Images

USGS technicians Eric Moore, Wayne Baldwin, and Tom O'Brien ready the 72-channel digital streamer for deployment on the research vessel Pelican during a cruise to explore gas hydrates in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico from April to May, 2013.

USGS technicians Eric Moore and Jenny White deploy instruments at the start of a seismic survey to explore gas hydrates in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico from April to May 2013.

USGS technician Jenny White prepares equipment for deployment on the research vessel Pelican during a cruise to explore gas hydrates in the Gulf of Mexico from April to May, 2013.

USGS technician Pete Dal Ferro prepares a generator-injector seismic source aboard the research ship Pelican during a cruise to study gas hydrates in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico in April and May 2013.

USGS co-chief scientist Seth Haines and technician Tom O’Brien work on data acquisition and analysis in the laboratory of the research vessel Pelican during a cruise to explore gas hydrates in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico from April to May, 2013.

USGS technicians Ray Sliter, Pete Dal Ferro, and Tom O'Brien retrieve the 72-channel digital seismic streamer on the research vessel Pelican during a cruise to explore gas hydrates in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico from April to May, 2013.

USGS technician Jenny White and Ray Sliter check instruments on the fantail of the research vessel Pelican during a cruise to explore gas hydrates in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico from April to May, 2013.

USGS technician Pete Dal Ferro watches as the generator injector guns (silver), the compressor hose (black), and orange buoys are retrieved from the waters of the Gulf of Mexico during a cruise to image gas hydrates in the Gulf of Mexico from April to May, 2013.

Seismic equipment is craned off the research vessel Pelican at the dock in Cocodrie, Louisiana after a 15-day expedition to explore gas hydrates in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

USGS technician Jenny White checks instruments on the research vessel Pelican during a cruise that imaged the Gulf of Mexico seafloor in areas with abundant gas hydrates in April and May 2013.

The USGS's Tom O'Brien, Patrick Hart (who is a co-chief scientist for the cruise) and Jenny White adjust seismic streamers and prepare to collect data on gas hydrates in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico aboard the research vessel Pelican in April to May, 2013.

USGS technician Jenny White and co-chief scientist Patrick Hart on the fantail of the research vessel Pelican during a cruise to explore gas hydrates in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico from April to May, 2013.

USGS technicians Tom O'Brien, Eric Moore, and Wayne Baldwin deploy the seismic streamer aboard the research vessel Pelican to collect data on gas hydrates in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico from April to May, 2013.

USGS technicians Jenny White and Tom O'Brien prepare lead weight to be added for proper ballasting of the seismic streamer on the fantail of the research vessel Pelican during a cruise to explore gas hydrates in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico from April to May, 2013.

The species of bats that are most susceptible to wind turbines all roost in trees throughout the year, leading some scientists to speculate that they may be visually mistaking wind turbines for trees in which to roost.

Some of the larger wind energy facilities in North America are composed of hundreds of wind turbines dispersed across tens of thousands of acres, like this one in Colorado.

Wind turbines at certain sites in North America each cause dozens of bat fatalities per year.

Most modern wind turbines are taller than a 30-story building. Field biologist Apple Snider stands at the base of a turbine in New York for scale.

This photo shows one of the three 135-ft blades of a turbine before installation. Although the blades of wind turbines appear to move quite slowly to the human eye, blade tips often move at speeds faster than 100 mph.

Wind energy facility in the Northeastern United States. An unexpected number of dead bats began appearing beneath industrial-scale wind turbines in North America and Europe during the past 10 years.

Routine maintenance on a ground-water monitoring well,
Perry Park, Brunswick, Glynn County, Georgia. At one time this well was used by the City of Brunswick for drinking water. Saltwater intrusion forced the city to abandon the well, so the USGS started monitoring it for water levels and specific conductance.