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Pacific Northwest

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These are results 1 through 25 of 58 matches.

Publication
Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5127: Channel Evolution on the Lower Elwha River, Washington, 1939-2006
Description: Analyses of historical aerial photographs of the lower Elwha River, Clallam County, Washington, reveal rates and patterns of channel change in this dammed, anabranching river between 1939 and 2006. Absolute positional changes of the active-floodplain margins, which commonly exceeded 50 m over that interval, have exceeded 400 m locally. Annualized rates of channel movement were typically ~2 to 10 m/yr; higher annualized rates over some time intervals are attributable to the formation of new channels by episodic avulsion. Channel movement by more gradual lateral meander migration was also common. Anthropogenic modification of the floodplain between the 1940s and 1980s substantially altered channel form and position. This analysis of rates and patterns of channel change over nearly 70 years on the lower Elwha River is intended to characterize the evolution of the river throughout most of the time interval when two large dams have been in place upstream. Channel morphology and rates of channel movement are expected to change significantly in response to removal of the dams and re-establishment of the upstream sediment supply during a major river-restoration project.
updated: 2008-09-16 pages include:

Publication
Open-File Report 2004-1447: A Preliminary Assessment of Geologic Framework and Sediment Thickness Studies Relevant to Prospective US Submission on Extended Continental Shelf
Description: 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).
updated: 2008-08-28 pages include:

Publication
Data Series 366: Multibeam Sonar Mapping and Modeling of a Submerged Bryophyte Mat in Crater Lake, Oregon
Description: Traditionally, multibeam data have been used to map sea floor or lake floor morphology as well as the distribution of surficial facies in order to characterize the geologic component of benthic habitats. In addition to using multibeam data for geologic studies, we want to determine if these data can also be used directly to map the distribution of biota. Multibeam bathymetry and acoustic backscatter data collected in Crater Lake, Oregon, in 2000 are used to map the distribution of a deep-water bryophyte mat, which will be extremely useful for understanding the overall ecology of the lake. To map the bryophyte's distribution, depth range, acoustic backscatter intensity, and derived bathymetric index grids are used as inputs into a hierarchical decision-tree classification model. Observations of the bryophyte mat from over 23 line kilometers of lake-floor video collected in the summer of 2006 are used as controls for the model. The resulting map matches well with ground-truth information and shows that the bryophyte mat covers most of the platform surrounding Wizard Island as well as on outcrops around the caldera wall.
updated: 2008-08-28 pages include:

Educational Materials
Tsunami and Earthquake Research at the USGS
Description: General information on how earthquakes generate tsunamis and summaries of tsunami research.
updated: 2008-08-01 pages include:

Publication
Open-File Report 2008-1327 - Interferometric Sidescan Bathymetry, Sediment and Foraminiferal Analyses; a New Look at Tomales Bay, California
Description: U.S.G.S. Open-File Report 2008-1327 entitled, Interferometric Sidescan Bathymetry, Sediment and Foraminiferal Analyses; a New Look at Tomales Bay, California. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) in collaboration with Point Reyes National Sea Shore (PRNS), and the Tomales Bay Watershed Council [http://www.tomalesbaywatershed.org/] has completed a detailed bathymetric survey, and sediment and foraminiferal analyses of the floor of Tomales Bay, California. The study goals are to detail the submarine morphology, the sediment distribution, sedimentary features, and distribution of foraminifera to provide a framework for future studies. The USGS collected swath bathymetric data with a SEA SWATHplus interferometric sidescan sonar system (2004, 2005) and an echo sounder system (2006). The data were processed into continuous mosaic images that show bathymetric detail of the bay floor with 0.2-m vertical and 4.0–m horizontal resolution. Acoustic backscatter data from the 2004 and 2005 surveys were processed into 2-m resolution grids. In addition, 27 sediment samples were collected from various parts of the bay for grain size analyses and a comprehensive study of the distribution of foraminifera in Tomales Bay. The foraminiferal analysis determined that the invasive foraminifera Trochammina hadai from Japan was present in Tomales Bay. The project was conducted in response to a request from the National Park Service, and the Tomales Bay Watershed Council who voiced a need to look at the environmental impacts of human input to the surrounding watersheds that ultimately flow into the bay. The mapping, sediment, and foraminiferal data establish a baseline survey for future comparisons of possible geologic and anthropogenic changes that might occur due to changes in land use or development in the surrounding watershed. These data may also aid in determining the possible pathways of pollutants entering the bay from the surrounding watersheds.
updated: 2008-07-31 pages include:

Publication
Data Series 288: Beach Morphology Monitoring in the Elwha River Littoral Cell, 2004-2006
Description: his report describes the methods used, data collected, and results of the Beach Morphology Monitoring Program in the Elwha River Littoral Cell, starting in 2004. The U.S. Geological Survey and the Washington State Department of Ecology collaborated in the data collection with the support of the local Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. Beach monitoring efforts consisted of collecting topographic and bathymetric horizontal and vertical position data by using a Real Time Kinematic Differential Global Positioning System (RTK-DGPS). The monitoring program was designed to characterize the littoral system of the Elwha River before the scheduled removal of two large dams in 2012. A primary objective of this work is to quantitatively describe the topography and bathymetry of the Elwha River littoral system so that the effects of dam removal may be quantified. Sediment inputs following dam removal are hypothesized to result in (A) larger amounts of fine sediment grain-sizes entering the littoral system and, (B) a reduction or reversal of coastal erosion.
updated: 2008-07-11 pages include:

Publication
Data Series 320: Sea-Floor Mapping and Benthic Habitat GIS for the Elwha River Delta Nearshore, Washington
Description: This is a description of selected data layers for the Sea-Floor Mapping and Benthic Habitat GIS for Puget Sound, Washington. From March 1531, 2005, more than 252 km (19.5 km2) of seafloor offshore of the Elwha River Delta in the central Strait of Juan de Fuca was mapped by the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program. The purpose of this nearshore mapping was to (1) obtain high resolution bathymetry and acoustic reflectance properties of the seabed, (2) examine and record geologic characteristics of the seafloor, and (3) construct maps of sea-floor geomorphology and habitat. Substrate distribution was characterized with video-supervised statistical classification of the sonar data. Substrate of the survey was dominated by mixed sand-gravel and sand. Numerous boulder reefs were observed west of the river mouth within Freshwater Bay, whereas the sea-floor immediately adjacent to the river mouth was dominated by sand.
updated: 2008-05-07 pages include:

Publication
Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5009: Evaluation of a Single-Beam Sonar System to Map Seagrass at Two Sites in Northern Puget Sound, Washington
Description: Seagrass at two sites in northern Puget Sound, Possession Point and nearby Browns Bay, was mapped using both a single-beam sonar and underwater video camera. The acoustic and underwater video data were compared to evaluate the accuracy of acoustic estimates of seagrass cover. The accuracy of the acoustic method was calculated for three classifications of seagrass observed in underwater video: bare (no seagrass), patchy seagrass, and continuous seagrass. Acoustic and underwater video methods agreed in 92 percent and 74 percent of observations made in bare and continuous areas, respectively. However, in patchy seagrass, the agreement between acoustic and underwater video was poor (43 percent). The poor agreement between the two methods in areas with patchy seagrass is likely because the two instruments were not precisely colocated. The distribution of seagrass at the two sites differed both in overall percent vegetated and in the distribution of percent cover versus depth. On the basis of acoustic data, seagrass inhabited 0.29 km2 (19 percent of total area) at Possession Point and 0.043 km2 (5 percent of total area) at the Browns Bay study site. The depth distribution at the two sites was markedly different. Whereas the majority of seagrass at Possession Point occurred between -0.5 and -1.5 m MLLW, most seagrass at Browns Bay occurred at a greater depth, between -2.25 and -3.5 m MLLW. Further investigation of the anthropogenic and natural factors causing these differences in distribution is needed.
updated: 2008-02-08 pages include:

Research Project
Coastal Change Hazards: Hurricanes and Extreme Storms
Description: 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.
updated: 2008-01-16 pages include:

Educational Materials
USGS Coastal Change Hazards
Description: 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.
updated: 2008-01-01 pages include:

Educational Materials
Coastal and Marine Knowledge Bank
Description: An initiative to develop and present a national-scale, interdisciplinary scientific framework for marine environments, the coastal zone, and coastal watersheds
updated: 2007-11-28 pages include:

Publication
Ocean Drilling Program Leg 204 Scientific Results: Physical Properties of Repressurized Sediment from Hydrate Ridge
Description: As part of an ongoing laboratory study, preliminary acoustic, triaxial strength, and electrical resistivity results are presented from a test performed on a clayey silt sediment sample recovered from Site 1249 at the summit of southern Hydrate Ridge during Ocean Drilling Program Leg 204. The test specimen was stored and transported in two different methane-charged pressure vessels until it was tested using the Gas Hydrate and Sediment Test Laboratory Instrument (GHASTLI). Although gas hydrate may have existed in the core section immediately after recovery, little (if any) hydrate was present in the specimen during testing. We therefore present background physical property results for sediment that may have hosted gas hydrate in situ. Because we consolidated the test specimen in increments beyond its in situ stress state, we are able to present properties representative of similar but deeper subbottom sediment. The increased consolidation stress also helped to mitigate some, but not all, types of disturbance caused by the recovery process. P-wave velocities from 1.54 to 1.74 km/s varied linearly with consolidation stress, ´c, up to 970 kPa (equivalent to ~160 meters below seafloor). Electrical resistivity was periodically measured by a Wenner array and varied between 1.0 and 2.8 m. These values reflect both the pore water salinity and soft, fine-grained texture of the sediment. Shear behavior is consistent with the induced normally consolidated behavior of clayey silt.
updated: 2007-10-11 pages include:

