Observing phenology is a fun activity for adults and children alike.

Nature’s Notebook  invites citizens to get outside this spring, and join their neighbors in observing plant and animal life events in your backyard.

Gardeners, farmers, birders, hikers, anglers, joggers or all-around nature enthusiasts are already recording the recurring events they see in the lives of the plants and animals around them,  such as when cherry trees or lilacs blossom, when robins build their nests, when salmon swim upstream to spawn, or when leaves turn color in the fall.

Each entry in Nature’s Notebook represents important scientific information about an actual event in a plant or animal’s life.  And when amassed together, these observations are making it possible for scientists to better understand how species are responding to climate change and to develop more informed tools for responding to climate change.

This spring, we hope citizen-scientists will help us out in one (or several!) of Nature’s Notebook new campaigns: Cloned Lilacs and Dogwoods; Maples, Oaks, and Poplars; PopClock; New England Leaf-Out Project; the Juniper Pollen Project; and the Common Lilacs and Native Flowering Dogwood Project. Visit the campaigns pages to learn about which species are of interest for your area.

But if these campaigns don’t interest you, there are many other types of species Nature’s Notebook welcomes observations for – including plants, birds, mammals, insects, fish, reptiles and amphibians.

Spring Springing Earlier?

Scientists recently used data collected by observers in Nature’s Notebook to determine that the “green-wave” of spring – or the flush of growth on trees and other plants across the nation – has already shifted – and will shift more dramatically in the future – as the climate changes.  The study (published in Geophysical Research Letters) showed how the green-wave, which now takes about 75 days to travel from Miami to Maine, may take as few as 59 days by the end of the century!  Thus, spring will arrive more quickly, and forest areas may become more similar to one another along the Eastern Seaboard.

And, in fact, warm spring temperatures in both 2010 and 2012 in the eastern half of the country resulted in record early activity of plant and animals – 2-3 weeks early in some places and for some species; the data for spring 2013 – which officially starts today – are rolling in, but they suggest early activity among some plants and animals this year as well.

Citizen-scientists monitor the different life events of certain animals and plants, including the bluebell flower pictured here.

Jake Weltzin, an ecologist with USGS and the executive director of the USA National Phenology Network, which manages the Nature’s Notebook observing program, noted that although an earlier spring brings early birds and beautiful flowers and glorious days at the shore, it also brings us earlier-arriving allergies and pests like ticks and mosquitoes. And while a longer growing season can result in increased yields for some crops, it is risky because of the higher likelihood of plant damage due to late frosts or later onset of drought. For example, in spring 2012, fruit and vegetable crops in portions of the Midwest were damaged from a very early spring followed by frosts.

Phenology, the Study of Nature’s Calendar

The study of when recurring seasonal life stages of plants and animals occur is called phenology, and people have tracked phenology for centuries for the most practical of reasons: when to hunt and fish, when to plant and harvest crops, and when to move livestock or animal herds.

Tracking phenology is just as critical today for the same reasons and for new ones too.  Not only are the data in Nature’s Notebook helping researchers understand how plants and animals are responding to climate change, but also how those responses are affecting people and ecological systems. This information is already being used in ways that benefit society, including developing more accurate indicators of spring, forecasting the onset of allergy season or the chances of western wildfires, managing wildlife and invasive plants, and helping in habitat-restoration efforts.

Arizona saquaro will be one of the species looked at by USA-NPN volunteers.

Is Climate Change Knocking Nature Out of Sync?

Changes in phenology are among the most sensitive biological indicators of local, regional and global change. Just as in the United States, many springtime events around the world are occurring earlier — and fall events happening later — than in the past. These changes are happening quickly for some species and more slowly, or not at all, for others, altering relationships and processes that may have been essentially stable for thousands of years.

Some wildlife – like caribou and butterflies and hummingbirds – are becoming mismatched from their plant food resources, which are responding differently.  Migrations for some birds are changing too, as they can now overwinter instead of moving south for the winter, or as they fly north, adjusting their pace to keep up with an advancing front of spring flowering.

Phenology, Pollinators, and Food

Working farms and ranches need phenology information too:  pollination by native insects contributes more than $3 billion in agricultural crops each year. Climate-driven changes in the phenology of crops and native insects could change the effectiveness of insect pollination for better or for worse, and certainly complicates management decisions.  However, because little is known about how pollinator phenology is changing, it is difficult to accurately assess how crops will be affected and how farmers might best adapt. By collecting observations of insect phenology and crop phenology together, the USA-NPN is contributing to our understanding of the changes taking place and helping to ensure the viability of crops across the country.

