Images

USGS staff preparing to deploy a bedload sampler into the river below.

What is bedload?

USGS staff preparing to deploy a bedload sampler.

What is bedload?

USGS staff retrieving a bedload sampler from a riverbed.

What is bedload?

Upper Accotink Creek is the longer of the of two streams that feed Lake Accotink. The USGS has been monitoring water quality in Accokink Creek since 2011, and has been monitoring water depth in the creek as far back as 1947.

A salamander found in Short Creek, West Virginia during a synoptic habitat survey as a part of the New River Gorge Abandoned Coal Mine Restoration Effects Study.

A salamander found in Short Creek, West Virginia during a synoptic habitat survey as a part of the New River Gorge Abandoned Coal Mine Restoration Effects Study.

Upper Accotink Creek is the longer of the of two streams that feed Lake Accotink. The USGS has been monitoring water quality in Accokink Creek since 2011, and has been monitoring water depth in the creek as far back as 1947.

Upper Accotink Creek is the longer of the of two streams that feed Lake Accotink. The USGS has been monitoring water quality in Accokink Creek since 2011, and has been monitoring water depth in the creek as far back as 1947.

Two USGS hydrologists collect water quality samples  at Contrary Creek near the New River Gorge as a part of the New River Gorge Abandoned Coal Mine Restoration Effects Study.

Keeney Creek is one of the tributaries of the New River in West Virginia, and is potentially impacted by mine drainage from nearby abandonned coal mines.

Taking water quality measurements in Keeney Creek, Fayetteville, West Virginia using a water quality sonde.

A stonefly nymph found during a survey of benthic macroinvertebrates in Keeney Creek, West Virginia.

A geologic outcrop in the New River Gorge with a visible coal seam. Coal mining is a large part of the history of the New River Gorge, and its effects can still be seen on the landscape today.

A juvenile salamander found during a habitat survey in the New River Gorge.

This image is a part of the New River Gorge Abandoned Coal Mine Restoration Effects Study.

Long Branch is an urban stream in Fairfax, Virginia that transports elevated amounts of suspended sediment. Streambank erosion is one source of suspended sediment to downstream water bodies. Streambank erosion is common in urban streams such as this one.

Lake Accotink is a 55-acre lake that is greatly valued to the local community. High sediment loads puts this lake at risk of becoming a wetland if not regularly dredged.

The Lake Accotink dam. 

Lake Accotink is a 55-acre lake that is greatly valued to the local community. High sediment loads puts this lake at risk of becoming a wetland if not regularly dredged.

The Lake Accotink dam. 

Lake Accotink is a 55-acre lake that is greatly valued to the local community. High sediment loads puts this lake at risk of becoming a wetland if not regularly dredged.

A USGS scientist collecting soil samples for nutrient composition and bank erosion from the streambank of Long Branch.

Sediment deposition is monitored along the Long Branch creek in Fairfax County, Virginia as a part of the Fairfax County Water Resources Monitoring Network.

The South Fork of the Shenandoah River during a harmful algal bloom (HAB) event. A USGS scientist wades into the river to collect readings. Mats of algae float at the surface while filamentous algae coats the riverbed.

The War Branch bioreactor was installed below a natural spring in the War Branch watershed. The USGS had previously measured elevated nitrate concentrations from this spring.