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USGS paleoclimate scientists use biological, chemical, and physical materials preserved in the geologic record, called geologic proxies, to investigate past climates.

This geonarrative provides information about the importance and vulnerability of coastal wetlands and describes USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program research and partnerships to produce scientific information about wetland vulnerability to coastal hazards, such as storms and sea level rise, and provides critical wetland data to stakeholders and partners.

The United States is more than just the fifty states and the District of Columbia. Five permanently inhabited territories in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea are overseen by the U.S. and are home to more than 4 million people, many of whom are American citizens.

As part of the USGS Powell Center working group on Cascadia earthquake hazards, we compile and host several available geologic, paleoseismic, geophysical, and instrumental datasets along the Cascadia subduction zone. The ArcGIS online map and downloadable map package include both raster images and shapefiles. In this Story Map, we outline the features and datasets compiled.

Expanding Pacific Research and Exploration of Submerged Systems (EXPRESS) is an inter-agency federal and nonfederal collaborative research effort aimed at gathering new data of the deep ocean, continental shelf and slope offshore of California, Oregon and Washington. This expansive partnership includes three federal agencies and additional principle investigators from leading research institutes.

People have been recording seismic activity for centuries. To assemble a detailed earthquake history of an area and understand how faults may behave in the future, however, scientists need to go further back in time—from several hundred to many thousands of years ago.

A multi-agency team is mapping uncharted waters and exploring deep-sea ecosystems off the west coast of the United States.

Oceans cover 71% of the Earth's surface, yet little is known about these vast underwater worlds. Less than 20% have been explored. A global initiative seeks to change that, by pledging to complete detailed mapping of one-hundred percent of the seafloor by the year 2030..

Prediction of Flooding Now and Into the Future: a geonarrative on coastal storms

Alaska's north coast has been home to indigenous communities for centuries. Changing coastlines threaten important infrastructure and historic sites that support indigenous communities. Changing coastlines also can potentially reduce habitat for Arctic wildlife, such as polar bears, shorebirds, and walruses. Oil- and gas-related development sites and U.S. Department of Defense installations 

U.S. Geological Survey scientists have shown that along with providing food, tourism, and biodiversity, coral reefs also protect dollars and lives. This interactive geonarrative introduces the USGS research to understand the role of US coral reefs in coastal protection.

Exploring Shoreline Positions of the United States From the 1800s To The Present. This geonarrative explains how the USGS derives shorelines from various data sources, and how shoreline change rates are generated from these data. The Natural Hazards Mission Area programs of the USGS develop and apply hazard science to help protect the safety, security, and economic well-being of the Nation.

U.S. Geological Survey researchers develop tools to forecast coastal change hazards. This geonarrative features research and tools developed to forecast real-time coastal change.