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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.

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Surveying water surface along with other methods to describe scour
Surveying water surface along with other methods to describe scour
Surveying water surface along with other methods to describe scour
Surveying water surface along with other methods to describe scour

Surveying water surface to tie into bathymetry measurments on Bitterroot River near Hamilton, MT to describe scour near the bridge.

Hydro techs from the New Mexico Water Science Center perform a well integrity test
Hydro Techs Perform Well Integrity Test
Hydro Techs Perform Well Integrity Test
Hydro Techs Perform Well Integrity Test

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.
USGS Storm-Tide Sensor installed for Hurricane Jose
USGS Storm-Tide Sensor installed for Hurricane Jose
USGS Storm-Tide Sensor installed for Hurricane Jose

A USGS specialist installs a storm-tide sensor in Massachusetts before Hurricane Jose's arrival.  

Two women stand at plywood table on which rest three long plastic tubes full of dark seafloor sediment.
Sampling core fluid from sediment cores collected off southeast Alaska
Sampling core fluid from sediment cores collected off southeast Alaska
Sampling core fluid from sediment cores collected off 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.

clouds over mountains and ocean with forest in the foreground
Landscape view from Honouliuli Preserve, Oʻahu
Landscape view from Honouliuli Preserve, Oʻahu
Landscape view from Honouliuli Preserve, Oʻahu

A panoramic view as seen from Honouliuli Preserve shows some of the diverse landscapes and ecosystems found on Oʻahu.

clouds over fields,mountains, and ocean with forest in the foreground
Landscape view from Honouliuli Preserve, Oʻahu.
Landscape view from Honouliuli Preserve, Oʻahu.
Landscape view from Honouliuli Preserve, Oʻahu.

A view across the Waiʻanae mountains of West Oʻahu shows some of the diverse landscapes and ecosystems found in Hawaiʻi.

clouds over mountains and ocean with forest in the foreground
Landscape view from Honouliuli Preserve, Oʻahu.
Landscape view from Honouliuli Preserve, Oʻahu.
Landscape view from Honouliuli Preserve, Oʻahu.

A panoramic view as seen from Honouliuli Preserve in the Waiʻanae mountains shows some of the diverse landscapes and ecosystems found on Oʻahu.

A panoramic view as seen from Honouliuli Preserve in the Waiʻanae mountains shows some of the diverse landscapes and ecosystems found on Oʻahu.

Satellite image showing the damage from Irma on the Florida Keys.
Irma Churns Up Sediment in the Florida Keys
Irma Churns Up Sediment in the Florida Keys
Irma Churns Up Sediment in the Florida Keys

Hurricane Irma crossed the Florida Keys the morning of September 10, 2017, as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 130 miles per hour. Besides damage done to structures on the islands, the storm also stirred the waters.

Hurricane Irma crossed the Florida Keys the morning of September 10, 2017, as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 130 miles per hour. Besides damage done to structures on the islands, the storm also stirred the waters.

Salcha River sonar near Salchaket
Salcha River sonar near Salchaket
Salcha River sonar near Salchaket
Spattering is common in Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake, and con...
Spattering is common in Kīlauea's summit lava lake, and consists of...
Spattering is common in Kīlauea's summit lava lake, and consists of...
Spattering is common in Kīlauea's summit lava lake, and consists of...

Spattering is common in Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake, and consists of many large bursting gas bubbles. The fluid nature of the lake can be seen when lava hits the wall and flows downward like syrup. The thin, flexible nature of the crust is also shown here, as the bursting gas bubbles rip and fold the thin skin on the lake.

Spattering is common in Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake, and consists of many large bursting gas bubbles. The fluid nature of the lake can be seen when lava hits the wall and flows downward like syrup. The thin, flexible nature of the crust is also shown here, as the bursting gas bubbles rip and fold the thin skin on the lake.

Testing the feasibility of real-time eDNA monitoring
Testing the feasibility of real-time eDNA monitoring
Testing the feasibility of real-time eDNA monitoring
Testing the feasibility of real-time eDNA monitoring

Elk are not concerned with our work. USGS and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute conducted tests of the feasibility of real-time eDNA monitoring at USGS streamgage 06190540 Boiling River at Mammoth,YNP, September 13, 2017.

Elk are not concerned with our work. USGS and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute conducted tests of the feasibility of real-time eDNA monitoring at USGS streamgage 06190540 Boiling River at Mammoth,YNP, September 13, 2017.

