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
Snow and Avalanche Research
Since 1991, CCME staff have conducted snow surveys throughout Glacier National Park. These data have contributed to regional climate change and hydrologic models. Snowpack characteristics have also been evaluated in relation to avalanche forecasting and plowing of GNP’s Going to the Sun Road efforts. Studies of natural snow avalanches reveal connections with large-scale climate and wildfire...
Secondary Glacier Network
The Secondary Glacier Network includes six glaciers (Chaney, Grinnell, Stanton, Agassiz, Swiftcurrent, Jackson-Blackfoot Glaciers) that form a north-south transect of approx. 60 km through the region, with Sperry Glacier just south of center. While these glaciers will be monitored less frequently than the benchmark glacier, Sperry, this network will provide data about the variability of...
Benchmark Glacier: Sperry
Sperry Glacier was chosen as the benchmark glacier for the glacier monitoring studies, due to the combination of its topographic characteristics, historic data, and access. Annual mass balance measurements began in 2005. Sperry Glacier joined the long-established USGS Benchmark Glacier Research program in 2013 where common field and analysis methods enable regional comparison and improved...
Glacier Research
As Glacier National Park’s namesake glaciers recede, CCME staff are monitoring many of the park’s glaciers to determine the causes of change, assess their ecological and hydrological effects, and predict future changes and effects. Intensive research to determine the mass balance of Sperry Glacier will determine whether small cirque glaciers like Sperry can serve as reliable indicators of...
Glacier Monitoring Studies
The purpose of the CCME's glacier monitoring studies is to systematically monitor changes in Glacier National Park’s namesake glaciers and to determine the causes of changes, assess their ecological and hydrological effects, and predict future changes and effects.
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Restoring Montana Pothole Wetlands - Demonstration Sites and Adaptive Management
Geologic processes from the last ice age have generated extensive areas of pothole wetlands in several Montana landscapes. The Laurentide ice sheet, originating in the Northwest Territories, provided the dominant force in eastern Montana. Similar landscapes developed in the broad valleys of western Montana through the actions of the Cordilleran ice sheet, originating in the mountains of...
Realizing the biological potential of weather radar
The modern use of field deployed remote sensors generates large amounts of environmental data on natural systems, and this benefits natural sciences. Today’s automated sensors are fast, run nearly continuously, eliminate the need for “people power”, are cost effective to operate and maintain, and monitor the environment in ways humans cannot. The US network of more than 200 weather radars, the...
Developing a mechanistic understanding between recent climate patterns and Aquatic Vital Signs in the Greater Yellowstone Network
The National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring program was established to provide park managers with a broad understanding of the status of park resources using the best available science. This program acknowledges that NPS managers are confronted with complex challenges associated with the management of dynamic landscapes responding to multiple, interacting drivers of change. To provide...
American bullfrog suppression in the Yellowstone River floodplain
The American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) has recently invaded backwater and side-channel habitats of the Yellowstone River, near Billings, Montana. In other regions, bullfrog invasions have been linked to numerous amphibian declines (e.g., Adams and Pearl 2007). Immediate management actions may be able to suppress or eradicate localized populations of bullfrogs because they are present at low...
An investigation of aquatic invasive species in pristine sites in the Greater Yellowstone Area
Aquatic invasive species (AIS) are aquatic organisms that move into ecosystems beyond their natural, historic range and cause severe and irreversible damage to the habitats they invade. Most AIS arrive as a direct result of human activity, such as boating and angling. The threat of AIS introduction is especially high in the Greater Yellowstone Area, as humans from all over the world come to...
The ecology, behavior, and conservation of migratory birds
U.S. Geological Survey research contributes to conservation measures and improved management of migratory bird populations and their habitats across the United States. Migratory birds provide ecosystem benefits that include pest control, pollination of plants and serve as food sources for other wildlife. They are also a source of recreation for millions of bird watchers and enthusiasts who...
RARMI: Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK) Apex Sites
In contrast to RARMI study areas in Colorado that have 10 or more years of records of continuous population monitoring, there are fewer long-term datasets for amphibian populations in the northern Rocky Mountains. The exception is an ongoing study of Columbia spotted frogs at Lodge Creek, Yellowstone National Park. Three other long-term research and monitoring areas have been established in...
Crossing Hungry Horse Resv en route to S Fk Flathead R ab Twin Ck gage
A visit to the S Fk Flathead River above Twin Creek streamgage requires a trip across Hungry Horse Reservoir. Some mornings, the water is like glass.
Boulder Glacier - Chapman Peak - 2007 black and white
Boulder Glacier - Chapman Peak - 2007 black and white
Wildfires Scorch Large Swaths Along Oklahoma-Kansas Border
Using shortwave infrared, near infrared, and visible bands, these Landsat images provide a before and after look at the 350 Complex and Anderson Creek fires.
Dead Horse Point
A USGS scientist skis in to Dead Horse Point on Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier NP.
Heavy equipment remove snow and debris from Going-to-the-Sun Road.
It requires heavy machinery to remove snow and debris along the road. In this image, crews are removing 20+ feet of snow from the Rim Rock area near Logan Pass along the Goin-to-the-Sun Road.
South Dakota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Mike Greiner, M.S. student, South Dakota Coop Unit. Mike is studying limnology of Bureau of Reclamation Reservoirs in North Dakota.
South Dakota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Trevor Selch, Ph.D. student at the South Dakota Unit is studying effects of mercury on walleye reproduction. Dr. Steven Chipps, AUL-Fisheries, pictured at right.
Mange in Wolves of Yellowstone National Park
This video describes USGS research utilizing remote thermal imaging cameras to study the extent and impact of mange on wolves in Yellowstone National Park.
Oil Pads in the North Dakota Badlands
A view of the badlands terrain with Bakken oil and gas production "pads" in the distance, Billings County, North Dakota.
Oil Pads in the North Dakota Badlands
A view of the badlands terrain with Bakken oil and gas production "pads" in the distance, Billings County, North Dakota.
Memorial Stadium, University of Nebraska Cornhuskers
This image is a High Resolution Orthoimagery, 6-inch spatial resolution, Lancaster County Dataset, taken in April 2007. High Resolution Orthoimagery looks like a photograph but any distortions caused by the tilt of the camera or topography of the land have been removed, so orthoimages are geospatially accurate and can be used as maps.
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Shepard Glacier, Glacier National Park, Montana - 1913
Well-defined boundaries and crevasses are apparent in this photo of Shepard Glacier when its mass filled the cirque in 1913. (W.C. Alden)
Contacts
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