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Earthquake recurrence estimates for northern Caribbean faults from combinatorial optimization

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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

2023 Annual Report

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Pragmatically mapping Phragmites with unoccupied aerial systems: A comparison of invasive species land cover classification using RGB and multispectral imagery

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Hydroacoustic observations reveal drivers of mixing and salinization of a karst subterranean estuary during intense precipitation

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Scientific literature and information products produced by Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center staff

Featured Journal Article

Invasive Phragmites plants on the shore of a lake

Pragmatically mapping Phragmites with unoccupied aerial systems: A comparison of invasive species land cover classification using RGB and multispectral imagery

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Featured USGS Series

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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center—2023 Annual Report.  The 2023 annual report highlights accomplishments, includes a list of publications, and summarizes the work of the center and each of the science groups.

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Sound Waves

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Coastal and Marine Research News from Across the USGS

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Filter Total Items: 1737

Characterizing wave- and current- induced bottom shear stress: U.S. middle Atlantic continental shelf Characterizing wave- and current- induced bottom shear stress: U.S. middle Atlantic continental shelf

Waves and currents create bottom shear stress, a force at the seabed that influences sediment texture distribution, micro-topography, habitat, and anthropogenic use. This paper presents a methodology for assessing the magnitude, variability, and driving mechanisms of bottom stress and resultant sediment mobility on regional scales using numerical model output. The analysis was applied to...
Authors
P. Soupy Dalyander, Bradford Butman, Christopher R. Sherwood, Richard P. Signell, John L. Wilkin
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Improving understanding of near-term barrier island evolution through multi-decadal assessment of morphologic change Improving understanding of near-term barrier island evolution through multi-decadal assessment of morphologic change

Observed morphodynamic changes over multiple decades were coupled with storm-driven run-up characteristics at Fire Island, New York, to explore the influence of wave processes relative to the impacts of other coastal change drivers on the near-term evolution of the barrier island. Historical topography was generated from digital stereo-photogrammetry and compared with more recent lidar...
Authors
Erika E. Lentz, Cheryl J. Hapke, Hilary F. Stockdon, Rachel E. Hehre
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Anaerobic methane oxidation in low-organic content methane seep sediments Anaerobic methane oxidation in low-organic content methane seep sediments

Sulfate-dependent anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) is the key sedimentary microbial process limiting methane emissions from marine sediments and methane seeps. In this study, we investigate how the presence of low-organic content sediment influences the capacity and efficiency of AOM at Bullseye vent, a gas hydrate-bearing cold seep offshore of Vancouver Island, Canada. The upper 8 m...
Authors
John W. Pohlman, Michael Riedel, James E. Bauer, Elizabeth A. Canuel, Charles K. Paull, Laura Lapham, Kenneth S. Grabowski, Richard B. Coffin, George D. Spence
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

High-Resolution geophysical data from the inner continental shelf at Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts High-Resolution geophysical data from the inner continental shelf at Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) have mapped approximately 340 square kilometers of the inner continental shelf in Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts, under a cooperative mapping program. The geophysical data collected between 2009 and 2011 by the U.S. Geological Survey as part of this program are published in this report. The...
Authors
Brian D. Andrews, Seth D. Ackerman, Wayne E. Baldwin, David S. Foster, William C. Schwab
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Sea-floor character and geology off the entrance to the Connecticut River, northeastern Long Island Sound Sea-floor character and geology off the entrance to the Connecticut River, northeastern Long Island Sound

Datasets of gridded multibeam bathymetry and sidescan-sonar backscatter, together covering approximately 29.1 square kilometers, were used to interpret character and geology of the sea floor off the entrance to the Connecticut River in northeastern Long Island Sound. Although originally collected for charting purposes during National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hydrographic...
Authors
Lawrence J. Poppe, Katherine Y. McMullen, Seth D. Ackerman, Megan R. Guberski, Douglas A. Wood
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, USGS Science in Long Island Sound and its Watershed

Final report and archive of the swath bathymetry and ancillary data collected in the Puerto Rico Trench region in 2002 and 2003 Final report and archive of the swath bathymetry and ancillary data collected in the Puerto Rico Trench region in 2002 and 2003

