Chris (he/him/his), is a coastal oceanographer with expertise in measuring and modeling sediment transport and coastal morphology changes.
Professional Experience
Research Oceanographer, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA and Woods Hole, MA, 1999 – present.
Affiliate Faculty, Ocean Engineering, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, 2009 – present
Guest Investigator, Applied Ocean Physics & Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, 2011 – present
Senior Research Scientist, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Geological Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 1995
M.S. Geological Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 1982
A.B. Economics and Environmental St
Science and Products
Remote Sensing Coastal Change
Using Video Imagery to Study Storm Events at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
Using Video Imagery to Study Head of the Meadow Beach
DUNEX Hazards at Pea Island
DUNEX Aerial Imagery of the Outer Banks
DUNEX Pea Island Experiment
USGS DUNEX Operations on the Outer Banks
Using Video Imagery to Study Marconi Beach
Morphologic changes from sound-side inundation of North Core Banks, NC during Hurricane Dorian
Morphologic changes from sound-side inundation of North Core Banks, Cape Lookout National Seashore, North Carolina, during Hurricane Dorian
Sea Floor Stress and Sediment Mobility Database
Coastal Model Applications and Field Measurements- Field Measurements and Model Applications
Coastal Model Applications and Field Measurements- Advances in Instrumentation
Meteorological data from Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina, 9/13/2021 to 10/24/2021
Aerial photogrammetry data and products of the North Carolina coast
Topographic and bathymetric data, structure from motion imagery, and ground control data collected at Marconi Beach, Wellfleet, MA in March 2022, U.S Geological Survey Field Activity 2022-014-FA
Topographic and bathymetric data, structure from motion imagery, and ground control data collected at Head of the Meadow Beach, Truro, MA in March 2022, U.S. Geological Survey Field Activity 2022-015-FA
Grain-size analysis data of sediment samples from the beach and nearshore environments at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge DUNEX site, North Carolina in 2021
DUNEX topographic, bathymetric, and supporting GPS data collected in Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina 2020-2021
Aerial Imagery of the North Carolina Coast: 2020-02-08 to 2020-02-09
Aerial Imagery of the North Carolina Coast: 2020-05-08 to 2020-05-09
U.S. Geological Survey simulations of hydrodynamics and morphodynamics at Matanzas, FL during Hurricane Matthew (2016) and at Fire Island, NY during Hurricane Sandy (2012)
Topographic and bathymetric data, structure from motion imagery, and ground control data collected at Head of the Meadow, Truro in February 2021, U.S Geological Survey Field Activity 2021-014-FA
Aerial Imagery of the North Carolina Coast: 2019-10-11
Aerial Imagery of the North Carolina Coast: 2019-09-08 to 2019-09-13, Post-Hurricane Dorian
CoastalImageLib: An open-source Python package for creating common coastal image products
Shoaling wave shape estimates from field observations and derived bedload sediment rates
Human-in-the-Loop segmentation of earth surface imagery
Modeling morphodynamics of coastal response to extreme events: What shape are we in?
Processing coastal imagery with Agisoft Metashape Professional Edition, version 1.6—Structure from motion workflow documentation
IntroductionStructure from motion (SFM) has become an integral technique in coastal change assessment; the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) used Agisoft Metashape Professional Edition photogrammetry software to develop a workflow that processes coastline aerial imagery collected in response to storms since Hurricane Florence in 2018. This report details step-by-step instructions to create three-dimen
Impacts of sediment removal from and placement in coastal barrier island systems
Executive SummaryOn June 24, 2019, Congressman Raul Grijalva of Arizona, Chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, sent a letter to the directors of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey to request their assistance in answering questions regarding coastal sediment resource management within the Coastal Barrier Resources System as defined by the Coastal Barrier
A survey of storm-induced seaward-transport features observed during the 2019 and 2020 hurricane seasons
Erosion and recovery: Sound-side inundation of Cape Lookout National Seashore during Hurricane Dorian
Using the Lomb-Scargle method for wave statistics from gappy time series
Wave-current interaction between Hurricane Matthew wave fields and the Gulf Stream
Morphodynamic modeling of the response of two barrier islands to Atlantic hurricane forcing
Tidal variation in cohesive sediment distribution in an idealized, partially-mixed estuary
COAWST Modeling System v3.4
Science and Products
- Science
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Remote 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.Using Video Imagery to Study Storm Events at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
Two video cameras were temporarily mounted on a dune at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.Using Video Imagery to Study Head of the Meadow Beach
Two video cameras are mounted on a bluff near Head of the Meadow Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore, North Truro, MA. One camera looks alongshore toward the north-northeast, and the second looks directly offshore (northeast). The cameras are part of a U.S. Geological Survey research project to study the beach and nearshore environment shared by beachgoers, shorebirds, seals, and sharks. The work is...DUNEX Hazards at Pea Island
