Images

This landscape in Rabbit Valley in Colorado was burned and then invaded by the exotic annual grass cheatgrass. A formerly diverse plant community was replaced by a sea of highly flammable grass. 

A Project ROAM (Rapid and Other Methods for Assessment and Monitoring) crew collecting vegetation data at a complex plot with over 40 unique species. 

This site south of Rock Springs in Wyoming represents an intact sagebrush ecosystem. It has not been burned or invaded by exotic annual grasses. Undisturbed sagebrush steppe has bare ground between shrubs which helps to limit the spread of wildfire. When cheatgrass invades fires can grow larger.

A summit eruption of Kīlauea volcano, within Halemaʻumaʻu crater, began at approximately 4:44 a.m. on June 7, 2023. Lava is flowing on the crater floor and there are several active vent sources. The eruption at Kīlauea’s summit is occurring within a closed area of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park and high levels of volcanic gas are the primary hazard of concern.

A summit eruption of Kīlauea volcano, within Halemaʻumaʻu crater, began at approximately 4:44 a.m. on June 7, 2023. Lava is flowing on the crater floor and there are several active vent sources. The eruption at Kīlauea’s summit is occurring within a closed area of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park and high levels of volcanic gas are the primary hazard of concern.

A quadcopter drone rests on the orange landing pad, ready to fly over Rapid and Other Methods for Assessment and Monitoring (ROAM) plots to collect data that will be used to generate cover and density estimates.

A large quadcopter drone rests on the tailgate of a truck waiting to fly with hyperspectral imagery to estimate vegetation cover. 

Smallmouth Bass are good indicators of methylmercury exposure to humans and wildlife because they are a common, popular sport fish and eat a variety of food during their lifetime. Juvenile Smallmouth Bass – smaller than 150mm in length - eat zooplankton, or microscopic animals.

Example of a brown treesnake (Boiga irregularis) wrapped around two wires. This image is an example of how adult brown treesnakes can bridge power lines and cause power outages. The brown treesnake is an arboreal invasive species on Guam where researchers have discovered electrocuted snakes on power lines and at substations.

A group of controlled Culex mosquito eggs are viewed under a microscope in a California laboratory as part of an effort to mitigate avian malaria throughout the Hawaiian Islands. Image by Mia Takai 

Researchers identified plants along a transect at a site invaded by cheatgrass at Kuna Butte near Caldwell, Idaho. 

One of many stream gages in the Klamath Basin. Solar charged batteries keep the data coming in through the satellite network. View the data.

Looking east on Bullgate Pond at sunrise with lone tule white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons elgasi) in upper right, Summer Lake Wildlife Area, near Summer Lake, Oregon.

Looking up river on the North Santiam in Gates, Oregon. The small metal box houses stream monitoring telemetry equipment. 

A YSI Sontek M9 acoustic doppler current profiler (ADCP) measures the flow along the Sevenmile Canal. The Sevenmile Canal is a tributary to Upper Klamath Lake.

A major advancement in the use of radio telemetry has been the development of automated radio tracking systems (ARTS) which allow animal movements to be tracked continuously. A new ARTS approach is the use of a network of simple radio receivers (nodes) that collect radio signal strength (RSS) values from animal-borne radio transmitters.

Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii henshawi) is a federally listed threatened species. Ninety-seven percent of their range are small headwater streams in the Great Basin of North America.

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

Clear weather allowed HVO geologists to make observations and take measurements of the water pond at Kīlauea's summit. No major changes were observed, and the water level continues to slowly rise. Note the former HVO observation tower can be seen above the geologist's helmet. 

The sampling mechanism (on blue tarp) is prepared and the Unoccupied Aircraft System (UAS) is inspected just before take off to collect water from the Halema‘uma‘u crater lake. Brightly colored flagging tape tied to a cable attached to the UAS indicated depth as the sampling tool was lowered into the water. 

After a sample was collected, HVO team members transferred water from the sampling device to plastic bottles. Team members took notes, measured water pH and evaluated water temperature data for each sample collected.