Before landing on the surface of the moon in 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin needed a training ground that matched their destination's cratered surface.
Threats from Space
Not all natural hazards that affect Earth come from here. Sometimes things from space can have a huge effect on our planet. From geomagnetic storms to meteor impacts, the USGS has a long history of mapping celestial bodies, investigating planetary anomalies, and monitoring the Earth’s geomagnetic and atmospheric conditions.
Planetary Defense
At the USGS Astrogeology Science Center, we conduct research on Planetary Defense, including predicting potential meteor impactors and studying how to deflect or divert them Effects include short-term effects such as blast damage, but also long-term effects such as climate and social impacts.
Geomagnetism Program
The USGS Geomagnetism Program monitors the Earth's magnetic field, with a key focus on space-weather hazard science. Geomagnetic research projects support the pursuit of a fundamental understanding of geomagnetic storms and related phenomena, while developing products to assist with situational awareness here on Earth.
Although USGS may not be seen as a space research agency, we do study a variety of threats from space. Whether it is geomagnetic storms, meteor impacts, or satellite research, the USGS has a long history of exploring what comes from above.
Here are a few examples of projects that have us looking up.
Publications
Down to Earth with nuclear electromagnetic pulse: Realistic surface impedance affects mapping of the E3 geoelectric hazard
Magnetotelluric sampling and geoelectric hazard estimation: Are national-scale surveys sufficient?
Planetary defense preparedness: Identifying the potential for post-asteroid impact time delayed and geographically displaced hazards
A 100-year geoelectric hazard analysis for the U.S. high-voltage power grid
On the feasibility of real-time mapping of the geoelectric field across North America
Science
Terrestrial Analogs for Research and Geologic Exploration Training (TARGET)
Terrestrial Analog Sample Collections
Keeping the Lights On in North America
Meteor Crater Sample Collection
Flynn Creek Crater Sample Collection
Connect
Astrogeology Science Center
2255 N. Gemini Drive
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
United States
Geomagnetism Program
12201 Sunrise Valley Dr
Reston, VA 20192
United States
Multimedia
Before landing on the surface of the moon in 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin needed a training ground that matched their destination's cratered surface.
Space weather can have important consequences for our lives, such as interference with radio communication, GPS systems, electric power grids, the operation and orientation of satellites, oil and gas drilling, and even air travel as high altitude pilots and astronauts can be subjected to enhanced levels of radiation.
Space weather can have important consequences for our lives, such as interference with radio communication, GPS systems, electric power grids, the operation and orientation of satellites, oil and gas drilling, and even air travel as high altitude pilots and astronauts can be subjected to enhanced levels of radiation.
News
A Martian landscape right at home
Space Weather and Magnetic Storms: Invaders from Outer Space…Sort Of
Down to Earth: Complexities of Geology Affect Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse Hazard
The Chesapeake Bay bolide impact: a new view of coastal plain evolution
Impact cratering through geologic time
Structure and kinematics of a complex impact crater, Upheaval Dome, southeast Utah
Chicxulub impact event; computer animations and paper models
Asteroid and comet flux in the neighborhood of Earth
Meteoroids and impact craters
Guidebook to the geology of Meteor Crater, Arizona
Impact mechanics at Meteor Crater, Arizona
Astrogeology Science Center
2255 N. Gemini Drive
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
United States
Geomagnetism Program
12201 Sunrise Valley Dr
Reston, VA 20192
United States
- Overview
Although USGS may not be seen as a space research agency, we do study a variety of threats from space. Whether it is geomagnetic storms, meteor impacts, or satellite research, the USGS has a long history of exploring what comes from above.
Here are a few examples of projects that have us looking up.
Publications
Down to Earth with nuclear electromagnetic pulse: Realistic surface impedance affects mapping of the E3 geoelectric hazard
An analysis is made of Earth-surface geoelectric fields and voltages on electricity transmission power-grids induced by a late-phase E3 nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP). A hypothetical scenario is considered of an explosion of several hundred kilotons set several hundred kilometers above the eastern-midcontinental United States. Ground-level E3 geoelectric fields are estimated by convolving a sAuthorsJeffrey J. Love, Greg M. Lucas, Benjamin Scott Murphy, Paul A. Bedrosian, E. Joshua Rigler, Anna KelbertMagnetotelluric sampling and geoelectric hazard estimation: Are national-scale surveys sufficient?