DANGER! INSTRUMENTS IN THE WATER AT PEA ISLAND!DUNEX Aerial Imagery of the Outer Banks
The During Nearshore Event Experiment (DUNEX) project is a large collaborative scientific study focusing on understanding the consequences of coastal storms on the morphology of coastal ecosystems. By flying large sections of the coast and collecting still images using structure from motion (SfM) techniques, we hope to contribute high resolution (20cm) elevation maps for time series comparisons...DUNEX Pea Island Experiment
The DUring Nearshore Event eXperiment (DUNEX) is an aggregation of multiple scientific organizations collaborating to increase understanding of nearshore processes. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has chosen Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge as a study location to investigate and characterize the magnitude and timing of changes to coastal morphology (i.e., dunes, shorelines), bathymetry, and...USGS DUNEX Operations on the Outer Banks
DUring Nearshore Event eXperiment (DUNEX) is a multi-agency, academic, and non-governmental organization (NGO) collaborative community experiment designed to study nearshore coastal processes during storm events. The experiment began in 2019 and is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2021. USGS participation in DUNEX will contribute new measurements and models that will increase our...Using Video Imagery to Study Marconi Beach
Two video cameras are mounted on a bluff above Marconi Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore, Wellfleet, MA. One camera looks alongshore toward the northeast, and the second looks directly offshore (east). The cameras are part of a U.S. Geological Survey research project to study the beach and nearshore environment shared by beachgoers, shorebirds, seals, and sharks. The work is being conducted under...Morphologic changes from sound-side inundation of North Core Banks, NC during Hurricane Dorian
Morphologic changes from sound-side inundation of North Core Banks, Cape Lookout National Seashore, North Carolina, during Hurricane Dorian
Sea Floor Stress and Sediment Mobility Database
The U.S. Geological Survey Sea Floor Stress and Sediment Mobility Database contains estimates of wave-current bottom stress and sediment mobility for the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coast continental shelf regions.Coastal Model Applications and Field Measurements- Field Measurements and Model Applications
Several components of this project are applications to evaluate the model against critical field measurements or to test new model components. Data from field measurements is described in our publications and available in our databases.Coastal Model Applications and Field Measurements- Advances in Instrumentation
Ongoing acquisition of new instruments and development of analytical methods provides us with the means to make better observations of coastal ocean processes. The measurements provide us with insight and data for critical evaluation of model performance. Advances in a range of measurement capabilities, including bottom stress, sediment erodibility, water properties and nutrient concentrations... - Data
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Meteorological data from Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina, 9/13/2021 to 10/24/2021
Meteorological data were collected as part of the DUring Nearshore Event eXperiment (DUNEX) on Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina during 2021. The DUNEX project is a collaborative, multi-agency experiment designed to provide comprehensive measurements of storm-induced processes on coastal habitats. The overarching goals of this study are to understand oceanographic processes andAerial photogrammetry data and products of the North Carolina coast
This data release presents structure-from-motion (SfM) products derived from aerial imagery collected along the North Carolina coast in response to storm events and the recovery process. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researchers use the aerial imagery and products to assess future coastal vulnerability, nesting habitats for wildlife, and provide data for hurricane impact models. This research is pTopographic and bathymetric data, structure from motion imagery, and ground control data collected at Marconi Beach, Wellfleet, MA in March 2022, U.S Geological Survey Field Activity 2022-014-FA
The data in this release map the beach and nearshore environment at Marconi Beach in Wellfleet, MA and provide updated environmental context for the 2021 CoastCam installation that looks out at the coast shared by beachgoers, shorebirds, seals, and sharks. This is related to the field activity 2022-014-FA and a collaboration with the National Park Service at Cape Cod National Seashore to monitor tTopographic and bathymetric data, structure from motion imagery, and ground control data collected at Head of the Meadow Beach, Truro, MA in March 2022, U.S. Geological Survey Field Activity 2022-015-FA
These data map the beach and nearshore environment at Head of the Meadow Beach in Truro, MA, providing updated regional context for the 2019 CoastCam installation. CoastCam CACO-01 are two video cameras aimed at the beach that view the coast shared by beachgoers, shorebirds, seals, and sharks. These data were collected as part of field activity 2022-015-FA and a collaboration with the National ParGrain-size analysis data of sediment samples from the beach and nearshore environments at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge DUNEX site, North Carolina in 2021
