Unified Interior Regions
Arizona
The Southwest Region includes California, Nevada, and Arizona. The Regional Office, headquartered in Sacramento, provides Center oversight and support, facilitates internal and external collaborations, and works to further USGS strategic science directions.
States L2 Landing Page Tabs
The Southwest Region includes California, Nevada, and Arizona. The Regional Office, headquartered in Sacramento, provides Center oversight and support, facilitates internal and external collaborations, and works to further USGS strategic science directions.
News
Earth MRI Funds Critical Minerals Projects in Arizona
A total of $133,016 will fund new research and preserve important data across the Grand Canyon State.
RAMPS Newsletter - Summer 2020 Edition
This season's edition of the Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest Newsletter contains recent program highlights including research updates, new projects, field updates and more.
To subscribe to our newsletter, please visit: ...
Mars 2020 Mission to be Guided by USGS Astrogeology Maps
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – When you’re planning to explore someplace new, it’s always a good idea to bring a map so you can avoid dangerous terrain. This is true whether you’re heading out for a hike on Earth or you’re landing a rover on Mars.
North Phoenix aquifer monitoring with repeat microgravity
The City of Phoenix has traditionally relied on surface-water supplies from the Salt, Verde, and Colorado River watersheds. To increase water-supply resiliency and flexibility, the City is expanding its Artificial Storage and Recovery (ASR) operations in the north Phoenix area. USGS is measuring small changes in gravity caused by groundwater-storage changes to better understand where and when...
Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Habitat Viewer
For planning and management purposes, agencies require a web application that can locate, map, and monitor Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (flycatcher) breeding habitat across its range. The Habitat Viewer can identify potential flycatcher habitat and monitor changes caused by stressors, such as beetles, fire or drought.
Remote Sensing and Dryland Management
Drylands (areas characterized by low precipitation, high evapotranspiration, and low soil moisture) occupy around 40-45% of the earth’s surface. Many drylands contain high biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services (e.g., livestock forage, agricultural production, pollination) for nearly 1/3 of the world’s population who live in drylands. Given limited precipitation and other...
PDS Home Page
PDS Home Page
PDS Project Office
PDS Project Office
NASA Planetary Science Division
NASA Planetary Science Division.
USGS Astrogeology Planetary Photogrammetry Lab
Digital Terrain Models and Orthorectified Images Produced by the U.S. Geological Survey
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Planetary Photogrammetry Lab offers a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) and orthorectified image production service to the scientific community to supply NASA-selected investigators with high-quality HiRISE DTMs...
Using Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Capabilities to Help Identify Giant Salvinia (Salvinia molesta) and the effects of Salvinia weevil (Cyrtogagous salviniae)
USGS is collecting remotely sensed data to classify Salvinia molesta, a non-native aquatic species that reduces light and oxygen levels in water, making it unsuitable for fish and other aquatic plant life.
RPIF Digitized Film Collection
The RPIF's 15-mm film collection contains historic films related to astronaut training, equipment field tests, geological expiditions and more. Select from the videos on the right to play it. Scroll down for more videos. Videos may take a few minutes to load.
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...
Concealed Rare Earth Element (REE) Terranes in the Southern Basin and Range Geologic Province
The project is developing an understanding of the types, sizes, and spatial distribution of rare earth element (REE) related deposits in the southern Basin and Range geologic province to help ensure the availability of rare earth elements to the U.S.
Lunar Legacy at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center
Click on the links below to explore USGS Astrogeology Center's involvement in the Apollo program and lunar legacy:
Mineralogical analyses of drill core samples from the Canyon uranium-copper deposit, a solution-collapse breccia pipe, Grand Canyon area, Coconino County, Arizona, USA
This data release compiles the X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy analyses of drill core samples collected by the U.S. Geological Survey that were selected to typify the uranium-copper ore bodies of the Canyon deposit. The deposit is hosted by a solution-collapse breccia pipe, in which mineralization exists from about 650 to 2,100 ft (200 to 640 m) below the surface (Mathisen and
Data for Groundwater-Quality and Select Quality-Control Data for the Colorado Plateaus Principal Aquifer
Groundwater samples were collected from 60 public supply wells in the Colorado Plateaus principal aquifer. Water quality evaluations of groundwater for drinking water at public supply depths were made with the purpose of summarizing the current quality of source water (that is, untreated water) from public supply wells using two types of assessments; (1) status: an assessment that
Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Habitat Viewer
The Flycatcher Habitat Viewer was developed to meet the needs of organizations by providing maps of predicted flycatcher breeding habitat throughout its range. Maps are provided from 2013 to present and cover 57 satellite scenes. Maps identify predicted flycatcher habitat based upon the amount of green vegetation within a 120-m radius of each cell, and the size of floodplain within a 360-m...
