Multimedia Gallery

Baldcypress forest along the banks of Rainey Lake, remnant of a dwindling habitat that is being studied by scientists at the NWRC.

Many species of birds rely on wetlands such as this baldcypress swamp, one of the ecosystems currently being studied by scientists at the USGS NWRC.
Purple loosestrife invades riparian areas throughout the north-central US. Researchers at the NWRC and in the Czech Republic work together to better understand the plants' growth and reproduction strategies in their

Many species of birds rely on wetlands such as this bald cypress swamp, one of the ecosystems currently being studied by scientists at the USGS NWRC.

A scientist from the North Carolina Aquarium removes an invasive red lionfish (Pterois volitans) found in coastal North Carolina's hard bottom habitat, to prevent ecological impacts due to its predation and competition with native fishes.

The invasive red lionfish (Pterois volitans) waits to be hauled to the surface, where it will eventually be used by NOAA to conduct lab studies on lionfish reproductive biology, age, and growth.

An Alaska Volcano Observatory Monitoring station with Peulik Volcano behind. This is the main repeater for the Peulik monitoring network located on Whale Mountain, Beecharaof National Wildlife Refuge.

Massachusetts inner continental shelf bottom photograph showing seafloor life.

Massachusetts inner continental shelf bottom photograph showing seafloor life.

Massachusetts inner continental shelf bottom photograph showing seafloor life.

Massachusetts inner continental shelf bottom photograph showing seafloor life.

Massachusetts inner continental shelf bottom photograph showing seafloor life.

Picture taken from the base of the Hayden Glacier on the southeast slope of Middle Sister in the Central Cascades of Oregon

Native Americans of the Miwok tribe in the northern Sierra Nevada, California carved these basins into the granite bedrock to produce salt for trade. They filled the basins with water from a salt spring and let the water evaporate, leaving a salt residue in the basin. Jim Moore, USGS geologist, looks east along a salty stream that has bleached the bedrock adjacent to the

Native Americans of the Miwok tribe in the northern Sierra Nevada, California carved these basins into the granite bedrock to produce salt for trade. They filled the basins with water from a salt spring and let the water evaporate, leaving a salt residue in the basin. Shown here is an aerial view of a salty pond above the spring used to fill the basins to make the salt.

Native Americans of the Miwok tribe in the northern Sierra Nevada, California carved these basins into the granite bedrock to produce salt for trade. They filled the basins with water from a salt spring and let the water evaporate, leaving a salt residue in the basin. The basins are about a meter in diameter and span the area of a football field.

A closeup of the Fosheim Peninsula on central Ellesmere Island where the wolf, Brutus, was radio-tagged.

Muskoxen are the main prey of wolves on Ellesmere Island.

USGS biologist Dave Mech has spent more than 20 summers studying Arctic wolves on Ellesmere Island, where they are unafraid of humans and can be observed at close range.

A mother wolf carries an errant pup back to their den.

Brutus, a radio-tagged wolf being studied by USGS scientists, is a member of a pack of at least 12 adults and an unknown number of pups.

Late in the evening, two wolves make use of the trail that leads to the head of the fiord. Studying wolves in the High Arctic allows scientists to follow the wolves during their travels, assuming the scientists can keep up. All-terrain vehicles are needed, and the 24-hour daylight at this time of year is critical. While this trail and the barren landscape help the

Brutus, a wolf being studied by USGS scientists, is chemically immobilized, measured, ear-tagged, and fitted with a radio collar near the Eureka airstrip on Ellesmere Island in the High Arctic, Nunavut, Canada. This radio collar will obtain two GPS (Global Positioning System) locations a day for 2 years and transmit these locations to an orbiting satellite every 4 days.

Scientists examine the teeth of Brutus, a wolf being studied by USGS scientists, for patterns of wear that indicate age. The front incisors are worn without their lateral cusps present. The canines show some wear and are becoming rounded and stained but still maintain most of their length. One canine tip has been broken. Using published accounts of tooth wear from captive

Brutus, a wolf being studied by USGS scientists, separates from his pack mates and appears to be heading back to the den. He stops at the head of the fiord and howls for 2-3 minutes. The scientists track his progress with binoculars past the river where they cannot go. They suspect that his mate has returned to the den, and that Brutus will join her there.

