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Publications

Scientific reports, journal articles, and information products produced by USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center scientists.

Filter Total Items: 1337

California deepwater investigations and groundtruthing (Cal DIG) I: Fault and shallow geohazard analysis offshore Morro Bay

The California Deepwater Investigations and Groundtruthing (Cal DIG) I project focuses on the potential seafloor hazards and impacts of alternative energy infrastructure in the outer continental shelf region offshore of south-central California. This is one of three reports covering a single study area located between Monterey and Point Conception, California in federal waters outside of the State

Authors
Maureen A. L. Walton, Charlie K Paull, Guy R. Cochrane, Jason A. Addison, Roberto Gwiazda, Daniel J. Kennedy, Eve M. Lundsten, Antoinette Gabrielle Papesh

Projecting climate dependent coastal flood risk with a hybrid statistical dynamical model

Numerical models for tides, storm surge, and wave runup have demonstrated ability to accurately define spatially varying flood surfaces. However these models are typically too computationally expensive to dynamically simulate the full parameter space of future oceanographic, atmospheric, and hydrologic conditions that will constructively compound in the nearshore to cause both extreme event and nu
Authors
D. L. Anderson, P. Ruggiero, F. J. Mendez, Patrick L. Barnard, Li H. Erikson, Andrea C. O'Neill, M. Merrifield, A. Rueda, L. Cagigal, J. M. Marra

Characterization of the biological, physical, and chemical properties of a toxic thin layer in a temperate marine system

The distribution of plankton in the ocean is patchy across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. One type of oceanographic feature that exemplifies this patchiness is a ‘thin layer’. Thin layers are subsurface aggregations of plankton that range in vertical thickness from centimeters to a few meters, which may extend horizontally for kilometers and persist for days. We undertook a field cam
Authors
Margaret A McManus, Adam T Greer, Amanda HV Timmerman, Jeff C Sevadjian, C. Brock Woodson, Robert Cowen, Derek A Fong, Stephen G. Monismith, Olivia Cheriton

Seven decades of coastal change at Barter Island, Alaska: Exploring the importance of waves and temperature on erosion of coastal permafrost bluffs

Observational data of coastal change over much of the Arctic are limited largely due to its immensity, remoteness, harsh environment, and restricted periods of sunlight and ice-free conditions. Barter Island, Alaska, is one of the few locations where an extensive, observational dataset exists, which enables a detailed assessment of the trends and patterns of coastal change over decadal to annual t
Authors
Ann E. Gibbs, Li H. Erikson, Benjamin M. Jones, Bruce M. Richmond, Anita C Engelstad

Numerical simulation of the boundary layer flow generated in Monterey Bay, California by the 2010 Chilean tsunami: Case study

This work presents a case study involving the numerical simulation of the unsteady boundary layer generated by the 2010 Chilean tsunami, as measured by field equipment in Monterey Bay, California, USA. A one-dimensional vertical (1DV) boundary layer model is utilized, solving Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations, coupled with two-equation k–ω turbulence closure. Local effects of convective ac
Authors
Athanasios Makris, Jessica R. Lacy, David R. Fuhrman

Earthquake magnitude distributions on northern Caribbean faults from combinatorial optimization models

On-fault earthquake magnitude distributions are calculated for northern Caribbean faults using estimates of fault slip and regional seismicity parameters. Integer programming, a combinatorial optimization method, is used to determine the optimal spatial arrangement of earthquakes sampled from a truncated Gutenberg-Richter distribution that minimizes the global misfit in slip rates on a complex fau

Authors
Eric L. Geist, Uri S. ten Brink

Rigorously valuing the coastal hazard risks reduction provided by potential coral reef restoration in Florida and Puerto Rico

The restoration of coastal habitats, particularly coral reefs, can reduce risks by decreasing the exposure of coastal communities to flooding hazards. In the United States, the protective services provided by coral reefs were recently assessed in social and economic terms, with the annual protection provided by U.S. coral reefs off the coasts of the State of Florida and the Commonwealth of Puerto
Authors
Curt D. Storlazzi, Borja G. Reguero, Kristen A. Cumming, Aaron Cole, James B. Shope, Camila Gaido L., T. Shay Viehman, Barry A. Nickel, Michael W. Beck

Rigorously valuing the impact of projected coral reef degradation on coastal hazard risk in Florida

The degradation of coastal habitats, particularly coral reefs, raises risks by increasing the exposure of coastal communities to flooding hazards. In the United States, the physical protective services provided by coral reefs were recently assessed, in social and economic terms, with the annual protection provided by U.S. coral reefs off the coast of the State of Florida estimated to be more than
Authors
Curt D. Storlazzi, Borja G. Reguero, Kimberly K. Yates, Kristen A. Cumming, Aaron Cole, James B. Shope, Camila Gaido L., David G. Zawada, Stephanie R. Arsenault, Zachery W. Fehr, Barry A. Nickel, Michael W. Beck

Rigorously valuing the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on coastal hazard risks in Florida and Puerto Rico

The degradation of coastal habitats, particularly coral reefs, raises risks by increasing the exposure of coastal communities to flooding hazards. In the United States, the physical protective services provided by coral reefs were recently assessed in social and economic terms, with the annual protection provided by U.S. coral reefs off the coasts of the State of Florida and the Commonwealth of Pu
Authors
Curt D. Storlazzi, Borja G. Reguero, T. Shay Viehman, Kristen A. Cumming, Aaron Cole, James B. Shope, Sarah H. Groves, Camila Gaido L., Barry A. Nickel, Michael W. Beck

Nearshore microfossil assemblages in a Caribbean reef environment show variable rates of recovery following Hurricane Irma

Modern microfossil distributions reflect site-specific habitats and provide an opportunity to assess sediment transport pathways in the nearshore environment. When applied to overwash deposits in the geological record, they provide insight into sediment provenance and transport, factors important for understanding patterns of frequency and intensity of past storms and tsunamis. Modern distribution
Authors
Stephen Mitchell, Jessica Pilarczyk, Michaela Spiske, Bruce E. Jaffe

Reinterpreting the Bruun Rule in the context of equilibrium shoreline models

Long-term (>decades) coastal recession due to sea-level rise (SLR) has been estimated using the Bruun Rule for nearly six decades. Equilibrium-based shoreline models have been shown to skillfully predict short-term wave-driven shoreline change on time scales of hours to decades. Both the Bruun Rule and equilibrium shoreline models rely on the equilibrium beach theory, which states that the beach p
Authors
Maurizio D'Anna, Deborah Idier, Bruno Castelle, Sean Vitousek, Goneri Le Cozannet

Watershed sediment yield following the 2018 Carr Fire, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, northern California

Wildfire risk has increased in recent decades over many regions, due to warming climate and other factors. Increased sediment export from recently burned landscapes can jeopardize downstream infrastructure and water resources, but physical landscape response to fire has not been quantified for some at-risk areas, including much of northern California, USA. We measured sediment yield from three wat
Authors
Amy E. East, Joshua B. Logan, Peter Dartnell, Oren Lieber-Kotz, David B. Cavagnaro, Scott W. McCoy, Donald N. Lindsay
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