Videos

The May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens triggered a growth in volcano science and volcano monitoring. Five USGS volcano observatories have been established since the eruption. With new technologies and improved awareness of volcanic hazards USGS scientists are helping save lives and property across the planet.

On September 30, 2009 a M7.6 earthquake struck off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, near the cities of Padang and Pariaman, affecting an area with a population of 1.2 million people. The Indonesian government estimates that the earthquake caused 1,195 deaths and significant damage to around 140,000 houses and 4,000 buildings.

Lessons Learned for the San Francisco Bay Area

by USGS Geophysicists, Walter Mooney & Eric Geist 

The Submersible Habitat for Analyzing Reef Quality (SHARQ) is a new tool scientists use to understand and map metabolic characteristics associated with marine communities living on the sea floor. This podcast gives a closer look at how scientists use SHARQ to analyze important habitats like coral reefs.

Mark DeMulder, Director of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Geospatial Program (NGP) is featured as part of a panel discussion at the annual Association of American Geographer's conference in Washington DC, mid-April 2010.  The presentation includes:

Urban development is associated with an increase in impervious surfaces, that is, surfaces such as rooftops, sidewalks, and streets that prevent precipitation from infiltrating into the groundwater.  Impervious surfaces increase the volume and energy of stormwater that reaches streams and can lead to adverse physical and water quality impacts, including erosion

movie shows the lava surface deep within the Halema`uma`u vent cavity, captured with a thermal camera that can see through the thick fume. The lava surface is about 70 meters (230 ft) wide, and remains about 200 meters (660 ft) below the cavity rim. The surface is mostly crusted, with a slow migration from north to south.

This movie shows the lava surface deep within the Halema'uma'u vent cavity, captured with a thermal camera that can see through the thick fume. The lava surface is about 70 meters (230 ft) wide, and remains about 200 meters (660 ft) below the cavity rim. The surface is mostly crusted, with a slow migration from north to south.

In this video excerpt, we see motion from two video surveillance cameras capturing continuous daytime video data on pupfish spawning, and as seen here, other occurrences. The cameras are positioned approximately four feet above the water surface and one underwater.

Using phenology to take the pulse of our planet

By Jake F. Weltzin, Executive Director, USA National Phenology Network

This documentary presents how recent changes in the composition and quantities of African dust transported to the Caribbean and the Americas might provide clues to why Caribbean coral reef ecosystems are deteriorating and human health may be impacted.

movie shows the active lava pond deep within the Halema`uma`u vent cavity. The lava is upwelling at the northern margin of the pond (the upper margin in this view), and slowly migrating south towards the bottom of the image, where it sinks out of view. The pond is about 50 m wide. Small spattering sources appear and disappear occasionally.

This movie shows the active lava pond deep within the Halema'uma'u vent cavity. The lava is upwelling at the northern margin of the pond (the upper margin in this view), and slowly migrating south towards the bottom of the image, where it sinks out of view. The pond is about 50 m wide. Small spattering sources appear and disappear occasionally.

This video clip highlights the types of technology being used to research and study the movements of the desert tortoise and how they're using the habitat.

This video describes how scientists are studying freshwater wetlands on the North Island of New Zealand and how nutrients from pasture runoff may alter the vegetation and peat formation in these important ecosystems. Much of what is known about wetlands comes from research conducted in the Northern Hemisphere.

A Scenario of a Massive West Coast Storm

By Dale Cox, Project Manager, USGS Multi-Hazards Demonstration Project

"The Heat is On: Desert Tortoises and Survival" is a thirty minute television program exploring the world of the Mojave Desert Tortoise. It highlights the USGS research program on the Desert Tortoise and the role of that research in managing desert environments to allow the species to recover and escape the threat of extinction.

This video discusses how scientists have tracked what, when, and how contaminants may reach public-supply wells in four aquifers in California, Connecticut, Nebraska, and Florida.

This brief video shows why ravens are one of the primary threats to survival of the Mojave Desert Tortoise. It is an excerpt from the longer, award winning, USGS television program "The Heat is On: Desert Tortoises and Survival".

By Michael Field, Senior Marine Geologist

Maps are a foundation of geographic knowledge. As part of the Department of the Interior, the United States Geological Survey has led the way in mapping the nation.