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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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Sediment transport in the San Francisco Bay Coastal System: An overview

The papers in this special issue feature state-of-the-art approaches to understanding the physical processes related to sediment transport and geomorphology of complex coastal-estuarine systems. Here we focus on the San Francisco Bay Coastal System, extending from the lower San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta, through the Bay, and along the adjacent outer Pacific Coast. San Francisco Bay is an urbanized
Authors
Patrick L. Barnard, David H. Schoellhamer, Bruce E. Jaffe, Lester J. McKee

Distribution of biologic, anthropogenic, and volcanic constituents as a proxy for sediment transport in the San Francisco Bay Coastal System

Although conventional sediment parameters (mean grain size, sorting, and skewness) and provenance have typically been used to infer sediment transport pathways, most freshwater, brackish, and marine environments are also characterized by abundant sediment constituents of biological, and possibly anthropogenic and volcanic, origin that can provide additional insight into local sedimentary processes
Authors
Mary McGann, Li H. Erikson, Elmira Wan, Charles L. Powell, Rosalie F. Maddocks

Sediment transport patterns in the San Francisco Bay Coastal System from cross-validation of bedform asymmetry and modeled residual flux

The morphology of ~ 45,000 bedforms from 13 multibeam bathymetry surveys was used as a proxy for identifying net bedload sediment transport directions and pathways throughout the San Francisco Bay estuary and adjacent outer coast. The spatially-averaged shape asymmetry of the bedforms reveals distinct pathways of ebb and flood transport. Additionally, the region-wide, ebb-oriented asymmetry of 5%
Authors
Patrick L. Barnard, Li H. Erikson, Edwin P.L. Elias, Peter Dartnell

The timing of sediment transport down Monterey Submarine Canyon, offshore California

While submarine canyons are the major conduits through which sediments are transported from the continents out into the deep sea, the time it takes for sediment to pass down through a submarine canyon system is poorly constrained. Here we report on the first study to couple optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages of quartz sand deposits and accelerator mass spectrometry 14C ages measured on b
Authors
Thomas Stevens, Charles K. Paull, William III Ussler, Mary McGann, Jan-Pieter Buylaert, Eve M. Lundsten

Advances in natural hazard science and assessment, 1963-2013

No abstract available.
Authors
Mary Lou Zoback, Eric Geist, John Pallister, David P. Hill, Simon Young, Wendy McCausland

Geologic history of the summit of Axial Seamount, Juan de Fuca Ridge

Multibeam (1 m resolution) and side scan data collected from an autonomous underwater vehicle, and lava samples, radiocarbon-dated sediment cores, and observations of flow contacts collected by remotely operated vehicle were combined to reconstruct the geologic history and flow emplacement processes on Axial Seamount's summit and upper rift zones. The maps show 52 post-410 CE lava flows and 20 pre
Authors
David A. Clague, Brian M Dreyer, Jennifer B. Paduan, Julie F Martin, William W Jr Chadwick, David W Caress, Ryan A Portner, Thomas P. Guilderson, Mary McGann, Hans Thomas, David A Butterfield, Robert W Embley

Tsunami flooding

Panel 5 focused on tsunami flooding with an emphasis on Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Analysis (PTHA) as derived from its counterpart, Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis (PSHA) that determines seismic ground-motion hazards. The Panel reviewed current practices in PTHA and determined the viability of extending the analysis to extreme design probabilities (i.e., 10-4 to 10-6). In addition to e
Authors
Eric Geist, Henry Jones, Mark McBride, Randy Fedors

Shear-wave velocity-based probabilistic and deterministic assessment of seismic soil liquefaction potential

Shear-wave velocity (Vs) offers a means to determine the seismic resistance of soil to liquefaction by a fundamental soil property. This paper presents the results of an 11-year international project to gather new Vs site data and develop probabilistic correlations for seismic soil liquefaction occurrence. Toward that objective, shear-wave velocity test sites were identified, and measurements made
Authors
R. Kayen, R.E.S. Moss, E.M. Thompson, R.B. Seed, K.O. Cetin, A. Der Kiureghian, Y. Tanaka, K. Tokimatsu

Communication products for the Science Application for Risk Reduction (SAFRR) tsunami scenario: Chapter K in The SAFRR (Science Application for Risk Reduction) Tsunami Scenario

Science Application for Risk Reduction (SAFRR), like its predecessor the Multi-Hazards Demonstration Project, has a mission to increase the use of science by decision-makers of all kinds. Thus, an important part of any SAFRR scenario is development of products that enhance usability of the science. In this tsunami scenario, the focus has been on development of three kinds of products: products tha
Authors
Suzanne C. Perry

Alaska earthquake source for the SAFRR tsunami scenario: Chapter B in The SAFRR (Science Application for Risk Reduction) Tsunami Scenario

Tsunami modeling has shown that tsunami sources located along the Alaska Peninsula segment of the Aleutian-Alaska subduction zone have the greatest impacts on southern California shorelines by raising the highest tsunami waves for a given source seismic moment. The most probable sector for a Mw ~ 9 source within this subduction segment is between Kodiak Island and the Shumagin Islands in what we c
Authors
Stephen Kirby, David Scholl, Roland E. von Huene, Ray Wells

SAFRR (Science Application for Risk Reduction) Tsunami Scenario--Executive Summary and Introduction: Chapter A in The SAFRR (Science Application for Risk Reduction) Tsunami Scenario

The Science Application for Risk Reduction (SAFRR) tsunami scenario depicts a hypothetical but plausible tsunami created by an earthquake offshore from the Alaska Peninsula and its impacts on the California coast. The tsunami scenario is a collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the California Geological Survey, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), the
Authors
Stephanie L. Ross, Lucile M. Jones, Kevin H. Miller, Keith A. Porter, Anne Wein, Rick I. Wilson, Bohyun Bahng, Aggeliki Barberopoulou, José C. Borrero, Deborah M. Brosnan, John T. Bwarie, Eric L. Geist, Laurie A. Johnson, Stephen H. Kirby, William R. Knight, Kate Long, Patrick Lynett, Carl E. Mortensen, Dmitry J. Nicolsky, Suzanne C. Perry, Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Charles R. Real, Kenneth Ryan, Elena Suleimani, Hong Kie Thio, Vasily V. Titov, Paul M. Whitmore, Nathan J. Wood

The SAFRR (Science Application for Risk Reduction) Tsunami Scenario

The Science Application for Risk Reduction (SAFRR) tsunami scenario depicts a hypothetical but plausible tsunami created by an earthquake offshore from the Alaska Peninsula and its impacts on the California coast. The tsunami scenario is a collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the California Geological Survey (CGS), the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES