Multimedia Gallery

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Sediment Analysis Laboratory's Rigaku Miniflex 600 (USGS laboratory equipment number WH-SED-Rigaku-Miniflex1).

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Sediment Analysis Laboratory's Beckman Coulter Multisizer 3 (USGS laboratory equipment number WH-SED-BeckmanCoulter-Multisizer1).

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Sediment Analysis Laboratory's Horiba LA-960 laser diffraction unit with slurry sampler (USGS laboratory equipment number WH-SED-Horiba-LA9601).

Photograph of cabinets in the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Sediment Analysis Laboratory contaning the lab's collection of sieves.

This March 31, 2021, photo shows a close-up view of the active western fissure of Halema‘uma‘u at Kīlauea volcano on the Island of Hawai‘i. Near the bottom of the photo, orange incandescence can be seen from two circular vents of the spatter cones. The orange area above the vents is where lava is entering the lava lake, and the orange area in upper right side of the photo

Welcome to the "The I Am A..." series. This is the sixth video in a series of USGS whiteboard animations that highlight USGS careers. The concept is to show "what society (or my mom) thinks I do" compared with "what I really do." One image captures a more whimsical representation of a "scientist" and the second demonstrates a more accurate representation of what we really

Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease in North America, in Relation to Tribal Lands in the Conterminous United States. Updated on April 01, 2021.

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center technicians programming remote field camera installations on Marconi Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore.

Photo of Chinle Creek, USGS

Photo Contest Winner | March 2021 | USGS at Work
GEMSC supply distribution day

Photo Contest Winner | March 2021 | People
USGS employees on boat

Photo Contest Winner | March 2021 | Honorable Mention
03363500 Flatrock River at St. Paul, IN; established 1930

Kent Smith Installing a crest stage gage (CSG) on the Genesee River. (Credit: John Wernly, USGS NY WSC Public domain.)

Seafloor tripod equipped with oceanographic equipment to be deployed offshore of Sandwich, MA , March 2021

Visible and thermal maps of Brimstone Basin (top) and Midway / Lower Geyser Basins (bottom).  The images on the left are high-resolution (1-m pixels) visible images acquired by the NAIP program in 2019.  In these images, the extent of the bright white surface cover is visual evidence for the thermal area, and the yellow thermal area boundaries have been digitized based on

Map of Yellowstone’s thermal areas.  Thermally active thermal areas (known to have thermal features with above-background temperatures) are shown in red.  Inactive and cold, degassing thermal areas are shown in blue.  Areas that are unknown or inconclusive in terms of their thermal activity are shown in purple.

The western fissure remains active, supplying lava to the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. This photo shows a close-up of the inlet where lava enters the lake. The motion of the lava stream has been slow but continuous. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

This photo shows Halema‘uma‘u Crater from the western caldera rim, looking east. Active surface lava is limited to the western portion of the lake, and can be seen as the silvery surface just below the center of the image. The eastern portion of the lake is solidified at the surface, and is visible just above the center. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

This photo was taken from the western caldera rim, and looks down up on the western fissure supplying lava into the lake in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. Incandescence is visible in a small vent opening in the lower left portion of the image. In the upper right, the lava stream at the lake inlet slowly flows eastward. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

This photo shows a close-up of the inlet where lava enters the lake in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. A lava crust forms around the source of the lava stream, and occasionally fractures and is carried away by the current. Here, this sequence is beginning with a crack developing in the crust. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

The lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, remains active. The active surface lava lake, shown in this photo, is limited to the western portion of the lake between the western fissure complex (center left) and the main island (right). In this view looking to the northwest, the main effusion source of lava into the lake is visible as a saw-tooth line at

The lava lake remains active in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. The surface area of the active lava lake has slowly decreased over the past several months, with the active surface lava now limited to a portion of the west side of lake. The lake remains perched several meters (yards) above its surroundings, bound by a steep levee on most sides. USGS photo by

A close up of the inlet where lava from the western fissure feeds into the lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. The lava stream was sluggish, with the movement barely perceptible with the naked eye. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

This map of Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea shows 20 m (66 ft) contour lines (dark gray) that mark locations of equal elevation above sea level (asl). The map shows that the lava lake has filled 224 m (735 ft) of the crater, to an elevation of 741 m (2431 ft) asl since the eruption began on December 20, 2020. Contour lines highlighted in green, purple, and blue mark

A helicopter overflight on March 26, 2021, at approximately 8 a.m. HST allowed for aerial visual and thermal imagery to be collected of the eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. Active surface lava is largely limited to the western side of the lake; the eastern portion of the lake has stagnated and is dominated by cooling, solidified crust.

