USGS Home
Contact USGS
Search USGS

Coastal and Marine Geology Program

	Online Science Resource Locator
		Topic:	Region:	Content Type:		Help! how to use this
		AnyBathymetryBeachesClimateCoralsCurrentsEarthquakesEcosystemsEl NinoEnvironmental ChangeErosionFloodsGISGlobal WarmingGroundwaterHurricanes & StormsLandslidesLidarMappingMeteor ImpactsMineralsMonitoringOceans and CoastsOil & GasPollutionRemote SensingSea-Level ChangeSedimentsSeismic reflection dataSonar MappingTsunamisVolcanoesWetlands	AnyAlaskaCalifornia (Cent/S)CaribbeanEast CoastFlorida PlatformGreat LakesGulf of Mexico (W/Cent)HawaiiInternationalOceanPacific NorthwestU.S. Inland	AnyData SetsEducational MaterialsGeneral InformationMapsMoviesPhotographsPublicationsResearch Projects

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: 169

• Impacts and Predictions of Coastal Change during Hurricanes
  Beaches serve as a natural barrier between the ocean and inland communities, ecosystems, and resources. These dynamic environments move and change in response to winds, waves, and currents. During a powerful hurricane, changes to beaches can be large, and the results are sometimes catastrophic. Lives are lost, communities are destroyed, and millions of dollars are spent on rebuilding. There is a clear need to identify areas of our coastline that are likely to experience extreme and devastating erosion during a hurricane. It is also important to determine risk levels associated with development in areas where the land shifts and moves with each landfalling storm. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides scientific support for hurricane planning and response. Using observations of beach changes and models of waves and storm surge, we are predicting how the coast will respond to hurricanes and identifying areas vulnerable to extreme coastal changes.
  Posted: 2010-07-14
• EAARL Coastal Topography–Assateague Island National Seashore, 2008: First Surface
  This DVD contains lidar-derived first-surface (FS) topography GIS datasets of the Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland and Virginia. These datasets were acquired March 24-25, 2008.
  Posted: 2010-03-05
• EAARL Coastal Topography–Assateague Island National Seashore, 2008: Bare Earth
  This DVD contains lidar-derived bare-earth (BE) topography GIS datasets of the Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland and Virginia. These datasets were acquired March 24-25, 2008.
  Posted: 2010-03-05
• Decision Support for Coastal Science and Management
  The Decision Support for Coastal Science and Management project, sponsored by the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program (CMGP) is supporting the creation of new capabilities for the synoptic remote sensing of coastal-marine and terrestrial environments based on aircraft and satellite sensors. These coastal remote-sensing, mapping, and point-monitoring tools constitute a unique integrated package of instrumentation and software that may be deployed in support of appropriately timed and scaled zoning decisions by management authorities in order to conserve and sensibly exploit nearshore coastal and marine ecosystems.
  Posted: 2010-02-23
• Coastal Change Hazards: Hurricanes and Extreme Storms
  This project investigates the coastal impacts of hurricanes and extreme storms, such as Hurricanes Isabel (2003), Dennis (1999), Bonnie & Georges (1998), and winter storms, such as those associated with the 1997-98 El Niño.
  Posted: 2009-04-28
• EAARL Topography-Colonial National Historical Park
  These Lidar-derived topography maps were produced as a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Florida Integrated Science Center (FISC) St. Petersburg, the National Park Service (NPS) Inventory and Monitoring Program, Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Wallops Flight Facility. One objective of this research is to create techniques to survey coral reefs, barrier islands, and various nearshore coastal environments for the purposes of geomorphic change studies, habitat mapping, ecological monitoring, change detection, and event assessment. As part of this project, data from an innovative instrument under development at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, the NASA Experimental Airborne Advanced Research Lidar (EAARL) are being used. This sensor has the potential to make significant contributions in this realm for measuring subaerial and submarine topography wthin cross-environment surveys. High spectral resolution, water-column correction, and low costs were found to be key factors in providing accurate and affordable imagery to coastal resource managers.
  Posted: 2009-01-01
• EAARL Coastal Topography–Fire Island National Seashore 2007
  This DVD contains Lidar-derived first surface (FS) and bare earth (BE) topography GIS datasets of Fire Island National Seashore in New York. These datasets were acquired on April 29-30 and May 15-16, 2007.
  Posted: 2008-12-01
• EAARL Coastal Topography–Sandy Hook 2007
  This DVD contains Lidar-derived bare earth (BE) and first surface (FS) topography GIS datasets of the Gateway National Recreation Area's Sandy Hook Unit in New Jersey. These datasets were acquired on May 16, 2007.
  Posted: 2008-12-01
• USGS Data Series 265, Time-Series Photographs of the Sea Floor in Western Massachusetts Bay, Version 2, 1989 - 1996, USGS Data Series 265, Title Page
  This U.S. Geological Survey Data Series report presents time-series photographs of the sea floor obtained from an instrumented tripod deployed in western Massachusetts Bay (site LT-A, 42? 22.6' N., 70? 47.0' W., 32 m water depth) from December 1989 to October 1996. The photographs provide time-series observations of changes of the sea floor, near-bottom water turbidity, and life on the sea floor. The photographs, obtained every 4 or every 6 hours, are presented as individual photographs (in .png format) and as a movie (in .avi format).
  Posted: 2008-11-17
• USGS Data Series 266, Time-series photographs of the sea floor in western Massachusetts Bay, 1996 - 2005 Title Page
  This U.S. Geological Survey Data Series report presents time-series photographs of the sea floor obtained from an instrumented tripod deployed in western Massachusetts Bay (site LT-A, 42? 22.6' N., 70? 47.0' W., 32 m water depth) from December 1989 to October 1996. The photographs provide time-series observations of changes of the sea floor, near-bottom water turbidity, and life on the sea floor. The photographs, obtained every 4 or every 6 hours, are presented as individual photographs (in .png format) and as a movie (in .avi format).
  Posted: 2008-11-17
• Index for Open file report 2006 1169
  This USGS Open-File report presents continual resistiviy profiling data collected along the Cape Cod National Seashore. This report also contains a description of the processing techniques used with these data. Groundwater samples data and core data are also included in this report.
  Posted: 2008-11-17
• USGS OFR 2007-1366: Sidescan-Sonar Imagery and Surficial Geologic Interpretations of the Sea Floor in Central Rhode Island Sound, Title Page
  Sidescan-sonar imagery, bathymetry, and surficial geologic interpretations of the sea floor in Rhode Island Sound, Rhode Island.
