Modeling Wave Dynamics to Assess Coastal Erosion Threats Along Alaska's Arctic Coast
USGS-led Study: Sediment Management is Key to Preserving Puget Sound's Estuarine Habitats
Restoring Marshes as a Cost-Effective Climate Adaptation Solution for San Mateo County
Extreme low-frequency waves on the Ofu, American Samoa, reef flat
Case Study: Monitoring Coastal Change via Satellite Imagery at Regional Scale in the Pacific Northwest
USGS Remote Sensing Data Tracks Big Sur Landslides of 2024
Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge Sediment Cores Shed Light on Past Hydrothermal Activity
Forecasting Storm-Induced Coastal Flooding for the Hawaiian, Mariana, and American Samoan Islands
San Francisco Bay Shallow Water Strategic Placement Pilot Project
USGS supports innovative project between U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, CA Coastal Conservancy, and Port of Redwood City to increase marsh resilience to sea-level rise
USGS supports innovative project between U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, CA Coastal Conservancy, and Port of Redwood City to increase marsh resilience to sea-level rise
New Video Offers Virtual Tour of the USGS Sediment Core Lab
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
We conduct multidisciplinary scientific research in the coastal and offshore areas of California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii, and other US Pacific Islands; and in other waterways of the United States.
Research Projects
Research Projects
Read about our science projects, find out where we are working, and discover the reasons why our research matters.
Science Seminar Series
Science Seminar Series
Join us for virtual science seminars via Microsoft Teams. Details will be posted here!
News
Modeling Wave Dynamics to Assess Coastal Erosion Threats Along Alaska's Arctic Coast
Modeling Wave Dynamics to Assess Coastal Erosion Threats Along Alaska's Arctic Coast
USGS-led Study: Sediment Management is Key to Preserving Puget Sound's Estuarine Habitats
USGS-led Study: Sediment Management is Key to Preserving Puget Sound's Estuarine Habitats
New USGS-led Research Sheds Light on Deep-Sea Food Webs
New USGS-led Research Sheds Light on Deep-Sea Food Webs
Publications
Evaluation of the characteristics, discharge, and water quality of selected springs at Fort Irwin National Training Center, San Bernardino County, California
Eight springs and seeps at Fort Irwin National Training Center were described and categorized by their general characteristics, discharge, geophysical properties, and water quality between 2015 and 2017. The data collected establish a modern (2017) baseline of hydrologic conditions at the springs. Two types of springs were identified: (1) precipitation-fed upland springs (Cave, Desert King, Devoug
Seismic attenuation and stress on the San Andreas Fault at Parkfield: Are we critical yet?
The Parkfield transitional segment of the San Andreas Fault (SAF) is characterized by the production of frequent quasi-periodical M6 events that break the very same asperity. The last Parkfield mainshock occurred on 28 September 2004, 38 years after the 1966 earthquake, and after the segment showed a ∼22 years average recurrence time. The main reason for the much longer interevent period between t
Improved efficient physics-based computational modeling of regional wave-driven coastal flooding for reef-lined coastlines
Coastal flooding affects low-lying communities worldwide and is expected to increase with climate change, especially along reef-lined coasts, where wave-driven flooding is particularly prevalent. However, current regional modeling approaches are either insufficient or too computationally expensive to accurately assess risks in these complex environments. This study introduces and validates an impr
Science
Developing a USGS Digital Coral Growth Archive using Rotating X-Ray Computerized Tomography
The newly developed USGS Coral Core Archive, housed at the Pacific and St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Centers, contains approximately 500 coral reef cores from U.S. jurisdictions worldwide (Fig. 1). This archive, is one of the largest coral archives in the world and provides historical context for coral-reef science studies, including crucial data for modern coral calcification rates...
Alaska Flood Staffs
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) uses observations of flooding in communities to monitor hazard conditions and support research by the USGS and its partners into a variety of hazard processes in Alaska. Local observations of flooding at a flood staffs are used to document flood elevations, improve flood models, and support floodplain management decisions.
USGS Research Vessel Williams
USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center's Research Vessel Williams.