Unified Interior Regions
Washington
Washington's Puget Sound is a complex ecosystem directly adjacent to a robust metropolitan area that scientists from the USGS Western Fisheries Research Center study. Recent surveys have looked at juvenile surf smelt, a key link in the food web that are consumed by predators such as salmon, orca, and many marine birds.
Western Fisheries Research Center
Research at the WFRC focuses on the environmental factors responsible for the creation, maintenance, and regulation of fish populations including their interactions in aquatic communities and ecosystems.
Go to CenterWashington Water Science Center
The Water Science Center's mission is to collect, analyze and disseminate the impartial hydrologic data and information needed to wisely manage water resources for the people of the United States and the State of Washington.
Go to CenterStates L2 Landing Page Tabs
Washington's Puget Sound is a complex ecosystem directly adjacent to a robust metropolitan area that scientists from the USGS Western Fisheries Research Center study. Recent surveys have looked at juvenile surf smelt, a key link in the food web that are consumed by predators such as salmon, orca, and many marine birds.
News
New Scientist-in-Charge at USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory
The U.S. Geological Survey is pleased to announce the selection of Dr. Jon Major to serve as the new Scientist-in-Charge of the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory.
Notes From the Field: Coastal Raptors
"Notes from the Field” are contributed articles that highlight current banding projects and the continued importance of bird banding 100 years after the establishment of the Bird Banding Lab. This article focuses on a long-term raptor monitoring project in Washington state.
Trump Administration Officials Tour New Mt. Rainier Lahar Detection Stations
TACOMA, Wash. — Deputy Secretary of the Interior Katharine MacGregor, U.S. Geological Survey Director Jim Reilly, and Counselor to the Secretary Margaret Everson, Exercising the Delegated Authority of the Director of the National Park Service, today visited Mount Rainier National Park to announce the successful permitting and ongoing installation of five new lahar monitoring stations.
Publications
A temporally stratified extension of space‐for‐time Cormack–Jolly–Seber for migratory animals
Understanding drivers of temporal variation in demographic parameters is a central goal of mark‐recapture analysis. To estimate the survival of migrating animal populations in migration corridors, space‐for‐time mark–recapture models employ discrete sampling locations in space to monitor marked populations as they move past monitoring sites,...
Hance, Dalton J.; Perry, Russell; Plumb, John; Pope, Adam Basin amplification effects in the Puget Lowland, Washington from strong motion recordings and 3D simulations
Sedimentary basins in the Puget Sound region, Washington State, increase ground‐motion intensity and duration of shaking during local earthquakes. We analyze Pacific Northwest Seismic Network and U.S. Geological Survey strong‐motion recordings of five local earthquakes (M 3.9–6.8), including the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, to characterize...
Thompson, Mika; Moriarty, Erin; Frankel, Arthur; Hartog, J. Renate; Vidale, John E.
Behavior and movement of adult winter steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the upper Cowlitz River Basin, Washington, 2017–18
Executive SummaryA 2-year radiotelemetry study was completed to monitor the movements of adult winter steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the upper Cowlitz River Basin. A reintroduction program was established to restore healthy and harvestable populations of steelhead because volitional access to the area was blocked in the 1960s after...
Liedtke, Theresa L.; Kock, Tobias J.; Hansen, Amy C.; Ekstrom, Brian K.; Tomka, Ryan G.
Channel change monitoring following the Pilchuck Dam removal
The issue:
In the summer of 2020, the Pilchuck Dam will be removed, allowing salmon access to the upper third of the Pilchuck River watershed for the first time in over a century. This removal will be associated with a short period increased sediment delivery, as the river re-works material trapped behind the dam. While the volume of impounded sediment is small and...
Seattle, Washington Landslide Monitoring Site
Recent monitoring data.
Partners - FHP
For more than five decades the WFRC Fish Health Program has worked with partners to provide research findings to managers of aquatic resources. Those partners form a network of colleagues, co-investigators, and customers. Our partners include Department of the Interior bureaus, tribal and state fisheries agencies, other federal partners and the private sector.
