Unified Interior Regions
Region 5: Missouri Basin
USGS Science Centers in the Missouri Basin Region
For more information on what each center is doing in the Missouri Basin, please follow the links below!
Wyoming - Montana Water Science Center
Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center
Regions L2 Landing Page Tabs
Welcome to Region 5! Our Region includes Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas. We conduct science to inform resource managers on issues such as invasive species, water quality/quantity, flood response, oil and gas, and restoration of fish/wildlife and their habitats.
News
Nitrate loads entering the Gulf of Mexico have not changed despite reductions at local scales
Reducing delivery of nitrate to the Gulf of Mexico is critical to decreasing the size of the “dead zone”—an area of hypoxia, or low dissolved oxygen—in Louisiana coastal waters. A new USGS study reports that larger, more widespread decreases in nitrate loading to the Gulf are needed to achieve the target levels of a 25% reduction by...
Equus Beds Aquifer Water Quality Nearly Unchanged between 2001 and 2016
Study Shows Water Quality Minimally Affected by Artificial Recharge
Honey Bee Helpers: It Takes a Village to Conserve a Colony
Do you eat fruits and vegetables? What about nuts? If so, you can thank an insect pollinator, usually a honey bee. These small insects play a major role in pollinating the world’s plants, including those we eat regularly. They also increase our nation’s crop values each year by more than 15 billion dollars.
Wyoming-Montana Stream Water-Quality Network - Water Year 2020
The USGS monitors stream water quality in Wyoming and Montana in cooperation with State, County, local, and other Federal agencies. Water-quality data for these sites are available from the USGS National Water Information System Web Mapper application in the form of an interactive map that can be accessed from the Data and Tools tab.
Eyes on Earth Episode 11 – EROS Fall Poster Session
Eyes on Earth is a podcast on remote sensing, Earth observation, land change and science, brought to you by the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. In this episode, we hear from a few of the scientists on hand for the EROS Fall Poster Session.
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Eyes on Earth Episode 4 - Cataloging Earth Observation Satellites
Eyes on Earth is a podcast on remote sensing, Earth observation, land change and science, brought to you by the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. In this episode, we learn about the ever-expanding number of Earth observation satellites.
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Peak-Flow Frequency Analysis for Selected Montana Streamgages
The Montana Department of Resources and Conservation requires peak-flow information for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) floodplain mapping for various locations across Montana. Accordingly, the USGS WY-MT Water Science Center has published peak-flow frequencies for selected streamgages in the Beaverhead River, Clark Fork, Ruby, Jefferson and Madison River Basins, and for selected...
Eyes on Earth Episode 3 - National Land Cover Database
Eyes on Earth is a podcast on remote sensing, Earth observation, land change and science, brought to you by the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. In this episode, we talk about the National Land Cover Database.
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Eyes on Earth Episode 2 - Chernobyl
Eyes on Earth is a podcast on remote sensing, Earth observation, land change and science, brought to you by the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. In this episode, we talk about the Chernobyl disaster.
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Eyes on Earth Episode 1 - Intro to EROS
Eyes on Earth is a podcast on remote sensing, Earth observation, land change and science, brought to you by the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. In this episode, we learn about EROS history and purpose.
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Eyes on Earth
Eyes on Earth is a podcast on remote sensing, Earth observation, land change and science, brought to you by the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center.
Click the "Multimedia" tab above to access each episode. ...
Flaxville Aquifer
The Flaxville aquifer is present in the northern and central parts of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation and consists of sand and gravel that forms extensive plateaus and topographic benches used for dryland farming. Because many residents rely on groundwater as their primary water supply on the Reservation, the Flaxville and underlying aquifers are important sources of groundwater. The goal...
Using Robots in the River: Biosurveillance at USGS streamgages
For more than a decade, researchers around the world have shown that sampling a water body and analyzing for eDNA is an effective method to detect an organism in the water. The challenge is that finding organisms that are not very abundant requires a lot of samples to locate this needle in a haystack. Enter the "lab in a can", the water quality sampling and processing robot.
Seismic Seiches
Definition of seismic seiches and examples dating back to their first public mention in 1755.