  Posted: 2008-11-17
• USGS OFR 2008-1174: Enhanced Sidescan-Sonar Imagery, North-Central Long Island Sound, Title Page
  Sidescan-sonar imagery from NOAA surveys H11043, H11044, and H11045 in north-central Long Island Sound were enhanced to remove tonal artifacts by matching backscatter tones in adjacent sonar lines. The enhanced imagery minimizes abrupt backscatter changes and striping, and more clearly delineates boundaries of backscatter tones and patterns."
  Posted: 2008-11-17
• USGS OFR 2008-1004: Sea-Floor Character and Sedimentary Processes in the Vicinity of Woods Hole, Massachusetts, Title Page
  Sea-floor geology and surface processes of Woods Hole based on sidescan sonar, multibeam bathymetry, bottom photography, and sediment samples."
  Posted: 2008-11-17
• EAARL Topography - Thomas Stone National Historic Site
  This Web site contains Lidar-derived topography (first return and bare earth) maps and GIS files for Thomas Stone National Historic Site in Maryland.
  Posted: 2008-11-01
• ARCHIVE OF BOOMER SEISMIC REFLECTION DATA COLLECTED DURING USGS CRUISE 96CCT01, NEARSHORE SOUTH CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA COAST, JUNE 26 - JULY 1, 1996
  This archive presents unprocessed SEG-Y data files, processed seismic profiles, associated navigation files, trackline maps, logbooks, and formal metadata for boomer data collected on USGS Cruise 96CCT01.
  Posted: 2008-08-28
• 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
• Decision Support for Coastal Science and Management
  The Decision Support for Coastal Science and Management project, sponsored by the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program (CMGP) is supporting the creation of new capabilities for the synoptic remote sensing of coastal-marine and terrestrial environments based on aircraft and satellite sensors. These coastal remote-sensing, mapping, and point-monitoring tools constitute a unique integrated package of instrumentation and software that may be deployed in support of appropriately timed and scaled zoning decisions by management authorities in order to conserve and sensibly exploit nearshore coastal and marine ecosystems.
  Posted: 2008-07-15
• EAARL Topography-Thomas Stone National
  Digital map atlas of lidar-derived topography maps for Thomas Stone National Historic Site
  Posted: 2008-04-28
• EAARL Topography-Sagamore Hill National Historic Site (SAHI)
  Digital atlas of lidar-derived topography maps for Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
  Posted: 2008-04-24
• EAARL Topography-Gateway National Recreation Area-Home
  Digital map atlas of lidar-derived topography maps for the Gateway National Recreation Area
  Posted: 2008-04-23
• EAARL First Return Topography—Fire Island National Seashore
  Digital map atlas of lidar-derived topography maps for Assateague Island National Seashore
  Posted: 2008-04-21
• USGS-NPS-NASA EAARL Bare Earth Topography - Fire Island National Seashore
  Digital map atlas of Lidar-derived topography maps for Fire Island National Seashore
  Posted: 2008-04-21
• USGS-NPS-NASA EAARL Topography - George Washington Birthplace
  Digital map atlas of lidar-derived topography maps for George Washington Birthplace National Monument
  Posted: 2008-04-17
• EAARL First Return Topography—Fire Island National Seashore
  This Web site contains 31 LIDAR-derived first return topography maps and GIS files for Fire Island National Seashore.
  Posted: 2008-04-01
• EAARL Topography—George Washington Birthplace National Monument
  This Web site contains Lidar-derived topography (first return and bare earth) maps and GIS files for George Washington Birthplace National Monument in Virginia.
  Posted: 2008-04-01
• EAARL Topography—Cape Cod National Seashore
  This Web site contains 90 Lidar-derived bare earth topography maps and GIS files for the Cape Cod National Seashore.
  Posted: 2008-04-01
• Geomorphology and Depositional Sub-environments of Assateague Island MD/VA
  Geomorphology and Depositional Sub-environments of Assateague Island MD/VA, Open File Report 2007-1388
  Posted: 2008-03-17
• GIS Library, Multibeam Data, Massachusetts Bay, SBNM Sanctuary, USGS Data Series 99; Version 1.0; Start Page
  This Geographic Information Systems (GIS) library contains images and grids of bathymetry, shaded relief bathymetry, and backscatter intensity data from surveys of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and western Massachusetts Bay, offshore of Boston, Massachusetts. The data are in an Environmental Systems Research Institute (www.esri.com) (ESRI) ArcMap 9.1 Geographic Information System project. The shapefiles, images, and grids may also be downloaded individually. Descriptions and interpretations of the data are available in a series of published maps.
  Posted: 2008-03-06
• EAARL Topography - Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS)
  Digital atlas of lidar-derived topography maps for Assateague Island National Seashore
  Posted: 2008-02-27
• USGS OFR 2007-1012: Geologic Interpretation and Multibeam Bathymetry of the Sea Floor in the Vicinity of the Race, Eastern Long Island Sound, Title Page
  Interpretations of the exposed geological units and surface processes of easternmost Long Island Sound and westernmost Block Island Sound based on multibeam bathymetry and high-resolution seismic reflection profiles.
  Posted: 2008-02-01
• USGS OFR 2007-1191: The Geology of Six Mile Reef, Eastern Long Island Sound, Title Page
  Interpretations of the sedimentary environments and surface processes of Six Mile Reef based on multibeam bathymetry and subbottom seismics.
  Posted: 2008-02-01
• USGS Open-File Report 2006-1008, High-Resolution Geologic Mapping of the Inner Continental Shelf: Boston Harbor and Approaches, Massachusetts, Title Page
  Geologic mapping of the Massachusetts' inner continental shelf reveals a high-relief, bedrock-framed seafloor that is partially mantled with a wide variety of surfical sediments.
  Posted: 2008-02-01
• The Massachusetts Bay Internal Wave Experiment, August 1998: Data Report, USGS DS 85, Version 2.0, Start Page
  This data report presents a description of the Massachusetts Bay Internal Wave Experiment (MBIWE) field program carried out in August 1998, an overview of the data through summary plots and statistics, and the time-series data in NetCDF format. The objective of this report is to make the data available in digital form and to provide summary plots and statistics to facilitate browsing of the data set.
  Posted: 2008-02-01
• Vulnerability of National Park Service Beaches to Inundation During a Direct Hurricane Landfall: Fire Island National Seashore
  The potential inundation of the beach system at Fire Island NS for Saffir-Simpson Category 1-4 hurricanes.
  Posted: 2008-02-01
• Vulnerability of National Park Service Beaches to Inundation During a Direct Hurricane Landfall: Cumberland Island National Seashore
  The potential inundation of the beach system at Cumberland Island NS for Saffir-Simpson Category 1-5 hurricanes.
