Multimedia Gallery

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates at least 1 million metric tonnes of rare earth element resources within the Khanneshin carbonatite in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. This estimate comes from a 2009-2011 USGS study funded by the Department of Defense's Task Force for Business and Stability Operations.

Within the rivers, streams, and lakes of North America live over 200 species of freshwater mussels that share an amazing life history. To metamorphose from larvae to adult, the mussels must pass through a parasitic phase on the gills of freshwater fish. To trick the fish into accepting their larvae, female mussels have developed a complex array of lures and baits to attract and fool their...

USGS South Carolina Water Science Center Data Chief, John Shelton in a special hydrologic expedition down the Congo River, West Africa. Part three of the three part episode, reveals a hydrologic data set that changed the world record books.

Walruses are important to human communities bordering the Chukchi and Bering seas in the United States and Russia, and the status of walrus provides information about the health of these highly productive marine ecosystems. Projecting the future population status of the Pacific walrus was investigated with a new model developed by scientists at the USGS Alaska Science Center.

The...

The USGS recently completed sampling for the North American Soil Geochemical Landscapes Project on November 18, 2010. The last three samples of a total of 14,400 samples were collected at Bull Run Mountain in Virginia. During the multi-year project, about 20 students from a dozen different universities aided USGS employees and partners from Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the...

Earlier this month, a new interagency report was delivered to Congress that warns of the growing threat of low oxygen ‘dead zones’ in coastal waters around the U.S. This condition is known as hypoxia — where oxygen levels drop so low that creatures in the water are stressed or killed. In this episode, we hear from two of the scientists behind the report: Dr. Libby Jewett from NOAA and Herb...

In this podcast, two New Mexico ranch owners share their experience taking part in a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service partner’s project for land improvement and receiving money from the government through the Recovery Act.

Recent news reports have brought worldwide attention to Afghanistan's mineral wealth and to the difficulties in bringing a range of commodities to market to rebuild that troubled land. But the mineral assessment is only a part of the story. Recent work by the USGS, the U.S. Navy, and others has made Afghanistan's subsurface among the best known places on Earth. Dr. Jack Medlin will tell the...

USGS's David Applegate will discuss lessons learned from this year's string of earthquake disasters in Haiti, Chile and elsewhere. Earthquakes and other geologic hazards are an inevitable aspect of life on this active planet, but their impacts on society are not. Hear how USGS is using new science and innovative technology to support emergency responders and help communities in the US increase...

Kids! Listen up—it's Endangered Species Day, and we have two podcasts for you: giant, invasive predators that eat endangered animals, and the tiny Devil's Hole pupfish, which lives on a watery shelf no bigger than a walk-in closet.

Shaken, Not Stirred—Watch Devils Hole pupfish deal with a large earthquake that causes a ‘mini-tsunami’ in...

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Media Specialist Kelly K. Mensah interviews Paul Davidson, Executive Director of the Black Bear Conservation Coalition about a series of reforestation projects taking place in East Texas and in Western Louisiana to benefit the Louisiana Black Bear.

We speak with Carol Finn about her new appointment to be the President of the American Geophysical Union as of July 2010.

Deep-sea coral ecosystems are thriving communities that are a vibrant and integral part of ocean ecosystems. Listen as Christina Kellogg, USGS microbiologist with the DISCOVRE program, explains why these ecosystems are important.

• Wildlife tracking technology has evolved from bird bands to satellite transmitters and has a wide range of applications in answering important conservation questions
• David Mech and Robert Gill will talk about the use of the latest state-of-the-art technology in tracking wildlife
• Mech shares the secret paths of a pack of 20 or more arctic wolves during 24 hours of
...

• USGS science from astrogeology to earth observing satellites
• Exploration of gas hydrates and deep coral reefs
• USGS scientists use innovative techniques to develop a more complete understanding or how our earth works

In response to the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that tragically struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey has coordinated a series of trips to the country to characterize the damage and install seismic instruments for earthquake monitoring. USGS seismologist Walter Mooney, who returned from the first of the series of trips in early February, discusses the USGS role in the...

