Images

Streamwater flowing over a rural road in Highland County, Virginia, June, 2006.

USGS hydrologist conducts a ground-penetrating radar survey to investigate and characterize the shallow subsurface. The survey was conducted as part of an applied research effort by the USGS Office of Groundwater Branch of Geophysics in 2006.

USGS hydrologist conducts a two-dimensional (2D) resistivity survey to investigate and characterize the shallow subsurface. The survey was conducted as part of an applied research effort by the USGS Office of Groundwater Branch of Geophysics in 2006.

Bird Banding - Elizabeth Sellers points out identification characteristics in the plumage of a male common yellowthroat to John P. Mosesso during a capture-recapture study at a Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program bird banding station.

Bird Banding Station - Master bird bander, David Mitchell, collects a cloacal swab sample from a gray catbird during a capture-recapture study at a Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program bird banding station. The sample will be tested for avian influenza and other diseases.

A forested glade along the Fern Lake Trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Giant panda on grass. Mei Xiang is a female panda at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. She is being studied by scientists in efforts to save the endangered species.

Side view of giant panda. Mei Xiang is a female panda at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. She is being studied by scientists in efforts to save the endangered species.

Side view of giant panda. Mei Xiang is a female panda at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. She is being studied by scientists in efforts to save the endangered species.

Giant panda on rock. Mei Xiang is a female panda at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. She is being studied by scientists in efforts to save the endangered species.

Tree ferns and a waterfall visible in the background in a mountainous rainforest garden.

Tropical rainforest vegetation including tree ferns, epitphytes, vines, bromeliads, and a waterfall in a mountainous rainforest garden.

Tree ferns and profuse tropical vegetation framing a mountainside waterfall, visible in the background, in a rainforest garden.

Tree ferns, ephiphytes, bromeliads, banana plants, and other rainforest vegetation framing a waterfall, visible in the background, in the tropical rainforest mountains.

Sediment cores from lakes and reservoirs can be used to reconstruct contaminant histories in watersheds. Sediment-core analyses indicate that concentrations of PAHs in many U.S. urban lakes are increasing, and multiple lines of evidence indicate that the source of the PAHs in coal-tar-based pavement sealants.

Dust was collected from sealcoated pavements across the U.S. Concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in dust from sealed pavement in the East, where coal-tar-based products are used, was about 1,000 times higher than in dust from sealed pavement in the  West, where asphalt-based products are used.

Birds found in and around the Salton Sea, California.

Birds found in and around the Salton Sea, California.

Birds found in and around the Salton Sea, California.

Birds found in and around the Salton Sea, California.

Birds found in and around the Salton Sea, California.