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Explore our planet through photography and imagery, including climate change and water all the way back to the 1800s when the USGS was surveying the country by horse and buggy.
Hydrologic Technician, Brady Long, performs routine water quality inspection of streamgage 0217206935 Cooper River in Charleston, SC. Cooperator/funding provided by the US Army Core of Engineers.
Hydrologic Technician, Brady Long, performs routine water quality inspection of streamgage 0217206935 Cooper River in Charleston, SC. Cooperator/funding provided by the US Army Core of Engineers.
Hydrologic Technician, Brady Long, performs routine water quality inspection at the Cooper River, South Carolina.
Hydrologic Technician, Brady Long, performs routine water quality inspection at the Cooper River, South Carolina.
Several instruments visible on board the research vessel JOIDES Resolution. Photo taken from the ship bridge roof. USGS logo visible on one of the pieces of equipment. Research cruises taken on the JOIDES Resolution are often interdisciplinary and collaborative across many universities, scientific agencies, and other research institutions.
Several instruments visible on board the research vessel JOIDES Resolution. Photo taken from the ship bridge roof. USGS logo visible on one of the pieces of equipment. Research cruises taken on the JOIDES Resolution are often interdisciplinary and collaborative across many universities, scientific agencies, and other research institutions.
Volcano Awareness Month programs offered in January 2020 are depicted by these images. Clockwise from top left: ground cracks opened at HVO's former location atop Kīlauea in 2018; fissure erupting on Mauna Loa in March 1984; crater lake within Halema‘uma‘u at Kīlauea's summit; and visitors hiking a Kahuku trail in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park (NPS).
Volcano Awareness Month programs offered in January 2020 are depicted by these images. Clockwise from top left: ground cracks opened at HVO's former location atop Kīlauea in 2018; fissure erupting on Mauna Loa in March 1984; crater lake within Halema‘uma‘u at Kīlauea's summit; and visitors hiking a Kahuku trail in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park (NPS).
Photographs from a Great-Horned Owl and Eurasian Collared-Dove found dead in a residential yard in Utah, U.S. (A) The owl had singeing of the rictal bristles on the right side of the face (inset), swollen right eyelids, and a cloudy and thickened right cornea.
Photographs from a Great-Horned Owl and Eurasian Collared-Dove found dead in a residential yard in Utah, U.S. (A) The owl had singeing of the rictal bristles on the right side of the face (inset), swollen right eyelids, and a cloudy and thickened right cornea.
Photomicrographs from a Great-Horned Owl showing (A) moderate acute hemorrhage in the right atrial epicardium extending into the myocardium and (B) a focally extensive area of coagulative necrosis of the epidermis and dermis (arrow) consistent with an electrical burn.
Photomicrographs from a Great-Horned Owl showing (A) moderate acute hemorrhage in the right atrial epicardium extending into the myocardium and (B) a focally extensive area of coagulative necrosis of the epidermis and dermis (arrow) consistent with an electrical burn.
USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geophysicist Jefferson Chang during his presentation at the 2019 National Diversity in STEM Conference in Honolulu. Chang and Kevan Kamibayashi (left) were two of four HVO scientists who spoke about their work monitoring Hawaiian volcanoes at the SACNAS conference.
USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geophysicist Jefferson Chang during his presentation at the 2019 National Diversity in STEM Conference in Honolulu. Chang and Kevan Kamibayashi (left) were two of four HVO scientists who spoke about their work monitoring Hawaiian volcanoes at the SACNAS conference.
Jefferson Chang (far left) was one of four USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists who spoke about monitoring Hawaiian volcanoes and mentored students at the 2019 National Diversity in STEM Conference in Honolulu.
Jefferson Chang (far left) was one of four USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists who spoke about monitoring Hawaiian volcanoes and mentored students at the 2019 National Diversity in STEM Conference in Honolulu.
Map of seismicity (yellow circles) in the Yellowstone region during 2019. Gray lines are roads, red line shows the caldera boundary, Yellowstone National Park is outlined by black dashed line, and gray dashed lines denote state boundaries.
Map of seismicity (yellow circles) in the Yellowstone region during 2019. Gray lines are roads, red line shows the caldera boundary, Yellowstone National Park is outlined by black dashed line, and gray dashed lines denote state boundaries.