Where You Come In

In three simple steps, you can become a citizen scientist: 1. Join Nature’s Notebook, 2. Choose the location and species you’ll observe, and 3. Start observing!

By joining the program, you ultimately empower your hobby to benefit scientific discovery.

USA-National Phenology Network citizen-scientist Lucille Tower records the one millionth observation on maple vine in the large nature database.

What Changes Are Happening Where I Live?

Want to know more about observed changes in plant and animal phenology in your region over the last century? Explore the USA-NPN’s recent series of regional information sheets:

• Alaska and the Arctic
• Great Plains
• Hawai’i and the Pacific Islands
• Midwest
• Northeast
• Pacific Northwest
• Southeast
• Southwest

More about the USA-NPN

The USA National Phenology Network is a partnership among governmental and nongovernmental science and resource management agencies and organizations, the academic community and the public.  There are more ways to get involved – partner your organization with the Network, let us know about legacy phenology data sets or even share a dataset you may have already collected, or help us rescue historical bird migration datasets.  For more information visit USA-NPN or contact Jake Weltzin at jweltzin@usgs.gov.

Listen to a Spanish-language podcast about USA-NPN.

Diagram showing how precipitation water soaks into the ground and, depending of the layers of rock below ground, can take from days to millennia to get back into surface waters.

Groundwater — Right underneath our feet

March 10-16 is National Groundwater Awareness Week, when we give special recognition to one of our nation’s most valuable resources — groundwater.

Groundwater affects everyone.  It supplies the drinking water for nearly half our nation’s population and provides about 40 percent of our irrigation water.  It sustains streamflow between precipitation events and during protracted dry periods. And it helps maintain a variety of aquatic ecosystems that are dependent on groundwater discharge to streams, lakes, and wetlands.

Groundwater is a part of our daily lives.  Rural farmers and urbanites, water-supply managers and regulators, researchers and policy-makers all have a part to play in the current status and future of our groundwater resources.  This valuable resource is right underneath our feet.

Groundwater Challenges

The USGS strives to understand the dynamics of the many demands for groundwater from both human and environmental uses.  Understanding these dynamics helps answer important questions about current groundwater availability and long-term sustainability.

In many states, groundwater is a vital source of irrigation water for farmers.

Groundwater is everywhere, but its availability varies. Groundwater availability can be compared to a bank account.  An underground aquifer, a resource shared by many users, receives deposits from precipitation and surface water. The many users make withdrawals from the aquifer to irrigate farmlands or supply wells.  If there are too many withdrawals, and not enough steady deposits, there isn’t enough groundwater in the aquifer to go around.

Even when water is plentiful, it’s not truly available unless the quality is acceptable for the intended use.  Both water quantity and quality are essential to maintaining water supply for municipal, domestic, agricultural, and recreational use and for aquatic ecosystems.

Quantity Assessments

The USGS has a legacy of groundwater assessment, publishing the first national assessment of groundwater in the early 1900s.  The USGS is working toward determining water availability in 30-40 major aquifers as part of a national water census.  These aquifer assessments provide objective scientific information about the effects of human activities on water levels, groundwater storage, and discharge to surface-water bodies and explore how climate variability could affect groundwater availability.

Various regional USGS groundwater studies either complete, planned or in progress

Many states are experiencing groundwater decline in places where withdrawals have increased largely in response to economic and population growth.  Many regions in states such as Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Louisiana, Texas and Illinois have experienced lowered groundwater levels by as much as several hundred feet.  In other locations, increased withdrawals have caused saline groundwater to encroach inland.  Extensive groundwater pumping has resulted in land-surface subsidence and sinkholes.  The USGS has recently released a scientific study illustrating  how increased groundwater withdrawals can result in streamflow depletion.  The stress of increased demands on groundwater resources – for domestic supply, municipal supply, irrigation and industrial uses – has decreased availability in some areas.

Quality Assessments

In parallel, USGS groundwater quality assessments assist water-quality managers and regulators in making decisions about monitoring needs and drinking water issues.  The USGS collaborates with other federal, state, and local drinking water programs to conduct extensive monitoring for regulatory and compliance purposes.  The whole of the nation’s groundwater can be divided into 62 principal aquifers; these provide one-third of the Nation’s population their drinking water from public supply systems and 15 percent of the Nation’s population with drinking water  from private domestic wells.  Each aquifer can cover multiple states, yet management decisions are made on the local level.  USGS groundwater quality assessments provide that large-scale perspective on each aquifer, providing consistent information needed by decision-makers.

