Images

After harvest, fields are reflooded to decay the remaining straw. This decaying material can fuel the bacteria that create methylmercury, even during the cold months.

Sand patterns in a stretch of beach near Waimea, Kauai.

Sunset over the ocean near Poipu, Kauai, Hawaii.

The southern coastline of Maui, Hawaii, taken from the air, clearly showing old lava flows.

Windswept coastline near the southernmost tip of the Big Island of Hawaii.

A USGS scientist about the collect a water sample with a DH-95 sampler (the white torpedo looking device). After sampling, another scientist takes the bottle of water and pours it into the churn. Having another scientist do this prevents contamination of the sample.

Large adult

Sampling acid mine drainage residuals in Elk County, Pennsylvania.  The USGS has pioneered a new use for these residuals that are currently a disposal challenge, using them to filter phosphorus from agricultural and municipal wastewaters.

After heavy rains the river floods over the bridge and then for several months it will flow through the conduits under the roadway before it dries up again. The location is at 17º59"15"N, 66º17"40" and the elevation is 10 m. 

Pew Creek below Johnson Road, Lawrenceville, Ga. The metal structure is a "V" weir. A sediment dam was built on either side of it to force the water through the weir. Scientists can calculate gallons per minute flow in the stream by timing how long the flow took to fill a bucket.

A section of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina with many fall colors underway.

Cross section of a sagittal otolith from a juvenile Chinook salmon 79 days after emergence. The letters represent: H = hatch, E = emergence, FF = first feed, FW = freshwater residence, TDCK = tidal delta check, and D = tidal delta residence (40x objective).

A pasture and a bucolic country lane near Lake Glenville, North Carolina.

A pasture and a bucolic country lane near Lake Glenville, North Carolina.

A pasture and a bucolic country lane near Lake Glenville, North Carolina.

This tree farm in the mountains of western North Carolina generates income forits owners each year during North America's December holiday seasons.

Members of the Nisqually tribe and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service setting a beach seine in the Nisqually Reach of Puget Sound.

This tree farm in the mountains of western North Carolina generates income for its owners each year during North America's December holiday seasons.

This tree farm in the mountains of western North Carolina generates income for its owners each year during North America's December holiday seasons.

Members of the Nisqually tribe and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service setting a beach seine in the Nisqually Reach of Puget Sound.

This tree farm in the mountains of western North Carolina generates income for its owners each year during North America's December holiday seasons.