Multimedia Gallery

When #Landsat9 is launched from Lompoc, CA, a ULA Atlas V booster will lift it out over the Pacific Ocean, over 2,500 miles away in the first 15 minutes, rising quickly. If all goes as expected, about an hour later Landsat 9 will be in orbit, 438 miles high, falling around the Earth at 16,760 miles per hour, positioned to capture years of imagery.

The Landsat

Social scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Fort Collins Science Center – in collaboration with the USGS National Land Imaging Program – conduct Earth observation user case studies using qualitative research methods. Using standard scientific methods, they are better able to understand the variety of Earth observation users, including how they use and value

Welcome to the "The I Am A..." series. This is the tenth 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

This is an animation showing the changing conditions of USGS streamgages from April 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021. The river conditions shown range from the driest condition seen at a gage (red open circles) to the wettest (blue closed circles). A purple outer ring indicates it is flooding.

In April, drought conditions spread throughout the Western U.S., stretching from

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor is located aboard NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor is aboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellite. Together these sensors provide us with over two decades of crucial data for studying changes that have occurred on the

This is an animation showing the changing conditions of USGS streamgages from January 1, 2021 to March 31, 2021. The river conditions shown range from the driest condition seen at a gage (red open circles) to the wettest (blue closed circles). A purple outer ring around a gage indicates it is flooding.

In January, the Pacific Northwest (particularly, western Oregon

The surface temperature of the land changes rapidly across the world throughout the course of one year. This video shows the changing temperatures throughout 2020 using 8-day land surface temperature (LST) data from the Terra MODIS satellite sensor. For more information on the data used to make this video please visit the LP DAAC website:

Visual photographs taken during a helicopter overflight of Halema'uma'u crater on January 7, 2021 (at Kīlauea Volcano) are used to create a 3D model of the crater. This technique is called structure-from-motion photogrammetry and uses the multiple perspectives captured in dozens of photos to reconstruct the crater shape on a computer. USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

This is an animation showing the changing conditions of USGS streamgages from October 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020. The river conditions shown range from the driest condition seen at a gage (red open circles) to the wettest (blue closed circles). A purple outer ring around a gage indicates it is flooding. As hurricane season came to a close, two final hurricanes made

Watch the changes in the growing lava lake within Halema'uma'u crater in these thermal maps from December 21-30, 2020.

In the first thermal map (December 21, 2020), the lake area is about 33 acres. In the last thermal map (December 30, 2020), the lake is about 82 acres. The dimensions of the lava lake are now 875 yd on the E-W axis (7+ football fields) and 580 yd on

Social scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Fort Collins Science Center – in collaboration with the USGS National Land Imaging Program – conduct Earth observation user case studies using qualitative research methods. Using standard scientific methods, they are better able to understand the variety of Earth observation users, including how they use and value

Social scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Fort Collins Science Center – in collaboration with the USGS National Land Imaging Program – conduct Earth observation user case studies using qualitative research methods. Using standard scientific methods, they are better able to understand the variety of Earth observation users, including how they use and value

This video animates the 1:75,000 scale geologic map of Jezero crater, Mars, which is the landing site for the Mars 2020 mission and Perseverance rover, scheduled to land in February, 2021. This map, created by NASA JPL scientists and supported by USGS, primarily relied onimages from the Context Camera (CTX) instrument onboard

Social scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Fort Collins Science Center – in collaboration with the USGS National Land Imaging Program – conduct Earth observation user case studies using qualitative research methods. Using standard scientific methods, they are better able to understand the variety of Earth observation users, including how they use and value

Social scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Fort Collins Science Center – in collaboration with the USGS National Land Imaging Program – conduct Earth observation user case studies using qualitative research methods. Using standard scientific methods, they are better able to understand the variety of Earth observation users, including how they use and value

As #BatWeek comes to an end, we figured it’s the perfect time to get a little bit more…animated. Over the last few weeks the USGS has been highlighting a handful of careers in our “I Am A..." web series. Since we are all batty at the moment, it seems like the perfect time to put the spotlight on chiropterologists, or bat scientists. One favor, though, please promise to not

Welcome to the "The I Am A..." series. This is the third 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" in the field and the second demonstrates a more accurate representation of

This animation shows the changing conditions of USGS streamgages from October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020. The conditions shown range from the driest condition seen at a gage (red open circles) to the wettest (blue closed circles). There is also a purple ring added to indicate gages that are flooding.

