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Browse images from a wide range of science topics covered by USGS.

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Ric Wilson stands next to a portrait of himself during a presentation of "Black in Alaska" in Anchorage.
Ric Wilson at a "Black in Alaska" event
Ric Wilson at a "Black in Alaska" event
Ric Wilson at a "Black in Alaska" event

Ric Wilson, a doctorate in geology and USGS research geologist at the Alaska Science Center in Anchorage, Alaska. 

Ric Wilson, a doctorate in geology and USGS research geologist at the Alaska Science Center in Anchorage, Alaska. 

Polar bear walking along Beaufort Sea coast with storm waves breaking behind it
Polar bear walking along Beaufort Sea coast
Polar bear walking along Beaufort Sea coast
Polar bear walking along Beaufort Sea coast

A polar bear walking along the Beaufort Sea coast with storm waves breaking behind it, filmed during fieldwork at Barter Island, Alaska.

A polar bear walking along the Beaufort Sea coast with storm waves breaking behind it, filmed during fieldwork at Barter Island, Alaska.

Researchers walk between hundreds of spawning sockeye salmon in shallow lake at Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
Scientists walk between hundreds of spawning sockeye salmon in shallow lake at Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
Scientists walk between hundreds of spawning sockeye salmon in shallow lake at Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
Scientists walk between hundreds of spawning sockeye salmon in shallow lake at Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska

USGS Upper Midwest Water Science Center hydrologist Laura Hubbard (right, in yellow coat and PFD) and Jordan Wight (left, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada) walk between hundreds of spawning sockeye salmon in shallow lake at Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska as they filter water for avian influenza virus.

USGS Upper Midwest Water Science Center hydrologist Laura Hubbard (right, in yellow coat and PFD) and Jordan Wight (left, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada) walk between hundreds of spawning sockeye salmon in shallow lake at Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska as they filter water for avian influenza virus.

Two scientists wade with an orange inflatable boat in shallow Alaskan wetland
Two scientists wade in shallow wetland in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
Two scientists wade in shallow wetland in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
Two scientists wade in shallow wetland in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska

USGS research hydrologist Laura Hubbard and Memorial University of Newfoundland's Jordan Wight wade with an orange inflatable boat in shallow wetland as they filter for infectious avian influenza in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.

USGS research hydrologist Laura Hubbard and Memorial University of Newfoundland's Jordan Wight wade with an orange inflatable boat in shallow wetland as they filter for infectious avian influenza in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.

Scientist standing it hip deep water in Alaska lake with inflatable raft carrying water sampling equipment
Filtering wetland water to sample for infectious avian influenza in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.
Filtering wetland water to sample for infectious avian influenza in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.
Filtering wetland water to sample for infectious avian influenza in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.

Upper Midwest Water Science Center Hydrologist Laura Hubbard filters wetland water to sample for infectious avian influenza in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.

Scientists scout for brown bears on shore of Alaskan lake at Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
Scientists scout for brown bears before starting infectious avian influenza water sampling in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
Scientists scout for brown bears before starting infectious avian influenza water sampling in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
Scientists scout for brown bears before starting infectious avian influenza water sampling in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska

Scientists scout for brown bears before starting infectious avian influenza water sampling in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.

A building lifted from its foundation by floodwater from Typhoon Merbok is trapped under a bridge in Nome, Alaska
Floodwater damage from Extratropical Typhoon Merbok in Nome, Alaska
Floodwater damage from Extratropical Typhoon Merbok in Nome, Alaska
Floodwater damage from Extratropical Typhoon Merbok in Nome, Alaska

A building lifted from its foundation by floodwater from Extratropical Typhoon Merbok is trapped under a bridge in Nome, Alaska.

Image shows an aerial view of rolling hills and rock formations
Western North Slope Foothills
Western North Slope Foothills
Western North Slope Foothills

The Kukpowruk River cuts through folded Cretaceous rocks in the central North Slope. These rocks were assessed by the USGS in 2017 and lie above the rocks assessed in the USGS 2021 Western North Slope assessment.

The Kukpowruk River cuts through folded Cretaceous rocks in the central North Slope. These rocks were assessed by the USGS in 2017 and lie above the rocks assessed in the USGS 2021 Western North Slope assessment.

Image shows rocky ground with grasslands and a USGS scientist in the background
Western North Slope Foothills
Western North Slope Foothills
Western North Slope Foothills

Geologist hikes across folded Cretaceous rocks in the central North Slope. These rocks were assessed by the USGS in 2017 and lie above the rocks assessed in the USGS 2021 Western North Slope assessment.

Geologist hikes across folded Cretaceous rocks in the central North Slope. These rocks were assessed by the USGS in 2017 and lie above the rocks assessed in the USGS 2021 Western North Slope assessment.

