Images

Image of the Western Fisheries Research Center, Columbia River Research Laboratory, Cook, WA

USGS hydrologist Mark Reid examines an extensional basin in the middle of the Oso landslide deposit.  The headscarp (near-vertical cliff at the back of the landslide) is visible at the top of the image.  The prominent tree is one of many that fell and became perched as the landslide spread out over the river valley.

USGS scientist sampling water in Klamath Lake.

Juvenile steelhead smolts become silvery and scales become loose as they transition into their seawater life history stages.

USGS - NOROCK field team in the Northern Cascades studying Hoary marmots and American pika and snowpack dynamics.  

Beaver swimming in Summer Lake, Oregon.

Beaver eating at Summer Lake, OR

Map view plot of earthquakes located by the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network from March 14, 2016 through May 4, 2016. Only high-quality locations are shown (8 or more observations with a 130 degree gap or less between observing stations).

The top plot is the number of located earthquakes per week from the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network's catalog. The bottom plot shows the earthquake depths with time. Earthquakes are plotted as circles with the size of the circle corresponding to the magnitude of the earthquake (see legend).

Beaver swimming in Summer Lake, OR

During the first few days of Mount St. Helen's earthquake swarm in March 2016, the September Lobe monitoring station (located on the 1980-86 dome) was buried in deep snow and not transmitting data.

A tidal marsh at Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, WA.

Image of whitebark pine cone and seeds.

Biologists use road-killed ungulates such as deer, elk, or bison as bait in the traps. 

Biologists have immobilized the bear and prepare to lift it out of the trap and onto the tarp for data collection.  Once on the tarp the bear is easier to move. 

The kerchief over the grizzly bear’s eyes protects it from dust and debris and reduces visual stimulation. The small tubing in its nose, known as a nasal cannula, delivers oxygen to the animal while it is tranquilized.  

One of the first measurements taken is the bear’s weight using a quadpod and electronic scale. 

Field personnel use bioelectrical impedance to assess body fat percentage of captured bears.  The procedure is similar to how body fat is measured in humans and is based on the resistance of body tissues to the flow of a small, harmless electrical signal.

Biologists place a culvert trap in locations that they need data from.  Field crews will set up the culvert trap and check it daily, usually in the morning, to determine if a bear has been captured.  Additionally, trap doors are checked via radio telemetry. 

A biologist measures a grizzly bear’s head length.

Biologists with IGBST and the National Park Service fit a grizzly bear with a radio collar.  Once a bear is radio collared, biologists can track its movements with telemetry.