Images

Oil-saturated sandstone in the Nanushuk Formation in westernmost National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). Oil in these rocks likely was generated beneath Western North Slope and migrated northeastward into NPR-A.

Overview of folded Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous rocks in southern part of Western North Slope.

Faulted and folded petroleum source rocks in Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks (Kingak Shale, pebble shale unit, and gamma-ray zone of Hue Shale) in southern part of Western North Slope. Thermal maturity of these rocks are at the upper limit of oil preservations.

Geologists discuss the geology of Jurassic rocks in thurst-faulted structures near the southern limit of Western North Slope.

USGS scientist Chantelle Davis prepares to collect a red-dye sample, at sunrise, for the Time of Travel study in Olathe, Kansas. 

USGS scientist uses a weighted basket sampler to collect a Time of Travel red-dye sample at WaterOne in Olathe, Kansas. 

USGS map of Earth MRI projects in West Virginia announced in September 2020.

USGS scientist watches over the many samples collected during the red-dye study trial run in Desoto, Kansas while he awaits the next sample.

USGS map of Earth MRI projects in Texas' Trans-Pecos region announced in September 2020.

USGS scientist Ian Gambill gets a field fluorometer reading from a recently collected red-dye study sample from the Kansas River in DeSoto, Kansas.

A black carp collected by USGS scientists from the Mississippi River. Credit: USGS.

Landsat 8 image on the Utah-Arizona Border on the Navajo Nation acquired on September 18, 2020.

For more information about Landsat, please visit www.usgs.gov/Landsat

To download the data, visit earthexplorer.usgs.gov

Throughout the historically active 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season,USGS hydrologists have been working quickly to collect vital flood and streamflow information in impacted areas.

In this NOAA satellite image from Sept. 15, 2020, Hurricane Sally approaches the U.S. Gulf Coast, Hurricane Paulettte creates storm waves far out in the Atlantic, and Tropical Storms Teddy and Vicky lie near the coast of Africa. Two tropical depressions are also developing; one of them is not visible in this image.

USGS scientist John Fulton measures streamflow on Middle Fork Ranch Creek, Colorado using instream, conventional methods. USGS radar equipment is also shown recording non-contact river discharge.  

A firefighter wearing safety gear and holding a drip torch walks away from a line of burning vegetation.

This Coastal Change Storm Hazard Team forecast was made at 4 AM CDT August 26, 2020 and shows forecast beach erosion at the base of the dunes (the strip of colored bars closest to the coast), overwash (middle strip) and inundation (outer strip) from Hurricane Laura.  The model accounts for sandy beaches and barrier islands and does not include marshes,

This USGS streamgage on Schantz Spring near Wescosville, Pennsylvania was partially submerged after floodwaters from Tropical Storm Isaias quickly rose and flooded the area.

Fisseha Mengistu, USGS hydrologic technician, uses a device that lowers a water sampler into the creek below to collect samples used for water quality testing. Experts will be able to use this data to track how Tropical Storm Isaias impacted water quality in the area. This work was done on Rock Creek in Washington, D.C.

This USGS storm tide sensor was installed August 1 in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to measure the coastal impacts of Hurricane Isaias. Photo by Joshua Lee, USGS.

This rapid deployment gauge was installed August 1 in Swansboro, North Carolina on the White Oak River to monitor water levels in order track potential flooding caused by Tropical Storm Isaias. Photo by Bryce McClenney, USGS.