Cascading aerator at aquifer storage and recovery plant (credit: Cassi L. Otero, USGS)

USGS groundwater quality assessments have shown that many aquifers contain low concentrations of at least one contaminant.  Nitrate and man-made contaminants like insecticides and gasoline chemicals were at levels of potential human-health risk

USGS data assists in conservation

USGS groundwater assessments help inform the public so that citizens across the nation can engage in best practices for management, protection, and conservation.  Groundwater conservation is a matter of both conserving the quantity and protecting the quality from contamination.

Everyone can take steps to do their part.  Excessive well water withdrawals lower the water-level to the point of having to drill deeper to reach water, which can become increasingly expensive to maintain.  To conserve groundwater, individuals can identify routines where water use is highest and where it can be limited.  Individuals can also take steps to prevent groundwater contamination:  1) position wellheads a safe distance from potential contamination; 2) update septic system inspection and cleaning; 3) conduct annual well inspections; 4) properly dispose of hazardous materials; 5) decommission any abandoned wells using a professional.

USGS groundwater availability studies make up an integral part of the Department of Interior’s WaterSMART, which is helping water resource planners and managers tackle America’s water challenges by providing funding, leveraging partnerships, and commissioning projects specifically aimed at understanding and conserving water.  DOI recently released a three-year progress report for WaterSMART, showing that the program is saving water, finding better ways to use water resources more efficiently, and helping partners plan to meet future water demands.

The USGS is dedicated to providing the public with unbiased, timely and relevant information about the Nation’s groundwater resources.  More information on USGS groundwater data, products, publications, and news can be found at the USGS Groundwater Resources  information pages.

Fundamental knowledge of the land and its resources is a basic need for effective government and a productive economy in any nation.  The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), celebrating its 134th birthday on March 3rd, serves our Nation by providing reliable scientific information that can be used in many different ways: to describe and understand the Earth; to minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; to manage water, ecosystem, energy, and mineral resources; and to enhance and protect our quality of life.

A legacy of science for the Nation

Using science to understand our natural heritage is at the core of the USGS. It can even be traced in our pre-history.

More than 200 years ago, the first government survey of the natural resources of the American West, Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery (1804-06), was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and funded by Congress. In carrying out Jefferson’s detailed instructions in regard to cartography and scientific goals, the explorers mapped every twist and turn of the Missouri and the Columbia rivers, gathering information about the soils, plants, animals, and native inhabitants of the lands through which they passed.

The National Map is a collaborative effort among the USGS and other Federal, State, and local partners to improve and deliver topographic information for the Nation.

In 1867, shortly after the Civil War ended, Congress authorized the first of a series of major western explorations that were led by Clarence King (USGS first director), F. V. Hayden, George Wheeler, and John Wesley Powell (USGS second director). In 1879, following the National Academy of Sciences recommendation that these surveys be consolidated, the 45^th Congress established the U. S. Geological Survey on March 3 with the mandate to conduct “the classification of the Public Lands, and examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the national domain.”

Over a period of 134 years, the USGS has evolved from a small group of scientists and surveyors who provided guidance on how to describe and manage the public lands of the West to a leading Federal science agency that conducts research and assessment activities on complex natural resource and science issues at scales ranging from local to global.

The Survey today

The institutional strength of the modern USGS is the broad array of science expertise we have. The USGS operates programs that include natural hazards research, such as our earthquake, volcano, and landslide programs; a network of 8,000 streamgages that monitor water availability and help in forecasting floods; and other programs that investigate invasive species, wildlife disease, and climate change.

A USGS scientist monitors sediment quality in the Salton Sea of California. USGS studies toxic contaminants in the environment to better understand their effects on fish, wildlife, and human health.

We have nearly 9,000 science and science-support staff at work at more than 400 USGS science centers across the Nation. The USGS leverages its resources and expertise in partnership with more than 2,000 agencies of State, local and tribal government, the academic community, other Federal partners, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector.

The Survey does not manage any land or resources or have regulatory responsibilities. Our priority is our “boots on the ground” scientists who work with sophisticated monitoring networks to study our world and its natural processes. Our entire focus is on providing objective, ready-to-work science that decision-makers need to face difficult, multi-faceted issues.

The Survey conducts vital resource assessments for energy and mineral potential. We also conduct research on the environmental and human health impacts of the production and use of various energy resources. The USGS is the sole Federal source of scientific information and research on nonfuel mineral potential, production, and consumption, as well as on the environmental effects of the extraction and use of mineral resources. To support the development of economic and national security policies in a global context, the USGS collects and analyzes data on essential mineral commodities from around the world.

USGS maintains the National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) whose mission is to rapidly determine the location and size of all destructive earthquakes worldwide and to immediately disseminate this information to concerned national and international agencies, scientists, and the general public.

