Remote Sensing Coastal Change
Fire plus Flood equals Beach
A new study combines decades of coastal satellite imagery with hydrologic and oceanographic data to look at how changes on land affect coastlines in Big Sur, California
Eyes in the Sky
How Satellite Imagery Transforms Shoreline Monitoring From “Data-Poor” to “Data-Rich”
We use remote-sensing technologies—such as aerial photography, satellite imagery, structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry, and lidar (laser-based surveying)—to measure coastal change along U.S. shorelines.
Quantifying coastal change is essential for calculating trends in erosion, evaluating processes that shape coastal landscapes, and predicting how the coast will respond to future storms and sea-level rise, all critical for U.S. coastal communities.
Rapid developments have occurred in remote-sensing technologies during the 21st century. With our collaborators in and beyond the Department of the Interior, we seek to apply these technologies in innovative ways to advance understanding of coastal systems and their hazards.
Seafloor mapping technology
Ocean Engineer Gerry Hatcher of the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center (PCMSC) and Dave Zawada of the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) are two of the lead scientists behind the creation of the “Structure-from-Motion Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with 5 Cameras” system, or SQUID-5. The SQUID-5 is the product of a cross-center partnership. The Remote Sensing Coastal Change team at PCMSC has engineered the device, and the the Processes Impacting Seafloor Change and Ecosystem Services team (PISCES) at SPCMSC is tasked with its deployment and data collection.
Using video imagery to study coastal change
Currently, video cameras are installed at these locations:
- Dream Inn hotel in Santa Cruz, California
- Head of the Meadow Beach, Massachusetts
- Marconi Beach, Massachusetts
- Norton Sound, Unalakleet, Alaska
- Nuvuk (Point Barrow), Alaska
- Sunset State Beach, California
USGS researchers analyze the imagery and video collected from these cameras in order to remotely sense a range of processes, which include shoreline position, sandbar migration, rip-channel formation, wave run-up on the beach, alongshore current, and nearshore bathymetry.
USGS plans to install additional systems at other U.S. locations. The knowledge gained will improve computer-derived simulations of coastal flooding and shoreline change that communities can use to plan for sea-level rise, changing storm patterns, and other threats to beaches.
Photogrammetry of California’s Big Sur coast
On May 20, 2017, the steep slopes at Mud Creek on California’s Big Sur coast, about 140 miles south of San Francisco, suffered a catastrophic collapse. USGS scientists from the Pacific Coastal and Marine and the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Centers continue to monitor this section of the coastline, in collaboration with the California Department of Transportation.
On January 28, 2021, following a two-day deluge of heavy rain totalling more than 8 inches, another catastrophic failure and complete washout of Highway 1 occurred at Rat Creek, about 12 miles north of Mud Creek. USGS once again flew a reconnaissance flight along the coast on January 29, collecting highly detailed photography of much of the Big Sur coastline.
We are using video imagery, scanned aerial photographs, digital images collected from fixed-wing aircraft, and digital images collected from multi-rotor UAS to study coastal processes.
Data associated with this project
Bathymetry and acoustic backscatter data collected in 2008 offshore Tijuana River Estuary, California during USGS Field Activity S-5-08-SC
SQUID-5 structure-from-motion point clouds, bathymetric maps, orthomosaics, and underwater photos of coral reefs in Florida, 2019
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Tracking Coastal Change with Photogrammetry
Monitoring coastal changes is important for the millions of people that live along coasts in the United States, particularly as climate change hastens coastal erosion by raising sea levels and fueling powerful storms.
Publications associated with this project
Community for data integration 2018 funded project report
Accurate bathymetric maps from underwater digital imagery without ground control
Optical wave gauging using deep neural networks
Commentary: Variability in shelf sedimentation in response to fluvial sediment supply and coastal erosion over the past 1,000 Years in Monterey Bay, CA, United States
Characterizing the catastrophic 2017 Mud Creek Landslide, California, using repeat Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry
Along the rugged coast of Big Sur, California, the Mud Creek landslide failed catastrophically on May 20, 2017 and destroyed over 400 m of scenic California State Highway 1. We collected structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry data using airborne platforms that, when combined with existing airborne lidar data, revealed that the area exhibited significant topographic change and displacement befo
Rates of landsliding and cliff retreat along the Big Sur Coast, California— Measuring a crucial baseline
Decadal-scale analysis of coastal landslides along the Big Sur coast: Rates and processes
Below are news stories associated with this project.
