USGS to Participate in Inter-Agency Sea-Level Rise Panel Discussion

Patrick Barnard will serve as a subject matter expert in an Inter-Agency Sea-Level Rise Panel Discussion hosted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Read more...

Tripod Brings Data from Deep Seafloor of South China Sea

The Free Ascending Tripod (FAT) designed and built at the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center was recovered in late September after spending 5 months on the floor of the South China Sea collecting data with acoustic and optical instruments. Read more...

BOEM-Funded Mapping for Proposed Wind Farm Offshore Oregon

USGS PCMSC scientists, with collaborator from Oregon State University, mapped the seafloor in an area off Coos Bay, Oregon, under consideration for construction of a floating wind-energy facility. Read more...

New USGS Benthic Observation Sled High-Definition Seafloor Video Camera System

The “BOB Sled,” developed by personnel at the USGS PCMSC Marine Facility, can acquire video and other data as much as 700 meters (2,300 feet) below the sea surface. Read more...

Coastal Defense Tool Wins United Nations Award

The Coastal Defense app allows users to identify areas at risk of coastal erosion and inundation from waves, sea-level rise, and storm surge; examine the role of coastal habitats—such as tidal wetlands—in attenuating wave height and energy; and determine adaptation strategies that incorporate natural as well as man-made protections. For example, shown here, healthy tidal marsh (upper panel) reduces storm-wave heights, allowing levee to protect property. Degraded tidal marsh (lower panel) allows storm waves to erode and overtop levee. Read more...

USGS Talk on Applying Climate-Change Science to Coasts

On October 1, 2014, Congresswoman Lois Capps, whose district (24th) includes more than 200 miles of the central California coast, attended a talk on climate-change science by research geologist Patrick Barnard of the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center. Read more...

Briefing on deep coral reefs for the Trustee Council for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

USGS Researcher Nancy Prouty gave a short presentation on age and growth of mesophotic reefs to the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustees of Mesophotic Reefs. Read more...

Briefing Office of Insular Affairs on Coral Reef Issues in the Pacific

During the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force meeting 8-13 September 2014, USGS Researcher Curt Storlazzi explained USGS research on coral reef health and sustainability for fisheries and shoreline protection. Read more...