Unified Interior Regions
Nutrient Pollution in the Mississippi River Watershed
A Mississippi River Basin Initiative Story Map
Learn MoreRegion 4: Mississippi Basin
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Forest Structure Resulting from ‘Wildlife Forestry Silviculture’
The Challenge: Management of bottomland forests using wildlife forestry silviculture is being undertaken to achieve desired forest conditions for priority silvicolous wildlife, such as Louisiana black bear, migratory birds, and resident game species. Wildlife forestry management results in forests that have more open canopies and increased understory vegetation yet exhibit heterogeneous...
Webinar: Projecting Climate Change Impacts on Wetland-Dependent Birds in the Prairie Pothole Region
View this webinar to learn how scientists are projecting the impacts of climate change on birds in the Prairie Pothole Region.
Paleoceanographic Proxy Calibration
A sediment trap time series in the northern Gulf of Mexico is used to better assess the control of environmental variables (e.g., temperature and salinity) on the flux of both microfossils and molecular fossils to the sediments. The information gained from sediment trap studies is used to develop better proxy-based estimates of past oceanographic conditions from analyses of microfossils and ...
Climate and Environmental Change in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean
This project documents paleoceanographic, climatic, and environmental changes in the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent land areas over the last 10,000 years. The paleoenvironmental data is used to determine rates of change in the past, and to better understand both the natural and anthropogenic factors that contribute to climate variability on inter-annual to millennial timescales.
Louisiana Barrier Island Habitat Mapping and Change Assessment
Barrier islands provide numerous invaluable ecosystem goods and services including storm protection and erosion control for the mainland, habitat for fish and wildlife, salinity regulation in estuaries, carbon sequestration in marshes, recreation, and tourism. These islands are dynamic environments due to their position at the land-sea interface. Storms, wave energy, tides, currents, and...
Hurricane Nate - Forecast and Documentation of Coastal Change
Hurricane Nate coastal change forecast and pre- and post-storm photos documenting coastal change.
Scenario-Based Assessments for Coastal Change Hazard Forecasts
A decade of USGS research on storm-driven coastal change hazards has provided the data and modeling capabilities needed to identify areas of our coastline that are likely to experience extreme and potentially hazardous erosion during an extreme storm.
National Assessment of Storm-Induced Coastal Change Hazards
This project focuses on understanding the magnitude and variability of extreme storm impacts on sandy beaches. The overall objective is to improve real-time and scenario-based predictions of coastal change to support management of coastal infrastructure, resources, and safety.
National Assessment of Coastal Vulnerability to Sea Level Rise
The original national coastal vulnerability index (CVI) assessment was motivated by expected accelerated sea-level rise (SLR) and the uncertainty in the response of the coastline to SLR. This research was conducted between 1999 and 2001, and is currently being updated using new data sources and methodology. This original study was part of the ...
Long-Term Coastal Change
Goals of this task include developing and improving coastal-change assessments and supporting long-term planning and decision making to ensure sustainable coastal economies, infrastructure, and ecosystems.
National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards
Research to identify areas that are most vulnerable to coastal change hazards including beach and dune erosion, long-term shoreline change, and sea-level rise.
Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring
Historical and newly acquired data were used to assess and monitor changes in the aerial and subaqueous extent of islands, habitat types, sediment properties, environmental processes, and vegetation composition. Research is part of the Geologic and Morphologic Evolution of Coastal Margins...
Boundaries data or governmental units represent major civil areas including states, counties, Federal, and Native American lands, and incorporated places such as cities and towns.
The National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) and Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) are used to portray surface water on The National Map.
The USIEI is a comprehensive, nationwide listing of known high-accuracy topographic and bathymetric data for the United States and its territories. The project is a collaborative effort of the USGS and NOAA with contributions from other federal agencies. The inventory supports the 3D Elevation Program and the Integrated Ocean and Coastal Mapping effort. This resource is updated in Spring and Fall.
The 3DEP products and services available through The National Map consist of lidar point clouds (LPC), 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.
This portal contains U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) video and photography of the seafloor off of coastal California and Massachusetts, and aerial imagery of the coastline along segments of the Gulf of Mexico and mid-Atlantic coasts. These data were collected as part of several USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program Seafloor Mapping projects and Hurricane and Extreme Storm research.
Orthoimagery data typically are high resolution aerial images that combine the visual attributes of an aerial photograph with the spatial accuracy and reliability of a planimetric map. The National Map offers public domain, 1-meter orthoimagery for the conterminous United States with many urban areas and other locations at 2-foot or finer resolution.
