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, Florida; and Santa Cruz, California.
Observations
Using a variety of observational techniques, the USGS collects scientific information that is the basis of discovery and research.
Understanding
Scientists use observations and analyses to understand and describe coastal phenomena that cause flooding, erosion, and other changes to the coast.
Modeling
Conceptual, statistical, and mathematical models are used to describe and understand coastal responses to driving forces such as wind, waves, ocean currents, and water levels.
Research is focused on observing, understanding, and modeling coastal processes and responses to both natural forcing and human disturbances across diverse environments. This work is focused on open sandy coasts, coral reefs, permafrost coasts, sea cliffs, sand dunes, estuaries, marshes, and coastal watersheds. Scientific research, which is vetted through a rigorous peer-review process, is the foundation for USGS products that provide users with actionable information to address challenges along the coast.
Observations
To understand the type, scale, and risk of coastal change hazards, the USGS CCH program focus makes scientific observations of what can be seen, recorded, and measured. These observations provide the primary data used to build understanding and develop models. CCH collects a wide variety of observations and measurements, including mapping of beaches, wetlands, and under the surface of the seafloor; characterization of substrates, habitats, and ecological systems across coastal and marine sites; and the measurement of physical conditions including waves, currents, and water levels during storms.
One technique to map beaches and coastal wetlands is the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to capture imagery over a study site. These photographs may be used to derive surface elevations, map the extent of vegetation, or record baseline or post-event conditions for an area of interest
The techniques used for observation are specific to the environment. Observations of coral reefs commonly incorporate SCUBA surveys that can be compared to historic observations to determine how the reefs have changed over time.
Collecting the data needed to answer a science question often requires designing new approaches or technologies. For example, research aimed at understanding the current and future persistence of wetlands requires observations of the biogeochemical, sedimentological, and hydrological factors that affect these ecosystems.
Explore the diverse array of CCH projects:
- Coastal Climate Impacts
- Geologic Mapping
- Coastal National Elevation Database Applications Project
- Coastal Alaska Processes and Hazards
- Estuarine Processes, Hazards, and Ecosystems
- Coastal Habitats in Puget Sound
- Biogeochemical Drivers of Wetland Persistence and Feedbacks on Coastal Hazards
- Sediment Transport Coastal Environments
- Sea-Level Rise Hazards and Decision Support
- Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux Project
- National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards
- Coastal Model Applications and Field Measurements
- Estuarine and Marsh Geology Research Project
- Past, Present, and Future Coral Reefs
- Cross-Shore and Inlets Processes Project
- Remote Sensing Coastal Change
- Geologic and Morphologic Evolution of Coastal Margins
- Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring
Understanding
Many coastal change hazards are complex interactions of natural phenomena. By analyzing what is seen, recorded, and measured, USGS scientists gain a deeper understanding of these intricate coastal change hazards and natural phenomena. Research in CCH is focused on improving the collective understanding of complex coastal processes such as the causes, extent, and intensity of coastal flooding and topographic changes, and the effects of human interactions on coastal systems. While CCH has a national focus, much of the understanding of complex coastal interactions and integrated systems come from focused studies in unique environments, such as coastal wetlands, barrier islands, permafrost coasts, or cliff-backed beaches. Often, the knowledge gained from these regional or local studies can be applied nationally to address coastal change hazard issues in similar environments.
Modeling
Models are developed to integrate our understanding of phenomenon or events. Models are applied to test and assess the uncertainty of our understanding. Types of models used by USGS scientists include conceptual models that describe how coastal systems work, statistical models that capture relationships and trends in data, and mathematical models that use equations to describe coastal systems.
Conceptual models such as the Storm-Impact Scale can help assess the potential vulnerability of a particular stretch of coast. This conceptual model scales the impacts of storms on barrier islands by including storm-induced water levels including storm surge, astronomical tide, and wave runup (Rhigh) and illustrates its position relative to local dune morphology such as the elevation of the dune crest (Dhi) and dune base (Dlow).
The Coastal Response model seeks to simulate (or project) the response to sea-level rise across the coastal landscape under future sea level scenarios by evaluating the likelihood of inundation, as well as dynamic coastal change. Probabilistic predictions ensure that consideration of uncertainty is robust and is straightforward to integrate in decision making. The coastal response information can be used to inform corresponding habitat models, as well as to map out alternative management strategies to optimize conservation efforts and allocate regional resources in the future.
Explore the diverse array of CCH projects
Coastal Change Hazards
Remote Sensing Coastal Change
Sediment Transport in Coastal Environments
Coral Reef Project
Coastal Climate Impacts
Coastal Habitats in Puget Sound
Climate impacts to Arctic coasts
Coastal Change Hazards - Technical Capabilities and Applications
Coastal Change Hazards - Stakeholder Engagement and Communications
Coastal Change Hazards - Research
Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux (CSAF)
Sea-Level Rise Hazards and Decision Support
Estuarine Processes, Hazards, and Ecosystems
- Overview
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, Florida; and Santa Cruz, California.
Observations
Using a variety of observational techniques, the USGS collects scientific information that is the basis of discovery and research.