General Information
El Niño Home Page
Description: El Niño information with links to a broad range of topics such as Floods, Landslides, Coastal Hazards, Climate, News Releases.
updated: 2007-09-30 pages include:

Research Project
National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards
Description: The National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards is a multi-year undertaking to identify and quantify the vulnerability of U.S. shorelines to coastal change hazards such as the effects of severe storms, sea-level rise, and shoreline erosion and retreat. It will continue to improve our understanding of processes that control these hazards, and will allow researchers to determine the probability of coastal change locally, regionally, and nationally. The Assessment will deliver these data and assessment findings about coastal vulnerability to coastal managers, other researchers, and the general public.
updated: 2007-09-29 pages include:

Research Project
National Assessment of Shoreline Change Project
Description: 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.
updated: 2007-09-29 pages include:

Research Project
Scientific Investigations Report 2007-5120: Nearshore Circulation and Water-Column Properties in the Skagit River Delta, Northern Puget Sound, Washington - Juvenile Chinook Salmon Habitat Availability in the Swinomish Channel
Description: Time-series and spatial measurements of nearshore hydrodynamic processes and water properties were made in the Swinomish Channel to quantify the net direction and rates of surface water transport that influence habitat for juvenile Chinook salmon along their primary migratory corridor between the Skagit River and Padilla Bay in northern Puget Sound, Washington. During the spring outmigration of Skagit River Chinook between March and June 2007, currents measured with fixed acoustic doppler current profilers (ADCP) at the south and north end of the Swinomish Channel and with roving ADCP revealed that the currents are highly asymmetric with a dominant flow to the north (toward Padilla Bay). Maximum surface current velocities reached 1.5 m/s and were generally uniform across the channel near McGlinn Island Causeway. Transport times for surface water to travel the 11 km from the southern end of Swinomish Channel at McGlinn Island to Padilla Bay ranged from 2.1 hours to 5.5 days. The mean travel time was ~1 day, while 17 percent of the time, transport of water and passive particles occurred within 3.75 hours. Surface water in the Swinomish Channel during this time was generally very saline 20-27 psu, except south of the Rainbow Bridge in the town of La Conner where it ranged 0-15 psu depending on tide and Skagit River discharge. This salinity regime restricts suitable low salinity (<15-20 psu) surface waters for fry Chinook salmon to the southernmost 2 km of the channel. The mean change in salinity along the channel was 10-13 psu. The high northward current velocities have the capacity to transport Chinook fry into less suitable, high-salinity waters toward Padilla Bay within hours. The rapid transport times of 2.1 to 3.75 hours between McGlinn Island and Padilla Bay that occur 17 percent of the time, are considerably less than the time considered adequate for juvenile Chinook to acclimate and produce a temporal salinity gradient for pre-smolt salmon that can exceed 4 psu/hour during high northward current flow.
updated: 2007-07-19 pages include:

Publication
Data Series 260: Beach Morphology Monitoring in the Columbia River Littoral Cell: 1997-2005
Description: This report describes methods used, data collected, and results of the Beach Morphology Monitoring Program in the Columbia River Littoral Cell (CRLC) from 1997 to 2005. A collaborative group primarily consisting of the US Geological Survey and the Washington State Department of Ecology performed this work. Beach Monitoring efforts consisted of collecting topographic and bathymetric horizontal and vertical position data using a Real Time Kinematic Differential Global Positioning System (RTK-DGPS). Sediment size distribution data was also collected as part of this effort. The monitoring program was designed to: 1) quantify the short- to medium-term (seasonal to interannual) beach change rates and morphological variability along the CRLC and assess the processes responsible for these changes; 2) collect beach state data (i.e., grain size, beach slope, and dune/sandbar height/position) to enhance the conceptual understanding of CRLC functioning and refine predictions of future coastal change and hazards; 3) compare and contrast the scales of environmental forcing and beach morphodynamics in the CRLC to other coastlines of the world; and 4) provide beach change data in a useful format to land use managers.
updated: 2007-05-24 pages include:

