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Margaret Palmsten, Ph.D.

Margaret Palmsten is a Research Oceanographer at the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Science and Products

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Inlet into Pleasant bay, looking north to Nauset Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore, Chatham, MA

State of Our Nation's Coast

The USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program (CMHRP) established a Coastal Change Hazards (CCH) programmatic focus to support the optimization of resources, improve the visibility of USGS coastal hazards science, and prioritize science, products, and tools that meet stakeholder needs. Important work by CMHRP scientists and staff within CCH supports hazard mitigation along our nation’s...
By
Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
link

State of Our Nation's Coast

The USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program (CMHRP) established a Coastal Change Hazards (CCH) programmatic focus to support the optimization of resources, improve the visibility of USGS coastal hazards science, and prioritize science, products, and tools that meet stakeholder needs. Important work by CMHRP scientists and staff within CCH supports hazard mitigation along our nation’s...
Learn More
link
Photo looks down on a sandy beach with signs on the beach and grassy dunes and the open ocean in the background.

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.
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
link

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.
Learn More

National Assessment of Hurricane-Induced Coastal Erosion Hazards: Puerto Rico

These datasets contain information on the probabilities of hurricane-induced erosion (collision, inundation, and overwash) for each 100-meter (m) section of the Puerto Rico open-ocean coastline for category 1-5 hurricanes. The analysis is based on a storm-impact scaling model (Sallenger, 2000; https://www.jstor.org/stable/4300099) that uses observations of beach morphology combined with sophistica
By
St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

A machine learning approach to predicting equilibrium ripple wavelength

Sand ripples are geomorphic features on the seafloor that affect bottom boundary layer dynamics including wave attenuation and sediment transport. We present a new equilibrium ripple predictor using a machine learning approach that outputs a probability distribution of wave-generated equilibrium wavelengths and statistics including an estimate of ripple height, the most probable ripple wavelength,
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

On the potential for remote observations of coastal morphodynamics from surf-cameras

Recreational surf-cameras (surfcams) are ubiquitous along many coastlines, and yet are a largely untapped source of coastal morphodynamic observations. Surfcams offer broad spatial coverage and flexibility in data collection, but a method to remotely acquire ground control points (GCPs) and initial camera parameter approximations is necessary to better leverage this existing infrastructure to make
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

The Coastal Imaging Research Network (CIRN)

The Coastal Imaging Research Network (CIRN) is an international group of researchers who exploit signatures of phenomena in imagery of coastal, estuarine, and riverine environments. CIRN participants develop and implement new coastal imaging methodologies. The research objective of the group is to use imagery to gain a better fundamental understanding of the processes shaping those environments. C
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Hotspot dune erosion on an intermediate beach

A large, low pressure Nor’easter storm and Hurricane Joaquin contributed to multiple weeks of sustained, elevated wave and water level conditions along the southeastern Atlantic coast of the United States in Fall 2015. Sea level anomalies in excess of 1 m and offshore wave heights of up to 4 m were recorded during these storms, as observed at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Field Research Facili
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Sea state from single optical images: A methodology to derive wind-generated ocean waves from cameras, drones and satellites

Sea state is a key variable in ocean and coastal dynamics. The sea state is either sparsely measured by wave buoys and satellites or modelled over large scales. Only a few attempts have been devoted to sea state measurements covering a large domain; in particular its estimation from optical images. With optical technologies becoming omnipresent, optical images offer incomparable spatial resolution
By
St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

SurfRCaT: A tool for remote calibration of pre-existing coastal cameras to enable their use as quantitative coastal monitoring tools

The Surf-camera Remote Calibration Tool (SurfRCaT) is a Python-based software application to calibrate and rectify images from pre-existing video cameras that are operating at coastal sites in the United States. The software enables remote camera calibration and subsequent image rectification by facilitating the remote-extraction of ground control points using airborne lidar observations, and guid
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Filter Total Items: 13
link

SPCMSC Research Oceanographer Meg Palmsten attended the Florida Coastal Resiliency Summit

Research Oceanographer Meg Palmsten represented USGS SPCMSC during a meeting with federal agencies and the State of Florida to discuss overall coastal...

Read Article
link

USGS Scientist Co-authored Paper on Predicting Ripple Wavelength

Meg Palmsten (SPCMSC) co-authored a recently published manuscript titled, “A machine learning approach to predicting equilibrium wavelength.”

Read Article
link

Two CoastCams installed in the Outer Banks for DUNEX project

Meg Palmsten and Jenna Brown installed two CoastCams towers at Pea Island, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, to monitor waves, water levels, and...

Read Article
link

Dr. Meg Palmsten will be the guest speaker in COMIT seminar series

Dr. Meg Palmsten of SPCMSC will discuss forecasting total water levels and coastal change hazards in this month’s virtual Center for Ocean Mapping and...