The powerful storms that swept through Southern California dumped a lot of rain in that region, leaving behind the danger of debris flows.

Sue Cannon, USGS research geologist, explains the hazardous situation facing residents in and near the San Gabriel Mountains, how people in the area can respond to these hazards, and what the USGS is doing to respond.

• Scientists and volunteers are working to restore the Eastern population of the federally listed whooping crane
• The life history and migration of whooping cranes

Right now in Florida, non-native, giant constrictor snakes—pythons, anacondas, and the boa constrictor—are being found in the wild, and two species have established several breeding populations. The snakes pose a considerable resource management challenge for agencies charged with preserving native ecosystems and species. USGS research wildlife biologist Bob Reed discusses how scientific...

Increasing nitrogen emissions from motor vehicles, energy production, and agriculture are being deposited in lakes throughout the world, directly affecting lake biology and associated food webs. Alpine lake ecosystems are especially vulnerable to this deposition. USGS scientist Jill Baron, co-author of two new studies on how increased nitrogen pollution can affect lake ecosystems and water...

USGS Menlo Park Science Center, Bldg. 3, Conference Room A, 7:00PM

Several USGS scientists are investigating the problem of fatal bat and bird collisions with wind turbines. USGS scientist and bat specialist Dr. Paul Cryan at the Fort Collins Science Center chats with Juliette Wilson about whether we can have our wind turbines and healthy populations of bats and birds too.

USGS Scientists Jim Cannia and Jared Abraham discuss the use of geophysics, a powerful new tool, in water resources studies in Nebraska

Host Leslie Gordon interviews three USGS earthquake scientists, David Oppenheimer, Carol Prentice, and Tom Holzer about the scientific advances made in the last 20 years since the Loma Prieta earthquake struck northern California. Oppenheimer, Holzer and Prentice discuss the work they did immediately after the quake in 1989, and how 20 years of scientific and technological advances have...

Two large earthquakes have hit the Pacific. Harley Benz, Scientist-in-Charge at the USGS National Earthquake Information Center, talks about the quakes' damage, their relationship to one another, and what USGS scientists are doing in the aftermath.

Interview with USGS scientist Dr. Roger Clark about his Sept. 24 Science article that suggests water exists on the moon. Imaging spectroscopy led Clark and others to this discovery which opens the possibilities into further moon exploration.

Did you know that natural resources like coal can have impacts on human health?

USGS Energy Resources Program Coordinator Brenda Pierce discusses an emerging area of study called ‘medical geology’ and the connections between natural resources and human health. We also hear from USGS scientists Bill Orem and Calin Tatu, who are researching links between coal and a kidney disease called ‘...

Geologic maps record the distribution of rock and soil materials at Earth's surface and help decision makers identify and protect valuable resources, avoid risks from natural hazards, and make wise land use choices.

Randy Orndorff, Associate Program Coordinator for the USGS National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, talks about the grant for the academic component of the USGS NCGMP...

South Carolina Water Science Center Surface Water Specialist Paul Conrads discusses USGS storm-surge monitoring techniques changes since Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

SGS hydrologist Dr. Claudia Faunt discusses her new study about Calfornia's vast central valley groundwater system and the new study findings.

Coinciding with the release of the USGS report ‘Reconnaissance of Pharmaceutical Chemicals in Urban Streams of the Tualatin River Basin, Oregon, 2002,’ we sit down and discuss recent findings with USGS hydrologist Stewart Rounds. Find out how everyday drugs, such as caffeine, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and codeine, have made it into our streams, how well they are removed from wastewater, and...

Mercury contamination was detected in every fish sampled in 291 streams across the country. About a quarter of these fish were found to contain mercury at levels exceeding the criterion for the protection of people who consume average amounts of fish, established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

We talked to Lia Chasar, lead...