Research Team Forecasted Beach Impacts from Hurricane Idalia
USGS and NOAA partner to continually improve coastal change forecasts
USGS and NOAA partner to continually improve coastal change forecasts
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Deploys New Equipment on Kīlauea Summit
New webcam and more
New webcam and more
Alarming Future for California's Coastline
Computer modeling and new research predict significant erosion by 2100
Computer modeling and new research predict significant erosion by 2100
New USGS-FEMA study highlights economic earthquake risk in the United States
Natural Hazards Mission Area
Every year in the United States, natural hazards threaten lives and livelihoods and result in billions of dollars in damage. We work with many partners to monitor, assess, and conduct targeted research on a wide range of natural hazards so that policymakers and the public have the understanding they need to enhance preparedness, response, and resilience.
Reducing Risk
Reducing Risk
USGS scientists develop new products to make science available to the public, emergency managers, and decision-makers. These efforts increase public safety and reduce risk and economic losses caused by natural hazards.
Subduction Zone Science
Subduction Zone Science
The most powerful earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, and volcanic eruptions occur in subduction zones, where two plates collide and one is thrust beneath another.
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News
USGS landslide event team activated in wake of Hurricane Helene
USGS landslide event team activated in wake of Hurricane Helene
Monitoring stations detect small magnitude earthquakes at Mount Adams (September 2024)
Monitoring stations detect small magnitude earthquakes at Mount Adams (September 2024)
What do volcanoes smell like?
What do volcanoes smell like?
Publications
Likely ferromagnetic minerals identified by the Perseverance rover and implications for future paleomagnetic analyses of returned Martian samples
Although Mars today does not have a core dynamo, magnetizations in the Martian crust and in meteorites suggest a magnetic field was present prior to 3.7 billion years (Ga) ago. However, the lack of ancient, oriented Martian bedrock samples available on Earth has prevented accurate estimates of the dynamo's intensity, lifetime, and direction. Constraining the nature and lifetime of the dynamo are v
Precariously balanced rocks in northern New York and Vermont, U.S.A.: Ground-motion constraints and implications for fault sources
Precariously balanced rocks (PBRs) and other fragile geologic features have the potential to constrain the maximum intensity of earthquake ground shaking over millennia. Such constraints may be particularly useful in the eastern United States (U.S.), where few earthquake‐source faults are reliably identified, and moderate earthquakes can be felt at great distances due to low seismic attenuation. W
A novel surface energy balance method for thermal inertia studies of terrestrial analogs
Surface thermal inertia derived from satellite imagery offers a valuable tool for remotely mapping the physical structure and water content of planetary regolith. Efforts to quantify thermal inertia using surface temperatures on Earth, however, have consistently yielded large uncertainties and suffered from a lack of reproducibility. Unlike dry or airless bodies, Earth's abundant water and dense a
Science
M6.9 October 17, 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake ended decades of tranquility in the San Francisco Bay region. It was a wakeup call to prepare for the potentially even more devastating shocks that are inevitable in the future. Since 1989, the work of the U.S. Geological Survey and other organizations has improved understanding of the seismic threat in the Bay region, promoted awareness of earthquake hazards, and...
September 17, 2024 Magnetic Disturbance
Space Weather Events of September 16, 2024 - September 17, 2024 22:00 Eastern time
Earthquake Response and Investigations
Post-earthquake scientific and engineering investigations are undertaken by the USGS and its partners to capture critical information to understand the causes and impacts of the event, lessons from which can substantially improve the Nation’s resilience after future earthquakes.