Images

Tony Trease, USGS Hydrologic Technician, measuring streamflow in the South Platte River outside of Denver, Colo.

Tony Trease, USGS Hydrologic Technician, measuring streamflow in the South Platte River outside of Denver, Colo.

Night sky at USGS streamgage 06408650, Cheyenne River near Scenic, SD.

Pallid sturgeon eggs become adhesive minutes after fertilization.  Scientists are working to understand the factors that influence the adhesiveness of sturgeon eggs.

A large giant African land snail sitting on a gloved hand.  The snail is approximately 8 inches long and covers the entire hand.  

A Megachile bee on a primrose flower.

Acoustic telemetry transmitter used to monitor shovelnose sturgeon and pallid sturgeon during spawning in specially constructed ponds at the Columbia Environmental Research Center.

Powerline sites with the  trap arrangement (small bowls with soapy water hanging from a frame; the bees are attracted to and get entrapped in the water).

Underwater image of a wave breaking over a coral reef on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. This image shows how the high hydrodynamic roughness of live, healthy corals causes friction that induces breaking of waves over coral reefs, reducing wave energy at the shoreline that can cause flooding and island overwash.

Researchers emptying a set of traps. The team uses a hand-net to capture larger bees observed along the transects. The same approach is used in the non-powerline land cover types to survey bees in those land covers.

Scientist surgically implants an acoustic transmitter in a shovelnose sturgeon to monitor spawning behavior during controlled experiments.

A Ph.D. student setting up a trap to capture bees.

On April 29, hydrologic technicians Anthony Underwood and Jeremiah Pomerleau visited the USGS gaging station on the St. John River at Ninemile Bridge and found a sea of broken up, dirty ice left behind by a recent ice jam.

According to Anthony, photos don't do the size and scale of the ice chunks any justice.

Researchers count out 800 eight-day old, free embryo lake sturgeon for studies of downstream dispersal in experimental streams.

Lake sturgeon free embryos at 3 days post hatch.  Free embryos at this stage have only a rudimentary mouth, their pectoral fins are only beginning to develop, and they rely on a large yolk sac for food. 

USGS research geographer Ben Jones is dressed warmly as he stands next to portable core-drilling device in a snow-covered area.

The new, large research vessel (R/V) Arcticus will enable USGS Great Lakes Science Center scientists to explore fish health and water quality in Lakes Michigan and Huron.

The new, large research vessel (R/V) Arcticus will enable USGS Great Lakes Science Center scientists to explore fish health and water quality in Lakes Michigan and Huron.

The new, large research vessel (R/V) Arcticus will enable USGS Great Lakes Science Center scientists to explore fish health and water quality in Lakes Michigan and Huron.

Newly hatched lake sturgeon free embryos.  Sturgeon embryos hatch without well-developed eyes, mouth, or fins and rely on a large yolk sac to fuel rapid early development.

A slice of a piston core containing wood and plant material from Russell Key in Florida Bay, Everglades National Park, April 18, 2014. The large piece of wood is from a red mangrove. Photo: USGS