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Have an Earth Science question?   Ask-A-Geologist! Content Types: Project Information Educational Materials What are these? Photographs Movies Maps Publications Data Sets

Number of results: 26

• Data Series 436: Oblique Aerial Photography of the Arctic Coast of Alaska, Nulavik to Demarcation Point, August 7–10, 2006
  The Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska, an area of strategic economic importance to the United States, is home to remote Native American communities and encompasses unique habitats of global significance. Coastal erosion along the Arctic coast is chronic and widespread; recent evidence suggests that erosion rates are among the highest in the world (up to ~16 m/yr) and may be accelerating. Coastal erosion adversely impacts energy-related infrastructure, natural shoreline habitats, and Native American communities. Climate change is thought to be a key component of recent environmental changes in the Arctic. Reduced sea-ice cover in the Arctic Ocean is one of the probable mechanisms responsible for increasing coastal exposure to wave attack and the resulting increase in erosion. Extended periods of permafrost melting and associated decrease in bluff cohesion and stability are another possible source of the increase in erosion. Several studies of selected areas on the Alaska coast document past shoreline positions and coastal change, but none have examined the entire North coast systematically. Results from these studies indicate high rates of coastal retreat that vary spatially along the coast. To address the need for a comprehensive and regionally consistent evaluation of shoreline change along the North coast of Alaska, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as part of their Coastal and Marine Geology Program’s (CMGP) National Assessment of Shoreline Change Study, is evaluating shoreline change from Peard Bay to the United States/Canadian border, using historical maps and photography and a standardized methodology that is consistent with other shoreline-change studies along the Nation’s coastlines (for example, URL http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/shoreline-change/ (last accessed March 2, 2009). This report contains photographs collected during an aerial-reconnaissance survey conducted in support of this study. An accompanying ESRI ArcGIS shape file (and plain-text copy) indicates the position of the aircraft and time when each photograph was taken.
  Posted: 2009-05-05
• USGS WCMG News, Scientists Map Unexplored Arctic Sea Floor
  News and Information about the USGS research aboard the US Coast Guard Cutter Healy, mapping the sea floor - the extended continental shelf - in the Artic Ocean this month. This research is being done to define the limits of the extended continental shelf, over which coastal nations can claim sovereign rights under the United Nations Convension on the Law of the Sea.
  Posted: 2008-09-23
• Open-File Report 2004-1447: A Preliminary Assessment of Geologic Framework and Sediment Thickness Studies Relevant to Prospective US Submission on Extended Continental Shelf
  A compilation of marine seismic reflection and refraction profile data and derivative sediment thickness studies in the United States 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone and beyond that would be relevant to a submission for extended continental shelf under the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS Article 76).
  Posted: 2008-08-28
• USGS Coastal Change Hazards
  USGS Coastal Change Hazards - Focuses on hurricanes, tsunamis, sea-level rise, shoreline erosion, wetland destruction, and other issues relevant to coastal zone management and disaster preparedness.
  Posted: 2008-01-01
• Coastal and Marine Knowledge Bank
  An initiative to develop and present a national-scale, interdisciplinary scientific framework for marine environments, the coastal zone, and coastal watersheds
  Posted: 2007-11-28
• U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2005-1247, Relative Coastal Change-Potential Assessment of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (GBNPP), Title Page
  Coastal Change-Potential Assessment of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
  Posted: 2007-10-11
• U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2004-1373, Relative Coastal Change-Potential Assessment of Kenai Fjords National Park (KEFJ), Title Page
  Relative Coastal Change Potential Assessment of Kenai Fjords National Park to Sea-Level Change.
  Posted: 2007-10-11
• El Niño Home Page
  El Niño information with links to a broad range of topics such as Floods, Landslides, Coastal Hazards, Climate, News Releases.
