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There is a short window of opportunity to complete glacier repeat photography.  Scientists must wait until late summer, when seasonal snow has melted from the glacier surface and glacier margins can be identified.  This is also the time of year when weather and forest fire smoke can hamper photography and hiking.

USGS employee captures a repeat photo of Grinnell and Salamander Glaciers from the summit of Mt. Gould in Glacier National Park.

The first USGS groundwater level measurement recorded in this well is from 1874! The well was originally a flowing artesian well that was used as an active water supply. Routine monitoring began in 1946.

Members of the Micronesian Conservation Trust and other partners assist with fieldwork in the mangrove forest.

The USGS and partners are studying how mangrove forests in the Federated States of Micronesia may respond to sea-level rise over the coming century. Their projections will help Micronesian communities plan for the future.

An ablation stake which began the summer below the surface of the snow is shown here in the fall, extending far above bare ice surface of Wolverine Glacier, Alaska. A USGS scientist carries a portable steam drill, used to install the stakes in the glacier.

Civil Air Patrol captured this aerial image of Mauna Loa's summit caldera, Moku‘āweoweo, on Sunday, October 20, 2019. The true summit of Mauna Loa is located just to the right of the center of the image, at the highest location above the caldera wall in the background.

Photo Contest Winner | Dec. 2019 | People
J. Mitchell Doyle swamped in soil on the Pamunkey River, VA

An early morning view looking north across Moku‘āweoweo, Mauna Loa's summit caldera, from a spot near the summit cabin on the volcano's south caldera rim. Frost covered much of the caldera floor that was still shadowed, and weak steaming issued from the usual areas. Overall, there were no significant changes observed at the summit.

Arctic lakes support trophic interactions, biological processes, and critical habitat at all trophic levels; however, climatic warming threatens to alter the structure and function of aquatic communities and overall system production.

Horiba Aqaulog - simultaneously measures absorbance spectra and fluorescence

Laura Hubbard of the USGS Upper Midwest Water Science Center takes water chemistry measures on the Alaska Peninsula as part of research to understand how long influenza viruses remain viable in the environment.  

Sean Egen, hydrologic technician, installs a storm tide sensor
at River Dunes Marina in Pamlico County, NC

Hydrographer Keith Lambert installing a rapid deployment gage at New Mill Creek at Chesapeake, VA in advance of Hurricane Dorian. Photo: Blake Dudding, USGS September 5, 2019

The water level at Kīlauea summit continues to slowly rise, with the size of the pond gradually enlarging. The pond today was at least 140 m (460 ft) in the east-west direction (from bottom to top of image). This length is a minimum estimate as the west end of the pond is now partially blocked from view by the crater walls. USGS photo by D. Swanson.

Environmental geoscience fieldwork

Sulphur Cone (left), viewed toward southwest, from 3,480 m (11,420 ft) above sea level on Mauna Loa's southwest rift zone. At right, an HVO geoscientist and technician rebuild volcanic gas monitoring equipment installed near an outgassing fissure.

TOC-L Laboratory Total Organic Carbon Analyzer

USGS and partners work together to install water loggers in the mangrove forest.

The USGS and partners are studying how mangrove forests in the Federated States of Micronesia may respond to sea-level rise over the coming century. Their projections will help Micronesian communities plan for the future.