George, D.A., Gelfenbaum, G., and Stevens, A.W., 2012, Modeling the Hydrodynamic and Morphologic Response of an Estuary Restoration: Estuaries and Coasts, v. 35 no. 6, pp. 1510–1529, doi: 10.1007/s12237-012-9541-8.
Guy Gelfenbaum
Biography
Education
1978 B.S. Geology University of Wisconsin, Madison
1982 M.S. Geological Oceanography University of Washington, Seattle
1988 Ph.D. Geological Oceanography University of Washington, Seattle
2017- Center Director - Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, California
Ecosystem Dynamics, Project Chief: Coastal Habitats in Puget Sound - The goal of these projects is to develop scientific information and tools to support natural resource managers in the adaptive management of critical nearshore ecosystems in Puget Sound
Large-Scale Coastal Change, Project Chief: Southwest Washington Coastal Erosion Study - Research involves understanding complex relationships among sediment supply, littoral processes, and shoreline erosion or accretion in a high-energy coastal environment. Studies encompass multiple time and space scales of coastal evolution, and successfully differentiate natural and anthropogenic influences on coastal change.
Catastrophic Geologic Hazards, Co-Principal Investigator: Tsunami Hazards Study - Research effort to improve our understanding of tsunami hazards through identification and interpretation of sediments deposited from tsunamis
Science and Products
Date published: August 17, 2020
Status: Active 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...
Date published: August 11, 2020
Status: Active Estuaries and large river deltas in the Pacific Northwest
Essential habitat for wild salmon and other wildlife borders river deltas and estuaries in the Pacific Northwest. These estuaries also support industry, agriculture, and a large human population that’s expected to double by the year 2060, but each could suffer from more severe river floods, higher sea level, and storm surges caused by climate change.
Date published: June 1, 2020
Status: Active Tsunami Hazards, Modeling, and the Sedimentary Record
Basic research to develop the geologic record of paleotsunamis and improve the ability to interpret that record is needed to mitigate tsunami risk in the U.S.
Date published: February 7, 2020
Status: Completed USGS science supporting the Elwha River Restoration Project
The Elwha River Restoration Project...
... has reconnected the water, salmon, and sediment of a pristine river and coast of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. Coordinated by the National Park Service, restoration of the Elwha River included the removal of two large dams that had blocked salmon and sediment passage for almost 100 years. The largest dam removal in U.S. history began in...
Date published: November 26, 2019
Status: Active Tsunami Field Studies
Our tsunami scientists work on international teams to study the aftermath of tsunamis around the world, to gain a better understanding the impact of potential tsunamis on coastal communities of the United States. Their work helps inform local, state, and federal coastal planning, protection, and resiliency.
Contacts: Bruce Jaffe, Guy Gelfenbaum
Date published: July 15, 2019
Status: Active Columbia River estuary
This research is part of the project “Sediment Transport in Coastal Environments”
Contacts: Guy Gelfenbaum
Attribution: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Date published: January 1, 2018
Status: Active PS-CoSMoS FAQs
Puget Sound - Coastal Storm Modeling System (PS-CoSMoS) frequently asked questions
Date published: October 15, 2002
Status: Completed Preliminary Analysis of Sedimentary Deposits from the June 23, 2001 Peru Tsunami
A Cooperative Study by the USGS, la Dirección de Hidrografía y Navegación de la Marina de Guerra del Perú, Instituto Geofísico del Perú, Instituto Geologico, Minero y Metalurgico, University of California, Santa Cruz, University of Southern California, and University of San Agustin.
September 4 - September 18, 2001
Contacts: Bruce Jaffe, Guy Gelfenbaum
Year Published: 2020
Selective sediment transport during Hurricane Sandy on Fire Island (New York, USA): Inferences from heavy-mineral assemblages
In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused severe erosion on beaches and dunes of Fire Island (New York, USA). Major shoreline changes occurred with erosional dominance in the upper shoreline and aggradation in the lowermost section of the beach due to the deposition of eroded upper beach and dune sediment. Sand laminations with a high concentration...