Most of the East Coast was experiencing dry conditions in

This is an animation showing the changing conditions of USGS streamgages from July 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020. The conditions shown range from the driest condition seen at a gage (red open circles) to the wettest (blue closed circles). There is also a purple ring added to indicate gages that are flooding. At the beginning of July, the Southwest US experienced severe

This video is a three-dimensional (3D) view of Lake Powell topobathymetric digital elevation model, which consists of topography (land elevation) and bathymetry (water depth). The 3D topobathymetric model was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center to support generation of the Colorado River water storage area

This video highlights two mosaics of the Jezero crater landing site on Mars made by the USGS Astrogeology Science Center to support the Mars 2020 mission, as well as several key locations that the Perseverance rover may visit once it is on the surface. The larger mosaic is composed of images from the Context Camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and has a resolution

Mount Nyiragongo is a stratovolcano in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It’s one of the most active in the world, having exhibited volcanic activity at least once every 3 months since May 17, 2002.
 

This is an animation showing the changing conditions of USGS streamgages from April 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020. The conditions shown range from the driest condition seen at a gage (red open circles) to the wettest (blue closed circles). There is also a purple ring added to indicate gages that are flooding. While we do see floods in this animation, we also see a number of low

A helicopter overflight provided aerial photographs of Kīlauea caldera on May 29, and these photos were used to construct a 3D model. The water lake is visible as the tan area in the deepest portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater. For scale, the water lake is 270 m (885 ft) long and approximately 600 m (1970 ft) below the western caldera rim. USGS photos by K. Mulliken.

This is an animation showing the changing conditions of USGS streamgages from January 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020. The conditions shown range from the driest condition seen at a gage (red open circles) to the wettest (blue closed circles). There is also a purple ring added to indicate gages that are flooding. During most of the animation, much of central and southeastern

This animation shows a rotating globe of the new Unified Geologic Map of the Moon with shaded topography from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA). This geologic map is a synthesis of six Apollo-era regional geologic maps, updated based on data from recent satellite missions. It will serve as a reference for lunar science and future human missions to the Moon. Credit:

Cattail (Typha) is an iconic emergent wetland plant found worldwide. By producing an abundance of wind-dispersed seeds, cattail can colonize wetlands across great distances, and its rapid growth rate, large size, and aggressive expansion results in dense stands in a variety of aquatic ecosystems such as marshes, ponds, lakes, and riparian areas. These dense stands impact

Cattail (Typha) is an iconic emergent wetland plant found worldwide. By producing an abundance of wind-dispersed seeds, cattail can colonize wetlands across great distances, and its rapid growth rate, large size, and aggressive expansion results in dense stands in a variety of aquatic ecosystems such as marshes, ponds, lakes, and riparian areas. These dense stands impact

An overflight on December 18 provided aerial photographs of Kīlauea caldera, which were used to construct a 3D model. The water pond is visible in the deepest portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater. For scale, the water pond is 189 m (650 ft) long and approximately 600 m (1970 ft) below the western caldera rim.

In the spring, winter sea ice thaws and moves offshore leaving the coast exposed to increased wave action and relatively warm water temperatures that, when in contact with the bluff, erodes the toe of the bluff. Additionally, warm air temperatures during the spring and summer months thaw the upper layers of permafrost causing erosion or sloughing of the bluff face above

This video presents an animation of computer-simulated ground motions that might occur for a magnitude 6.9 earthquake rupturing the Rose Canyon fault in southern California. The scenario earthquake ruptures a 65-km-long section of the Rose Canyon fault that lies just offshore of San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Mexico. In this scenario, the rupture starts near the