  Posted: 2007-09-30
• National Assessment of Shoreline Change Project
  Beach erosion is a chronic problem along most open-ocean shores of the United States. As coastal populations continue to grow, and community infrastructures are threatened by erosion, there is increased demand for accurate information regarding past and present shoreline changes. There is also need for a comprehensive analysis of shoreline movement that is regionally consistent. To meet these national needs, the Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting an analysis of historical shoreline changes along open-ocean sandy shores of the conterminous United States and parts of Alaska and Hawaii. A primary goal of this work is to develop standardized methods for mapping and analyzing shoreline movement so that internally consistent updates can periodically be made to record shoreline erosion and accretion.
  Posted: 2007-09-29
• Professional Paper 1605: Are North Slope Surface Alluvial Fans Pre-Holocene Relicts?
  The surface morphology of the northern slope of the Brooks Range (North Slope) from the Canning River, Alaska, eastward is dominated by a series of large alluvial fans and braided streams floored by coarse alluvium. On the basis of the absence of sediment on the seasonal sea ice after spring flooding, the measured stability of fan fronts during a 30-year period, and the scarcity or absence of Holocene marine sedimentary deposits seaward of the fans, we conclude that the fans are not prograding now nor have they been prograding at any time during the Holocene. In numerous areas, surficial fan alluvium terminates on land at or below 2-m-thick glaciomarine deposits. These deposits, the Flaxman Member of the Gubik Formation, formed during the latest major interglacial transgression (oxygen-isotope Stage 5a) at about 85-80 ka. We therefore believe that the fans are still older. Our observations suggest that during the latest transgression and the following sea level high stand, the North Slope depositional environment and climate differed greatly from the present ones.
  Posted: 2007-02-14
• USGS Coastal and Marine Geology - usSEABED
  usSEABED provides data on sediment and rock distributions in the waters off the United States.
  Posted: 2006-08-28
• Open-File Report 2006-1124: Field-Trip Guide to Volcanic and Volcaniclastic Deposits of the Lower Jurassic Talkeetna Formation, Sheep Mountain, South-Central Alaska
  This guide provides information for a one-day field trip in the vicinity of Sheep Mountain, just north of the Glenn Highway in south-central Alaska. The Lower Jurassic Talkeetna Formation, consisting of extrusive volcanic and volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks of the Talkeetna arc complex, is exposed on and near Sheep Mountain. Field-trip stops within short walking distance of the Glenn Highway (approximately two hours’ drive from Anchorage) are described, which will be visited during the Geological Society of America Penrose meeting entitled Crustal Genesis and Evolution: Focus on Arc Lower Crust and Shallow Mantle, held in Valdez, Alaska, in July 2006. Several additional exposures of the Talkeetna Formation on other parts of Sheep Mountain that would need to be accessed with longer and more strenuous walking or by helicopter are also mentioned.
  Posted: 2006-07-27
• Research Projects - National Seafloor Mapping and Benthic Habitat Studies: Pacific
  Geophysical characterization of the coastal sea floor to identify benthic fish and shellfish habitat. Areas include Glacier Bay, Alaska and the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, National Park, and Southern California State Fish Preserves.
  Posted: 2006-07-17
• Open-File Report 2006-1081: Geologic Characteristics of Benthic Habitats in Glacier Bay, Southeast Alaska
  This is a description of selected data layers for the seafloor geomorphology of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, southeast Alaska.
  Posted: 2006-04-04
• Research Projects: Coastal and Marine Catastrophic Hazards - USGS WCMG
  Description of research project.
  Posted: 2005-07-25
• Research Projects: Geological characterization and sedimentary processes of nearshore habitats in Kachemak Bay, Alaska - USGS WCMG
  Description of research project.
  Posted: 2005-07-11
• Bering Sea GLORIA Imagery
  GLORIA sidescan sonar imagery of the Bering Sea, Alaska showing index map and downloadable quadrangles of sea-floor imagery.
  Posted: 2004-11-15
• Marine Aggregate Resources and Processes
  The Marine Aggregates (Sand and Gravel Assessment) Project has developed and is implementing a scientifically rigorous series of regional studies mapping the seafloor sedimentary character and assessing marine sand and gravel resources around the United States. Results of the regional assessments will ultimately comprise a national assessment of marine sand and gravel. This study is responding to increasing demand for web-accessible GIS-type data and interpreted geologic map information on the sedimentary character of the seafloor and aggregate resources suitable for beach nourishment and coastal restoration, as well as seafloor sediment texture information for benthic habitat mapping and sediment transport studies.
