Publications
Scientific reports, journal articles, and information products produced by USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center scientists.
USGS Pubs Warehouse
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Sound Waves Newsletter
Sound Waves Newsletter
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Filter Total Items: 1331
Catastrophic landscape modification from a massive landslide tsunami in Taan Fiord, Alaska
The October 17th, 2015 Taan Fiord landslide and tsunami generated a runup of 193 m, nearly an order of magnitude greater than most previously surveyed tsunamis. To date, most post-tsunami surveys are from earthquake-generated tsunamis and the geomorphic signatures of landslide tsunamis or their potential for preservation are largely uncharacterized. Additionally, clear modifications described duri
Authors
Colin K Bloom, Breanyn MacInnes, Bretwood Higman, Dan H. Shugar, Jeremy G. Venditti, Bruce M. Richmond, Eric L. Bilderback
What determines the downstream evolution of turbidity currents?
Seabed sediment flows called turbidity currents form some of the largest sediment accumulations, deepest canyons and longest channel systems on Earth. Only rivers transport comparable sediment volumes over such large areas; but there are far fewer measurements from turbidity currents, ensuring they are much more poorly understood. Turbidity currents differ fundamentally from rivers, as turbidity c
Authors
Catharina Heerema, Peter J. Talling, Matthieu J.B. Cartigny, Charles K. Paull, Lewis Bailey, Stephen Simmons, Daniel Parsons, Michael Clare, Roberto Gwiazda, Eve M. Lundsten, Krystle Anderson, Katherine L. Maier, Jingping Xu, Esther J. Sumner, Kurt J. Rosenberger, Jenny Gales, Mary McGann, Lionel Carter, Ed Pope
Understanding tidal marsh trajectories: Evaluation of multiple indicators of marsh persistence
Robust assessments of ecosystem stability are critical for informing conservation and management decisions. Tidal marsh ecosystems provide vital services, yet are globally threatened by anthropogenic alterations to physical and biological processes. A variety of monitoring and modeling approaches have been undertaken to determine which tidal marshes are likely to persist into the future. Here, we
Authors
Kerstin Wasson, Neil K. Ganju, Zafer Defne, Charlie Endris, Tracy Elsey-Quirk, Karen M. Thorne, Chase M. Freeman, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Daniel J. Nowacki, Kenneth B. Raposa
Recent sandy deposits at five northern California coastal wetlands — Stratigraphy, diatoms, and implications for storm and tsunami hazards
A recent geological record of inundation by tsunamis or storm surges is evidenced by deposits found within the first few meters of the modern surface at five wetlands on the northern California coast. The study sites include three locations in the Crescent City area (Marhoffer Creek marsh, Elk Creek wetland, and Sand Mine marsh), O’rekw marsh in the lower Redwood Creek alluvial valley, and Pillar
Authors
Eileen Hemphill-Haley, Harvey M. Kelsey, Nicholas Graehl, Michael Casso, Dylan Caldwell, Casey Loofbourrow, Michelle Robinson, Jessica Vermeer, Edward Southwick
Shallow-water foraminifera and other microscopic biota of Clipperton Island, tropical eastern Pacific
The recent foraminiferal fauna and associated microbiota of Clipperton Island (10.2833°N, 109.2167°W) were investigated at 20 sites collected in the intertidal zone around the perimeter of the island and from the edge of the inner brackish-water lagoon. Due to the island’s geographic location in a low productivity zone, a lack of variable habitats on and surrounding the island, and heavy surf that
Authors
Mary McGann, Robert W Schmieder, Louis-Philippe Loncke
Controls on sediment distribution in the coastal zone of the central California transform continental margin, USA
We use >10,000 km of high-resolution seismic-reflection data together with multibeam bathymetry to document complex and highly variable post-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) sediment distribution and thickness in the coastal zone (~10 m isobath to 5.6 km offshore) along a ~800 km section of central California's transform continental margin. Sediment thickness ranges from 0 (seafloor bedrock) to 64 m wit
Authors
Samuel Y. Johnson, Jeffrey W. Beeson, Janet Watt, Ray Sliter, Antoinette Papesh
Optical wave gauging using deep neural networks
We develop a remote wave gauging technique to estimate wave height and period from imagery of waves in the surf zone. In this proof-of-concept study, we apply the same framework to three datasets: the first, a set of close-range monochrome infrared (IR) images of individual nearshore waves at Duck, NC, USA; the second, a set of visible (i.e. RGB) band orthomosaics of a larger nearshore area near S
Authors
Daniel Buscombe, Roxanne J Carini, Shawn Harrison, C Chris Chickadel, Jonathan Warrick
Santa Barbara area coastal ecosystem vulnerability assessment
The Santa Barbara Area Coastal Ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment (SBA CEVA)
is a multidisciplinary research project that investigates future changes to southern
Santa Barbara County climate, beaches, watersheds, wetland habitats and beach
ecosystems. The target audience is local land use planners and decision makers.
The main objective is to provide information that assists the Cities of Santa Ba
Authors
M.R. Myers, D.R. Cayan, S.F. Iacobellis, J.M. Melack, R.E. Beighley, Patrick L. Barnard, J.E. Dugan, H.M. Page
Simple metrics predict salt-marsh sediment fluxes
The growth (or decay) of salt marshes depends on suspended-sediment flux into and out of the marsh. Suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) is a key element of the flux, and SSC-based metrics reflect the long-term sediment-flux trajectories of a variety of salt marshes. One metric, the flood–ebb SSC differential, correlates with area-normalized sediment flux and can indicate salt-marsh resilience o
Authors
Daniel J. Nowacki, Neil K. Ganju
Seasonal variation in sediment delivery across the bay-marsh interface of an estuarine salt marsh
Sediment transport across bay–marsh interfaces depends on wave energy, vegetation, and marsh-edge morphology, and varies over a range of timescales. We investigated these dynamics in a tidal salt marsh with a gently-sloped, vegetated edge adjacent to northern San Francisco Bay. Spartina foliosa (cordgrass) inhabits the lower marsh and Salicornia pacifica (pickleweed) predominates on the marsh plain
Authors
Jessica R. Lacy, Madeline R. Foster-Martinez, Rachel (Contractor) Allen, Matthew C. Ferner, John C. Callaway
Pulse sediment event does not impact the metabolism of a mixed coral reef community
Sedimentation can bury corals, cause physical abrasion, and alter both spectral intensity and quality; however, few studies have quantified the effects of sedimentation on coral reef metabolism in the context of episodic sedimentation events. Here, we present the first study to measure coral community metabolism - calcification and photosynthesis - in a manipulative mesocosm experiment simulating
Authors
Keisha Bahr, Ku'ulei Rodgers, Paul Jokiel, Nancy G. Prouty, Curt D. Storlazzi
A ship's ballasting history as an indicator of foraminiferal invasion potential--An example from Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA
We investigated the potential role of ballast sediment from coastal and transoceanic oil tankers arriving and de-ballasting in Port Valdez as a vector for the introduction of invasive benthic foraminifera in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Forty-one ballast sediment samples were obtained in 1998-1999 from 11 oil tankers that routinely discharged their ballast in Prince William Sound after sailing fr
Authors
Mary McGann, Gregory M. Ruiz, Anson H. Hines, George D. Smith