Beginning in November of 2015, a project was undertaken to reanalyze approximately 60,000 archived sample splits collected as part of the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) project from selected areas in Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. A small amount (approximately 0.25
Groundwater age distribution and susceptibility to natural and anthropogenic contaminants were assessed for selected principal aquifers of the Western United States: the Central Valley aquifer system (CVAL), the Basin and Range basin-fill aquifers (BNRF), the Rio Grande aquifer system (RIOG), the High Plains aquifer (HPAQ), the Columbia Plateau basaltic-rock aquifers (
This dataset includes polygons that describe areas of rock outcrop in the area of the Stillwater Complex, Montana. The Stillwater Complex is an Archean, ultramafic to mafic layered intrusion exposed in the Beartooth Mountains in south-central Montana. This igneous intrusion contains magmatic mineralization that is variably enriched in strategic and critical commodities such as chromium, nic
Since the late 1950s, the USGS has maintained a long-term glacier mass-balance program at three North American glaciers. Measurements began on South Cascade Glacier, WA in 1958, expanding to Gulkana and Wolverine glaciers, AK in 1966, and later Sperry Glacier, MT in 2005. Additional measurements have been made on Lemon Creek Glacier, AK to compliment data collected by the Juneau Ice
Since the late 1950s, the USGS has maintained a long-term glacier mass-balance program at three North American glaciers. Measurements began on South Cascade Glacier, WA in 1958, expanding to Gulkana and Wolverine glaciers, AK in 1966, and later Sperry Glacier, MT in 2005. Additional measurements have been made on Lemon Creek Glacier, AK to compliment data collected by the Juneau Ice
This data release provides the description of U.S. sites that include mineral regions, mines and mineral occurrences (deposits) that have a contained resource and (or) production of tellurium metal greater than 1 metric ton. For this data release, only one deposit in the U.S. with historic production records was found: Butte, Montana. We did not locate any deposits in the U.S. tha
The USGS WY-MT Water Science Center provided discharge measurements and high water mark (HWM) flagging for the June 2018 flooding along Elk Creek in Augusta, Montana.
GIS Data for the National Oil and Gas Assessments
The NWIS mapper provides access to over 1.5 million sites contained in the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS), including sites where current and historical surface-water, groundwater, springs, and atmospheric data has been collected. Users can search by site type, data type, site number, or place.
A helicopter-borne electromagnetic/magnetic survey was flown over the Stillwater area, southwest Montana from May 5 to May 16, 2000. The survey was conducted over the Stillwater Igneous Complex, a Precambrian layered mafic-ultramafic intrusion which is characterized by igneous layering. Electromagnetic data were acquired using DIGHEM helicopter-borne electromagnetic system. Magnetic data
Crustal Architecture Beneath the Southern Midcontinent (USA) -- Data Grids and 3D Geophysical Models
Regional grid files and 3D voxel models were used to study crustal architecture beneath the Southern Midcontinent (USA) by McCafferty and others (2019). The study covered a rectangular, multi-state area of 924 by 924 kilometers centered on Missouri, and a corresponding volume extending from the topographic surface to a depth of 50 kilometers below sea level. The grid files consist of
GIS Data for Forest City Basin Oil and Gas Assessments
This map shows the provinces assessed by the USGS for undiscovered oil and gas resources.
StreamStats is a Web-based geographic information system application that was created by the USGS to provide users with access to an assortment of analytical tools that are useful for water-resource planning and management.
Quaternary geologic map of the Dakotas 4° x 6° degree quadrangle, United States - This digital dataset is available for the Quaternary geology in North and South Dakota
Digital map of aquifer boundary for the High Plains aquifer in parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming - This digital data set represents the extent of the High Plains aquifer in the central United States
Map of sites around Kansas.
An interactive map of Johnson County with sites.
This map shows the location of stream gages where the water level is currently at or above flood stage (depicted as a black triangle) or at high flow (depicted as blue circles) The high flow conditions are expressed as percentiles that compare the current (i.e., within the past several hours) instantaneous flow value to historical daily mean flow values
Study area for the Kansas River Algal project.
The purpose of the study is to assess the effects of wastewater discharge and treatment facility upgrades on the environmental and biological conditions of Indian Creek, downstream from the Middle Basin wastewater treatment facility (WWTF).
Equus Site Map has various wells and recharge points in the Equus study area to promote water recharge.
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.
This mapper displays SPARROW nutrient load and yield data and the importance of various nutrient sources for the RARB, given nutrient inputs similar to 2002. Rankings can be shown by country, state/province, HUC4, HUC8, and catchment. Nutrient data can be explored using maps and interactive graphs and tables. Modeling results can be exported as an Excel spreadsheet or a geospatial dataset.
Map showing ice cover in the Yellowstone region
Map showing ice cover in the Yellowstone region. Light shaded areas bounded by black and red lines indicate areas covered during the Pinedale (about 20,000-15,000 years ago) and Bull Lake (about 150,000 years ago) glaciations, respectively. Blue lines are contours in thousands of feet on the maximum reconstructed Pinedale glacier surface. The circled numbers schematically
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Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Monthly Update: December 2, 2019
Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, describes activity at Yellowstone during the month of November 2019.
Eyes on Earth Episode 11 - EROS Fall Poster Session
Each fall, EROS invites its staff scientists and area graduate students to visit for a noontime poster session. The poster sessions offer a change for those researchers to present their results to their peers and get feedback from their fellow scientists. For this episode, we’ll hear about research into biofuels, cloud-friendly Landsat data, shrubland mapping and satellite
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Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Monthly Update: November 1, 2019
Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, describes activity at Yellowstone during the month of October 2019
Earth as Art 6
The Earth As Art project began in the early 2000s, and its original intent remains the same: to produce images that do not look like satellite images at first glance. Earth As Art shows not only what satellites capture in the visible wavelengths of light you and I can see, but also what’s hiding in the invisible wavelengths that Landsat sensors can detect in the infrared
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Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Monthly Update: October 1, 2019
Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, describes activity at Yellowstone during the month of September 2019.