  Posted: 2008-02-01
• Vulnerability of National Park Service Beaches to Inundation During a Direct Hurricane Landfall: Cape Lookout National Seashore
  The potential inundation of the beach system at Cape Lookout NS for Saffir-Simpson Category 1-5 hurricanes.
  Posted: 2008-02-01
• 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
• The Coastal Sedimentary System: Northern North Carolina
  The USGS, in collaboration with the State of North Carolina and university researchers, is studying the coastal sedimentary system of northern North Carolina. The primary objective is to map the regional sedimentary framework of the inner shelf in order to understand recent coastal processes, including erosion and the impacts of shoreline change.
  Posted: 2007-10-11
• USGS OFR 2005-1346: USGS Open-File Report 2005-1346, Geologic Framework Studies of South Carolina's Long Bay from Little River Inlet to Winyah Bay, 1999 - 2003; Geospatial Data Release, Title Page
  Geologic framework studies within Long Bay, South Carolina reveal the surficial sediment distribution, sea-floor morphology, and underlying geology of the region.
  Posted: 2007-10-11
• USGS Data Series 265, Time-Series Photographs of the Sea Floor in Western Massachusetts Bay, Version 1, 1989-1993, USGS Data Series 265, Title Page
  This U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Data Series report presents time-series photographs of the sea floor obtained from an instrumented tripod deployed in western Massachusetts Bay (42° 22.6' N., 70° 47.0' W., 30 m water depth) from December 1989 to March 1990; July 1990 to October 1990; and October 1990 to February 1991. The objective of this report is to enable easy and rapid viewing of the photographs and to provide a medium-resolution digital archive. The images, obtained every 6 hours, are presented as a movie (in .avi format that may be viewed using an image viewer such as QuickTime or Windows Media Player) and as individual images (.jpg format.)" /> Posted: 2006-10-20
• USGS DDS 74, Vers. 2.0, Long Term Observations in Massachusetts Bay Report, Start Page for Long Term Observations in Massachusetts Bay Report
  This data report presents long-term oceanographic observations made in western Massachusetts Bay from October 1989 through December 2002.
  Posted: 2006-10-20
• U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2004-1196, COASTAL VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT OF CUMBERLAND ISLAND NATIONAL SEASHORE (CUIS) TO SEA-LEVEL RISE, Title Page
  Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of Cumberland Island National Seashore to Sea-Level Rise.
  Posted: 2006-10-20
• USGS Open-File Report 2005-1293, High-Resolution Geologic Mapping of the Inner Continental Shelf: Nahant to Gloucester, Massachusetts, Title Page
  Geologic mapping of the Massachusetts' inner continental shelf reveals a high-relief, bedrock-framed seafloor that is partially mantled with a wide variety of surfical sediments.
  Posted: 2006-10-20
• Sea Floor Topography and Backscatter Intensity of the Hudson Canyon Region Offshore of New York and New Jersey, USGS Open-File Report 2004-1441, Title Page
  This report (available on CD-ROM and on the internet) presents maps of the sea-floor topography and backscatter intensity of the Hudson Canyon region, offshore of New York and New Jersey, USA at a scale of 1:300,000. The maps and geologic interpretation are presented on two sheets in PDF format. Sheet 1 shows sea floor topography as shaded relief. Sheet 2 shows sea floor topography as shaded relief with backscatter intensity superimposed in color. Sheet 1 also contains interpretive text, and both sheets contain figures and tables that further present and describe the data. The interpretive tex can also be viewed in html with links to the figures and tables on the map sheets. The maps are based on new multibeam echo-sounder data collected on an 18-day cruise carried out aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ship Ronald H. Brown in 2002.
  Posted: 2006-10-20
• U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2004-1435, title page
  Geophysical analysis of a high-amplitude, negative polarity reflector in the Baltimore Canyon Trough are compatible with it being an autochthonous Aalenian(?) salt lens.
  Posted: 2006-10-20
• USGS OFR 02-372, Physical Properties of Long Island Sound Sediment Cores, Title Page
  This report presents data on x-radiography, water content, and sediment texture from sediment cores collected in 1996 in Long Island Sound, offshore of Connecticut and New York (Figure 1). Core locations and analytical data are presented in both graphical and numerical form. The physical properties data presented here are a subset of a larger dataset consisting of results from these cores and other sediment samples. (See Poppe and others (1998) and Mecray and others (2000) for samples collected in Long Island Sound from 1996-2001 by the USGS.)
  Posted: 2006-10-20
• USGS OFR 2005-1145: Interpolation of Reconnaissance Multibeam Bathymetry from North-Central Long Island Sound, Title Page
  This data report contains both the original reconnaissance bathymetry collected during NOAA surveys H11043, H11044, H11045 of north-central Long Island Sound, and interpolated grids and color-encoded hill-shaded imagery produced from the reconnaissance. The report was produced because these bathymetric grids and imagery help define the geological variability of the sea floor, improve our understanding of surficial processes, and provide a detailed framework for future research, monitoring, and management activities.
  Posted: 2006-10-20
• Sea Floor Image Maps,Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Region off Boston, Massachusetts, USGS SIM 2840, Title Page
  A report and maps that synthesize the distribution of sea floor features, seabed backscatter, ruggedness and slope, and the extent of boulder ridges and bedrock outcrops in the 1,100 square-nautical-mile region of the Stellwagen National Marine Sanctuary off Boston, Massachusetts.
  Posted: 2006-10-20
• 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
• usSEABED: East Coast Offshore Surficial Sediment Data Release, Title Page
  Over the past 50 years there has been an explosion in scientific interest, research effort and information gathered on the geologic sedimentary character of the U.S. Atlantic coast continental margin. Data and information from thousands of publications have greatly increased our scientific understanding of the geologic origins of the shelf surface but rarely have those data been combined and integrated. This publication is the first release of the Atlantic coast data from the usSEABED database. The report contains a compilation of published and unpublished sediment texture and other geologic data about the seafloor from diverse sources. usSEABED is an innovative database system developed to bring assorted data together in a unified database. The dbSEABED system is used to process the data. Examples of maps displaying attributes such as grain size and sediment color are included. This database contains information that is the scientific foundation for the USGS Marine Aggregate Resources and Processes Assessment and Benthic Habitats projects and will be useful to the marine science community for other studies of the Atlantic coast continental margin. The publication is divided into ten sections: Home, Introduction, Contents, usSEABED (data), dbSEABED (processing), Data Catalog, References, Contacts, Acknowledgments, and Frequently Asked Questions. Use the navigation bar on the left to navigate to specific sections of this report. Underlined topics throughout the publication are links to more information. Links to specific and detailed information on processing and those to pages outside this report will open in a new browser window.
