Images

A perspective model of the morphology and geologic framework near Petit Bois Island showing the relationships between seafloor features and the subsurface. The barrier islands rest on the island plaftorm. Petis Bois Pass and offshore shoals are clearly visible from the acoustic surveys. The bathymetry, sidescan sonar, and sediment

We use a Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES) to determine the Sr/Ca in coral aragonite samples in the laboratory at the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center.

Using the computer-driven triaxial micro-milling machine to subsample a coral slab. 

The 3DR Solo with GoPro Hero4 camera and gimbal. Coming to a survey area near you soon. Photo credit: Shawn Harrison, USGS. This photo was taken during USGS unmanned aerial systems (drone) pilot training. Two training sessions were held - one in February-March 2017 in Santa Cruz, California and the second in April 2017 in Gainesville, Florida.

Banner with photo collage showing researchers in marshy and sandy scenes from the back barrier area of Fire Island, New York.

Gerry Hatcher (left) and Shawn Harrison work on their video-camera station atop a hotel in Santa Cruz, California.

Views of Madeira Beach, Florida, produced from a 17-minute video shot on June 20, 2017. Left: Snapshot, or first frame of video. Right: Time-averaged image, sometimes called a “timex,” created by averaging the intensity of light recorded at each spot, or “pixel,” during the 17-minute video.

Views of Cowells Beach in Santa Cruz, California, from a 10-minute video shot on May 6, 2017. Snapshot (first frame in video) on left; time-averaged image on right.

“Variance” images derived from the same videos used in the studies. Left, Madeira Beach; right, Cowells Beach. In a variance image, the more variation in light intensity at a given pixel, the brighter the value assigned to that pixel. Bright areas indicate many changes in light intensity, caused by a lot of movement.

Fieldtrip participants at the former San Clemente Dam site.

Time series of the coral reef at Grecian Rocks (Key Largo, FL) illustrating an example of the dramatic decline in live coral on Florida Keys reefs in recent decades. From Shinn and Kuffner (2017).

Low dunes near Cape Canaveral launch pads 39A and 39B often overwash during storm events, transporting sand landward. Critical infrastructure may be buried or flooded. In addition, significant landward transport of sand may lead to extensive shoreline erosion.

Photo of waves on the beach at Fire Island

Photo collage of the shoreline, beaches, and dunes at Fire Island

The CMHRP is testing the calcification rates of different genetic strains of threatened Elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) to advise local and Federal agencies engaged in coral reef restoration.

Examples of sediment dynamics offshore of barrier islands include the development and erosion of shoals, tidal deltas, and sand ridges.

Animation displaying the total water level forecast for Madeira Beach, Florida prior to Hurricane Irma making landfall in September 2017. These forecasts are available for open, sandy coastlines along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts.

Arctica islandica shells have been sectioned with a saw and embedded in epoxy for further analysis.

Tropical Storm Nate's predicted effect on Northern Gulf sandy shorelines, based on landfall as a Category 1 hurricane,  is shown at three intensities. Outer band:  Dune erosion. Middle band: Dune overwash. Inner band: Dune inundation, with potential flooding behind the dune. Credit: USGS Coastal Change Hazard Portal.

Photograph of a purple sunrise at Bayou Heron boat ramp in the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Mississippi.

Marsh shoreline inundation during high tide north of a marsh sampling site around Middle Bay in the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Mississippi.