In 2002 and 2003, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), conducted three exploration cruises that mapped for the first time the morphology of the entire tectonic plate boundary stretching from the Dominican Republic in the west to the Lesser Antilles in the east, a distance of approximately 700 kilometers (430...
Authors
Uri S. ten Brink, William W. Danforth, Christopher F. Polloni
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, 2020 Puerto Rico Earthquakes

Carbon isotope equilibration during sulphate-limited anaerobic oxidation of methane Carbon isotope equilibration during sulphate-limited anaerobic oxidation of methane

Collectively, marine sediments comprise the largest reservoir of methane on Earth. The flux of methane from the sea bed to the overlying water column is mitigated by the sulphate-dependent anaerobic oxidation of methane by marine microbes within a discrete sedimentary horizon termed the sulphate–methane transition zone. According to conventional isotope systematics, the biological...
Authors
Marcos Y. Yoshinaga, Thomas Holler, Tobias Goldhammer, Gunter Wegener, John W. Pohlman, Benjamin Brunner, Marcel Kuypers, Kai-Uwe Hinrichs, Marcus Elvert
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Gas hydrate formation rates from dissolved-phase methane in porous laboratory specimens Gas hydrate formation rates from dissolved-phase methane in porous laboratory specimens

Marine sands highly saturated with gas hydrates are potential energy resources, likely forming from methane dissolved in pore water. Laboratory fabrication of gas hydrate-bearing sands formed from dissolved-phase methane usually requires 1–2 months to attain the high hydrate saturations characteristic of naturally occurring energy resource targets. A series of gas hydrate formation tests...
Authors
William F. Waite, E.K. Spangenberg
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Sediment transport due to extreme events: The Hudson River estuary after tropical storms Irene and Lee Sediment transport due to extreme events: The Hudson River estuary after tropical storms Irene and Lee

Tropical Storms Irene and Lee in 2011 produced intense precipitation and flooding in the U.S. Northeast, including the Hudson River watershed. Sediment input to the Hudson River was approximately 2.7 megaton, about 5 times the long-term annual average. Rather than the common assumption that sediment is predominantly trapped in the estuary, observations and model results indicate that
Authors
David K. Ralston, John C. Warner, W. Rockwell Geyer, Gary R. Wall
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Semidiurnal temperature changes caused by tidal front movements in the warm season in seabed habitats on the Georges Bank northern margin and their ecological implications Semidiurnal temperature changes caused by tidal front movements in the warm season in seabed habitats on the Georges Bank northern margin and their ecological implications

Georges Bank is a large, shallow feature separating the Gulf of Maine from the Atlantic Ocean. Previous studies demonstrated a strong tidal-mixing front during the warm season on the northern bank margin between thermally stratified water in the Gulf of Maine and mixed water on the bank. Tides transport warm water off the bank during flood tide and cool gulf water onto the bank during...
Authors
Vincent G. Guida, Page C. Valentine, Leslie B. Gallea
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Geomorphic characterization of four shelf-sourced submarine canyons along the U.S. Mid-Atlantic continental margin Geomorphic characterization of four shelf-sourced submarine canyons along the U.S. Mid-Atlantic continental margin

Shelf-sourced submarine canyons are common features of continental margins and are fundamental to deep-sea sedimentary systems. Despite their geomorphic and geologic significance, relatively few passive margin shelf-breaching canyons worldwide have been mapped using modern geophysical methods. Between 2007 and 2012 a series of geophysical surveys was conducted across four major canyons...
Authors
Jeffrey Obelcz, Daniel S. Brothers, Jason D. Chaytor, Uri S. ten Brink, Steve W. Ross, Sandra Brooke
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Geologic framework of the northern North Carolina, USA inner continental shelf and its influence on coastal evolution Geologic framework of the northern North Carolina, USA inner continental shelf and its influence on coastal evolution

The inner continental shelf off the northern Outer Banks of North Carolina was mapped using sidescan sonar, interferometric swath bathymetry, and high-resolution chirp and boomer subbottom profiling systems. We use this information to describe the shallow stratigraphy, reinterpret formation mechanisms of some shoal features, evaluate local relative sea-levels during the Late Pleistocene...
Authors
E. Robert Thieler, David S. Foster, Emily A. Himmelstoss, David J. Mallinson
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
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