  Posted: 2006-08-03
• Extracting Shorelines from NASA Airborne Topographic Lidar-Derived Digital Elevation Models
  'Extracting Shorelines from NASA Airborne Topographic Lidar-Derived Digital Elevation Models' provides a detailed account of the methodology used for extracting digital shoreline data from lidar topographic surveys.
  Posted: 2006-07-18
• The National Assessment of Shoreline Change: A GIS Compilation of Vector Shorelines and Associated Shoreline Change Data for the U.S. Southeast Atlantic Coast
  The Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the U.S. Geological Survey has generated a comprehensive database of digital vector shorelines and shoreline change rates for the U.S. Southeast Atlantic Coast (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina). These data, which are presented herein, were compiled as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Assessment of Shoreline Change Project.
  Posted: 2006-02-06
• Automated Extraction of Coastal Dune High and Dune Low from High Resolution Lidar Digital Elevation Models
  An automated method of extracting dune high (Dhi) and dune low (Dlo) from lidar DEMs has been developed for use on the sandy Southeast and Gulf coasts of the United States. The method has been written into an Arc AML script that runs from a command line in ArcInfo Workstation, a popular GIS software product. The output are GIS ready Dhi and Dlo point shapefiles that include several attributes that can assist in post-processing editing as well as elevation.
  Posted: 2005-12-06
• The Coastal Impact Assessment Tool (CIAT), Version 1.0, User's Manual - USGS Open-File Report 2005-1260
  User's manual for The Coastal Impact Assessment Tool (CIAT), Version 1.0.
  Posted: 2005-12-06
• Research Projects: Coastal and Marine Catastrophic Hazards - USGS WCMG
  Description of research project.
  Posted: 2005-07-25
• Marine Invasive Species, Didemnum lahillei, a colonial tunicate; ascidian; sea squirt, Home Page
  Distribution, biology, and marine habitat impacts of the highly invasive colonial tunicate Didemnum lahillei
  Posted: 2004-06-21
• 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
• 99SCE01 Home Page
  This Open-File Report serves as an archive of field seismic data, associated navigation files, trackline maps, scanned logbooks, and formal seismic metadata, for boomer data collected on USGS Cruise 99SCE01. These data were recorded aboard the R/V G.K. Gilbert in the nearshore region of South Carolina, between Little River Inlet to the entrance of Winyah Bay on 8 June -16 June, 1999.
  Posted: 2004-04-14
• U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2004-1020, COASTAL VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT OF ASSATEAGUE ISLAND NATIONAL SEASHORE (ASIS) TO SEA-LEVEL RISE , Title Page
  Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of Assateague Island National Seashore to Sea-Level Rise .
  Posted: 2004-04-05
• Contaminant Transport in Massachusetts Bay
  Contaminants have accumulated in sediments of many coastal environments of the United States, particularly those near major metropolitan centers. U.S. Geological Survey scientists provide information about the distribution, severity, and fate of these contaminated sediments that is essential for making informed management decisions about multiple uses of these coastal environments.
  Posted: 2004-03-02
• Metal Concentrations in Sediments of Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay Document Environmental Change - USGS Fact Sheet 150-97
  Over the last decade, contaminants entering Boston Harbor have been significantly reduced. Although parts of the harbor still contain metals at concentrations above toxicity guidelines for bottom-dwelling animals, we have observed decreasing metal concentrations over time that are encouraging. We are learning which natural sedimentary processes significantly influence the fate and transport of metals in Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay.
  Posted: 2004-03-02
• Predicting the Long-Term Fate of Sediments and Contaminants in Massachusetts Bay - USGS Fact Sheet 172-97
  Contaminants have accumulated in the sediments of Massachusetts Bay, typical of many coastal areas near major metropolitan centers that have been used for waste disposal since colonial times. Developing an understanding of where and why contaminants accumulate is essential for making informed management decisions about uses of these coastal areas and for developing sound strategies for monitoring environmental change.
  Posted: 2004-03-02
• Predicting the Impact of Relocating Boston's Sewage Outfall - USGS Fact Sheet 185-97
  For nearly 300 years, Boston Harbor has been the disposal site for regional sewage. Today, Boston is approaching completion of a $3.5 billion court-ordered cleanup project that includes elimination of sludge discharge, treatment of secondary sewage, and containment of combined sewer overflows. One aspect of the project, however, has created substantial controversy -- the relocation of the sewage outfall from the mouth of Boston Harbor to a new site 15 km offshore in Massachusetts Bay. There is concern that the new outfall, scheduled to begin discharge in October 1998, might turn Massachusetts Bay into the next Boston Harbor and that whales and other species in the region (which includes the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary) might be endangered.
  Posted: 2004-03-02
• Sedimentary Environments in Long Island Sound: A Guide to Sea-Floor Management in a Large Urbanized Estuary - USGS Fact Sheet 041-98
  Bottom sedimentary environments, defined by sidescan-sonar patterns, indicate where sea-floor sediments are moved and deposited in the Long Island Sound estuary. The patchy distribution of environments, which reflects both regional and local changes in geologic and oceanographic conditions, provides a predictive framework for those concerned with the management and utilization of the sea floor in this urbanized area.
  Posted: 2004-03-02
• The Chesapeake Bay Bolide Impact: A New View of Coastal Plain Evolution - USGS Fact Sheet 049-98
  A spectacular geological event took place on the Atlantic margin of North America about 35 million years ago in the late part of the Eocene Epoch. Sea level was unusually high everywhere on Earth, and the ancient shoreline of the Virginia region was somewhere in the vicinity of where Richmond is today. Tropical rain forests covered the slopes of the Appalachians. To the east of a narrow coastal plain, a broad, lime (calcium carbonate)-covered continental shelf lay beneath the ocean. Suddenly, with an intense flash of light, that tranquil scene was transformed into a hellish cauldron of mass destruction. From the far reaches of space, a bolide (comet or asteroid), 3-5 kilometers in diameter, swooped through the Earth's atmosphere and blasted an enormous crater into the continental shelf. The crater is now approximately 200 km southeast of Washington, D.C., and is buried 300-500 meters beneath the southern part of Chesapeake Bay and the peninsulas of southeastern Virginia.
  Posted: 2004-03-02
• Gas (Methane) Hydrates -- A New Frontier - USGS Fact Sheet
  Methane trapped in marine sediments as a hydrate represents such an immense carbon reservoir that it must be considered a dominant factor in estimating unconventional energy resources; the role of methane as a 'greenhouse' gas also must be carefully assessed.
  Posted: 2004-03-02
• Geology and the Fishery of Georges Bank - USGS Fact Sheet
  A comprehensive knowledge of the geological environment is required to answer questions regarding the health of a fishery, the effects of ocean dumping and pollutant dispersal, and the impact of energy exploration activities.
