Web Tools

Although only two Landsats were originally anticipated, the program’s principal scientists sought to launch a third satellite for continued coverage because they found a wide variety of applications for the data. There was also interest in advancing the sensors and improving the data.

A long string of Earth-observing orbiters began with NASA's Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS). Launched in July 1972, it was the first satellite explicitly designed to study our planet. Three years later, the satellite was renamed Landsat 1. Outlasting its one-year design, Landsat 1 retired in January 1978.

In response to recent harmful algal blooms (HABs) that have occurred in many of the large water storage reservoirs in the Willamette River Basin the USGS is measuring related water-quality parameters in Detroit Lake and Blue River Lake. The USGS has also developed profiler tools that allow users to see how the water quality parameters vary with depth in those reservoirs.

The USGS provides information and tools needed to help solve problems posed by invasive species across the country. Key components of USGS invasive species science include developing novel prevention, forecasting, early detection, decision support, and control tools.

USGS Scientists published a StoryMap showing projected changes in land use, flooded area, and wildlife habitat in California’s Central Valley for five scenarios of future climate and water management.

View data plots from geomagnetic observatories in near-realtime.

Access geomagnetic data via our webservices.

USGS scientists published a storymap explaining the impacts of sea-level rise on liquefaction severity around the San Francisco Bay Area, California for the magnitude 7.0 ‘HayWired’ earthquake scenario along the Hayward Fault.

Displaying water-quality data with depth over time at a single location has always presented a challenge. These data visualizations were developed as a response to that issue by Katherine Jones, USGS Office of Quality Assurance.

Many USGS water-resource monitoring sites have webcams installed to allow remote visibility of current water and environmental conditions, identify technical issues, verify remote measurements, and gather data for visual analyses. The Hydrologic Imagery Visualization and Information System (HIVIS) provides access to still-frame images and timelapse videos from our active webcams.

This geonarrative provides an overview of Mauna Loa’s eruptive history and hazards and includes interactive maps and datasets to help residents prepare for the next eruption.

The Arctic Rivers Project will weave together Indigenous knowledges, monitoring, and the modeling of climate, rivers (flows, temperature, ice), and fish to improve understanding of how Arctic rivers, ice transportation corridors, fish, and communities might be impacted by and adapt to climate change.