Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Images

Images intro.
Filter Total Items: 2135
a coral fragment in a bucket, half white and half darkened
Testing the role of biofilms in the spread of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD)
Testing the role of biofilms in the spread of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD)
Testing the role of biofilms in the spread of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD)

Biofilms are mats of microorganisms that stick together and form a layer, or “film,” on and within objects in the water—including ships—which could represent one possible mechanism for the spread of microbes (and potentially SCTLD’s unknown causative agent) from one region to another. To test this theory, scientists at the St.

Biofilms are mats of microorganisms that stick together and form a layer, or “film,” on and within objects in the water—including ships—which could represent one possible mechanism for the spread of microbes (and potentially SCTLD’s unknown causative agent) from one region to another. To test this theory, scientists at the St.

Jin-Si Over conducting elevation survey on the beach
Jin-Si Over Conducting Elevation Survey
Jin-Si Over Conducting Elevation Survey
Jin-Si Over Conducting Elevation Survey

Jin-Si Over conducting an elevation survey at Head of the Meadow Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts.

Jin-Si Over conducting an elevation survey at Head of the Meadow Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts.

Two gray cylinders with chemical symbols next to a large metal cylinder labeled 'Nitrogen'
Gamma detectors at the St. Petersburg Coastal & Marine Science Center
Gamma detectors at the St. Petersburg Coastal & Marine Science Center
Gamma detectors at the St. Petersburg Coastal & Marine Science Center

Radioactive isotopes are common in nature and emit particles that can be detected, quantified, and used to characterize environmental processes.

Radioactive isotopes are common in nature and emit particles that can be detected, quantified, and used to characterize environmental processes.

Motion aerial view of several thin, sandy barrier islands lining a populated coastline behind an embayment
Aerial view of northern Pinellas County barrier islands
Aerial view of northern Pinellas County barrier islands
Aerial view of northern Pinellas County barrier islands

Barrier islands off the coast of northern Pinellas County, Florida including Anclote Key, Three Rooker Island, and the northern tip of Honeymoon Island. These barriers protect a highly populated coastline. 

Barrier islands off the coast of northern Pinellas County, Florida including Anclote Key, Three Rooker Island, and the northern tip of Honeymoon Island. These barriers protect a highly populated coastline. 

An aerial view of several thin, sandy barrier islands lining a populated coastline behind an embayment
Aerial view of northern Pinellas County barrier islands
Aerial view of northern Pinellas County barrier islands
Aerial view of northern Pinellas County barrier islands

Barrier islands off the coast of northern Pinellas County, Florida including Anclote Key, Three Rooker Island, and the northern tip of Honeymoon Island. These barriers protect a highly populated coastline. 

Barrier islands off the coast of northern Pinellas County, Florida including Anclote Key, Three Rooker Island, and the northern tip of Honeymoon Island. These barriers protect a highly populated coastline. 

Beach ridges at Caladesi Island, FL
Succession of beach ridges, Caladesi Island, Gulf of Mexico coast, FL
Succession of beach ridges, Caladesi Island, Gulf of Mexico coast, FL
Succession of beach ridges, Caladesi Island, Gulf of Mexico coast, FL

Mendenhall postdoctoral fellow Daniel Ciarletta captured this view of the modern beach ridge system at Caladesi Island, along the Gulf coast of central Florida. Ciarletta and colleagues are studying the island as part of a project to explore barrier island response to long-term changes in sediment availability.

Mendenhall postdoctoral fellow Daniel Ciarletta captured this view of the modern beach ridge system at Caladesi Island, along the Gulf coast of central Florida. Ciarletta and colleagues are studying the island as part of a project to explore barrier island response to long-term changes in sediment availability.

A scientist sits on a personal watercraft near a vegetated, marsh shoreline.
Using personal watercraft to collect nearshore bathymetry data
Using personal watercraft to collect nearshore bathymetry data
Using personal watercraft to collect nearshore bathymetry data

A USGS scientist sits on a personal watercraft (PWC) equipped with scientific equipment to collect bathymetry data - or the depth of the water - at locations of interest in Point Aux Chenes Bay, Mississippi. 

A USGS scientist sits on a personal watercraft (PWC) equipped with scientific equipment to collect bathymetry data - or the depth of the water - at locations of interest in Point Aux Chenes Bay, Mississippi. 

Photograph looking at a sandy beach with waves lapping the shoreline.
Marconi Beach shoreline
Marconi Beach shoreline
Marconi Beach shoreline

Two video cameras are mounted on a bluff above Marconi Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore, Wellfleet, MA. Every half hour during daylight hours, the video camera collects imagery for 10 minutes and processes it. This is the snapshot image, like a photo, taken at the beginning of the 10-minute window and looking northeast.

Two video cameras are mounted on a bluff above Marconi Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore, Wellfleet, MA. Every half hour during daylight hours, the video camera collects imagery for 10 minutes and processes it. This is the snapshot image, like a photo, taken at the beginning of the 10-minute window and looking northeast.

Underwater photograph looking straight down on the bottom of a lake, with a rocky underwater ledge.
Floor of Lake Tahoe near Dollar Point
Floor of Lake Tahoe near Dollar Point
Photograph of USGS field technicians managing equipment on the beach
High Tech Beach Day
High Tech Beach Day
High Tech Beach Day

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center technicians programming remote field camera installations on Marconi Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore.