USGS Hydrologist Randy Host performs compass calibrations for discharge measurements at the Unuk River. The Unuk River is one of the transboundary watersheds of Southeast Alaska. This site has a Super Gage which is a conventional streamflow gage equipped with continuous water-quality monitors.
USGS Hydrologist Randy Host performs compass calibrations for discharge measurements at the Unuk River. The Unuk River is one of the transboundary watersheds of Southeast Alaska. This site has a Super Gage which is a conventional streamflow gage equipped with continuous water-quality monitors.
Still image from January 2, 2020, YVO video update.
Still image from January 2, 2020, YVO video update.
The December 18 overflight provided updated thermal images of Kīlauea summit, covering the caldera floor and showing the warm surface of the water pond in Halema‘uma‘u crater. A band of warm temperatures persists along the new cliff formed during the 2018 subsidence.
The December 18 overflight provided updated thermal images of Kīlauea summit, covering the caldera floor and showing the warm surface of the water pond in Halema‘uma‘u crater. A band of warm temperatures persists along the new cliff formed during the 2018 subsidence.
The December 18 overflight provided updated aerial photographs of Kīlauea summit, covering the caldera floor and showing the current size of the water pond in Halema‘uma‘u crater. The label "downdropped block" shows the large portion of the caldera floor that subsided, along with the Halema‘uma‘u region, during the 2018 eruption.
The December 18 overflight provided updated aerial photographs of Kīlauea summit, covering the caldera floor and showing the current size of the water pond in Halema‘uma‘u crater. The label "downdropped block" shows the large portion of the caldera floor that subsided, along with the Halema‘uma‘u region, during the 2018 eruption.
USGS Research Scientist Ellen Goodrich-Stuart adjusts a CH4 (Methane) analyzer mounted on the eddy covariance flux tower at the Rush Ranch site at Suisun Marsh.
USGS Research Scientist Ellen Goodrich-Stuart adjusts a CH4 (Methane) analyzer mounted on the eddy covariance flux tower at the Rush Ranch site at Suisun Marsh.
An HVO geologist uses a high-precision Global Positioning System (GPS) unit to collect latitude, longitude, and altitude data on a down-dropped portion of Kīlauea's caldera.
An HVO geologist uses a high-precision Global Positioning System (GPS) unit to collect latitude, longitude, and altitude data on a down-dropped portion of Kīlauea's caldera.
Bison in Yellowstone National Park’s Northern Range, where scenario planning work is currently underway.
Bison in Yellowstone National Park’s Northern Range, where scenario planning work is currently underway.
Photos taken two weeks apart show the rise of water in Halema‘uma‘u. A white arrow denotes a large rock along the edge of the lake for comparing water levels in the two images. The water continues to rise at a rate of approximately 15 cm (6 in) per day. USGS photos by M. Patrick.
Photos taken two weeks apart show the rise of water in Halema‘uma‘u. A white arrow denotes a large rock along the edge of the lake for comparing water levels in the two images. The water continues to rise at a rate of approximately 15 cm (6 in) per day. USGS photos by M. Patrick.
The 1880-1881 eruption of Mauna Loa produced lava flows that came within 1.7 km (1.1 mi) of the Hilo Bay shoreline. This painting by Charles Furneaux, "Night View 1880–1881, Eruption from Hilo Bay," illustrates the first two flows as they would have been in November 1880. In reality, however, both flows would not have been visible from this vantage.
The 1880-1881 eruption of Mauna Loa produced lava flows that came within 1.7 km (1.1 mi) of the Hilo Bay shoreline. This painting by Charles Furneaux, "Night View 1880–1881, Eruption from Hilo Bay," illustrates the first two flows as they would have been in November 1880. In reality, however, both flows would not have been visible from this vantage.
Clear Lake Volcanic Field, California. Tuff deposit outcrop.
Clear Lake Volcanic Field, California. Tuff deposit outcrop.
Glenn Simpson (left), Park Manager of the Dry Tortugas National Park, National Park Service and Ilsa Kuffner (right), USGS Research Marine Biologist, with an elkhorn coral from Pulaski Shoal being weighed and measured.
Glenn Simpson (left), Park Manager of the Dry Tortugas National Park, National Park Service and Ilsa Kuffner (right), USGS Research Marine Biologist, with an elkhorn coral from Pulaski Shoal being weighed and measured.