Images

Scientists at the USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center view young freshwater mussels through miscroscopes. During laboratory tests, USGS scientists and partners found that the heart and growth rates of some species of young freshwater mussels declined as a result of elevated water temperatures, and many died.

Young boys working in a newly cropped field in Africa.

Researchers with IGBST have tranquilized 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.

Two researchers deploying a fishing trawl into Lake Superior while aboard the USGS GLSC's R/V Kiyi

Photomicrograph depicting the siliceous frustules of fifty species of diatoms arranged within a circular shape. Diatoms form the base of many marine and aquatic food chains and upon death, their glassy frustules form sediments known as diatomaceous earth.

Photomicrograph depicting the siliceous frustulesof fifty species of diatoms arranged within a circular shape. Diatoms form the base of many marine and aquatic food chains and upon death, their glassy frustules form sediments known as diatomaceous earth.

A photomicrograph depicting the siliceous frustules of fifty species of diatoms arranged within a circular shape. The image has been inverted to white on black to bring out details. Diatoms form the base of many marine and aquatic foodchains and upon death, their glassy frustules form sediments known as diatomaceous earth.

Whitish areas on this diseased sunflower sea star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) are lesions that result in detachment of arms from the central disc.

Whitish areas on this diseased sunflower sea star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) are lesions that result in detachment of arms from the central disc.

A Food Security Assessment in Somalia found severe impacts on livestock due to drought conditions.

A massive forest die-off is projected to occur more frequently in the Southwest. Piñon pines, normally evergreen, have reddish-brown foliage in October 2002 (left). By May 2004 (right), the dead piñon pines have lost all their needles, exposing gray trunks and branches. The photos were taken from the same vantage point near Los Alamos, N.M.

USGS researcher Craig Allen stands on the edge of Mesa Alta, amid diverse forest and woodland in the uplands of northern New Mexico; note some recently dead ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir in the field of view. Forest drought stress is strongly correlated with tree mortality from poor growth, bark beetle outbreaks, and high-severity fire.

Aerial photo by Tom Roorda of the mouth of the Elwha River near Port Angeles, Wash. 

A female Chinook salmon, among the first wave of fish to recolonize waters that haven't had salmon in 100 years, excavates a nest inside Olympic National Park. 

In 1986, Lake Nyos, in the volcanic region of Cameroon, released a cloud of CO₂ into the atmosphere, killing 1,700 people and 3,500 livestock in nearby towns and villages. Since then, engineers have been artificially removing the gas from the lake through piping. This photo shows the Lake Nyos pipe in operation.

A drill rig in the Fayetteville Shale gas play of Arkansas.

Footprints made in muddy ash during Kilauea's 1790 eruption are reminders that people experienced the largest explosive eruption in Hawai‘i in 1,000 years. More than 80, and possibly several hundred, people were killed by the eruption soon after the footprints were made.

A photomicrograph depicting the calcium carbonate tests of ten species of marine foraminiferans. Upon death, their tests can form calcareous marine sediments known as foraminiferan ooze.

A photomicrograph depicting the calcium carbonate tests of ten species of marine foraminiferans. The image has been inverted to bring out details. Upon death, their tests can form calcareous marine sediments known as foraminiferan ooze.

Infrared mosaic image of Mars Gale crater by the Thermal Emission Imaging Spectrometer (THEMIS) of the USGS Astrogeology Science Center and Arizona State University. The Mars Science Laboratory is scheduled to land in Gale crater Aug. 5, 2012.

The Garden Wall Weather Station is situated below the Garden Wall and adjacent to the Haystack Creek avalanche path in Glacier National Park. It provides meteorological data for avalanche forecasting and research, including wind speed and direction, air temperature, relative humidity, and net radiation measurements.