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Scientific reports, journal articles, and information products produced by USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center scientists.
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Filter Total Items: 1331
Statistical approach to neural network imaging of karst systems in 3D seismic reflection data
The current lack of a robust, standardized technique for geophysical mapping of karst systems can be attributed to both the complexity of the environment and prior technological limitations. Abrupt lateral variations in physical properties that are inherent to karst systems generate significant geophysical noise, challenging conventional seismic signal processing and interpretation. Modern applica
Authors
Daniel Ebuna, Jared W. Kluesner, Kevin J. Cunningham, Joel H. Edwards
Rapid, remote assessment of Hurricane Matthew impacts using four-dimensional structure-from-motion photogrammetry
Timely assessment of coastal landforms and structures after storms is important for evaluating storm impacts, aiding emergency response and restoration, and initializing and assessing morphological models. Four-dimensional multiview photogrammetry, also known as structure from motion (4D SfM), provides a method for generating three-dimensional reconstructions of landscapes at two times (before and
Authors
Christopher R. Sherwood, Jonathan Warrick, Andrew D. Hill, Andrew C. Ritchie, Brian D. Andrews, Nathaniel G. Plant
Projected 21st century coastal flooding in the Southern California Bight. Part 2: Tools for assessing climate change-driven coastal hazards and socio-economic impacts
This paper is the second of two that describes the Coastal Storm Modeling System (CoSMoS) approach for quantifying physical hazards and socio-economic hazard exposure in coastal zones affected by sea-level rise and changing coastal storms. The modelling approach, presented in Part 1, downscales atmospheric global-scale projections to local scale coastal flood impacts by deterministically computing
Authors
Li H. Erikson, Patrick L. Barnard, Andrea C. O'Neill, Nathan J. Wood, Jeanne M. Jones, Juliette Finzi Hart, Sean Vitousek, Patrick W. Limber, Maya Hayden, Michael Fitzgibbon, Jessica Lovering, Amy C. Foxgrover
The Santa Cruz Basin submarine landslide complex, southern California: Repeated failure of uplifted basin sediment
The Santa Cruz Basin (SCB) is one of several fault-bounded basins within the California Continental Borderland that has drawn interest over the years for its role in the tectonic evolution of the region, but also because it contains a record of a variety of modes of sedimentary mass transport (i.e., open slope vs. canyon-confined systems). Here, we present a suite of new high-resolution marine geo
Authors
Daniel S. Brothers, Katherine L. Maier, Jared W. Kluesner, James E. Conrad, Jason Chaytor
River response to large‐dam removal in a Mediterranean hydroclimatic setting: Carmel River, California, USA
Dam removal provides a valuable opportunity to measure the fluvial response to changes in both sediment supply and the processes that shape channel morphology. We present the first study of river response to the removal of a large (32‐m‐high) dam in a Mediterranean hydroclimatic setting, on the Carmel River, coastal California, USA. This before‐after/control‐impact study measured changes in channe
Authors
Lee R. Harrison, Amy E. East, Douglas P. Smith, Joshua B. Logan, Rosealea Bond, Colin L. Nicol, Thomas H. Williams, David A. Boughton, Kaitlyn Chow, Lauren Luna
A model ensemble for projecting multi‐decadal coastal cliff retreat during the 21st century
Sea cliff retreat rates are expected to accelerate with rising sea levels during the 21st century. Here we develop an approach for a multi‐model ensemble that efficiently projects time‐averaged sea cliff retreat over multi‐decadal time scales and large (>50 km) spatial scales. The ensemble consists of five simple 1‐D models adapted from the literature that relate sea cliff retreat to wave impacts,
Authors
Patrick W. Limber, Patrick L. Barnard, Sean Vitousek, Li H. Erikson
DDT and related compounds in pore water of shallow sediments on the Palos Verdes Shelf, California, USA
For nearly two and a half decades following World War II, production wastes from the world's largest manufacturer of technical DDT (1-chloro-4-[2,2,2-trichloro-1-(4-chlorophenyl)ethyl]benzene) were discharged into sewers of Los Angeles County. Following treatment, the wastes were released via a submarine outfall system to nearshore coastal waters where a portion accumulated in shallow sediments of
Authors
Robert P. Eganhouse, Erica L. DiFilippo, James Pontolillo, William H. Orem, Paul C. Hackley, Brian Edwards
Reductive dechlorination rates of 4,4′-DDE (1-chloro-4-[2,2-dichloro-1-(4-chlorophenyl)ethenyl]benzene) in sediments of the Palos Verdes Shelf, CA
Wastes from the world's largest manufacturer of DDT (1-chloro-4-[2,2,2-trichloro-1-(4-chlorophenyl)ethyl]benzene) were released into the Los Angeles County municipal sewer system from 1947 to 1971. Following primary treatment, the effluent was discharged through a submarine outfall system whereupon a portion of the DDT and associated degradation products were deposited in sediments of the Palos Ve
Authors
Robert P. Eganhouse, Christopher R. Sherwood, James Pontolillo, Brian Edwards, Patrick J. Dickhudt
The influence of neap-spring tidal variation and wave energy on sediment flux in salt marsh tidal creeks
Sediment flux in marsh tidal creeks is commonly used to gage sediment supply to marshes. We conducted a field investigation of temporal variability in sediment flux in tidal creeks in the accreting tidal marsh at China Camp State Park adjacent to northern San Francisco Bay. Suspended-sediment concentration (SSC), velocity, and depth were measured near the mouths of two tidal creeks during three
Authors
Jessica R. Lacy, Matthew C. Ferner, John C. Callaway
Faunal and stable isotopic analyses of benthic foraminifera from the Southeast Seep on Kimki Ridge offshore southern California, USA
We investigated the benthic foraminiferal faunal and stable carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of a 15-cm push core (NA075-092b) obtained on a Telepresence-Enabled cruise to the Southeast Seep on Kimki Ridge offshore southern California. The seep core was taken at a depth of 973 m in the vicinity of a Beggiatoa bacterial mat and vesicomyid clams (Calyptogena) and compared to previously publish
Authors
Mary McGann, James E. Conrad
Three-dimensional modeling of fine sediment transport by waves and currents in a shallow estuary
A suspended sediment transport model is implemented in the unstructured‐grid SUNTANS model and applied to study fine‐grained sediment transport in South San Francisco Bay. The model enables calculation of suspension of bottom sediment based on combined forcing of tidal currents and wind waves. We show that accurate results can be obtained by employing two‐size classes which are representative of m
Authors
Yi-Ju Chou, Kurt S. Nelson, Rusty C. Holleman, Oliver B. Fringer, Mark T. Stacey, Jessica R. Lacy, Stephen G. Monismith, Jeffrey R. Koseff
Meteorologic, oceanographic, and geomorphic controls on circulation and residence time in a coral reef-lined embayment: Faga’alu Bay, American Samoa
Water circulation over coral reefs can determine the degree to which reef organisms are exposed to the overlying waters, so understanding circulation is necessary to interpret spatial patterns in coral health. Because coral reefs often have high geomorphic complexity, circulation patterns and the duration of exposure, or “local residence time” of a water parcel, can vary substantially over small d
Authors
Curt D. Storlazzi, Olivia M. Cheriton, A. M. Messina, Trent W. Biggs