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This map shows geographic extent of existing and on-going data acquisition projects that meet current 3DEP specifications.  FY19 projects are the result of partnership projects awarded through the FY19 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) and though on-going Federal cooridination via the 3DEP Working Group. 

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This image shows blue spheres representing relative amounts of Earth's water in comparison to the size of the Earth. Are you surprised that these water spheres look so small? They are only small in relation to the size of the Earth. These images attempt to show three dimensions, so each sphere represents "volume." They show that in comparison to the volume of the globe,

The cover image for the Summer 2019 DOI Newswave issue.

Sample visualization of pollution sources in Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Sample graphic of data visualization of Chesapeake Data Dashboard

Chart displaying nontidal monitoring network and upstream drainage from monitoring locations.

Cohesion: Hydrogen Bonds Make Water Sticky

Water has an amazing ability to adhere (stick) to itself and to other substances. The property of cohesion describes the

Location of the study area for the San Diego Hydrogeology project, and location of the major coastal river basins in San Diego County (San Dieguito River, San Diego River, Sweetwater River, Otay River, and Tijuana River).

Coastal drainage basins and locations of realtime sites in San Diego County, California.  Local features include the San Dieguito River Basin, San Diego River Basin, Sweetwater River Basin, and Otay River Basin.

The USGS Pacific and Coastal Marine Science Center collected data to investigate sediment dynamics in the shallows of San Pablo Bay in two deployments: February to March 2011 (ITX11) and May to June 2012 (ITX12). This data release includes time-series data and grain-size distributions from sediment grabs collected during the deployments. During each deployment, time series

Map of Integrated Water Availability Assessments (IWAAs) project areas scaled for a carousel image, including the Mississippi Alluvial Plan (MAP) pilot and projects utilizing Cooperative Matching Funds (CMF).

Project area map for the Integrated Water Availability Assessments (IWAAs), including the Mississippi Alluvial Plain pilot and projects using Cooperative Matching Funds.

USGS Earth MRI FY19 3DEP Priority Areas for Data Acquisition

Learn About Water!

Earth's water is always in movement, and the natural water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth. Water is always changing states between liquid, vapor, and ice, with these processes happening in the blink of an eye and over

Learn About Water!

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have teamed up to create a water-cycle diagram for schools and kids. It is available in over 30 languages and also in an interactive version made for online

The World's Water - Distribution of Earth's Water

The Earth is a watery place. But just how much water exists on, in, and above our planet? About 71 percent of the Earth's surface is water-covered, and the oceans hold about 96.5 percent

Landsat 8 image of Kandahar, Afghanistan on March 3, 2019, rendered with bands 7, 5, and 1 of the satellite's Operational Land Imager.

USGS Diagram of How Streamgage Data is Transferred To The Internet.

Streamflow Data on the Internet All USGS stage and streamflow information is available in near real time through the National Water Information System Web Interface (NWISWeb) for Texas (fig. 5) at: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/tx/nwis/rt). In addition

Diagram of Channel Cross Section With Subsections.

The most common method used by the USGS for measuring velocity is with a current meter. However, a variety of advanced equipment can also be used to sense stage and measure streamflow. In the simplest method, a current meter turns with the flow of the river or stream. The current meter is used to measure water

NWISMapper screenshot of Wyoming-Montana Stream Water-Quality Network Sites

Location (A, B) of Pend Oreille River and tributaries assessed in this study as a spatial network of habitat patches and barriers (C) for which reintroduction of bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) (D) was simulated. Bull trout illustration by Joseph R. Tomelleri.

Location of proposed study area (includes Flaxville aquifer and Lustre oil fields) and sampling sites from previous USGS studies

Location map of the Fire Island study area with labels

Components of a simple water budget for part of a watershed, from Healy, R.W., Winter, T.C., LaBaugh, J.W., and Franke, O.L., 2007, Water budgets: Foundations for effective water-resources and environmental management: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1308.

PROSPER in StreamStats screenshot

StreamStats application screenshot

Thermoelectric power water withdrawals for 2015

Livestock water withdrawals in 2015

Mining water withdrawals in 2015

Irrigation water use withdrawals in 2015

Industrial water use in 2015

Domestic Water Use Withdrawals in 2015

Public Supply Water Use in 2015

Figure 1. The USGS FIM Mapper, showing an example flood and hydrograph for Terra Haute, Ind. (Please note, the flood condition displayed represents a higher stream stage than shown in the hydrograph.)

Screenshot of Our Coast, Our Future (OCOF) interactive map view of Stinson Beach, California, showing extent of flooding predicted if subjected to a sea-level rise of 100 centimeters (about 40 inches) and elevated water levels caused by a 100-year storm.

Map of Alaska showing probability (%) of change occurrence. Insets show fire boundaries from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Large Fire Database and Landsat 8 imagery (bottom right; 2016) north of Fairbanks, Alaska.

TNM Advanced Viewer

Center pivot irrigation fields in the Arabian Desert are visible in this Landsat 8 image near Meegowa, Saudi Arabia. The image was acquired on Oct 10, 2018 and is shown in a color infrared band combination (b 5,4,3).

NPS Multi-Year 3DEP Priority Areas for Data Acquisition

USFS Multi-Year 3DEP Priority Areas for Data Acquisition

Hormones and pharmaceuticals, widely used for treatment of humans, domestic animals, and livestock, have the potential to enter the environment, including groundwater. In 2009, nearly 70% of Americans took at least one prescription drug, and more than half took 2 or more. Annually, billions of prescriptions are filled

Cover of the 2018 publication, "California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment: Statewide Summary Report."

Landsat Dynamic Surface Water Extent Science Product example from Northern Minnesota. 

This data set represents the existence and condition of surface water at the time of Landsat acquisition. It can be served as input to hydrologic and carbon models, as well as other Landsat Science Products such as Burned Area or Fractional Snow Covered Area. Application research

Groundwater occurs in the saturated soil and rock below the water table. If the aquifer is shallow enough and permeable enough to allow water to move through it at a rapid-enough rate, then people can drill wells into it and withdraw water. The level of the water table can naturally change over time due to changes in weather cycles and precipitation patterns, streamflow

Total saline water withdrawals by State, 2015

As the chart shows, the use of saline water, and freshwater, also, has been trending downward since peaking in 1980. Of interest, from 1950 to 1975 the use of saline water increased at a much higher rate than freshwater use.

Pie charts of saline-water withdrawals by category of use, 2015.