Images

The sailfin catfish is one of 13 species of nonnative fish that biologists discovered during the Fish Slam in Big Cypress National Preserve, March 23, 2017.

Mineral: Molybdenite

Mineral Origin: Henderson Mine, Empire, CO

Primary Mineral Commodity: Molybdenum

Mineral: Tetrahedrite (a copper antimony sulfosalt)

Mineral Origin: Bingham Canyon, UT

Main Commodity: Silver

Mineral: Silicon Carbide

Mineral Origin: Sample donated by Norton Company

Primary Commodity: Silica (abrasive)

Primary Commodity Uses: Just as their name implies, abrasives are used to abrade, clean, etch, grind, polish, scour, or otherwise remove material

Mineral: Silicon Carbide

Mineral Origin: Sample donated by Norton Company

Primary Commodity: Silica (abrasive)

Primary Commodity Uses: Just as their name implies, abrasives are used to abrade, clean, etch, grind, polish, scour, or otherwise remove material

Mineral: Silicon Carbide

Mineral Origin: Sample donated by Norton Company

Primary Commodity: Silica (abrasive)

Primary Commodity Uses: Just as their name implies, abrasives are used to abrade, clean, etch, grind, polish, scour, or otherwise remove material

Mineral: Alumina-Zirconia Abrasive

Mineral Origin: Manufactured in Huntsville, AL (Sample on loan from J.B. Hedrick)

Primary Commodity: Aluminum and zirconia

Primary Commodity Uses: This abrasive is primarily used in metal casting and the foundry process

USGS scientist Nick Johnson isn’t afraid to get dirty. Here he is expressing green feces from a parasitic sea lamprey. DNA in the feces may help USGS scientists discover the identity of sea lamprey’s last meal. 

A long-tailed duck with an underwater speaker in the background. This is part of a study by the USGS and partners to identify the frequencies at which sea ducks can hear underwater. The research can help inform decisions on the use of sound devices to deter ducks from fishing gillnets and other threats. Credit: Jonathan Fiely, USGS. Date: March 2017.

U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologic Technician Patrick Anzman installs a new streamgage February 23 over the Schuylkill River in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Manayunk. Photo by Mason Manis, USGS. 

February 19 Bogoslof eruption plume as seen from Unalaska Island, 53 miles ESE of Bogoslof volcano. Photo taken from helicopter during fieldwork by AVO geologists at 5:22PM, approximately 14 minutes after the start of the eruption.

Honey bees play a major role in pollinating the world’s plants, including those we eat regularly. However, land-use changes that decrease flower abundance can affect bee health and pollination services.

USGS staff gage (ruler) measuring the height of the water, on the Carson River, near Brunswick Canyon, Nevada.

Streamgaging on Martin Creek, near Paradise Valley, Nevada.

Installing large boulders as rip rap to armor the shore against further erosion at Goleta Beach in Southern California. The tide is very low (negative).

Exposed bedrock on the beach during very low (negative) tide at Isla Vista, California

Beach loss and armoring at Goleta Beach, very low (negative) tide

The desmid family of single-celled green algae are never found in abundance, says USGS biologist Barry Rosen. They inhabit the soft, slightly acidic water of wetlands that depend on rainwater, like Florida’s Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. They don’t “bloom” en masse, but their presence is an indicator of good water quality.

Bedrock exposed at low tide along the beach at Isla Vista, California

Exposed bedrock on the beach, below the University of California, Santa Barbara.

This Indian Space Research Organization LISS-3 image of the Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay region, acquired on January 25, 2017, shows the landscape along the densely populated U.S. East coast. Ecosystems and sea-level rise are among the regional landscape changes that satellite imagery helps to monitor.