We’re the largest civilian mapping agency. Furthermore, we continuously observe the Earth through the Landsat satellite program in partnership with NASA. The latest satellite, Landsat 8, was recently launched on February 11 and is expected to be operating by mid-May as an advanced complement to the existing Landsat 7.

Today, with the world population at more than 7 billion and projected to grow to 9 billion by 2040; with competing priorities to balance – for the economy, for the environment, for public health and safety; with the serious, perhaps irreversible consequences of climate change and sea-level rise to consider, our leaders need scientific information about the land and its resources that they can trust with the greatest confidence to guide their decisions.

USGS and NASA co-operate Landsat 8, the latest satellite in the longest-operating continuous Earth-observing mission. Image courtesy of NASA.

With historical data comes increased perspective

Historical datasets that have been meticulously collected and archived by the Survey provide a critical context for the current state of natural systems as well as for discerning human influences on the environment.  Some of these long-term USGS datasets include borehole temperature records in Alaskan permafrost; historical water temperature data; streamgage readings for over a century in several locations; four decades of global change observations from Landsat satellites; catalogs of historical earthquakes and historical data from the Global Seismic Network; and paleoclimate records gleaned from ice cores and seafloor samples.

With historical records like these, in combination with cutting-edge research in paleogeology and chemical analysis, USGS scientists can look far back in time — across decades and centuries, in some instances; in other cases, even millions of years — to understand the conditions of global climate, temperature, and precipitation of a certain age. This wealth and breadth of data provides an invaluable framework for understanding climate and environmental changes that are taking place today.

Data in demand

Public demand for USGS scientific findings and data is strong and growing stronger. The International Energy Agency has said of us, “The most widely respected source of information on global conventional oil and gas resources is the U.S. Geological Survey.” A May 2012 article in a respected international journal found that the U.S. Geological Survey is the most cited institution in the world for environmental science.

Other broad sectors of the public and the emergency response community have come to rely on USGS for timely, robust, reliable hazard information. For example, USGS supplies rapid assessments of earthquake fatalities and economic losses; real-time flood inundation mapping to support emergency response; predictions of coastal impacts from hurricanes 48 hours prior to hurricane landfall; debris-flow susceptibility maps; rapid notification of the onset of a volcanic eruption at high-threat volcanoes; and real-time wildfire condition information to support fire fighters.

A drill rig in the Fayetteville Shale gas play of Arkansas. USGS assesses energy and mineral resources critical to the Nation’s security and economy.

A birthday in unusual circumstances

Whether it’s our birthday or just a regular day in early March, the USGS, like many other Federal agencies, faces the near-term prospect of across-the-board sequestration cuts to its staff and monitoring capabilities. Budget sequestration will impact our ability, immediately and for months ahead, to provide the critical science needed to minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters. The entire USGS workforce in every state across the country will be faced with the prospect of furloughs. This substantial loss of employee productivity, coupled with the uncertainty of funding key operating contracts and research grants, will inevitably degrade our monitoring and forecasting capabilities nationwide.

The National Academy of Sciences, the same prestigious body that recommended the establishment of the Survey in 1879, recently released (Feb. 2012) a rigorous review of the importance of international programs at USGS. The Academy concluded, “A global, integrated understanding of the Earth sciences is of fundamental importance to enhance U.S. public health and security, safeguard our natural heritage, and support economic development. …. As the Nation’s leading, integrated Earth science agency, the [USGS] has a significant role to play in contributing information and knowledge to address Earth science issues arising in and beyond U.S. national boundaries.”

The leadership, scientists, and employees of USGS heartily concur. Across the United States, we want the best science about the Earth and its natural resources to be readily available so that it can be used effectively in making vital decisions that will affect our fellow citizens, our communities, and the environment.

An image of a coal mine in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana

Coal is an important fuel source in the United States today. Responsible for approximately 39 percent of the country’s electrical generation, coal is vital to the day-to-day operation of people’s lives.

The United States is rich in coal deposits, with large resources.  One of the most important and largest of those deposits is found in the Powder River Basin (PRB) of Wyoming and Montana, which, in 2012, produced more than 42 percent of the Nation’s coal.

On February 26, USGS released its new assessment of in-place resources, recoverable resources, and economic reserves of coal in the Powder River Basin, the first of a new generation of coal assessments from the USGS. Estimates of total in-place coal resources in the PRB are 1.07 trillion short tons, while recoverable coal resources are 162 billion short tons, and coal reserves are 25 billion short tons.

What Do All these Numbers Mean?

Previous assessments focused only on total in-place and recoverable coal resources, but this assessment includes in-place resources and a regional assessment of recoverable coal resources and economic coal reserves.

