Web Tools

Almost one-half of the U.S. population rely on groundwater for their water supply, and demand for groundwater for public supply, irrigation, and agriculture continues to increase. This mapper shows how concentrations of pesticides, nutrients, metals, and organic contaminants in groundwater are changing during decadal periods across the Nation.

The USGS GeoLog Locator is a web-based tool that allows allows users to access more than 7,000 digital borehole geophysical logs and related data files at over 1,700 locations.

Microplastics, plastic particles less than 5 millimeters in diameter, are a contaminant of emerging concern in aquatic environments. This interactive visualization explores classifications and potential sources of microplastics in the Great Lakes.

A new "fingerprinting" tool, developed by USGS and collaborators at University of Wisconsin-Madison, can now indicate sources of mercury in the environment.

The GLRI Urban Stormwater Monitoring effort brings together the expertise of the USGS with local and national partners to assess the ability of green infrastructure to reduce stormwater runoff in Great Lakes urban areas. This story map discusses the problem with stormwater, the potential benefits and challenges of green infrastructure, and how this effort is evaluating its effectiveness.

On July 11-12, 2016, severe thunderstorms hit northern Wisconsin, resulting in widespread flooding. Immediately following the flood, the USGS and the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians began collecting evidence of peak flood levels. USGS scientists used these high-water marks, along with streamflow and lake level, to reconstruct the extent and depth of flood inundation.

The FishVis Mapper is the product of an Upper Midwest and Great Lakes LCC project, “A Regional Decision Support Tool for Identifying Vulnerabilities of Riverine Habitat and Fishes to Climate Change” that developed an approach for predicting fish species occurrence under current climate conditions and project how fish species occurrence may change under future climate conditions.

The GLRI Edge-of-Field Monitoring project focuses on identifying and reducing agricultural sources of excess nutrients which can threaten the health of the Great Lakes. This geonarrative details the basics of edge-of-field monitoring (EOF), explores EOF applications, shows USGS is working collaboratively with our partners, and discusses how EOF can improve conservation efforts.