The National Map offers a collection of small-scale datasets, most of which are at 1:1,000,000. The National Map publishes two data collections at one million-scale: one for Global Map users and one for National Map users. In terms of vector geometry, the lines, points, and areas in these data collections are identical. The difference is in the attributes assigned to these features.
Consistent synthesis, integration, storage, and availability of fundamental data is critical to meeting the needs of USGS Science. We develop databases for hydrography, topography, invasive species, water resources, and many other datasets utilized by resource managers.
Consistent synthesis, integration, storage, and availability of fundamental data is critical to meeting the needs of USGS Science. We develop databases for hydrography, topography, invasive species, water resources, and many other datasets utilized by resource managers. Our National Geospatial Program uses partnerships and data collection through a network assigned to the Southeast Region Office.
National Geospatial Program
Geospatial Liaison Network
Lidar for Science and Resource Management
Louisiana Sedimentary and Environmental Database (LASED)
Core Archive Database for the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
This web resource provides decision makers with the information needed to maintain the Upper Mississippi River System as a viable multiple-use large river ecosystem.
This publication provides digital flight line data for a high-resolution horizontal magnetic gradient and radiometric survey over the Ironton, Missouri area of southeast Missouri. Data were collected using a fixed wing aircraft with magnetometers mounted in the tail stinger and each wing tip pod and a fully calibrated gamma ray spectrometer. The survey operated out of the Farmington, Missour
High resolution magnetic and gravity gradient data were collected using the HeliFalcon airborne gravity gradiometry system together with a stinger-mounted magnetometer. The survey took place out of the Sullivan, Missouri airport during March of 2014. The survey covers a 35 x 37 square-kilometer area centered on the Pea Ridge iron oxide-apatite rare-earth element deposit, which is located abou
The potential resiliency of a created tidal marsh to sea-level rise
The purpose of this study was to determine the elevation dynamics of a created tidal marsh on the North Carolina coast. Deep rod surface elevation tables (RSET) and feldspar marker horizons (MH) were installed in plots to measure net surface elevation changes and to quantify contributing processes. Twelve total plots were placed on four elevation...
Kamrath, Brock J. W.; Burchell, Michael R.; Cormier, Nicole; Krauss, Ken W.; Johnson, Darren Genetic Characterization of Non-Native African Jewelfish, Hemichromis letourneuxi Sauvage 1880, in Florida
The African Jewelfish, Hemichromis letourneuxi, is an invasive, predatory cichlid fish introduced at least once to Florida. Its native range is in northern Africa. First encountered in Miami in the 1960s, it has since been found west and north within the State of Florida. It thrives in a wide range of aquatic habitats, including shallow,...
Belfiore, Natalia M.; Schofield, Pamela J.
Columbia Environmental Research Center
The U.S. Geological Survey Columbia Environmental Research Center performs research to solve challenging environmental problems related to contaminants and habitat alterations in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The research is interdisciplinary and pursued through partnerships within the U.S. Geological Survey and with national, international...
Asymptotic population abundance of a two-patch system with asymmetric diffusion
This paper considers a two-patch system with asymmetric diffusion rates, in which exploitable resources are included. By using dynamical system theory, we exclude periodic solution in the one-patch subsystem and demonstrate its global dynamics. Then we exhibit uniform persistence of the two-patch system and demonstrate uniqueness of the positive...
Fang, Mengting; Wang, Yuanshi; Chen, Mingshu; DeAngelis, Donald L. Targeting wildlife crime interventions through geographic profiling
Seeing an animal hanging lifelessly from a snare is a heart-wrenching experience. Knowing that most animals caught in snares are left to rot without being used for meat or any other purpose might be worse. Over an eight-year period, 2001–2009, we recorded 10,231 incidents of illegal hunting in a wildlife conservation area in southeastern Zimbabwe...
Romanach, Stephanie; Faulkner, Sally C.; Stevens, Michael C.A.; Lindsey, Peter A.; Le Comber, Steven C. Climatic controls on the distribution of foundation plant species in coastal wetlands of the conterminous United States: Knowledge gaps and emerging research needs
Foundation plant species play a critical role in coastal wetlands, often modifying abiotic conditions that are too stressful for most organisms and providing the primary habitat features that support entire ecological communities. Here, we consider the influence of climatic drivers on the distribution of foundation plant species within coastal...
Osland, Michael; Grace, James; Guntenspergen, Glenn; Thorne, Karen; Carr, Joel; Feher, Laura Plant community establishment in a coastal marsh restored using sediment additions
A goal of wetland restoration is the establishment of resilient plant communities that persist under a variety of environmental conditions. We investigated the role of intraspecific and interspecific variation on plant community establishment in a brackish marsh that had been restored by sediment addition. Plant growth, sediment accretion, and...
