Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Images

Images intro.
Filter Total Items: 2135
Computer-generated diagram from lidar data shows beach, amusement park, river, and cliff with houses in a stippled pattern.
Lidar point cloud with digital still image overlay
Lidar point cloud with digital still image overlay
Lidar point cloud with digital still image overlay

A digital still image can be overlaid onto the lidar “point cloud” data to give it a realistic 3D look.

Image of an instrumented bottom lander deployed south of Martha's Vineyard, MA
Bottom lander deployed south of Martha's Vineyard, MA
Bottom lander deployed south of Martha's Vineyard, MA
Bottom lander deployed south of Martha's Vineyard, MA

 An instrumented bottom lander is deployed south of Martha's Vineyard, MA in 2014 as part of the “Bottom Stress and the Generation of Vertical Vorticity Over the Inner Shelf” project.

 An instrumented bottom lander is deployed south of Martha's Vineyard, MA in 2014 as part of the “Bottom Stress and the Generation of Vertical Vorticity Over the Inner Shelf” project.

Deployment of an instrumented quadrapod off Martha’s Vineyard
Deployment of an instrumented quadrapod off Martha’s Vineyard
Deployment of an instrumented quadrapod off Martha’s Vineyard
Deployment of an instrumented quadrapod off Martha’s Vineyard

Deployment of an instrumented quadrapod off Martha’s Vineyard, November 2014.

Three men working on the back of a small boat operating gear and moving equipment.
Working on R/V Parke Snavely
Working on R/V Parke Snavely
Working on R/V Parke Snavely

PCMSC scientists maneuver the camera sled for deployment off R/V Parke Snavely in Monterey Bay. They will navigate the camera sled just above the seafloor to get a close-up view. Video, photographs, and real-time observations of seafloor geology and biological cover help develop and verify the maps created from sonar data.

PCMSC scientists maneuver the camera sled for deployment off R/V Parke Snavely in Monterey Bay. They will navigate the camera sled just above the seafloor to get a close-up view. Video, photographs, and real-time observations of seafloor geology and biological cover help develop and verify the maps created from sonar data.

A boat motors along a waterway with a jetty in the background, waters are calm and there's a lighthouse at the end of the jetty.
PCMSC research vessel Parke Snavely enters Santa Cruz Harbor
PCMSC research vessel Parke Snavely enters Santa Cruz Harbor
PCMSC research vessel Parke Snavely enters Santa Cruz Harbor

USGS Pacific Ocastal and Marine Science Center's research vessel R/V Parke Snavely motors into Santa Cruz Harbor. The lighthouse, also known as the Santa Cruz Breakwater Lighthouse, was remodeled and renamed the Walton Lighthouse on June 9, 2002.

USGS Pacific Ocastal and Marine Science Center's research vessel R/V Parke Snavely motors into Santa Cruz Harbor. The lighthouse, also known as the Santa Cruz Breakwater Lighthouse, was remodeled and renamed the Walton Lighthouse on June 9, 2002.

A small boat motors in a calm waterway with a rocky jetty behind, where a lighthouse sits in the distance.
Motoring Snavely into Santa Cruz Harbor
Motoring Snavely into Santa Cruz Harbor
Motoring Snavely into Santa Cruz Harbor

Jenny White driving the USGS research vessel (R/V) Parke Snavely in November 2014 near the entrance to the Santa Cruz Harbor in Santa Cruz, California.

Jenny White driving the USGS research vessel (R/V) Parke Snavely in November 2014 near the entrance to the Santa Cruz Harbor in Santa Cruz, California.

Photo looks down on top of a research vessel's pilot house roof and the deck, as the boat passes under a bridge
R/V Parke Snavely with swath system
R/V Parke Snavely with swath system
R/V Parke Snavely with swath system

The USGS research vessel, R/V Parke Snavely, passes under a bridge near the Santa Cruz Harbor where she docks. Snavely is owned and operated by the USGS Pacific Coastal and Mairne Science Center in Santa Cruz, California.

The USGS research vessel, R/V Parke Snavely, passes under a bridge near the Santa Cruz Harbor where she docks. Snavely is owned and operated by the USGS Pacific Coastal and Mairne Science Center in Santa Cruz, California.

Photograph of a metal research boat as it motors slowly through a yacht harbor and is about to pass under a bridge.
R/V Parke Snavely in Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor
R/V Parke Snavely in Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor
R/V Parke Snavely in Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor

USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center's research vessel Parke Snavely motors slowly up into the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor where she docks.

USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center's research vessel Parke Snavely motors slowly up into the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor where she docks.

View looking down from a bridge and onto a boat's stern and cabin top as it passes under the bridge.
View of top of R/V Parke Snavely
View of top of R/V Parke Snavely
View of top of R/V Parke Snavely

View looks down from a bridge as USGS research vessel R/V Parke Snavely passes beneath.

View looks down from a bridge as USGS research vessel R/V Parke Snavely passes beneath.

USGS all-terrain vehicle is equipped with GPS and collects beach topography on Rio Del Mar State Beach, Aptos, CA
USGS ATV Collecting Topographic Data
USGS ATV Collecting Topographic Data
USGS ATV Collecting Topographic Data

Photograph shows a USGS scientist navigating an all-terrain vehicle equipped with GPS, collecting topographic data on Rio Del Mar State Beach in Aptos, California. Gathering this type of information helps USGS scientists to document the changes in beach and nearshore morphology (or form and structure), caused by seasonal variations and storms.

