Images

Image of trees taken from passenger window along 170 outside of Denver before sunset. Trees appear almost black and sky is blue with pink, orange and purple clouds.

USGS scientists Kimberly Beisner and Keely Miltenberger walk into the Rio Grande to collect water samples for a PFAS study near Valle de Oro, New Mexico.

Water quality sampler deployed on the Rio Grande to collect an integrated sample of PFAS in the water in Alameda, New Mexico.

USGS scientist Kimberly Beisner retrieves a water quality sensor on the Rio Grande for a PFAS study in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

Scientists travel by raft to collect various samples on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.

Title Slide for Lower Colorado River Basin Panel Discussion for USGS Virtual Open House meeting to discuss drought issues with Native American Tribal Members. Held online via Microsoft Teams on November 29, 2024.

March-August daily average streamflow for the last 30 years (1991-2022) (dark gray lines) compared to 2023, showing the periods where 2023 streamflow was above (blue) and below (orange) the historical average. Individual years of the relevant historical streamflow period are shown in light gray. 

Photograph taken at USGS ASIST Project Tribal Open House, Tucson, AZ, Oct. 16, 2023

Photograph taken by Jessica Driscoll of USGS ASIST Project Tribal Open House, Tucson, AZ, Oct. 16, 2023

Collecting field samples to validate satellite remote sensing of water quality on Fernan Lake, Idaho.

Photograph taken at USGS ASIST Project Open House related to Drought Issues in Tribal Lands in and near the Colorado River Basin, held at the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico, September 26, 2023

Photograph of Panel Discussion at USGS ASIST Project Open House related to Drought Issues in Tribal Lands in and near the Colorado River Basin, held at the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico, September 26, 2023

Cyanobacteria (a form of algae) accumulated near the shore of Lake Lowell, Idaho.  Field samples from this site visit are used to validate satellite remote sensing of water quality.

Photograph of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA. Photo taken on September 8, 2023.

A map of the airborne geophysical survey area in the Medicine Mountains region of Wyoming

Researchers inject fluorescein dye into Lake Fork Creek, Colorado, in August 2023. This study aims to trace water flow from the historic Sugarloaf mining district into the creek.

View of Palisades Reservoir, on the Idaho-Wyoming border.  This waterbody was included in a state-wide effort to validate satellite remote sensing of water quality.

Validating satellite observations of water quality includes measuring the incident lighting conditions. Here solar radiation is measured with a spectral radiometer on Fernan Lake, Idaho.

Water clarity, a fundamental measure of water quality, is measured using a standard sized “Secchi” disk that is lowered until it is no longer visible. Measurements like this from Lake Fernan, Idaho, are used to validate satellite remote sensing estimates of water quality.  

Pit dug for collection of geologic data and observations, such as geochronology samples to determine the age of faulted surfaces and documentation and dating of faulted recent sediments of the Puya Fault in northern New Mexico, 4/25/2023.

A view of the Boulder Mountains from US-12 west of Helena. These mountains lie at the north end of the Boulder Batholith.