Images

Water sampling equipment in a raft at Horicon National Wildlife Refuge, Wisconsin.

USGS scientists prepare to sample for environmental AIV at an impoundment at Horicon National Wildlife Refuge, Wisconsin

Hydrologic Technician Dean Burdett prepares to board a floatplane with water samples taken from streamgage 04040000 Washington Creek near Windigo, MI, Isle Royale National Park, May 24, 2022. https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/04001000/

Photograph of research hydrologist Victoria G. Christensen, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

An orange inflatable raft containing water sampling equipment sits on the shore of a recreational lake at Rapp Park and Recreation Area, Iowa.

The R/V Arcticus docked at the UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences on its journey from home base in Cheboygan, Michigan to Ludington, Michigan.

Collection of water and phytoplankton for metals analysis in Lake Mendota, Wisconsin. M3 Research Lab researchers collect in two to five liter containers and then filter and size fractionate the samples at the lab process these samples back at the lab to determine the amount of mercury and metals entering the food web.

USGS scientist Grace Armstrong is demonstrating how we collect plankton in lake waters, by towing the plankton net in Lake Mendota, Wisconsin.
 

Grace Armstrong collecting water samples while riding in a boat, sampling in Wisconsin.

USGS scientist sampling water for mercury stable isotope analysis on the St. Mary’s River, Michigan.

Water-quality sonde to be deployed from May through October in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to collect 15-minute measurements of dissolved oxygen, conductance, water temperature, turbidity, fluorescent dissolved organic matter (fDOM), and tryptophan-like fluorescence. This end-on view of the water-quality sonde shows each of the individual sensors.

USGS scientist collecting a baseflow sample to test for organic contaminants (pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and organic waste compounds), with crest stage gage in the foreground at Root River near Franklin, Wisconsin. https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/04087220/

Map displaying National Park Service Units of the Upper Midwest, including Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.

A USGS streamgage housing behind bridge guardrails, with a wet road surface on a rural bridge in the foreground. Leafless trees are in the background under overcast sky.

Streamgage 05356000 Chippewa River at Bishops Bridge near Winter, Wisconsin.

Two swans swim in a wetland with agricultural buildings and farmland in the background in Iowa.

USGS Microbiologist Erin Stelzer filters wetland water from a park in Iowa on a gray spring day.

Microbiologist Erin Stelzer samples a wetland for infectious avian influenza virus at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, Iowa.

Hydrologic Technicians Doug Bonno and Dean Burdett and Hydrologist Will Lund collect suspended sediment samples from a bridge in Michigan on April 8, 2022. 

Hydrologic Technician Brandon Nelson makes a wading streamflow measurement during a spring flood event at Siskiwit Falls at Cornucopia, Wisconsin.

The Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) research team (L to R) Laura Hubbard, Erin Stelzer, Alexei Rose, Molly Richard and Anlin Larson displaying essential tools used in developing laboratory methods to detect infectious avian influenza virus (AIV) in freshwater. The team will deploy these methods for environmental surveillance.

Mineral production lifecycle from exploration through reclamation.

Artistic rendition of the mineral lifecycle from a natural state through to exploration, permitting, mining, and reclamation. Designed for the Minerals Lifecycle Integrated Science Team to depict one aspect of their science focus.