At present, the most reliable information for inferring storm-time ground electric fields along electrical transmission lines comes from coarsely sampled, national-scale magnetotelluric (MT) data sets, such as that provided by the EarthScope USArray program. An underlying assumption in the use of such data is that they adequately sample the spatial heterogeneity of the surface relationship betweenAuthorsBenjamin Scott Murphy, Greg M. Lucas, Jeffrey J. Love, Anna Kelbert, Paul A. Bedrosian, E. Joshua RiglerPlanetary defense preparedness: Identifying the potential for post-asteroid impact time delayed and geographically displaced hazards
A considerable amount of effort has been done to quantify impact effects from the impact of an asteroid. The effects usually considered are: blast, overpressure shock, thermal radiation, cratering, seismic shaking, ejecta, and tsunami (e.g. Hills & Goda, 1993; Collins et al., 2005, Rumpf et al., 2017). These first-order effects typically are localized in time and diminish with increased distanceAuthorsTimothy N. Titus, D. G. Robertson, Joel B. SankeyA 100-year geoelectric hazard analysis for the U.S. high-voltage power grid
A once-per-century geoelectric hazard map is created for the United States high-voltage power grid. A statistical extrapolation from 31 years of magnetic field measurements is made by identifying 84 geomagnetic storms with the Kp and Dst indices. Data from 24 geomagnetic observatories, 1079 magnetotelluric survey sites, and 17,258 transmission lines are utilized to perform a geoelectric hazardAuthorsGreg M. Lucas, Jeffrey J. Love, Anna Kelbert, Paul A. Bedrosian, E. Joshua RiglerOn the feasibility of real-time mapping of the geoelectric field across North America
A review is given of the present feasibility for accurately mapping geoelectric fields across North America in near-realtime by modeling geomagnetic monitoring and magnetotelluric survey data. Should this capability be successfully developed, it could inform utility companies of magnetic-storm interference on electric-power-grid systems. That real-time mapping of geoelectric fields is a challengeAuthorsJeffrey J. Love, E. Joshua Rigler, Anna Kelbert, Carol A. Finn, Paul A. Bedrosian, Christopher C. BalchScience
Terrestrial Analogs for Research and Geologic Exploration Training (TARGET)
The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Science Center (ASC) recently established the Terrestrial Analogs for Research and Geologic Exploration Training (TARGET) program. This service-oriented program is built around the recognition that the Earth is a fundamental training ground for human and robotic planetary exploration, and that ASC is in a unique position in northern Arizona with...Terrestrial Analog Sample Collections
The Astrogeology Terrestrial Analog Sample Collections include three individual sample collections: the Meteor Crater Sample Collection, the Flynn Creek Crater Sample Collection, and the Shoemaker Sample Collection (embed links to individual pages; add buttons to click to go to individual pages). Click Related Science tab above to navigate to the individual collections pages.Keeping the Lights On in North America
Realtime geoelectric maps during a magnetic storm can assist utility companies with their operations and can help power-grid managers to make decisions that may minimize the impact to their systems.Meteor Crater Sample Collection
Meteor Crater is a 180 m deep, 1.2 km diameter bowl-shaped impact crater in Northern Arizona, and has long been a terrestrial analog site for planetary exploration. During the 1960’s, Eugene Shoemaker trained NASA astronauts at the crater to prepare for the Apollo missions to the Moon. The Meteor Crater Sample Collection consists of geologic samples from the Meteor Crater ejecta blanket. USGS...Flynn Creek Crater Sample Collection
Flynn Creek crater is a 3.8 km diameter, 360-million-year-old impact structure located in north central Tennessee, and is an invaluable terrestrial analog for the study of impact cratering dynamics. The Flynn Creek Crater Sample Collection consists of over two thousand boxes of drill core from 18 drill holes in the crater’s central uplift, floor, and rim. USGS Astrogeology curates and provides...Connect
Astrogeology Science Center
2255 N. Gemini Drive
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
United StatesGeomagnetism Program
12201 Sunrise Valley Dr
Reston, VA 20192
United StatesMultimedia
Image of the Week - Moon Craters in ArizonaBefore landing on the surface of the moon in 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin needed a training ground that matched their destination's cratered surface.