Howard, Rebecca; Rafferty, Patricia S.; Johnson, Darren J. Fire disturbance influences endangered Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow (Ammopiza maritima mirabilis) relative bird count
Periodicity of fire disturbance is a known driver of ecosystem function and is reported as important in both promoting and maintaining viable breeding habitat for the endangered Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow (Ammospiza maritima mirabilis; CSSS). In south Florida, the CSSS serves as a fine‐scale indicator of the marl and mixed‐marl prairie communities...
Benscoter, Allison; Beerens, James (Contractor); Pearlstine, Leonard G.; Romanach, Stephanie
Groundwater availability in the Ozark Plateaus aquifer system
Executive SummaryThe study described in this report, initiated by the U.S. Geological Survey in 2014, was designed to evaluate fresh groundwater resources within the Ozark Plateaus, central United States, as an area within a broader national assessment of groundwater availability. The goals of the Ozark study were to evaluate historical effects of...
Clark, Brian R.; Duncan, Leslie L.; Knierim, Katherine J. Tropical cyclones and the organization of mangrove forests: A review
Background Many mangrove ecosystems are periodically exposed to high velocity winds and surge from tropical cyclones and often recover with time and continue to provide numerous societal benefits in the wake of storm events. Scope This review focuses on the drivers and disturbance mechanisms (visible and functional) that tropical cyclones of...
Krauss, Ken; Osland, Michael
Catalog of microscopic organisms of the Everglades, part 2—The desmids of the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge
The Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge (refuge), Boynton Beach, Florida, contains approximately 147,000 acres southeast of Lake Okeechobee. Water quality in the interior portion of the refuge is strongly influenced by rainfall, resulting in slightly acidic waters with low dissolved ions. Desmids, a unique, ornate group of...
Rosen, Barry H.; Stahlhut, Katherine N.; Hall, John D.
Withdrawal and consumption of water by thermoelectric power plants in the United States, 2015
The U.S. Geological Survey has developed models to estimate thermoelectric water use based on linked heat and water budgets. The models produced plant-level withdrawal and consumption estimates using consistent methods for 1,122 water-using, utility-scale thermoelectric power plants in the United States for 2015. Total estimated withdrawal for...
Harris, Melissa A.; Diehl, Timothy H.
USGS Measures Record Flooding in Missouri
USGS hydrologic technician measures floodwaters along Flat Creek near Jenkins, Missouri using an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiling instrument.
Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana
Is Louisiana falling into the sea, or is the sea inundating Louisiana? It's actually a bit of both. To the inhabitants of a tiny island on the bayou, an island getting tinier by the day, it hardly matters.
ISRO Resourcesat-2 image of Lake Pontchartrain, March 2017
This is an image acquired with the Linear Imaging Self-Scanning Sensor III on the Indian Space Research Organization's Resourcesat-2 satellite that is now available in the EROS Archive. It is the New Orleans/Lake Pontchartrain area and was acquired March 31, 2017.
Satellite Image of New Orleans Region
This image of the New Orleans/Lake Pontchartrain area in Louisiana was acquired March 31, 2017, from the Indian Space Research Organization’s Resourcesat-2 LISS-3 sensor. Land loss and hurricane hazards are key landscape issues here.
Rapid salt-marsh erosion in Grand Bay, Mississippi
This time-lapse video shows lateral erosion of a salt marsh in the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, part of an embayment near the city of Pascagoula, Mississippi, on the US Gulf coast. Wave action over the course of 6.5 months led to about 1.5 meters of erosion. Researchers from the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center are studying the influence
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Louisiana Black Bear and Cubs
A Louisiana black bear and her cubs up in a tree. USGS science on population demographics, population viability, and relocation efforts were used to inform the 2016 USFWS decision to remove the species from the Endangered Species List due to recovery.
Perfect Row with USGS Gage-Shane Stocks
This image is of a perfect row in a field with a USGS Gage in the background. The image was taken by Shane Stocks out of the LMG Jackson, MS office.
Geophysical and sediment core data collected between 2009
Location of geophysical and sediment core data collected between 2009 and 2013, and used in the Mississippi Coastal Improvement Project (MsCIP) project.
