USGS CoreCast

Scientific integrity runs deep at USGS. What is it exactly, and why is it so important? Find out in this episode of CoreCast. Host Kara Capelli talks with Linda Gundersen, Director of the USGS Office of Science Quality and Integrity.

Drought in Africa is of increasing concern as millions are suffering from malnutrition and difficulty growing crops and supporting livestock. Stunted growth in children due to malnutrition was also recently linked to climate change. Join us as we talk with USGS scientists Jim Verdin, Jim Rowland and Chris Funk about what is being done to help.

USGS Research Hydrologist Jim Landmeyer discusses how living plants can be used to clean up contaminated groundwater through a process termed phytoremediation.

White-nose syndrome is a deadly disease in North American bats that has been spreading rapidly since its 2006 discovery in N.Y. State. Thus far, bat declines in the northeastern U.S. have exceeded 80%. For the first time, scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and partner institutions have identified the cause of WNS as a fungus appropriately known as Geomyces destructans. The research, which was conducted at the USGS NWHC in Madison, Wisc., further demonstrates that the fungus can be spread through contact between individual bats during hibernation. USGS microbiologist David Blehert to discusses these significant findings.

Zoonotic diseases are those that are spread between wildlife and humans, and are an increasing health threat in the U.S. and throughout the world. As such diseases emerge, scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and other wildlife health agencies must embark upon complex investigative work to determine what these diseases are, where they come from, and how they’re transferred across species. Jonathan Sleeman, director of the USGS National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin, Discusses the critical role science plays in unraveling the mysteries of these zoonotic diseases.

Producer: Stephen M. Wessells
1980 Eruption Footage: Don Swanson
Original Graphics: Lisa Faust
Interview Producer: Ed Klimasuskas
Photographs: Lyn Topinka, C. Dan Miller, Tom Casadevall, Rocky Crandell, Mike Doukas, Dan Dzurisin, Harry Glicken, Robert Krimmel, Peter Lipman, Austin Post, J.G. Rosenbaum, Don Swanson, David Wieprecht and others from USGS.
Additional Info: http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/