USGS Newsroom

August Science Picks — Leads, Feeds and Story Seeds
Released: 8/18/2008 (Share)
In this edition of Science Picks, discover new information on the Arctic's oil and gas resources, learn about a magnitude-5.4 earthquake that rattled Los Angeles, and find out about recent explosive eruptions of volcanoes in Alaska. Learn about carbon farming, a plague vaccine for endangered ferrets, and how lead shot and sinkers are impacting nearby fish and wildlife. The 2008 Olympics games are underway; do you know how the Chinese culture is being incorporated into the medals? Learn about these science facts and much more!

Ancient Bacteria Uses Arsenic to Grow
Released: 8/15/2008 5:15:43 PM (Share)
Scientists have discovered ancient bacteria that rely on arsenic, rather than water, to grow during photosynthesis.

Strategy to Assess the Nation's Ground-Water Availability
Released: 8/14/2008 1:54:31 PM (Share)
Scientists proposed a strategy to study the Nation's ground-water supply as part of the Federal government's effort to help address the Nation's increasing competition for water.

Don't be Left Out! Three Months to ShakeOut
Released: 8/13/2008 7:12:38 AM (Share)
Three months from today, at 10 a.m. on November 13, millions of southern Californians will drop to the ground, take cover under a table or desk, and hold on. An earthquake prediction? No. But it is certain that the Great Southern California ShakeOut is on track to being the largest earthquake drill in United States history.

Drought Conditions in Western North Carolina Even Worse Than Last Year
Released: 8/11/2008 1:41:35 PM (Share)
Streamflow in the French Broad River at Asheville has reached the lowest level since 1895 when the U.S. Geological Survey first began making measurements at the site.

Third Aleutian Volcano Erupts Explosively
Released: 8/8/2008 5:36:14 PM (Share)
Kasatochi Volcano in Alaska's Aleutian Islands erupted explosively Aug. 7, sending an ash plume more than 35,000 feet into the air and forcing two biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to evacuate the island.

Secretary Kempthorne Showcases Free Public Availability of Landsat Satellite Image Archive at ESRI Conference
Released: 8/5/2008 11:01:17 AM (Share)
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced at the ongoing ESRI Conference that his direction to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to make its 35-year Landsat satellite image archive available over the Internet for free marks the commitment of the department to breaking down information barriers.

Southern Californians Urged to Join Largest Earthquake Drill in U.S. History
Released: 7/30/2008 5:33:46 PM (Share)
The magnitude 5.4 earthquake that rocked southern California on July 29, 2008, is about 5,000 times smaller than the magnitude 7.8 earthquake depicted in the "ShakeOut Earthquake Scenario."

Magnitude-5.4 Earthquake Rattles Los Angeles Area
Released: 7/29/2008 7:04:49 PM (Share)
A magnitude-5.4 earthquake rattled Los Angeles today, causing strong shaking, minor damage and was felt from Arizona to Nevada.

90 Billion Barrels of Oil and 1,670 Trillion Cubic Feet of Natural Gas Assessed in the Arctic
Released: 7/23/2008 1:00:00 PM (Share)
The area north of the Arctic Circle has an estimated 90 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil, 1,670 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable natural gas, and 44 billion barrels of technically recoverable natural gas liquids in 25 geologically defined areas thought to have potential for petroleum.

USGS Science at Ecological Society of America
Released: 7/23/2008 12:59:06 PM (Share)
The response of ecosystems to climate change, invasive species, the decline of pollinators, and the success of citizen science are among the topics U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists will discuss with other scientists, educators, and policy makers from around the world at the 93rd annual Ecological Society of America meeting, Aug 3-8, at the Midwest Airlines Center in downtown Milwaukee.

"Carbon farm" project will study ways to capture atmospheric CO2
Released: 7/23/2008 12:55:00 PM (Share)
Imagine a new kind of farming in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta - "carbon-capture" farming, which traps atmospheric carbon dioxide and rebuilds lost soils.

Beyond Books: Thomas Lahr Named Federal Librarian of the Year
Released: 7/22/2008 11:24:14 AM (Share)
Thomas F. Lahr, deputy associate chief biologist for information at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), has been named 2007 Federal Librarian of the Year by the Federal Library and Information Center Committee (FLICC) of the Library of Congress.

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