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A series of images showing a steep cliff along the coast from two different dates and the change between them.
Mud Creek Topo Change June 13-October 12 2017 View 3
Mud Creek Topo Change June 13-October 12 2017 View 3
Mud Creek Topo Change June 13-October 12 2017 View 3

In 2017, the massive Mud Creek landslide buried a quarter-mile of the famous coastal route, California’s Highway 1, with rocks and dirt more than 65 feet deep. USGS monitors erosion along the landslide-prone cliffs of Big Sur, collecting aerial photos frequently throughout the year.

In 2017, the massive Mud Creek landslide buried a quarter-mile of the famous coastal route, California’s Highway 1, with rocks and dirt more than 65 feet deep. USGS monitors erosion along the landslide-prone cliffs of Big Sur, collecting aerial photos frequently throughout the year.

A series of images showing a steep cliff along the coast from two different dates and the change between them.
Mud Creek Topo Change June 13-October 12 2017 View 1
Mud Creek Topo Change June 13-October 12 2017 View 1
Mud Creek Topo Change June 13-October 12 2017 View 1

In 2017, the massive Mud Creek landslide buried a quarter-mile of the famous coastal route, California’s Highway 1, with rocks and dirt more than 65 feet deep. USGS monitors erosion along the landslide-prone cliffs of Big Sur, collecting aerial photos frequently throughout the year.

In 2017, the massive Mud Creek landslide buried a quarter-mile of the famous coastal route, California’s Highway 1, with rocks and dirt more than 65 feet deep. USGS monitors erosion along the landslide-prone cliffs of Big Sur, collecting aerial photos frequently throughout the year.

A series of images showing a steep cliff along the coast from two different dates and the change between them.
Mud Creek Topo Change June 13-October 12 2017 View 2
Mud Creek Topo Change June 13-October 12 2017 View 2
Mud Creek Topo Change June 13-October 12 2017 View 2

In 2017, the massive Mud Creek landslide buried a quarter-mile of the famous coastal route, California’s Highway 1, with rocks and dirt more than 65 feet deep. USGS monitors erosion along the landslide-prone cliffs of Big Sur, collecting aerial photos frequently throughout the year.

In 2017, the massive Mud Creek landslide buried a quarter-mile of the famous coastal route, California’s Highway 1, with rocks and dirt more than 65 feet deep. USGS monitors erosion along the landslide-prone cliffs of Big Sur, collecting aerial photos frequently throughout the year.

3D map of Mud Creek slide derived from video footage collected by drone on October 12, 2017.
Mud Creek – 3D Point Cloud – Oblique Perspective
Mud Creek – 3D Point Cloud – Oblique Perspective
Mud Creek – 3D Point Cloud – Oblique Perspective

Video shot from drones yields details about changing landslide on California’s Big Sur coast

A man wearing a hard hat navigates a drone toward a landing target with GPS equipment in the background.
Drone operations on Big Sur landslide, October 12, 2017
Drone operations on Big Sur landslide, October 12, 2017
Drone operations on Big Sur landslide, October 12, 2017

Josh Logan, a physical scientist at the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in Santa Cruz, California, operates an unmanned aerial system, or UAS, often called a "drone", that is equipped with a video camera.

Josh Logan, a physical scientist at the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in Santa Cruz, California, operates an unmanned aerial system, or UAS, often called a "drone", that is equipped with a video camera.

View looking downhill towards the ocean and heavy equipment is driving around on dirt roads.
Earth movers on Big Sur landslide, October 12, 2017
Earth movers on Big Sur landslide, October 12, 2017
Earth movers on Big Sur landslide, October 12, 2017

View of the huge landslide at Mud Creek on the Big Sur coast, October 12, 2017. USGS is studying the landslide, collecting data and imagery that can be used to monitor changes. USGS provides the data to Caltrans, the California Department of Transportation, whose heavy equipment and earth movers are shown here.

View of the huge landslide at Mud Creek on the Big Sur coast, October 12, 2017. USGS is studying the landslide, collecting data and imagery that can be used to monitor changes. USGS provides the data to Caltrans, the California Department of Transportation, whose heavy equipment and earth movers are shown here.

Four photos looking from the sky at a coastal cliff area on different dates to show a landslide and work to clear it.
Mud Creek from June 13 to October 12, 2017
Mud Creek from June 13 to October 12, 2017
Mud Creek from June 13 to October 12, 2017

In 2017, the massive Mud Creek landslide buried a quarter-mile of the famous coastal route, California’s Highway 1, with rocks and dirt more than 65 feet deep. USGS monitors erosion along the landslide-prone cliffs of Big Sur, collecting aerial photos frequently throughout the year.

In 2017, the massive Mud Creek landslide buried a quarter-mile of the famous coastal route, California’s Highway 1, with rocks and dirt more than 65 feet deep. USGS monitors erosion along the landslide-prone cliffs of Big Sur, collecting aerial photos frequently throughout the year.

Wayne Baldwin, USGS, deploys a sound velocity profiler off the R/V Stephens in Lake Powell, UT-AZ.
Deploying equipment from small boat
Deploying equipment from small boat
Deploying equipment from small boat

Wayne Baldwin, USGS, deploys a sound velocity profiler off the stern of the R/V Stephens in Lake Powell, UT-AZ as part of a collaborative program with the Utah Water Science Center to map the depth and sediments within Lake Powell, UT-AZ.

