Images

Director Applegate talks with Ellie Dalsky, Justin Greer, and Rachel Reagan at the USGS booth. (Photo credit: Tanner Scholten) 

Director Applegate and staff from Western Fisheries Research Center pose in front of the newly painted mural at the Western Fisheries Research Center’s headquarters. The mural features three swimming salmon, a DNA helix, a microscope, and the USGS logo. (Photo credit: Rachel Reagan, Western Fisheries Research Center)

Washington Water Science Center staff welcomed Director Applegate by wearing his signature bowtie. (photo credit: Sarah Dunn, WA Water Science Center).

Director Applegate and Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center staff during his visit to the University of Washington. (photo credit: Jenny Dettman, University of Washington)

Artwork developed for National Climate Adaptation Science Center webinar series "Incorporating Climate and Environmental Justice into Research and Resource Management."

Time to get our hands dirty! Paleoclimate researchers study sediment cores, which are accumulated layers of mud and dead plant material collected in a long tube, to learn about what the climate and environment of the past was like.

The cold never bothered our USGS scientists! They ask – do you want to collect an ice core?

The secret lives of... trees? Trees can live for hundreds and sometimes thousands of years. As they grow, they add new layers of growth – or tree rings – that scientists can study to learn about the tree’s life. The width of tree rings often reflects the factor most influencing growth from one year to the next depending upon where the tree lives.

All of Earth’s ecosystems are directly or indirectly impacted by humans. But landscapes where people live, work, and travel can become dominated by people, such that the built environment and people’s daily activities control major ecological processes.

Aerial view of Ucluelet, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, showing coastal mountains along the Queen Charlotte Fault zone.

Arctic Ecosystems are at the forefront of climate change and many of the ecosystem services they provide are rapidly threatened or changing.

Created by ORISE Fellow, Ben Slyngstad

Upper Mississippi River Restoration program partners meet in the field to discuss a backwater habitat rehabilitation project in Pool 4 of the Mississippi.

The moon sets over an exposure of the Great Unconformity within the Colorado National Monument (Colorado, USA). At this location, Paleoproterozoic granite (foreground) is unconformably overlain by the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation.

Aries

Hotheaded and honestly a bit dry, DROUGHT is totally an Aries. And with that competitive spirit, of course there's more than one type of drought - 5 in fact!

Taurus

Stubborn and down-to-earth, PHENOLOGY takes its time, even as seasons change. But when pressures like climate change force PHENOLOGY to switch it up, they can become a little unpredictable.

Gemini

Speaking of unpredictable, climate VARIABILITY is constantly shifting yet versatile. Their mood changes as drastically as climate-impacted weather patterns.

Leo

This is a no-brainer. Fiery, passionate, and dramatic, WILDFIRE couldn't be more of a Leo. While a little fire can be good, climate totally worsens their destructive habits.

Virgo

Always on the move. Independent to a fault. INVASIVE SPECIES are workaholics who are constantly spreading out into other's personal space. Climate change just fuels their fire.

Libra

Sure, UNCERTAINTY may seem indecisive, but by looking at the full range of possible climate conditions their style is always on point.

Pisces

Going too far is SEA LEVEL RISE’s favorite activity. Despite their knack for pushing boundaries, they’re also intuitive; they know just where to put a little extra water to make it hurt the most.

Cancer

BEACH EROSION holds nothing back, and they’ll erode your patience like they do the shore. But don't let their big waves of feelings overshadow their nurturing side!