2014 and 2015 geophysical surveys offshore of the Delmarva Peninsula.

Near vertical (top, middle) and low angle oblique (bottom) aerial photographs of Topsail, North Carolina. View looking northwest along the North Carolina shore. Elevated storm-induced water levels overtopped the low dunes here causing the dune to overwash. Sand was transported landward, burying the marsh (green arrow).

The effects of sea-level rise will vary by differences in the geomorphology and ecology of the landscape.  Images show marsh (top left) rocky coast (top right), barrier beach (bottom left), and coastal bluff (bottom right)

Map showing extent and coverage of coastal response type predictions; insets display different prediction types and geospatial variability through time. Predictions of coastal response likelihood for the four prediction time steps at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, VA.

Enlarged details of Survey Area 1 showing new multibeam bathymetry data (rainbow colors) acquired on R/V Solstice near Cross Sound and Glacier Bay National Park, southeastern Alaska. Arrows highlight the surface expression, or trace, of the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault.

Profile of newly discovered volcano-like cone in sonar record collected off southern Alaska. The cone’s summit is at about 1,000 meters water depth. Note fluid plume (blue) rising more than 700 meters upward from the summit.

Map of daily-averaged ocean surface current data integrated from multiple IOOS Partner forecast models

A vibracore taken from a marshy area in Anahola Valley, Kaua‛i reveals a sandier mud layer.

The challenging and complex study environment of Molokaʻi’s (Hawaiʻi) fringing reef. Learn more about USGS studies on this island: “Coral Reef Project: Molokaʻi”

Geology and geomorphology offshore of Fort Ross, California, showing location of the San Andreas Fault and slope failures in the fault zone.

Left: USGS research hydrologist Mark Reid (left) and USGS research geologist Kevin Schmidt collect GPS data along the Big Sur coast on September 19, 2007. Photo credit: Maiana Hanshaw, USGS (now with swisstopo).

Pamela Swarzenski from the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center sampling gas released by gas hydrate breakdown during a quantitative degassing aboard the drilling vessel Chikyu during the Indian Government’s National Gas Hydrates Program (NGHP-02) drilling expedition offshore from eastern India.

Junbong Jang of the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center measures index properties on sediment collected during the Indian Government’s National Gas Hydrates Program (NGHP-02) drilling expedition offshore from eastern India in the summer of 2015.

This USGS vessel acquires single-beam bathymetry in shallow nearshore environments. We acquire repeat bathymetry surveys over multiple years and compute changes in bathymetry, thus allowing us to identify hotspots of erosion and deposition on short timescales.

Bathymetry data of Columbia River mouth, derived from an interferometric swath bathymetry systems survey in 2013. A) Swath map of data; B-E) sample detail pull-outs

Waves breaking over offshore reefs on Kwajalein Atoll, in the Marshall Islands, where reefs are protecting developed land from flooding.

USGS geophysicist Jared Kluesner points at a three-dimensional cross-section of seismic data about 40 kilometers across and several kilometers deep located in the Santa Barbara Channel. This imaging deep below the seafloor allows scientists to visualize and map faults better.

Jared Kluesner displays a 3D view of seismic data collected off Santa Barbara. This visualization helps him analyze the Earth’s layers from the seafloor (rainbow-colored surface) to several kilometers below (slices extending down from the colored surface).

View of Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve in Hawaii. Hanauma is located along the southeast coast of the Island of Oʻahu. It is known for its abundance of marine life and is a popular snorkeling location.

Aerial image showing beach and offshore reef