Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

Earthquake recurrence estimates for northern Caribbean faults from combinatorial optimization

Read article

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

2023 Annual Report

Read report

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

Read article

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

Read article

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

Read article

Featured USGS Series

Image shows equipment being brought on board a ship from the water

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.

Learn more

Sound Waves

three people on boats in lake with snow covered mountains in background

Coastal and Marine Research News from Across the USGS

Read now
Filter Total Items: 1737

Methane hydrates and the future of natural gas Methane hydrates and the future of natural gas

For decades, gas hydrates have been discussed as a potential resource, particularly for countries with limited access to conventional hydrocarbons or a strategic interest in establishing alternative, unconventional gas reserves. Methane has never been produced from gas hydrates at a commercial scale and, barring major changes in the economics of natural gas supply and demand, commercial
Authors
Carolyn Ruppel
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

The use (and misuse) of sediment traps in coral reef environments: Theory, observations, and suggested protocols The use (and misuse) of sediment traps in coral reef environments: Theory, observations, and suggested protocols

Sediment traps are commonly used as standard tools for monitoring “sedimentation” in coral reef environments. In much of the literature where sediment traps were used to measure the effects of “sedimentation” on corals, it is clear from deployment descriptions and interpretations of the resulting data that information derived from sediment traps has frequently been misinterpreted or...
Authors
C. D. Storlazzi, M.E. Field, Michael H. Bothner
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Use of pharmaceuticals and pesticides to constrain nutrient sources in coastal groundwater of northwestern Long Island, New York, USA Use of pharmaceuticals and pesticides to constrain nutrient sources in coastal groundwater of northwestern Long Island, New York, USA

In developed, non-agricultural, unsewered areas, septic systems and fertilizer application to lawns and gardens represent two major sources of nitrogen to coastal groundwater, in addition to atmospheric input. This study was designed to distinguish between these two possible nitrogen sources by analyzing groundwater samples for pharmaceutical residuals, because fertilizers do not contain...
Authors
S. Zhao, P. Zhang, John Crusius, K.D. Kroeger, J.F. Bratton
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

More than a century of bathymetric observations and present-day shallow sediment characterization in Belfast Bay, Maine, USA: Implications for pockmark field longevity More than a century of bathymetric observations and present-day shallow sediment characterization in Belfast Bay, Maine, USA: Implications for pockmark field longevity

Mechanisms and timescales responsible for pockmark formation and maintenance remain uncertain, especially in areas lacking extensive thermogenic fluid deposits (e.g., previously glaciated estuaries). This study characterizes seafloor activity in the Belfast Bay, Maine nearshore pockmark field using (1) three swath bathymetry datasets collected between 1999 and 2008, complemented by...
Authors
Laura L. Brothers, J. T. Kelley, D. F. Belknap, Walter Barnhardt, Brian Andrews, M.L. Maynard
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Examination of core samples from the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope: Effects of retrieval and preservation Examination of core samples from the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope: Effects of retrieval and preservation

Collecting and preserving undamaged core samples containing gas hydrates from depth is difficult because of the pressure and temperature changes encountered upon retrieval. Hydrate-bearing core samples were collected at the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well in February 2007. Coring was performed while using a custom oil-based drilling mud, and the cores were...
Authors
T.J. Kneafsey, H. Lu, W. Winters, R. Boswell, R. Hunter, T. S. Collett
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Historical perspective on seismic hazard to Hispaniola and the northeast Caribbean region Historical perspective on seismic hazard to Hispaniola and the northeast Caribbean region

We evaluate the long-term seismic activity of the North-American/Caribbean plate boundary from 500 years of historical earthquake damage reports. The 2010 Haiti earthquakes and other earthquakes were used to derive regional attenuation relationships between earthquake intensity, magnitude, and distance from the reported damage to the epicenter, for Hispaniola and for Puerto Rico and the...
Authors
Uri S. ten Brink, W. H. Bakun, C.H. Flores
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, 2020 Puerto Rico Earthquakes

Wave-current interaction in Willapa Bay Wave-current interaction in Willapa Bay

This paper describes the importance of wave-current interaction in an inlet-estuary system. The three-dimensional, fully coupled, Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport (COAWST) modeling system was applied in Willapa Bay (Washington State) from 22 to 29 October 1998 that included a large storm event. To represent the interaction between waves and currents, the vortex-force...
Authors
Maitane Olabarrieta, John C. Warner, Nirnimesh Kumar
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Glacial flour dust storms in the Gulf of Alaska: hydrologic and meteorological controls and their importance as a source of bioavailable iron Glacial flour dust storms in the Gulf of Alaska: hydrologic and meteorological controls and their importance as a source of bioavailable iron

Iron is an essential micronutrient that limits primary productivity in much of the ocean, including the Gulf of Alaska (GoA). However, the processes that transport iron to the ocean surface are poorly quantified. We combine satellite and meteorological data to provide the first description of widespread dust transport from coastal Alaska into the GoA. Dust is frequently transported from...
Authors
John Crusius, A.W. Schroth, S. Gasso, C.M. Moy, R.C. Levy, M. Gatica
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

2-D inner-shelf current observations from a single VHF WEllen RAdar (WERA) station 2-D inner-shelf current observations from a single VHF WEllen RAdar (WERA) station

The majority of High Frequency (HF) radars used worldwide operate at medium to high frequencies (8 to 30 MHz) providing spatial resolutions ranging from 3 to 1.5 km and ranges from 150 to 50 km. This paper presents results from the deployment of a single Very High Frequency (VHF, 48 MHz) WEllen RAdar (WERA) radar with spatial resolution of 150 m and range 10-15 km, used in the nearshore...
Authors
G. Voulgaris, N. Kumar, K.-W. Gurgel, John C. Warner, Jeffrey H. List
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

A nearshore processes field experiment at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, U.S.A. A nearshore processes field experiment at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, U.S.A.

A month-long field experiment focused on the nearshore hydrodynamics of Diamond Shoals adjacent to Cape Hatteras Point, North Carolina, was conducted in February 2010. The objectives of this multi-institutional experiment were to test hypotheses related to Diamond Shoals as a sink in the regional sediment budget and to provide data for evaluating numerical models. The experiment included...
Authors
Jeffrey H. List, John C. Warner, E. Robert Thieler, Kevin Haas, George Voulgaris, Jesse E. McNinch, Katherine L. Brodie
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Character of shell beds flanking Herod Point Shoal, southeastern Long Island Sound, New York Character of shell beds flanking Herod Point Shoal, southeastern Long Island Sound, New York

High biogenic productivity, strong tidal currents, shoal topography, and short transport distances combine to favor shell-bed formation along the lower flanks of a cape-associated shoal off Herod Point on Long Island, New York. This shell bed has a densely packed, clast-supported fabric composed largely of undegraded surf clam (Spisula solidissima) valves. It is widest along the central...
Authors
Lawrence J. Poppe, S. Jeffress Williams, Ivar G. Babb
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

A novel approach for direct estimation of fresh groundwater discharge to an estuary A novel approach for direct estimation of fresh groundwater discharge to an estuary

Coastal groundwater discharge is an important source of freshwater and nutrients to coastal and estuarine systems. Directly quantifying the spatially integrated discharge of fresh groundwater over a coastline is difficult due to spatial variability and limited observational methods. In this study, I applied a novel approach to estimate net freshwater discharge from a groundwater-fed...
Authors
Neil K. Ganju
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
Was this page helpful?