Publications
Scientific reports, journal articles, and information products produced by USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center scientists.
Filter Total Items: 1339
Sediment dynamics and the burial and exhumation of bedrock reefs along an emergent coastline as elucidated by repetitive sonar surveys: Northern Monterey Bay, CA
Two high-resolution bathymetric and acoustic backscatter sonar surveys were conducted along the energetic emergent inner shelf of northern Monterey Bay, CA, USA, in the fall of 2005 and the spring of 2006 to determine the impact of winter storm waves, beach erosion, and river floods on biologically-important siliclastic bedrock reef habitats. The surveys extended from water depths of 4 m to 22 m a
Authors
C. D. Storlazzi, T.A. Fregoso, N.E. Golden, D.P. Finlayson
Wave climate and trends along the eastern Chukchi Arctic Alaska coast
Due in large part to the difficulty of obtaining measurements in the Arctic, little is known about the wave climate along the coast of Arctic Alaska. In this study, numerical model simulations encompassing 40 years of wave hind-casts were used to assess mean and extreme wave conditions. Results indicate that the wave climate was strongly modulated by large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns an
Authors
L. H. Erikson, C. D. Storlazzi, R. E. Jensen
Regional shoreline change and coastal erosion hazards in Arctic Alaska
Historical shoreline positions along the mainland Beaufort Sea coast of Alaska were digitized and analyzed to determine the long-term rate of change. Average shoreline change rates and ranges from 1947 to the mid-2000s were determined every 50 meters between Barrow and Demarcation Point, at the U.S.-Canadian border. Results show that shoreline change rates are highly variable along the coast, with
Authors
Ann E. Gibbs, E. Lynne Harden, Bruce M. Richmond, Li H. Erikson
Biomarker chemistry and flux quantification methods for natural petroleum seeps and produced oils, offshore southern California
Sustained, natural oil seepage from the seafloor is common off southern California, and is of great interest to resource managers, who are tasked with distinguishing natural from anthropogenic oil sources. The major purpose of this study was to build upon the work previously funded by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that has refined the oil-finger
Authors
T.D. Lorenson, Ira Leifer, Florence L. Wong, Robert J. Rosenbauer, Pamela L. Campbell, Angela Lam, Frances D. Hostettler, Jens Greinert, David P. Finlayson, Eliza S. Bradley, Bruce P. Luyendyk
Bathymetry and digital elevation models of Coyote Creek and Alviso Slough, South San Francisco Bay, California
In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center completed three cruises to map the bathymetry of the main channel and shallow intertidal mudflats in the southernmost part of south San Francisco Bay. The three surveys were merged to generate comprehensive maps of Coyote Creek (from Calaveras Point east to the railroad bridge) and Alviso Slough (from the bay to
Authors
Amy C. Foxgrover, David P. Finlayson, Bruce E. Jaffe, Theresa A. Fregoso
Seafloor morphology and coral habitat variability in a volcanic environment: Kaloko-Honokohau National Park, Hawaii, USA
Kaloko–Honokohau National Historical Park (KAHO) is one of three National Park lands along the leeward, west, or Kona, coast of the island of Hawaii, USA. The park includes 596 acres (2.4 km2) of submerged lands and marine resources within its official boundaries. The offshore region of KAHO, part of the insular shelf of the island of Hawaii, comprises a volcanic embayment that extends nearly 3.5
Authors
Ann E. Gibbs, Susan A. Cochran
The influence of current speed and vegetation density on flow structure in two macrotidal eelgrass canopies
The influence of eelgrass (Zostera marina) on near-bed currents, turbulence, and drag was investigated at three sites in two eelgrass canopies of differing density and at one unvegetated site in the San Juan archipelago of Puget Sound, Washington, USA. Eelgrass blade length exceeded 1 m. Velocity profiles up to 1.5 m above the sea floor were collected over a spring-neap tidal cycle with a downward
Authors
Jessica R. Lacy, Sandy Wyllie-Echeverria
Nearshore disposal of fine-grained sediment in a high-energy environment: Santa Cruz Harbor case study
Current regulations in California prohibit the disposal of more than 20% fine-grained sediment in the coastal zone; this threshold is currently being investigated to determine if this environmental regulation can be improved upon. A field monitoring and numerical modeling experiment took place late 2 009 to determine the fate of fine-grained dredge disposal material from Santa Cruz Harbor, Califor
Authors
Katherine Cronin, Maarten van Ormondt, Curt D. Storlazzi, Katherine Presto, Pieter K. Tonnon
The impact of the 2009-10 El Niño Modoki on U.S. West Coast beaches
High-resolution beach morphology data collected along much of the U.S. West Coast are synthesized to evaluate the coastal impacts of the 2009–10 El Niño. Coastal change observations were collected as part of five beach monitoring programs that span between 5 and 13 years in duration. In California, regional wave and water level data show that the environmental forcing during the 2009–10 winter was
Authors
Patrick L. Barnard, Jonathan Allan, Jeff E. Hansen, George M. Kaminsky, Peter Ruggiero, André Doria
The ANTOSTRAT legacy: Science collaboration and international transparency in potential marine mineral resource exploitation of Antarctica
The Antarctic Offshore Stratigraphy project (ANTOSTRAT; 1989–2002) was an extremely successful collaboration in international marine geological science that also lifted the perceived “veil of secrecy” from studies of potential exploitation of Antarctic marine mineral resources. The project laid the groundwork for circum-Antarctic seismic, drilling, and rock coring programs designed to decipher Ant
Authors
Alan Cooper, Peter Barker, Peter Barrett, John Behrendt, Giuliano Brancolini, Jonathan R. Childs, Carlota Escutia, Wilfried Jokat, Yngve Kristoffersen, German Leitchenkov, Howard Stagg, Manabu Tanahashi, Nigel Wardell, Peter Webb
Assessing historical rate changes in global tsunami occurrence
The global catalogue of tsunami events is examined to determine if transient variations in tsunami rates are consistent with a Poisson process commonly assumed for tsunami hazard assessments. The primary data analyzed are tsunamis with maximum sizes >1m. The record of these tsunamis appears to be complete since approximately 1890. A secondary data set of tsunamis >0.1m is also analyzed that appear
Authors
E.L. Geist, T. Parsons
Nearshore Tsunami Inundation Model Validation: Toward Sediment Transport Applications
Model predictions from a numerical model, Delft3D, based on the nonlinear shallow water equations are compared with analytical results and laboratory observations from seven tsunami-like benchmark experiments, and with field observations from the 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The model accurately predicts the magnitude and timing of the measured water levels and flow velocities, as well a
Authors
Alex Apotsos, Mark Buckley, Guy Gelfenbaum, Bruce Jaffe, Deepak Vatvani