Fish Health Program Lead Scientists and Areas of Expertise
Lead Scientists - Expertise
Tribal Collaboration - Fish Health Program (FHP)
The Fish Health Program has a strong commitment to respond to requests for research and technical support from Tribal fisheries agencies.
Assessment of Sediment Quality and Volume behind Enloe Dam
The Issue:
The Enloe Dam, a 100-yr old structure on the Similkameen River in Washington State, has not produced hydropower since 1958 and options are being considered for potential removal of the dam. The concentrations of sediment contaminants (primarily trace elements from a long history of mining and smelting operations in the US and Canada) trapped by Enloe Dam are...
Phylogenetics of Ichthyophonus parasites
Ichthyophonus spp. are perhaps the most economically and ecologically important parasites of wild marine fish in the world.
PCB Exposure and Disease Susceptibility
Researchers at that MMFS are experimentally determining the impacts of high PCB body burdens on the immunocompetency and disease susceptibility of Pacific herring.
Species Studied at the Marrowstone Marine Field Station
The Disease Ecology Research Program at the Marrowstone Marine Field Station addresses fundamental disease processes that impact wild marine and anadromous fishes. The program is not designed around particular host or pathogen species; rather we investigate diseases processes that involve numerous species of marine hosts and pathogens. Please follow the links for more information about some...
Species Studied at the Columbia River Research Laboratory
Many species are studied at the Columbia River Research Laboratory. These species include birds, fish, invertebrates, and plants. The list contains both common and scientific names. Related content tab provides descriptive information for various species studied.
CRRL Lead Scientists and Areas of Expertise
Lead Scientists - Expertise
EXPRESS: Expanding Pacific Research and Exploration of Submerged Systems
EXPRESS is a multi-year, multi-institution cooperative research campaign in deep sea areas of California, Oregon, and Washington, including the continental shelf and slope. EXPRESS data and information are intended to guide wise use of living marine resources and habitats, inform ocean energy and mineral resource decisions, and improve offshore hazard assessments.
Read the June 11, 2020...
Data collected in 2010 to evaluate habitat availability for surf smelt and eelgrass in response to sea level rise on Bainbridge Island, Puget Sound, Washington, USA
This dataset includes biological variables showing surf smelt spawning presence, geological variables describing beach composition, and sample locations using RTK-GPS. This field data was also used to run the Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM; Warren Pinnacle Consulting, Inc., Warren, Vt)) to predict the changes to beaches over time, and under different sea level rise
Eelgrass distributions and bathymetry of the Nisqually River delta, Washington
This data release presents eelgrass distributions and bathymetric data from repeated surveys performed on the Nisqually River delta to document interannual changes in eelgrass abundance and coastal morphology following the removal of dikes in 2009 that restored tidal processes to over 300 ha of former freshwater wetlands. Includes data collected in 2012, 2014, and 2017, with more to be added...
Global Geochemical Database for Critical Minerals in Archived Mine Samples
The Critical Minerals in Archived Mine Samples Database (CMDB) contains chemistry and geologic information for historic ore and ore-related rock samples from mineral deposits in the United States. In addition, the database contains samples from archetypal deposits from 27 other countries in North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Europe. Samples were obtained from archived ore
Maternal transfer of PCBs in Pacific sand lance in Puget Sound, Washington
Data included in this release are from Pacific sand lance and water, sediment and suspended particulate matter collected at two sites in Puget Sound, Washington, which were evaluated for PCB concentration. PCB congener data are stored in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Environmental Contaminant Data Management System (ECDMS), accessible through the Wildlife & Environmen
Oceanographic measurements collected in the Stillaguamish River Delta, Port Susan, Washington, USA from March 2014 to July 2015
This data release includes time-series and discrete measurements made within two breaches constructed in a former flood-control levee of a restored agricultural area in Port Susan, Washington. An area of approximately 61 ha near the mouth of the Stillaguamish River was reconnected to tidal flow via levee breaches as part of a larger restoration effort that took place in 2012. These...
