Images

USGS scientists Andrew Schwartz and Dan Hanes maneuver a current profiler for a study of surf-zone hydrodynamics at Ocean Beach, on the west side of San Francisco, California. Beach erosion has been a continuing problem in this area.

Sonar-generated image showing underwater topography and the potential for landslides near the head of Resurrection Bay, Alaska. The terrain looks three times as steep as it occurs naturally. The arrow points to underwater landslide debris from the collapse of a fan-delta following the great Alaskan earthquake of 1964.

Tsunami wave field in the Bay of Bengal one hour after the M=9.1 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake on December 26, 2004. View looks to the northwest.

A field of giant sand waves, among the largest in the world, at the mouth of San Francisco Bay in California.

Large-scale poster describing USGS work.

USGS scientists needed a better way to measure river sand in the Grand Canyon. Traditionally, scientists used a bucket to get about 75 sand samples on each trip, which were analyzed weeks later in a lab.

Large-scale poster describing USGS work.

Large-scale poster describing USGS work.

The USGS, in cooperation with the Upper Yuba River Studies Program and the California Bay–Delta Authority (CALFED), studied Englebright Lake. Englebright Dam was built in 1941 to trap sediment washed downstream by hydraulic gold mining.

Homes along the edge of the coast in Isla Vista, California, Santa Barbara County, face a short lifespan because of eroding bluffs that support them.

Stromatolites growing in Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve, Shark Bay in Western Australia. Photo by Paul Harrison, Reading, UK, CC BY-SA 3.0

An International Tsunami Survey Team studying the effects of the December 26, 2004 tsunami on Indonesia“‘’’s island of Sumatra documented wave heights of 20 to 30 m (65 to 100 ft) at the island's northwest end and found evidence suggesting that wave heights may have ranged from 15 to 30 m (50 to 100 ft) along at least a 100-km (60 mi) stretch of the northwest coast.

In Leupueng, Indonesia, on the island of Sumatra, Dr. Guy Gelfenbaum measures the height of snapped-off tree trunks and sea level changes shortly after the December 26, 2004 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean.

As part of an international tsunami survey team, Andy Moore of Kent State University takes measurement of a snapped-off tree trunk in Leupueng, Aceh in 2005, shortly after the deadly tsunami struck the island of Sumatra.

A severely damaged home, or a portion of one, sits atop debris in Banda Aceh on the island of Sumatra. Damage was caused by a massive, highly destructive tsunami, triggered by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake just offshore of Sumatra, on December 26, 2004.

Boat carried inland by tsunami that struck Sumatra on December 26, 2004.

Photo taken about 100 meters inland at Kalmunai on Sri Lanka's east coast.

Tsunami sand deposit at Nilaveli Beach on the northeastern coast of Sri Lanka following the December 26th, 2004 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean. The sand deposited by the tsunami is light colored and overlies a pre-tsunami darker sandy soil.

Large-scale poster describing USGS work.

The USGS studied air photos of the Big Sur coast taken in 1942 and 1994, in cooperation with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC).

Diagram of deep-seated landslide, from USGS Fact Sheet 3004–3072, “Landslide Types and Processes.”

Large-scale poster describing USGS work.

The USGS, in cooperation with Moss Landing Marine Laboratory, mapped the slopes of the Santa Barbara Channel using sonar. We combined this with deep sea drilling records and seismic records to make these maps.

Large-scale poster describing USGS work.

The USGS lidar unit scanning a road embankment failure on Route 252, west of Horinouchi-Cho, in Niigata-ken, Japan. The system can be easily transported by vehicle or backpack to study sites, and travels as checked baggage.