These data provide grain-size measurements from sediment samples collected as part of the USGS DUring Nearshore Event eXperiment (DUNEX) site on Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, NC. DUNEX is a multi-agency, academic, and non-governmental organization collaborative community experiment designed to study nearshore coastal processes during storm events. USGS participation in DUNEX will contributeDUNEX topographic, bathymetric, and supporting GPS data collected in Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina 2020-2021
The data in this release characterize the beach and nearshore environment in Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, NC at the USGS DUring Nearshore Event eXperiment (DUNEX) site and Basnight Bridge. Data include GPS surveys, reference points, and ground control points; imagery and structure-from-motion products; bathymetry data, and merged topographic and bathymetric grids. To cite a specific dataAerial Imagery of the North Carolina Coast: 2020-02-08 to 2020-02-09
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Remote Sensing Coastal Change (RSCC) project collects aerial imagery along coastal swaths, in response to storm events, with optimized endlap/sidelap and precise position information to create high-resolution orthomosaics, three-dimensional (3D) point clouds, and digital elevation/surface models (DEMs/DSMs) using Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry methods.Aerial Imagery of the North Carolina Coast: 2020-05-08 to 2020-05-09
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Remote Sensing Coastal Change (RSCC) project collects aerial imagery along coastal swaths, in response to storm events, with optimized endlap/sidelap and precise position information to create high-resolution orthomosaics, three-dimensional (3D) point clouds, and digital elevation/surface models (DEMs/DSMs) using Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry methods.U.S. Geological Survey simulations of hydrodynamics and morphodynamics at Matanzas, FL during Hurricane Matthew (2016) and at Fire Island, NY during Hurricane Sandy (2012)
The Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport (COAWST Warner and others, 2019; Warner and others, 2010) model was used to simulate ocean circulation, waves, and sediment transport to study barrier island breaches that occurred during Hurricane Matthew (2016) near Matazas FL, and Hurricane Sandy (2012) at Fire Island, NY. Hurricane Sandy was a Saffir-Simpson Category 2 hurricane that transTopographic and bathymetric data, structure from motion imagery, and ground control data collected at Head of the Meadow, Truro in February 2021, U.S Geological Survey Field Activity 2021-014-FA
These data map the beach and nearshore environment at Head of the Meadow Beach in Truro, MA, providing updated regional context for the 2019 CoastCam installation. CoastCam CACO-01 are two video cameras aimed at the beach that view the coast shared by beachgoers, shorebirds, seals, and sharks. These data were collected as part of field activity 2021-014-FA and aAerial Imagery of the North Carolina Coast: 2019-10-11
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Remote Sensing Coastal Change (RSCC) project collects aerial imagery along coastal swaths, in response to storm events, with optimized endlap/sidelap and precise position information to create high-resolution orthomosaics, three-dimensional (3D) point clouds, and digital elevation/surface models (DEMs/DSMs) using Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry methods.Aerial Imagery of the North Carolina Coast: 2019-09-08 to 2019-09-13, Post-Hurricane Dorian
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Remote Sensing Coastal Change (RSCC) project collects aerial imagery along coastal swaths, in response to storm events, with optimized endlap/sidelap and precise position information to create high-resolution orthomosaics, three dimensional (3D) point clouds, and digital elevation/surface models (DEMs/DSMs) using Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry methods. - Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 71
CoastalImageLib: An open-source Python package for creating common coastal image products
CoastalImageLib is a Python library that produces common coastal image products intended for quantitative analysis of coastal environments. This library contains functions to georectify and merge multiple oblique camera views, produce statistical image products for a given set of images, and create subsampled pixel instruments for use in bathymetric inversion, surface current estimation, run-up caShoaling wave shape estimates from field observations and derived bedload sediment rates
The shoaling transformation from generally linear deep-water waves to asymmetric shallow-water waves modifies wave shapes and causes near-bed orbital velocities to become asymmetrical, contributing to net sediment transport. In this work, we used two methods to estimate the asymmetric wave shape from data at three sites. The first method converted wave measurements made at the surface to idealizedHuman-in-the-Loop segmentation of earth surface imagery
Segmentation, or the classification of pixels (grid cells) in imagery, is ubiquitously applied in the natural sciences. Manual methods are often prohibitively time-consuming, especially those images consisting of small objects and/or significant spatial heterogeneity of colors or textures. Labeling complicated regions of transition that in Earth surface imagery are represented by collections of miModeling morphodynamics of coastal response to extreme events: What shape are we in?
