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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

A possible transoceanic tsunami directed toward the U.S. west coast from the Semidi segment, Alaska convergent margin

The Semidi segment of the Alaska convergent margin appears capable of generating a giant tsunami like the one produced along the nearby Unimak segment in 1946. Reprocessed legacy seismic reflection data and a compilation of multibeam bathymetric surveys reveal structures that could generate such a tsunami. A 200 km long ridge or escarpment with crests >1 km high is the surface expression of an act
Authors
Roland E. von Huene, John J. Miller, Peter Dartnell

Benthic habitat map of U.S. Coral Reef Task Force Faga‘alu Bay priority study area, Tutuila, American Samoa

The coral reef in Faga‘alu Bay, Tutuila, American Samoa, has suffered numerous natural and anthropogenic stresses. Areas once dominated by live coral are now mostly rubble surfaces covered with turf or macroalgae. In an effort to improve the health and resilience of the coral reef system, the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force selected Faga‘alu Bay as a priority study area. To support these efforts, the U
Authors
Susan A. Cochran, Ann E. Gibbs, Nicole L. D'Antonio, Curt D. Storlazzi

Changes in habitat availability for outmigrating juvenile salmon (Oncorhychus spp.) following estuary restoration

The restoration of the Nisqually River Delta (Washington, U.S.A.) represents one of the largest efforts toward reestablishing the ecosystem function and resilience of modified habitat in the Puget Sound, particularly for anadromous salmonid species. The opportunity for outmigrating salmon to access and benefit from the expansion of available tidal habitat can be quantified by several physical attr
Authors
Christopher S. Ellings, Melanie J. Davis, Eric E. Grossman, Sayre Hodgson, Kelley L. Turner, Isa Woo PR, Glynnis Nakai, Jean E. Takekawa, John Y. Takekawa

Use of mussel casts from archaeological sites as paleoecological indicators: An example from CA-MRN-254, Marin County, Alta California

Archaeological investigations at prehistoric site CA-MRN-254 at the Dominican University of California in Marin County, California, revealed evidence of Native American occupation spanning the past 1,800 years. A dominant source of food for the inhabitants in the San Francisco Bay area was the intertidal, quiet-water dwelling blue mussel (Mytilus trossulus), although rare occurrences of the open c
Authors
Mary McGann, Scott W. Starratt, Charles L. Powell, David G Bieling

Reconstruction of far-field tsunami amplitude distributions from earthquake sources

The probability distribution of far-field tsunami amplitudes is explained in relation to the distribution of seismic moment at subduction zones. Tsunami amplitude distributions at tide gauge stations follow a similar functional form, well described by a tapered Pareto distribution that is parameterized by a power-law exponent and a corner amplitude. Distribution parameters are first established fo
Authors
Eric L. Geist, Thomas E. Parsons

Wave attenuation in the shallows of San Francisco Bay

Waves propagating over broad, gently-sloped shallows decrease in height due to frictional dissipation at the bed. We quantified wave-height evolution across 7 km of mudflat in San Pablo Bay (northern San Francisco Bay), an environment where tidal mixing prevents the formation of fluid mud. Wave height was measured along a cross shore transect (elevation range−2mto+0.45mMLLW) in winter 2011 and sum
Authors
Jessica R. Lacy, Lissa J. MacVean

Tracking millennial-scale Holocene glacial advance and retreat using osmium isotopes: Insights from the Greenland ice sheet

High-resolution Os isotope stratigraphy can aid in reconstructing Pleistocene ice sheet fluctuation and elucidating the role of local and regional weathering fluxes on the marine Os residence time. This paper presents new Os isotope data from ocean cores adjacent to the West Greenland ice sheet that have excellent chronological controls. Cores MSM-520 and DA00-06 represent distal to proximal sites
Authors
Alan D. Rooney, David Selby, Jeremy M. Llyod, David H. Roberts, Andreas Luckge, Bradley B. Sageman, Nancy G. Prouty

California State Waters Map Series — Offshore of Santa Cruz, California

IntroductionIn 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within the limit of California’s State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpretation, and visu
Authors
Guy R. Cochrane, Peter Dartnell, Samuel Y. Johnson, Mercedes D. Erdey, Nadine E. Golden, H. Gary Greene, Bryan E. Dieter, Stephen R. Hartwell, Andrew C. Ritchie, David P. Finlayson, Charles A. Endris, Janet Watt, Clifton W. Davenport, Ray W. Sliter, Katherine L. Maier, Lisa M. Krigsman

California State Waters map series — Offshore of Aptos, California

Introduction In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within California’s State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpretation, and visualization of
Authors
Guy R. Cochrane, Samuel Y. Johnson, Peter Dartnell, H. Gary Greene, Mercedes D. Erdey, Bryan E. Dieter, Nadine E. Golden, Stephen R. Hartwell, Andrew C. Ritchie, Rikk G. Kvitek, Katherine L. Maier, Charles A. Endris, Clifton W. Davenport, Janet Watt, Ray W. Sliter, David P. Finlayson, Lisa M. Krigsman

Variability of the internal tide on the southern Monterey Bay continental shelf and associated bottom boundary layer sediment transport

A 6-month deployment of instrumentation from April to October 2012 in 90 m water depth near the outer edge of the mid-shelf mud belt in southern Monterey Bay, California, reveals the importance regional upwelling on water column density structure, potentially accounting for the majority of the variability in internal tidal energy flux across the shelf. Observations consisted of time-series measure
Authors
Kurt J. Rosenberger, Curt D. Storlazzi, Olivia Cheriton

What a drag: Quantifying the global impact of chronic bottom trawling on continental shelf sediment

Continental shelves worldwide are subject to intense bottom trawling that causes sediment to be resuspended. The widely used traditional concepts of modern sedimentary transport systems on the shelf rely only on estimates for naturally driven sediment resuspension such as through storm waves, bottom currents, and gravity-driven flows but they overlook a critical anthropogenic factor. The strong in
Authors
Ferdinand K. J. Oberle, Curt D. Storlazzi, Till J.J. Hanebuth

Vertical deformation associated with normal fault systems evolved over coseismic, postseismic, and multiseismic periods

Vertical deformation of extensional provinces varies significantly and in seemingly contradictory ways. Sparse but robust geodetic, seismic, and geologic observations in the Basin and Range province of the western United States indicate that immediately after an earthquake, vertical change primarily occurs as subsidence of the normal fault hanging wall. A few decades later, a ±100 km wide zone is
Authors
George A. Thompson, Thomas E. Parsons
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