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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.
USGS research geophysicist Danny Brothers (right) and colleagues examine the surface of a sediment grab sample just pulled onto the deck of the Canadian Coast Guard Ship John P. Tully. The sample was collected from the top of a mud volcano north of the border between southeast Alaska and British Columbia.
USGS research geophysicist Danny Brothers (right) and colleagues examine the surface of a sediment grab sample just pulled onto the deck of the Canadian Coast Guard Ship John P. Tully. The sample was collected from the top of a mud volcano north of the border between southeast Alaska and British Columbia.
Aerial view of Spirit Lake (center) looking north from above the crater of Mount St. Helens. The lake's outlet to the west (left) was blocked by the 1980 landslide, which required a new engineered outlet to maintain the lake at a safe level. A tunnel was drilled through a bedrock ridge on west side of lake in 1984-1985. Glacier covered Mount Rainier in distance.
Aerial view of Spirit Lake (center) looking north from above the crater of Mount St. Helens. The lake's outlet to the west (left) was blocked by the 1980 landslide, which required a new engineered outlet to maintain the lake at a safe level. A tunnel was drilled through a bedrock ridge on west side of lake in 1984-1985. Glacier covered Mount Rainier in distance.
Pine Island Glacier in Antarctica has snapped off its share of icebergs in recent years. The frequency of noteworthy breaks is evidence that the ice shelf is becoming increasingly fragile. The latest iceberg cracked off the end of the Pine Island Glacier ice shelf around September 23, 2017.
Pine Island Glacier in Antarctica has snapped off its share of icebergs in recent years. The frequency of noteworthy breaks is evidence that the ice shelf is becoming increasingly fragile. The latest iceberg cracked off the end of the Pine Island Glacier ice shelf around September 23, 2017.
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and Idaho Power Company collected water, sediment, and biological samples from Brownlee Reservoir as part of an ongoing, cooperative study of mercury cycling in the Hells Canyon complex of reservoirs along the Snake River bordering Idaho and Oregon.
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and Idaho Power Company collected water, sediment, and biological samples from Brownlee Reservoir as part of an ongoing, cooperative study of mercury cycling in the Hells Canyon complex of reservoirs along the Snake River bordering Idaho and Oregon.
USGS WERC scientist Emily (Emma) Kelsey at False Klamath Rock doing seabird monitoring research.
USGS WERC scientist Emily (Emma) Kelsey at False Klamath Rock doing seabird monitoring research.
USGS WERC scientist Jonathan Felis on False Klamath Rock doing seabird monitoring research.
USGS WERC scientist Jonathan Felis on False Klamath Rock doing seabird monitoring research.
A boat moves off the banks of the Kootenai River in northern Idaho. Researchers from USGS EROS conducted topobathymetry surveys of the river in 2017 using LiDAR and sonar equipment.
A boat moves off the banks of the Kootenai River in northern Idaho. Researchers from USGS EROS conducted topobathymetry surveys of the river in 2017 using LiDAR and sonar equipment.
A GPS device on the banks of the Kootenai River of northern Idaho, where USGS EROS researchers conducted topobathymetry surveys in 2017 using LiDAR and sonar equipment.A GPS device on the banks of the Kootenai River of northern Idaho, where USGS EROS researchers conducted topobathymetry surveys in 2017 using LiDAR and sonar equipment.
A GPS device on the banks of the Kootenai River of northern Idaho, where USGS EROS researchers conducted topobathymetry surveys in 2017 using LiDAR and sonar equipment.A GPS device on the banks of the Kootenai River of northern Idaho, where USGS EROS researchers conducted topobathymetry surveys in 2017 using LiDAR and sonar equipment.
NYWSC scientist collecting groundwater samples
NYWSC scientist collecting groundwater samples
A view of the Kootenai River in northern Idaho from a boat. USGS EROS researchers conducted topobathymetry surveys of the river in 2017 using LiDAR and sonar equipment.
A view of the Kootenai River in northern Idaho from a boat. USGS EROS researchers conducted topobathymetry surveys of the river in 2017 using LiDAR and sonar equipment.
Pelicans on a rock, observed by the USGS Western Ecological Center Seabird Studies team.
Pelicans on a rock, observed by the USGS Western Ecological Center Seabird Studies team.
Sockeye salmon preparing to spawn upstream of Cle Elum Dam, Washington.
Sockeye salmon preparing to spawn upstream of Cle Elum Dam, Washington.
Scientists optimized existing methods to collect and identify microorganisms including Bacillus anthracis, a pathogenic microorganism, in 4,800 soil samples across the United States, and developed a
Scientists optimized existing methods to collect and identify microorganisms including Bacillus anthracis, a pathogenic microorganism, in 4,800 soil samples across the United States, and developed a
Fog surrounds the USGS Research Vessel Arcticus as it comes into port at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
Fog surrounds the USGS Research Vessel Arcticus as it comes into port at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
Scientists prepare to lower a piston corer off Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, to sample seafloor sediment near the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault. Expedition scientists are studying layers of sediment in the cores they collected to identify and determine ages of past earthquakes along the fault.
Scientists prepare to lower a piston corer off Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, to sample seafloor sediment near the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault. Expedition scientists are studying layers of sediment in the cores they collected to identify and determine ages of past earthquakes along the fault.
Photomicroscopy and Flow Cytometry Laboratory — Lafayette, Louisiana. Microscopic video imaging is used for computerized analysis of sperm motility parameters
Photomicroscopy and Flow Cytometry Laboratory — Lafayette, Louisiana. Microscopic video imaging is used for computerized analysis of sperm motility parameters
Top: Map view of well recorded historical seismicity at Mount Rainier since 2007 (gray circles) with seismicity since September 11 plotted as filled red circles. Location of seismic stations indicated by arrows. Bottom: Cross-sectional view looking north shows earthquake depths. Black outline is a west-east elevation profile of Mount Rainier.
Top: Map view of well recorded historical seismicity at Mount Rainier since 2007 (gray circles) with seismicity since September 11 plotted as filled red circles. Location of seismic stations indicated by arrows. Bottom: Cross-sectional view looking north shows earthquake depths. Black outline is a west-east elevation profile of Mount Rainier.
Surveying water surface to tie into bathymetry measurments on Bitterroot River near Hamilton, MT to describe scour near the bridge.
Surveying water surface to tie into bathymetry measurments on Bitterroot River near Hamilton, MT to describe scour near the bridge.
On September 19th, 2017 staff from the USGS NM WSC Albuquerque and Las Cruces offices visited a Climate Response Network (CRN) well just on the east side of the Organ Mountains outside of Las Cruces to receive training on integrity testing groundwater wells.
On September 19th, 2017 staff from the USGS NM WSC Albuquerque and Las Cruces offices visited a Climate Response Network (CRN) well just on the east side of the Organ Mountains outside of Las Cruces to receive training on integrity testing groundwater wells.
A USGS specialist installs a storm-tide sensor in Massachusetts before Hurricane Jose's arrival.
A USGS specialist installs a storm-tide sensor in Massachusetts before Hurricane Jose's arrival.
Mary McGann (left, USGS) and Rachel Lauer (University of Calgary) sample pore fluids from sediment cores collected aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ship John P. Tully along the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault offshore of southeast Alaska.
Mary McGann (left, USGS) and Rachel Lauer (University of Calgary) sample pore fluids from sediment cores collected aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ship John P. Tully along the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault offshore of southeast Alaska.