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Mars MER Microscopic Imager Surface Findings
The Microscopic Imagers (MI) on the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, have returned images of Mars with higher resolution than any previous camera system, allowing detailed petrographic and sedimentological studies of the rocks and soils. Designed to simulate a geologist’s hand lens, the MI cameras were mounted on the rovers’ instrument arms. They can resolve...
Moon Pyroclastic Volcanism Project
The products of explosive or pyroclastic volcanic eruptions on the Moon have intrigued lunar scientists for years. These deposits, nearly 100 in number and spread widely across the lunar surface, are generally dark and smooth-surfaced. Although pyroclastic materials were found in all lunar samples and thus they are known to be widely dispersed from their sources, the dark...
Revisiting Lava Flow Simple Models
Simple models relating the final dimensions of a lava flow to eruption parameters an lava rheology were used extensively in the 1980's but have fallen out of use in the terrestrial vocanology community. However, in the planetary volcanology community these models have had a resurgence of utilization, especially in response to the availability of high resolution topographic...
Conferences
International Planetary Caves Conference
Planetary Caves
As USGS scientist and planetary cave enthusiast, Glen Cushing, points out, "Caves are important to the future of planetary exploration because they are believed to provide shelter from a range of harsh surface conditions, maintaining near-pristine surfaces and relatively stable microclimates." See links on this page to explore further.
Shoemaker Sample Collection
The USGS Shoemaker Collection consists of unique and irreplaceable geologic hand samples, rock powders, petrographic thin sections and billets, and associated documentation, from impact craters and terrestrial analog sites around the world. Current curation efforts are focused on data rescue, preservation, and inventory. All geologic materials are being relocated into...
PDS Management Council Meeting 2018
The next face-to-face (F2F) PDS Management Council Meeting will be held Wednesday August 29th - Thursday August 30th, 2018. A separate small workshop on Tuesday the 28th will be supported by the Data Dictionary Working Group (DDWG) for the Local Data Dictionary (LDD) stewards. The F2F meeting will be on Wednesday-Thursday, August 29-30, 2018 at the Doubletree by...
PDS Management Council Meeting 2016
The next PDS Management Council Meeting will be held Tuesday June 7th - Wednesday June 8th, 2016. All sessions will be held in Little America Hotel - Flagstaff located at 2515 E Butler Ave, Flagstaff, AZ 86004. The opening session will begin on Tuesday, June 7th at 8:30 a.m. in the Ponderosa room. For more information please refer to the hotels website at: ...
NASA Planetary Cartography Planning
This page provides information on the history of planetary cartography research and program planning for NASA. This has been a community-based effort driven by the need to develop and maintain a cartographic capability in support of NASA missions of space exploration. To comment or add to this page please contact Brent Archinal (barchinal@...
Planetary Spatial Infrastructure LPSC 2016
Planetary Spatial Infrastructure: At the Intersection Of GIScience and Planetary Science
Wednesday March 23rd 2016, 1:30 PM Waterway Ballroom 4
Chairs:
- Samuel Lawrence
- Daniella DellaGiustina
LPSC 2013 Town Hall on Planetary Mapping and Cartography
What is planetary mapping? When do you need to do planetary mapping? How is planetary mapping accomplished? Why is planetary mapping important to you? Planetary mapping is literally foundational to planetary science and exploration. This town hall meeting is intended to present to the general planetary community the need to take planetary and lunar data and turn it into useful...
NASA/USGS Planetary Geologic Mapping Program
The Astrogeology Team at USGS provides coordination of NASA's planetary geologic mapping program. Geologic mapping investigations of any imaged planetary body (except Earth) are proposed to NASA's Planetary Geology and Geophysics Program on an annual basis (generally due sometime between late April and early June) and then...
Sand-storage changes in the Colorado River downstream from the Paria and Little Colorado rivers, April 1994 to August 1995
Sixty-six cross sections on the Colorado River in 11-kilometer reachesdownstream from the Paria and Little Colorado Rivers were monitoredfrom June 1992 to August 1995 to provide data to evaluate the effectof releases from Glen Canyon Dam on channel-sand storage and fordevelopment of multidimensional flow and sediment-transport models.Most of the...