This review focuses on recent advances in process-based numerical models of the impact of extreme storms on sandy coasts. Driven by larger-scale models of meteorology and hydrodynamics, these models simulate morphodynamics across the Sallenger storm-impact scale, including swash, collision, overwash, and inundation. Models are becoming both wider (as more processes are added) and deeper (as detailProcessing coastal imagery with Agisoft Metashape Professional Edition, version 1.6—Structure from motion workflow documentation
IntroductionStructure from motion (SFM) has become an integral technique in coastal change assessment; the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) used Agisoft Metashape Professional Edition photogrammetry software to develop a workflow that processes coastline aerial imagery collected in response to storms since Hurricane Florence in 2018. This report details step-by-step instructions to create three-dimen
ByImpacts of sediment removal from and placement in coastal barrier island systems
Executive SummaryOn June 24, 2019, Congressman Raul Grijalva of Arizona, Chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, sent a letter to the directors of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey to request their assistance in answering questions regarding coastal sediment resource management within the Coastal Barrier Resources System as defined by the Coastal Barrier
A survey of storm-induced seaward-transport features observed during the 2019 and 2020 hurricane seasons
Hurricanes are known to play a critical role in reshaping coastlines, but often only impacts on the open ocean coast are considered, ignoring seaward-directed forces and responses. The identification of subaerial evidence for storm-induced seaward transport is a critical step towards understanding its impact on coastal resiliency. The visual features, found in the National Oceanic and AtmosphericErosion and recovery: Sound-side inundation of Cape Lookout National Seashore during Hurricane Dorian
Hurricane Dorian tracked immediately offshore of Cape Lookout National Seashore (which includes the barrier islands of North and South Core Banks) and Ocracoke Island after devastating the Bahamas in early September, 2019. Dorian briefly made landfall at Cape Hatteras as a Category 1 hurricane on September 6 before moving northeast over the Atlantic Ocean. Winds on the Outer Banks, initially moreUsing the Lomb-Scargle method for wave statistics from gappy time series
Sandwich Town Neck Beach in Sandwich, MA, has experienced substantial erosion and has been the subject of efforts by the town and private landowners to limit the sand loss. Erosion has been particularly dramatic in the past five years with the loss of dwellings. Sandwich's nourishment efforts presented a unique opportunity for scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey Woods Hole Coastal and MarineWave-current interaction between Hurricane Matthew wave fields and the Gulf Stream
Hurricanes interact with the Gulf Stream in the South Atlantic Bight (SAB) through a wide variety of processes, which are crucial to understand for prediction of open-ocean and coastal hazards during storms. However, it remains unclear how waves are modified by large-scale ocean currents under storm conditions, when waves are aligned with the storm-driven circulation and tightly coupled to the oveMorphodynamic modeling of the response of two barrier islands to Atlantic hurricane forcing
The accurate prediction of a barrier island response to storms is challenging because of the complex interaction between hydro- and morphodynamic processes that changes at different stages during an event. Assessment of the predictive skill is further complicated because of uncertainty in the hydraulic forcing, initial conditions, and the parameterization of processes. To evaluate these uncertaintTidal variation in cohesive sediment distribution in an idealized, partially-mixed estuary
Particle settling velocity and erodibility are key factors that govern the transport of sediment through coastal environments including estuaries. These are difficult to parameterize in models that represent mud, whose properties can change in response to many factors, including tidally varying suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and shear stress. Using the COAWST (Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave - Software
COAWST Modeling System v3.4
Coupled ocean atmosphere wave sediment transport modeling system - News