Images

California bearpoppy (Arctomecon californica) in gypsum-based soil. The declining abundance of this species is being actively tracked in multiple states. Photo by Morgan Andrews, SBSC, USGS.

Biological carbon sequestration is the natural ability of life and ecosystems to store carbon. Forests, peat marshes, and coastal wetlands are particularly good as storing carbon. Carbon can be stored in plant tissue, such as long-lived tree bark or in extensive root systems. Microbes break down plant and animal tissue through decomposition.

Street flooding at high tide during a storm event on January 17, 2022, at Crescent Beach in Niantic, Connecticut.

Kudzu (genus Pueraria) is an invasive vine introduced to the United States from southeast Asia. 

Researchers associated with the Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center meet with potential stakeholders at the Pu'u Wa'awa'a State Forest Reserve in Hawai'i

Outstanding in the Field Episode 11 Artwork with microphone and headset graphic overlaying image of brown bears in a river.

An established monitoring site to assess soil recovery in a chaparral ecosystem that burned in the 2020 LNU Lightning Complex Fire.

Low water drought conditions at Folsom Lake, California, on June 23, 2021. Photo by Florence Low / California Department of Water Resources.

Big sagebrush landscape under blue skies in northeast Utah. Photo by Steve Hanser (USGS)

Mangroves grow along the coast in La Parguera, Lajas, Puerto Rico. Mangroves help protect the coast during storms.

Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge lies at the southern end of Ruby Valley in northeast Nevada. For more information visit the Ruby Lake NWR website.

View of Klamath Lake as seen by a USGS Hydrologic Technician in the field. Photo provided by Justin Willhite.

Sunset on Lake Ontario aboard the USGS Great Lakes Science Center’s R/V Kaho. Photo credit: Thomas SanFilippo, USGS.

Shrubland that has been grazed near Boulder Mountain, Utah, during sunset, September 2021. Photo by Shannon Lencioni, SBSC, USGS.

To adapt to rising sea levels, coastal wetlands can migrate landward at the expense of adjacent freshwater wetlands and upland ecosystems, but migration can be hindered by natural and anthropogenic barriers. This photo shows marsh migration constrained by topographic and urban barriers in southern California. 

Agency Lake is the northern arm of Upper Klamath Lake connected by a narrow channel. This photo was taken near the USGS Lake level monitoring station, Agency Lake near Klamath Agency, OR - 11504300.

In cooperation with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) the Idaho Unit recently completed a series of research projects to better understand the effects of catch-and-release angling on survival and reproductive success of native trout and steelhead. 

Five tule white-fronted geese take off from Summer Lake Wildlife Area, the primary stopover site for this species on its fall migration.

Coral reef in Tres Palmas Marine Reserve at Steps Beach, Rincón, Puerto Rico.

A scenic view of the Beaufort Sea, Alaska. This study site will evaluate the nearshore marine feeding areas of breeding adult red-throated loons and assess the response of loon reproductive success and nutritional content of nearshore fish communities.

Geologist George Case approaches an old exploration trench exposing stratiform Ag-Sn-Pb-Zn mineralization in the Groundhog Basin deposit area.