Read Article
link

SPCMSC Research Oceanographer gives invited presentation at the NOAA Coastal Coupling Community of Practice meeting

On May 13, 2021, SPCMSC Research Oceanographer Meg Palmsten presented a virtual talk titled, “Forecasting total water levels and coastal change...

Read Article
link

SPCMSC Research Oceanographer interviewed by Public News Service about salt marsh conservation

Dr. Meg Palmsten, Research Oceanographer at the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC), was interviewed on May 6, 2021, by the...

Read Article
link

Total Water Level and Coastal Change Forecast expands to include more than a thousand miles of new coverage

The Total Water Level and Coastal Change Forecasts have been extended across an additional 1,700 km of US coastline to provide coastal change hazards...

Read Article
link

Improved Resilience in Active 2020 Hurricane Season due to Science Investments from 2017 Hurricane Recovery Funds

The record-breaking 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is the first on record in which 9 tropical storms formed before August and 13 before Sep­tember...

Read Article
link

SPCMSC Research Oceanographer, Meg Palmsten, and SPCMSC Oceanographer, Kara Doran, interviewed for a documentary film

On December 11, Meg Palmsten and Kara Doran were interviewed in person at Madeira Beach and Fort Desoto Park in Pinellas County, Florida, following...

Read Article
link

SPCMSC Research Oceanographer wins Project-of-the-Year for Munitions Response from the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program

SPCMSC Research Oceanographer Meg Palmsten was awarded the project-of-the-year for Munitions Response from the Strategic Environmental Research and...

Read Article
link

SPCMSC Research Oceanographer Participates in University of South Florida Initiative on Coastal Adaptation and Resilience (iCAR) Panel Discussion

On November 12, 2020, SPCMSC Research Oceanographer Meg Palmsten served as a panelist in the session titled  “Technology-enhanced Community Engagement...

Read Article
link

USGS Scientists Co-authored Paper on Remote Calibration of Beach Cams

Jenna Brown (MD/DE/DC WSC) and Meg Palmsten (SPCMSC) co-authored a recently-published manuscript describing a new coastal monitoring tool

Read Article
Sinuous ripples of sand are lit under shallow water with scientific equipment on a short post in the distance
link
Two women and a man stand behind a table with a green USGS table cloth covered with handouts.
link
Group of researchers on a palm-tree lined beach pointing up at a camera mounted to a pole looking over the beach
link
USGS scientists survey camera calibration target at Madeira Beach, FL, USA.
link

Science and Products

  • Science
    link
    Inlet into Pleasant bay, looking north to Nauset Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore, Chatham, MA

    State of Our Nation's Coast

    The USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program (CMHRP) established a Coastal Change Hazards (CCH) programmatic focus to support the optimization of resources, improve the visibility of USGS coastal hazards science, and prioritize science, products, and tools that meet stakeholder needs. Important work by CMHRP scientists and staff within CCH supports hazard mitigation along our nation’s...
    By
    Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
    link

    State of Our Nation's Coast

    The USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program (CMHRP) established a Coastal Change Hazards (CCH) programmatic focus to support the optimization of resources, improve the visibility of USGS coastal hazards science, and prioritize science, products, and tools that meet stakeholder needs. Important work by CMHRP scientists and staff within CCH supports hazard mitigation along our nation’s...
    Learn More
    link
    Photo looks down on a sandy beach with signs on the beach and grassy dunes and the open ocean in the background.

    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.
    By
    Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
    link

    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.
    Learn More
  • Data

    National Assessment of Hurricane-Induced Coastal Erosion Hazards: Puerto Rico

    These datasets contain information on the probabilities of hurricane-induced erosion (collision, inundation, and overwash) for each 100-meter (m) section of the Puerto Rico open-ocean coastline for category 1-5 hurricanes. The analysis is based on a storm-impact scaling model (Sallenger, 2000; https://www.jstor.org/stable/4300099) that uses observations of beach morphology combined with sophistica
    By
    St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
  • Publications

    A machine learning approach to predicting equilibrium ripple wavelength

    Sand ripples are geomorphic features on the seafloor that affect bottom boundary layer dynamics including wave attenuation and sediment transport. We present a new equilibrium ripple predictor using a machine learning approach that outputs a probability distribution of wave-generated equilibrium wavelengths and statistics including an estimate of ripple height, the most probable ripple wavelength,
    By
    Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

    On the potential for remote observations of coastal morphodynamics from surf-cameras

    Recreational surf-cameras (surfcams) are ubiquitous along many coastlines, and yet are a largely untapped source of coastal morphodynamic observations. Surfcams offer broad spatial coverage and flexibility in data collection, but a method to remotely acquire ground control points (GCPs) and initial camera parameter approximations is necessary to better leverage this existing infrastructure to make
    By
    Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

    The Coastal Imaging Research Network (CIRN)

    The Coastal Imaging Research Network (CIRN) is an international group of researchers who exploit signatures of phenomena in imagery of coastal, estuarine, and riverine environments. CIRN participants develop and implement new coastal imaging methodologies. The research objective of the group is to use imagery to gain a better fundamental understanding of the processes shaping those environments. C
    By
    Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

