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Image: Deep-Sea, Cold Water Coral
Deep-Sea, Cold Water Coral
Deep-Sea, Cold Water Coral
Deep-Sea, Cold Water Coral

Close-up image of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa, with polyps extended. The coral polyps eat by grabbing tiny suspended particulates (visible against the dark water background). The bright orange claws of a squat lobster (Eumunida picta) can be seen peeking out from behind the coral branches.

Close-up image of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa, with polyps extended. The coral polyps eat by grabbing tiny suspended particulates (visible against the dark water background). The bright orange claws of a squat lobster (Eumunida picta) can be seen peeking out from behind the coral branches.

Image: Deep-Sea Cold Water Coral
Deep-Sea Cold Water Coral
Deep-Sea Cold Water Coral
Deep-Sea Cold Water Coral

Close-up of a squat lobster, Eumunida picta, in a thicket of Lophelia pertusa coral.

Close-up of a squat lobster, Eumunida picta, in a thicket of Lophelia pertusa coral.

Image: Deep-Sea Cold Water Coral
Deep-Sea Cold Water Coral
Deep-Sea Cold Water Coral
Deep-Sea Cold Water Coral

Fish like this Atlantic Roughy (Hoplostethus occidentalis) congregate near deep-sea corals (background is Lophelia pertusa coral).

Fish like this Atlantic Roughy (Hoplostethus occidentalis) congregate near deep-sea corals (background is Lophelia pertusa coral).

Image: Gulf of Mexico Deep-Sea Coral
Gulf of Mexico Deep-Sea Coral
Gulf of Mexico Deep-Sea Coral
Gulf of Mexico Deep-Sea Coral

A fish (Gephyroberyx darwinii) peeks through a forest of soft corals and anemones at about 300 meters in depth in the Gulf of Mexico.

A fish (Gephyroberyx darwinii) peeks through a forest of soft corals and anemones at about 300 meters in depth in the Gulf of Mexico.

Image: Deep-Sea Coral: Lophelia pertusa
Deep-Sea Coral: Lophelia pertusa
Deep-Sea Coral: Lophelia pertusa
Deep-Sea Coral: Lophelia pertusa

Live Lophelia pertusa is white because the calcium carbonate skeleton shows through the nonpigmented coral tissue. Dead coral is soon covered in a brown biofilm. The red-orange squat lobster (Eumunida picta) in the center of the photo is prepared to catch its dinner.

Live Lophelia pertusa is white because the calcium carbonate skeleton shows through the nonpigmented coral tissue. Dead coral is soon covered in a brown biofilm. The red-orange squat lobster (Eumunida picta) in the center of the photo is prepared to catch its dinner.

Image: Deep-Sea Cold Water Coral
Deep-Sea Cold Water Coral
Deep-Sea Cold Water Coral
Deep-Sea Cold Water Coral

A cleaner shrimp (Plesionika sp.) with vivid blue eyes rests in a coral thicket next to a red soft coral (Anthomastus agassizii).

A cleaner shrimp (Plesionika sp.) with vivid blue eyes rests in a coral thicket next to a red soft coral (Anthomastus agassizii).

Image: Deep-Sea Cold Water Coral
Deep-Sea Cold Water Coral
Deep-Sea Cold Water Coral
Deep-Sea Cold Water Coral

A conger eel (Conger oceanicus) cruises through a thicket of Lophelia pertusa coral.

A conger eel (Conger oceanicus) cruises through a thicket of Lophelia pertusa coral.

Image: Deep-Sea Cold Water Coral
Deep-Sea Cold Water Coral
Deep-Sea Cold Water Coral
Deep-Sea Cold Water Coral

A black-bellied rosefish (Helicolenus dactylopterus) peaks out of the Lophelia coral. Behind the fish, a squat lobster (Eumunida picta) hangs upside down from a coral branch.

A black-bellied rosefish (Helicolenus dactylopterus) peaks out of the Lophelia coral. Behind the fish, a squat lobster (Eumunida picta) hangs upside down from a coral branch.

Underwater, a fish swims past a post that is covered in anemones and corals, 2 laser beams are pointed at a coral for scale.
Corals and anemones in Mississippi Canyon
Corals and anemones in Mississippi Canyon
Corals and anemones in Mississippi Canyon

Large Lophelia colonies and numerous anemones at a depth of about 1,500 feet in Mississippi Canyon. Red laser beams, projected from a remotely operated vehicle, represent a separation of 10 centimeters (about 4 inches). A western roughy is seen to the left of the structure.

Large Lophelia colonies and numerous anemones at a depth of about 1,500 feet in Mississippi Canyon. Red laser beams, projected from a remotely operated vehicle, represent a separation of 10 centimeters (about 4 inches). A western roughy is seen to the left of the structure.

Beach houses behind a sand dune at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
Dunes, Beach Towns and Resilience
Dunes, Beach Towns and Resilience
Dunes, Beach Towns and Resilience

Sand dunes in Avon on Cape Hatteras, NC are the only separation between many beach house communities and the Atlantic Ocean. 

 

Sand dunes in Avon on Cape Hatteras, NC are the only separation between many beach house communities and the Atlantic Ocean. 