An aerial view of the western portion of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. The west vent (upper-right) continues to erupt lava into the perched active portion of the lava lake. The main island, which remains trapped in place by the solidified lava crust surrounding it, is visible at the bottom of the photo. USGS photo taken by L. DeSmither

During today’s HVO helicopter overflight of the Kīlauea summit eruption, no major changes were observed. As the west vent continues to erupt lava into the active lava lake, volcanic gas emissions remain elevated, with a visible plume rising from the western vent (upper-right). The most recent SO₂ emission rates were recorded on March 22 at about 950 t/d. USGS

A telephoto view of the west vent within Halema‘uma‘u crater taken during a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory helicopter overflight of Kīlauea summit. The west vent continues to supply lava into the active western portion of the lava lake from two adjacent inlets at its base (center-left). A pile of rubble, from a partial collapse of the cone several weeks ago, remains on the

This figure shows a comparison of ongoing activity in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea, with a 2007 lava channel on Kīlauea's East Rift Zone. On the left, a photo shows the levee that is containing the active perched lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u. The levee is formed in part from rafted pieces of surface crust that are pushed onto the levee by the lake circulation, with

A close-up aerial view of the southern active lava lake margin within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at Kīlauea summit. The formation of the levee containing the “perched” active lava lake (center to upper-right) is partially due to crustal plates from the active lake surface being pushed onto the rim of the lava lake. See the magnified image of the levee (lower-left) for a more

Morning light illuminates the active west vent spatter cones from the ongoing Halema‘uma‘u eruption at Kīlauea Volcano's summit on Friday, March 26, 2021. Several of the cones were actively degassing but no spatter or lava flows were observed. USGS Photo by K. Lynn.

The Columbia River flowing through the Hanford reach of the arid Columbia River basin, eastern Washington. This reach is one of the few undammed segments of the Columbia River within the United States. Photograph taken from the White Bluffs, composed of sediment deposited in late Miocene and Pliocene Lake Ringold which occupied the Pasco Basin.

Looking across the stream (southwest) at USGS streamgage 08223400 Rio Grande at Alamosa NWR near Alamosa, CO; non-contact radar suspended above the stream with the streamgage located on the bank on the left just out of view.

Looking downstream (south) at USGS streamgage 08223400 Rio Grande at Alamosa NWR near Alamosa, CO; non-contact radar suspended on the bank during gage installation next to the streamgage located on the bank on the left.

A wide view of the lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater at Kīlauea summit, taken on March 24, 2021 at 12:48 p.m. HST. A gas plume rises from the west vent (center-left), which continues to erupt lava into the active western portion of the lava lake (light gray in color). The center and eastern lava lake surface is covered by a darker, stagnant crust. USGS photo taken by D

Looking upstream (east) at USGS streamgage 08227510 North Crestone Creek at Baca NWR near Crestone, CO; non-contact radar suspended above the creek with USGS hydrologist servicing the streamgage on the bank on the left.

Looking upstream (east) at USGS streamgage 08227510 North Crestone Creek at Baca NWR near Crestone, CO; USGS hydrologist is servicing the streamgage.

Looking downstream (west) at USGS streamgage 08227510 North Crestone Creek at Baca NWR near Crestone, CO; non-contact radar suspended above the creek with data logger and antennas on the bank on the right.

USGS scientist sampling phytoplankton with a net in San Francisco Bay.

The lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, remains active. Active surface lava is limited to the western (bottom) portion of the lake between the main island and the western fissure complex. In this view looking east, a 4 meter (13 feet) diameter skylight is visible at the top of the northeastern-most spatter cone (left). USGS photo by N. Deligne on

Jin-Si Over conducting an elevation survey at Head of the Meadow Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts.

World Water Day image

Boulder Glacier in 1910 (Elrod photo, GNP Archives) and in 2007 (Fagre/Pederson photo, USGS).  Matching the intersection of the peaks in the background helps the repeat photographer locate the photo point.  USGS Public domain

Blackfoot & Jackson Glaciers:  8/1/1914 EC Stebinger, USGS Photographic Library – 9/3/2009 L McKeon, USGS

Since the historic photo was taken, Blackfoot Glacier has retreated and fragmented into two separate glaciers, Blackfoot (foreground) and Jackson (distant) Glaciers. 

View the full collection at

Boulder Glacier: circa 1910 M Elrod, Glacier National Park Archives -  8/24/2007 D Fagre & G Pederson, USGS  

Aerial analysis showed that by 1998 Boulder Glacier’s area was less than 0.1 km², too small

Grinnell, Gem & Salamander Glaciers: 8/9/1910 M Elrod, U of M Library – 9/27/2016 L McKeon, USGS 

During the timespan between photos, Upper Grinnell Lake formed as Grinnell Glacier melted.  Gem Glacier, the small glacier in the saddle along the crest of the peaks, has lost some height (volume) despite retaining a similar area.  Salamander Glacier, along the

This photo shows the northern portion of the active lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. Like the southern portion of the lake, this northern zone is also contained by steep, well-defined levees. USGS photo by M. Patrick on March 22, 2021.