Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Featured Stories

Dive into the world of science! Read these stories and narratives to learn about news items, hot topics, expeditions underway, and much more. Use an RSS reader, browser extension, or software to get updates when new Featured Stories are posted.

Filter Total Items: 535
Revisiting a Marine Mammal Mystery, with the Help of New Data and Powerful Statistics

Revisiting a Marine Mammal Mystery, with the Help of New Data and Powerful Statistics

New techniques and a massive dataset have helped USGS scientists and partners determine why sea otter populations in southwest Alaska collapsed in the...

Read Article
Could You Be a Mendenhall Fellow?

Could You Be a Mendenhall Fellow?

The U.S. Geological Survey is seeking new Mendenhall Research Fellows! The USGS Mendenhall Research Fellowship Program provides an opportunity for...

Read Article
Earthquake Detected! Here’s How You Can Prepare

Earthquake Detected! Here’s How You Can Prepare

Over 50 million people in Washington, Oregon, and California can take protective actions prior to feeling shaking from an earthquake.  

Read Article
A Martian landscape right at home

A Martian landscape right at home

USGS researchers are studying glacial features in Iceland to help reveal past climates on Mars as part of a larger effort to use terrestrial analogs...

Read Article
Massive Volcanic Eruption and Tsunami Informs Plan for Future Eruptions, Sea-level Rise

Massive Volcanic Eruption and Tsunami Informs Plan for Future Eruptions, Sea-level Rise

Between January 14-15, 2022, volcanic explosions destroyed much of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, an uninhabited island in the Tonga archipelago in the...

Read Article
Fifty Years of Landsat: Observing Earth to Look Forward

Fifty Years of Landsat: Observing Earth to Look Forward

On July 23, 2022, Landsat—a space-based Earth observation program conducted jointly by the U.S. Geological Survey and NASA—marks a half century of...

Read Article
Fifty Years of Landsat: Watchman for Wildfires

Fifty Years of Landsat: Watchman for Wildfires

Earth imagery is fundamental to the USGS fire mission to understand the causes, consequences, and benefits of wildfire. Imagery and data from Landsat...

Read Article
Space Weather and Magnetic Storms: Invaders from Outer Space…Sort Of

Space Weather and Magnetic Storms: Invaders from Outer Space…Sort Of

While major geomagnetic storms are rare, with only a few recorded per century, there is significant potential for large-scale impacts when they do...

Read Article
Fifty Years of Landsat: Impartial Eye on Climate Change

Fifty Years of Landsat: Impartial Eye on Climate Change

Landsat, a space-based Earth observation program conducted jointly by the U.S. Geological Survey and NASA, celebrates a half century of providing a...

Read Article
A disappearing act in Alaska

A disappearing act in Alaska

Permafrost, as its name implies, should be permanently frozen soil; however, that’s no longer the case. USGS researchers are looking into how these...

Read Article
Maps and Imagery for Hurricane Response

Maps and Imagery for Hurricane Response

The 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season runs from June 1 through November 30. Throughout the season, the U.S. Geological Survey will be providing science...

Read Article
A long-suspected culprit is caught

A long-suspected culprit is caught

New research reveals what killed a group of Arctic Terns in Alaska.

Read Article