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Dams provide many benefits -- reducing flood hazards, providing reliable water supplies, producing hydroelectric power, and providing places for flatwater boating -- but with those benefits come environmental consequences -- eroding river banks, changes in waterfowl habitat, concerns for safe recreational use, and the loss of river sand bars, according to a new report by the U.S. Geological Survey

Experts from around the world have agreed on a standard for locating information, whether held in libraries, data centers, or published on the Internet. This lays the foundation for a virtual library of environmental data and information that will be easily accessible on global networks.

A new method of assessing the danger of ground failure due to soil liquefaction during an earthquake made its debut in San Francisco, Tuesday afternoon, December 17.

Radioactive waste, the legacy of the "Cold War," is a problem for all nations, and nowhere is the problem more of a reality than in the Russian Far East. 

Just in time for Christmas, Pavlof volcano in Alaska and Montserrat volcano in the Caribbean are more active but are not expected to alter or delay Santa’s trip around the world, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

"Secrets in Stone," a video that chronicles the series of scientific discoveries in the early 1960s that led to broad acceptance of the theory of plate tectonics, will be shown for the first time on Tuesday, December 17, 1996, at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco. The premiere showing will be held at 4:30 p.m., in Room 122 of the Moscone Center.

An earthquake generated by two tectonic plates sliding past one another in the Pacific Northwest could be as large as magnitude 9, according to scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey.

For last minute gift ideas, visit the U.S. Geological Survey map sales outlet in Reston for great presents for all your friends and family. The store, and its thousands of maps, is open weekdays from 8am until 4pm.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) presents its annual HOLIDAY TRAIN exhibit of more than a half-dozen model trains that circle the USGS auditorium. 

Traditionally a compilation of brief articles on the progress of major research and data-gathering programs of the USGS, the Yearbook also includes a list of key USGS personnel nationwide, partner organizations from across the nation, and budget information.

The gasoline additive MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether) was detected in some urban stormwater samples collected in 16 cities and metropolitan areas by the U.S. Geological Survey, but all detections of MTBE were less than the lower limit of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s draft lifetime health advisory for drinking water.