Geochemical and mineralogical analyses of uranium ores from the Hack II and Pigeon deposits, solution-collapse breccia pipes, Grand Canyon region, Mohave and Coconino Counties, Arizona, USA
This data release compiles the whole-rock geochemistry, X-ray diffraction, and electron microscopy analyses of samples collected from the uranium ore bodies of two mined-out deposits in the Grand Canyon region of northwestern Arizona - the Hack II and Pigeon deposits. The samples are grab samples of ore collected underground at each mine by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) during the mid
Audiomagnetotelluric survey to characterize the Sunnyside porphyry copper system in the Patagonia Mountains, Arizona
This dataset includes audiomagnetotelluric (AMT) sounding data collected in 2008 in and near the Patagonia Mountains of southern Arizona. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a series of multidisciplinary studies as part of the Assessment Techniques for Concealed Mineral Resources project funded by the USGS Minerals Resources Program in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service. The
Global Geochemical Database for Critical Minerals in Archived Mine Samples
The Critical Minerals in Archived Mine Samples Database (CMDB) contains chemistry and geologic information for historic ore and ore-related rock samples from mineral deposits in the United States. In addition, the database contains samples from archetypal deposits from 27 other countries in North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Europe. Samples were obtained from archived ore
One Meter Topobathymetric Digital Elevation Model for Lake Powell, Arizona-Utah, 1947-2018
The USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center has created an integrated 1-meter topobathymetric digital elevation model (TBDEM) for Lake Powell, the second largest man-made reservoir in the United States.
Domestic Wells in the United States
Domestic wells provide drinking water supply for approximately 40 million people in the United States. Knowing the location of these wells, and the populations they serve, is important for identifying heavily used aquifers, locations susceptible to contamination, and populations potentially impacted by poor-quality groundwater.
Airborne electromagnetic and magnetic survey, western Hualapai Indian Reservation near Grand Canyon West and Peach Springs, Arizona, 2018
Airborne electromagnetic (AEM) and magnetic survey data were collected during March 2018 along 1,637 line line-kilometers over the western Hualapai Indian Reservation and surrounding areas. The survey was conducted as part of a study of the groundwater resources of the Truxton basin and Hualapai Plateau. The survey was designed to improve the understanding of the geometry of the major hydr...
Data to accompany U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5077: Geochemical and mineralogical study of the Red Mountain porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit and vicinity, Santa Cruz County, Arizona
The dataset comprises analyses of core and surface samples collected in and around the Red Mountain porphyry Cu-Mo deposit, Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The dataset includes: analyses for 13 minerals in 245 core samples (Appendix 1); analyses for 44 elements in 818 core samples (Appendix 2); analyses for 54 elements in 122 rock samples (Appendix 3); analyses for 55 elements
The Annex of the Cartography and Imaging Sciences Node
The Annex of the PDS Cartography and Imaging Sciences Node (IMG) is a data repository designed to support the public delivery of NASA-funded geospatial data products derived from PDS image data.
Geochemical and X-ray diffraction analyses of drill core samples from the Canyon uranium-copper deposit, a solution-collapse breccia pipe, Grand Canyon area, Coconino County, Arizona
This data release compiles the major and trace element analytical results of drill core samples that typify the uranium-copper ore bodies of the Canyon deposit, located about 6.1 miles (10 km) south-southeast of Tusayan, Arizona. The Canyon deposit lies from about 750 to 2,000 ft (230 to 610 m) below the surface at latitude 35.88333 North, longitude -112.09583 West (datum WGS 19
RestoreNet is a networked ecological experiment on the cutting-edge of restoration science. The experiment sites span dryland ecoystems of the southwest U.S.
Domestic wells provide drinking water supply for approximately 40 million people in the United States. Knowing the location of these wells, and the populations they serve, is important for identifying heavily used aquifers, locations susceptible to contamination, and populations potentially impacted by poor-quality groundwater.
Figure 4. Yearly Distribution (2007-2019) of Tamarisk Beetle (Diorhabda spp.). Annual tamarisk beetle distribution map. Provided by RiversEdge West. 2020. Used with permission from Ben Bloodgood, Program Coordinator.
This map shows the provinces assessed by the USGS for undiscovered oil and gas resources.