Carol Reiss examining hydrothermal vent sample using hand lens
USGS geologist Carol Reiss examining hydrothermal vent sample
USGS geologist Carol Reiss examining hydrothermal vent sample
USGS geologist Carol Reiss examining hydrothermal vent sample

USGS geologist Carol Reiss examining hydrothermal vent sample using hand lens. Sulfide-silicate minerals precipitate from 330°C mineral laden water venting along volcanically active spreading ridges.

Map of offshore survey sites from Virginia to Georgia
Areas to be surveyed on first Deep SEARCH research cruise
Areas to be surveyed on first Deep SEARCH research cruise
Areas to be surveyed on first Deep SEARCH research cruise

Map of target areas to be surveyed during the first phase of the Deepwater Atlantic Habitats II study, 
DEEP SEARCH, including seep targets. USGS image.

Satellite image showing how Irma affected Barbuda
Hurricane Irma Slams Barbuda
Hurricane Irma Slams Barbuda
Hurricane Irma Slams Barbuda

The dramatic changes to the island caused by Irma, the strongest Atlantic hurricane on record, are shown in this pair of images from Landsat 8. Landsat uses shortwave-infrared, near-infrared, and green wavelengths to reveal those changes. The August 27 image shows healthy vegetation as bright green.

The dramatic changes to the island caused by Irma, the strongest Atlantic hurricane on record, are shown in this pair of images from Landsat 8. Landsat uses shortwave-infrared, near-infrared, and green wavelengths to reveal those changes. The August 27 image shows healthy vegetation as bright green.

Panoramic image from Sperry Glacier in Glacier National Park showing smoke from forest fires.
Panoramic image from Sperry Glacier in Glacier NP showing fire smoke.
Panoramic image from Sperry Glacier in Glacier NP showing fire smoke.
Panoramic image from Sperry Glacier in Glacier NP showing fire smoke.

Panoramic image from Sperry Glacier in Glacier National Park showing smoke from forest fires. Information gathered by the USGS managed Sperry Weather Station are being used by regional fire managers to forecast fire weather and future fire behavior.

Panoramic image from Sperry Glacier in Glacier National Park showing smoke from forest fires. Information gathered by the USGS managed Sperry Weather Station are being used by regional fire managers to forecast fire weather and future fire behavior.

Map of offshore survey sites from Virginia to Georgia
Study area for first Deep SEARCH research cruise
Study area for first Deep SEARCH research cruise
Study area for first Deep SEARCH research cruise

Map of target areas to be surveyed during the first phase of the 
Deepwater Atlantic Habitats II study,  DEEP SEARCH, including seep targets. USGS image.

Map of target areas to be surveyed during the first phase of the 
Deepwater Atlantic Habitats II study,  DEEP SEARCH, including seep targets. USGS image.

 USGS scientist Carol Reiss holding a hydrothermal vent sample; hydrothermal vent poster in the background
USGS scientist Carol Reiss holding a hydrothermal vent sample
USGS scientist Carol Reiss holding a hydrothermal vent sample
USGS scientist Carol Reiss holding a hydrothermal vent sample

USGS scientist Carol Reiss holding a hydrothermal vent sample. The poster in the background is a scientific rendering by Véronique Robigou (then at University of Washington) of a hydrothermal vent deposit with the submersible Alvin drawn to scale.

USGS scientist Carol Reiss holding a hydrothermal vent sample. The poster in the background is a scientific rendering by Véronique Robigou (then at University of Washington) of a hydrothermal vent deposit with the submersible Alvin drawn to scale.

USGS scientist doing weather station repairs in Glacier National Park.
USGS scientist doing weather station repairs in Glacier National Park.
USGS scientist doing weather station repairs in Glacier National Park.
USGS scientist doing weather station repairs in Glacier National Park.

USGS scientist Erich Peitzsch does repair on the Sperry Weather Station in Glacier National Park. Information gathered by the USGS managed Sperry Weather Station are being used by regional fire managers to forecast fire weather and future fire behavior during the 2017 fire season. 

USGS scientist Erich Peitzsch does repair on the Sperry Weather Station in Glacier National Park. Information gathered by the USGS managed Sperry Weather Station are being used by regional fire managers to forecast fire weather and future fire behavior during the 2017 fire season. 

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