Videos

As the leader of the Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center, Mari-Vaughn Johnson brings USGS science to communities in the Pacific Islands, her ohana, to help address the unique climate challenges in their region. 

Research Ecologist Owen McKenna investigates how climate and land use change are impacting the Prairie-Pothole region, a critical habitat for ducks and other migratory waterfowl.  

Research Geochemist Renee Takesue combines geology and chemistry to shed light on how chemical components from natural and human-made sources make their way into coastal environments. 

From volcanologists to oceanographers, biologists to paleontologists, the U.S. Geological Survey employs thousands of scientists across the Earth sciences. Each has a unique role in supporting the bureau’s mission of providing “science that matters” to the American people.

An iceberg the size of Houston broke from the Brunt Ice Shelf Antarctica on January 22nd, 2023. Landsat images show the area one day before the break and several days after. A feature named Chasm One had been lengthening for years, and it finally reached all the way across the shelf.

Do animals prank humans? It sometimes feels that way, says Yellowstone Volcano Observatory’s scientist-in-charge Mike Poland. Mike shows some of the ways animals have “interacted” with monitoring equipment in this April 1, 2023 monthly update of activity at Yellowstone Volcano.

The USGS Alaska Science Center leads long–term research on polar bears to inform local, state, national and international policy makers regarding conservation of the species and its habitat.

Cheyenne Bottoms is the largest inland wetland in the United States. Water normally diverts from rivers into the vast marshland. The wetland water level changes with precipitation and surface flows. For example, 2007 was a wet year. And 2013 was a dry year.

Could an external event trigger a Yellowstone eruption? No, says Yellowstone Volcano Observatory’s scientist-in-charge Mike Poland, that’s not how volcanoes work. Most of the pressure that drives a volcano toward eruption comes from within, from the exsolution of gases in the magmatic system.

Behind the Headlines of a Wildlife Disease Die-off

The how and why of wildlife disease investigation 

By Dr. Kimberli Miller, Wildlife Disease Specialist 

USGS National Wildlife Health Center

Lava lake activity within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, continues. On February 14, low fountaining was present at the central vent, which was supplying lava into a channel that flowed towards the large eastern lake. 

The Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers deliver half the amount of sediment they did 50 years ago to San Francisco Bay. Just as sea-level rise is accelerating, the demand for sediment is growing.

On February 6, around 4:15 a.m. local time, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck south-central Turkey near the Turkey/Syria border.

Winter has arrived in the Yellowstone region. The deep snow and cold temperatures are harsh for animals, harsh for humans, and also harsh for volcano monitoring equipment.

This video, captured by the remote B1cam, shows lava erupting from multiple minor fountains (shown as a line of bright spots in the upper left of the video) and the cooling surface of the lava forming crustal plates that move toward the camera’s location.

During the early morning hours of January 5, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists were closely monitoring an increase in earthquake activity and changes in the patterns of ground deformation at Kīlauea’s summit, indicating movement of magma in the subsurface.

Kīlauea volcano began erupting in Halema‘uma‘u crater around 4:34 pm HST on January 5, 2023, as captured in this KWcam video. Within hours, multiple dome fountains were active in the central-eastern portion of Halema‘uma‘u crater’s floor. There were several large bursts of lava from the newly opened vent.

This video, captured by the KWcam, shows a large burst of lava from the newly opened vent in Halema‘uma‘u crater, Kīlauea volcano at approximately 4:49 pm HST on January 5, 2023. This burst reached up to 50 meters (164 feet) high and sent a wave of lava across the crater floor.

High flows at streamgage 11172945 (Alameda Creek above Div Dam near Sunol, California) were captured by USGS hydrologic technician Louis Cannarozzi on 12/31/2022. Heavy precipitation caused higher-than-normal streamflow in many areas as an atmospheric river moved through northern California.

Mike Poland, scientist-in-charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, provides an overview of 2022 events and December activity in this monthly update for January 1, 2023. 

We wouldn't have seasons here on Earth if not for the planet's 23.5 degree axial tilt. Axial tilt is also known as obliquity. Earth's obliquity and its relationship with the sun give us two solstice points and two equinox points. As we orbit through each solstice and equinox, the amount and angle of daylight change.