Discharge measurements collected in the Stillaguamish River Delta, Port Susan, Washington, USA in March, April, and May 2014
Tidal water discharge within two breaches constructed in a former flood-control levee of a restored agricultural area in Port Susan, Washington, was measured repeatedly during several tidal cycles. Measurements were made on March 27, 2014, April 16, 2014, May 18, 2014, and May 29, 2014 at breach PSB1, and on May 29, 2014 at breach PSB2. These data were collected using a boat
Oceanographic time-series measurements collected in the Stillaguamish River Delta, Port Susan, Washington, USA from March 2014 to July 2015
Water level, flow velocity, temperature, salinity, and turbidity were measured in a breach constructed in a flood-protection levee surrounding a restored former agricultural area in Port Susan, Washington, USA, near the mouth of the Stillaguamish River. Data were collected in a breach known as PSB1 at 15-minute intervals from March 21, 2014 to July 1, 2015 using a SonTek Argonau
Walla Walla Project Area Surface Water Sites
Walla Walla Project Area Surface Water Sites
Walla Walla County Groundwater Watch
Network wells depicted on the Walla Walla County, WA location map Note: Color shading in the table below indicates multiple wells that plot as a single point on the state location map above. Note: BLS = Water Level in Feet Below Land Surface, RVD = Water Level referenced to a vertical datum
Domestic Wells in the United States
Domestic wells provide drinking water supply for approximately 40 million people in the United States. Knowing the location of these wells, and the populations they serve, is important for identifying heavily used aquifers, locations susceptible to contamination, and populations potentially impacted by poor-quality groundwater.
USGS Benchmark Glacier Project Comprehensive Data Collection
Mountain glaciers are closely coupled to climate processes, ecosystems, and regional water resources. To enhance physical understanding of these connections, the USGS maintains a collection of glacier mass balance and climate data across the western United States and Alaska. In some cases, records of glacier mass balance extend back to the mid-1940s. These data have been incorporated from
Laboratory exposure of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), coho salmon (O. kisutch) and rainbow trout (O. mykiss) to a Pacific Canadian strain of piscine orthoreovirus genotype one (PRV-1)
Piscine orthoreovirus genotype one (PRV-1) is the causative agent of heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI) in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). The virus has also been found in Pacific salmonids in western North America, raising concerns about the risk to native salmon and trout. Here, we report the results of laboratory challenges using juvenile Chinook salmon, c
Uranium is a radioactive element (radionuclide) that occurs naturally in rock, soil, and water – usually in low concentrations. Radionuclides are unstable atoms with excess energy and as radionuclides decay, they emit radiation. The uranium decay sequence also includes other radionuclides of concern such as radium and radon (DeSimone and others, 2014).
Domestic wells provide drinking water supply for approximately 40 million people in the United States. Knowing the location of these wells, and the populations they serve, is important for identifying heavily used aquifers, locations susceptible to contamination, and populations potentially impacted by poor-quality groundwater.
This map shows the provinces assessed by the USGS for undiscovered oil and gas resources.
Scientists at WERC's Dixon Field station have fitted Cinnamon Teal with GPS backpacks. Using R, the telemetry locations are displayed on an image every two weeks.
The 3DEP products and services available through The National Map consist of standard digital elevation models (DEMs) at various horizontal resolutions, elevation source and associated datasets, an elevation point query service and bulk point query service. All 3DEP products are available, free of charge and without use restrictions.
Ensemble ShakeMaps for magnitude 9 earthquakes on the Cascadia Subduction Zone
We develop ensemble ShakeMaps for various magnitude 9 (M">MM 9) earthquakes on the Cascadia megathrust. Ground‐shaking estimates are based on 30 M">MM 9 Cascadia earthquake scenarios, which were selected using a logic‐tree approach that varied the hypocenter location, down‐dip rupture limit, slip distribution, and location of...