Image of the Week - Unplanted Acres in South Dakota
Abnormally high spring rainfall and subsequent flooding in the Midwest had a season-long impact on cropland production. In these Landsat images of South Dakota growing vegetation is shown as green and unplanted areas appear pink. The difference between 2018 and 2019 is striking.
A designation of "prevented planting" is given to unplanted acres as a signal to crop
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Eyes on Earth Episode 7 – Training Iraqi Scientists
EROS scientists track water availability and crop health around the world to help governments and non-profits manage resources and stave off food shortages. But EROS also teaches international scientists to track those resources themselves. In this episode, we hear about a recent training session at EROS for Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources.
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Monthly Update: September 3, 2019
Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, describes activity at Yellowstone during the month of August 2019.
Eyes on Earth Episode 4 - Cataloging Earth Observation Satellites
Earth observation used to be the province of a handful of countries with satellite technology. Today, hundreds of satellites built all over the world are launched every year. This episode of Eyes on Earth talks about the explosive growth in the civilian and commercial remote sensing and EROS’ role in it.
Eyes on Earth Episode 6 - Satellites 101
How much does an Earth observation satellite weigh? How are they launched? How fast does it travel? Does Landsat have a gas tank? In this episode of Eyes on Earth, we answer some of the basic questions surrounding the satellites that define the EROS mission.
Image of the Week - Night Lights in North Dakota
Daytime and nightime imagery from Earth-observing satellites reveal dramatic changes in North Dakota during the Bakken oil boom.
Reducing delivery of nitrate to the Gulf of Mexico is critical to decreasing the size of the “dead zone”—an area of hypoxia, or low dissolved oxygen—in Louisiana coastal waters. A new USGS study reports that larger, more widespread decreases in nitrate loading to the Gulf are needed to achieve the target levels of a 25% reduction by 2025.
Study Shows Water Quality Minimally Affected by Artificial Recharge
Do you eat fruits and vegetables? What about nuts? If so, you can thank an insect pollinator, usually a honey bee. These small insects play a major role in pollinating the world’s plants, including those we eat regularly. They also increase our nation’s crop values each year by more than 15 billion dollars.
News media and the public are invited to a free meeting about critical South Dakota-area water issues on Thursday, April 11, in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Reporters: Do you want to interview USGS scientists as they measure flooding in and near Fargo, North Dakota? Please contact Dave Ozman, Marisa Lubeck or Chris Laveau.
Reporters: Do you want to interview USGS scientists in the Sioux Falls area on Monday, March 25, or Tuesday, March 26, as they measure flooding? Please contact Jennifer LaVista, Marisa Lubeck or Chris Laveau.
Reporters: Do you want to accompany a USGS field crew as they measure flood impacts? Please contact Marisa Lubeck or Jason Lambrecht to coordinate.
Will oversee Landsat satellite and Earth imaging operations
Media and the public are invited to attend a free meeting about South Dakota water issues on Thursday, April 19, in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Instead of requiring costly dredging to remove sediment buildup behind water reservoirs and diversions, sediment from reservoirs in the Missouri River Basin could actually be used as fracking proppant feedstock, also known as frac sand, according to a recently published U.S. Geological Survey study.
About 70 percent of wild prairie dogs successfully ingested baits containing an oral sylvatic plague vaccine, or SPV, that were distributed throughout their habitats, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey study.
Monitoring our changing planet is critical to supporting a world population expected to reach eight billion by 2025. Observing the Earth from space offers unprecedented levels of data and a holistic view, which enables scientists to detect the most critical trends in natural resource conditions at local and global scales.
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Locations
Dakota Water Science Center- Huron Programs Office
Phone: (605) 352-4241
Fax: (605) 352-4304
Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center
custserv@usgs.gov
Phone: 800-252-4547
Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK) Headquarters
Phone: 406-994-7544
Fax: 406-994-6556
Nebraska Water Science Center
Phone: (402) 328-4100
Fax: (402) 437-5139
Kansas Water Science Center
Phone: (785) 842-9909
Fax: (785) 832-3500
Dakota Water Science Center- Bismarck
Phone: (701) 250-7400
Fax: (701) 250-7429
Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Phone: 701-253-5500
Fax: 701-253 5553
Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center - Helena Office
Phone: (406) 457-5900
Fax: (406) 457-5990
Dakota Water Science Center- Grand Forks Field Office
Phone: (701) 775-7221
Fax: (701) 775-1114
Dakota Water Science Center- Rapid City
Phone: (605) 394-3200
Fax: (605) 355-4523
Dakota Water Science Center- Pierre Field Office
Phone: (605) 224-8440
Fax: (605) 224-8478
Organic Geochemistry Research Laboratory (OGRL)
Phone: (785) 832-3564
Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center - Billings Office
Phone: 406-656-1444
Wichita Field Office
Phone: (316) 773-3225
Hays Field Office
Phone: (785) 623-2848
North Platte Field Office
Phone: (308) 532-5323
Fax: (308) 532-5603
Yankton, South Dakota Field Research Station
Phone: 605-665-9217