The USGS Astrogeology Mapping, Remote-sensing, Cartography, Technology, and Research (MRCTR, pronounced "Mercator") GIS Lab provides web-based resources aimed at the planetary research community. The lab supports Geographic Information Systems (GIS) graphical, statistical, and spatial tools for analyses of planetary data, including the distribution of planetary GIS tutorials, tools, programs...
This mosaic represents the best geodetic map of Mercury's surface to date. MESSENGER's three flybys alone provide 90.90% of the data in the global mosaic (see Table above). Although MESSENGER went in to safe mode during the third flyby, the approach imaging was acquired and contributes ~6.82% additional coverage from earlier versions. Only the poles remain to be imaged, some of which...
This project focused on geometric restoration of hyperspectral imagery from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3 or M3) instrument that flew as a guest instrument on the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-1 (Ch1) spacecraft (e.g., Goswami and Annadurai, 2009; Pieters et al., 2009; Boardman et al., 2011; Green et al., 2011). The primary objective of this work is to geometrically...
This page introduces the Kaguya Multiband Imager derived spectral and derived mineral maps by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the University of Hawaii. The mosaics were created from topographically-corrected MI reflectance data acquired by the JAXA SELENE/Kaguya mission (see Ohtake et al., 2013) from the Kaguya Archive MI MAP processing level version 2 (MI MAP_02) products.
The Clementine near-infrared (NIR) images have been made available in two near-global (70° N to 70° S) reduced-resolution mosaics. The two versions include a standard calibrated and empirically calibrated multi-spectral (6-band) ISIS cube at 500 m/pixel spatial resolution.
New Horizons launched on Jan. 19, 2006 as part of NASA’s New Frontiers Program. The spacecraft will help scientists back on Earth study the surface and atmosphere of the dwarf planet Pluto, its moons and objects in the Kuiper belt—a region of our solar system beyond Neptune containing tens of thousands of objects. The USGS Astrogeology Science Center is committed to NASA’s New Horizons mission.
From the USGS press release:
The first topographic map of Mercury was released by the U.S. Geological Survey, Arizona State University, Carnegie Institute of Washington, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and NASA. This high-resolution map provides the first comprehensive view of Mercury’s entire surface, illustrating the planet’s craters, volcanoes and tectonic landforms...
Moon Apollo Image Processing
In the early 1970s, specialized cameras onboard the Command Modules of the last three Apollo missions (15, 16, 17) photographed nearly 25% of the Moon in stunning detail. Today, scientists from Flagstaff’s U.S. Geological Survey, Arizona State University, and NASA are working together to reconstruct the lunar surface from these nearly 50-year-old photographs.
This is the home page for ISIS, a digital image processing software package. The focus of the software is to manipulate imagery collected by current and past NASA and International planetary missions sent throughout our Solar System.
Hydrography Updates for USFS Southwestern Region in AZ and NM
National Hydrography Advisory Call
Joel Osuna-Williams on Hydrography Updates for USFS Southwestern Region in AZ and NM.
The U.S. Forest Service Southwestern Region (Region 3) conducted an NHD Assessment in 2015 on its need for and benefits of updated hydrography for the lands it manages. In 2016-19, they partnered with the Center for Geospatial Science
Lake Powell - Topobathymetric Digital Elevation Model
This video is a three-dimensional (3D) view of Lake Powell topobathymetric digital elevation model, which consists of topography (land elevation) and bathymetry (water depth). The 3D topobathymetric model was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center to support generation of the Colorado River water storage area
Image of the Week - Virtual Road Trip with Landsat
Summer vacation plans changed for many in 2020. Whatever your plans, Landsat can take you on a virtual road trip. Landsat 8, in its sun-synchronous polar orbit, views every national park in the U.S. every 16 days and gathers more photographic data than the most ambitious of tourists.
Land Treatment Exploration Tool: A Quick Introduction
This is a quick introduction video to the Land Treatment Exploration Tool. This short video includes a summary of the tool with screen clips of the fact sheet, web tool, and an example Site Characterization Report.
These tutorial videos were created to aid in the use of the Land Treatment Exploration Tool (LTET). These videos
Land Treatment Exploration Tool—Step 1: Describe Proposed Treatment
This video describes Step 1 of the Land Treatment Exploration Tool. In Step 1 the user defines a name, the planned treatment/s, and a file name for exported items.
These tutorial videos were created to aid in the use of the Land Treatment Exploration Tool (LTET). These videos guide a user through the main steps of the tool.