  Posted: 2004-03-02
• The Legacy of Contaminated Sediments in Boston Harbor - USGS Fact Sheet
  Contamination of sediments in Boston Harbor, particularly by metals, is so widespread that its effects may be felt long after the sources of contamination are shut off. Where are toxic concentrations of metals located today? How did they get there? How will they move? These are questions that must be answered in detail before we can properly estimate risk in the environment.
  Posted: 2004-03-02
• U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 03-439, Coastal vulnerability Assessment of Fire Island (FIIS), to sea-level rise, Title Page
  Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of Fire Island National Seashore to Sea-Level Rise.
  Posted: 2004-02-27
• High-resolution seismic-reflection surveys in the nearshore of outer Cape Cod, Massachusetts, U.S. Open-File Report 03-235, Title Page
  High-Resolution Seismic-Reflection Surveys in the Nearshore of Outer Cape Cod, Massachusetts
  Posted: 2003-12-01
• Topography, shaded relief, and backscatter intensity of the
  This CD_ROM presents maps of the sea floor topography, shaded relief, and backscatter intensity of the Hudson Shelf Valley, located offshore of New York and New Jersey, at a scale of 1:150,000 based on multibeam echo-sounder data. The multibeam surveys were conducted aboard the vessel Frederick G. Creed in fall 1996, 1998, and spring 2000. The maps and discussion are presented on two sheets in PDF format. The discussion is also presented in PDF format, with links to individual figures and tables on the map sheet.
  Posted: 2003-12-01
• U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 02-233, Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of Cape Cod National Seashore to Sea-Level Rise, Title Page
  Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of Cape Cod National Seashore to Sea-Level Rise
  Posted: 2003-11-06
• Photographs of the Sea Floor Offshore of New York and New Jersey, USGS Open-File Report 01-470, Start page
  A collection of sea floor bottom photographs taken offshore of New York and New Jersey
  Posted: 2003-10-10
• Oceanographic Observations, Hudson Shelf Valley, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 02-217, Title Page
  This data report presents oceanographic observations made in the Hudson Shelf Valley, offshore of New York, between December 1999 and April 2000
  Posted: 2003-09-11
• 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
• High-Resolution Quaternary Seismic Stratigraphy of the New York Bight Continental Shelf, USGS Open-File Report 02-152, Title Page
  This USGS Open-File Report describes the Quaternary evolution of the New York Bight region, based on geophysical data acquired in 1995 and 1996.
  Posted: 2003-08-14
• U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 03-001, Title Page
  This report contains surficial sediment data from previously unpublished data sources or from gray literature. These data have been compiled as part of the National Benthic Habitats and Marine Aggregate Resources and Processes Projects to update the existent maps on surficial sediment distribution available for the Gulf of Maine region. Sediment data in this report are GIS ready and are broken into data layers by their original source project. The data layers are provided as single-point vector datasets with sample identifiers, navigation, textural attribute information, and FGDC compliant metadata.
  Posted: 2003-08-14
• U.S. Coral Reefs—Imperiled National Treasures | USGS Fact Sheet 025-02
  Coral reefs are home to 25% of all marine species. However, the tiny colonial animals that build these intricate limestone masses are dying at alarming rates. If this trend continues, in 20 years the living corals on many of the world’s reefs will be dead and the ecosystems that depend on them severely damaged. As part of the effort to protect our Nation’s extensive reefs, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists are working to better understand the processes that affect the health of these ecologically and economically important ecosystems.
  Posted: 2003-03-18
• USGS Open-File Report 02-403, Contaminated Sediments Database for the Gulf of Maine, Title Page
  Contaminated sediment database for the Gulf of Maine
  Posted: 2003-02-06
• U.S. Geological Survey Digital Data Series DDS-74
  This data report presents long-term oceanographic observations made in western Massachusetts Bay at 42° 22.6' N., 70° 47.0' W. (Site A, 33 m water depth) from December 1989 through December 2000.
  Posted: 2002-11-14
• USGS Fact Sheet 095-02: Vulnerability of U.S. National Parks to Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Change
  Vulnerability of U.S. National Parks to Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Change
  Posted: 2002-09-19
• Temporal changes in grain size and organic-mineral aggregatesin surficial sediments near the Massachusetts Bay Outfall Site, Title Page
  This report summarizes the time-series analyses of grain size distribution and the abundance of organic-mineral aggregates in surface sediments at two monitoring stations near the Massachusetts Bay Outfall. Sediments, especially the finer fractions, can adsorb contaminants from sea water and exert a strong influence on the transport and ultimate distribution of contaminants. Therefore, it is important to know the extent to which sediment characteristics in Massachusetts Bay can change in response both to natural events, such as storms, and to the start of the new sewage outfall.
  Posted: 2002-08-12
• USGS Open File Report 01-123: Title page
  USGS high resolution seismic data for northern North Carolina coastal system
  Posted: 2002-07-11
• U.S. Geological Survey - Historic Area Remediation Site (HARS) Web Page
  Three multibeam echosounder surveys were carried out to map the topography and surficial geology of the Historic Area Remediation Site (HARS) located offshore of New York City. The surveys were conducted November 23 - December 3, 1996, October 26 - November 11, 1998, and April 6 - 30, 2000. This report presents maps showing topography, shaded relief, and backscatter intensity (a measure of sea floor texture and roughness) at a scale of 1:25,000. Comparison of the topography and backscatter intensity from the three surveys show changes in topography and surficial sediment properties resulting from placement of dredged material in 1996 and 1997 prior to closure of the Mud Dump Site, as well as placement of capping material for remediation of the HARS.
  Posted: 2002-07-09
• WHFC DODS Data Server
  The USGS WHFC time series data archive. Data sets are available in DODS format.
  Posted: 2002-05-10
• USGS Fact Sheet 001-02: Mapping the Sea Floor of the Historic Area Remediation Site Offshore of New York City
  Mapping the Sea Floor of the Historic Area Remediation Site Offshore of New York City
  Posted: 2002-05-01
• Coastal Ocean Modeling at the USGS Woods Hole Field Center
  Animations (short movies) showing simulations of Coastal water Circulation as numerically modeled using a large amount of empirical environmental data in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Bay, and Cape Cod Bay. These include tidal pumping of Boston Harbor; a comparison of the distribution of effluent from the (former) sewage outfall in Boston Harbor and the present 9-mile-long tunnel outfall outside the harbor; seasonal water movements in Massachusetts Bay; and an illustration of changes in dry land areas during post-glacial relative sea-level rise from 14000 years ago to the present.