Understanding
Scientists use observations and analyses to understand and describe coastal phenomena that cause flooding, erosion, and other changes to the coast.
Modeling
Conceptual, statistical, and mathematical models are used to describe and understand coastal responses to driving forces such as wind, waves, ocean currents, and water levels.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Research is focused on observing, understanding, and modeling coastal processes and responses to both natural forcing and human disturbances across diverse environments. This work is focused on open sandy coasts, coral reefs, permafrost coasts, sea cliffs, sand dunes, estuaries, marshes, and coastal watersheds. Scientific research, which is vetted through a rigorous peer-review process, is the foundation for USGS products that provide users with actionable information to address challenges along the coast.
Observations
To understand the type, scale, and risk of coastal change hazards, the USGS CCH program focus makes scientific observations of what can be seen, recorded, and measured. These observations provide the primary data used to build understanding and develop models. CCH collects a wide variety of observations and measurements, including mapping of beaches, wetlands, and under the surface of the seafloor; characterization of substrates, habitats, and ecological systems across coastal and marine sites; and the measurement of physical conditions including waves, currents, and water levels during storms.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.USGS unmanned aerial system (drone) pilot collecting aerial imagery and ground control points for the Coastal Resource Evaluation for Management Applications (CREMA) project on Dauphin Island, Alabama. One technique to map beaches and coastal wetlands is the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to capture imagery over a study site. These photographs may be used to derive surface elevations, map the extent of vegetation, or record baseline or post-event conditions for an area of interest
The techniques used for observation are specific to the environment. Observations of coral reefs commonly incorporate SCUBA surveys that can be compared to historic observations to determine how the reefs have changed over time.
Collecting the data needed to answer a science question often requires designing new approaches or technologies. For example, research aimed at understanding the current and future persistence of wetlands requires observations of the biogeochemical, sedimentological, and hydrological factors that affect these ecosystems.
Explore the diverse array of CCH projects:
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.A USGS scientist surveys GPS Ground Control Point locations on North Topsail Beach and within the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base, North Carolina. These data are used to validate previously surveyed aerial imagery and aid in Structure from Motion (SFM) processing. Specifically, this scientist was collecting data to look at coastal change due to Hurricane Florence. These types of studies are conducted to assess coastal change and resilience. - Coastal Climate Impacts
- Geologic Mapping
- Coastal National Elevation Database Applications Project
- Coastal Alaska Processes and Hazards
- Estuarine Processes, Hazards, and Ecosystems
- Coastal Habitats in Puget Sound
- Biogeochemical Drivers of Wetland Persistence and Feedbacks on Coastal Hazards
- Sediment Transport Coastal Environments
- Sea-Level Rise Hazards and Decision Support
- Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux Project
- National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards
- Coastal Model Applications and Field Measurements
- Estuarine and Marsh Geology Research Project
- Past, Present, and Future Coral Reefs
- Cross-Shore and Inlets Processes Project
- Remote Sensing Coastal Change
- Geologic and Morphologic Evolution of Coastal Margins
- Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.SPMSC scientist Lauren Toth conducts a photographic survey of Porter Patch reef off Key Largo, one of the sites that has been surveyed as part of FWRI’s Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring project since 1996. The modern reef surveys will be compared to historic surveys to determine how much structural complexity the reefs of the Florida Keys have lost over the past two decades
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Divers from the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands reef resiliency team conduct assessments of reef resilience in the Marianas archipelago.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.A USGS researcher measures water and sediment movement at Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.USGS scientist Chelsea Stalk stands on a floating sled that enables sub‐bottom surveying in shallow water, nearshore, and shore‐face environments. The sled is equipped with an EdgeTech SB‐512i CHIRP system and single‐beam sonar. This equipment is used to collect seismic sub‐bottom profiles and single‐beam bathymetry. Cedar Island, Virginia has undergone unprecedented erosion and land loss in the last decades. This study was to provide comprehensive baseline data for the nearshore environment for potential future monitoring.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.USGS researcher Benjamin Jones measures erosion near a collapsed block of ice-rich permafrost along Alaska's Arctic coast.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Sunset photo taken during Cape Cod Bay sea-floor mapping cruise. Understanding
Many coastal change hazards are complex interactions of natural phenomena. By analyzing what is seen, recorded, and measured, USGS scientists gain a deeper understanding of these intricate coastal change hazards and natural phenomena. Research in CCH is focused on improving the collective understanding of complex coastal processes such as the causes, extent, and intensity of coastal flooding and topographic changes, and the effects of human interactions on coastal systems. While CCH has a national focus, much of the understanding of complex coastal interactions and integrated systems come from focused studies in unique environments, such as coastal wetlands, barrier islands, permafrost coasts, or cliff-backed beaches. Often, the knowledge gained from these regional or local studies can be applied nationally to address coastal change hazard issues in similar environments.
