Natural processes such as waves, tides, and weather, continually change coastal landscapes. The integrity of coastal homes, businesses, and infrastructure can be threatened by hazards associated with event-driven changes, such as extreme storms and their impacts on beach and dune erosion, or longer-term, cumulative changes associated with coastal and marine processes, such as sea-level rise. Scientists working on Coastal Change Hazards conduct basic and applied research and provide relevant science-based products to assist the Nation with these coastal change hazard challenges. By building a community with a broad range of expertise, CCH facilitates the integration of diverse coastal science and the exchange of new ideas and approaches across the Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program (CMHRP). Innovative collaboration is encouraged in order to identify and address the Nation’s needs and coastal change hazards problems. Through observation and modeling, CCH develops robust and accessible coastal change assessments that help improve the lives, property, and economic prosperity of the Nation’s coastal communities, habitats, and natural resources.
Coastal Change Hazards Research
USGS Coastal Change Hazards research uses a variety of approaches to better understand the coastal environment.
Technical Capabilities
The data and tools provided by USGS Coastal Change Hazards research describe our coastline, how the coast can change through time, and the potential hazards associated with these changes.
Stakeholder Engagement
Stakeholder engagement and communications efforts connect USGS Coastal Change Hazard knowledge, data, and tools with target audiences and allow stakeholders to provide input that can be incorporated into science planning and product delivery.
Learn more in our science stories or by watching our video.
CCH is a program focus led and executed by a community of USGS scientists, technicians, and communicators working together to develop advanced capabilities to observe, understand, and forecast changes to the Nation’s coast with immediate and long-term applications. By building a community with a broad range of expertise, CCH facilitates the integration of diverse coastal science and the exchange of new ideas and approaches across the Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program (CMHRP). CCH encourages innovative collaboration in order to identify and address the Nation’s coastal change hazards problems.
Recognizing the full scope of activities needed to produce science products that address national needs, CCH is organized into three complementary components:
Stakeholder Engagement and Communication (SEC) is focused on connecting CCH science to stakeholders both within USGS and external to the agency. SEC initiates open conversations with these stakeholders to learn more about their needs for data, tools, and information. This helps to ensure that CCH science meets the needs of the Nation, and the science and data are useful and accessible.
Technical Capabilities and Applications (TCA) provides and applies technical expertise, methods and data visualizations to sustain regional to national-scale CCH assessment products; manages CCH data sharing and visualization efforts; and coordinates a Program-wide technical community that serves as a resource for projects across CMHRP.
Research advances the science that supports the products users rely on to inform decision making. CCH integrates research across the three Coastal and Marine Science Centers and aligns basic and applied research directions with CCH user-informed science priorities.
The result of close coordination and collaboration between SEC, TCA, and Research is a CCH program focus that aims to:
- Build a CCH community, with a broad range of expertise and disciplines, that shares data, methods, and practices to address complex science questions and community needs;
- Produce societally-relevant basic and applied science addressing coastal change hazards;
- Develop and provide science-based products that can be used by stakeholders to address coastal change hazard issues across the Nation; and
- Engage stakeholders and incorporate user needs into science planning deliverables.
Below are other science projects associated with the Coastal Change Hazards Project
Coastal Change Hazards - Technical Capabilities and Applications
Coastal Change Hazards - Stakeholder Engagement and Communications
Coastal Change Hazards - Research
USGS Coastal Change Hazards
The USGS Coastal Change Hazards team works to identify and address the Nation’s coastal change hazards problems. By integrating research, technical capabilities and applications, and stakeholder engagement and communications, the Coastal Change Hazards team develops robust and accessible coastal change assessments, forecasts, and tools that help improve the lives,
Below are news stories associated with Coastal Change Hazards
Coastal Change Happens! USGS Has Data and Tools to Help Coastal Communities Prepare
USGS Introduces a National Approach to Coastal Change Hazards (CCH) Science
- Overview
Natural processes such as waves, tides, and weather, continually change coastal landscapes. The integrity of coastal homes, businesses, and infrastructure can be threatened by hazards associated with event-driven changes, such as extreme storms and their impacts on beach and dune erosion, or longer-term, cumulative changes associated with coastal and marine processes, such as sea-level rise. Scientists working on Coastal Change Hazards conduct basic and applied research and provide relevant science-based products to assist the Nation with these coastal change hazard challenges. By building a community with a broad range of expertise, CCH facilitates the integration of diverse coastal science and the exchange of new ideas and approaches across the Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program (CMHRP). Innovative collaboration is encouraged in order to identify and address the Nation’s needs and coastal change hazards problems. Through observation and modeling, CCH develops robust and accessible coastal change assessments that help improve the lives, property, and economic prosperity of the Nation’s coastal communities, habitats, and natural resources.
Coastal Change Hazards Research
USGS Coastal Change Hazards research uses a variety of approaches to better understand the coastal environment.
