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A woman in a lab coat stands in front of an apparatus with a thin cylindrical glass tube attached to flexible plastic tubing.
Total inorganic carbon content analyzer
Total inorganic carbon content analyzer
Total inorganic carbon content analyzer

The UIC CM5230/CM5015 analyzes total inorganic carbon content. It's less automated than other analyzers, but often easier to use.

The UIC CM5230/CM5015 analyzes total inorganic carbon content. It's less automated than other analyzers, but often easier to use.

A woman in a lab coat stands in a lab opening the doors of a cabinet filled with glass beakers.
Fume hood lab
Fume hood lab
Fume hood lab

Our fume hood lab allows for sample preparation in safe conditions.

Our fume hood lab allows for sample preparation in safe conditions.

A woman in a lab coat reaches into a machine with a see-through window into a space with receptacles to hold bottles.
Accelerated solvent extractor
Accelerated solvent extractor
Accelerated solvent extractor

This Dionex ASE 350 accelerated solvent extractor automatically extracts hydrocarbons for further analysis. We also have a Zymark TurboVap II for sample preparation (not shown).

This Dionex ASE 350 accelerated solvent extractor automatically extracts hydrocarbons for further analysis. We also have a Zymark TurboVap II for sample preparation (not shown).

Shelving that has many bags, tubes, and boxes filled with sand and mud.
Refrigerated sample storage shelving
Refrigerated sample storage shelving
Refrigerated sample storage shelving

The refrigerated sample repository of the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in Santa Cruz, CA includes easily accessible shelving space which can store thousands of samples.

The refrigerated sample repository of the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in Santa Cruz, CA includes easily accessible shelving space which can store thousands of samples.

Map showing depth of a very intricate bay and delta system color-coded to enhance central bay channels and tidal channels.
San Francisco Bay and Delta DEM
San Francisco Bay and Delta DEM
San Francisco Bay and Delta DEM

High-resolution (10-meter per pixel) digital elevation model (DEM) of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, using both bathymetry and topography data relative to current modern datum of North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88). This DEM is the result of collaborative efforts of the U.S.

High-resolution (10-meter per pixel) digital elevation model (DEM) of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, using both bathymetry and topography data relative to current modern datum of North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88). This DEM is the result of collaborative efforts of the U.S.

Photo of equipment sitting on the deck of a boat which is docked, and it's sleeting or snowing.
R/V Barnes with USGS seismic system
R/V Barnes with USGS seismic system
R/V Barnes with USGS seismic system

University of Washington's research vessel R/V Barnes is loaded with the USGS multichannel seismic system components GeoEel, Chirp, and boom plates.

University of Washington's research vessel R/V Barnes is loaded with the USGS multichannel seismic system components GeoEel, Chirp, and boom plates.

Photo looks at a steep beach cliff with stairs built up it to allow access to the street level.
Isla Vista, California coastal bluff
Isla Vista, California coastal bluff
Isla Vista, California coastal bluff

Exposed bedrock on the beach during very low (negative) tide at Isla Vista, California.

Photo of shoreline with very little sandy beach. Heavy equipment is  piling up large boulders (rip rap) along the eroded shore
Armoring the shore at Goleta Beach
Armoring the shore at Goleta Beach
Armoring the shore at Goleta Beach

Installing large boulders as rip rap to armor the shore against further erosion at Goleta Beach in Southern California. The tide is very low (negative).

Installing large boulders as rip rap to armor the shore against further erosion at Goleta Beach in Southern California. The tide is very low (negative).

photo of bare rocks exposed below cliffs at low tide along a shoreline.
Exposed bedrock at low tide
Exposed bedrock at low tide
Exposed bedrock at low tide

Exposed bedrock on the beach, below the University of California, Santa Barbara.

house perched at the top of cliff edge above beach.
Exposed bedrock at Isla Vista
Exposed bedrock at Isla Vista
Exposed bedrock at Isla Vista

Exposed bedrock on the beach during very low (negative) tide at Isla Vista, California

A man walks on the beach wearing a yellow backpack with an antenna sticking up from it, holding a small machine
USGS researcher uses GPS-equipped backpack to measure sand elevations
USGS researcher uses GPS-equipped backpack to measure sand elevations
USGS researcher uses GPS-equipped backpack to measure sand elevations

USGS oceanographer Dan Hoover uses a GPS-equipped backpack to measure sand elevations near the mouth of the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz, California, January 12, 2017. Surveys like this make long-term studies of coastal change possible.