Before landing on the surface of the moon in 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin needed a training ground that matched their destination's cratered surface.
Journey Along a Field LineHazards: Geomagnetic StormsSpace weather can have important consequences for our lives, such as interference with radio communication, GPS systems, electric power grids, the operation and orientation of satellites, oil and gas drilling, and even air travel as high altitude pilots and astronauts can be subjected to enhanced levels of radiation.
BySpace weather can have important consequences for our lives, such as interference with radio communication, GPS systems, electric power grids, the operation and orientation of satellites, oil and gas drilling, and even air travel as high altitude pilots and astronauts can be subjected to enhanced levels of radiation.
ByNews
A Martian landscape right at homeA Martian landscape right at home
Space Weather and Magnetic Storms: Invaders from Outer Space…Sort OfSpace Weather and Magnetic Storms: Invaders from Outer Space…Sort Of
Down to Earth: Complexities of Geology Affect Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse HazardDown to Earth: Complexities of Geology Affect Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse Hazard
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 21
The Chesapeake Bay bolide impact: a new view of coastal plain evolution
A spectacular geological event took place on the Atlantic margin of North America about 35 million years ago in the late part of the Eocene Epoch. Sea level was unusually high everywhere on Earth, and the ancient shoreline of the Virginia region was somewhere in the vicinity of where Richmond is today (fig. 1). Tropical rain forests covered the slopes of the Appalachians. To the east of a narrow cAuthorsC. Wylie PoagImpact cratering through geologic time
New data on lunar craters and recent discoveries about craters on Earth permit a reassessment of the bombardment history of Earth over the last 3.2 billion years. The combined lunar and terrestrial crater records suggest that the long-term average rate of production of craters larger than 20 km in diameter has increased, perhaps by as much as 60%, in the last 100 to 200 million years. Production oAuthorsE.M. Shoemaker, C.S. ShoemakerStructure and kinematics of a complex impact crater, Upheaval Dome, southeast Utah
Two vastly different phenomena, impact and salt diapirism, have been proposed for the origin of Upheaval Dome, southeast Utah. Detailed geologic mapping, seismic refraction data, and the presence of shock metamorphosed rocks indicate that the dome originated by collapse of a transient cavity formed by impact. Evidence is: (1) the occurrence of a lag deposit of rare impactites, (2) fan-tailed fractAuthorsBryan J. Kriens, Eugene Merle Shoemaker, Kenneth E. HerkenhoffChicxulub impact event; computer animations and paper models
No abstract available.AuthorsT. R. Alpha, John P. Galloway, S. W. StarrattAsteroid and comet flux in the neighborhood of Earth
Approximately 90 Earth-crossing asteroids had been discovered through September 1989. Discovery is thought to be complete at absolute V magnitude (H) = 13.2 (the magnitude of the brightest known object, diameter ∼8.1 km), and about 6 percent complete at H = 17.7 (typical diameter about 1 km). The calculated mean probability of collision of Earth-crossing asteroids with Earth is (4.2 ± 1.7) × 10−9AuthorsEugene Merle Shoemaker, Ruth F. Wolfe, Carolyn S. ShoemakerMeteoroids and impact craters
On a clear night scores of meteoroids streak across the sky. they leave light paths we call meteors or shooting stars as the Earth is showered with debris from distant parts of the solar system. When these meteoroids hit the Earth (as meteorites) they range in size from pebbles to the 34 ton Ahnighito meteorite that the American explorer Admiral Robert Peary discovered in Greenland. The unique impAuthorsHenry SpallGuidebook to the geology of Meteor Crater, Arizona
No abstract available.AuthorsEugene Merle Shoemaker, Susan W. Kieffer, Robert L. SuttonImpact mechanics at Meteor Crater, Arizona
Meteor Crator is a bowl-shaped depression encompassed by a rim composed chiefly of debris stacked in layers of different composition. Original bedrock stratigraphy is preserved, inverted, in the debris. The debris rests on older disturbed strata, which are turned up at moderate to steep angles in the wall of the crater and are locally overturned near the contact with the debris. These features ofAuthorsEugene Merle Shoemaker - Science
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Astrogeology Science Center
2255 N. Gemini Drive
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
United StatesGeomagnetism Program
12201 Sunrise Valley Dr
Reston, VA 20192
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