A map showing the four USGS assessment units for the Powder River Basin

In-place coal resources include in-place tonnage estimates of total coal volumes.  In-place resources are those quantities that are estimated, as of a given date, to be contained in known deposits prior to production. The quantity which can be technically produced or mined, may be significantly less than the volumes estimated to be in place.

Recoverable resources are calculated using those coal beds from the total in-place resources that are deemed both shallow and thick enough to be recoverable using current surface mining technology.

Coal reserves are a subset of coal resources. To be classified as reserves, the coal must be considered economically producible at the time of classification, but facilities for extraction need not be installed and operative.

Current reserves does not mean that is all that remains mineable. The size of reserves changes because mining costs and coal sales prices are subject to fluctuation based on market conditions – recoverable resources become reserves with favorable changes in costs, demand, and prices.

What is Coal?

Coal is a sedimentary rock made predominantly of carbon that can be burned for fuel. Coal formed when prehistoric forests and marshes were buried and compressed over hundreds of millions of years.  After deposition and subsequent burial, some contents of the rock, such as moisture, are squeezed out due to the pressure leading to higher and higher concentration of carbon, though other elements (such as sulfur, oxygen, nitrogen) remain in the coal.  This process resulted in the various types of coal seen today, which are ranked according to their moisture content and concentration of carbon.

USGS and Coal

USGS has studied coal for more than 100 years. In addition to its own research, USGS works with others, predominantly state geological surveys, to provide the basic geologic information to assess the Nation’s coal resources. The largest and most well-known areas of coal the USGS has assessed are the Appalachian Basin and Illinois Basin in the eastern U.S. and the Williston Basin, Colorado Plateau,  and the Powder River Basin in the western U.S.

Coal is loaded on to a truck in the Powder River Basin. The Powder River Basin contains the largest deposits of low-sulfur subbituminous coal in the world.

USGS also studies the environmental effects of developing and using coal, such as greenhouse gas emissions from underground coal fires, air quality impacts from coal utilization, and studying coal quality for fuel use optimization.

Optimizing fuel use and minimizing its impact on the environment are necessary components of 21^st century strategies for meeting society’s energy needs. One critical aspect of fuel use optimization is an understanding of the geologic factors that affect fuel quality. For example, the composition of coal critically influences power generation efficiency, the impact of coal use on the environment, and the composition and usefulness of combustion products.

Coalbed Gas

There is another important resource directly related to the Nation’s coal: coalbed gas. Generated in and produced from coal seams, coalbed gas, often called coalbed methane, accounts for approximately eight percent of the U.S. natural gas production and has many of the same uses as coal, such as production of electricity and fuel for our home furnaces during the winter. In addition, it can be used in fertilizers, or for transportation in place of gasoline, which is derived from oil.

In addition to its uses, coalbed gas can be a hazard as it could lead to suffocation and explosions (it is extremely flammable in combination with coal dust). Miners would bring canaries into the mines to help them know when large concentrations of methane were in the area.  In modern times, mine ventilation techniques and methane detection equipment has reduced the methane hazard for miners.

Coal is an important part of the U.S. energy mix, and the United States is richly endowed with coal. After all, the Powder River Basin is the largest deposit of low-sulfur subbituminous coal in the world. However, as the latest assessment of the Powder River Basin also shows, there is a significant difference between the in-place resources and the recoverable resources, let alone the economic resources. USGS’ coal research provides critical information for government and private managers to know just how much coal really is present, what is usable, and its quality.

Credit: The Virginian-Pilot

What if the February 15, 2013 meteor strike hit the United States, and not Russia? What if it were the size of the meteorite that struck off the coast of Virginia during the age when modern mammals began to appear? What if . . .

A Blast from the Past

About 35 million years ago, an enormous meteorite, a mile or two in diameter and traveling up to 134,000 miles per hour slammed into the shallow Atlantic Ocean where eastern Virginia is today. It vaporized billions of tons of ocean water, melted rocks, cut through a few thousand feet of sediment, and with a catastrophic explosion, created a 24 mile-wide crater. It created a devastating tsunami, scattered tons of sediment along much of the East Coast, and caused glassy particles of solidified melt rock to rain down as far away as Texas.

This explosion was equal to about 10 trillion tons (that’s 10,000,000,000,000) of TNT and is known as the Chesapeake Bay impact crater, the largest crater in the U.S. and the seventh largest in the world. Some of the ejected material, known as ejecta, fell back to the earth, including some that melted and recrystallized into small glass globules called tektites, after the Greek word for “melted.”

