Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Images

Explore images taken during Ecosystems' Land Change Science Program fieldwork and research.

Filter Total Items: 196
screenshot of National Climate Change Viewer variable options
Slide 3 - Selecting Climate Variables in National Climate Change Viewer
Slide 3 - Selecting Climate Variables in National Climate Change Viewer
Slide 3 - Selecting Climate Variables in National Climate Change Viewer

Slide 3: The dropdown menus on the left-hand side contain all the variable options that can be individually selected in the NCCV.

screenshot of National Climate Change Viewer Ensemble Timeseries Chart
Slide 5 - National Climate Change Viewer Ensemble Timeseries Chart
Slide 5 - National Climate Change Viewer Ensemble Timeseries Chart
Slide 5 - National Climate Change Viewer Ensemble Timeseries Chart

Slide 5: From the right-hand side menu, the Ensemble Timeseries Chart summarizes the group of models with a median line and range band, displaying the projected change through time.

Slide 5: From the right-hand side menu, the Ensemble Timeseries Chart summarizes the group of models with a median line and range band, displaying the projected change through time.

a view of Gothic Mountain in Colorado
Gothic Mountain, Colorado
Gothic Mountain, Colorado
Gothic Mountain, Colorado

A scenic view of Gothic Mountain in the Elk Mountains of Colorado. USGS scientists captured this photo while collecting soil sample data in the area.

A scenic view of Gothic Mountain in the Elk Mountains of Colorado. USGS scientists captured this photo while collecting soil sample data in the area.

scientist sitting near a soil monitoring station with mountains in background
Soil Monitoring Station in Elk Mountains, Colorado
Soil Monitoring Station in Elk Mountains, Colorado
Soil Monitoring Station in Elk Mountains, Colorado

A USGS scientist preparing a soil monitoring station for winter, with a view of Mt. Baldy in the Colorado Elk Mountains.

a scientist near a soil monitoring station with the Elk Mountains in the background
Soil Monitoring in Elk Mountains, Colorado
Soil Monitoring in Elk Mountains, Colorado
Soil Monitoring in Elk Mountains, Colorado

A USGS scientist maintaining a soil monitoring station in the Elk Mountains of Colorado. Soils play an important role in the global carbon cycle. USGS scientists measure and map soil carbon storage in many public lands of the southwestern U.S.

A USGS scientist maintaining a soil monitoring station in the Elk Mountains of Colorado. Soils play an important role in the global carbon cycle. USGS scientists measure and map soil carbon storage in many public lands of the southwestern U.S.

Gothic Mountain on a partly cloudy day
View of Gothic Mountain, Colorado
View of Gothic Mountain, Colorado
View of Gothic Mountain, Colorado

A view of Gothic Mountain from the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory research meadow in Gothic, Colorado.

A view of Gothic Mountain from the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory research meadow in Gothic, Colorado.

sun reflecting off riverside cliffs along the Green River
Sunrise along the Green River
Sunrise along the Green River
Sunrise along the Green River

A stunning farewell to the field expedition in Dinosaur National Monument with early morning sunshine gleaming off the riverside cliffs. Credit: Becky Brice, USGS.

A stunning farewell to the field expedition in Dinosaur National Monument with early morning sunshine gleaming off the riverside cliffs. Credit: Becky Brice, USGS.

left image shows scientists measuring diameter of fallen tree and right image shows someone holding a pine cone
Collecting Ponderosa Pine Measurements
Collecting Ponderosa Pine Measurements
Collecting Ponderosa Pine Measurements

Scientists and volunteers collect other tree measurements in Dinosaur National Monument. On the left, tree diameter is measured and on the right, cone dispersion is measured. (Credit: Becky Brice, USGS)

Scientists and volunteers collect other tree measurements in Dinosaur National Monument. On the left, tree diameter is measured and on the right, cone dispersion is measured. (Credit: Becky Brice, USGS)

Scientist preparing to drill tree cores in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Colorado
Sangre de Cristo Mountains fieldwork
Sangre de Cristo Mountains fieldwork
Sangre de Cristo Mountains fieldwork

Physical Scientist Michelle Leung prepares to drill tree cores in the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Colorado. Tree cores provide seasonal to centennial records of past precipitation and provide local to regional reconstructions of hydroclimate.

Physical Scientist Michelle Leung prepares to drill tree cores in the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Colorado. Tree cores provide seasonal to centennial records of past precipitation and provide local to regional reconstructions of hydroclimate.

Two USGS scientists examining a tree ring record in the field
Sangre de Cristo Mountains fieldwork
Sangre de Cristo Mountains fieldwork
Sangre de Cristo Mountains fieldwork

Michelle Leung and Becky Brice collect samples from fire-scarred trees in the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Colorado. Trees provide records of past droughts, fires, and the response of vegetation to a changing snowpack.

Michelle Leung and Becky Brice collect samples from fire-scarred trees in the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Colorado. Trees provide records of past droughts, fires, and the response of vegetation to a changing snowpack.

Scientists using chainsaw to collect tree ring records
Sangre de Cristo Mountains fieldwork
Sangre de Cristo Mountains fieldwork
Sangre de Cristo Mountains fieldwork

Physical Scientist Michelle Leung and Geographer Becky Brice collect samples from fire-scarred trees in the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Colorado. Trees provide records of past droughts, fires, and the response of vegetation to a changing snowpack.

