Unified Interior Regions

Dirt, sand, and other particulate material on parking lots and streets is washing off into urban streams, reports a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey Regional Stream Quality Assessment. The study used novel particle tracers to determine that particles washed from pavement made up almost half of the streambed sediment in parts of Dead Run, an urban stream in the Baltimore area.

Despite the prevalence of mercury contamination in the Chesapeake Bay, large-scale patterns of mercury concentrations, and potential risks to fish, wildlife, and humans across the watershed, are poorly understood.

Budget Focuses on Bringing Science, Facilities, and Infrastructure into the 21st Century

A new study finds that a high density of green stormwater infrastructure can provide enhanced mitigation of peak flows and runoff volumes compared to large, detention-based stormwater control practices.

The Marcellus Shale and Point Pleasant-Utica Shale formations of the Appalachian Basin contain an estimated mean of 214 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous resources of natural gas, according to new USGS assessments.

To learn more about USGS’ role providing science to decision makers before, during and after Hurricane Dorian, visit the USGS Hurricane Dorian page at www.usgs.gov/dorian.

Editor’s Note: This story was revised Sept. 10, 2019 to include the later phases of USGS’ response to Hurricane Dorian.

To learn more about USGS’ role providing science to decision makers before, during and after Hurricane Dorian, visit the USGS Hurricane Dorian page at www.usgs.gov/dorian.

This week marks a significant milestone in the conservation and recovery of the endangered whooping crane. On March 11 and 13, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Patuxent Wildlife Research Center transferred its last two cranes of the approximately 75 that were in its flock to other institutions, closing out more than 50 years of the center’s whooping crane research and captive breeding success.

A new report and map published by the U.S. Geological Survey provides critical insight to electric power grid operators across the northeastern United States in the event of a once-per-century magnetic superstorm.  

New study analyzed Landsat satellite imagery to document historical and recent (post-Hurricane Sandy) wetland changes that occurred along the Maryland and Virginia coastlines since 1984.

In August 2018, the USGS Coastal/Marine Hazards and Resources Program (CMHRP) completed the Mid-Atlantic Resource Imaging Experiment (MATRIX), a three-week cruise that acquired more than 2,000 kilometers of multichannel seismic data between Hudson Canyon and Cape Hatteras on the U.S. Atlantic margin.