  Posted: 2002-04-24
• USGS - Boston Harbor Ecosystems
  Links to ecosystems information related to Boston harbor
  Posted: 2002-04-24
• Red Tides in Western Gulf of Maine
  Description of Research Project on Toxic "Red Tide" Populations in the Western Gulf of Maine: Sources, Transport, and Nutrient Environment
  Posted: 2002-04-24
• Multibeam Bathymetric and Backscatter Maps of the Upper Hudson Shelf Valley and Adjacent Shelf, Offshore of New York
  About aproject to map the surficial geology and subsurface stratigraphy of the Hudson Shelf Valley and adjacent continental shelf from its head near New York Harbor to where it crosses the outer. The northwesterly area of the survey encompasses a region of the shelf that may provide sediment to the valley as well as the principal disposal sites used since the 1800's.
  Posted: 2002-04-24
• USGS Open-File Report 99-559, Stratigraphic Framework Maps of the Nearshore Area of Southern Long Island from Fire Island to Montauk Point, New York
  The Nearshore Area of Southern Long Island from Fire Island to Montauk Point, New York was mapped using high-resolution profiling techniques along with surface and vibracore sampling to verify the geophysical interpretations. The goal of the investigation is to determine regional-scale availability of sand as a resource for beach nourishment programs and to investigate the role that inner-shelf morphology and geologic framework have in the erosion and morphology of southern Long Island. Maps derived from interpretation of the subbottom profiles show information on the geometry and distribution of the Quaternary sediments and the underlying Coastal Plain unconformity. This stratigraphy yields a regional framework on which explanations of present (and past) sediment movement, dispersal, and erosion processes are based.
  Posted: 2002-04-24
• Sidescan-Sonar Imagery of the Shoreface and Inner Continental Shelf, Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina
  The geologic framework and surficial morphology of the shoreface and inner shelf off Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, were mapped using high-resolution sidescan-sonar, bathymetric, and seismic-reflection surveying techniques, a suite of over 200 diver-vibracores, and extensive sea-floor observations by divers. The inner shelf is a sediment-starved, active surface of marine erosion; modern sediments, where present, form a thin, patchy veneer blanketing Tertiary and Quaternary units.
  Posted: 2002-04-24
• Massachusetts Bay Disposal Site Maps
  The site lies 17 nautical miles east of the entrance to Boston Harbor and is adjacent to the boundary of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. The area has had a complex history since the 1940's. The USGS/NOAA cooperative mapping program has acquired multibeam echo-sounder data in combination with video and still photos to describe the character of the sea floor and produce interpretive maps of the region. The maps were published in 1996, and are made available on this CD-ROM in Portable Document File, Encapsulated PostScript, and PostScript formats. Includes a gallery of bottom photographs.
  Posted: 2002-04-24
• Photographs of the seafloor in Western Massachusetts Bay
  This report contains photographs and sediment sample analyses of the sea floor obtained at 142 sites in western Massachusetts during July 18-21, 1999. These photographs and samples provide information to assist interpretation of topography/shaded relief and backscatter intensity maps created using a multibeam echo sounder system) Collection of these photographs and samples was undertaken to map and describe the sea floor of Massachusetts Bay.
  Posted: 2002-04-24
• USGS Marine Sediment analysis procedures, database of East Coast sediment analyses, and georeferenced displays of the sediment types
  This report (available as CDROM) contains full procedural instructions and methods for marine sediment analysis, including video tutorials and analytical software. It also contains the full database of sediment textural information of the USGS Woods Hole Field Center during about 38 years of operations, about 19,000 samples, beginning with the Continental Margin Program conducted with K.O. Emery and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from 1962-1970. It also provides background and tools for visualizing and displaying sediment textural information using GIS. Truly a significant compilation of data, information, and instructional materials for Marine sedimentological studies.
  Posted: 2002-04-24
• Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Region off Boston, Massachusetts, USGS National Geologic Studies of Benthic Habitats, Northeastern United States
  USGS national geologic studies of benthic habitats, northern United States; Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary region off Boston, Massachusetts
  Posted: 2002-04-24
• Gas Hydrate at the USGS
  Gas hydrate is a crystalline solid formed of water and gas. It looks and acts much like ice, but it contains huge amounts of methane and it exists in very large quantities in marine sediments in a layer several hundred meters thick directly below the sea floor and in association with permafrost in the Arctic. It is important for three reasons: 1. It may become a major energy resource, 2. It has important effects on sea floor sediment stability, influencing collapse and landsliding, 3. The hydrate reservoir may have strong influence on climate, as methane is a significant greenhouse gas. This project seeks to learn to identify gas hydrate by remote sensing and to understand the processes that control methane hydrate in the natural environment, such as concentration into possibly extractable accumulations, change in strength of sediments and generation of overpressures, processes of seafloor mobilization, and processes allowing transfer of methane to the atmosphere.
  Posted: 2002-04-24
• USGS Studies in Long Island Sound: Geology, Contaminants, and Environmental Issues
  Long Island Sound is a major coastal estuary near the New York-Connecticut metropolitan area. More than eight million people live in its watershed. Due to the enormous population, the Sound is used heavily and its sea floor has been impacted by human activities. There are many benthic habitats in the Sound that support large commercial and recreational fisheries. Sediments of the Sound are a sink for wastes and contaminants from various sources such as wastewater treatment plants, urban and agricultural runoff, and waste disposal.
  Posted: 2002-04-24
• National Assessment of Coastal Vulnerability To Sea-Level Rise
  National Assessment of Coatal Change Hazards information page
  Posted: 2002-04-24
• USGS Woods Hole Field Center: Methodology page for SWASH (Surveying Wide Area Shorelines)
  Coastal erosion is a serious national problem with long-term economic and social consequences. Developed areas are threatened with billions of dollars in property damage as a result of storm impacts and long-term erosion
  Posted: 2002-04-24
• Boston Harbor/ Massachusetts Bay Studies
  Environmental effects of the Boston sewage outfall tunnel are being studied using computer simulations of ocean circulation and dilution of sewage from the tunnel, also mapping and sediment analyses to find the pathways and ultimate repositories of contaminants from the Boston Metropolitan area, and monitoring to establish a baseline of contaminant levels in sediments and to document their natural variability.
  Posted: 2002-04-23
• Seafloor Characterization Offshore New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Area using sidescan sonar
  A preliminary synthesis of systematic high-resolution mapping of the sea floor in the New York Bight Apex, using sidescan-sonar and seismic-reflection profiles. The survey provides a new and detailed view of the sea floor, and a new framework for understanding the regional sediment transport system of the New York Bight.