Image shows grass-covered rocks with rolling hills in the background
Tingmerkpuk Ridges
Tingmerkpuk Ridges
Tingmerkpuk Ridges

Jurassic rocks exposed in thurst-faulted structures near the southern limit of Western North Slope. In the subsurface farther north, these rocks may be reservoir rocks for natural gas.

Jurassic rocks exposed in thurst-faulted structures near the southern limit of Western North Slope. In the subsurface farther north, these rocks may be reservoir rocks for natural gas.

Image shows a helicopter with four USGS scientists talking to each other next to it, with grasslands in the background
Tingmerkpuk Ridges
Tingmerkpuk Ridges
Tingmerkpuk Ridges

Geologists discuss the geology of Jurassic rocks in thurst-faulted structures near the southern limit of Western North Slope.

Geologists discuss the geology of Jurassic rocks in thurst-faulted structures near the southern limit of Western North Slope.

Image shows a detail shot of a rock outcropping with grass covering in the background and two USGS scientists in hivis clothes
Kokolik River Oil Sand
Kokolik River Oil Sand
Kokolik River Oil Sand

Oil-saturated sandstone in the Nanushuk Formation in westernmost National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). Oil in these rocks likely was generated beneath Western North Slope and migrated northeastward into NPR-A.

Oil-saturated sandstone in the Nanushuk Formation in westernmost National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). Oil in these rocks likely was generated beneath Western North Slope and migrated northeastward into NPR-A.

Image shows a landscape of a large rock and sediment outcropping with grass coverings
Kukpowruk Redwul
Kukpowruk Redwul
Kukpowruk Redwul

Faulted and folded petroleum source rocks in Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks (Kingak Shale, pebble shale unit, and gamma-ray zone of Hue Shale) in southern part of Western North Slope. Thermal maturity of these rocks are at the upper limit of oil preservations.

Faulted and folded petroleum source rocks in Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks (Kingak Shale, pebble shale unit, and gamma-ray zone of Hue Shale) in southern part of Western North Slope. Thermal maturity of these rocks are at the upper limit of oil preservations.

Image shows two pyramidal rock outcroppings with grass coverings
Kukpowruk Redwul
Kukpowruk Redwul
Kukpowruk Redwul

Geologist examines f Faulted and folded petroleum source rocks in Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks (Kingak Shale, pebble shale unit, and gamma-ray zone of Hue Shale) in southern part of Western North Slope. Thermal maturity of these rocks is at the upper limit of oil preservations.

Geologist examines f Faulted and folded petroleum source rocks in Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks (Kingak Shale, pebble shale unit, and gamma-ray zone of Hue Shale) in southern part of Western North Slope. Thermal maturity of these rocks is at the upper limit of oil preservations.

Image is an aerial shot showing grass-covered rolling hills with occasional exposed rock formations
Surprise Creek, Western North Slope of Alaska
Surprise Creek, Western North Slope of Alaska
Surprise Creek, Western North Slope of Alaska

Overview of folded Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous rocks in southern part of Western North Slope.

Overview of folded Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous rocks in southern part of Western North Slope.

People wading in knee-high water
Dragonfly Mercury Project specimen collection in Glacier NP
Dragonfly Mercury Project specimen collection in Glacier NP
Dragonfly Mercury Project specimen collection in Glacier NP

Researchers instruct volunteers on how to collect dragonfly larvae in Glacier NP as a part of the Dragonfly Mercury Project.

Researchers instruct volunteers on how to collect dragonfly larvae in Glacier NP as a part of the Dragonfly Mercury Project.

Keychain in Inupiaq for USGS outreach activities about bird banding and reporting
Keychain in Inupiaq for USGS outreach activities about bird banding
Keychain in Inupiaq for USGS outreach activities about bird banding
Keychain in Inupiaq for USGS outreach activities about bird banding

Keychain developed for USGS outreach activities about bird banding and reporting in Inupiaq and English. Inupiaq translation provided by Qaiyaan and Jana Harcharek.

Keychain developed for USGS outreach activities about bird banding and reporting in Inupiaq and English. Inupiaq translation provided by Qaiyaan and Jana Harcharek.

Tundra swan on the Colville River Delta
Tundra swan on the Colville River Delta, Alaska
Tundra swan on the Colville River Delta, Alaska
Tundra swan on the Colville River Delta, Alaska

Tundra swan on the Colville River Delta, Alaska 2013.

Beaver dam and lodge on the Wrench Creek, Noatak National Preserve
Beaver dam and lodge on the Wrench Creek, Noatak National Preserve
Beaver dam and lodge on the Wrench Creek, Noatak National Preserve
Beaver dam and lodge on the Wrench Creek, Noatak National Preserve

Beaver dam and lodge on the Wrench Creek, Noatak National Preserve