An interdisciplinary USGS team is conducting research and developing tools to identify suitable coastal habitats for species of concern, such as the piping plover (Charadrius melodus), under a variety of sea-level rise scenarios. Sites include beaches with a high human-presence.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.USGS scientists walk through a tern colony on the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, Massachusetts. Here, these scientists are using ecogeomorphological models to predict how this refuge will be impacted by sea-level rise and how that will ultimately effect shorebirds.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.USGS scientist Jennifer Miselis stands on board the US Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) Lighter Amphibious Resupply Cargo (LARC). USGS collaborated with USACE to analyze coastal change due to Hurricane Sandy. Miselis is preparing to deploy a Chirp sub-bottom profiling system with a towfish attached in between the pontoons to collect sub-seafloor geological data. The purpose of this survey was to better understand how the geology of the shoreface varies along the length of Fire Island, New York and how that might impact post-storm recovery processes and barrier island response to sea-level rise. Modeling
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.The Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Waves-Sediment Transport (COAWST) Modeling System is a research tool used to investigate the complex dynamics of coastal storm impacts. COAWST links earth-system components including the atmosphere, ocean circulation, waves, and transport of sand and mud, which provides enhanced capabilities to allow feedback between components. Models are developed to integrate our understanding of phenomenon or events. Models are applied to test and assess the uncertainty of our understanding. Types of models used by USGS scientists include conceptual models that describe how coastal systems work, statistical models that capture relationships and trends in data, and mathematical models that use equations to describe coastal systems.
Conceptual models such as the Storm-Impact Scale can help assess the potential vulnerability of a particular stretch of coast. This conceptual model scales the impacts of storms on barrier islands by including storm-induced water levels including storm surge, astronomical tide, and wave runup (Rhigh) and illustrates its position relative to local dune morphology such as the elevation of the dune crest (Dhi) and dune base (Dlow).
The Coastal Response model seeks to simulate (or project) the response to sea-level rise across the coastal landscape under future sea level scenarios by evaluating the likelihood of inundation, as well as dynamic coastal change. Probabilistic predictions ensure that consideration of uncertainty is robust and is straightforward to integrate in decision making. The coastal response information can be used to inform corresponding habitat models, as well as to map out alternative management strategies to optimize conservation efforts and allocate regional resources in the future.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Definition sketch showing Rhigh Rlow, Dhigh and Dlow. The dashed lines represent the swash excursion about wave setup (solid line).
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Coastal area within the North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative region for which predictions have been generated.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Development of a state of the art modeling system by incorporating individual modeling tools to simulate Hurricane Florence: Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Wave Sediment Transport modeling system (COAWST) is a combination of atmospheric, waves and ocean circulation models. A hydrological model and a land surface sediment transport model have been integrated to the existing COAWST system for the first time with this study. - Science
Explore the diverse array of CCH projects
Coastal Change Hazards
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...Filter Total Items: 21Remote Sensing Coastal Change
We use remote-sensing technologies—such as aerial photography, satellite imagery, structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry, and lidar (laser-based surveying)—to measure coastal change along U.S. shorelines.Sediment Transport in Coastal Environments
Our research goals are to provide the scientific information, knowledge, and tools required to ensure that decisions about land and resource use, management practices, and future development in the coastal zone and adjacent watersheds can be evaluated with a complete understanding of the probable effects on coastal ecosystems and communities, and a full assessment of their vulnerability to natural...Coral Reef Project
Explore the fascinating undersea world of coral reefs. Learn how we map, monitor, and model coral reefs so we can better understand, protect, and preserve our Nation's reefs.Coastal Climate Impacts
The impacts of climate change and sea-level rise around the Pacific and Arctic Oceans can vary tremendously. Thus far the vast majority of national and international impact assessments and models of coastal climate change have focused on low-relief coastlines that are not near seismically active zones. Furthermore, the degree to which extreme waves and wind will add further stress to coastal...Coastal Habitats in Puget Sound
A Pacific Northwest icon, Puget Sound is the second-largest estuary in the United States. Its unique geology, climate, and nutrient-rich waters produce and sustain biologically productive coastal habitats. These same natural characteristics also contribute to a high quality of life that has led to growth in human population and urbanization. This growth has played a role in degrading the Sound...Climate impacts to Arctic coasts
The Arctic region is warming faster than anywhere else in the nation. Understanding the rates and causes of coastal change in Alaska is needed to identify and mitigate hazards that might affect people and animals that call Alaska home.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...Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux (CSAF)
Sediments are the foundation of coastal systems, including barrier islands. Their behavior is driven by not only sediment availability, but also sediment exchanges between barrier island environments. We collect geophysical, remote sensing, and sediment data to estimate these parameters, which are integrated with models to improve prediction of coastal response to extreme storms and sea-level rise...Sea-Level Rise Hazards and Decision Support
The Sea-Level Rise Hazards and Decision-Support project assesses present and future coastal vulnerability to provide actionable information for management of our Nation’s coasts. Through multidisciplinary research and collaborative partnerships with decision-makers, physical, biological, and social factors that describe landscape and habitat changes are incorporated in a probabilistic modeling...Estuarine Processes, Hazards, and Ecosystems
Estuarine processes, hazards, and ecosystems describes several interdisciplinary projects that aim to quantify and understand estuarine processes through observations and numerical modeling. Both the spatial and temporal scales of these mechanisms are important, and therefore require modern instrumentation and state-of-the-art hydrodynamic models. These projects are led from the U.S. Geological...