  Posted: 2002-04-23
• Long Island Sound Environmental Studies
  Reports and maps on acoustic and textural features of Long Island Sound bottom sediments; Sidescan-sonar imagery of areas off Hammonasset Beach state park, Norwalk, Niantic Bay, Milford, Fishers Island Sound, Falkner Island, New Haven, New London, CT, and Roanoke Pt., NY. Also, articles on a surficial sediment data, benthic communities and contaminants, and currents, and a bibliography.
  Posted: 2002-04-23
• Georeferenced Sea-Floor Mapping and Bottom Photography in Long Island Sound
  Extensive information in 12 separate chapters on geology (including late-Pleistocene stratigraphy, and a free-air gravity anomaly map indicative deep substructure), surface sediments, organic carbon, benthic enviroments, megafaunal environments, contaminanats such as metals, mercury, and a bacterial indicator of human pollution; GIS referenced mapping data, and a collection of bottom photographs; Environmental changes 1940s to 1990s.
  Posted: 2002-04-23
• Geologic History of Cape Cod Massachusetts
  Cape Cod is a sandy peninsula built mostly during the ice age and juts into the Atlantic Ocean like a crooked arm. Geologists are interested in Cape Cod because it was formed, by glaciers, very recently in terms of geologic time and because of the ever changing shore as the Cape adjusts to the rising sea. This is an online version of USGS geologist Robert Oldale's popular circular.
  Posted: 2002-04-23
• Seafloor Sediment Distribution Off Southern Long Island, New York
  The late Holocene evolution of the Fire Island barrier-island is linked directly to the geologic framework of the inner-continental shelf. Mapping results show that the modern physiography of the inner-continental shelf off southern Long Island is an expression of antecedent geology and glacial history, as well as oceanographic processes acting on the sea floor during Holocene marine transgression. The upper surface of the Cretaceous strata provided the foundation for deposition of Quaternary sediment and formed the core of a subaerial headland off Watch Hill during times of lower sea level. The modern sediment deposit was formed from erosion of both the headland areas east of Southampton and off Watch Hill and the inner-continental shelf during Holocene marine transgression.
  Posted: 2002-04-23
• Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary - off Boston MA - Sea Floor topographic contours maps and perspective views
  A multibeam echo sounder aboard the Canadian Hydrographic Survey vessel Frederick G. Creed mapped the Stellwagen bank area (covering 1100 sq. nautical miles). Topographic contour maps and perspective maps -displayed as sun-illuminated seabed imagery - show sea floor topography (scale of 1:25,000) show the complex sea floor created by glacial erosion, deposition, and subsequent wave and current action. GIS data of the maps are included.
  Posted: 2002-04-22
• USGS Fact Sheet 136-01: Sand Distribution on the Inner Shelf South of Long Island, New York
  Sand Distribution on the Inner Shelf South of Long Island, New York
  Posted: 2002-03-29
• U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 00-410
  Sea floor features of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary region at a scale of 1:60,000. The maps depict topography, sun-illuminated (shaded relief) topographic imagery, and combined imagery of sun-illuminated sea floor topography and backscatter intensity
  Posted: 2002-03-22
• U.S. Geological Survey Studies in the New York Bight
  Since 1992, the U.S. Geological Survey`s Coastal and Marine Geology Program has been conducting studies offshore of New York designed to map and characterize the sea floor, to understand the transport and fate of sediments and associated pollutants, to map the inner shelf and sand deposits along the southern shore of Long Island, and to understand the recent geologic history. A long-term goal of these geological studies is to develop predictive models and geologic information to guide research and sustainable use of the coastal ocean.
  Posted: 2001-12-14
• USGS Open-File Report 01-356
  Sediment chemistry data are presented for the Massachusetts Bay Outfall
  Posted: 2001-10-23
• USGS EAST-COAST SEDIMENT ANALYSIS: PROCEDURES, DATABASE, AND GEOREFERENCED DISPLAYS
  This CD-ROM contains descriptions of the field and laboratory methods used to collect and process sediment samples at the Woods Hole Field Center for Coastal and Marine Geology Program, USGS in Woods Hole, Massachusetts; an archive of digitally-available sediment data generated at this facility between 1962 and 2000; and data layers that can be viewed with geographic mapping tools.
  Posted: 2001-10-12
• Photographs of the seafloor in Western Massachusetts Bay
  This CD-ROM contains photographs and sediment sample analyses of the sea floor obtained at 142 sites in western Massachusetts Bay (Figure 1) during a research cruise (USGS cruise ISBL99024) aboard the Fishing Vessel (FV) Isabel S. (Figure 2) conducted July 18-21, 1999. These photographs and samples provide critical ground truth information for the interpretation of shaded relief and backscatter intensity maps created using data collected with a multibeam echo sounder system (Butman and others, in press, a, b, c; Valentine and others, in press, a, b, c). Collection of these photographs and samples was undertaken in support of a large project whose overall objective is to map and describe the sea floor of Massachusetts Bay.
  Posted: 2001-10-10
• U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 01-154
  This Open-File Report contains bottom photographs that were collected in the early 1960's as part of the U. S. Geological Survey's Continental Margin Program. This joint program conducted with the USGS and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution conducted a geologic reconnaissance investigation of the continental shelf and slope off the Atlantic coast of the United States. As part of the program nearly 3800 locations were occupied that extended from the Canadian border to the southern tip of Florida. Bottom photography was completed at many of these stations in conjunction with sediment sampling. This report provides a digital release of the historical photos collected collected at these stations.
  Posted: 2001-09-26
• U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 01-194
  sediment core descriptions, x-radiographs, quantitative analytical data including water content, biogenic silica content, magnetic susceptibility, trace-metal concentrations, stable isotope ratios, organic carbon and nitrogen contents.
  Posted: 2001-08-20
• USGS Fact Sheet 066-01: Geology of the Woods Hole Area, Massachusetts
  Geology of the Woods Hole Area, Massachusetts: The Story behind the Landscape
  Posted: 2001-08-06
• USGS Fact Sheet 061-01: Habitat Geology Studies on and near Georges Bank, off New England
  Habitat Geology Studies on and near Georges Bank, off New England
  Posted: 2001-08-06
• USGS - Atlantic Margin Offshore Sediments
  Atlantic Margin Offshore Sediments, Cooperative Database and GIS Development
  Posted: 2001-05-31
• Mapping Coastal Change Hazards
  An illustrated discussion of coastal change hazards and the work that the U.S. Geological Survey is doing to map and understand these hazards.