Graf, Julia B.; Marlow, Jonathan E.; Rigas, Patricia D.; Jansen, Samuel M.D.
Streamflow and sediment data collected to determine the effects of a controlled flood in March and April 1996 on the Colorado River between Lees Ferry and Diamond Creek, Arizona
An 8-day period of planned release of water at 1,275 cubic meters per second from Glen Canyon Dam in March and April 1996 provided an opportunity to collect data on river stage, streamflow, water chemistry, and sediment transport at discharges above powerplant releases. The U.S. Geological Survey collected data at five streamflow-gaging stations...
Konieczki, Alice D.; Graf, Julia B.; Carpenter, Michael C.
The Colorado River in Grand Canyon: how fast does it flow?
Opening the jet tubes at Glen Canyon Dam on March 26, 1996, released from Lake Powell a controlled flood of water that traveled down the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. How fast did the water move? How long did it take for water to reach a particular point along the river? The answers to these questions are important because the speed of river...
Graf, Julia B.
Geochemical analyses of ground-water ages, recharge rates, and hydraulic conductivity of the N aquifer, Black Mesa area, Arizona
The Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe of the Black Mesa area, Arizona, depend on ground water from the N aquifer to meet most tribal and industrial needs. Increasing use of this aquifer is creating concerns about possible adverse effects of increased ground-water withdrawals on the water resources of the region. A thorough understanding of the N...
Lopes, Thomas J.; Hoffmann, John P.
Controlled Flooding of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon: the Rationale and Data-Collection Planned
Anderson, Mark T.; Graf, Julia B.; Marzolf, G. Richard
Ground-water, surface-water, and water-chemistry data, Black Mesa area, northeastern Arizona, 1995
Littin, G.R.; Monroe, S.A.
When the blue-green waters turn red: Historical flooding in Havasu Creek, Arizona
Havasu Creek, the second largest tributary of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, attracts numerous visitors each year owing to its spectacular scenery. Perennial streamflow seldom exceeds 2 cubic meters per second (m3/s), but supports important stands of riparian vegetation, forms unique travertine pools, and spills over spectacular...
Melis, Theodore S.; Phillips, William M.; Webb, Robert H.; Bills, Douglas J.
Physical, chemical, biological, and toxicity data from the study of urban stormwater and ephemeral streams, Maricopa County, Arizona, water years 1992-95
Fossum, K.D.; Davis, R.G.
Hydrogeology of the Quitobaquito Springs and La Abra Plain area, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, and Sonora, Mexico
Quitobaquito Springs, in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument near the south end of the northwestward-trending Quitobaquito Hills, are less than 0.25 mile north of the international boundary between the United States and Mexico. The National Park Service is concerned that the natural flow from Quitobaquito Springs might be reduced by ground-water...
Carruth, R.L.
An accounting system for water and consumptive use along the Colorado River, Hoover Dam to Mexico
An accounting system for estimating and distributing consumptive use of water by vegetation to water users was developed for the Colorado River to meet the requirements of a U.S. Supreme Court decree and used with data from calendar year 1984. The system is based on a water-budget method to estimate total consumptive use by vegetation which is...
Owen-Joyce, Sandra J.; Raymond, Lee H.
Sand deposition in the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon from flooding of the Little Colorado River
Methods for computing the volume of sand deposited in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park by floods in major tributaries and for determining redistribution of that sand by main-channel flows are required for successful management of sand-dependent riparian resources. We have derived flow, sediment transport, and bed evolution models...
Wiele, S.M.; Graf, J.B.; Smith, J.D.
Chemistry and toxicity of urban sediments, Maricopa County, Arizona, data and summary statistics
Ingersoll, T.L.; Parker, J.T.; Fossum, K.D.
An extremely rare Mojave River western pond turtle
An extremely rare Mojave River western pond turtle was recently observed by USGS scientists and staff from The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in the Mojave Desert. Turtles of this population have rarely been seen since the late 1990s.