“It used to be that people thought that impact craters were extinct volcanoes, even the ones on the moon. But USGS scientists proved there were minerals in these craters that could have only been made by impacts,” said David Powars, a USGS geologist who has been studying the Chesapeake Bay crater for over 25 years.

What was the Effect?

The space debris penetrated through several hundred feet of ocean water and a couple thousand feet of wet sediments. “The enormous blast-splash was about 30 miles high before it collapsed back down,” said Powars.

A map showing the location of the Chesapeake Bay impact crater

The resulting 56-mile diameter complex crater has the shape of an inverted sombrero, with a deep central hole in the crystalline rock. A 1,000- to 4,000-foot-high steep slope marks the outer rim of the crater. In addition there is an approximately 22-mile-wide surrounding area full of faults from the impact, which brings the entire impact crater structure to a diameter of 96 miles. Over the last 35 million years since the catastrophic impact, eastern Virginia has mostly been covered with shallow ocean waters that have buried the crater with fine grain sediments.

Discovering the Impact Crater

The puzzle of the impact crater may have started 135 years ago when the water-well drillers for the Union Army at Fort Monroe, Virginia, worked for five years to drill a 907-foot-deep well, only to find undrinkable, brackish water. But the initial evidence for the crater wasn’t obtained until the mid-1980s, when a core sample was recovered that included 135-35 million-year-old particles of weathered rock and marine plants and animals. Definitive evidence of the crater came in the early 1990s with the release of marine seismic data (a kind of large-scale sonogram) from Texaco and Exxon that provided imagery of the 56-mile complex crater.

The Impact Crater’s Effects on Southeastern Virginia Today

“I think it’s safe to say that without the Chesapeake Bay impact crater the Bay would not look the same today” said Powars. The crater draws the great rivers of the Chesapeake Bay Delta to it, leading to the distinctive shape of the Bay.

The signal from the meteor on February 15, 2013 in Russia was picked up by seismometers in the region that are monitored by the USGS. The attached graphic shows the signal recorded on three seismometers.Small ground motion was observed as far as 4,000 km away from the
explosion.

The crater has affected daily life for area residents – from the early settlers at Jamestown to those who live there today. Until the crater was discovered there was no satisfactory explanation for a bulge of salt water that intrudes into the underground freshwater aquifers of central Virginia. Also historical earthquake data show that four earthquakes align with the outer rim of the crater, including one that occurred in 1995 in York County. All of these factors point to the fact that this 35 million-year-old impact crater is affecting us today.

As frightening as the meteor incident in Russia must have been for those affected, another event like the one that led to the Chesapeake impact crater would have a profound impact on the entire globe. The good news is that scientists are now constantly monitoring objects in space and the effects such objects could and do have when they approach our planet.

Time: Wednesday, December 5, 2012 • 7-8pm

Speakers: Alicia Berlin and Alan O’Connell

Location: 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive Reston, VA 20192

Phone:  703-648-4748

Please Note: This event takes place at a Federal Facility — Photo Id is Required

FREE and Open to the Public

Follow this event live on Twitter @USGSLive

This announcement and directions can be found online.

Requests for accommodations (i.e. sign language interpreting) require notice at least two weeks before the event. Please email jcorley@usgs.gov or call 703-648-7770.

The USGS public lectures are held monthly in Reston, Virginia. These evening events are free to the public and intended to familiarize a general audience with science issues that are meaningful to their daily lives. USGS speakers are selected for their ability and enthusiasm to share their expertise with an audience that may be unfamiliar with the topic; speakers are encouraged to thoroughly explain the subject matter and to define any words or terms that may be unfamiliar.

The USGS lecture series provides the public an opportunity to interact with USGS scientists and ask questions about recent developments in Natural Hazards; Water; Energy Minerals and Environmental Health; Climate and Land Use Change; Ecosystems; and Core Science Systems. Ultimately, the goal is to create a better understanding of the importance and value of USGS science in action.

USGS hydrographer deploying a storm-surge sensor prior to Hurricane Rita

In response to Hurricane Sandy, USGS has deployed several hundred storm surge sensors to collect information about the effects of Sandy on the Atlantic Coast. Here are some frequently asked questions about these important sensors:

1.  What is this program?  The USGS has developed a mobile network of rapidly, deployable experimental instruments with which to observe and document hurricane-induced storm-surge domes as they make landfall and interact with coastal features.

2. Why are we undertaking this work?  The work will enable us to compile data so that we can quantify storm-surge dynamics (wave heights, forces, speeds, and extent) for various storm conditions, topographies, ecologies, built environments, and landuses.  This information will lead to better storm-surge models, more accurate flood forecasts, more effective flood-protection infrastructure, and wiser landuse policies.