  Posted: 2001-05-03
• FS 133-98: Mapping the Sea Floor Geology Offshore of the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Area
  Mapping the Sea Floor Geology Offshore of the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Area
  Posted: 2001-03-02
• 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
• USGS Coastal and Marine Geology staff, Woods Hole Field Center
  USGS Woods Hole Field Center (MA) offices and contacts
  Posted: 2000-11-14
• USGS Project Information Sheet on Database of Contaminated Sediments for the Gulf of Maine
  Heavy metals, pesticides, petroleum compounds, and nutrients measured in Gulf of Maine sediments originate from a variety of industrial, municipal, and domestic sources. A large dataset has been compiled on contaminant deposition in coastal sediments in order to quantify the research conducted over the last 40 years. The database is to be used by the USGS and other environmental managers to assess the environmental health of regional ecosystems, the transport paths of contaminants, and the ultimate fate of those contaminants. The current database is a compilation of organic, inorganic, and texture data, sample location information, and comments on the data quality for over 7,000 sediment samples. This information may be useful to researchers for intercomparisons of more recent data as well as policy makers for remediation and resource management of urban areas in the U.S.
  Posted: 2000-10-24
• Remote Video Monitoring
  Remote Video Monitoring (RVM) systems provide a means of automatically acquiring video data from remote locations and returning them to a central laboratory computer for processing. This project makes use of RVM technology to monitor coastal change at locations in Florida, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Washington.
  Posted: 2000-10-02
• 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
• Gulf of Maine Information System - REDIMS
  Research Environmental Data and Information Management System (REDIMS) for the Gulf of Maine: Information about data availability, numerical models, and REDIMS organization
  Posted: 2000-05-11
• Hurricane Dennis Impact Studies
  Includes pre/post-storm topographic change data derived from lidar mapping of the coast, as well as a set of oblique aerial photography of affected barrier islands on the North Carolina coast.
  Posted: 2000-03-02
• Observations of Impacts Caused by Hurricane Bonnie, August 1998, on the North Carolina Coast
  A comparison of pre- and post-storm lidar topographic mapping of sections of the North Carolina coastline in response to Hurricane Bonnie.
  Posted: 1999-12-08
• Preliminary Mapping of Overwash from Hurricane Fran, September 5, 1996, Cape Fear to Bogue Inlet, North Carolina - Open File Report 96-674
  On September 5, 1996, Hurricane Fran, a category 3 hurricane, made landfall on the North Carolina coast at Cape Fear. Two days later, the U.S. Geological Survey flew an aerial survey of the coast north of landfall to document coastal erosion caused by this storm
  Posted: 1999-12-08
• Duck '97 Fundamental Nearshore Processes Research
  Predictive models of nearshore hydrodynamics, sediment transport, and beach evolution perform poorly. This effort will provide data sufficiently complete to support model development and verification.
  Posted: 1999-08-23
• Image Processing Methods - Open File Report 97-287
  Image Processing Methods: Procedures in selection, registration, normalization and enhancement of satellite imagery in coastal wetlands.
  Posted: 1999-06-25
• South Carolina Coastal Erosion Study
  In South Carolina, the physical processes responsible for coastal erosion are complex, difficult to measure and complicated by the influence of many tidal inlets. Understanding the relative contributions of processes causing coastal erosion is important to mitigation of beach erosion.
  Posted: 1999-06-03
• National Coastal Assessment
  The coastal margin of the US is among the most densely populated, developed, property valued, tax generating, income generating, and recreational valued region of the US. The dynamic natural processes and human-induced changes within this margin are poorly understood yet result in a highly mobile coastal zone that is subject to rapid (decadal or less) change. The goal of this project is to develop a GIS based inventory of scientific data including those variables known to contribute to coastal change.
  Posted: 1999-05-14
• Short and Long-Term Variability of Ebb-Tidal Deltas: Management Implications
  With the increasing demand for suitable beach fill material, coastal planners often covet ebb-tidal shoal sands due to their (typically) coarse grain size and proximity to the beach. However, these sand bodies are rarely mined because of potential adverse effects on adjacent shorelines. The quantification of sediment volumes in an ebb-tidal delta over short and long time spans can be used to identify the system's natural variability.
  Posted: 1999-03-18
• 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
• FS 78-99: Contaminated-Sediment Database Development for Boston Harbor
  USGS scientists undertook a pioneering effort to assemble a database from all available sources of information on chemicals in sediments of the Boston Harbor study area. The database was created to help understand the distribution of sediment contaminants and their sources, transport, and other processes and to support environmental management. The work involved collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE), the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, and other organizations. More than 100,000 sediment measurements from more than 3,000 samples were gleaned from 1,500 references.
  Posted: 1999-03-05
• Massachusetts Bay Seafloor: Mapping Sedimentary Environments
  The modern seafloor sedimentary environments within the glaciated, topographically complex Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay area have been interpreted and mapped from an extensive collection of sidescan sonar records and supplemental marine geologic data. These data outline three categories of sedimentary environments that reflect the predominant long-term processes of erosion, deposition, and sediment reworking.
  Posted: 1999-01-21
• South Carolina Quaternary Geologic Framework
  South Carolina's central coast and inner shelf from North Edisto River to Bull's Inlet has a complex Quaternary history of transgressive and regressive sedimentary sequences. These sequences were identified from 612 line-km of high-solution single-channel seismic profiles, side-scan sonar mosaics, 81 vibracores, ground penetrating radar, Amino acid racemization, and compilation of previous investigations.
  Posted: 1998-11-20
• Hurricane Bonnie Impact Studies
  Hurricane Bonnie, a Category 3 storm, made landfall on August 26, 1998 in southern North Carolina near Cape Fear very close to landfall of both Hurricanes Bertha and Fran in 1996. These pages include pre/post-storm topographic change data derived from lidar mapping of the coast, as well as a set of oblique aerial photography of affected barrier islands on the North Carolina coast.
  Posted: 1998-11-13
• Coasts in Crisis - Corals, Wetlands, and Hurricanes
  Educational background information on corals, wetlands, and hurricanes, and why we study them.
  Posted: 1998-05-05
• Hurricane Fran Impact Studies
  On September 5, 1996, Hurricane Fran, a category 3 hurricane, made landfall on the North Carolina coast at Cape Fear. These pages include overwash data as well as a set of pre/post-storm oblique aerial photography of affected barrier islands on the North Carolina coast.
  Posted: 1997-12-08
• Chesapeake Bay Bolide: Modern Consequences of an Ancient Cataclysm
  The story of the Chesapeake Bay Bolide, a meteor that hit the earth and formed a crater that is now buried under the mouth of Chesapeake Bay; how it was originally discovered, its effects on the landscape, and its importance to the groundwater supply and to engineering planning in the Norfolk area of Virginia and the lower Delmarva peninsula.
  Posted: 1997-07-24