The Environmental Health Program (Toxic Substances Hydrology and Contaminant Biology) supports the science to address the full range of questions related to contaminant and pathogen sources, environmental transport, exposure/transmission pathways, uptake, biological effects, and human health implications. The science is accomplished within focused integrated science teams.
Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Science Team
Ecologically-Driven Exposure Pathways Science Team
Energy Integrated Science Team
Fishing and Hunting Integrated Science Team
Food Resources Lifecycle Integrated Science Team
Immunomodulation Science Team
Land Stewardship Science Team
Minerals Science Team
Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Integrated Science Team
Toxins and Harmful Algal Blooms Science Team
Core Technology Team
Environmental Health Featured Science Activities
Questions We Answer
FAQs
Are earthquakes associated with variations in the geomagnetic field?
Electromagnetic variations have been observed after earthquakes, but despite decades of work, there is no convincing evidence of electromagnetic precursors to earthquakes. It is worth acknowledging that geophysicists would actually love to demonstrate the reality of such precursors, especially if they could be used for reliably predicting earthquakes! Learn more: USGS Geomagnetism Program
Do solar flares or magnetic storms (space weather) cause earthquakes?
Solar flares and magnetic storms belong to a set of phenomena known collectively as "space weather". Technological systems and the activities of modern civilization can be affected by changing space-weather conditions. However, it has never been demonstrated that there is a causal relationship between space weather and earthquakes. Indeed, over the course of the Sun's 11-year variable cycle, the...
Could magnetic reversals be caused by meteorite or comet impacts?
Although extremely unlikely, it might be possible for a reversal of the Earth's magnetic field to be triggered by a meteorite or comet impact, or even for it to be caused by something more "gentle," such as the melting of the polar ice caps. Self-contained dynamic systems like Earth’s dynamo can have reversals without any outside influence. Reversals of Earth's magnetic field can simply happen...
Education
I Am An...Ecotoxicologist
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