Images

Eroding permafrost on Alaska’s Arctic Coast. Inundation of permafrost like this produced subsea permafrost

Perspective views of multibeam bathymetry data acquired by the USGS aboard the R/V Medeia. Shallower depths in red. Arrows point to the distinct line in the seafloor associated with the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault.

Photo shows results of wave-driven flooding and overwash on Roi-Namur Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Photo shows results of wave-driven flooding and overwash on Roi-Namur Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands.

USGS pilot Sandy Brosnahan and Senate Pro Tempore Marc Pacheco discuss the use of Umanned Aerial Systems (UASs, also known as drones) to collect data in coastal environments.

Hill-shaded bathymetric, backscatter, and photographic data collected by NOAA and the USGS. Backscatter data give indications of seafloor character. In general, low-backscatter intensity (blue) corresponds to finer-grained material, whereas high-backscatter intensity (orange) corresponds to coarser substrate.

The USGS conducted surveys on the inner continental shelf of the Delmarva Peninsula (shown in green) to complement related datasets previously collected in the area by partners NOAA and BOEM. The inset map shows location of the study area.

Orthomosaic images of Matanzas, Florida, from (a) before and (b) after Hurricane Matthew, and (c) a digital elevation model (DEM) showing the associated topographic change. Note, these results were produced by applying Structure-from-Motion (SfM) to NOAA oblique photographs, but similar results can be obtained using UAS aerial imagery.

The 3DR Solo with GoPro Hero4 camera and gimbal. Coming to a beach near you soon.

Exposed bedrock on the beach during very low (negative) tide at Isla Vista, California

Installing large boulders as riprap to armor the shore against further erosion at Goleta Beach in Southern California. The tide is very low (negative).

An example of the shoreline data for La Jolla Shores, used in the CoSMoS-COAST model. The many squiggly colored lines indicate the changing shoreline location through time [basemaps from Google Earth].

Map of subsea permafrost distributions on the U.S. and Canadian Arctic Ocean margin. The inset map shows the location of the larger map. Subsea permafrost on the Canadian margin was delineated in the 1980s (blue curve). The red curve on the U.S.

Gas hydrate (white material) binding together coarse-grained sediments made up of pebble-sized rocks. This sample was recovered during a project to explore permafrost-associated gas hydrates in Canada’s Mackenzie Delta.

Sandy Brosnahan (left) and Jon Borden at Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) training in Santa Cruz, California.

Shawn Harrison uses his new skills to check out the surf at Santa Cruz, California.

The 3DR Solo with GoPro Hero4 camera and gimbal. Coming to a survey area near you soon.

Marine geology enthusiasts at the Council for Geoscience (CGS) conference.

Elkhorn corals (Acropora palmata) on the seafloor along the northeastern coast of Buck Island, U.S. Virgin Islands, have died and collapsed into rubble. As coral reef structure degrades, habitat for marine life is lost and nearby coastlines become more susceptible to storms, waves, and erosion.

Healthy elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) on the seafloor along the southeastern coast of Buck Island, U.S. Virgin Islands. Elkhorn coral is one of many important reef-building species that create 3D structure on the seafloor. Coral reef structure provides habitat for marine life and helps break up waves as they approach the coastline.

Eroding bluffs on Moss Landing State Beach, California, March 2016