Images

A view of the R/V Alaskan Gyre with a glacier in the background in Harriman Fjord in Prince William Sound, Alaska

Time-averaged image, or “timex,” created by averaging the intensity of light recorded at each spot, or “pixel,” during a video taken at Duck, North Carolina, on September 1, 2015. Blurred white zones show where waves are breaking. Light band paralleling the shore marks an offshore sandbar. Dark bands extending away from the beach indicate rip channels.

A hydrologic technician from the USGS Idaho Water Science Center measures streamflow in the St. Joe River at Red Ives Ranger Station in northern Idaho. The USGS is collecting data at hundreds of sites on rivers and streams in six western states to document the 2015 drought.

USGS employees gathering water samples on a boat in the middle of Milford Lake in Kansas.

Divers prepare patterns of known targets for verification of sonar resolution.

Sagebrush around Granby and Willow Creek Reservoirs.             

Determining aboveground biomass of sagebrush, grasses, and forbs is important for estimating fuel loads, measuring carbon storage, and assessing habitat quality in shrublands. Remote sensing may offer a more efficient alternative to common, labor intensive methods of measuring aboveground biomass that are difficult to apply across large areas.

USGS scientists monitor BLM efforts to restore vegetation in the area burned byt he 2015 Soda Fire in southwest Idaho and southeast Oregon sagebrush-steppe.

Ryan Toohey at the Active Layer Network grid near Hess Creek, Alaska.

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.

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.

This organism forms a colony that is the size of a pin head and can be seen floating in the water. Using ultra violet light, the filaments glow red from chlorophyll, while other pigments give various hues of purple, which may be a hint about the health of the cells.

This organism forms a colony that is the size of a pin head and can be seen floating in the water. The filaments glow red from chlorophyll, the yellow-green mass in the center is the mucilage that binds the filaments into the colony and green spots are associated bacteria, illuminated with the DNA stain Sytox Green ®.

This organism forms a colony that is the size of a pin head and can be seen floating in the water. Using ultra violet light, the filaments glow red from chlorophyll, while other pigments give various hues of purple, which may be a hint about the health of the cells.

Sediment-laden White River 11 km downstream of the OR35 bridge. Heavy rains resulted in high-sediment loads within this river, which drains Mount Hood, Oregon.

View from the OR35 bridge over the White River looking downstream. Glistening areas are deposits from recent debris flows.

School Branch at CR750N at Brownsburg IN

A hydrologic technician from the USGS Idaho Water Science Center measures streamflow in Homer Creek near Herman, 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.

Tidally restricted wetland in the Herring River Estuary, Cape Cod, MA

Sensor housing mid-bay-deployment screw-anchor

Collecting data on coastal wetland on Long Island, NY