Moriarty, Erin; Grant, Alex R. R. ; Marafi, Nasser A.; Frankel, Arthur
Fish assemblages in eelgrass beds of Bellingham Bay, Washington, Northern Puget Sound, 2019
Puget Sound is a critical part of the Pacific Northwest, both culturally and economically. Eelgrass beds are an important feature of Puget Sound and are known to influence fish assemblages. As part of a larger site-characterization effort, and to gain a better understanding of the fish assemblages in Bellingham Bay, Washington, four eelgrass beds...
Andrews, Morgan I.; Liedtke, Theresa L. Developing post-alert messaging for ShakeAlert, the earthquake early warning system for the West Coast of the United States of America
As ShakeAlert, the earthquake early warning system for the West Coast of the U.S., begins its transition to operational public alerting, we explore how post-alert messaging might represent system performance. Planned post-alert messaging can provide timely, crucial information to both emergency managers and ShakeAlert operators as well as...
McBride, Sara; Bostrom, Ann; Sutton, Jeannette; deGroot, Robert Michael; Baltay, Annemarie S.; Terbush, Brian; Bodin, Paul; Dixon, Maximilian; Holland, Emily; Arba, Ryan; Laustsen, Paul C.; Liu, Sophia; Vinci, Margaret Impact of smallmouth bass predation on subyearling fall Chinook salmon over a broad river continuum
Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) predation on subyearling fall Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) was examined in the Snake River (USA) to identify seasonal and habitat-related changes in bass diets, and associated subyearling consumption and loss in various riverine and impounded reaches. Smallmouth bass diets reflected opportunistic...
Tiffan, Kenneth; Erhardt, John M; Hemingway, Rulon J.; Bickford, Brad; Rhodes, Tobyn Research, monitoring, and evaluation of emerging issues and measures to recover the Snake River Fall Chinook Salmon ESU: January 2019 - December 2019
The portion of the Snake River fall Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha evolutionary significant unit (ESU) that spawns upstream of Lower Granite Dam transitioned from low to high abundance during 19922019 in association with U.S. Endangered Species Act recovery efforts and other federally mandated actions. This annual report focuses on (1)...
Tiffan, Kenneth; Perry, Russell Sediment transport in a restored, river-influenced Pacific Northwest estuary
Predicting the success of future investments in coastal and estuarine ecosystem restorations is limited by scarce data quantifying sediment budgets and transport processes of prior restorations. This study provides detailed analyses of the hydrodynamics and sediment fluxes of a recently restored U.S. Pacific Northwest estuary, a 61 ha former...
Nowacki, Daniel J. ; Grossman, Eric E. Behavior and movement of adult winter steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the upper Cowlitz River Basin, Washington, 2017–18
Executive SummaryA 2-year radiotelemetry study was completed to monitor the movements of adult winter steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the upper Cowlitz River Basin. A reintroduction program was established to restore healthy and harvestable populations of steelhead because volitional access to the area was blocked in the 1960s after...
Liedtke, Theresa L.; Kock, Tobias J.; Hansen, Amy C.; Ekstrom, Brian K.; Tomka, Ryan G. Submarine canyons, slope failures and mass transport processes in southern Cascadia
The marine turbidite record along the southern Cascadia Subduction Zone has been used to interpret paleoseismicity and suggest a shorter recurrence interval for large (>M7) earthquakes along this portion of the margin; however, the sources and pathways of these turbidity flows are poorly constrained. We examine the spatial distribution of...
Hill, Jenna C.; Watt, Janet; Brothers, Daniel; Kluesner, Jared Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus specialization in a multihost salmonid system
Many pathogens interact and evolve in communities where more than one host species is present, yet our understanding of host–pathogen specialization is mostly informed by laboratory studies with single species. Managing diseases in the wild, however, requires understanding how host–pathogen specialization affects hosts in diverse communities....
Paez, David; LaDeau, Shannon L.; Breyta, Rachel; Kurath, Gael; Naish, Kerry A.; Ferguson, Paige Basin amplification effects in the Puget Lowland, Washington from strong motion recordings and 3D simulations
Sedimentary basins in the Puget Sound region, Washington State, increase ground‐motion intensity and duration of shaking during local earthquakes. We analyze Pacific Northwest Seismic Network and U.S. Geological Survey strong‐motion recordings of five local earthquakes (M 3.9–6.8), including the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, to characterize...