Team of scientists studied changes in nitrapyrin
A team of scientists studied changes in nitrapyrin — a nitrification inhibitor applied with fertilizers as a bactericide to kill natural soil bacteria for the purpose of increasing crop yields — occurrence associated with land use changes from March to June 2016. The above photographs document the following conditions: recent anhydrous ammonia application (upper left),
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Before and after pictures - Hurricane Rita and Holly Beach, Louisiana
Hurricanes can cause severe beach erosion
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The Storm-Induced Coastal Change Hazards component of the of the National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards project
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Aerial view of the Mississippi River near Vicksburg, Mississippi
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Cedar River Surges to Second-Highest Level in Eastern Iowa
Images from Landsat 8's Operational Land Imager sensor show the dramatic transformation of the river as it flows toward Cedar Rapids. On July 8, 2016, the shallow river meanders into the city, surrounded by green crops in the heart of the growing season. The September 26 image shows the overflowing river at a time when magenta tones around it speak to a countryside
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A high-resolution airborne survey to study the rocks within the St. Francois Mountains will be conducted by U.S. Geological Survey scientists starting this week.
A newly published, three-volume “Remote Sensing Handbook” is a comprehensive coverage of all remote sensing topics written by over 300 leading global experts.
With the release of new US Topo maps for Illinois and South Dakota, the USGS has completed the second, three-year cycle of revising and updating electronic US Topo quadrangles. This means that since late 2009, the USGS has published nearly every map in the conterminous U.S., twice.
U.S. Geological Survey field crews are measuring flooding on rivers and streams across central and southern Missouri.
Fact sheets that detail information about parish water resources and water-use are available online for 34 of the state’s 64 parishes, with more coming soon.
U.S. Geological Survey scientists will conduct a high-resolution airborne survey to study the rock layers under a region of northeastern Iowa, starting Monday, October 19, and lasting into November.
Grass carp egg survival is compromised when they settle on streambeds and are potentially covered by sediments, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey. It has been long assumed that the eggs of Asian carps, including grass carp, must be carried in the water current in order to hatch successfully, but no previous scientific studies have proven that theory.
Coastal managers and planners now have access to a new U.S. Geological Survey handbook that, for the first time, comprehensively describes the various models used to study and predict sea-level rise and its potential impacts on coasts.
The City of West Branch, Iowa, and the U.S. Geological Survey recently partnered to provide real-time streamflow and flood warning information on the west branch of flood-prone Wapsinonoc Creek.
Computer simulations of earthquake shaking, replicating the quakes that occurred in 1811-1812 in the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ), indicate that future large earthquakes there would produce major, prolonged ground shaking.
Three tiny fish larvae that were captured by U.S. Geological Survey scientists in May 2014 have just been confirmed to be pallid sturgeon. These new genetic identifications add to mounting evidence that critically endangered pallid sturgeon spawned successfully in the Lower Missouri River downstream of Gavins Point Dam, South Dakota.
Several of the 772 new US Topo quadrangles for Mississippi now display parts of the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail and other selected public trails. Further significant additions to the new quadrangles include map symbol redesign, enhanced railroad information and new road source data.
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Locations
Fork Polk Project Office
Phone: (337) 531-4522 Fax:
Fax: (337) 531-6039
Louisiana Water Science Center
Phone: (225) 298-5481
Fax: (225) 298-5490
Arkansas Water Science Center
Phone: (501) 228-3600
Fax: (501) 228-3601
Ruston Program Office
Phone: (318) 251-9630
Fax: (318) 251-0372
National Geospatial Technical Operations Center - Rolla, MO
Missouri Water Science Center
Phone: 573-308-3667
Fax: (573) 308-3645
Columbia Environmental Research Center
Phone: 573-875-5399
Iowa Water Science Center
Phone: 319-337-4191
Fax: (319) 358-3606
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center - Little Rock, AR Office
Phone: (501) 228-3600
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center - Jackson, MS Office
Phone: (601) 933-2900
Fax: (601) 933-2901
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center - Baton Rouge, LA Office
Phone: (225) 298-5481
Fax: (225) 298-5490
Wetland and Aquatic Research Center - Lafayette, LA
Phone: 337-266-8500
Fax: 337-266-8513
Western Iowa Field Office - Council Bluffs
Phone: 712-323-0824
Fax: 712-322-7775
Central Iowa Field Office - Fort Dodge
Phone: 515-576-4571
Fax: 515-576-1692
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center - Ruston, LA Office
Phone: (318) 251-9630
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center - Fayetteville, AR Office
Phone: (479) 442-4888
Western Missouri Field Office - Lee's Summit
Phone: 816-554-3489
Fax: 816-554-9273
Eastern Missouri - Olivette
Phone: 314-567-7077 or 314-567-5440
Fax: 314-567-7641