Publication
Open-File Report 2004-1101: Catalog of research activity numbers and associated Publication Numbers, OF2004-1102 thru 1188 - USGS WCMG
Description: Home page for DVD-Video disc set of seafloor transects during USGS research cruises in the Pacific Ocean
updated: 2007-02-01 pages include:

Publication
Open-File Report 2006-1318: Deschutes Estuary Feasibility Study; Hydrodynamics and Sediment Transport Modeling
Description: Continual sediment accumulation in Capitol Lake since the damming of the Deschutes River in 1951 has altered the initial morphology of the basin. As part of the Deschutes River Estuary Feasibility Study (DEFS), the USGS was tasked to model how tidal and storm processes will influence the river, lake and lower Budd Inlet should estuary restoration occur. Understanding these mechanisms will assist in developing a scientifically sound assessment on the feasibility of restoring the estuary.
updated: 2007-01-19 pages include:

Publication
Seaside, Oregon, Tsunami Pilot Study GIS, USGS Data Series 236, home page
Description: USGS Digital Series 236: Seaside, Oregon Tsunami Pilot Study-Modernization of FEMA Flood Hazard Maps: GIS Data.
updated: 2007-01-04 pages include:

Publication
Data Series 182, 2006: usSEABED: Pacific Offshore Surficial-Sediment Data Release
Description: 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 continental margin of the United States. Data and information from thousands of publications have greatly increased our scientific understanding of the geologic origins of the margin surface but rarely have those data been combined and integrated. This publication is the first release of the Pacific coast data from the usSEABED database. The report contains a compilation of published and unpublished sediment texture and other geologic data about the sea floor from diverse sources. usSEABED is an innovative database system developed to unify assorted data, with the data processed by the dbSEABED system. Examples of maps displaying attributes such as grain size and sediment color are included. This database contains information that is a scientific foundation for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Seafloor Mapping and Benthic Habitats project and the Marine Aggregate Resources and Processes assessment project, and will be useful to the marine science community for other studies of the Pacific coast continental margin.
updated: 2006-12-01 pages include:

Publication
USGS Open-File Report 2005-1027, An Operational Mean High Water Datum for Determination of Shoreline Position from Topographic Lidar Data, Title Page
Description: .The National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards Project of the U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, is using lidar mapping technology to determine shoreline position for the Nation's open ocean coasts with sandy beaches. The lidar mapping provides elevations relative to the NAVD88 fixed vertical datum. The shorelines determined from lidar-derived beach profiles are defined as an operational Mean High Water (MHW) contour, and therefore the elevation of the MHW tidal datum must be known relative to NAVD 88. The elevation of the MHW tidal datum varies relative to NAVD 88 along the coast as a function of the local tide range and mean tide level. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tide station data were studied and compiled to tabulate MHW, Mean Higher High Water, and Mean Tide Level elevations along the East, West, and Gulf Coasts. In all, 136 tide stations were chosen: 93 along the East Coast, 19 along the West Coast, and 24 along the Gulf Coast. Although open coast tide stations were preferable for determining MHW, some stations that were not fully on the open coast were used to fill gaps where few or no open coast stations were available. The East, Gulf, and West coastlines were divided into "MHW Zones". These zones are sections of coast to which one MHW elevation is assigned. This operational MHW elevation, which is the average of MHW from all tide stations in the zone, is the elevation used for all lidar shorelines derived within that zone. Twenty-seven zones were created in all: twenty on the East Coast, three on the Gulf Coast, and four on the West Coast.
updated: 2006-10-20 pages include:

Publication
Open-File Report 2006-1234 - Seaside, Oregon Tsunami Pilot Study--Modernization of FEMA Flood Hazard Maps
Description: FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) guidelines do not currently exist for conducting and incorporating tsunami hazard assessments that reflect the substantial advances in tsunami research achieved in the last two decades; this conclusion is the result of two FEMA-sponsored workshops and the associated Tsunami Focused Study. Therefore, as part of FEMA’s Map Modernization Program, a Tsunami Pilot Study was carried out in the Seaside/Gearhart, Oregon, area to develop an improved Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Assessment (PTHA) methodology and to provide recommendations for improved tsunami hazard assessment guidelines.
updated: 2006-09-01 pages include:

General Information
USGS Coastal and Marine Geology - usSEABED
Description: usSEABED provides data on sediment and rock distributions in the waters off the United States.
updated: 2006-08-28 pages include:

Research Project
Research Projects - National Seafloor Mapping and Benthic Habitat Studies: Pacific
Description: 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.
updated: 2006-07-17 pages include:

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Coastal and Marine Geology Program > Online Science Resource Locator > Pacific Northwest