USGS oceanographer Dan Hoover uses a GPS-equipped backpack to measure sand elevations near the mouth of the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz, California, January 12, 2017. Surveys like this make long-term studies of coastal change possible.

two men standing in a boat tied up to a dock
Readying a sonar-equipped boat for mapping
Readying a sonar-equipped boat for mapping
Readying a sonar-equipped boat for mapping

USGS scientists readying a sonar-equipped boat to map the ocean bottom near Santa Cruz, Calif.

person standing up riding a personal watercraft across small ocean swells, with buildings and a long pier in the background
Sonar-equipped personal watercraft mapping bathymetry.
Sonar-equipped personal watercraft mapping bathymetry.
Sonar-equipped personal watercraft mapping bathymetry.

A sonar-equipped personal watercraft mapping the bathymetry underwater near Santa Cruz, Calif.

man walking along wet sand on beach wearing a backpack with an antenna sticking pout of it
Mapping the beach with a GPS-equipped backpack unit.
Mapping the beach with a GPS-equipped backpack unit.
Mapping the beach with a GPS-equipped backpack unit.

USGS scientist Daniel Hoover mapping the beach at Santa Cruz with a GPS-equipped backpack unit.

two young men standing on a pier with a large tripod, looking down at camera, and holding equipment.
Setting up a lidar scanner to map the beach.
Setting up a lidar scanner to map the beach.
Setting up a lidar scanner to map the beach.

 USGS scientists setting up a lidar scanner on the pier to map the beach near Capitola, California.

a person standing on a bluff overlooking the ocean
A USGS researcher gathers elevation data from an eroding coastal bluff in Arctic Alaska
A USGS researcher gathers elevation data from an eroding coastal bluff in Arctic Alaska
Map of the seafloor showing its characteristics which include long, linear features that are earthquake fault zones.
Offshore of Point Estero
Offshore of Point Estero
Offshore of Point Estero

Seafloor offshore of Point Estero (PE) showing east (EH) and west (WH) strands of the Hosgri fault zone. Arrow points to a seafloor slope (a 12,000 year old shoreline) that has been offset by the east Hosgri strand, indicating a slip rate of about 2.6 millimeters per year.

Seafloor offshore of Point Estero (PE) showing east (EH) and west (WH) strands of the Hosgri fault zone. Arrow points to a seafloor slope (a 12,000 year old shoreline) that has been offset by the east Hosgri strand, indicating a slip rate of about 2.6 millimeters per year.

Shallow water in a tidal flat where a pulse of muddy water is mixing with fresh, clear ocean water.
Skagit River delta sediment fan
Skagit River delta sediment fan
Skagit River delta sediment fan

Photograph from pole-mounted camera, looking west across the Skagit River delta and one of several large sediment fans that are moving 1-2 meters per day across the tidal flats. These fans threaten to bury the last intact stands of eelgrass in Skagit Bay, an important rearing habitat for juvenile salmon, crab, and other marine wildlife.

Photograph from pole-mounted camera, looking west across the Skagit River delta and one of several large sediment fans that are moving 1-2 meters per day across the tidal flats. These fans threaten to bury the last intact stands of eelgrass in Skagit Bay, an important rearing habitat for juvenile salmon, crab, and other marine wildlife.

Colored shaded-relief bathymetry map of Monterey Canyon and Vicinity, California
Monterey Canyon and Vicinity
Monterey Canyon and Vicinity
Monterey Canyon and Vicinity

Map view. Colored shaded-relief bathymetry map of Monterey Canyon and Vicinity map area, generated from multibeam-echosounder and bathymetric-sidescan data. Colors show depth: reds and oranges indicate shallower areas; purples, deeper areas. Illumination azimuth is 300°, from 45° above horizon.

Map view. Colored shaded-relief bathymetry map of Monterey Canyon and Vicinity map area, generated from multibeam-echosounder and bathymetric-sidescan data. Colors show depth: reds and oranges indicate shallower areas; purples, deeper areas. Illumination azimuth is 300°, from 45° above horizon.