Oregon
Tsunamis
The 2004 Indian Ocean, 2010 Chilean, and 2011 Tohoku disasters have shown how tsunamis are significant threats to coastal communities. To help U.S. coastal communities prepare for future tsunamis, we’ve completed projects related to population exposure and sensitivity, pedestrian evacuation modeling, and vertical-evacuation decision support.
A recent article of ours in the ...
Volcanoes
As the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption showed, volcanoes pose significant threats to U.S. communities. Potential hazards posed by U.S. volcanoes include tephra falls, pyroclastic flows and surges, VOG, ballistic projectiles, lahar and lava flows. In collaboration with researchers from the USGS Volcano Hazards Program, we have worked on better understanding and communicating community...
WFRC Strategic Plan for Science 2015-2020
This strategic plan establishes a template for our science portfolio for the next five years.
Western Fisheries Research Center Lead Scientists and Areas of Expertise
Scientist - Areas of Expertise
Probability of Streamflow Permanence (PROSPER)
PRObability of Streamflow PERmanence (PROSPER)
Rivers and streams are constantly changing. Streamflows can change throughout the year and between years due to snowmelt, precipitation, diversions, and return flows. . For many streams, these fluctuations determine whether a stream has year-round flow or not.. PROSPER is a project initiated to better understand what causes these...
National Assessment of Coastal Vulnerability to Sea Level Rise
This research seeks to objectively determine the relative risks due to future sea-level rise for the U.S. Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico coasts. Research is part of National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards project.
Long-Term Coastal Change
Goals of this project include developing and improving coastal-change assessments and supporting long-term planning and decision making to ensure sustainable coastal economies, infrastructure, and ecosystems. Research is part of the National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards...
National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards
Research to identify areas that are most vulnerable to coastal change hazards including beach and dune erosion, long-term shoreline change, and sea-level rise.
FRESC Corvallis Research Group
The Corvallis Research Group (CRG) conducts research to support critical information needs of our tribal, federal, state, and other management partners as part of the larger mission of the USGS. Primarily, Pacific Northwest forest systems are the focus of our research, particularly forest ecosystem dynamics, fish and wildlife habitats, and responses to agents of change such as forest...
Coastal Ecosystem Response to Sea-level Rise
USGS WERC’s Dr. Karen Thorne, her team of reseachers, and her partners are currently taking a local site network approach to describe current and future conditions and projected responses of coastal ecosystems to sea-level rise and other stressors. The Coastal Ecosystem Response to Climate Change (CERCC) program’s goal is to understand how ecosystems vary in their ability to keep up with sea-...
Ecological Stressors - Rocky Coastlines, Mangroves, Marshes, Droughts, and Storms
Coastal estuaries that contain marshes and mangroves are currently being reshaped by changing ocean and atmospheric conditions through prolong drought, sea-level rise and increased extreme storm events. Many projected increases in sea-level are expected to result in loss of tidal wetlands and their component species. In addition, changing sediment loads, extreme tide and storm events, and...
Supporting Informed Responses to Sea-Level Rise
To facilitate communication and outreach of sea level rise research results and implications, Dr. Karen Thorne and members of USGS WERC are hosting in-person workshops along the Pacific coast at different sites in Washington, Oregon, and California.