  Posted: 2004-05-07
• USGS OFR 03-411 - Preliminary Hydrodynamic Analysis of Landslide-Generated Waves in Tidal Inlet, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska
  A landslide block perched on the northern wall of Tidal Inlet, Glacier Bay National Park (Figure 1), has the potential to generate large waves in Tidal Inlet and the western arm of Glacier Bay if it were to fail catastrophically. Landslide-generated waves are a particular concern for cruise ships transiting through Glacier Bay on a daily basis during the summer months. The objective of this study is to estimate the range of wave amplitudes and periods in the western arm of Glacier Bay from a catastrophic landslide in Tidal Inlet. This study draws upon preliminary findings of a field survey by Wieczorek et al. (2003), and evaluates the effects of variations in landslide source parameters on the wave characteristics.
  Posted: 2003-10-29
• USGS OFR 02-391 - USGS Western Region Coastal and Marine Geology, Multibeam Bathymetry and Selected Perspective Views of Main Part of Glacier Bay, Alaska
  Glacier Bay is a diverse fjord ecosystem with multiple tidewater glaciers and complex biological, geological, and oceanographic patterns that vary greatly along its length. The bay was completely glaciated prior to the 1700's, and subsequently experienced the fastest glacial retreat recorded in historical times (Fig. 1). As a result, some of the highest rates of glacial sedimentation and uplift are observed here. Glacier Bay is the deepest silled fjord in Alaska, with depths of over 450 meters. The variety of physical processes (for example icebergs gouging, see Fig. 2) and depths creates many diverse habitats within a relatively small area. Mapping benthic (seafloor) habitats is thus crucial to understanding and managing Glacier Bay's complex marine ecosystem and the marine species therein. High-resolution multibeam mapping of the bay, funded jointly by USGS and the National Park System, provides an unprecedented new baseline for resource and habitat assessment. Full integration of the new data set will require additional ground-truthing data (sampling) and analysis. The USGS goal is to develop integrated geological and oceanographic habitat models for the marine benthos in Glacier Bay, as a step toward determining the habitat relationships of critical species and resources within the Park. This Open-File Report publishes the multibeam bathymetry along with images.
  Posted: 2003-10-29
• An Overview of Coastal Land Loss: With Emphasis on the Southeastern United States
  In states bordering the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, vast areas of coastal land have been destroyed since the mid 1800s as a result of natural processes and human activities. The physical factors that have the greatest influence on coastal land loss are reductions in sediment supply, relative sea level rise, and frequent storms, whereas the most important human activities are sediment excavation, river modification, and coastal construction. As a result of these agents and activities, coastal land loss is manifested most commonly as beach/bluff erosion and coastal submergence.
  Posted: 2003-08-20
• USGS Fact Sheet 130-02: Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World
  Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World
  Posted: 2002-11-09
• Global Inventory of Natural Gas Hydrate Occurance
  This updated global inventory reports on natural gas hydrate recovered from 20 places worldwide and includes 79 places where the presence of gas hydrate has been inferred from geophysical, geochemical, or geological evidence.
  Posted: 2001-01-09
• GLORIA Imagery of the Exclusive Economic Zone of the USA
  USGS research using GLORIA sidescan sonar to map the sea floor within the 200-mile wide Exclusive Economic Zone.
  Posted: 2000-07-12
• About Gas Hydrates and a USGS gas hydrate project
  Questions and answers about submarine gas hydrates: an ice-like crystalline solid formed of water and gas that is found in places under the sea floor and has important implications to techniques of deep-sea drilling and future energy supplies.
  Posted: 1999-03-08
• Marine Geology of Benthic Biohabitats in Glacier Bay, Alaska
  A project to characterize the seafloor habitats in Glacier Bay, Alaska, including geomorphic, sedimentologic, and stratigraphic descriptions, based on acoustic imaging and profiling of the fjord floor
  Posted: 1998-03-26