Images

Northern Lights over the World Heritage site. The aurora is more active when there are solar flares on the sun.

This is anthracite, the highest rank of coal. It is a hard, brittle, and black lustrous coal, often referred to as hard coal, containing a high percentage of fixed carbon and a low percentage of volatile matter. Anthracite is not as commonly mined as other ranks of coal.

Clinker coal is the result of a seam of coal catching fire and burning so hot that it baked surrounding rock layers into brick-like formations.

Cannel coal is a type of bituminous coal that is also sometimes referred to as a type of oil shale. It's name likely came from the word "candle." Cannel coal was once used as a source for kerosene.

To understand how changes in rainfall and temperature might affect coastal wetlands in the northern Gulf of Mexico, USGS researchers conducted field studies at 10 estuaries in five states (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida). The fieldwork took place in a variety of coastal wetland types, including mangroves, marshes, and salt flats.

A sample of lignite, the lowest rank of coal. It is primarily mined for burning in steam-generation power plants.

Clinker coal is the result of a seam of coal catching fire and burning so hot that it baked surrounding rock layers into brick-like formations. Some of the most famous clinker formations in the United States can be seen at the Theodore Roosevel National Park in North Dakota.

This sample is of peacock coal. Peacock coal is not a specific class of coal, but rather the name for an effect in which oxidizing materials in the coal create a dazzling array of colors on the surface of the coal. Usually it is short-lived, as the material fully oxidizes away shortly after exposed to air.

A bright orange Brisingid starfish is seen in the center of the image. The background is a thicket of live (white) and dead (brown) Lophelia coral. Several squat lobsters (Eumunida picta) can be seen in the coral, as well as a blue encrusting sponge and an urchin (foreground, lower left).

Red bubblegum coral (Paragorgia) and several colonies of Primnoa occupy a boulder in close proximity to an anemone and sea star, at approximately 440 meters depth in Norfolk Canyon. Image courtesy of Deepwater Canyons 2013 – Pathways to the Abyss, NOAA-OER/BOEM/USGS

This is anthracite, the highest rank of coal. It is a hard, brittle, and black lustrous coal, often referred to as hard coal, containing a high percentage of fixed carbon and a low percentage of volatile matter. Anthracite is not as commonly mined as other ranks of coal.

Clinker coal is the result of a seam of coal catching fire and burning so hot that it baked surrounding rock layers into brick-like formations.

A sample of lignite, the lowest rank of coal. It is primarily mined for burning in steam-generation power plants.

A sample of lignite, the lowest rank of coal. It is primarily mined for burning in steam-generation power plants.

Artist's rendering of Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM). The satellite was renamed Landsat 8 after a successful launch on February 11, 2013. 

Visit this Landsat 8 webpage to learn more about the Landsat program.

Hermann, MO boat ramp--December 2013.  

Missouri River ice flows past a boat ramp located near Hartsburg, MO.  

Looking upstream from weir past bridge are large “bubble-like” ice formations up to 3.8 feet tall.

Looking upstream from weir past bridge are large “bubble-like” ice formations up to 3.8 feet tall.

Spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) are omnivores, often feeding on fruits and insects.

The USGS monitors several small watersheds in Maine as part of a project with the Maine DOT to help more accurately design culvert sizes. 

In this photo, hydrologic technician Nick Stasulis wades a brook near Dresden, Maine as part of a streamflow measurement.