Multimedia Gallery

While surveying high water marks in Oakridge, Oregon, bumble bees buzzed around the river banks. The bees often mistake our bright colored equipment and florescent safety gear for tasty yellow flowers.

These images look east at the pond within Halema‘uma‘u on August 8 and 14, 2019. The pond widened mainly toward the south (right). The north-south width of the pond on August 14 was about 32 m (105 ft), about 10 m (35 ft) wider than on August 8. The pond has widened and deepened slowly and steadily rate since measurements began on August 3.

2019 August Public Lecture Flyer

Pliocene World: Earth's Climate 3 Million Years Ago and How it Relates to our Future

By Marci Robinson, USGS Research Geologist 

• Three million years ago, during the late Pliocene, CO2 levels were similar to today, but global temperatures and sea level were much higher.
• Find out how we use

The new and revised "USGS Water Science School" site is ready for you to visit and learn all about water ... no matter what your age.

Access it at:

https://www.usgs.gov/water-science-school

Stephen Banulski using a surveying instrument to calibrate the tide gage 01194815 Connecticut River near Bridge St near Old Saybrook, CT; Photo taken by Dee-Ann McCarthy on 8/7/2019

A telephoto view of the ponded water at the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u on August 7, 2019. For scale, the largest pond is about 15 meters (50 feet) in diameter.

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019.

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019.

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019.

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019

Short-tailed Shearwater die-off in the Bering Sea. Emaciated Short-tailed Shearwater carcasses littered the beaches of Bristol Bay during the summer of 2019

GeoGirls hike to Willow Creek, on Mount St. Helens’ Pumice Plain, to learn more about the ecology of the blast zone and how the area has recovered since the catastrophic May 18, 1980, eruption. Here, they look at stream characteristics and how it has influenced the return of life to the area.

The GeoGirls create field drawings of 1980 pyroclastic flow deposits on Mount St. Helens’ Pumice Plain.

The GeoGirls hike the Pumice Plain at Mount St. Helens, examining lava outcrops and volcanic sediment.

GeoGirls 2019 group photo, with Mount St. Helens in the background.

The GeoGirls visit a volcano monitoring station on the east side of Mount St. Helens, finding out how scientists use different monitoring methods (seismic, GPS, tiltmeter) to understand more about the volcano.

USGS deploying the s-boom into Cape Cod Bay during the Cape Cod Bay 2019 Survey.

USGS deploying the s-boom into Cape Cod Bay during the Cape Cod Bay 2019 Survey.

Cape Cod Bay Survey 2019. Acquisition van life. Laura Brothers (Woods Hole) inside the Aquisition Van watching all the data come in and eating dinner.

Cape Cod Bay Survey 2019. Acquisition van life. Jake Fredericks (St. Pete) and Wayne Baldwin (Woods Hole) inside the Aquisition Van watching all the data come in and eating dinner.

Torrent salamanders are Northwest-U.S. endemic, headwater-stream-associated amphibian species that have a dearth of basic ecological information, but are thought to be highly vulnerable to habitat changes. This taxon currently has two candidates for listing by the Endangered Species Act: the Cascade torrent salamander (Rhyacotriton cascadae) and the Columbia

This map shows the geographic extent of existing and in progress 3DEP data acquisition projects as of August, 2019.  FY19 projects are the result of partnership projects awarded through the FY19 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) and though ongoing Federal coordination via the 3DEP Working Group.

Legend Explanation:

Orange shows

GeoGirls venture into Ape Cave, a 2,000-year-old lava tube on the south flank of Mount St. Helens, as they learn about Mount St. Helens’ eruptive history and lava flows.

GeoGirls venture into Ape Cave, a 2,000-year-old lava tube on the south flank of Mount St. Helens, as they learn about Mount St. Helens’ eruptive history and lava flows.

Nature always displays vibrant colors. It is only a matter of time until you get the chance to witness its beauty. Even more difficult is capturing this beauty through the lens. Here, we see the magnificent beauty of the falls on the Big Sioux River, from which Sioux Falls, SD takes its name, showing the vibrant colors of nature just before sunset.

Viewers look through several years of change in an interactive display at the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science Center.

An interactive display at the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science Center highlighting land change research.

Aerial view of Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea taken during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory helicopter overflight on August 1, 2019. The small green patch visible at the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u is a new pond forming at the lowest point of the crater. The pond is at about 525 m (about 1722 ft) elevation.

The start of the Cape Cod Bay 2019 Survey. Eric, Wayne, and Dave are made sure the streamer was ready for when they reach the study area.

Riley Behrens and Anthony Cacace are replacing an intake on Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System (HRECOS) gage 01376520 Hudson River at Pier 26 at New York, NY. Photo by Natalie Cheung (Public domain

USGS scientist Seth Ackerman shows students at the Children's School of Science how we map the seafloor. This was part of the pre-cruise for the Cape Cod Bay 2019 Survey.

Canada goose (Branta canadensis), Anchorage, AK

Northern Fulmars, Black-legged Kittiwakes, and Common Murres have all been tested for and contained harmful algal bloom (HAB) toxins. Since 2015, the USGS has worked with a variety of stakeholders to develop testing methods and research projects to better understand the geographic extent, timing and impacts of algal toxins in Alaska marine ecosystems.

Telephoto views of water in the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u taken during a helicopter lidar survey on July 25, 2019 (left), when the pond was first observed, and a USGS overflight on August 1, 2019 (right). The pond grew slightly in size and depth between the two dates; an "X" marks the same rock in both photos for comparison. Left photo courtesy of Ron Chapelle, Quantum

View of downtown Milwaukee with single crew row boat on river.

View of Lake Michigan from beach.

Custom-designed, automated, large-volume virus water sample filtration and collection system schematic.

USGS scientist extruding Lake Mendota, WI sediment while carefully removing sediment that was in contact with the polycarbonate tube to eliminate “edge effects” and smearing of upper sediment into lower portions of the core, UW-Madison Science Hall Lab.

Video camera snapshot at Tres Palmas in Rincón, on the west coast of Puerto Rico.

Four video cameras look westward over the coast and the coral reef at Tres Palmas in Rincón, on the west coast of Puerto Rico. Two cameras look out at the horizon and over the ocean for the mid-field view; one camera offers a zoomed-in, far-field view overlooking the reef and out to the island of Desecheo, a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge; and another camera focuses on the