Cascalho, João; Costa, Pedro; Gelfenbaum, Guy R.; La Selle, Seanpaul; Jaffe, Bruce E.Attribution: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Year Published: 2020
Observations of coastal change and numerical modeling of sediment-transport pathways at the mouth of the Columbia River and its adjacent littoral cell
Bathymetric and topographic surveys performed annually along the coastlines of northern Oregon and southwestern Washington documented changes in beach and nearshore morphology between 2014 and 2019. Volume change analysis revealed measurable localized erosion and deposition throughout the study area, but significant net erosion at the regional...
Stevens, Andrew W.; Elias, Edwin; Pearson, Stuart; Kaminsky, George M.; Ruggiero, Peter R; Weiner, Heather M.; Gelfenbaum, Guy R.Attribution: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
View Citation
Stevens, A.W., Elias, E., Pearson, S., Kaminsky, G.M., Ruggiero, P.R., Weiner, H.M., and Gelfenbaum, G.R., 2020, Observations of coastal change and numerical modeling of sediment-transport pathways at the mouth of the Columbia River and its adjacent littoral cell: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2020–1045, 82 p., https://doi.org//10.3133/ofr20201045.
Year Published: 2020
Sedimentary evidence of prehistoric distant-source tsunamis in the Hawaiian Islands
Over the past 200 years of written records, the Hawaiian Islands have experienced tens of tsunamis generated by earthquakes in the subduction zones of the Pacific "Ring of Fire" (e.g., Alaska-Aleutian, Kuril-Kamchatka, Chile, and Japan). Mapping and dating anomalous beds of sand and silt deposited by tsunamis in low-lying areas along Pacific...
La Selle, Seanpaul; Richmond, Bruce M.; Jaffe, Bruce E.; Nelson, Alan; Griswold, Frances; Arcos, Maria E.M.; Chague, Catherine; Bishop, James M.; Bellanova, Piero; Kane, Haunani H.; Lunghino, Brent D.; Gelfenbaum, Guy R.
Year Published: 2019
World’s largest dam removal reverses coastal erosion
Coastal erosion outpaces land generation along many of the world’s deltas and a significant percentage of shorelines, and human-caused alterations to coastal sediment budgets can be important drivers of this erosion. For sediment-starved and erosion-prone coasts, large-scale enhancement of sediment supply may be an important, but poorly understood...
Warrick, Jonathan; Stevens, Andrew W.; Miller, Ian M.; Harrison, Shawn R; Ritchie, Andrew C.; Gelfenbaum, Guy R.
Year Published: 2019
Evidence for frequent, large tsunamis spanning locked and creeping parts of the Aleutian megathrust
At the eastern end of the 1957 Andreanof Islands magnitude-8.6 earthquake rupture, Driftwood Bay (Umnak Island) and Stardust Bay (Sedanka Island) lie along presently locked and creeping parts of the Aleutian megathrust, respectively, based on satellite geodesy onshore. Both bays, located 200-km apart, face the Aleutian trench and harbor coastal...
Witter, Robert C.; Briggs, Richard W.; Engelhart, Simon E.; Gelfenbaum, Guy R.; Koehler, Richard D; Nelson, Alan R.; La Selle, Seanpaul; Corbett, Reide; Wallace, Kristi
Year Published: 2017
Investigation of input reduction techniques for morphodynamic modeling of complex inlets with baroclinic forcing
The Mouth of the Columbia River (MCR) is a complex estuary inlet system characterized by a buoyant plume created by high freshwater flows from the Columbia River into the Pacific Ocean. Data obtained during two major field campaigns have resulted in a comprehensive dataset of hydrodynamics and sediment transport under high (2013) and low (2005)...
Gelfenbaum, Guy R.; Elias, Edwin; Stevens, Andrew W.Attribution: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
View Citation
Gelfenbaum, G., Elias, E., Stevens, A.W., 2017, Investigation of input reduction techniques for morphodynamic modeling of complex inlets with baroclinic forcing: Coastal Dynamics 2017, Helsingør, Denmark, Proceedings, June 12-16, 2017, p. 665-674.
