Unified Interior Regions

MENLO PARK, California — Los teléfonos móviles y otros dispositivos electrónicos personales podrían ayudar en las regiones donde se encuentran en uso generalizado, y pueden funcionar como sistemas de alerta para terremotos mayor según la nueva investigación científica recien publicada.

New research shows that Lake Erie’s dead zones are actually quite active, greatly affecting fish distributions, catch rates and the effectiveness of fishing gear.

Appalachian coal and petroleum resources are still available in sufficient quantities to contribute significantly to fulfilling the nation’s energy needs, according to a recent study by the U.S. Geological Survey.

The U.S. Geological Survey awarded a $9.7 million contract to Crittenden Construction out of Alpena, Michigan, on March 5 for the construction and renovation of the USGS Great Lakes Science Center Hammond Bay Biological Station near Millersburg, Michigan. The renovation is a joint effort between the USGS and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. 

While the earth contains enough potash to meet the increased global demand for crop production and U.S. supplies are likely secure, some regions lack potash deposits needed for optimal food crop yields. According to a recent USGS global assessment of potash resources, the costs of importing potash long distances can limit its use and imports are subject to supply disruptions.

A year after the January 9, 2014 chemical spill on the Elk River that affected the drinking water of 300,000 Charleston area residents, scientists continue to provide new information to increase understanding of the chemicals in the spill and how they traveled through the water system.  

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced today that Interior’s Northeast Climate Science Center (NE CSC) is awarding nearly $700,000 to universities and other partners for research to guide managers of parks, refuges and other cultural and natural resources in planning how to help species and ecosystems adapt to climate change.

Average chloride concentrations often exceed toxic levels in many northern United States streams due to the use of salt to deice winter pavement, and the frequency of these occurrences nearly doubled in two decades.

As part of the continued US Topo maps revision and improvement cycle, the USGS will be including mountain bike trails to upcoming quadrangles on a state-aligned basis. 

Climate change could lengthen the growing season, make soil drier and decrease winter snowpack in the Lake Michigan Basin by the turn of the century, among other hydrological effects.

As freezing air swept into the Upper Midwest this past week, juvenile common loons took a cue from the weather and began their migrations to the warm Gulf of Mexico.