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center technicians programming remote field camera installations on Marconi Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore.

Seafloor tripod equipped with oceanographic equipment
Seafloor tripod equipped with oceanographic equipment
Seafloor tripod equipped with oceanographic equipment
Seafloor tripod equipped with oceanographic equipment

Seafloor tripod equipped with oceanographic equipment to be deployed offshore of Sandwich, MA , March 2021

A man holds a round, yellow object with a cord in front of a brick building
Dr. Mark Buckley holds a buoy used to collect oceanographic data
Dr. Mark Buckley holds a buoy used to collect oceanographic data
Dr. Mark Buckley holds a buoy used to collect oceanographic data

Dr. Mark Buckley of the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center holds a new Sofar Smart Mooring and Spotter Buoy that will be used to deliver high-fidelity, real-time wave, water level, and wind data.

Adrian Garcia with the effective stress cell in the USGS Hydrate Pressure Core Analysis Laboratory i
Adrian Garcia in the Woods Hole pressure core analysis lab
Adrian Garcia in the Woods Hole pressure core analysis lab
Adrian Garcia in the Woods Hole pressure core analysis lab

Adrian Garcia with the effective stress cell in the USGS Hydrate Pressure Core Analysis Laboratory in Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Adrian Garcia with the effective stress cell in the USGS Hydrate Pressure Core Analysis Laboratory in Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Imagery shows an aerial view of a coastal region, one is a photograph and one shows elevation data.
Examples of orthomosaic imagery and digital surface model
Examples of orthomosaic imagery and digital surface model
Examples of orthomosaic imagery and digital surface model

Examples of orthomosaic imagery and a high-resolution digital surface model of Post Point, Bellingham Bay, WA.

A scientist in a bright colored vest holds a chunk of consolidated sandy sediment, in a grassy area with palms behind them.
Sediment Sample from Barrier Island Core
Sediment Sample from Barrier Island Core
Sediment Sample from Barrier Island Core

Daniel Ciarletta, Ph.D. holds a chunk of sand from the bottom of a core collected at Fort de Soto Park in Pinellas County, Florida. Learn more about what barrier island cores tell us: https://www.usgs.gov/media/videos/secrets-sediment-barrier-islands.

Daniel Ciarletta, Ph.D. holds a chunk of sand from the bottom of a core collected at Fort de Soto Park in Pinellas County, Florida. Learn more about what barrier island cores tell us: https://www.usgs.gov/media/videos/secrets-sediment-barrier-islands.

Two scientists operate a motorized cylindrical object as it penetrates a sandy marsh environment
Collecting sediment core with vibracore equipment at Mullet Key, FL
Collecting sediment core with vibracore equipment at Mullet Key, FL
Collecting sediment core with vibracore equipment at Mullet Key, FL

Dan Ciarletta (right) working alongside Julie Bernier (left) to collect a sediment core on Mullet Key, an island within Fort de Soto Park in Pinellas County, Florida. The core will be used to reconstruct the geologic history of the island.

Dan Ciarletta (right) working alongside Julie Bernier (left) to collect a sediment core on Mullet Key, an island within Fort de Soto Park in Pinellas County, Florida. The core will be used to reconstruct the geologic history of the island.

Three scientists operate a vibracore - a metal cylinder that is pushed into the sediment on a barrier island
Sediment coring at Mullet Key, Florida along the Gulf of Mexico
Sediment coring at Mullet Key, Florida along the Gulf of Mexico
Sediment coring at Mullet Key, Florida along the Gulf of Mexico

Mendenhall postdoctoral fellow Daniel Ciarletta and geologists Julie Bernier and Nancy DeWitt of the St.

A large wheel, bigger than a person, holds a long green hose wrapped around its drum.
GeoEel on winch
GeoEel on winch
GeoEel on winch

The GeoEel is a multichannel digital streamer system, with hydrophones in a long, green hose. The streamer is towed in the water from a vessel like a long snake, and the hydrophones "listen" for and record the signals from the seismic sound source.

The GeoEel is a multichannel digital streamer system, with hydrophones in a long, green hose. The streamer is towed in the water from a vessel like a long snake, and the hydrophones "listen" for and record the signals from the seismic sound source.

photograph of a beach at the Cape Cod National Seashore with two humans walking with a balloon against dunes in the background
Helikite Surveying
Helikite Surveying
Helikite Surveying

The Helikite in action, being walked by USGS scientist Chris Sherwood and WHOI scientist Peter Traykovski, the helium powered balloon kite will be used to survey the DUNEX experiment site.

The Helikite in action, being walked by USGS scientist Chris Sherwood and WHOI scientist Peter Traykovski, the helium powered balloon kite will be used to survey the DUNEX experiment site.

Photograph of Cape Cod National Seashore beach, ocean, and kite-balloon
Head of the Meadow Beach
Head of the Meadow Beach
Head of the Meadow Beach

Scientists from the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center using a helium powered kite-balloon at Head of the Meadow Beach and Marconi Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts.

Scientists from the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center using a helium powered kite-balloon at Head of the Meadow Beach and Marconi Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts.