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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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Wire crosses, called ConMods installed at a RestoreNet site.
RestoreNet treatments
RestoreNet treatments
RestoreNet treatments

RestoreNet locations are testing commonly used restoration techniques, including pitting, mulching, and above-ground micro sites. Here, metal crosses create an above-ground microsite that can increase soil moisture by providing shade and collecting debris under some conditions.

RestoreNet locations are testing commonly used restoration techniques, including pitting, mulching, and above-ground micro sites. Here, metal crosses create an above-ground microsite that can increase soil moisture by providing shade and collecting debris under some conditions.

Mulch treatment
RestoreNet treatments
RestoreNet treatments
RestoreNet treatments

RestoreNet locations are testing commonly used restoration techniques, including pitting, mulching, and above-ground micro sites. This photo shows the mulching treatment, which can increase soil moisture and lead to higher plant survival under some conditions.

RestoreNet locations are testing commonly used restoration techniques, including pitting, mulching, and above-ground micro sites. This photo shows the mulching treatment, which can increase soil moisture and lead to higher plant survival under some conditions.

Survey at a dam-removal and culvert-retrofit site
Survey at a dam-removal and culvert-retrofit site
Survey at a dam-removal and culvert-retrofit site
Survey at a dam-removal and culvert-retrofit site

USGS staff survey the Mill River near the former Hopewell Mills Dam site in Taunton, Massachusetts. Surveys at the dam-removal and culvert-retrofit sites provided topographic and bathymetric data for hydraulic models developed for the study.

USGS staff survey the Mill River near the former Hopewell Mills Dam site in Taunton, Massachusetts. Surveys at the dam-removal and culvert-retrofit sites provided topographic and bathymetric data for hydraulic models developed for the study.

A broken foundation where the Cape San Blas house stood
A broken slab is all that's left of Fish Inn after Hurricane Michael
A broken slab is all that's left of Fish Inn after Hurricane Michael
A broken slab is all that's left of Fish Inn after Hurricane Michael

A broken concrete foundation and some shattered floor tiles were all that remained of the sea turtle researchers' field station and home base after Category Four Hurricane Michael struck Cape San Blas on Oct. 10, 2018.

A broken concrete foundation and some shattered floor tiles were all that remained of the sea turtle researchers' field station and home base after Category Four Hurricane Michael struck Cape San Blas on Oct. 10, 2018.

View into fissure 8
View into fissure 8 cone in Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone
View into fissure 8 cone in Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone
View into fissure 8 cone in Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone

View into fissure 8 cone in Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone, after lava drained away.

View into fissure 8 cone in Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone, after lava drained away.

NJ tide site
NJ tide site
NJ tide site
NJ tide site

Northeast Region Photo Contest Winner | November 2018 | Honorable Mention
NJ tide site

Northeast Region Photo Contest Winner | November 2018 | Honorable Mention
NJ tide site

Aerial photograph looking southwest along Breton Island, Louisiana, taken July 2013
Aerial photograph looking southwest along Breton Island, Louisiana
Aerial photograph looking southwest along Breton Island, Louisiana
Aerial photograph looking southwest along Breton Island, Louisiana

Aerial photograph looking southwest along Breton Island, Louisiana, taken July 2013

image related to volcanoes. See description
An HVO geologist walks along the summit trail, with Mauna Kea in the background.
An HVO geologist walks along the summit trail, with Mauna Kea in the background.
An HVO geologist walks along the summit trail, with Mauna Kea in the background.

An HVO geologist walks along the summit trail, with Mauna Kea in the background.

View of the underside of an airplane wing with a sunset over the ocean, with islands, in the background.
Channel Islands National Park from an aerial photographic survey
Channel Islands National Park from an aerial photographic survey
Channel Islands National Park from an aerial photographic survey

View of Channel Islands National Park from a Fall 2018 aerial photographic survey.

The Seabird Studies Team at the USGS Western Ecological Research Center is conducting aerial photographic surveys of the ocean off central and southern California to create comprehensive maps of seabird and marine mammal distributions.

View of Channel Islands National Park from a Fall 2018 aerial photographic survey.

The Seabird Studies Team at the USGS Western Ecological Research Center is conducting aerial photographic surveys of the ocean off central and southern California to create comprehensive maps of seabird and marine mammal distributions.

GLSC Greenhouse
GLSC Greenhouse
GLSC Greenhouse
GLSC Greenhouse

GLSC’s Aaron DeVries and Mckenzie Smith, left, discuss innovative controls for invasive Phragmites australis in GLSC’s greenhouse facility.

GLSC’s Aaron DeVries and Mckenzie Smith, left, discuss innovative controls for invasive Phragmites australis in GLSC’s greenhouse facility.

Laurel formation in Washington East quad examined by Wayne Newell
Laurel formation in Washington East quad examined by Wayne Newell
Laurel formation in Washington East quad examined by Wayne Newell
Laurel formation in Washington East quad examined by Wayne Newell

Northeast Region Photo Contest Winner | November 2018 | Honorable Mention
Laurel formation in Washington East quad examined by Wayne Newell

Northeast Region Photo Contest Winner | November 2018 | Honorable Mention
Laurel formation in Washington East quad examined by Wayne Newell

Tungsten
Tungsten
Tungsten
Tungsten

Photo Contest Winner | March 2020 | Honorable Mention 1
Critical mineral - tungsten

Photo Contest Winner | March 2020 | Honorable Mention 1
Critical mineral - tungsten

Shallow, underwater photo of a reef with various species of corals growing on the rocky substrate.
Wave-tide gauge off San Juan
Wave-tide gauge off San Juan
Wave-tide gauge off San Juan

Wave-tide gauge, pictured here on a coral reef amongst sea rods, brain corals, and sea fans, installed off Isla Verde in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Wave-tide gauge, pictured here on a coral reef amongst sea rods, brain corals, and sea fans, installed off Isla Verde in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

image related to volcanoes. See description
Webcam check at Halema‘uma‘u
Webcam check at Halema‘uma‘u
Webcam check at Halema‘uma‘u

HVO geologists made a routine visit to the webcam monitoring Halema‘uma‘u. No changes were observed in the pit, but views were hampered by poor weather and thick fog.

HVO geologists made a routine visit to the webcam monitoring Halema‘uma‘u. No changes were observed in the pit, but views were hampered by poor weather and thick fog.

Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) boat measurement at 01457500 Delaware River
Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) boat measurement
Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) boat measurement
Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) boat measurement

Northeast Region Photo Contest Winner | June 2019 | Where We Work
Getting ready to begin an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) boat measurement at 01457500 Delaware River at Riegelsville, NJ

Northeast Region Photo Contest Winner | June 2019 | Where We Work
Getting ready to begin an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) boat measurement at 01457500 Delaware River at Riegelsville, NJ

View from the sky of a very small, flat island that is completely man-made with a petroleum processing plant on it.
Endicott Island, Alaska
Endicott Island, Alaska
Endicott Island, Alaska

Endicott Island, and artificial island built in 1987 by Alaska Interstate Construction and is used by BP and Hilcorp Alaska for petroleum production.

Endicott Island, and artificial island built in 1987 by Alaska Interstate Construction and is used by BP and Hilcorp Alaska for petroleum production.

image related to volcanoes. See description
Map showing the minimum area covered by volcanic ash from eruptions of Valles Ca
Map showing the minimum area covered by volcanic ash from eruptions of Valles Ca
Map showing the minimum area covered by volcanic ash from eruptions of Valles Ca

Map showing the minimum area covered by volcanic ash from eruptions of Valles Ca

image related to volcanoes. See description
Routine visit to Mauna Loa summit
Routine visit to Mauna Loa summit
Routine visit to Mauna Loa summit

HVO staff visited the summit of Mauna Loa on foot to repair the webcam. The weather was perfectly clear, and views of the caldera floor showed nothing unusual.

HVO staff visited the summit of Mauna Loa on foot to repair the webcam. The weather was perfectly clear, and views of the caldera floor showed nothing unusual.

image related to volcanoes. See description
Serapeum, a Roman marketplace in the center of Pozzuoli, near Naples, Italy.
Serapeum, a Roman marketplace in the center of Pozzuoli, near Naples, Italy.
Serapeum, a Roman marketplace in the center of Pozzuoli, near Naples, Italy.

Serapeum, a Roman Marketplace in Pozzuoli, Italy, records deformation of Campi Flegrei caldera over two millennia. It was built above sea level about 2000 years ago, but mollusk borings on the large marble columns indicate that it subsided by 7 meters (23 feet) below sea level before being uplifted above sea level once more in the past several hundred years.

Serapeum, a Roman Marketplace in Pozzuoli, Italy, records deformation of Campi Flegrei caldera over two millennia. It was built above sea level about 2000 years ago, but mollusk borings on the large marble columns indicate that it subsided by 7 meters (23 feet) below sea level before being uplifted above sea level once more in the past several hundred years.

USGS researchers ride along the dune with Kennedy Space Center infrastructure in the background
USGS researchers ride along the dune; Kennedy Space Center in distance
USGS researchers ride along the dune; Kennedy Space Center in distance
USGS researchers ride along the dune; Kennedy Space Center in distance

The USGS collaborates with NASA, the University of Florida, National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to assess coastal erosion hazards affecting space program infrastructure, habitat, and wildlife populations.

The USGS collaborates with NASA, the University of Florida, National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to assess coastal erosion hazards affecting space program infrastructure, habitat, and wildlife populations.

Yellow Creek at Knox, IN - control under bridge
Yellow Creek at Knox, IN - control under bridge
Yellow Creek at Knox, IN - control under bridge
Yellow Creek at Knox, IN - control under bridge

Yellow Creek at Knox, IN - control under bridge