Images

Liquefaction-related features and cracks along the sandy shore next to Stanley Lake.

This section of brown Icelandic soil (top) contains 800 years of ash deposits erupted from five different volcanoes. The black layers, 5-10 cm (2-4 in) thick, are from Katla Volcano. A white arrow points to a closeup of the 1755 Katla ash deposit (lower left).

Field photograph taken for Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) In Albuquerque Stormwater Channels Project, USGS - New Mexico Water Science Center

Cedar Island, Virginia is an uninhabited barrier that has migrated landward approximately 15-30 meters per year since 1984 due to its low sediment supply. The shoreface slope is gradual but almost entirely devoid of island sediment - both responses to its recent, rapid retreat. USGS scientists collect geologic and morphologic data from this island’s shoreface.

Fire Island, New York is sparsely populated and regularly nourished, but has few modifications that impede natural sediment exchanges. Shoreface geomorphology reflects past periods of seaward progradation and alongshore extension resulting in a relatively sediment-rich shoreface. USGS scientists collect geologic and morphologic data from this island’s shoreface.

Physical map of the western USA showing locations of strong earthquakes in March 2020 and Basin and Range extensional province. The Basin and Range stretches from the Sierra Nevada in the west to the Wasatch and Teton mountains in the east, and from central Idaho and southwest Montana in the north to Mexico in the south.

This photo was taken during an aerial photographic survey of seabirds and marine mammals along the California Coast. The project is supported by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and helps planning in advance of potential offshore wind energy development along the California Coast.

Rockaway Beach, New York is heavily developed, has seawalls and groins and is regularly nourished. It hasn’t changed much over 20 years. The shoreface is steep and sediment cover doesn’t extend far from shore—likely the result of being fixed in place for decades. USGS scientists collect geologic and morphologic data from this island’s shoreface.

An aerial view of landslide damage after Hurricane Maria in Utuado municipality, Puerto Rico.

During the 1926 Mauna Loa eruption, an ‘a‘ā flow about 457 m (1500 ft) wide and 9 m (30 ft) high headed straight for the village of Ho‘ōpūloa on April 18, as shown here. By the next day, the lava flow had destroyed a dozen houses, a church, and the wharf, and had nearly obliterated the bay. Photo by Army Air Corps, 11th Photo Section.

USGS ground failure experts examine landslides after Hurricane Maria in the municipality of Las Marias, Puerto Rico.

Photo Contest Winner | March 2020 | Where We Work
Red-crowned cranes at USGS Wildlife Toxicology site visit to Kushiro Marsh, Japan

Supervisory Research Hydrologist, Mike McHale taking a volumetric flow measurement in a storm sewer at USGS 425520078535601 West Delavan Avenue, Buffalo, New York, as part of the Green Infrastructure project. (Credit: Michael Antidormi, USGS. Public domain.)

Overview of Taan Fiord. Inset showing location of Taan Fiord, Alaska in Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Taan Fiord is about 100 km from the nearest town, Yakutat, AK. Landsat 8 image of Taan Fiord acquired in 2016. Vegetation loss is clear near the water line.

:  A site visit to Puerto Rico’s Sierra de Luquillo mountains and El Yunque National Forest, 2020. (credit – M. Eaton) 

A closeup of the northern shoreline shows how opaque the water is against the rocks. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

Hawai'i 'Amakihi (Chlorodrepanis virens).

A USGS scientist navigates a personal watercraft (PWC) slowly through Elkhorn Slough. The PWC is equipped with an echosounder and GPS, to record accurate depth and location. This mapping effort is part of recurring surveys in the Monterey Bay area.

The water pond from the webcam site. This view provides a better view of the greenish zone in the west end of the pond (bottom right of photo).

The whistling coqui (E. cochranae), one of 17 iconic Puerto Rican amphibians in the genus Eleutherodactylus, observed in a lowland delta marsh of the Arecibo River on Puerto Rico’s north coast. (credit – M. Eaton)

A USGS scientist navigates a personal watercraft equipped with sonar and GPS to collect depth information (bathymetry) of the nearshore. This mapping effort is part of recurring surveys in the Monterey Bay area.