Land Treatment Exploration Tool — Step 2: Select Treatment Boundary
This video describes Step 2 of the Land Treatment Exploration Tool. In Step 2 the user defines their planned treatment boundary. The user can load a zipped shapefile or on-screen digitize their boundary.
These tutorial videos were created to aid in the use of the Land Treatment Exploration Tool (LTET). These videos guide a
Land Treatment Exploration Tool — Step 3: Explore Site Characteristics
This video describes Step 3 of the Land Treatment Exploration Tool. In Step 3 the user is guided to the Site History tab to explore land treatment and wildfire history of their planned treatment area. They are also directed to the Fish and Wildfire Information for Planning and Consultation tool to investigate areas of overlap with endangered species, migratory birds, and
Land Treatment Exploration Tool— Step 4: Prop. Treatment Area & Report
This video describes Step 4 and the developing report of the Land Treatment Exploration Tool. In Step 4 the used selects layers to generate spatial overlap statistics with their planned treatment boundary. Summary tables are generated and displayed in the Report tab, where a user can create a PDF Site Characterization Report for their planned treatment boundary. Optionally
Land Treatment Exploration Tool — Step 5: Select Search Parameters
This video describes Step 5 of the Land Treatment Exploration Tool. In Step 5 the user determines a distance or boundary to search for legacy Land Treatment Digital Library records. The user also indicates if the returned LTDL treatments are statistically evaluated against the planned treatment boundary using a Bray-Curtis Dissimilarity calculation.
These tutorial
Land Treatment Exploration Tool — Step 6: Compare the LTDL Treatments
This video describes Step 6 of the Land Treatment Exploration Tool. In Step 6 the user filters through the returned list of legacy LTDL treatments to identify records that contain useful information or context for the current planned treatment boundary. Selected treatments are added to the developing report and subsequent exported Site Characterization PDFs.
These
Disturbed desert landscape with erosion
Disturbed desert landscape with erosion
distressed desert of the Sonoran Desert - carousal
distressed desert of the Sonoran Desert, carousal image
A total of $133,016 will fund new research and preserve important data across the Grand Canyon State.
This season's edition of the Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest Newsletter contains recent program highlights including research updates, new projects, field updates and more.
To subscribe to our newsletter, please visit: https://listserv.usgs.gov/mailman/listinfo/ramps
Read more about how the network or RAMPS is enhancing restoration in drylands.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – When you’re planning to explore someplace new, it’s always a good idea to bring a map so you can avoid dangerous terrain. This is true whether you’re heading out for a hike on Earth or you’re landing a rover on Mars.
A team of federal, academic, and NGO researchers conducted a national-scale assessment of mercury bioaccumulation in aquatic ecosystems using dragonfly larvae as biosentinels.
A new study describes how food web dynamics influence the movement of mercury throughout the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. This new research from the U.S. Geological Survey and partners represents one of the first times that the movement and fate of mercury has been traced through an entire food web.
This challenge is now complete!! Thank you to everyone who contributed!
Budget Focuses on Bringing Science, Facilities, and Infrastructure into the 21st Century
This challenge is now FINISHED!! Thank you to everyone who participated!
Calling all Peer Reviewers and Advanced Editors! This challenge is SO CLOSE to being finished!!
This challenge is close to being finished with over 100 points added since our last update - nice work! However, there are still several green points that we need our Peer Reviewers and Advanced Editors to help review.
Here is the weekly update for this challenge! If you're looking for a break from the snow and the cold, come take a virtual tour of the southwest while helping us to collect city/town hall structures!
Topo maps in the West will soon be updated, so we've opened a new challenge for city/town halls in Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona!
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Locations
Astrogeology Science Center
Phone: 928-556-7000
Fax: 928-556-7014
Southwest Biological Science Center - Flagstaff, AZ, Headquarters
Phone: 928-556-7094
Fax: 928-556-7092
Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center
Western Geographic Science Center - Tucson Project Office
Western Geographic Science Center - Flagstaff Project Office
Arizona Water Science Center, Tucson Office
Phone: (520) 670-6671
Fax: (520) 670-5592
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO)
yvowebteam@usgs.gov
Phone: 360-993-8906
Southwest Biological Science Center - Tucson, AZ, Research Station
Phone: (520) 670-6671
Fax: (520) 670-5592
Arizona Water Science Center, Flagstaff Office
Phone: (928) 556-7136
Fax: (928) 556-7112
Arizona Water Science Center, Tempe Office
Phone: (480) 736-1093
Fax: (480) 736-1356
Arizona Water Science Center, Yuma Office
Phone: (928) 782-6024
Fax: (928) 782-0268