Photograph shows a USGS scientist navigating an all-terrain vehicle equipped with GPS, collecting topographic data on Rio Del Mar State Beach in Aptos, California. Gathering this type of information helps USGS scientists to document the changes in beach and nearshore morphology (or form and structure), caused by seasonal variations and storms.

Gentle river waters near grassy cliff in foreground, with a beach, and an amusement park in background, other buildings afar.
Santa Cruz Main Beach view from east
Santa Cruz Main Beach view from east
Santa Cruz Main Beach view from east

Panoramic view from the cliffs above the San Lorenzo River and east of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and Main Beach. Santa Cruz municipal pier and other buildings are visible in the background.

Panoramic view from the cliffs above the San Lorenzo River and east of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and Main Beach. Santa Cruz municipal pier and other buildings are visible in the background.

Man jogs on beach, little to no waves are present, man rides personal watercraft offshore, lighthouse sits on jetty at harbor.
Mapping the nearshore in Santa Cruz
Mapping the nearshore in Santa Cruz
Mapping the nearshore in Santa Cruz

A USGS scientist guides a personal watercraft toward Seabright Beach near the Santa Cruz Harbor entrance during bathymetric surveys.

A USGS scientist guides a personal watercraft toward Seabright Beach near the Santa Cruz Harbor entrance during bathymetric surveys.

Photo of USGS researchers collecting continuous Global Positioning Systems data to monitor the elevation from dune to water
USGS studies beach recovery with elevation profiles at Fire Island
USGS studies beach recovery with elevation profiles at Fire Island
USGS studies beach recovery with elevation profiles at Fire Island

USGS researchers can study beach recovery by collecting repeat elevation profiles at Fire Island, NY.

A man guides a data collection instrument, that is strapped to two large pontoons, out into water from the stern of a boat.
Chirp sub-bottom profiler deployment
Chirp sub-bottom profiler deployment
Chirp sub-bottom profiler deployment

USGS scientist Jackson Currie deploys a chirp sub-bottom profiler (in the center) from research vessel Parke Snavely. The chirp is attached to pontoons to keep the equipment from running aground in the shallow waters of San Pablo Bay, California.

USGS scientist Jackson Currie deploys a chirp sub-bottom profiler (in the center) from research vessel Parke Snavely. The chirp is attached to pontoons to keep the equipment from running aground in the shallow waters of San Pablo Bay, California.

A scientist pushes a push core into the sandy ground. A photograph and x-ray of the core are shown to the right.
Hand push core from barrier island, core photo, and X-ray
Hand push core from barrier island, core photo, and X-ray
Hand push core from barrier island, core photo, and X-ray

Cores can contain sediment units deposited in different environmental settings. Core photos and X-rays illuminate how sediment units can have contrasting color and density.  

Cores can contain sediment units deposited in different environmental settings. Core photos and X-rays illuminate how sediment units can have contrasting color and density.  

Two people maneuver an apparatus suspended from a cable on the stern of a boat.
BOB Sled recovery on R/V Snavely
BOB Sled recovery on R/V Snavely
BOB Sled recovery on R/V Snavely

Scientists recover the Benthic OBservation camera Sled, or “BOB Sled,” onto the research vessel Parke Snavely

Scientists recover the Benthic OBservation camera Sled, or “BOB Sled,” onto the research vessel Parke Snavely

Image: Bent Sea Rod Bleaching
Bent Sea Rod Bleaching
Bent Sea Rod Bleaching
Bent Sea Rod Bleaching

A colony of the soft coral known as the "bent sea rod" stands bleached on a reef off of Islamorada, Florida. Hard and soft corals are presently bleaching- losing their symbiotic algae – all over the coral reefs of the Florida Keys due to unusually warm ocean temperatures this summer.

A colony of the soft coral known as the "bent sea rod" stands bleached on a reef off of Islamorada, Florida. Hard and soft corals are presently bleaching- losing their symbiotic algae – all over the coral reefs of the Florida Keys due to unusually warm ocean temperatures this summer.

Image: Brain Coral Bleaching
Brain Coral Bleaching
Brain Coral Bleaching
Brain Coral Bleaching

No, that is not a mound of snow sitting on a coral reef – it is a colony of bleached "brain coral" on a reef off of Islamorada, Florida. Hard and soft corals are presently bleaching- losing their symbiotic algae – all over the coral reefs of the Florida Keys due to unusually warm ocean temperatures this summer.

No, that is not a mound of snow sitting on a coral reef – it is a colony of bleached "brain coral" on a reef off of Islamorada, Florida. Hard and soft corals are presently bleaching- losing their symbiotic algae – all over the coral reefs of the Florida Keys due to unusually warm ocean temperatures this summer.

Image: Fire Coral Bleaching
Fire Coral Bleaching
Fire Coral Bleaching
Fire Coral Bleaching

Colonies of “blade fire coral” that have lost their symbiotic algae, or “bleached,” on a reef off of Islamorada, Florida. Hard and soft corals are presently bleaching- losing their symbiotic algae – all over the coral reefs of the Florida Keys due to unusually warm ocean temperatures this summer.

Colonies of “blade fire coral” that have lost their symbiotic algae, or “bleached,” on a reef off of Islamorada, Florida. Hard and soft corals are presently bleaching- losing their symbiotic algae – all over the coral reefs of the Florida Keys due to unusually warm ocean temperatures this summer.