We use remote-sensing technologies—such as aerial photography, satellite imagery, structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry, and lidar (laser-based surveying)—to measure coastal change along U.S. shorelines.
Quantifying coastal change is essential for calculating trends in erosion, evaluating processes that shape coastal landscapes, and predicting how the coast will respond to future storms and sea-level rise, all critical for U.S. coastal communities.
Rapid developments have occurred in remote-sensing technologies during the 21st century. With our collaborators in and beyond the Department of the Interior, we seek to apply these technologies in innovative ways to advance understanding of coastal systems and their hazards.
Seafloor mapping technology
Ocean Engineer Gerry Hatcher of the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center (PCMSC) and Dave Zawada of the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) are two of the lead scientists behind the creation of the “Structure-from-Motion Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with 5 Cameras” system, or SQUID-5. The SQUID-5 is the product of a cross-center partnership. The Remote Sensing Coastal Change team at PCMSC has engineered the device, and the the Processes Impacting Seafloor Change and Ecosystem Services team (PISCES) at SPCMSC is tasked with its deployment and data collection.
Using video imagery to study coastal change
Currently, video cameras are installed at these locations:
- Dream Inn hotel in Santa Cruz, California
- Head of the Meadow Beach, Massachusetts
- Marconi Beach, Massachusetts
- Norton Sound, Unalakleet, Alaska
- Nuvuk (Point Barrow), Alaska
- Sunset State Beach, California
USGS researchers analyze the imagery and video collected from these cameras in order to remotely sense a range of processes, which include shoreline position, sandbar migration, rip-channel formation, wave run-up on the beach, alongshore current, and nearshore bathymetry.
USGS plans to install additional systems at other U.S. locations. The knowledge gained will improve computer-derived simulations of coastal flooding and shoreline change that communities can use to plan for sea-level rise, changing storm patterns, and other threats to beaches.
Photogrammetry of California’s Big Sur coast
On May 20, 2017, the steep slopes at Mud Creek on California’s Big Sur coast, about 140 miles south of San Francisco, suffered a catastrophic collapse. USGS scientists from the Pacific Coastal and Marine and the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Centers continue to monitor this section of the coastline, in collaboration with the California Department of Transportation.
On January 28, 2021, following a two-day deluge of heavy rain totalling more than 8 inches, another catastrophic failure and complete washout of Highway 1 occurred at Rat Creek, about 12 miles north of Mud Creek. USGS once again flew a reconnaissance flight along the coast on January 29, collecting highly detailed photography of much of the Big Sur coastline.
We are using video imagery, scanned aerial photographs, digital images collected from fixed-wing aircraft, and digital images collected from multi-rotor UAS to study coastal processes.
Data associated with this project
Bathymetry and acoustic backscatter data collected in 2008 offshore Tijuana River Estuary, California during USGS Field Activity S-5-08-SC
SQUID-5 structure-from-motion point clouds, bathymetric maps, orthomosaics, and underwater photos of coral reefs in Florida, 2019
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Tracking Coastal Change with Photogrammetry
Monitoring coastal changes is important for the millions of people that live along coasts in the United States, particularly as climate change hastens coastal erosion by raising sea levels and fueling powerful storms.
Publications associated with this project
Community for data integration 2018 funded project report
Accurate bathymetric maps from underwater digital imagery without ground control
Optical wave gauging using deep neural networks
Commentary: Variability in shelf sedimentation in response to fluvial sediment supply and coastal erosion over the past 1,000 Years in Monterey Bay, CA, United States
Characterizing the catastrophic 2017 Mud Creek Landslide, California, using repeat Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry
Along the rugged coast of Big Sur, California, the Mud Creek landslide failed catastrophically on May 20, 2017 and destroyed over 400 m of scenic California State Highway 1. We collected structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry data using airborne platforms that, when combined with existing airborne lidar data, revealed that the area exhibited significant topographic change and displacement befo
Rates of landsliding and cliff retreat along the Big Sur Coast, California— Measuring a crucial baseline
Decadal-scale analysis of coastal landslides along the Big Sur coast: Rates and processes
Below are news stories associated with this project.