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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.
Shawn Harrison surveys beach topography using a backpack equipped with precision GPS at Zmudowski State Beach, California. The fog-shrouded Moss Landing Power Plant looms in the background.
Shawn Harrison surveys beach topography using a backpack equipped with precision GPS at Zmudowski State Beach, California. The fog-shrouded Moss Landing Power Plant looms in the background.
USGS hydrologic technician Michael Allen collects streamflow data from the Boise River at streamgage station 13206000 using an acoustic Doppler current profiler.
USGS hydrologic technician Michael Allen collects streamflow data from the Boise River at streamgage station 13206000 using an acoustic Doppler current profiler.
Jackson Currie maps ocean depths using a personal watercraft equipped with precision GPS and sonar near Capitola, California
Jackson Currie maps ocean depths using a personal watercraft equipped with precision GPS and sonar near Capitola, California
Gerry Hatcher (left) and Shawn Harrison adjust a computer controlling video cameras on the roof of the Dream Inn, a 10-story hotel overlooking Monterey Bay in Santa Cruz, California. Harrison uses the images to improve understanding and computer modeling of beach processes.
Gerry Hatcher (left) and Shawn Harrison adjust a computer controlling video cameras on the roof of the Dream Inn, a 10-story hotel overlooking Monterey Bay in Santa Cruz, California. Harrison uses the images to improve understanding and computer modeling of beach processes.
Dann Blackwood, Jon Borden, and Steve Suttles of USGS ready to install moorings in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. USGS scientists measure water velocity, water quality, suspended sediment, and many other values to improve computer models of wetland changes in coastal National Park Service units, including Cape Cod National Seashore.
Dann Blackwood, Jon Borden, and Steve Suttles of USGS ready to install moorings in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. USGS scientists measure water velocity, water quality, suspended sediment, and many other values to improve computer models of wetland changes in coastal National Park Service units, including Cape Cod National Seashore.
Kanakee River at Davis, IN - view of ADCP boat
Kankakee River at Davis, IN - ADCP measurement
Yellow River near Brems, IN - downstream channel from bridge
Yellow River near Brems, IN - downstream channel from bridge
Yellow River near Brems, IN - gage
Yellow River near Brems, IN - gage on bridge
Yellow River near Brems, IN - reference point of gage
Yellow River near Brems, IN - reference point of gage
Yellow River near Brems, IN - view of bridge at gage
Yellow River near Brems, IN - view of bridge at gage
Yellow River near Brems, IN - view of gage on right
Yellow River near Brems, IN - view of gage on right
Shawn Harrison surveys beach topography using a precision GPS backpack on Twin Lakes State Beach, California. USGS researchers have measured coastal sediment supply and transport patterns in northern Monterey Bay for five years. Twice each year they survey the coast from Santa Cruz to Moss Landing with a variety of devices.
Shawn Harrison surveys beach topography using a precision GPS backpack on Twin Lakes State Beach, California. USGS researchers have measured coastal sediment supply and transport patterns in northern Monterey Bay for five years. Twice each year they survey the coast from Santa Cruz to Moss Landing with a variety of devices.
Klamath Falls Field Station staff maintain remote Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) detection system on Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon.
Klamath Falls Field Station staff maintain remote Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) detection system on Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon.
USGS scientist Nick Johnson isn’t afraid to get dirty. Here he is expressing green feces from a parasitic sea lamprey. DNA in the feces may help USGS scientists discover the identity of sea lamprey’s last meal.
USGS scientist Nick Johnson isn’t afraid to get dirty. Here he is expressing green feces from a parasitic sea lamprey. DNA in the feces may help USGS scientists discover the identity of sea lamprey’s last meal.
USGS scientists collect water samples for chemical analysis from an excavated pond in the NJ Pinelands.
USGS scientists collect water samples for chemical analysis from an excavated pond in the NJ Pinelands.
A Valentine's Day 2017 view of Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake, here the surface of the lake is about 21 m (69 ft) below the vent rim. The lake diameter is about 255 m or 840 ft. Careful tracking of the amount of ash emitted by lake processes suggest an important new insight into the supply of magma to Kīlauea's summit. USGS Photo.
A Valentine's Day 2017 view of Kīlauea Volcano's summit lava lake, here the surface of the lake is about 21 m (69 ft) below the vent rim. The lake diameter is about 255 m or 840 ft. Careful tracking of the amount of ash emitted by lake processes suggest an important new insight into the supply of magma to Kīlauea's summit. USGS Photo.
The surface breakout that started on February 10 remains active on the coastal plain just east of the main episode 61g lava flow field. The flow front, pictured here, advanced to about 300 m (0.2 miles) from the emergency access road in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, but appeared to be stalled this afternoon.
The surface breakout that started on February 10 remains active on the coastal plain just east of the main episode 61g lava flow field. The flow front, pictured here, advanced to about 300 m (0.2 miles) from the emergency access road in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, but appeared to be stalled this afternoon.
Sunset after installing an Acoustic Doppler Velocity Meter at Fort Sumner Main Canal near Fort Sumner, NM
Sunset after installing an Acoustic Doppler Velocity Meter at Fort Sumner Main Canal near Fort Sumner, NM
Hydrologic technicians Joe Beman and Hal Nelson remove a deployed sensor for cleaning and recalibration, as needed. This sensor is left in place to continuously log water quality parameters.
Hydrologic technicians Joe Beman and Hal Nelson remove a deployed sensor for cleaning and recalibration, as needed. This sensor is left in place to continuously log water quality parameters.