Year Published: 2017
Increased sediment load during a large-scale dam removal changes nearshore subtidal communities
The coastal marine ecosystem near the Elwha River was altered by a massive sediment influx—over 10 million tonnes—during the staged three-year removal of two hydropower dams. We used time series of bathymetry, substrate grain size, remotely sensed turbidity, scuba dive surveys, and towed video observations collected before and during dam removal...
Rubin, Stephen P.; Miller, Ian M.; Foley, Melissa M.; Berry, Helen D.; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Hudson, Benjamin; Elder, Nancy E.; Beirne, Matthew M.; Warrick, Jonathan; McHenry, Michael L.; Stevens, Andrew W.; Eidam, Emily; Ogston, Andrea; Gelfenbaum, Guy R.; Pedersen, RobAttribution: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Western Fisheries Research Center, Ecosystems, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Fisheries Program
View Citation
Rubin, S.P., I.M. Miller, M.M. Foley, H.D. Berry, J.J. Duda, B. Hudson, N.E. Elder, M.M. Beirne, J.A. Warrick, M.L. McHenry, A.W. Stevens, E.F. Eidam, A.S. Ogston, G. Gelfenbaum, and R. Pedersen. 2017. Increased sediment load during a large-scale dam removal changes nearshore subtidal communities. PloS ONE 12(12): e0187742. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187742.
Year Published: 2017
Coastal habitat and biological community response to dam removal on the Elwha River
Habitat diversity and heterogeneity play a fundamental role in structuring ecological communities. Dam emplacement and removal can fundamentally alter habitat characteristics, which in turn can affect associated biological communities. Beginning in the early 1900s, the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams in Washington, USA, withheld an estimated 30...
Foley, Melissa M.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Ritchie, Andrew C.; Stevens, Andrew W.; Shafroth, Patrick B.; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Beirne, Matthew M.; Paradis, Rebecca; Gelfenbaum, Guy R.; McCoy, Randall; Cubley, Erin S.Attribution: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Western Fisheries Research Center, Ecosystems, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Energy & Wildlife
View Citation
Foley, M.M., Warrick, J.A., Ritchie, Andrew, Stevens, A.W., Shafroth, P.B., Duda, J.J., Beirne, M.M., Paradis, R., Gelfenbaum, Guy, McCoy, R., and Cubley, E.S., 2017, Coastal habitat and biological community response to dam removal on the Elwha River: Ecological Monographs, available online, doi:10.1002/ecm.1268
Year Published: 2017
The application of microtextural and heavy mineral analysis to discriminate between storm and tsunami deposits
Recent work has applied microtextural and heavy mineral analyses to sandy storm and tsunami deposits from Portugal, Scotland, Indonesia and the USA. We looked at the interpretation of microtextural imagery (scanning electron microscopy) of quartz grains and heavy mineral compositions. We consider inundation events of different chronologies and...
Costa, Pedro J.M.; Gelfenbaum, Guy R.; Dawson, Sue; La Selle, Seanpaul; Milne, F; Cascalho, J.; Ponte Lira, C.; Andrade, C.; Freitas, M. C.; Jaffe, Bruce E.Attribution: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
View Citation
Pedro J. M. Costa, G. Gelfenbaum, S. Dawson, S. La Selle, F. Milne, J. Cascalho, C. Ponte Lira, C. Andrade, M. C. Freitas, and B. Jaffe, 2017, The application of microtextural and heavy mineral analysis to discriminate between storm and tsunami deposits: Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 456, doi:10.1144/SP456.7
Year Published: 2017
Digital seafloor images and sediment grain size from the mouth of the Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, 2014
Geo-referenced digital imagery of in-situ seafloor sediments in the mouth of the Columbia River was collected and analyzed to determine median grain size of the surface sediments. Digital imagery of the seafloor was collected with a “flying eyeball” (Rubin and others, 2007) from the R/V Parke Snavely from September 11 to September 13, 2014 (USGS...
