Recent Coastal and Marine Fieldwork - August-September 2019
This was a busy field season for USGS scientists! We visited numerous locations to collect seawater and sediment samples, and to map beaches, rivers, marshes, and offshore areas. Here’s a quick overview of some fieldwork by our scientists.
This article is part of the August-September 2019 issue of the Sound Waves newsletter.
- Northern San Francisco Bay, California: Collected water data and sediment samples to determine variability in bed sediment erosion and investigate its causes, June through August.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-625-FA
- Pinellas and Brevard Counties, Florida: Collected elevation data for creating topographic maps of beaches, and mapped sea turtle nesting locations, to test how nesting habits might be affected by beach nourishment vs. on a “natural beach,” various weeks from May through September.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-322-FA
- Offshore of Oregon and Washington, northern and central Cascadia margin from Mendocino Triple Junction to offshore Olympic Peninsula: Mapped the seafloor to characterize Quaternary deformation and sediment dynamics, July 13-August 12.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-024-FA
- Lake Ozette, Washington: Conducted geophysical mapping and geological sampling of Lake Ozette to investigate earthquake-triggered mass-transport deposits, July 14-August 3.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-622-FA
- Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts: Mapped the seafloor with sonar, and collected seafloor sediment samples, to provide detailed geologic information to the state for use in the management and assessment of resources and hazards, July 15-August 15.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-002-FA
- Puget Sound, Washington: Collected water-level data to record seasonal fluctuations, July 25-August 3.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-637-FA
- Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, Massachusetts: Collected seafloor sediment samples to aid in the creation of a geologic map of the seafloor, July 26-August 3.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-008-FA
- Columbia River Littoral Cell, Oregon and Washington border: Collected nearshore bathymetry (depth) and beach topography (elevation), July 29-August 16.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-632-FA
- Bellingham Bay, Washington: Collected current, wave, and water-quality data to study coastal habitats, July 29-August 3.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-638-FA
- Ocean Beach, San Francisco: Collected elevation data as part of an ongoing effort to map beach change; also collected structure-from-motion photos of Funston bluffs, August 5.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-645-FA
- Cape Cod National Seashore, Wellfleet, Massachusetts: Deployed instruments to instruments to measure water velocity, water quality, water level, and seabed change, and collected water samples; this ongoing effort to quantify sediment movement parameters in national parks will inform park management efforts; August 7-8.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-030-FA
- Cedar Island, Virginia: Conducted geophysical shoreface mapping offshore of the island, August 7-20.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-332-FA
- Cascadia margin offshore of California, Oregon, and Washington: Collected geodesic data along the subduction zone, August 8-14.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-641-FA
- Tampa Bay, Florida: Collected water samples to determine carbonate chemistry, August 9-12, August 16-19 ,August 23-26, August 30-September 2, September 6-9.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-348-FA
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-342-FA
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-343-FA
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-344-FA
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-347-FA
- Astoria Canyon, Washington: Completed seafloor mapping of Astoria Canyon and surrounding canyons to assess sediment storage, sediment mobility and potential response to earthquake shaking, August 12-22.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-635-FA
- Cascadia margin offshore of California, Oregon, and Washington: Mapped the seafloor and collected magnetic data for subduction zone hazard characterization, August 12-23.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-636-FA
- Tampa Bay, Florida: Recovered, cleaned, and redeployed the Ocean Carbon System (OCS), August 19-23, August 26-30, September 3-13.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-350-FA
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- San Francisco Bay Delta, Little Holland Tract, California: Collected sediment samples for shallow water habitat restoration studies that support fisheries in the Delta, August 20-12.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-644-FA
- Indian Rocks Beach, Florida: Collected seawater samples from monitoring wells, August 21-22.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-351-FA
- Gulf of Alaska: Recovered 30 ocean bottom seismographs that have been recording earth motion since July 2018, August 25-September 12.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-033-FA
- Elwha River mouth, Puget Sound, Washington: Collected nearshore bathymetry (depth), beach topography (elevation), and underwater sediment samples, August 26-29.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-633-FA
- Barter Island, Alaska: Serviced video web cameras, thermistors, and game cameras, conducted Electrical Resistivity Surveys, collected cores, and completed drone structure-from-motion (UAS SfM) and thermal surveys over coastal bluffs, September 2-10.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-634-FA
- Offshore Central California: Collected ocean sediment cores and bottom video to analyze geology, benthic habitat, grain size, sediment age, and pore water chemistry data in support of offshore energy development, September 9-27.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-642-FA
- Eureka littoral cell, offshore Arcata, California: Collected nearshore bathymetry (depth) and beach topography (elevation), September 9-16.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-646-FA
- Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida: Sampled subfossil elkhorn corals for radiometric dating, to determine the geographic extent of elkhorn coral populations in the past, September 15-20.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-337-FA
- Gulf of Mexico, offshore of Biloxi, Mississippi: Collected sediment cores to ground-truth geophysical data, September 15-30.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-356-FA
- Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts: Collected seafloor sediment samples to characterize seafloor texture and character, September 16-19.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-034-FA
- Gulf of Mexico, offshore of Sarasota, Florida: Collect water samples to determine radon and radium distribution in blue holes, September 16-20.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-357-FA
- Bellingham Bay, Washington: Collected sediment samples for geologic and geochemical analysis to characterize alongshore dispersal of contaminants from the Cornwall Landfill, September 23-27.
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-648-FA
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