Images

Daniel McCay and Chris Henry, USGS hydrologic technicians, use a level to draw a line on a high-water mark August 26. In most circumstances, when a high-water mark is flagged it would then be surveyed with GPS equipment to obtain its exact coordinates and elevation.

Daniel McCay and Chris Henry, U.S. Geological Survey hydrologic technicians, search a neighborhood south of Denham Springs, Louisiana, for high-water marks August 26. The term high-water mark refers to the debris flood waters will leave on walls, buildings and trees.

Jonathan Gillip, USGS hydrologist, documents a high-water mark he flagged near a damage retirement community in Denham Springs, Louisiana, August 26. So far, USGS teams have flagged and surveyed more than 400 high-watermarks across southern Louisiana.

Chris Henry and Daniel McCay, USGS hydrologic technicians, use GPS equipment to survey a high-water mark outside of a flooded elementary school in Denham Springs, Louisiana, August 28. This school was located in one of the hardest hit flood areas and the blue line simulates how high the water was at its peak during this historic flood.

Comparison of water from an underground spring in Georgia  during non-drought and drought periods.
Radium Springs, Albany, Georgia, USA

Ellerbe Creek, Durham, NC
 

USGS scientist recording at Ellerbe Creek, Durham, NC

Thermoelectric power plant Bowen owned by Georgia Power Company, from Highway 113, Euharlee, Bartow County, Georgia. Plant Bowen is one of the largest coal-fired power plants in the United States. Plant Bowen uses recirculating cooling, decreasing the amount of water that must be withdrawn.

A hydrologic technician from the USGS Idaho Water Science Center measures streamflow in Lightning Creek at Clark Fork, ID. The USGS is collecting data at hundreds of sites on rivers and streams in six western states to document the 2015 drought. USGS scientists will analyze the data to identify which rivers and streams may be most vulnerable to future droughts.

Map of monitoring locations on Lake Mattamuskeet

This green tree frog (Hyla cinerea) sits on the lip of a pitcher plant in a bog in Alabama. The frog was down in the pitcher plant, but moved up to rest on its edge as the photographer approached.

USGS and FWS working together at Lake Mattamuskeet

An ARMI amphibian monitoring site at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Wakulla County, Florida.

Hydrologist calibrating a station at Lake Mattamuskeet

Hydrologist servicing a station on Lake Mattamuskeet

This diagram uses a "cylinder and pipe" layout to show the source (surface water or groundwater) of the North Carolina's freshwater and for what purposes the water was used in 2010. The data are broken out for each category of use by surface water and groundwater as the source.

This diagram uses a "cylinder and pipe" layout to show the source (surface water or groundwater) of the North Carolina's freshwater and for what purposes the water was used in 2010. The data are broken out for each category of use by surface water and groundwater as the source.

This diagram uses a "cylinder and pipe" layout to show the source (surface water or groundwater) of the North Carolina's freshwater and for what purposes the water was used in 2010. The data are broken out for each category of use by surface water and groundwater as the source.

Landscape view Lake Mattamuskeet, North Carolina

► Project: Continuous Water-Quality Monitoring at Lake Mattamuskeet, North Carolina

Hillabahatchee Creek, GA; Nick Henry and Jeff Riley doing Rich Target Habitat (RTH) sampling.

Chris Walls (left) and Alan Cressler (right) at Kingfisher Pond, St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Panacea Unit, Wakulla County, Florida