Images

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Aerial imagery sequence of Indian Point, Louisiana, showing the contraction of the peninsula marsh in response to shoreline erosion since 1950.

USGS hydrologist Kaitlyn Colella and a Shinnecock Nation member work together gathering oyster and bed sediment samples along Long Island, New York, coast.

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.

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.

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.

 Left to right: Mike Bastoni (volunteer) and Lisa Engler (Massachusetts Bays Program) deploying the USGS-desgined SEABed Observation and Sampling System (SEABOSS) from Ocean Survey Vessel Bold, with Marinna Martini (USGS) running the winch

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.

 Westco discrete nutrient analyzer measures low-levels of nutrients in water samples

Extreme storms can drastically increase water levels and wave energy causing a breach, or complete erosion of the island itself. Hurricane Sandy created a breach in the Otis Pike High Dunes Wilderness Area at Fire Island National Seashore in NY.

Hurricane Sandy leveled dunes and moved eroded sediment from the dunes and beach across the island and into the estuary (Great South Bay) at Fire Island, NY.

USGS scientist Nancy Prouty collects samples from a CTD. A CTD is package of electronic instruments that measure conductivity, temperature, and depth of water.

The streamer is flaked out on the deck with a make shift workbench for tools.  The technical staff (Geological Survey of Canada) are sharing a lighter moment during trouble shooting and repair aboard CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent.

Smaller version of Shaded-Relief Bathymetry (Sheet 2) from USGS Scientific Investigations Map 3225, California State Waters Map Series—Hueneme Canyon and Vicinity, California, as an example of the different kinds of maps (“sheets”) produced within a coastal map “block”.

Smaller version of Colored Shaded-Relief Bathymetry (Sheet 1) from USGS Scientific Investigations Map 3225, California State Waters Map Series—Hueneme Canyon and Vicinity, California, as an example of the different kinds of maps (“sheets”) produced within a coastal map “block”.

Smaller version of Acoustic Backscatter (Sheet 3) from USGS Scientific Investigations Map 3225, California State Waters Map Series—Hueneme Canyon and Vicinity, California, as an example of the different kinds of maps (“sheets”) produced within a coastal map “block”.