A couple of hours after being immobilized for collaring, Brutus, a wolf being studied by USGS scientists, appears to have fully recovered. He returns to his pack mates and demonstrates dominance behavior over a younger male wolf. Note that Brutus has a stiff, aggressive stance and upright tail, while the younger male cowers.

A USGS topographer poses with his leveling instrument.

A USGS topographer works with a leveling instrument. The umbrella prevents temperature fluctuations that could affect the leveling bubble in his instrument. The man on the ground is recording elevation data.

USGS topographers pose with their leveling instrument and leveling rod.

Captain Straughan (right) and rod man Bud Sullivan (left) departing for a day in the field. Straughan has a tripod on his shoulder and a plane table packed in the satchel under his leg. The flagpole in the background is flying a United States flag and a USGS flag - a common practice in mapping field camps.

USGS topographic mapping field camp in the early 1900s. Note the USGS "pick and hammer" flag flying below the United States flag. It was common practice to fly both flags in USGS field camps. Also note the "US" on the tents. Much of the USGS field gear was obtained from army surplus.

USGS topographic field party in a horse-drawn wagon northwest of Sacramento, California, circa 1906. Note the U.S.G.S. on the seat.

USGS topographic field party, circa 1925, with a Wye level on a tripod and two stadia rods.

Two USGS topographers circa 1925, working with an alidade and plane table. The man on the left is believed to be Roland Whitman Burchard, who was the topographer for the USGS Grand Canyon Expedition of 1923.

Tsunami sand deposit at Alao, American Samoa following the tsunami on Sept. 29, 2009. Light colored sand deposited during the tsunami overlies darker soil that was there before the tsunami.

Aluminum roofs and debris transported behind the village of Tula on the east shore of American Samoa following the Tsunami that hit the island on Sept. 29, 2009. The tsunami runup was 16-26 feet in Tula.

USGS biologist Paul Cryan releases a bat carrying a miniature radio transmitter. Researchers are increasingly turning to high-tech methods to try to learn more about the mysterious lives of bats.

Some of the larger wind energy facilities in North America are composed of hundreds of wind turbines dispersed across tens of thousands of acres, like this one in Colorado.

The species of bats that are most susceptible to wind turbines all roost in trees throughout the year, leading some scientists to speculate that they may be visually mistaking wind turbines for trees in which to roost.

USGS biologist Paul Cryan. Biologists hope to learn more about the scale and causes of bat fatalities at wind turbines by searching for carcasses of bats beneath turbines and carefully documenting the conditions under which they are found.

USGS biologist Paul Cryan examines the carcass of a hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) found beneath a wind turbine. By examining the casualties, biologists hope to learn more about why migratory bats are so susceptible to wind turbines.

A hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) found dead beneath a wind turbine, an apparent victim of a blade strike or near-contact barotrauma (lung failure from severe and abrupt pressure change; here, caused by the spinning blades). Prior to the problem of bat fatalities at wind turbines, biologists rarely encountered hoary bats.

This photo shows one of the three 135-ft blades of a turbine before installation. Although the blades of wind turbines appear to move quite slowly to the human eye, blade tips often move at speeds faster than 100 mph.

Most modern wind turbines are taller than a 30-story building. Field biologist Apple Snider stands at the base of a turbine in New York for scale.

Wind turbines at certain sites in North America each cause dozens of bat fatalities per year.

Wind energy facility in the Northeastern United States. An unexpected number of dead bats began appearing beneath industrial-scale wind turbines in North America and Europe during the past 10 years.

Reticulated python (Broghammerus/Python reticulatus) in Indonesia. Photo ©Bjorn Lardner, Colorado State University. Used with permission.

Beni or Bolivian Anaconda (Eunectes beniensis). Photo by Lutz Dirksen, www.anakondas.de. Used with permission.