Unified Interior Regions

Policy makers and scientists will meet March 16-19 at the 70th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, VA. This meeting gets to the heart of wildlife and natural resource concerns in North America. 

Washington, D.C. - How close are we to predicting earthquakes? Can science help diplomacy and national security? Could an ancient catastrophe offer a solution to a very modern problem? Learn the answer to these questions and more as USGS scientists participate in the annual American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting, Feb. 17-21.

What happens when a comet or asteroid more than a mile wide slams into the Earth at supersonic speed? U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists, with help from students and professors from Virginia Tech University, are about to find out as they begin a seismic survey of the 35-million-year old Chesapeake Bay impact crater.

Slow-moving ground water slows down water-quality improvements in Chesapeake Bay Ground water supplies about half of the water and nitrogen to streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and is therefore an important pathway for nitrogen to reach the bay, according to a recent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study. 

Because of an increasing awareness of the critical role of ground water in sustaining coastal populations, economies, and ecosystems, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has recently published a report that describes ground water conditions in freshwater and saltwater environments along the Atlantic coast. 

A new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study shows above-normal levels of arsenic and copper in sediments found in Lake Anne in Reston, VA. The USGS study, published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, found that amounts of arsenic and copper exceeded what would be expected to occur naturally in this setting.

What happens when a rock from space that’s more than a mile wide slams into the Earth at supersonic speed? Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and its partners are learning as they analyze evidence they are recovering from cores drilled during the past two summers into the Chesapeake Bay impact crater and surrounding structures.

Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Madison, Wisc., said today that two dead crows, found in the Chicago area tested positive for the West Nile Virus. Last week, dead crows found near Milwaukee also tested positive for the virus. So far this year, West Nile Virus has been identified in 20 states, the District of Columbia and in southern Ontario.

Question: What do hemlock adelgid, leafy spurge, Asian swamp eel, and round gobe have in common?

Answer: All are non-native, invasive species and they, and others, are costing the United States billions per year in damage to agriculture, forests, rangelands, and fisheries. Serious efforts are underway to stem the tide of this invasion and to preserve our nation’s native biological heritage.

Invasive plants and animals will be on display at the briefing including a brown tree snake, round gobe (a species of fish),Asian swamp eel, sea lamprey, giant salvinia, cheatgrass, kudzu,and hemlock adelgid.

Fact: The United States needs energy supplies that are secure, uninterrupted, sustainable, and economically and environmentally viable. And, it is estimated that over the next 20 years, the U.S. demand for energy may increase by as much as 32 percent.