Images

Loess deposits sampled for geochemistry and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating.

USGS remote pilot Todd Burton powers on UAS in White Sands National Park, April 2023

Drone-captured group photo with USGS remote pilots, White Sands National Park personnel, and USGS geologists standing in and next to a study area with fossilized tracks.

A view of the East River Valley from the shoulder of Gothic Mountain, Colorado

Drying soil samples at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. (Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government)

USGS Geologist Frank Urban checking connections to telemetered data relay near the summit of Gothic Mountain, CO.

Gothic Mountain in Fall from the town of Gothic, Colorado. The study area for the first phase of the Regional Assessment of Drought Impacts on Soils (RADIS) project is based in the Upper East River and adjacent watersheds.

USGS scientists Victoria Scholl and Mark Bauer retrieving UAS ground control targets at the White Sands National Park

In coordination with the NPS, the NUSO collected scientific UAS data in April 2023 at the White Sands National Park to document trackways before erosion erases their existence.

USGS scientist Mark Bauer landing a UAS at the White Sands National Park in New Mexico

In coordination with the NPS, the NUSO collected scientific UAS data in April 2023 at the White Sands National Park to document trackways before erosion erases their existence.

USGS UAS research team at the White Sands National Park in New Mexico

In coordination with the NPS, the NUSO collected scientific UAS data in April 2023 at the White Sands National Park to document trackways before erosion erases their existence.

UAS in flight at the White Sands National Park

In coordination with the NPS, the NUSO collected scientific UAS data in April 2023 at the White Sands National Park to document trackways before erosion erases their existence.

Drone selfie captured using a Skydio X2D UAS of the team standing in front of the DOE-LM Calibration Pads at the Grand Junction Regional Airport in Colorado. From left to right: Joel Doebele (DOE-LM contractor), Anji Shah (USGS), Chelsea Amaral (USGS), Brandon Mittan (GJT), Matt Burgess (USGS), and Joe Adams (USGS).

Gamma Ray Spectrometer testing at DOE Environmental Radiation Calibration Facility located on Grand Junction Airport.

UAS being flown at the calibration facilities at the Grand Junction Regional Airport

Image taken from a UAS showing the calibration pads at the Grand Junction Regional Airport

USGS researchers flying UAS at the Grand Junction Regional Airport

The San Juan River Valley near Mexican Hat, Utah, is the location of the second phase of the Regional Assessment of Drought Impacts on Soils (RADIS) Project, where researchers are conducting a complementary sampling and predictive soil mapping exercise for dryland ecosystems.

Labeled photograph of the Triton thermal-ionization mass spectrometer. Indicated parts are "sample source", "magnetic analyzer", "amplifier housing", "Faraday collectors", and "ion counter".

Portion of the Class-10,000 clean lab with HEPA-filtered laminar-flow hoods (left) used for chromatographic column separations and four-tier, ULPA-filtered exhausting dry-down boxes with Teflon-coated hotplates for sample digestion and evaporation.

Geologist Rick Moscati loading a sample turret for Pb analysis on the Phoenix thermal-ionization mass spectrometer at the Denver Radiogenic Isotope Lab

Shared instrument lab housing solid-source, multi-collector, thermal-ionization mass spectrometers.  The shared space also houses USGS GSIL (GGG-Stable Isotope Laboratory) instruments in the background.