3. What is the nature of the work?  About 40 to 70 storm-surge sensors (non-vented pressure transducers) are strapped to bridge piers (picture A), power and light poles, and other structures along and inland of the coast about 50 miles left and 100 miles right of the projected path of hurricane landfall.   The effort involves 6 to 10 2-person teams that deploy the instruments 24 to 48 hours prior to landfall.

Typical storm surge sensor housing

4. What type of data do the sensors collect?  Water-level (hence storm surge levels) and barometric pressure are recorded every 30 seconds for most sites.  Sensors located on beaches record wave height every 2 seconds.  The recording period lasts for 1 to 3 days depending on the magnitude of the storm and post-storm access to the sensor sites.

5.  What do these sensors look like?  They are 1-1/2” aluminum or steel pipes strapped to a piling or other stable structure.  The top will have a metal or PVC cap and the bottom will be open for the water to enter.  The sensor housing protects a water-level sensor inside.  A unique USGS visual ID sticker will be on the outside (shown below).  They may be yellow or aluminum in color.  Please call the phone number on the sticker before doing anything.

6. What are we going to do with the data?  Data are uploaded to the web as stage and pressure time series.  We generate various graphics to create 3-D water-surface images, and depth (picture B) and duration maps.  Together they enable us to study surge flooding, including wave height, and moment by moment, visualize its interaction with the coastal features such as beaches, islands, estuaries, and streams.  By tying these data together and with local topography, we can determine the rates at which flood waters transverse various water bodies and landforms, the major paths of penetration, their duration, and the height and frequency of waves that strike dunes and built infrastructure.

Data of this nature is quite rare and very valuable for determination of flood insurance maps, building codes, and for calibration of the hurricane inundation models.  Accurate model forecasts are critical for community preparation of storm response and evacuation plans.

An example of a label placed on all USGS storm surge sensors

7. Are the surge data reported in real-time?  The surge data are not reported in real time but are logged on-site and are not available until they are processed and calibrated for barometric pressure, water density, and elevation datums.  We are experimenting with downward-looking radar devices for directly sensing surge elevation in real-time.  Three such devices were deployed during Hurricane Ernesto.

8. What other kinds of data are needed?  There are several kinds of data that would compliment this work and for which we seek collaborators.  These include offshore water-level and wave-height data, wind speed and direction, inland water salinity, post-storm ecological assessments, and geological evaluations of beach and landform behavior, and engineering evaluations.

9. Who uses this information?  Our data is used by the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS) and National Hurricane Center (NHC) and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), as well as state responders and emergency management officials.

10. Where can I lean more?  Reports on previous USGS storm surge documentation efforts are available online.

Time: Wednesday, November 7, 2012 • 7-8pm

Speaker: Larry Meinert

Location: 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive Reston, VA 20192

Phone:  703-648-4748

Please Note: This event takes place at a Federal Facility — Photo Id is Required

FREE and Open to the Public

Follow this event live on Twitter @USGSLive

This announcement and directions can be found online.

Requests for accommodations (i.e. sign language interpreting) require notice at least two weeks before the event. Please email jcorley@usgs.gov or call 703-648-7770.

The USGS public lectures are held monthly in Reston, Virginia. These evening events are free to the public and intended to familiarize a general audience with science issues that are meaningful to their daily lives. USGS speakers are selected for their ability and enthusiasm to share their expertise with an audience that may be unfamiliar with the topic; speakers are encouraged to thoroughly explain the subject matter and to define any words or terms that may be unfamiliar.

The USGS lecture series provides the public an opportunity to interact with USGS scientists and ask questions about recent developments in Natural Hazards; Water; Energy Minerals and Environmental Health; Climate and Land Use Change; Ecosystems; and Core Science Systems. Ultimately, the goal is to create a better understanding of the importance and value of USGS science in action.

The greater sage-grouse is emblematic of the sagebrush ecosystem of the Great Basin of the Western United States. USGS scientists will host several talks and poster at The Wildlife Society meeting, describing research that can improve sagebrush habitat management and land-use decisions.

More than just Rocks

You could say that the U.S. Geological Survey is about more than just rocks.

When wildlife scientists, managers and students gather in Portland, Oregon, this October for The Wildlife Society’s 2012 Conference, they’ll find a conference program with close to 60 presentations, 5 symposia and at least 26 posters featuring a USGS contributor or mentor.

Now nested in the Ecosystems mission of the agency, wildlife research programs at USGS match the longevity of The Wildlife Society, which commemorates its 75^th anniversary this year. The Cooperative Research Unit program was founded in 1935, and one USGS Ecosystems science center — the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center — came into being in 1936, when President Franklin Roosevelt established the Patuxent Research Refuge.