Thompson, Mika; Moriarty, Erin; Frankel, Arthur; Hartog, J. Renate; Vidale, John E. A temporally stratified extension of space‐for‐time Cormack–Jolly–Seber for migratory animals
Understanding drivers of temporal variation in demographic parameters is a central goal of mark‐recapture analysis. To estimate the survival of migrating animal populations in migration corridors, space‐for‐time mark–recapture models employ discrete sampling locations in space to monitor marked populations as they move past monitoring sites,...
Hance, Dalton J.; Perry, Russell; Plumb, John; Pope, Adam Impacts of simulated M9 Cascadia Subduction Zone motions on idealized systems
Ground motions have been simulated for a magnitude 9 (M9) Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake, which will affect the Puget Lowland region, including cities underlain by the Seattle, Everett, and Tacoma sedimentary basins. The current national seismic maps do not account for the effects of these basins on the risk-targeted Maximum Considered...
Marafi, Nasser A.; Eberhard, Marc; Berman, Jeffrey W.; Moriarty, Erin; Frankel, Arthur
The Pedestrian Evacuation Analyst is an ArcGIS extension that estimates how long it would take for someone to travel on foot out of a hazardous area that was threatened by a sudden event such as a tsunami, flash flood, or volcanic lahar. It takes into account the elevation changes and the different types of landcover that a person would encounter along the way.
Geophysicist checks data output at Mount Rainier station
A seismologist with the Cascades Volcano Observatory checks the data output on a newly installed monitoring station at Mount Rainier.
Mount Rainier's seismic and infrasound station PARA
Seismic and infrasound station PARA, installed October 6-8, 2020 at Mount Rainier.
A geophysicist notes location of new seismometer at Mount Rainier
A geophysicist from the Cascades Volcano Observatory notes the location of a newly buried seismometer at station PARA, on Mount Rainier.
NAGT intern installs infrasound sensors at Mount Rainier
NAGT intern Emily Bryant installs one of three infrasound sensors at volcano monitoring station PARA, at Mount Rainier.
30 days fumarole temperature, SNIF monitoring station Mount St. Helens
Past 30 days fumarole temperature data at SNIF monitoring station, Mount St. Helens Washington.
Bathymetric map of offshore Washington
Bathymetric map of offshore Washington reveals seafloor features and submarine canyons.
Cascadia megathrust fault map
Topo-bathymetric map of the Cascadia subduction zone. Cascadia megathrust fault (white line); approximate shelf break along 200-m isobath (yellow line); MTJ, Mendocino triple junction.
Cascadia fieldwork map
Index map of U.S. Cascadia margin showing where data have been collected since 2018 as part of the Subduction Zone Marine Geohazards Project. Details of each survey effort are provided on the Cascadia Subduction Zone Marine Geohazards project web site.
Elwha River delta
View looks southwest along the eastern flank of the Elwha River delta and back towards the mouth of the river. USGS conducts regular surveys along this stretch of coastline, to monitor the evolving coastline following removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams, completed in 2014.
Taking PPE to a whole new level
You have to be able to have a little fun when in the field. A colleague from the Washington State Department of Ecology hams it up while prepping for a beach survey with scientists from the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center. The multi-agency surveys define sediment transport pathways and record coastal changes at the mouth of the Columbia River, where dams,
...
Setting up a bat acoustic monitoring station
White-nose syndrome has been detected in Washington. USGS scientist are helping the NPS design and evaluate bat sampling protocols for their Pacific Northwest parks.
Lahar Detection System Developments at Mount Rainier
The video describes USGS efforts to improve lahar (mudflow) monitoring at Mount Rainier, an ice-clad volcano in Washington State with potential for dangerous volcanic mudflows. The presentation was given to colleagues in the US and in Ecuador by Andy Lockhart. Andy is a geophysicist with the the USGS/USAID Volcano Disaster Assistance Program, and he has worked to reduce
The U.S. Geological Survey is pleased to announce the selection of Dr. Jon Major to serve as the new Scientist-in-Charge of the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory.
