Multimedia Gallery
Videos
Watch scientific animations, presentations, video shorts, training, and more related to USGS science and research.
Image of the Week - Summer Fires Rage in California
As fire season continues in the western United States let's look back at a number of incidents tracked by officials across California in August. These fires were captured during the day by Landsats 7 and 8, in natural color bands of the visible spectrum. Landsat sensors also record infrared wavelengths revealing burn scars and active fires. Natural color images show smoke
SDC Seminar: Defining and Using Evidence in Conservation Practice
This is the Science and Decisions Center Seminar Series presentation of Defining and Using Evidence in Conservation Practice with Nick Salafsky, Director, Foundations of Success. Nick focuses on sharing new work on the development of shared evidence libraries based around theory-of-change pathways for key conservation actions. Nick draws on insights of evidence-based
I am an...Ornithologist
Welcome to the "The I Am A..." series. This is the second 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
Image of the Week - Time Travel by Permafrost
In Russia's Extreme North, a widening chasm known as the Batagaika Crater provides a unique opportunity to study the past. Early declassified aerial images recorded the crater's growth in the 1960s and 1970s followed by multispectral sensor imagery captured by Landsat and Sentinel satellites, building a continuous view over the last 60 years. But the gash in the ground
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Monthly Update: September 1, 2020
Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone during August 2020.
Timelapse: 45 minutes of activity at Kīlauea's summit water lake
This timelapse video shows approximately 45 minutes of activity in the water lake at the summit of Kīlauea volcano. The video shows that the color zones are highly dynamic, shifting from minute to minute. This behavior has been common in the lake during much of the past year. Note that the camera exposure changes several times, shifting the color slightly at times. USGS
Image of the Week: Bird Island Ablaze
In Montana, wildfire swept across Flathead Lake's 30 acre Bird Island in early August of 2020. Landsat 8 captured this imagery one day after the fire began. The satellite's short wave infrared and near infrared bands reveal the active fire covering approximately half of the island. Smoke obscures the remainder. The same band combination highlights healthy vegetation 16
3D Elevation Program FY21 BAA Instructional Webinar
This webinar provides an overview of the Federal fiscal year (FY) 20/21 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) solicitation and application process. The goal of 3DEP is to complete acquisition of nationwide lidar (IfSAR in Alaska) to provide the first-ever national baseline of consistent high-resolution elevation data – both bare earth and 3D point
Time-Lapse of Yellowstone Lake (2019 - 2020)
This time-lapse movie, which spans January 2019 to August 2020, shows the changing nature of the seasons at Yellowstone Lake as captured by the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory webcam. Snow and ice come and go, and there is even a wildfire visible during the summer of 2019!
I Am A...Herpetologist
Welcome to the "The I Am A..." series. This is the first 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
Role of Infrasound in the USGS Eruption Response
Infrasound is an important tools for volcanologists, allowing them to detect eruptions, locate the source of explosions, and understand important parameters of volcanic events. John Lyons discusses how the technique is used by the USGS, especially in Alaska, and how we are working to help study infrasound around the world.
Image of the Week - A Lake Blushes in India
This summer in central India, a mystery in color emerged. In the space of just days, the surface of Lonar Lake turned bright pink, then returned to green. As scientists study the cause of the event, other lakes around the world offer clues. Australia's salty Lake Hillier is filled with microscopic pink organisms, as well as algae that turn red when stressed to help absorb
Landsat in the Cloud: Will my workflow be supported?
Will my existing workflow still be supported? Landsat downloads will continue to be available via EarthExplorer, LandsatLook, and other familiar USGS tools as they are today, without a noticeable difference to the user. The Landsat record will also remain free and open, with downloads available at no charge to the user.
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Monthly Update: August 1, 2020
Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone during July 2020.
Timelapse showing typical activity at Kīlauea's summit water lake
This timelapse video at Kīlauea's summit covers approximately 30 minutes and shows the dynamic nature of the water lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater. Steam from the hot water surface is constantly shifting in the winds, while the migrating color boundaries on the water surface appear to show circulation in the lake. USGS video by M. Patrick.
LANDFIRE Remap 2020
LANDFIRE (LF) Remap is the most comprehensive mapping effort in LF's history. This years-long effort included updating the base maps across the original data product suite to create LF's second base map product suite consisting of 28 vegetation and fuels layers. LF Remap products reflect circa 2016 ground conditions. Learn more at https://
Lake Powell - Topobathymetric Digital Elevation Model
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
ESRI’s ArcGIS Pro’s Trace Networks & NHDPlus HR Map Service
National Hydrography Advisory Call:
This episode features speakers Remy Myers (ESRI’s Product Manager for Trace Network) and Kevin McNinch (USGS National Hydrography Team). Remy runs through a demonstration of ArcGIS Pro’s Trace Network. Additionally, from a higher level, this presents an opportunity for those geometric network users within ESRI’s
Lesson 10e2: Using LASzip to Decompress Lidar
By the end of this lesson, you will understand the difference between the LAS and LAZ format, know where to download the laszip.exe tool, and how to decompress a LAZ file to a LAS file using laszip.exe. The USGS offers other lessons on using LAS files in ArcGIS Pro, Global Mapper, and LP360.
NASA Mars Perseverance 2020 Terrain Relative Navigation Mosaics
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 Eruption Activity Captured by Terra ASTER
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.
LCMAP Collection 1 Science Products - Primary & Secondary Land Cover
LCMAP Collection 1 includes 10 Science Products, offering different perspectives for the study of land change across the country, through time. The primary and secondary land cover products, provide important information on the most likely land cover class for each pixel. Their associated confidence products record the level of confidence in each classification.
Repeating quakes during multiple phases of unrest and eruption
The video describes work by Jay Wellik, a USGS seismologist and his colleagues with the Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (VDAP). They assisted Indonesia's CVGHM in responding to the 2017 activity/eruption at Mt. Agung, on the island of Bali. The work describes use of software to characterize the different types of earthquakes at the volcano, and how that revealed
Image of the Week - Virtual Road Trip with Landsat
Summer vacation plans changed for many in 2020. Whatever your plans, Landsat can take you on a virtual road trip. Landsat 8, in its sun-synchronous polar orbit, views every national park in the U.S. every 16 days and gathers more photographic data than the most ambitious of tourists.