Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

USGS Underwater Coral Photo Selected as Popular Photography’s “Photo of the Day”

By Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center September 1, 2015

An underwater coral photograph taken by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research geologist Curt Storlazzi in Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, was chosen by Popular Photography magazine as its Photo of the Day for August 3, 2015.

Sound Waves Newsletter - July-September 2015

The photo shows a wave breaking over a section of coral reef. A healthy coral reef can help prevent island erosion and flooding by reducing the energy of waves before they hit the shoreline. Storlazzi, of the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in Santa Cruz, California, took the photo for a project he leads titled "Impact of Sea-Level Rise and Climate Change on Pacific Ocean Atolls that House Department of Defense Installations."

Underwater view of reefs, look like small spiky bushes, with a wave breaking above them.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Research geologist Curt Storlazzi took this underwater photograph of a wave breaking over a coral reef on May 5, 2014, on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. A healthy coral reef helps prevent erosion and flooding by reducing the energy of waves before they reach the shore. Storlazzi studies factors that affect coral reef health, including sea-level rise and projected impacts of climate change.

Popular Photography picked up the photo from the USGS Flickr website.

Learn more about how coral reefs protect coastlines in a Nature Communications paper co-authored by Storlazzi: "The effectiveness of coral reefs for coastal hazard risk reduction and adaptation."

Learn more about the USGS Coral Reef Project.

Related Content

link
Coral head that looks like lettuce sits on sandy bottom in clear blue water and is surrounded by brightly colored fish.

Coral Reef Project

Explore the fascinating undersea world of coral reefs. Learn how we map, monitor, and model coral reefs so we can better understand, protect, and preserve our Nation's reefs.
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
link

Coral Reef Project

Explore the fascinating undersea world of coral reefs. Learn how we map, monitor, and model coral reefs so we can better understand, protect, and preserve our Nation's reefs.
Learn More
link
Image: Coral reefs, Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands

The Impact of Sea-Level Rise and Climate Change on Pacific Ocean Atolls

Providing basic understanding and specific information on storm-wave inundation of atoll islands that house Department of Defense installations, and assessing the resulting impact of sea-level rise and storm-wave inundation on infrastructure and freshwater availability under a variety of sea-level rise and climatic scenarios.
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
link

The Impact of Sea-Level Rise and Climate Change on Pacific Ocean Atolls

Providing basic understanding and specific information on storm-wave inundation of atoll islands that house Department of Defense installations, and assessing the resulting impact of sea-level rise and storm-wave inundation on infrastructure and freshwater availability under a variety of sea-level rise and climatic scenarios.
Learn More

Related Content

link
Coral head that looks like lettuce sits on sandy bottom in clear blue water and is surrounded by brightly colored fish.

Coral Reef Project

Explore the fascinating undersea world of coral reefs. Learn how we map, monitor, and model coral reefs so we can better understand, protect, and preserve our Nation's reefs.
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
link

Coral Reef Project

Explore the fascinating undersea world of coral reefs. Learn how we map, monitor, and model coral reefs so we can better understand, protect, and preserve our Nation's reefs.
Learn More
link
Image: Coral reefs, Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands

The Impact of Sea-Level Rise and Climate Change on Pacific Ocean Atolls

Providing basic understanding and specific information on storm-wave inundation of atoll islands that house Department of Defense installations, and assessing the resulting impact of sea-level rise and storm-wave inundation on infrastructure and freshwater availability under a variety of sea-level rise and climatic scenarios.
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
link

The Impact of Sea-Level Rise and Climate Change on Pacific Ocean Atolls

Providing basic understanding and specific information on storm-wave inundation of atoll islands that house Department of Defense installations, and assessing the resulting impact of sea-level rise and storm-wave inundation on infrastructure and freshwater availability under a variety of sea-level rise and climatic scenarios.
Learn More

Get Our News

These items are in the RSS feed format (Really Simple Syndication) based on categories such as topics, locations, and more. You can install and RSS reader browser extension, software, or use a third-party service to receive immediate news updates depending on the feed that you have added. If you click the feed links below, they may look strange because they are simply XML code. An RSS reader can easily read this code and push out a notification to you when something new is posted to our site.

Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program News

Coasts News

Ecosystems News

Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center News