    Hotspot dune erosion on an intermediate beach

    A large, low pressure Nor’easter storm and Hurricane Joaquin contributed to multiple weeks of sustained, elevated wave and water level conditions along the southeastern Atlantic coast of the United States in Fall 2015. Sea level anomalies in excess of 1 m and offshore wave heights of up to 4 m were recorded during these storms, as observed at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Field Research Facili
    By
    Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

    Sea state from single optical images: A methodology to derive wind-generated ocean waves from cameras, drones and satellites

    Sea state is a key variable in ocean and coastal dynamics. The sea state is either sparsely measured by wave buoys and satellites or modelled over large scales. Only a few attempts have been devoted to sea state measurements covering a large domain; in particular its estimation from optical images. With optical technologies becoming omnipresent, optical images offer incomparable spatial resolution
    By
    St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

    SurfRCaT: A tool for remote calibration of pre-existing coastal cameras to enable their use as quantitative coastal monitoring tools

    The Surf-camera Remote Calibration Tool (SurfRCaT) is a Python-based software application to calibrate and rectify images from pre-existing video cameras that are operating at coastal sites in the United States. The software enables remote camera calibration and subsequent image rectification by facilitating the remote-extraction of ground control points using airborne lidar observations, and guid
    By
    Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
  • News
    Filter Total Items: 13
    link

    SPCMSC Research Oceanographer Meg Palmsten attended the Florida Coastal Resiliency Summit

    Research Oceanographer Meg Palmsten represented USGS SPCMSC during a meeting with federal agencies and the State of Florida to discuss overall coastal...

    Read Article
    link

    USGS Scientist Co-authored Paper on Predicting Ripple Wavelength

    Meg Palmsten (SPCMSC) co-authored a recently published manuscript titled, “A machine learning approach to predicting equilibrium wavelength.”

    Read Article
    link

    Two CoastCams installed in the Outer Banks for DUNEX project

    Meg Palmsten and Jenna Brown installed two CoastCams towers at Pea Island, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, to monitor waves, water levels, and...

    Read Article
    link

    Dr. Meg Palmsten will be the guest speaker in COMIT seminar series

    Dr. Meg Palmsten of SPCMSC will discuss forecasting total water levels and coastal change hazards in this month’s virtual Center for Ocean Mapping and...

    Read Article
    link

    SPCMSC Research Oceanographer gives invited presentation at the NOAA Coastal Coupling Community of Practice meeting

    On May 13, 2021, SPCMSC Research Oceanographer Meg Palmsten presented a virtual talk titled, “Forecasting total water levels and coastal change...

    Read Article
    link

    SPCMSC Research Oceanographer interviewed by Public News Service about salt marsh conservation

    Dr. Meg Palmsten, Research Oceanographer at the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC), was interviewed on May 6, 2021, by the...

    Read Article
    link

    Total Water Level and Coastal Change Forecast expands to include more than a thousand miles of new coverage

    The Total Water Level and Coastal Change Forecasts have been extended across an additional 1,700 km of US coastline to provide coastal change hazards...

    Read Article
    link

    Improved Resilience in Active 2020 Hurricane Season due to Science Investments from 2017 Hurricane Recovery Funds

    The record-breaking 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is the first on record in which 9 tropical storms formed before August and 13 before Sep­tember...

    Read Article
    link

    SPCMSC Research Oceanographer, Meg Palmsten, and SPCMSC Oceanographer, Kara Doran, interviewed for a documentary film

    On December 11, Meg Palmsten and Kara Doran were interviewed in person at Madeira Beach and Fort Desoto Park in Pinellas County, Florida, following...

    Read Article
    link

    SPCMSC Research Oceanographer wins Project-of-the-Year for Munitions Response from the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program

    SPCMSC Research Oceanographer Meg Palmsten was awarded the project-of-the-year for Munitions Response from the Strategic Environmental Research and...

    Read Article
    link

    SPCMSC Research Oceanographer Participates in University of South Florida Initiative on Coastal Adaptation and Resilience (iCAR) Panel Discussion

    On November 12, 2020, SPCMSC Research Oceanographer Meg Palmsten served as a panelist in the session titled  “Technology-enhanced Community Engagement...

    Read Article
    link

    USGS Scientists Co-authored Paper on Remote Calibration of Beach Cams

    Jenna Brown (MD/DE/DC WSC) and Meg Palmsten (SPCMSC) co-authored a recently-published manuscript describing a new coastal monitoring tool

    Read Article
  • Multimedia
    Sinuous ripples of sand are lit under shallow water with scientific equipment on a short post in the distance
    link
    Two women and a man stand behind a table with a green USGS table cloth covered with handouts.
    link
    Group of researchers on a palm-tree lined beach pointing up at a camera mounted to a pole looking over the beach
    link
    USGS scientists survey camera calibration target at Madeira Beach, FL, USA.
    link