Images

Marble is a famous metamorphic rock known for its use in sculpture and architecture. This particular marble came from the Campbell Quarry in Texas, Maryland.

Diopside crystals are made up of Magnesium, Calcium, Silicon and Oxygen, and are usually found in metamorphic rocks. These crystals have developed in some Cockeysville Marble from Texas, Maryland.

Granite is an igneous rock that we’ve used for building materials for thousands of years. It’s name comes from the Latin word “granum,” meaning “grain,” which refers to the grains of quartz and feldspar that define granite. This one is from the Barre formation in Vermont.

A USGS benchmark at the USGS National Center.

Cannel coal is a type of bituminous coal, which is the second-highest rank of coal (just behind anthracite). This particular sample has a high carbon content with high pollen and spore content as well. Unlike most bituminous coal, Cannel coal can be carved into ornaments. This sample came from the Eastern Interior Coalfield in Kentucky.

Granite is an igneous rock that we’ve used for building materials for thousands of years. It’s name comes from the Latin word “granum,” meaning “grain,” which refers to the grains of quartz and feldspar that define granite. This one is from the Barre formation in Vermont.

Diabase is a mafic (meaning high in magnesium and iron), igneous rock that usually forms below the Earth’s surface. This particular one has large amounts of augite and labradorite minerals, and comes from the Lucke Quarry, which is southeast of Leesburg, VA.

USGS ecologist Jaimie Gillespie measuring a Sediment Elevation Table (SET) on the Pamunkey River, VA. This SET is part of a larger project which consists of two SETs at each of five research sites, on both the Mattaponi and Pamunkey Rivers spanning Oligahaline to non-tidal conditions.

Sampling for Impacts of UOG Wastes
USGS scientist collecting water-quality samples on a wastewater disposal facility in West Virginia to assess potential environmental impacts due to activities at the site.

This gear, known as a Russian corer, is commonly used to extract sediment cores from field sites. 

In a watch glass, a lab technician swirls out pollen from heavier mineral material and then pipets it out.

Seen in this image is the sieving setup of the pollen lab.

In this photo, a lab technician sieves a sample to get rid of fine minerals (such as clay).

Numerous distinct methane streams emanating from the seafloor at an upper slope (< 500 m water depth) cold seep site offshore Virginia. Image courtesy of NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program, 2013 Northeast U.S. Canyons Expedition.

The USGS Franklin pipe extensometer with a total depth of 860 feet.

Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present

This photograph shows the building housing the USGS Suffolk extensometer. Inside, the extensometer extends to a depth of 1,599 feet below groundlevel.

Period of record: 1982-1995; 2016-present

The USGS Suffolk pipe extensometer with a total depth of 1,620 feet.

Period of record: 1982-1995; 2016-present

Building housing the USGS Franklin extensometer. Inside, the extensometer extends 866 feet below land surface.

Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present

View from the Storm Drain at Ludlow Drive near Kempsville, VA.

USGS Research Geologists Mark Carter and Wright Horton (right to left) and Virginia State Geologist David Spears staff an “Earthquakes in the Central Virginia Seismic Zone” information booth at the dedication ceremony for the newly constructed Louisa County, Virginia High School on 9 August 2015.  The old high school building was damaged beyond repair during th

USGS Hydrologist Adam Benthem surveys Large Woody Debris (LWD) on the Roanoke River, VA. Little is known about the transport, fate, and impacts on water quality of LWD which provide unique and critical habitat for many species.