Publications
Scientific reports, journal articles, and information products produced by USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center scientists.
Filter Total Items: 1331
Compound flood model for the lower Nooksack River and delta, western Washington—Assessment of vulnerability and nature-based adaptation opportunities to mitigate higher sea level and stream flooding
Higher sea level and stream runoff associated with climate change is expected to lead to greater lowland flooding across the Pacific Northwest. Increases in stream runoff that range from 20 to 32 percent by the 2040s and from 52 to 72 percent by the 2080s is expected to steadily increase flood risk. Flood risk is also expected to increase in response to the landward shift in high tides and storm s
Authors
Eric E. Grossman, Nathan R. vanArendonk, Cornelis M. Nederhoff
Evaluating a prospective fault-based stress-transfer forecast for the M7.9 Wenchuan earthquake region 15 years later
Four days after the 12 May 2008 M 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake struck the Sichuan region of China, we submitted a prospective earthquake forecast based on transfer of stress from the mainshock onto significant faults crossing through populated areas. We identified where the largest aftershocks were likely to occur that could cause loss of life. We returned the revised article to the journal on 5 June 2
Authors
Thomas E. Parsons, Chen Ji, Eric Kirby
Fluvial delivery and wave resuspension of sediment in a sheltered, urbanized Pacific Northwest estuary
The sequence and timing of sediment delivery and redistribution in coastal systems is important for shoreline stability, ecosystem services, and remediation planning. In temperate estuaries, understanding the role of fluvial sediment delivery and dispersal relative to wind and wave remobilization processes is particularly important to address the fate of contaminants, many of which adsorb to fine
Authors
Daniel J. Nowacki, Andrew W. Stevens, Renee K. Takesue, Eric E. Grossman
Nearshore subtidal community response during and after sediment disturbance associated with dam removal
Dam removal is used increasingly to restore aquatic ecosystems and remove unnecessary or high-risk infrastructure. As the number of removals increases, there is a growing understanding about the hydrologic, geomorphic, and ecological responses to these removals. Most dam removal studies, however, focus on river and watershed responses to dam removal. The removal of two dams on the Elwha River prov
Authors
Stephen P. Rubin, Melissa M. Foley, Ian M. Miller, Andrew W. Stevens, Jonathan Warrick, Helen D. Berry, Nancy E. Elder, Matthew M. Beirne, Guy Gelfenbaum
Spatial distribution and variability of lobe facies in a large sand-rich submarine fan system: Neoproterozoic Zerrissene Group, Namibia
The deposits of the upper Neoproterozoic Zerrissene Group of central-western Namibia represent a large siliciclastic deep-water depositional system that showcases the intricacies of facies and architectural relationships from bed-scale to fan-system-scale. The lack of vegetation in the Namib Desert and regular east–west repetition of folded stratigraphy (reflecting ca 50% tectonic shortening) prov
Authors
Nora Maria Nieminski, Tim McHargue, Jared T. Gooley, Andrea Fildani, Donald R Lowe
SaTSeaD: Satellite Triangulated Sea Depth open-source bathymetry module for NASA Ames Stereo Pipeline
We developed the first-ever bathymetric module for the NASA Ames Stereo Pipeline (ASP) open-source topographic software called Satellite Triangulated Sea Depth, or SaTSeaD, to derive nearshore bathymetry from stereo imagery. Correct bathymetry measurements depend on water surface elevation, and whereas previous methods considered the water surface horizontal, our bathymetric module accounts for th
Authors
Monica Palaseanu-Lovejoy, Oleg Alexandrov, Jeffrey J. Danielson, Curt Storlazzi
Diving deeper into seep distribution along the Cascadia Convergent Margin, USA
Previous margin-wide studies of methane seep distribution along the Cascadia Subduction Zone indicate peaks in seep density within the landward limit of the of gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ; ≤500 m depth), suggesting a link between current ocean warming, acceleration of hydrate dissociated, and methane emissions. This inferred connection, however, may not account for regional geologic and/or st
Authors
Jane A. Rudebusch, Nancy G. Prouty, James E. Conrad, Janet Watt, Jared W. Kluesner, Jenna C. Hill, Nathaniel C. Miller, Sally J. Watson, Jess I.T. Hillman
Accurate maps of reef-scale bathymetry with synchronized underwater cameras and GNSS
We investigate the utility of towed underwater camera systems with tightly coupled Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positions to provide reef-scale bathymetric models with millimeter to centimeter resolutions and accuracies with Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry. Successful development of these techniques would allow for detailed assessments of benthic conditions, including the a
Authors
Gerald A. Hatcher, Jonathan Warrick, Christine J. Kranenburg, Andrew C. Ritchie
Impacts of spontaneous waterfall development on bedrock river longitudinal profile morphology
River profiles are shaped by climatic and tectonic history, lithology, and internal feedbacks between flow hydraulics, sediment transport and erosion. In steep channels, waterfalls may self-form without changes in external forcing (i.e., autogenic formation) and erode at rates faster or slower than an equivalent channel without waterfalls. We use a 1-D numerical model to investigate how self-forme
Authors
Sophie D. Rothman, Joel S. Scheingross, Scott W. McCoy, Helen Willemien Dow
Postfire hydrologic response along the central California (USA) coast: Insights for the emergency assessment of postfire debris-flow hazards
The steep, tectonically active terrain along the Central California (USA) coast is well known to produce deadly and destructive debris flows. However, the extent to which fire affects debris-flow susceptibility in this region is an open question. We documented the occurrence of postfire debris floods and flows following the landfall of a storm that delivered intense rainfall across multiple burn a
Authors
Matthew A. Thomas, Jason W. Kean, Scott W. McCoy, Donald N. Lindsay, Jaime Kostelnik, David B. Cavagnaro, Francis K. Rengers, Amy E. East, Jonathan Schwartz, Douglas P. Smith, Brian D. Collins
Efficient modeling of wave generation and propagation in a semi-enclosed estuary
Accurate, and high-resolution wave statistics are critical for regional hazard mapping and planning. However, long-term simulations at high spatial resolution are often computationally prohibitive. Here, multiple rapid frameworks including fetch-limited, look-up-table (LUT), and linear propagation are combined and tested in a large estuary exposed to both remotely (swell) and locally generated wav
Authors
Sean C. Crosby, Cornelis M. Nederhoff, Nathan R. VanArendonk, Eric E. Grossman
A large sediment accretion wave along a northern California littoral cell
The northern California littoral cell of the Klamath River, which is a mixed rocky and sandy system with significant shoreline curvature, was investigated by examining ∼40 yr of satellite-derived shoreline positions and historical records. We find that an accretion wave of sediment was initiated near the Klamath River mouth in the late 1980s and translated downcoast over the subsequent decades. Th
Authors
Jonathan Warrick, Kilian Vos, Daniel Buscombe, Andrew C. Ritchie, Jennifer Curtis