Publications

Effects of serpentine-filled fault zones on seismic wave propagation in the upper mantle at the outer rise of subduction zones are evaluated using acoustic wave propagation models. Modeled wave speeds depend on azimuth, with slowest speeds in the fault-normal direction. Propagation is fastest along faults, but, for fault widths on the order of the seismic wavelength, apparent wave speeds...

Work over the last decade has resulted in standardised web services and tools that can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of working with meteorological and ocean model data. While many operational modelling centres have enabled query and access to data via common web services, most small research groups have not. The penetration of this approach into the research...

Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean is the least studied ocean basin in the World. Marine seismic field programs were conducted over the past 6 years using Canadian and American icebreakers. These expeditions acquired more than 14,000 line-km of multibeam bathymetric and multi-channel seismic reflection data over abyssal plain, continental rise and slope regions of Canada Basin; areas where...

Geologic, sediment texture, and physiographic zone maps characterize the sea floor of Vineyard and western Nantucket Sounds, Massachusetts. These maps were derived from interpretations of seismic-reflection profiles, high-resolution bathymetry, acoustic-backscatter intensity, bottom photographs/video, and surficial sediment samples collected within the 494-square-kilometer study area...

We assess erosion and flooding risk in the northern Gulf of Mexico by identifying interdependencies among oceanographic drivers and probabilistically modeling the resulting potential for coastal change. Wave and water level observations are used to determine relationships between six hydrodynamic parameters that influence total water level and therefore erosion and flooding, through...

IntroductionIn 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within the 3-nautical-mile limit of California’s State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration...

Scientists from the United States Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, and students from the University of Hawaii at Manoa collected sediment cores, sediment surface grab samples, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) data from within the Edwin B...

Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, collected bathymetric data along the upper shoreface and within the wilderness breach at Fire Island, New York, in June 2014. The U.S. Geological Survey is involved in a post-Hurricane Sandy effort to map and monitor the morphologic evolution of the shoreface along Fire...

Characterizing bathymetric change in coastal environments is an important component in understanding shoreline evolution, especially along barrier island platforms. Bathymetric change is a function of the regional sediment budget, long-term wave and current patterns, and episodic impact from high-energy events such as storms. Human modifications may also cause changes in seafloor...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as part of the National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards project, conducts baseline and storm-response photography missions to document and understand the changes in vulnerability of the Nation's coasts to extreme storms. On September 18–19, 2015, the USGS conducted an oblique aerial photographic survey from Navarre Beach, Florida, to Breton Island...

As part of the Barrier Island Monitoring Project, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted nearshore geophysical surveys off Breton and Gosier Islands, Louisiana, in July and August of 2014. To assist the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) with restoration planning efforts, the USGS was tasked with answering...

Sedimentologic and topographic data from Hurricane Sandy washover deposits were collected from southern Long Beach Island, New Jersey, in order to document changes to the barrier-island beaches, dunes, and coastal wetlands caused by Hurricane Sandy and subsequent storm events. These data will provide a baseline dataset for use in future coastal change descriptive and predictive studies...