USGS Newsroom

Genetic Analysis Splits Desert Tortoise into Two Species
Released: 6/28/2011 3:02:08 PM
A new study shows that the desert tortoise, thought to be one species for the past 150 years, now includes two separate and distinct species, based on DNA evidence and biological and geographical distinctions.

Significant Natural Gas Resources Remain to Be Discovered in Cook Inlet, Alaska
Released: 6/28/2011 2:00:00 PM
The Cook Inlet Region of Alaska contains an estimated mean of 19 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, about 600 million barrels of oil, and 46 million barrels of natural gas liquids, according to a new assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Landsat Imagery Tracks Record Flooding in Minot, N.D.
Released: 6/27/2011 3:00:00 PM
The Landsat 7 satellite recorded the flooding of the city of Minot, North Dakota, at its peak on June 25, 2011, when the Souris River in north central North Dakota surpassed an 1881 record flood reading by a wide margin.

Picky Pollinators
Released: 6/21/2011 12:00:00 PM
INDIANA DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE, Ind. — Native bees – often small, stingless, solitary and unnoticed in the flashier world of stinging honeybees – are quite discriminating about where they live, according to U.S. Geological Survey research.

Media Advisory: USGS to Host Congressional Briefing Unconventional Oil and Gas - Fueling the Future
Released: 6/20/2011 12:34:59 PM
The Nation relies on oil and gas to power its economy, and unconventional gas is the fastest-growing energy resource in the United States. The U.S. Geological Survey is the authoritative, unbiased source for assessments of the world's oil and gas endowment. Come learn how these exciting new energy resources may contribute to the energy mix.

Landsat Images Help Emergency Managers Fight Largest Fire in Arizona History
Released: 6/17/2011 10:00:00 AM
As the largest fire in the history of the state of Arizona continues to burn, emergency managers and responders are using satellite data from a variety of instruments to plan both immediate firefighting containment strategies and mitigation efforts once the fires are out.

Landsat 5 Satellite Sees Mississippi River Floodwaters Lingering
Released: 6/16/2011 12:20:00 PM
In this Landsat 5 satellite image captured June 11, flooding is still evident both east and west of the Mississippi River near Vicksburg, Mississippi. Standing water is most apparent, however, in the floodplain between the Yazoo and Mississippi Rivers north and northwest of Vicksburg.

Human Activities Produce More Carbon Dioxide Emissions Than Do Volcanoes
Released: 6/14/2011 11:30:00 AM
VANCOUVER, Wash. — On average, human activities put out in just three to five days, the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide that volcanoes produce globally each year.

Major Flooding on the Mississippi River Likely to Cause Large Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone
Released: 6/14/2011 10:30:00 AM
The Gulf of Mexico's hypoxic zone is predicted to be larger than average this year, due to extreme flooding of the Mississippi River this spring, according to an annual forecast by a team of NOAA-supported scientists from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, Louisiana State University and the University of Michigan.

USGS Study Finds Recent Snowpack Declines in the Rocky Mountains Unusual Compared to Past Few Centuries
Released: 6/9/2011 4:50:49 PM
WASHINGTON – A USGS study released today suggests that snowpack declines in the Rocky Mountains over the last 30 years are unusual compared to the past few centuries. Prior studies by the USGS and other institutions attribute the decline to unusual springtime warming, more precipitation falling now as rain rather than snow and earlier snowmelt.

Landsat Tracks Long Tornado Swath in Massachusetts
Released: 6/7/2011 10:30:00 AM
The track of a tornado that cut a massive 39-mile swath of destruction across southwest and south-central Massachusetts on June 1 is graphically depicted by an image from the Landsat 5 satellite.

 

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