"Notes from the Field” are contributed articles that highlight current banding projects and the continued importance of bird banding 100 years after the establishment of the Bird Banding Lab. This article focuses on a long-term raptor monitoring project in Washington state.
TACOMA, Wash. — Deputy Secretary of the Interior Katharine MacGregor, U.S. Geological Survey Director Jim Reilly, and Counselor to the Secretary Margaret Everson, Exercising the Delegated Authority of the Director of the National Park Service, today visited Mount Rainier National Park to announce the successful permitting and ongoing installation of five new lahar monitoring stations.
TACOMA, Wash. — What is a lahar and why are they a threat to those who live below Mount Rainier? Journalists are invited to learn about the threat potential posed by lahars from Mount Rainier to local communities and how new USGS lahar monitoring stations will integrate into emergency preparedness and response.
New station expands scientists' capabilities to detect unrest and provide rapid notification of hazards to emergency officials and the public.
Public input will be accepted from October 5-30, 2020 on a proposal to expand the lahar detection system inside Mount Rainier National Park.
Originally Published by: The Daily News
By: U.S. Geological Survey Director James Reilly
This article has been reprinted or reproduced with the permission of the The Daily News in Longview WA.
SPARROW mappers are interactive tools that allow users to evaluate streamflow and nutrient and sediment conditions as well as the importance of different sources of contaminants in a selected river basin. Data can be visualized at different scales using maps and interactive graphs and tables.
This AtlasObscura article features USGS scientist Brian Atwater and University of Washington colleague, David Yamaguchi and their research on the Cascadia subduction zone.
View A Massive Earthquake Is Coming to Cascadia—And It Can’t Be Stopped.
A team of federal, academic, and NGO researchers conducted a national-scale assessment of mercury bioaccumulation in aquatic ecosystems using dragonfly larvae as biosentinels.
The geologic research and mapping in the offshore areas is foundational to understanding how to manage resources and improve public safety in subduction zone areas.
As state and national interest in offshore renewable energy development and substantial commercial and recreational fishing activities grows, managing offshore habitats becomes increasingly challenging. In response, USGS and BOEM have joined NOAA and several non-Federal partners to initiate EXpanding Pacific Research and Exploration of Submerged Systems (EXPRESS), a multiyear campaign.
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Locations
Washington Water Science Center
Phone: (253) 552-1600
Fax: (253) 552-1581
Western Fisheries Research Center (WFRC)
Phone: (206) 526-6282
Fax: (206) 526-6654
USGS Volcano Science Center
Phone: 360-993-8900
Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center
USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO)
vhpweb@usgs.gov
Phone: 360-993-8900
Fax: 360-993-8980
Columbia River Research Laboratory
Phone: (509) 538-2299
Fax: (509) 538-2843
WFRC - Fish Health Program
Phone: 206-526-6282
Fax: 206-526-6654
Marrowstone Marine Field Station
Phone: (360) 385-1007
Fax: (360) 385-7207
Northwest Washington Field Office
Phone: (360) 312-8155 x2001
Fax: (360) 312-8565
Mid-Columbia Field Office
Phone: (509) 735-3739
Fax: (509) 735-3723
Upper Columbia Field Office
Phone: (509) 353-2649
Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC) Olympic Field Station
fresc_outreach@usgs.gov
Phone: 360-565-3041
Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC) Cascadia Field Station
fresc_outreach@usgs.gov
Phone: 206-616-1874
Fax: 206-685-0790
Contacts
Western Fisheries Research Center
Research at the WFRC focuses on the environmental factors responsible for the creation, maintenance, and regulation of fish populations including their interactions in aquatic communities and ecosystems.
Go to CenterWashington Water Science Center
The Water Science Center's mission is to collect, analyze and disseminate the impartial hydrologic data and information needed to wisely manage water resources for the people of the United States and the State of Washington.
Go to Center