Physical Scientist Michelle Leung and Geographer Becky Brice collect samples from fire-scarred trees in the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Colorado. Trees provide records of past droughts, fires, and the response of vegetation to a changing snowpack.

A graphic of the globe with scenes of different ecosystems in flux and associated scientific fields of study noted
Science to Understand Changing Ecosystems
Science to Understand Changing Ecosystems
Science to Understand Changing Ecosystems

The USGS provides science to understand, protect, restore, and solve problems in the world around us, and that includes interconnected communities of living things called ecosystems. 

The USGS provides science to understand, protect, restore, and solve problems in the world around us, and that includes interconnected communities of living things called ecosystems. 

stretch of beach on Kamole Island
Kamole (Laysan) Island
Kamole (Laysan) Island
Kamole (Laysan) Island

USGS and FWS researchers collect sediment cores from Lake Layman (Kamole) to reconstruct vegetation history, nutrient cycling related to bird populations, and climate change over the Holocene.

USGS and FWS researchers collect sediment cores from Lake Layman (Kamole) to reconstruct vegetation history, nutrient cycling related to bird populations, and climate change over the Holocene.

cypress tupelo swamp
Maurepas Swamp
Maurepas Swamp
Maurepas Swamp

The Maurepas Swamp of southeastern Louisiana is a mostly flooded cypress tupelo swamp.

The Maurepas Swamp of southeastern Louisiana is a mostly flooded cypress tupelo swamp.

Word cloud of science keywords from the Ecosystems Land Change Science Program. See the detailed description for complete l
Ecosystems Land Change Science Program Word Cloud 2023
Ecosystems Land Change Science Program Word Cloud 2023
Ecosystems Land Change Science Program Word Cloud 2023

Word cloud of science keywords from the USGS Ecosystems Land Change Science Program. Larger words were submitted more often and from multiple projects whereas smaller words were submitted less frequently. Words in the word cloud, listed in order from largest (used most often) to smallest (used least often) and the number of times each were submitted are below:

Word cloud of science keywords from the USGS Ecosystems Land Change Science Program. Larger words were submitted more often and from multiple projects whereas smaller words were submitted less frequently. Words in the word cloud, listed in order from largest (used most often) to smallest (used least often) and the number of times each were submitted are below:

Word cloud of science keywords from the Ecosystems Land Change Science Program. See the detailed description for complete l
Ecosystems Land Change Science Program Word Cloud 2023
Ecosystems Land Change Science Program Word Cloud 2023
Ecosystems Land Change Science Program Word Cloud 2023

Word cloud of science keywords from the USGS Ecosystems Land Change Science Program. Larger words were submitted more often and from multiple projects whereas smaller words were submitted less frequently. Words in the word cloud, listed in order from largest (used most often) to smallest (used least often) and the number of times each were submitted are below:

Word cloud of science keywords from the USGS Ecosystems Land Change Science Program. Larger words were submitted more often and from multiple projects whereas smaller words were submitted less frequently. Words in the word cloud, listed in order from largest (used most often) to smallest (used least often) and the number of times each were submitted are below:

three scientists on a raft preparing to extract a sediment core
Extracting a Sediment Core from Leonard Lake, CA
Extracting a Sediment Core from Leonard Lake, CA
Extracting a Sediment Core from Leonard Lake, CA

USGS scientists Clarke Knight, Marie Champagne, and Lysanna Anderson (left to right) drive a coring device into the bottom of Leonard Lake to recover a sedimentary core in 2022. (Photo Credit: Dave Wahl)

USGS scientists Clarke Knight, Marie Champagne, and Lysanna Anderson (left to right) drive a coring device into the bottom of Leonard Lake to recover a sedimentary core in 2022. (Photo Credit: Dave Wahl)

morning fog over calm lake waters
Leonard Lake, California
Leonard Lake, California
Leonard Lake, California

Early morning fog lifts at Leonard Lake, located in Mendocino, California. (Photo Credit: Dave Wahl)

Early morning fog lifts at Leonard Lake, located in Mendocino, California. (Photo Credit: Dave Wahl)

three scientists measure a freshly extracted lake sediment core
Measuring Sediment Core from Leonard Lake, CA
Measuring Sediment Core from Leonard Lake, CA
Measuring Sediment Core from Leonard Lake, CA

Marie Champagne holds a freshly obtained surface sediment core while Lysanna Anderson takes measurements of the sediment and sediment-water interface length. (Photo Credit: Dave Wahl)

Marie Champagne holds a freshly obtained surface sediment core while Lysanna Anderson takes measurements of the sediment and sediment-water interface length. (Photo Credit: Dave Wahl)

Cross section of a Whitebark Pine Tree
Cross-section of Whitebark Pine
Cross-section of Whitebark Pine
Cross-section of Whitebark Pine

The tree rings in this whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) cross-section provide a view back in time. Scientists study the patterns of tree ring growth, scars, and wood coloration to determine how long the tree lived, record changes in climate, and even track past fires, insect attacks, and earthquakes!

The tree rings in this whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) cross-section provide a view back in time. Scientists study the patterns of tree ring growth, scars, and wood coloration to determine how long the tree lived, record changes in climate, and even track past fires, insect attacks, and earthquakes!

Was this page helpful?