Unified Interior Regions

Menlo Park , Calif. – At noon today, USGS scientists will provide a brief statement regarding the M8.8 Chilean earthquake and tsunami that it generated.  USGS staff will be available to answer questions. 

Menlo Park, Calif. -- An upcoming emergency-preparedness exercise that looks at how California would be affected by a series of “Atmospheric River” storms is the subject of a lecture at Menlo Park Thursday, February 25, 2010.  USGS Multi-Hazards Demonstration Project manager Dale Cox will detail how scientists are preparing for the ARkSTORM exercise, which will take place May 17-19, 2011.

San Diego, Calif. – U.S. Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt will deliver a plenary lecture on ocean science February 21 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Diego. Three USGS scientists will be recognized as AAAS fellows, and several other USGS scientists will be presenting key findings at the meeting. USGS presentations include:

Pasadena, Calif. – Southern California communities expecting large and potentially destructive debris flows last week were spared when storms dropped less rain than expected. The storm system, made up of three main pulses, dropped between 4.5 and 8.5 inches of rain on the area burned by the Station Fire, one of the areas most susceptible to debris flows.

Pasadena, Calif. – Debris flow experts from the U.S. Geological Survey here are encouraging residents of the Foothill communities to take evacuation orders seriously and not risk their lives by staying in areas where potential debris flow impact has been identified.

Landsat satellite images from the U.S. Geological Survey are being used to assess damage from the recent earthquake in Haiti, and help speed relief efforts to where it is most needed. Learn about the current status of Landsat satellites 5 and 7, and plans for the next Landsat satellite.

Crews from the U.S. Geological Survey are gearing up to provide real-time monitoring of streams and areas recently burned by wildfires as a series of powerful storms bears down on California.

An earthquake early warning system for California is feasible in coming years, according to research being presented Dec. 14-15 at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco. The ongoing study demonstrates that an earthquake early warning system for California is possible and lays out how such a system could be built.

Citizen scientists contribute to earthquake monitoring. Press conference on Two new projects take different approaches to involve interested individuals in collecting earthquake data. Come hear about the USGS Twitter Earthquake Detection project and about NetQuakes instruments in homes and businesses.

A new generation of topographic maps will be discussed at a free public lecture in Menlo Park this Thursday, December 10, 2009. The maps, available free from the U.S. Geological Survey online store, are customizable, provide richer content, and can be printed for immediate use.

At a loss for gift ideas? Or just plain lost? The Map and Publication Sales office (MaPS) is offering unusual, free holiday wrapping paper, in the form of outdated topographical maps to promote recycling and to save the colorful but space-consuming maps from landfill.