Wayne Baldwin, USGS, deploys a sound velocity profiler off the stern of the R/V Stephens in Lake Powell, UT-AZ as part of a collaborative program with the Utah Water Science Center to map the depth and sediments within Lake Powell, UT-AZ.

A purple sunrise at Bayou Heron boat ramp in the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
Bayou Heron boat ramp at sunrise in Grand Bay, Mississippi
Bayou Heron boat ramp at sunrise in Grand Bay, Mississippi
Bayou Heron boat ramp at sunrise in Grand Bay, Mississippi

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

High tide along the marsh shoreline surrounding Middle Bay
High tide along the marsh shoreline in Middle Bay
High tide along the marsh shoreline in Middle Bay
High tide along the marsh shoreline in Middle Bay

Marsh shoreline inundation during high tide north of a marsh sampling site around Middle Bay 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.

High tide along the marsh shoreline surrounding Middle Bay
High tide along the marsh shoreline in Middle Bay
High tide along the marsh shoreline in Middle Bay
High tide along the marsh shoreline in Middle Bay

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

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

3 men leaning over big yellow metal grab bucket on the deck of a ship. Dark sediment is visible inside bucket
Examining bucket of seafloor sediment collected off southeast Alaska
Examining bucket of seafloor sediment collected off southeast Alaska
Examining bucket of seafloor sediment collected off southeast Alaska

USGS research geophysicist Danny Brothers (right) and colleagues examine the surface of a sediment grab sample just pulled onto the deck of the Canadian Coast Guard Ship John P. Tully. The sample was collected from the top of a mud volcano north of the border between southeast Alaska and British Columbia.

USGS research geophysicist Danny Brothers (right) and colleagues examine the surface of a sediment grab sample just pulled onto the deck of the Canadian Coast Guard Ship John P. Tully. The sample was collected from the top of a mud volcano north of the border between southeast Alaska and British Columbia.

boom & pulley w/ long slender equipment hanging over side of ship w/ 3 people in hard hats & life preservers standing at rail
Collecting a piston core of seafloor sediment off British Columbia
Collecting a piston core of seafloor sediment off British Columbia
Collecting a piston core of seafloor sediment off British Columbia

Scientists prepare to lower a piston corer off Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, to sample seafloor sediment near the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault. Expedition scientists are studying layers of sediment in the cores they collected to identify and determine ages of past earthquakes along the fault.

Scientists prepare to lower a piston corer off Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, to sample seafloor sediment near the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault. Expedition scientists are studying layers of sediment in the cores they collected to identify and determine ages of past earthquakes along the fault.

Two women stand at plywood table on which rest three long plastic tubes full of dark seafloor sediment.
Sampling core fluid from sediment cores collected off southeast Alaska
Sampling core fluid from sediment cores collected off southeast Alaska
Sampling core fluid from sediment cores collected off southeast Alaska

Mary McGann (left, USGS) and Rachel Lauer (University of Calgary) sample pore fluids from sediment cores collected aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ship John P. Tully along the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault offshore of southeast Alaska.

Mary McGann (left, USGS) and Rachel Lauer (University of Calgary) sample pore fluids from sediment cores collected aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ship John P. Tully along the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault offshore of southeast Alaska.

 USGS scientist Carol Reiss holding a hydrothermal vent sample; hydrothermal vent poster in the background
USGS scientist Carol Reiss holding a hydrothermal vent sample
USGS scientist Carol Reiss holding a hydrothermal vent sample
USGS scientist Carol Reiss holding a hydrothermal vent sample

USGS scientist Carol Reiss holding a hydrothermal vent sample. The poster in the background is a scientific rendering by Véronique Robigou (then at University of Washington) of a hydrothermal vent deposit with the submersible Alvin drawn to scale.

USGS scientist Carol Reiss holding a hydrothermal vent sample. The poster in the background is a scientific rendering by Véronique Robigou (then at University of Washington) of a hydrothermal vent deposit with the submersible Alvin drawn to scale.

Carol Reiss examining hydrothermal vent sample using hand lens
USGS geologist Carol Reiss examining hydrothermal vent sample
USGS geologist Carol Reiss examining hydrothermal vent sample
USGS geologist Carol Reiss examining hydrothermal vent sample

USGS geologist Carol Reiss examining hydrothermal vent sample using hand lens. Sulfide-silicate minerals precipitate from 330°C mineral laden water venting along volcanically active spreading ridges.

USGS geologist Carol Reiss examining hydrothermal vent sample using hand lens. Sulfide-silicate minerals precipitate from 330°C mineral laden water venting along volcanically active spreading ridges.

Pre- and post-Harvey photos for Sargent, Texas
Pre- and post-Harvey photos for Sargent, Texas
Pre- and post-Harvey photos for Sargent, Texas
Pre- and post-Harvey photos for Sargent, Texas

Location 4. Sand dunes along this stretch of coast in Sargent, Texas, were overwashed by large waves during the storm. Sand from the beach and dunes is covering the roadway behind the dunes and which may be impassable. The predicted probability of overwash in this area was 94%.

Location 4. Sand dunes along this stretch of coast in Sargent, Texas, were overwashed by large waves during the storm. Sand from the beach and dunes is covering the roadway behind the dunes and which may be impassable. The predicted probability of overwash in this area was 94%.