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Natural Hazards Mission Area

Every year in the United States, natural hazards threaten lives and livelihoods and result in billions of dollars in damage. We work with many partners to monitor, assess, and conduct targeted research on a wide range of natural hazards so that policymakers and the public have the understanding they need to enhance preparedness, response, and resilience.

News

Hurricane Season Arrives

Hurricane Season Arrives

PCMSC’s Andy O’Neill Receives CSBPA’s Joe Johnson Outstanding Service Award

PCMSC’s Andy O’Neill Receives CSBPA’s Joe Johnson Outstanding Service Award

Causal Analysis of Fire Regime Drivers

Causal Analysis of Fire Regime Drivers

Publications

Moment magnitude for small earthquakes in the Delaware basin of west Texas and southeast New Mexico, USA Moment magnitude for small earthquakes in the Delaware basin of west Texas and southeast New Mexico, USA

The Delaware Basin region of west Texas and southeast New Mexico has become one of the most prolific regions of seismic activity in the continental United States due to widespread hydraulic fracturing and wastewater disposal injection. In response to the increased number of earthquakes in this region, rapid and accurate characterization of earthquake sources is necessary to understand...
Authors
Sydney Gable, Yihe Huang, David R. Shelly, Justin L. Rubinstein

Predictable seismic cycles result from structural rupture barriers on oceanic transform faults Predictable seismic cycles result from structural rupture barriers on oceanic transform faults

Earthquakes of magnitude (M) >5.5 on oceanic transform faults (OTFs) repeatedly rupture the same locked patches, sometimes quasiperiodically. These patches are separated by “barriers” that halt earthquake propagation and slip mostly aseismically. However, the physical processes governing this systematic behavior remain unclear. We analyzed two barriers along the Gofar transform fault...
Authors
Jianhua Gong, Wenyuan Fan, Jeffrey J. McGuire, Mark D. Behn, Jessica M. Warren, Emily Roland, M. S. Boettcher, J. A. Collins, Y. Liu, C. R. German

Publisher correction: Strong nickel enrichment co-located with redox-organic interactions in Neretva Vallis, Mars Publisher correction: Strong nickel enrichment co-located with redox-organic interactions in Neretva Vallis, Mars

Correction to: Nature Communications https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-70081-3, published online 31 March 2026
Authors
H. T. Manelski, R. C. Wiens, A. Broz, J. A. Hurowitz, M. Tice, S. M. Clegg, E. Dehouck, N. Randazzo, S. A. Connell, O. Forni, S. J. VanBommel, S. Scrhoder, L. Mandon, Travis S.J. Gabriel, C. Bedford, R. K. Martinez, E. A. Cloutis, A. Cousin, M. L. Cable

Science

American Samoa Mapping Project

USGS scientists are leading a sampling effort to the Samoan Basin, offshore of American Samoa. This work is part of an interagency supported three-month hydrograph survey project led by NOAA and in partnership with BOEM.
American Samoa Mapping Project

American Samoa Mapping Project

USGS scientists are leading a sampling effort to the Samoan Basin, offshore of American Samoa. This work is part of an interagency supported three-month hydrograph survey project led by NOAA and in partnership with BOEM.
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Mapping the grid: The United States Magnetotelluric Array

The United States has been mapped from space to the ground across its surface; however never from the perspective of the planet’s own electrical heartbeat. Over nearly two decades, the United States Magnetotelluric Array quietly marched across the country, station by station, building the first-ever electrical portrait of the crust and upper mantle beneath the contiguous U.S. An ambitious, multi...
Mapping the grid: The United States Magnetotelluric Array

Mapping the grid: The United States Magnetotelluric Array

The United States has been mapped from space to the ground across its surface; however never from the perspective of the planet’s own electrical heartbeat. Over nearly two decades, the United States Magnetotelluric Array quietly marched across the country, station by station, building the first-ever electrical portrait of the crust and upper mantle beneath the contiguous U.S. An ambitious, multi...
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Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS)

Software for calculating positional boundary change over time The Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) version 6 is a standalone application that calculates shoreline or boundary change over time. The GIS of a user’s choice is used to prepare the data for DSAS. Like previous versions, DSAS v.6 enables a user to calculate rate-of-change statistics from multiple historical shoreline positions...
Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS)

Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS)

Software for calculating positional boundary change over time The Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) version 6 is a standalone application that calculates shoreline or boundary change over time. The GIS of a user’s choice is used to prepare the data for DSAS. Like previous versions, DSAS v.6 enables a user to calculate rate-of-change statistics from multiple historical shoreline positions...
Learn More
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