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3D map illustrated to show the seafloor depths north of Puerto Rico with labels identifying features like ridges and fissures.
Seafloor map of Puerto Rico Trench
Seafloor map of Puerto Rico Trench
Seafloor map of Puerto Rico Trench

A NOAA image of the bathymetry north of Puerto Rico. Two ancient submarine landslides are visible as head scarps (labeled Loiza and Arecibo Amphitheaters). Seafloor fissures are indicated by black arrows, and dashed lines outline debris flows from past failures. Map annotated by Uri ten Brink, USGS

A NOAA image of the bathymetry north of Puerto Rico. Two ancient submarine landslides are visible as head scarps (labeled Loiza and Arecibo Amphitheaters). Seafloor fissures are indicated by black arrows, and dashed lines outline debris flows from past failures. Map annotated by Uri ten Brink, USGS

Map illustrations showing two scenarios with shades of color to indicate differences.
Suspended-sediment concentrations
Suspended-sediment concentrations
Suspended-sediment concentrations

Contour plots of SSC for the spatial surveys during trade-wind conditions on the reef flat. (a) SSC from the low tide survey. The highest SSC (60e70 mg/l) were located in a nearshore band, and east of the fish ponds and Kaunakakai wharf. (b) SSC from the high tide surveys.

Contour plots of SSC for the spatial surveys during trade-wind conditions on the reef flat. (a) SSC from the low tide survey. The highest SSC (60e70 mg/l) were located in a nearshore band, and east of the fish ponds and Kaunakakai wharf. (b) SSC from the high tide surveys.

An oblique illustration of the floor of a bay as if all the water has been drained out.
Multibeam bathymetry of San Francisco Bay
Multibeam bathymetry of San Francisco Bay
Multibeam bathymetry of San Francisco Bay

A multibeam bathymetric survey that produced unprecedented high resolution images of the mouth of San Francisco Bay was conducted in 2004 and 2005.

A multibeam bathymetric survey that produced unprecedented high resolution images of the mouth of San Francisco Bay was conducted in 2004 and 2005.

Man in foul-weather gear and hard hat sits in a parking lot on all-terrain vehicle equipped with GPS, ocean in background.
ATV with GPS
ATV with GPS
ATV with GPS

Jeff Hansen on an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) at Ocean Beach, San Francisco, in 2006. The ATV is equipped with instrumentation which records beach topography.

Jeff Hansen on an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) at Ocean Beach, San Francisco, in 2006. The ATV is equipped with instrumentation which records beach topography.

Photograph of seastars, blood stars, mussels and barnacles
Starfish, seastars, blood stars
Starfish, seastars, blood stars
Starfish, seastars, blood stars

Digital still photograph from Massachusetts Bay near Cohasset, MA, showing seastars (Asterias sp.), blood stars (Henricia sanguinolenta), blood drop tunicates (Dendrodoa carnea), mussels, and barnacles on cobbles and boulders covered with bubblegum algae and red filamentous algae. Water depth at this location is approximately 19.6 meters. 

Digital still photograph from Massachusetts Bay near Cohasset, MA, showing seastars (Asterias sp.), blood stars (Henricia sanguinolenta), blood drop tunicates (Dendrodoa carnea), mussels, and barnacles on cobbles and boulders covered with bubblegum algae and red filamentous algae. Water depth at this location is approximately 19.6 meters. 

Aerial photograph looking at an eroding bluff on an arctic island with ponded water, green grass, and dying grass.
Pingok Island, Alaska
Pingok Island, Alaska
Pingok Island, Alaska

Photograph of Pingok Island, Alaska, reveals physical features of a changing Arctic: collapsing bluffs, salt-killed tundra (lighter brown near the bluff edge), and drained thermokarst lakes (rust-colored depressions).

Photograph of Pingok Island, Alaska, reveals physical features of a changing Arctic: collapsing bluffs, salt-killed tundra (lighter brown near the bluff edge), and drained thermokarst lakes (rust-colored depressions).

Image: Caribou Tracks Along Alaska's Coast
Caribou Tracks Along Alaska's Coast
Caribou Tracks Along Alaska's Coast
Caribou Tracks Along Alaska's Coast

This photograph shows caribou tracks on ice-wedge polygons near Garry Creek in Alaska. Coastal erosion along the Arctic coast is chronic, widespread and potentially accelerating, posing threats to infrastructure important for defense and energy purposes, natural shoreline habitats and nearby Native communities.

This photograph shows caribou tracks on ice-wedge polygons near Garry Creek in Alaska. Coastal erosion along the Arctic coast is chronic, widespread and potentially accelerating, posing threats to infrastructure important for defense and energy purposes, natural shoreline habitats and nearby Native communities.

Image: Eroding Shoreline Along Alaska's Coast
Eroding Shoreline Along Alaska's Coast
Eroding Shoreline Along Alaska's Coast
Eroding Shoreline Along Alaska's Coast

This photograph shows ice-wedge polygons and an eroding shoreline at Cape Halkett on the Beaufort Sea coast of Alaska. Coastal erosion along the Arctic coast is chronic, widespread and potentially accelerating, posing threats to infrastructure important for defense and energy purposes, natural shoreline habitats and nearby Native communities.

