Images

Here a scientist is measuring the length of the forearm of a bat captured in Dane County, Wisconsin. General morphometric data are collected from each bat captured.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory field engineers upgrade a tiltmeter on Kīlauea Volcano's East Rift Zone. The upgrade consisted of switching the old analog instrument to a newer digital model. This tiltmeter is used to track magma movement within the volcano.

A wildfire ignited by lightning in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge on April 6, 2017, is persisting into May. Hot, dry weather and extremely dry fuels are making the fire difficult to contain. As of May 22, the blaze, also called the West Mims Fire, had burned 152,478 acres.

As part of the Regional Stream Quality Assessments (RSQA), hydrologists, ecologists, and technicians did ecological surveys of aquatic biota and stream habitat.  Here, an ecologist uses a net to collect a sample of aquatic invertebrates for ennumeration and identification.

Measuring stream stage on Muddy Creek near Dad

Graffiti adorns an outfall pipe discharging stormwater into Sausal Creek. Sausal Creek was one of the many urban creeks sampled by the Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA).

Biofilms take up pesticides in streams. Here, a hydrologic technician collects a sample of biofilm that has colonized an unglazed ceramic tile over 60-90 days. Learn more about biofilms as integrative samplers of pesticides here.

Biofilms take up pesticides in streams. Here, a hydrologic technician collects a sample of biofilm that has colonized an unglazed ceramic tile over 60-90 days. Learn more about biofilms as integrative samplers of pesticides here.

Biofilms take up pesticides in streams. Here, a hydrologic technician hold ups an unglazed ceramic tile that has been colonized by biofilm over 60-90 days. Learn more about biofilms as integrative samplers of pesticides here.

As part of the Regional Stream Quality Assessments (RSQA), hydrologists, ecologists, and technicians did ecological surveys of aquatic biota and stream habitat.  Here, two hydrologic technicians record characteristics of stream habitat.

Frame from video of Cowells Beach in Santa Cruz, California, showing “pixel instruments” measured continuously during the video and used to estimate different coastal processes. The blue dots represent an array of pixels used by a computer program called cBathy to estimate seafloor depths (bathymetry).

As part of the Regional Stream Quality Assessments (RSQA), hydrologists, ecologists, and technicians did ecological surveys of aquatic biota and stream habitat.  Here, a hydrologic technician records characteristics of the habitat of a highly urbanized stream.

As part of the Regional Stream Quality Assessments (RSQA), hydrologists, ecologists, and technicians did ecological surveys of aquatic biota and stream habitat.  Here, a hydrologist carefully folds a filter used to collect a sample for analysis of eDNA.

USGS ocean engineer Gerry Hatcher (left) and USGS postdoctoral oceanographer Shawn Harrison make adjustments to a computer controlling two video cameras on the roof of the Dream Inn, a 10-story hotel overlooking Monterey Bay in Santa Cruz, California. One camera looks eastward over Santa Cruz Main Beach and boardwalk, and the other southward over Cowells Beach.

Sausal Creek in central Oakland, California, is an urban creek that has been extensively modified for flood control. The USGS Regional Stream Quality Assessment assessed the water quality and ecological integrity of small streams like Sausal Creek in five major regions of the country.

Sausal Creek in central Oakland, California, is an urban creek that has been extensively modified for flood control. The USGS Regional Stream Quality Assessment assessed the water quality and ecological integrity of small streams like Sausal Creek in five major regions of the country.

A hydrotech prepares to collect a water-quality sample at urban Sausal Creek, with its distinctive graffiti. Water-quality and ecological surveys were done at the creek as part of the USGS Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA) in the summer of 2016.

Flowers and graffiti turn urban Sausal Creek into a bizarre wonderland. Water-quality and ecological surveys were done at the creek as part of the USGS Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA) in the summer of 2016.

USGS geologist Don Swanson (in red) and his colleague, Jim Moore, view a car filled with ash deposits from the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens. Additional photos of the 1980 eruption of Mount St.

Aerial view of the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens as seen from the southwest. Columns of ash and volcanic gas reached heights of more than 24 km (80,000 ft) during the eruption.

As part of the Regional Stream Quality Assessments (RSQA), hydrologists, ecologists, and technicians did ecological surveys of aquatic biota and stream habitat.  Here, a geolomorphologist assesses stream banks.