Particle Tracking
The Arizona Water Science Center discusses the use of a new method, called particle tracking, that will revolutionize the way USGS obtains stream flow data.
First Global Topographic Map of Mercury
An animation of the USGS topographic map of Mercury created using images from NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft.
USGS: More Than a Workplace
Employees of the Arizona Water Science Center describe their experiences working for the USGS revealing that it is far more than just a workplace.
Sonoran Desert Wildflowers and Invasive Species
Ecosystems are changing at a rapid pace. It can be difficult to determine if a landscape is in need of restoration. In this photo of the spring wildflower bloom in the Sonoran desert, an invasive annual grass, Bromus rubens (red brome), is pervasive. Land managers have to make decisions about when, where, and how to intervene in a system. Does this grass pose a threat to
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Saguaro National Park, East Unit, Southern Arizona - ca. 1935
This camera station is located on a hill within the newly established Saguaro National Monument near Tucson. The view is northeast toward Agua Caliente Hill and looks down a gentle incline that drains into Tanque Verde Creek. The saguaro stand pictured here is a particularly memorable one because of the many large individuals and absence of small ones. It is an example of
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Colorado River through the Grand Canyon
A view of the Grand Canyon, with the Great Unconformity visible. Credit: Alex Demas, USGS.
Aerial view of lower Colorado River
Aerial view showing the intense greenup of restoration plots in the lower Colorado River Delta following the 2014 Minute 319 pulse flow.
San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area
Photograph showing San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, residential development southeast of Sierra Vista, Arizona, and the Huachuca Mountains from Hereford Road, Cochise County, Arizona.
Texas Flood Surveys
Hydrologists from Arizona aid the Texas Water Science Center in gathering measurements and other information after the catastrophic Blanco River flooding event that swept Austin, Texas.
Drone Survey
USGS revolutionizes data collection by surveying a river channel within the Redlands area using a drone.
Flood at Oak Creek South of Sedona
This video captures the bizarre occurrences that can happen during a flood. A USGS employee witnesses such an event while taking a measurement at Oak Creek from a cable way.
Assessing age of groundwater to determine resource availability
First-of-its-kind survey shows that algal toxins are found nationwide
Laura Norman was asked to provide a presentation at the Hassayampa River Study meeting. Stakeholders in the 3,700 km² watershed are interested in the benefits of hydrologic modeling to assess if stormwater management practices would impact stormflows, sedimentation, and groundwater recharge.
Mountains on Io, Jupiter’s volcanic moon, are formed by a unique geologic mechanism not found elsewhere in the solar system, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The first topographic map of Mercury was released today by the U.S. Geological Survey, Arizona State University, Carnegie Institute of Washington, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and NASA.
Alternative Flows Might Mitigate Negative Impacts
A newly published, three-volume “Remote Sensing Handbook” is a comprehensive coverage of all remote sensing topics written by over 300 leading global experts.
With the release of new US Topo maps for Illinois and South Dakota, the USGS has completed the second, three-year cycle of revising and updating electronic US Topo quadrangles. This means that since late 2009, the USGS has published nearly every map in the conterminous U.S., twice.
On average, streams in the Niobrara-Mowry Play of eastern Wyoming, Fayetteville Play of Arkansas, and Barnett Play of Texas ranked most vulnerable to unconventional oil and gas development, but for different reasons, according to recent U.S. Geological Survey coauthored research.
US Geological Survey scientists are presenting on numerous topics related to climate change, drought and resource management at the 13th Biennial Conference of Science and Management on the Colorado Plateau & Southwest Region. Below are some of the newest science topics that the USGS will present.
A new analysis of the largest known deposit of carbonate minerals on Mars helps limit the range of possible answers about how and why Mars changed from a world with watery environments billions of years ago to the arid Red Planet of today.
Although the Grand Canyon segment of the Colorado River features one of the most remote ecosystems in the United States, it is not immune to exposure from toxic chemicals such as mercury according to newly published research in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.
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Locations
Astrogeology Science Center
Phone: 928-556-7000
Fax: 928-556-7014
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 - Flagstaff, AZ, Research Station
Phone: 928-556-7094
Fax: 928-556-7092
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