With over a century of history under various U.S. Department of Interior entities, these wildlife research units now form a crucial and complementary element of USGS.

These days USGS is working on science issues that are more complex, larger in scale, and involve more scientific uncertainty than in the past. The agency’s expertise in mapping and landscape surveys, satellite tools and natural hazards analysis has injected technological innovations into wildlife research. At the same time, the legacy of these wildlife research programs — and the collaborative partnerships they have nurtured — are ever more critical as USGS assists other Interior agencies on addressing complex wildlife resource issues, such as climate change, energy, ecosystem restoration, water availability, and human impacts on the landscape.

USGS at The Wildlife Society’s 2012 Conference

White-nose syndrome is devastating bat species, and this one will be one of many wildlife diseases to be discussed by USGS scientists at The Wildlife Society Conference.

A quick glance through the 2012 conference program and you’ll find USGS scientists alongside academia, agency and institutional partners slated to discuss wildlife topics such as:

• Bat interactions with wind energy installations,
• energy development decision support and greater sage-grouse, songbirds, raptors and other species,
• white-nose syndrome, chronic wasting disease and other wildlife health trends,
• innovations in spatial capture-recapture models and hierarchical models, as well as applications of population genetics, LiDAR and stable isotope analysis,
• conservation, climate change impacts and habitat modeling of migratory waterfowl and shorebirds, and
• pika, polar bear, clapper rail, spotted owl, salamanders and other species of concern.

Furthermore, USGS is proud to continue its support of the TWS Native Students Professional Development Program, welcoming the next generation of wildlife scientists and enriching the cultural and technical knowledge base of the wildlife research community.

Follow Us!

USGS scientists will present research on many waterfowl species at The Wildlife Society conference, including northern pintails, lesser scaup, Hawaiian goose, and diving ducks.

Fans can follow the USGS at TWS 2012 Conference via social media. Follow @USGSlive on Twitter as well as the #TWS2012 conference hashtag, friend us on Facebook at facebook.com/usgeologicalsurvey, browse the schedule of USGS talks on Google Calendar or add the schedule to your smartphone.

More importantly, say hello to our many scientists in person and stop by the USGS exhibit booth. It’s said that you learn the most being out in the field, but the same can be said for the great face-to-face exchange of ideas and inspired collaborations that are sparked at TWS conferences.

Happy 75^th Birthday, TWS!

Scan this to browse the schedule of USGS talks on Google Calendar:

Browse the schedule of USGS talks at The Wildlife Society’s conference on Google Calendar

Scan this to add the schedule to your smartphone:

Add the Schedule of USGS Presentations at The Wildlife Society’s Conference to Your Mobile Device

This map shows recorded earthquakes in the central and eastern United States lain over the USGS earthquake hazard maps.

Last year’s M5.8 Virginia earthquake came as a surprise for many in the area, but in the past 400 years, there have been more than 30 damaging earthquakes in the eastern U.S., ranging from the M6.0 near Boston in 1755, to M7.3 in Charleston, S.C. in 1886. Despite this history of earthquakes the faults on which these earthquakes are occurring are poorly known, and scientists do not have a clear understanding of the causes of earthquakes in the eastern U.S. Scientists are using seismic data from the August 2011 M5.8 Virginia earthquake to answer some of these questions and to refine estimates of the of the region’s seismic hazard. Futures damaging eastern earthquakes are inevitable; join us on September 5 to find out what scientists are learning and how you can prepare for the next big one.

Time: Wednesday, September 5, 2012 • 7-8pm
Speaker: Robert Williams
Location: 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive Reston, VA 20192
Phone:  703-648-4748

Please Note: This event takes place at a Federal Facility — Photo Id is Required
FREE and Open to the Public

Follow this event live on Twitter @USGSLive
This announcement and directions can be found online.

Requests for accommodations (i.e. sign language interpreting) require notice at least two weeks before the event. Please email jcorley@usgs.gov or call 703-648-7770.

The USGS public lectures are held monthly in Reston, Virginia. These evening events are free to the public and intended to familiarize a general audience with science issues that are meaningful to their daily lives. USGS speakers are selected for their ability and enthusiasm to share their expertise with an audience that may be unfamiliar with the topic; speakers are encouraged to thoroughly explain the subject matter and to define any words or terms that may be unfamiliar.

The USGS lecture series provides the public an opportunity to interact with USGS scientists and ask questions about recent developments in Natural Hazards; Water; Energy Minerals and Environmental Health; Climate and Land Use Change; Ecosystems; and Core Science Systems. Ultimately, the goal is to create a better understanding of the importance and value of USGS science in action.