 

Underwater view of coral in some shades of pink where it is alive, shades of brown and green where it's dying.
Healthy vs. unhealthy corals
Healthy vs. unhealthy corals
Healthy vs. unhealthy corals

Underwater photograph off Molokaʻi Hawaiʻi, showing some of the impacts of land-based pollution, such as terrestrial sediment, on coral reefs: burial by sediment, algal overgrowth, and coral bleaching.

Underwater photograph off Molokaʻi Hawaiʻi, showing some of the impacts of land-based pollution, such as terrestrial sediment, on coral reefs: burial by sediment, algal overgrowth, and coral bleaching.

Image showing a study area from Boston Harbor to the mouth of Cape Cod
Image showing a study area from Boston Harbor to the mouth of Cape Cod
Image showing a study area from Boston Harbor to the mouth of Cape Cod
Image showing a study area from Boston Harbor to the mouth of Cape Cod

Image showing a study area from Boston Harbor to the mouth of Cape Cod Bay including some images of geophysical and sample data available in the associated report.

Image showing a study area from Boston Harbor to the mouth of Cape Cod Bay including some images of geophysical and sample data available in the associated report.

Oblique-angle illustration showing the seafloor offshore of Half Moon Bay, California, with bumps of bedrock protruding.
Seafloor Offshore of Half Moon Bay
Seafloor Offshore of Half Moon Bay
Seafloor Offshore of Half Moon Bay

Perspective view of seafloor offshore of Half Moon Bay, showing scarp (arrows) along the eastern strand of the San Gregorio fault zone. Rocks are notably upwarped and folded adjacent to the fault.

Perspective view of seafloor offshore of Half Moon Bay, showing scarp (arrows) along the eastern strand of the San Gregorio fault zone. Rocks are notably upwarped and folded adjacent to the fault.

Grid of photomicrographs and sketches of foraminifera.
Trochammina hadai Uchio
Trochammina hadai Uchio
Trochammina hadai Uchio

Figure 2 from the 2012 publication, "Arrival and Expansion of the Invasive Foraminifera Trochammina hadai Uchio in Padilla Bay, Washington," by McGann, et al. Trochammina hadai Uchio: A, dorsal view; B, edge view; C, ventral view.

Figure 2 from the 2012 publication, "Arrival and Expansion of the Invasive Foraminifera Trochammina hadai Uchio in Padilla Bay, Washington," by McGann, et al. Trochammina hadai Uchio: A, dorsal view; B, edge view; C, ventral view.

Aerial images of the wilderness breach
Aerial images of the wilderness breach
Aerial images of the wilderness breach
Aerial images of the wilderness breach

Aerial images of the wilderness breach: a) Aerial photograph taken several days after Hurricane Sandy (photo credit: NOAA); b) Aerial mosaic of the breach in June 2015 showing the location of erosion on the ocean side of the breach and deposition that results in the seasonal formation of a spit.

Aerial images of the wilderness breach: a) Aerial photograph taken several days after Hurricane Sandy (photo credit: NOAA); b) Aerial mosaic of the breach in June 2015 showing the location of erosion on the ocean side of the breach and deposition that results in the seasonal formation of a spit.

Branched coral with lots of puffy lobes has a small, leggy lobster crawling on it.
A massive colony of Paragorgia (bubble gum coral) with a squat lobster
A massive colony of Paragorgia (bubble gum coral) with a squat lobster
map of acoustic backscatter intensity of the seafloor in Buzzards Bay, MA
Acoustic Backscatter Intensity
Acoustic Backscatter Intensity
Acoustic Backscatter Intensity

Acoustic backscatter intensity data are an indication of the relative hardness or softness of the sea floor, which is closely related to sediment texture and cohesion. The map shows acoustic backscatter intensity of the sea floor in the Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts.

Acoustic backscatter intensity data are an indication of the relative hardness or softness of the sea floor, which is closely related to sediment texture and cohesion. The map shows acoustic backscatter intensity of the sea floor in the Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts.

Gas hydrate at the seafloor on the U.S. Atlantic margin.
Gas hydrate at the seafloor on the U.S. Atlantic margin.
Gas hydrate at the seafloor on the U.S. Atlantic margin.
Gas hydrate at the seafloor on the U.S. Atlantic margin.

Gas hydrate at the seafloor on the U.S. Atlantic margin. The icy deposit formed as gas bubbles emitted from the seafloor transformed into methane hydrate beneath the overhanging rock.

Gas hydrate at the seafloor on the U.S. Atlantic margin. The icy deposit formed as gas bubbles emitted from the seafloor transformed into methane hydrate beneath the overhanging rock.

Photo of Sunset Beach, Florida, during tropical storm Colin in June 2016
Photo of Sunset Beach, Florida, during tropical storm Colin, June 2016
Photo of Sunset Beach, Florida, during tropical storm Colin, June 2016
Photo of Sunset Beach, Florida, during tropical storm Colin, June 2016

Photo of Sunset Beach, Florida, during tropical storm Colin in June 2016. The storm resulted in large waves and elevated water levels that caused erosion in this area, as can be seen in the scarp forming at the vegetation line. CMHRP researchers surveyed the elevation of the beach before and after the storm to quantify the storm's impacts.

Photo of Sunset Beach, Florida, during tropical storm Colin in June 2016. The storm resulted in large waves and elevated water levels that caused erosion in this area, as can be seen in the scarp forming at the vegetation line. CMHRP researchers surveyed the elevation of the beach before and after the storm to quantify the storm's impacts.