This photograph shows ice-wedge polygons and an eroding shoreline at Cape Halkett on the Beaufort Sea coast of Alaska. Coastal erosion along the Arctic coast is chronic, widespread and potentially accelerating, posing threats to infrastructure important for defense and energy purposes, natural shoreline habitats and nearby Native communities.

Thermokarst lakes in Alaska
Thermokarst lakes in Alaska
Thermokarst lakes in Alaska
Thermokarst lakes in Alaska

This photograph shows the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska. Coastal erosion along the Arctic coast is chronic, widespread and potentially accelerating, posing threats to infrastructure important for defense and energy purposes, natural shoreline habitats and nearby Native communities.

This photograph shows the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska. Coastal erosion along the Arctic coast is chronic, widespread and potentially accelerating, posing threats to infrastructure important for defense and energy purposes, natural shoreline habitats and nearby Native communities.

Image: Scientists Explore Alaska's Coast
Scientists Explore Alaska's Coast
Scientists Explore Alaska's Coast
Scientists Explore Alaska's Coast

This oblique aerial photograph is of Flaxman Island off the Alaska coast and shows a tapped thermokarst lakes, caribou tracks and ice-rich bluffs that are eroding.

This oblique aerial photograph is of Flaxman Island off the Alaska coast and shows a tapped thermokarst lakes, caribou tracks and ice-rich bluffs that are eroding.

Oblique aerial view of a coastline with eroding bluff, part of the bluff has been anchored with large, black sand-filled bags.
Long Range Radar Site on Barter Island
Long Range Radar Site on Barter Island
Long Range Radar Site on Barter Island

An oblique aerial photograph shows the currently active Long Range Radar Site on Barter Island, formerly a DEW Line (Distant Early Warning) station that was deactivated in 1990. The Cold War-era landfill in the foreground of the photograph was at immediate risk from coastal erosion in 2006 and has since been relocated farther inland.

An oblique aerial photograph shows the currently active Long Range Radar Site on Barter Island, formerly a DEW Line (Distant Early Warning) station that was deactivated in 1990. The Cold War-era landfill in the foreground of the photograph was at immediate risk from coastal erosion in 2006 and has since been relocated farther inland.

Image: Polar Bear Along Alaska's Coast
Polar Bear Along Alaska's Coast
Polar Bear Along Alaska's Coast
Polar Bear Along Alaska's Coast

A polar bear stands on a low-lying barrier shoal near the Huluhula River on the Beaufort Sea coast of Alaska. Coastal erosion along the Arctic coast is chronic, widespread and potentially accelerating, posing threats to infrastructure important for defense and energy purposes, natural shoreline habitats and nearby Native communities.

A polar bear stands on a low-lying barrier shoal near the Huluhula River on the Beaufort Sea coast of Alaska. Coastal erosion along the Arctic coast is chronic, widespread and potentially accelerating, posing threats to infrastructure important for defense and energy purposes, natural shoreline habitats and nearby Native communities.

Shoreline is crumbling into the water, and the land itself is interlocking polygons with brackish water in the centers.
Cape Halkett, Beaufort Sea, Alaska
Cape Halkett, Beaufort Sea, Alaska
Cape Halkett, Beaufort Sea, Alaska

This photograph shows ice-wedge polygons and an eroding shoreline at Cape Halkett on the Beaufort Sea coast of Alaska. Coastal erosion along the Arctic coast is chronic, widespread, and potentially accelerating, posing threats to infrastructure important for defense and energy purposes, natural shoreline habitats, and nearby Native communities.

This photograph shows ice-wedge polygons and an eroding shoreline at Cape Halkett on the Beaufort Sea coast of Alaska. Coastal erosion along the Arctic coast is chronic, widespread, and potentially accelerating, posing threats to infrastructure important for defense and energy purposes, natural shoreline habitats, and nearby Native communities.

Photo from the sky looking back at a narrow, sandy island spit in a shallow part of the ocean.
Barrier islands near the western terminus of Icy Reef
Barrier islands near the western terminus of Icy Reef
Barrier islands near the western terminus of Icy Reef

Photograph of barrier islands near the western terminus of Icy Reef located on the Beaufort Sea coast of Alaska, looking south. Egaksrak Lagoon separates the islands from the low-lying mainland coast of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Brooks Range in the background.

Photograph of barrier islands near the western terminus of Icy Reef located on the Beaufort Sea coast of Alaska, looking south. Egaksrak Lagoon separates the islands from the low-lying mainland coast of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Brooks Range in the background.

Satellite view of a oval-shaped island with deep water inside and outside the oval,
Coral atoll Tureia
Coral atoll Tureia
Coral atoll Tureia

Coral atolls are normally long, thin bars of white sand that rise just a few meters above sea level. The island or island group surrounds a hollow center where a volcanic peak once was. The atoll shown in this photo-like satellite image is the island of Tureia, in French Polynesia, in the South Pacific Ocean.

Coral atolls are normally long, thin bars of white sand that rise just a few meters above sea level. The island or island group surrounds a hollow center where a volcanic peak once was. The atoll shown in this photo-like satellite image is the island of Tureia, in French Polynesia, in the South Pacific Ocean.

Satellite view of island showing features like green mountains, brownish red soils, and bright, shallow, ocean waters.
Maui
Maui
Maui

Landsat image of Maui, Hawaiʻi, with the small island of Kahoʻolawe to its south.

Landsat image of Maui, Hawaiʻi, with the small island of Kahoʻolawe to its south.