Images

This infographic introduces an approach that could subsequently be used to prioritize environmental research for the full range of critical elements.

While it’s easy to assume there’s not much going on in deserts and other types of drylands, the opposite is true! Come with us to learn more about these underappreciated ecosystems; once you get to know them, we are sure you will love drylands as much as we do!

Map of locations of Ecosystems Mission Area locations across the U.S. This map includes the USGS Regions and Department of Interior Unified Regions.  

Elk and bison being fed on the National Elk Refuge, Wyoming. Grand Teton and Grand Teton National Park are in the background. A map inset shows federal, state, and private land holdings of core winter elk range around the National Elk Refuge (labeled as the FWS unit). Map was generated by the USGS.

Multidisciplinary Approach That Considers Occurrence, Geochemistry, Bioavailability, and Toxicity to Prioritize Critical Minerals for Environmental Research

Map showing federal, state, and private land holdings of core winter elk range around the National Elk Refuge (labeled as the FWS unit). Map was generated by the USGS. 

Map showing federal, state, and private land holdings of core winter elk range around the National Elk Refuge (labeled as the FWS unit). Map was generated by the USGS. 

Jackson elk herd migrations around the National Elk Refuge are shown in dark blue (short-distant migrants) and light blue (long-distant migrants). Elk migrations cross federal, state, and public lands. The map was generated by the USGS using data from the USGS Data Release Kauffman and others, 2020. 

Ecosystems Mission Area Friday's Findings webinar; audio described version.  Indigenous Knowledge - Providing Insight into Climate Change.   Presented by Nicole Herman-Mercer, Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center, on August 23, 2024.

Ecosystems Mission Area Friday's Findings webinar.   Indigenous Knowledge - Providing Insight into Climate Change.   Presented by Nicole Herman-Mercer, Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center, on August 23, 2024.

This is a photo of a filtration apparatus being used for microplastics analysis, November 2024.

USGS is developing and testing a safe rabies vaccine for vampire bats and conducting field studies for a practical delivery of this vaccine to wild populations of bats in the future. 

Dark field microscope from the manuscript, " a) A dark-field image of 1.5 µm PS LMMPs on a 0.4 μm PCTE membrane sensor. b) A Raman map of PS acquired by tracking its Raman band at 996 cm-1

USGS national estimates of the probability for PFAS in groundwater at the depth of public drinking water supply. Read the associated USGS study at https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ado6638.

USGS national estimates of the probability for PFAS in groundwater at the depth of private drinking water supply. Read the associated USGS study at https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ado6638.

SPOOKY SCIENCE (and having some fun with a playful, silly, not real science career)

The northern rubber boa is an example of a species predicted to have a smaller climate-niche space by the end of the century. Under climate scenario RCP 8.5--which assumes carbon emissions stay near current levels--this species' range could be reduced from most of the northwestern U.S. to only a small portion of British Columbia.

Photo taken of a USGS scientist working on PFAS analyses in front of her mass spectrometer within a laboratory.

A USGS field crew working on soil sampling, plant community monitoring, and soil water infiltration in the Colorado 'front range.'

Cyanobacteria bloom in a shallow Michigan lake during the fall of 2024. Photo by Leon Katona 

USGS scientists dig small ‘micro pits' to collect soil for testing. The team is careful to minimize the impact to the environment. Soil is stored on a tarp while sampling so it can be returned to the pit afterwards.