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Alexander R Nichols

As an electronics technician I perform the integration and repair of scientific sampling gear for data collection in the field.

Science and Products

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Graphic showing the geophysical systems used to map the seafloor surface and underlying structure, and sampling instruments

Sea Floor Mapping Group

The Sea Floor Mapping Group (SFMG) is a core capability at the Woods Hole Coastal & Marine Science Center (WHCMSC) that provides support for coastal, lacustrine and marine geologic research. The staff has a wide-range of expertise and is responsible for geophysical and sampling data acquisition, processing, interpretation and publication, logistics, design, and research and development. SFMG has...
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Sea Floor Mapping Group

The Sea Floor Mapping Group (SFMG) is a core capability at the Woods Hole Coastal & Marine Science Center (WHCMSC) that provides support for coastal, lacustrine and marine geologic research. The staff has a wide-range of expertise and is responsible for geophysical and sampling data acquisition, processing, interpretation and publication, logistics, design, and research and development. SFMG has...
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Data Releases

Multichannel sparker and chirp seismic reflection data collected offshore South East Alaska during USGS Field Activity 2017-621-FA

High-resolution multichannel seismic reflection data and chirp sub-bottom data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in July and August 2017 offshore southeast Alaska to expand data coverage along the Queen Charlotte Fault system. Data were acquired to study earthquake hazards, fault mechanics and submarine mass wasting processes along the Queen Charlotte fault system, a 1200 km long transf
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Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

High-resolution geophysical and sample data collected in the vicinity of Buffalo Reef, Michigan, within Lake Superior, U.S. Geological Survey Field Activity 2021-005-FA

In August 2021, the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, collected high-resolution geophysical data, sediment samples, and bottom imagery to determine the distribution of historical mine tailings on the floor of Lake Superior. Large amounts of waste material from copper mining, locally known as “stamp sands,” were dumped into the lake in the early 20th ce
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Multichannel seismic-reflection and navigation data collected using SIG ELC1200 and Applied Acoustics Delta Sparkers and Geometrics GeoEel digital streamers during USGS field activity 2020-014-FA.

In March 2020, the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez (UPRM) Department of Marine Sciences conducted a marine seismic-reflection experiment focused on observing geophysical evidence of submarine faulting and mass wasting related to the southwestern Puerto Rico seismic sequence of 2019-20. The seismic sequence culminated with a magnitude 6.4 earthquake centered beneat
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Discharge measurements made in Bayou Heron and Bayou Middle, Grand Bay, Mississippi in January 2017

Grand Bay, a 30-square-kilometer embayment of the Gulf of Mexico bordered by 20 square kilometers of salt marsh, is experiencing rapid lateral shoreline erosion at up to 5 meters per year. Determining whether the eroded sediment is exported to the deep ocean or imported via tidal channels and deposited on the marsh platform is critical to understanding the long-term response of the marsh to wave a
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

High-resolution geophysical and geological data collected in Little Egg Inlet and offshore the southern end of Long Beach Island, NJ, during USGS Field Activities 2018-001-FA and 2018-049-FA

The natural resiliency of the New Jersey barrier island system, and the efficacy of management efforts to reduce vulnerability, depends on the ability of the system to recover and maintain equilibrium in response to storms and persistent coastal change. This resiliency is largely dependent on the availability of sand in the beach system. In an effort to better understand the system's sand budget a
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Split-beam Echo Sounder and Navigation Data Collected Using a Simrad EK80 Wide Band Tranceiver and ES38-10 Transducer During the Mid-Atlantic Resource Imaging Experiment (MATRIX), USGS Field Activity 2018-002-FA.

In summer 2018, the U.S. Geological Survey partnered with the U.S Department of Energy and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to conduct the Mid-Atlantic Resources Imaging Experiment (MATRIX) as part of the U.S. Geological Survey Gas Hydrates Project. The field program objectives were to acquire high-resolution 2-dimensional multichannel seismic-reflection and split-beam echosounder data along
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Multichannel Seismic-Reflection and Navigation Data Collected Using Sercel GI Guns and Geometrics GeoEel Digital Streamers During the Mid-Atlantic Resource Imaging Experiment (MATRIX), USGS Field Activity 2018-002-FA

In summer 2018, the U.S. Geological Survey partnered with the U.S Department of Energy and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to conduct the Mid-Atlantic Resources Imaging Experiment (MATRIX) as part of the U.S. Geological Survey Gas Hydrates Project. The field program objectives were to acquire high-resolution 2-dimensional multichannel seismic-reflection and split-beam echosounder data along
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Marine Geophysical Data Collected to Support Methane Seep Research Along the U.S. Atlantic Continental Shelf Break and Upper Continental Slope Between the Baltimore and Keller Canyons During U.S. Geological Survey Field Activities 2017-001-FA and 2017-002

In spring and summer 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey's Gas Hydrates Project conducted two cruises aboard the research vessel Hugh R. Sharp to explore the geology, chemistry, ecology, physics, and oceanography of sea-floor methane seeps and water column gas plumes on the northern U.S. Atlantic margin between the Baltimore and Keller Canyons. Split-beam and multibeam echo sounders and a chirp subbo
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

High-resolution geophysical data collected in the vicinity of Buffalo Reef, Michigan, within Lake Superior, U.S. Geological Survey Field Activity 2018-043-FA

In September 2018, the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, conducted high-resolution geophysical mapping and sediment sampling to determine the distribution of historical mine tailings on the floor of Lake Superior. Large amounts of waste material from copper mining, locally known as "stamp sands," were dumped into the lake in the early 20th ce
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Suspended-sediment concentration data from water samples collected in 2016-17 in Grand Bay, Alabama and Mississippi

Suspended-sediment transport is a critical element governing the geomorphology of tidal marshes and estuaries. Marsh elevation, relative to sea level, is maintained by both organic material and the deposition of inorganic sediment. Additionally, horizontal marsh extent is altered by lateral erosion and accretion. In wetlands within and near Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, parts of t
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

High-resolution geophysical data collected in Lake Powell, Utah-Arizona, U.S. Geological Survey Field Activity 2017-049-FA

High-resolution geophysical mapping of Lake Powell in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah and Arizona was conducted between October 8 and November 15, 2017, as part of a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Bureau of Reclamation to provide high-quality data needed to reassess the area-capacity tables for the Lake Powell reservoir. Seismic data collected duri
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Seismic reflection and sample data collected offshore of Fire Island, New York in 2014, U.S. Geological Field Activity 2014-009-FA

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a geophysical and sampling survey in October 2014 that focused on a series of shoreface-attached ridges offshore of western Fire Island, NY. Seismic-reflection data, surficial grab samples and bottom photographs and video were collected along the lower shoreface and inner continental shelf. The purpose of this survey was to assess the impact of Hurricane
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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

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