Images

Lab bench space in the Quaternary Lab Facility for core sampling outside of the walk-in cold storage room.

Every split sediment core is photographed to document color, structure and stratigraphy.

Sediment sub-samples are freeze dried to preserve delicate sediment particles or for easy pulverization.

Certain minerals, like the red garnets pictured here, are particularly effective at recording the metamorphic history of a rock.

USGS geographer and remote pilot Mark Bauer sets up a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) base station, which will be used to correct uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) lidar data during post-processing. It's early during the field day and a layer of frost covers the ground.

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) remote pilots Joe Adams and Matthew Burgess prepare to conduct drone flights at the Tanbark Ridge Overlook along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) employs a range of drone technologies for data collection in science, mapping, and monitoring.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is renowned for its winding path through the rugged Appalachian Mountains. The steep terrain and dense forests make for scenic views but also create a challenging environment for drone operations. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) remote pilots seek out open areas from which to conduct flights to enable good visibility of their surroundings.

In September 2024, Hurricane Helene brought heavy rain and powerful winds, resulting in multiple landslides along the iconic Blue Ridge Parkway. The National Park Service requested technical assistance from the U.S.

In September 2024, Hurricane Helene brought heavy rain and powerful winds, resulting in multiple landslides along the iconic Blue Ridge Parkway. The National Park Service requested technical assistance from the U.S.

Flowchart of the steps taken to dynamically model wildfire risk, showing inputs (topography, weather, vegetation, and fuels) that are passed to processes (ignition probability and fire spread and behavior). Changes in available fuels are considered each year in the simulations, modifying the inputs.

Exploring the Colorado basement and Proterozoic shear zones. Fresh outcrops like this metagreywacke near Almont, Colorado, and cutting-edge techniques shed light on crustal growth and tectonic processes.

Rock cores from the Hanna basin (Wyoming) penetrate sediments deposited during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum. 

Last Interglacial vegetation changes simulated for 127-119 ka (127,000-119,000 years ago) by BIOME4, an equilibrium vegetation model (Sommers et al. 2021, data from Shafer et al. 2021).

Landcover types from the World Terrestrial Ecosystems (WTE) 2020 dataset (Sayre, 2022).

On August 27th Lance Brady (USGS NUSO) attended a "White House Roundtable on Emerging Technologies for Preventing Health Emergencies" convened by the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP). Patricia Bright, Senior Science Advisor for the USGS Ecosystems Environmental Health Program, was also in attendance.

Collage of photographs of the researchers in the National Uncrewed Systems Office (NUSO) showing Who We Are

Top Row: 
Mark Bauer, Victoria Scholl, Joe Adams, Jill Cress, and Matt Burgess (left)
Todd Burton (middle)
Victoria Scholl (right)

Collage of photographs taken during various research missions performed by the National Uncrewed Systems Office (NUSO) representing What We Do

The west side of Lincoln Creek drainage reveals the intricate details of the Grizzly Peak caldera. Dikes cutting the tuff help establish the timing of volcanic activity that shaped this landscape.

Geologist sampling ignimbrites of the Central Death Valley volcanic field for geochronology.

NUSO researchers Matt Burgess and Mark Bauer prepare for evaluation flights with the WingtraOne GEN II vertical take-off and landing mapping UAS equipped with the newly released lidar payload.