This animation shows preliminary results from precise relocation of the Ridgecrest earthquake sequence, through July 6 (UTC), including the foreshock sequence and the first ~20 hours of aftershocks from M 7.1 mainshock.  The animation begins in a map view and then transitions into a rotating vertical slice.  Earthquakes are colorcoded by time of occurrence, with early

This animation shows preliminary results from precise relocation of the Ridgecrest foreshock sequence, up to the the time of occurrence of the M 7.1 mainshock.  The animation begins in a map view and then transitions into a rotating vertical slice.  Earthquakes are colorcoded by time of occurrence, with early events in dark blue and later events (up to the M 7.1) in dark

This video shows the earthquake events a few hours before the M6.4 on July 4th, 2019 till after the M7.1 on July 8th, 2019. The blue dots are the events associated with the M6.4 and then red dots are events associated with the M7.1

This animation takes the viewer down the Glen Canyon from Bullfrog Bay to the Rincon, in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. New high resolution multibeam bathymetry collected by the USGS in 2018 shows the submerged portions of Glen Canyon. 
 

This is an animation showing the changing conditions of USGS streamgages from January 1, 2019 to June 1, 2019. The conditions shown range from the driest condition seen at a gage (red open circles) to the wettest (blue closed circles). There is also a purple ring added to indicate gages that are flooding. During the animation, three locations in TN broke record water

This animation is the third video in a series explaining different aspects of the Phragmites Adaptive Management Framework (PAMF). This video focuses on the machine learning model that PAMF uses to systematically learn from participant's data and then provide site-specific management guidance in return. More information about PAMF can be found at our websites:

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor is located aboard NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites. These data are crucial for studying changes that have occurred on the surface of the Earth, including during times of drought.

This video uses images produced from Terra MODIS Surface Reflectance data over the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range to show

This 3D model of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater was constructed from thermal images taken during a recent helicopter overflight. White areas show warm spots in the crater. Despite the absence of active lava in Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, changes at the crater have continued since magma drained from beneath it on April 30, 2018. The shape of the crater continues to change through occasional small

This is an animation showing the changing conditions of USGS streamgages for Water Year 2018 (October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018). The conditions shown range from the driest condition seen at a gage to the wettest. There is also an indicator for gages that are flooding, but it is noted that both USGS gage height and National Weather Service flood stage levels are

This video presents a visualization of how the BP Exploration Building in Anchorage, Alaska, shook during the moment magnitude (Mw) 7.0 November 30, 2018, Anchorage, Alaska, earthquake. The building was instrumented by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to obtain data to study its behavior and performance during strong shaking. Such data are useful in making decisions about

This video presents a visualization of how the Frontier Building in Anchorage, Alaska, shook during the moment magnitude (Mw) 7.0 November 30, 2018, Anchorage, Alaska, earthquake. The building was instrumented by U.S. Geological Survey to obtain data to study its behavior and performance during strong shaking. Such data are useful in making decisions about improving the

This video presents a visualization of how the Atwood Building in Anchorage, Alaska, shook during the Mw 7.0 November 30, 2018, Anchorage, Alaska, earthquake. The building was instrumented by the U.S. Geological Survey to obtain data to study its behavior and performance during strong shaking. Such data are useful in making decisions about improving the performance of the

This 3D model of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō's crater was created from thermal images during an overflight of the cone. The deepest portion of the crater is about 320 meters (1050 feet) below the crater floor that existed prior to April 30.

Digital 3D reconstruction of lake bottom using 50 photo frames taken by the dive camera system. This example shows an arc since the sampling transect is a circle. This reconstruction allows us to gain more insight about the lake bottom since elevation has been added to the photographs.
 

Digital 3D reconstruction of lake bottom using 10 photo frames taken by the dive camera system. This reconstruction allows us to gain more insight about the lake bottom since elevation has been added to the photographs.
 

Every year, tens of thousands of people descend upon an unforgiving windswept playa in northwestern Nevada to build a city.

Within months, the city is gone.

Burning Man is named for the wooden effigy set ablaze at the end of the weeklong celebration in the temporary metropolis of Black Rock City.

It all happens on an ancient alkali flat nestled between