Images

Trail to Abrams Falls in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Prairie Creek nr. Silver Creek is a tributary of the Platte River. The photo was taken to capture Autumn's colors amplified by water.

A mosaic of the surface of Mercury made from hundreds of images taken by the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft.

Block of ice on Vitus Lake, from Bering Glacier, Alaska

USGS biologist Randy Bennett and volunteers sample a stream using electro-fishing gear.

ARCTIC OCEAN - A multi-year ice floe slides down the starboard side of the Coast Guard Cutter Healy Aug. 11, 2009, as the ship heads north into even thicker ice. "You can tell that this is a multi-year ice floe by the light blue melt ponds that have formed on top of the floe," said Pablo Clemente-Colón, chief scientist at the U.S. National Ice Center.

At 4:50 a.m. PST on Oct. 22, 2007, a coyote runs into the wash, presumably fleeing from the fires. Photo credit: USGS.

The tsunami that resulted from the M 8.8 earthquake on Feb. 27, 2010 destroyed hundreds of homes in Dichato, Chile.

Two school teachers stand outside a neighbor's destroyed adobe home in Cauquenes, Chile following the M 8.8 earthquake on Feb. 27, 2010. Reconstruction in this ancient city will be based on reinforced concrete rather than highly vulnerable adobe.

Ice and debris buildup on bridge over Wild Rice River. Photo taken at 174th Ave and 124th St southwest of Horace, ND.

Ice and debris buildup on bridge over Wild Rice River. Photo taken at 174th Ave and 124th St southwest of Horace, ND.

Dr. Christina Kellogg, USGS DISCOVRE's microbiologist, begins a dive in the Johnson-Sea-Link submersible to study deep-sea coral. The submersible can reach depths of 900 meters and has a manipulator arm and suction tool for collecting samples.

Bristle-thighed Curlews (Numenius tahitiensis) are large shorebirds that breed in Alaska and spend the nonbreeding season on atolls and small islands throughout Oceania. This life history pattern requires curlews to migrate long distances each year.

USGS Cooperative Research Unit graduate student Ambre Chaudoin monitors dissolved oxygen levels, pH, and temperature in endangered Devils Hole pupfish spawning habitat in Devils Hole.

The Faka Union Canal Weir #1 (Collier County, Florida) helps create a downstream hydrological haven for manatees. During the cold winter months, the right flow conditions can maintain a salinity gradient known as a halocline that traps warm water near the bottom of the residential canals at Port of the Islands.

Freshwater flowing over the Faka Union Canal Weir #1 near Port of the Islands, Collier County, Florida. During cold weather, freshwater flows here can maintain a downstream salinity gradient that creates a warm water refuge for manatees.

A manatee swims downstream from a weir in Faka Union Canal known to create a strong salinity gradient downstream.

A USGS technician finishes construction on a monitoring station used to monitor surface salinity and temperature below Faka Union Canal Weir #1, Florida. By measuring hydrologic conditions here, researchers found that freshwater flow rates help maintain warm water pockets in downstream areas of the canal.

Western Santa Rosa Island moderate waves weather scenario.

You may notice a green, red or brown film on your favorite boating or swimming area in the summer. This coloring could mean that the water is affected by harmful algal blooms. Harmful algal blooms are an accumulation of tiny organisms known as algae and can release harmful toxins into the environment. Pictured here is a bloom on the shore of Lake Dora, FL.

You may notice a green, red or brown film on your favorite boating or swimming area in the summer. This coloring could mean that the water is affected by harmful algal blooms. Harmful algal blooms are an accumulation of tiny organisms known as algae and can release harmful toxins into the environment. Pictured here is Binder Lake in Iowa covered in algal blooms.