Technical Capabilities
The data and tools provided by USGS Coastal Change Hazards research describe our coastline, how the coast can change through time, and the potential hazards associated with these changes.
Stakeholder Engagement
Stakeholder engagement and communications efforts connect USGS Coastal Change Hazard knowledge, data, and tools with target audiences and allow stakeholders to provide input that can be incorporated into science planning and product delivery.
Learn more in our science stories or by watching our video.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.CCH is a program focus led and executed by a community of USGS scientists, technicians, and communicators working together to develop advanced capabilities to observe, understand, and forecast changes to the Nation’s coast with immediate and long-term applications. By building a community with a broad range of expertise, CCH facilitates the integration of diverse coastal science and the exchange of new ideas and approaches across the Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program (CMHRP). CCH encourages innovative collaboration in order to identify and address the Nation’s coastal change hazards problems.
Recognizing the full scope of activities needed to produce science products that address national needs, CCH is organized into three complementary components:
Stakeholder Engagement and Communication (SEC) is focused on connecting CCH science to stakeholders both within USGS and external to the agency. SEC initiates open conversations with these stakeholders to learn more about their needs for data, tools, and information. This helps to ensure that CCH science meets the needs of the Nation, and the science and data are useful and accessible.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Participants at the State of Our Nation’s Coast stakeholder engagement workshop at Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in East Falmouth, Massachusetts. Technical Capabilities and Applications (TCA) provides and applies technical expertise, methods and data visualizations to sustain regional to national-scale CCH assessment products; manages CCH data sharing and visualization efforts; and coordinates a Program-wide technical community that serves as a resource for projects across CMHRP.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.The likely impact of Hurricane Florence on sandy shorelines of the US East Coast is provided three days prior to landfall. The bands on the map represent different coastal change hazards concerning beach dunes. Outer band: Dune erosion. Middle band: Dune overwash. Inner band: Dune inundation, with potential flooding behind the dune. Credit: USGS Coastal Change Hazard Portal. Research advances the science that supports the products users rely on to inform decision making. CCH integrates research across the three Coastal and Marine Science Centers and aligns basic and applied research directions with CCH user-informed science priorities.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.At Fire Island, New York estuarine, wetland, coastal, and oceanic processes interact, affecting natural habitats and coastal communities. The CMHRP conducts scientific investigations at Fire Island in order to protect coastal infrastructure.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.The USGS conducts seasonal surveys along the west coast each year, to monitor how beaches are changing through time. Here, a USGS scientist navigates a personal watercraft equipped with GPS and sonar to measure seafloor depths near the beach. The GPS system enables the driver to follow a precise path and to revisit the same path in future surveys. The result of close coordination and collaboration between SEC, TCA, and Research is a CCH program focus that aims to:
- Build a CCH community, with a broad range of expertise and disciplines, that shares data, methods, and practices to address complex science questions and community needs;
- Produce societally-relevant basic and applied science addressing coastal change hazards;
- Develop and provide science-based products that can be used by stakeholders to address coastal change hazard issues across the Nation; and
- Engage stakeholders and incorporate user needs into science planning deliverables.
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with the Coastal Change Hazards Project
Coastal Change Hazards - Technical Capabilities and Applications
The Technical Capabilities and Applications (TCA) component of the Coastal Change Hazards (CCH) program focus leverages technical talent across the Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program (CMHRP) to bridge capability, expertise, and cooperation between the three Coastal and Marine Science Centers: Woods Hole, Massachusetts; St. Petersburg, Florida; and Santa Cruz, California. TCA provides...Coastal Change Hazards - Stakeholder Engagement and Communications
An important role of the Coastal Change Hazards (CCH) program focus is to foster communication and information exchange, promote collaboration, build partnerships, and connect people with CCH knowledge, data, and tools. Coastal communities and practitioners need scientific information to support decisions regarding development, economics, environmental health, and public safety along the coast...Coastal Change Hazards - Research
The Research component of the Coastal Change Hazards (CCH) program focus conducts basic and applied research that is important for understanding the Nation’s dynamic coasts and increasing the resiliency of resources and lives along these coasts. Research is conducted through a variety of projects across the three Coastal and Marine Science Centers: Woods Hole, Massachusetts; St. Petersburg... - Multimedia
USGS Coastal Change Hazards
The USGS Coastal Change Hazards team works to identify and address the Nation’s coastal change hazards problems. By integrating research, technical capabilities and applications, and stakeholder engagement and communications, the Coastal Change Hazards team develops robust and accessible coastal change assessments, forecasts, and tools that help improve the lives,
- Web Tools
- News
Below are news stories associated with Coastal Change Hazards
Coastal Change Happens! USGS Has Data and Tools to Help Coastal Communities Prepare
USGS Introduces a National Approach to Coastal Change Hazards (CCH) Science
ByNatural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center (CFWSC), Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Coastal Changes and Impacts, Communications and Publishing