Gelfenbaum, Guy R.; Carlson, Emily; Stevens, Andrew; Rubin, David M.Attribution: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Year Published: 2017
Fluidized-sediment pipes in Gale crater, Mars, and possible Earth analogs
Since landing in Gale crater, the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity has traversed fluvial, lacustrine, and eolian sedimentary rocks that were deposited within the crater ∼3.6 to 3.2 b.y. ago. Here we describe structures interpreted to be pipes formed by vertical movement of fluidized sediment. Like many pipes on Earth, those in Gale crater...
Rubin, David M.; Fairen, A.G.; Frydenvang, J.; Gasnault, O.; Gelfenbaum, Guy R.; Goetz, W.; Grotzinger, J.P.; Le Mouélic, S.; Mangold, N.; Newsom, H.; Oehler, D. Z.; Rapin, W.; Schieber, J.; Wiens, R.C.Attribution: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
View Citation
Rubin, D.M., Fairen, A.G., Martinez-Frias, J., Frydenvang, J., Gasnault, O., Gelfenbaum, G., Goetz, W., Grotzinger, J.P., Le Mouelic, S., Mangold, N., Newson, H., Oehler, D.Z., Rapin, W., Schieber, J., and Wiens, R.C., 2017, Fluidized-sediment pipes in Gale crater, Mars, and possible Earth analogs: Geology, v. 45, p. 7-10, doi:10.1130/G38339.1.
Year Published: 2017
Is “morphodynamic equilibrium” an oxymoron?
Morphodynamic equilibrium is a widely adopted yet elusive concept in the field of geomorphology of coasts, rivers and estuaries. Based on the Exner equation, an expression of mass conservation of sediment, we distinguish three types of equilibrium defined as static and dynamic, of which two different types exist. Other expressions such as...
Zhou, Zeng; Coco, Giovanni; Townend, Ian; Olabarrieta, Maitane; van der Wegen, Mick; Gong, Zheng; D'Alpaos, Andrea; Gao, Shu; Jaffe, Bruce E.; Gelfenbaum, Guy R.; He, Qing; Wang, Yaping; Lanzoni, Stefano; Wang, Zhengbing; Winterwerp, Han; Zhang, ChangkuanAttribution: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
View Citation
Zhou, A., Coco, G., Townend, I., Olabarrieta, M., van der Wegen, M., Gong, Z., D'alpaos, A., Gao, S., Jaffe, B.E., Gelfenbaum, G., He, Q., Wang, Ya., Lanzoni, S., Wang, Z., Winterwerp, H., Shang, C., 2017, Is “Morphodynamic Equilibrium” an oxymoron?: Earth-Science Reviews, v. 165, p. 257-267, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.12.002
Pre-USGS Publications
Date published: August 7, 2019
Federal scientists from three agencies meet to discuss critical marine minerals
On July 30 and 31, the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center hosted an “Exploratory Interagency Critical Marine Minerals Discussion” in Santa Cruz, California.
Date published: May 29, 2019
USGS participates in Puget Sound Day on the Hill
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center director Guy Gelfenbaum and NW Region Staff Scientist Bill Labiosa represented the USGS in the Puget Sound Day on the Hill in Washington, D.C. May 14 - 16, 2019.
Date published: November 1, 2018
City of Santa Cruz staff briefed on USGS science activities
On October 17, 2018, 17 staff members from the City of Santa Cruz, California toured USGS facilities in the city.
Date published: September 21, 2018
Congressman Jimmy Panetta visits USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
On September 18, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (20th district, California) and staffer Emmanuel Garcia visited the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in Santa Cruz.
Date published: January 19, 2017
Gelfenbaum Selected as New Director of USGS Pacific Marine Studies
The U.S. Geological Survey is pleased to announce the selection of Dr. Guy Gelfenbaum as the new director of their Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in Santa Cruz, California Gelfenbaum succeeds Dr. Robert Rosenbauer who held the position for the past six years. Rosenbauer is retiring to a Scientist Emeritus position.