News
National News Releases
Browse through a comprehensive list of all national USGS news items.
Better Together: How Ecosystem Services and Adaptive Decision-Making Can Improve Land Management
An ecosystem services approach combined with adaptive decision-making can aid land and resource managers in administering their regions for the benefit of communities and stakeholders, according to a recent report by the U.S. Geological Survey and Resources for the Future
Keeping Current with Map Services Made Easier
The National Map provides a new Simple Notification Service and has new URLs for some of its thematic cartographic map services.
Interior Releases 2018’s Final List of 35 Minerals Deemed Critical to U.S. National Security and the Economy
The Department of the Interior today published a list of 35 mineral commodities considered critical to the economic and national security of the United States. This list will be the initial focus of a multi-agency strategy due in August this year to implement President Donald J. Trump's Executive Order to break America's dependence on foreign minerals
Kilauea volcanic activity and ash eruptions intensify
With ash eruptions occurring from Kilauea’s summit this week, there is a threat of an even larger steam-driven violent explosion. Such an eruption could happen suddenly and send volcanic ash 20,000 feet into the air, threatening communities for miles.
Dr. Jim Reilly Takes the Helm at the U.S. Geological Survey
Geoscientist/Astronaut/Explorer Will Lead Interior Agency
News Media briefing for latest update at Hawaii’s Kīlauea Volcano
Representatives of the news media are invited to join a telephone briefing for the latest updates on Kīlauea's volcanic activity and its impacts.
Many Low-Lying Atoll Islands Will Be Uninhabitable by Mid-21st Century
Sea-level rise and wave-driven flooding will negatively impact freshwater resources on many low-lying atoll islands in such a way that many could be uninhabitable in just a few decades.
Invasive Cuban Treefrogs Leap Out of Florida, Establish First Known Population in Louisiana
A population of exotic invasive Cuban treefrogs has been discovered in New Orleans, more than 430 miles (700 kilometers) from the nearest known population in Florida, making this the first known breeding population in the mainland United States outside that state, reports a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Scroll down to hear and download calls of Cuban treefrogs and two native treefrogs.
USGS Tracks How Hurricane Floodwaters Spread Non-Native Freshwater Plants and Animals
Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, and Nate may have spread non-native freshwater plants and animals into new water bodies, where some of them can disrupt living communities or change the landscape.
U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Department of Energy Release Online Public Dataset and Viewer of U.S. Wind Turbine Locations and Characteristics
Today, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in partnership with DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the American Wind Energy Association, released the United States Wind Turbine Database (USWTDB) and the USWTDB Viewer to access this new public dataset.
USGS Scientists Develop New Tool to Determine if Vermiculite Insulation Contains Asbestos
U.S. Geological Survey scientists and partners have created an onsite, time-saving technique for building inspectors to ascertain whether vermiculite insulation contains amphibole asbestos. The findings are featured in the April 2 edition of American Mineralogist.
Earthquake Early Warning! New Study Examines Safety Potentials and Limits
In a newly published study, U.S. Geological Survey scientists and their partners calculate possible alert times that earthquake early warning systems can provide people at different levels of ground motion from light to very strong shaking.