Multimedia Gallery

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.

Few would believe the importance of freshwater mussels to scientists here in the Pacific Northwest. These little-known and often-ignored organisms may live for over a century on the bottoms of lakes, rivers, and streams. Freshwater mussels have a story to tell, and researchers have developed a way of ‘reading’ this story. USGS Aquatic Biologist Jason Dunham discusses his

The aftershock sequence of the magnitude 7 earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010, will continue for months, if not years. The frequency of events will diminish with time, but damaging earthquakes will remain a threat.

Michael Blanpied, USGS Associate Earthquakes Hazards Program coordinator, discusses concerns and precautions for the future in Haiti and the

As Haiti copes with the aftermath of the magnitude 7 earthquake, which struck on Tuesday, January 12, 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey is working to gather information that can aid response efforts. Michael Blanpied, USGS Earthquakes Hazards Program coordinator, gives an update on the current situation in Haiti and answers questions about the global picture.

On January 12, 2010, Haiti was struck by the most violent earthquake in a century. Michael Blanpied, associate coordinator for the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program, answers questions about the earthquake, its severe shaking, and the possibility of additional hazards, such as landslides and a tsunami.

Carcinogenic compounds in a popular pavement sealer are tracked indoors, where they show up in high concentrations in house dust.

Listen as USGS hydrologist Barbara Mahler explains how she and her team identified the link between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in coal-tar-based pavement sealcoat and house dust.

Scientists have reconstructed what the climate conditions were 3 million years ago, and are using these data as one of the closest analogs to estimate future climate conditions.

USGS scientists Harry Dowsett and Marci Robinson discuss some of their findings regarding carbon dioxide’s impact, Arctic conditions, and the deep ocean’s system.

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

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake occurred just south of the California-Mexico border shortly before 11 a.m. on Wednesday, December 30, and shaking from this earthquake was widely felt.

Ken Hudnut, Southern California Regional Coordinator for the USGS Earthquake Program, spends a few minutes filling in some details about this event.

The USGS is investigating the use of Twitter, a popular micro-blogging tool, to collect and analyze citizen accounts of earthquakes around the world. USGS scientists Paul Earle and Michelle Guy discuss this Twitter Earthquake Detection (TED) project.

On Thursday December 3, 2009, the USGS celebrated the 125^th anniversary of topographic mapping at the USGS National Center in Reston, VA.

Hear clips of the celebration in this episode of CoreCast, including the history of USGS mapping, given by Mark DeMulder, director of the National Geospacial Program. Also, Kari Craun, director of the National

The Johnson Creek watershed is an important resource in Portland, Oregon. It forms a wildlife and recreational corridor through densely populated areas of the Portland metropolitan area, as well as rural and agricultural land in Multnomah and Clackamas Counties. However, because of its location within an urban environment, there are often concerns, including worries about

Thanks to a satellite collar, two innovative scientists, and a blog, people can follow the travels of Brutus, the ‘North Pole wolf’ as he leads his pack through the long arctic winter.

Listen as wolf researcher David Mech talks about why he and his team put this satellite collar on Brutus and what they hope to learn about these arctic wolves.

When a 40-foot tsunami wave hit the shores of American Samoa on Sept. 29, 2009, thousands of locals made it safely to higher ground, thanks to education efforts and research.

Listen to an interview with USGS oceanographer and tsunami researcher Bruce Jaffe as he explains why this post-tsunami research is essential for keeping people safe in future tsunamis.

To increase to increase public awareness during Native American Indian National Heritage Month, we will be discussing the anthropology of indigenous peoples in the Aleutian Islands and how continued scientific research can help future forecasting of mega-earthquake and transoceanic tsunami probabilities.

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

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

The United States is using less water than during the peak years of 1975 and 1980, according to USGS water use estimates for 2005. Despite a 30 percent population increase during the past 25 years, overall water use has remained fairly stable.

So what else do we know--and not know--about water use in the U.S.? Learn from a USGS scientist and partners, and hear what

Tsunamis are devastating. Usually associated with earthquakes in the Pacific, these giant surges of oceanic water can kill thousands and do billions of dollars of damage in minutes. Surprisingly, most people in Oregon are not aware of the tsunami history and hazard along our very own coast. Listen in as we examine the science of tsunamis and sit down for a special

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

USGS North Carolina Water Quality Specialist Mary Georgino discusses The Triangle Area Water Supply Monitoring Project.