Unified Interior Regions

While much of eastern North Carolina remains under water, U.S. Geological Survey scientists and hydrologic technicians are boating over rooftops, submerged cars, and bridges and roads topped by deep water to collect data and determine the amount of environmental damage done by Hurricane Floyd’s heavy rains.

As crops wither, power plants try to manage overloads, and rivers and streams dwindle to mere trickles, scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey are monitoring what could become this century’s worst drought. Such data is used by cities, counties, states and the federal government to plan for water shortages and to determine if similar problems can be avoided in the future.

Media briefing on current drought conditions in the Mid-Atlantic region including Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and New York.

No, not another meteor disaster movie, but something left a big impression in the Chesapeake Bay.

Has the Potomac River been looking a little dry lately? Hydrologists -- i.e. water specialists--with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will measure the potentially serious effects of the intense heat and lack of rain using a variety of instruments that you probably won’t find in your garage. USGS will measure water levels in the Potomac River -- Washington’s sole source of tap water.

As the Mid-Atlantic region continued to experience prolonged dry weather, flow into the Chesapeake Bay and from its three main tributaries dropped to record low volumes for the month of June, according to U.S. Geological Survey hydrologists.

U.S. Geological Survey Director Charles G. Groat will join a roster of leading earth scientists from industry and academia in looking to the future at the symposium "Natural Resources and Hazards: Challenges for the Twenty-First Century,"...

All-time record low river flows into the Chesapeake Bay were recorded for May, according to hydrologists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Flow into the bay has been below average for the last 10 months. Average daily freshwater inflow to the Chesapeake Bay in May was about 29.1 billion gallons per day (bgd), which is about 46 percent of the long-term average (62.6 bgd).

During March, river flow into the Chesapeake Bay and flow in the Potomac River averaged about 70% of the long-term average flow rate, according to the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS). 

At the end of February 1998, streamflow in the Potomac River at Washington, DC, and total freshwater inflow to the Chesapeake Bay were the highest on record, at about 39.9 billion gallons per day (bgd) and 152.4 bgd, respectively, according to the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS).

From evidence of exotic nutria damage to wetlands to above average sea level rise, the Chesapeake Bay watershed is a complex and compelling scientific challenge.