Images

This composite image overlays a thermal image on a normal photograph, and shows the flow field in the vicinity of the County viewing area, at the end of the Kalapana access road. Recent flows, from the past few weeks, show up as light red, whereas the currently active breakouts are yellow and white.

Panoramic image of ice break up on the Yukon River at Pilot Station, Alaska.

The Red River of the North at Fargo, North Dakota on May 21, 2010.

Altogether, flight paths on all of the USGS pre-oil reconnaissance flights covered parts of 11 National Wildlife Refuges, two units of the National Park Service, and numerous State of Florida Parks and Aquatic Preserves. Here, USGS ecologist Tom J. Smith III briefs the pilot on an intended flight path along Florida's west coast.

This USGS aerial photograph shows the white sheen of a sand bar just north of Anclote Key, Florida. Accessible only by boat, Anclote Key is split between a State Park and National Wildlife Refuge.

Florida's mangrove forests were hard hit by the uncommonly cold temperatures in January, 2010. Here, a dull brown swath of freeze-damaged mangroves cuts across the photograph, offering a stark contrast with green vegetation lining the nearby Intracoastal Waterway.

In this picture of Shark Island, Everglades National Park, you can see numerous mangroves killed by high winds and storm surge from Hurricane Wilma (2005).

Atsena Otie Key is one of thirteen islands on Florida's Gulf Coast that make up Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge. Nearby waters support a multi-million dollar clam-farming industry. USGS documented pre-oil coastal conditions near the Refuge with baseline petrochemical measurements and aerial photography.

USGS geologist Karen Morgan prepares gear that records the flight path so that its GPS coordinates can be synchronized with the camera. The resulting images are tagged with GPS coordinates.

USGS geologists Karen Morgan and Ginger Tiling-Range load imaging gear for a pre-oil reconnaissance flight. USGS captured more than 350 miles of Florida's coastline, from Cedar Key to Flamingo, with over 9,800 aerial photographs. The photographs document conditions along Florida's coastline in advance of the arrival of oil from the Deepwater Horizon incident.

To assess pre-oil baseline levels of petrochemicals in the waters off Florida's coastline, USGS scientists deployed semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs) at 18 locations around Florida in advance of oil landfall from the Deepwater Horizon incident.

Although oil and water do not normally mix, oil contaminants in waterways can be measured using a special membrane nicknamed a "fatbag." The fatbags absorb many fat-soluble chemicals from the water at a known rate, so they can be used to estimate the concentration of such chemicals.

Studying arid soils for remote sensing. Jim Crowley taking spectral measurements with a field spectrometer.

Studying arid soils for remote sensing. Jim Crowley and John Mars taking spectral measurements of arid soil with a field spectrometer.

Fathead minnow

A USGS researcher deploys an SPMD near Cedar Key, Florida in advance of oil landfall from the Deepwater Horizon Spill. After remaining at a sampling site for up to 28 days, the special membrane inside the SPMD is retrieved and sent to a laboratory for analysis.

Taking measurements of arid soil with a field spectrometer.

This photo of the confluence of the St. Croix River and the Mississippi River highlights the distinct contrast between water quality of the two rivers.  Photo was taken during a flight searching for radio-tagged birds. 

Microcystis is one of the most common bloom-forming cyanobacteria, AKA, blue-green algae.  Many strains of this species produce a family of potent liver toxins, the microcystins.

The Pembina River at Neche, ND with the streamgage house to the left top hiding in some trees.

The Pembina River at Neche, North Dakota.