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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

Bed shear stress estimation under wave conditions using near-bottom measurements: Comparison of methods

Understanding the influence of waves on bed shear stress is critical for predicting morphodynamical behaviours in coastal areas. Near-bed flow was measured on the middle and lower intertidal mudflats along the Jiangsu coast, China, using a three-dimensional acoustic velocimeter that collected a 3.5-cm vertical profile at 1mm resolution and sample rate of 25 Hz. On the lower and middle tidal flats,
Authors
Qian Zhang, Zheng Gong, Changkuan Zhang, Jessica R. Lacy, Bruce E. Jaffe, Beibei Xu

Modeling morphodynamic development in the Alviso Slough system, South San Francisco Bay, California

Alviso Slough area, South San Francisco Bay, California, is the site of an ongoing effort to restore former salt production ponds to intertidal habitat. As restoration proceeds and the levees surrounding the former salt production ponds are breached, the increase in tidal prism and associated sediment scour in the sloughs will remobilize legacy mercury deposits. A numerical model that is able to a
Authors
Mick Van der Wegen, Johan Reyes, Bruce Jaffe, Amy Foxgrover

Mineral phase-element associations based on sequential leaching of ferromanganese crusts, Amerasia Basin Arctic Ocean

Ferromanganese (FeMn) crusts from Mendeleev Ridge, Chukchi Borderland, and Alpha Ridge, in the Amerasia Basin, Arctic Ocean, are similar based on morphology and chemical composition. The crusts are characterized by a two- to four-layered stratigraphy. The chemical composition of the Arctic crusts differs significantly from hydrogenetic crusts from elsewhere of global ocean by high mean Fe/Mn ratio
Authors
Natalia Konstantinova, James R. Hein, Amy Gartman, Kira Mizell, Pedro Barrulas, Georgy Cherkashov, Pavel Mikhailik, Alexander Khanchuk

Tropical cyclone projections: Changing climate threats for Pacific Island defense installations

Potential changing climate threats in the tropical and subtropical North Pacific Ocean were assessed, using coupled ocean-atmosphere and atmosphere-only general circulation models, to explore their response to projected increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Tropical cyclone occurrence, described by their frequency and intensity, near islands housing major U.S. defense installations was the primary
Authors
Matthew J. Widlansky, Hariharasubramanian Annamalai, Stephen B. Gingerich, Curt D. Storlazzi, John J. Marra, Kevin I. Hodges, Barry Choy, Akio Kitoh

SPT-based probabilistic and deterministic assessment of seismic soil liquefaction triggering hazard

This study serves as an update to the Cetin et al. (2000, 2004) [1,2] databases and presents new liquefaction triggering curves. Compared with these studies from over a decade ago, the resulting new Standard Penetration Test (SPT)-based triggering curves have shifted to slightly higher CSR-levels for a given N1,60,CS for values of N1,60,CS greater than 15 blows/ft, but the correlation curves remai
Authors
K. Onder Cetin, Raymond B. Seed, Armen Der Kiureghian, Robert Kayen, Robb E. S. Moss, H. Tolga Bilge, M. Ilgac, S.M. Chowdhury, Kohji Tokimatsu

Formation and occurrence of ferromanganese crusts: Earth’s storehouse for critical metals

Marine ferromanganese oxide crusts (Fe–Mn crusts) are potentially important metal resources formed on the seafloor by precipitation of dissolved and colloidal components from ambient seawater onto rocky surfaces. The unique properties and slow growth rates of the crusts promote adsorption of numerous elements from seawater: some, such as Te and Co, reach concentrations rarely encountered elsewhere
Authors
Paul A. Lusty, James R. Hein, Pierre Josso

Mineralization at oceanic transform faults and fracture zones

Mineral formation in the modern oceans can take place over millions of years as a result precipitation from ambient ocean water, or orders of magnitude more rapidly from hydrothermal activity related to magmatic and tectonic processes. Here, we review associations between transform faults and related fracture zones and marine minerals. We define marine transform faults as strike-slip or oblique fa
Authors
Amy Gartman, James R. Hein

Hydrodynamics of a tidally‐forced coral reef atoll

The hydrodynamics of a tidally forced semi‐enclosed coral reef atoll (North Scott) at the edge of the continental shelf of northwestern Australia were investigated by combining field observations and numerical modeling. The observations revealed that the spring tidal range outside the atoll reaches 4 m, and as the water level drops below mean sea level, the reef rim surrounding the shallow (~10–15
Authors
Rebecca H. Green, Ryan J. Lowe, Mark L. Buckley

Powerful turbidity currents driven by dense basal layers

Seafloor sediment flows (turbidity currents) are among the volumetrically most important yet least documented sediment transport processes on Earth. A scarcity of direct observations means that basic characteristics, such as whether flows are entirely dilute or driven by a dense basal layer, remain equivocal. Here we present the most detailed direct observations yet from oceanic turbidity currents
Authors
C. K. Paull, P. J. Talling, Katherine L. Maier, Daniel Parsons, Jingping Xu, D. W. Caress, R. Gwiazda, E. Lundsten, K. Anderson, James P. Barry, M. Chaffey, T. O'Reilly, Kurt J. Rosenberger, Jenny Gales, Brian Kieft, Mary McGann, Samantha E. Simmons, M. McCann, Esther J. Sumner, M. A. Clare, M. J. Cartigny

2018 hurricane and wildfire supplemental funding: USGS recovery activities

The Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-123), was signed by the President on February 9, 2018. This funding provided $42.2 million to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for equipment repair and replacement, high-resolution elevation data collection in both hurricane- and wildfire-impacted areas, and scientific studies and assessments that will

Authors
Jo Ellen Hinck, Joseph Stachyra

Examination of differences between three SPT-based seismic soil liquefaction triggering relationships

The preceding companion paper presented the updating of the seismic soil liquefactiontriggering relationship of Cetin et al. [1], and compared the resulting updated relationship with the earlier version. In this second paper, a detailed cross-comparison is made between three triggering relationships: (1) Seed et al. [2], as slightly updated by the NCEER Working Group (Youd et al. [3]), (2) Boulang
Authors
K. Onder Cetin, Raymond B. Seed, Robert E. Kayen, Robb E. S. Moss, H. Tolga Bilge, Makbule Ilgac, Khaled Chowdhury

Geology of San Francisco

No abstract available.
Authors
Russell W. Graymer, Robert Givler, John Baldwin, William Lettis, Samuel Johnson, H. Gary Greene, Peter Dartnell
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