U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

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Top 5 USGS Instagram Photos of 2016

December 14, 2016

We all love a great photo. We also love great science photos! It’s been another year of fantastic contributions to our Instagram a...

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Magical Manatees

841

Measuring Water Use with Landsat

140

Makushin Volcano Overflight

702

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U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) added 3 new photos.

7 hrs

USGS scientist Dr. Robert Baskin is being awarded with a 2016 Utah Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology. Gov. Gary R. Herbert will present awards to 11 individuals and one company at the 30th anniversary awards dinner tonight.

“The medal recipients are true leaders in innovation, serving as educators, mentors and influencers statewide,” Gov. Herbert said. “Innovation drives Utah’s thriving economy and unmatched quality of life. I commend the winners for excellence in t...heir fields and for their important work, which will benefit Utah residents for generations.”

Baskin is best known for his innovative research on Great Salt Lake, collaborating with the Scripps Institute of Oceanography and University of Utah to provide information vital for effective lake management. His work has greatly contributed to the understanding of Great Salt Lake and how sediments influence the health of the ecosystem.

Learn more: https://www.usgs.gov/…/usgs-scientist-wins-governor-s-medal…

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

9 hrs

In 1815, a massive volcanic eruption in Indonesia resulted in the unlikely takeoff of the mackerel fishing industry in the Gulf of Maine.

Mt. Tambora’s eruption – the largest in recorded history – spewed an enormous quantity of volcanic ash into the sky, obscuring the sun and leading to months of cold temperatures across the Northern Hemisphere. Crops failed, livestock died, and famine ensued in many places. Frozen waterways in New England interfered with the springtime spawn...ing of alewife – a then highly popular fish – and New Englanders turned instead to fishing mackerel, a switch from which they never looked back.

In a recent publication, researchers working with the U.S. Department of the Interior Northeast Climate Science Center (managed by USGS) recount their many-layered investigation into this story.

The cascading effects of Mt. Tambora provide insight into the linkages between natural and human systems – perhaps illuminating how nature and humans will respond and adapt to future climate changes and extreme events. Learn more: http://go.usa.gov/x9y4u

Photo: Aerial view of the caldera of Mt. Tambora, island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Courtesy of Jialiang Gao, Wikimedia Commons, 2011.

#ClimateChange #volcanoes #fish

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U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) shared a link.

17 hrs

M 5.6 - 5km WSW of Amatrice, Italy

PAGER - ORANGE ShakeMap - VIII DYFI? - IIITime2017-01-18 10:25:25 UTC2017-01-18 11:25:25 +01:00 at epicenterLocation42.601°N 13.232°EDepth10.00 km (6.21 mi)

earthquake.usgs.gov

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

Yesterday at 4:39pm

Deadly double punch: A recent #USGS-led study found that together, wind turbines and the bat-killing disease known as white-nose syndrome jeopardize endangered Indiana bats. Read more about the study at https://on.doi.gov/2iMBKCc.

Watch a video of a #bat interacting with a wind #turbine, taken with a temperature-imaging camera, at https://youtu.be/mttpX53OCwU. (Video credit: Paul Cryan, USGS)

#science #EndangeredSpecies #WindEnergy #whitenosesyndrome #WNS

Bats at Wind Turbines - YouTube

http://gallery.usgs.gov/videos/848 Bats at Turbines (B-roll): Surveillance video (B-roll) from a temperature-imaging camera showing a bat interacting with ...

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U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

Yesterday at 8:00am

From threatened plants in Hawai’i to retreating glaciers in Alaska and willow oaks in North Carolina, climate change is having a wide range of impacts on wildlife and ecosystems across the country.

Together, the USGS National Climate Change & Wildlife Science Center and the U.S. Department of the Interior Climate Science Centers (managed by USGS) examine how climate change is affecting species and their habitats – with the goal of helping decision-makers protect these resour...ces into the future.

Check out the most popular social media posts from 2016 on NCCWSC and CSC work in this two-part year in review: bit.ly/2j2e1P0 and bit.ly/2jvmiYH

Photo: Alaskan vista (Shawn Carter, USGS)

#ClimateChange

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U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) added 4 new photos.

January 14 at 7:03am

The Australian Marree Man is reborn in this #EarthView from Landsat: https://on.doi.gov/2iH4pGr

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

January 13 at 11:00am

USGS collaborated with the U.S. Forest Service on a video that describes current research on the American pika - a relative of the rabbit - that examines their distribution across western landscapes.

Additionally, scientists are trying to understand how warming temperatures will impact these high elevation dwellers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzIb10D_5Rw

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#USGS #USFS #climate #science #mountains #pika

Pika and Restoration

The American pika has become an icon for climate change. These rabbit relatives live almost exclusively in talus slopes at higher elevations. Researchers are...

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U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

January 13 at 7:00am

Is it the heat or the humidity? For black-legged ticks that carry Lyme disease, in the South it's both. They cope with the Southern climate in a way that explains why nearly all cases of Lyme disease come from 14 Northern, Midwestern and Mid-Atlantic states.

Heat in the 90s and humidity below super-soggy levels kill young black-legged ticks in days, a USGS-led study found. That's why Northern ticks perch on plant stems while Southern ticks hide under a layer of leaves, said s...tudy author Howard Ginsberg.

“In the North, when you walk through the woods you’re walking right through tick habitat,” Ginsberg said. “In the South, you’re walking on top of the habitat. We think that is a crucial difference." If the Mid-Atlantic states get warmer and dryer, scientists think Lyme disease rates there will go down.

Photo: Black-legged ticks in leaf litter in Tennessee, courtesy of Graham Hickling

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) added 2 new photos.

January 12 at 6:57am

Yes, even itsy-bitsy spiders can play a critical role in detecting contaminants in aquatic ecosystems! New USGS-led research conducted in the Great Lakes Region shows that streamside (riparian) spiders can track spatial patterns of aquatic pollution in sediment, specifically PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls). PCB production was banned by the United States in 1979 due to their environmental toxicity, though the contaminant still persists widely in the environment today along wi...th other so-called "legacy" contaminants. Concentrations of this contaminant, which are potentially harmful to aquatic and streamside animals, are found in Great Lakes' rivermouth ecosystems. Spiders can help managers pinpoint where this contaminant is still a problem. Read more in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry at http://bit.ly/2jbnaFg

Above: A longjaw (Tetragnathid) spider. Belowt: Electron-scanning close-up of a longjaw spider (and its long jaws). Photos courtesy of Ryan Otter, Middle Tennessee State University.

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U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

January 11 at 2:34pm

Save the date! Jan 26, 2017, 7:00PM. PST Unusual Sources of Tsunamis - From Krakatoa to Monterey Bay. #hazards

USGS Evening Public Lecture Series

The USGS Evening Public Lecture Series events are free and are intended for a general public audience that may not be familiar with the science being discussed. Our speakers are encouraged to thoroughly explain the subject matter being presented, and to define any words or terms that may be unfamili...

online.wr.usgs.gov

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) added 2 new photos.

January 11 at 5:45am

Seafood nurseries, storm buffers, pollution cleansers - coastal marshes are vital. In Louisiana, where marshes have been damaged by human and natural forces and are rapidly being lost, scientists want to know what factors allow marshes to build soil naturally. USGS' Camille Stagg joined a research team that studied several types of marshes and found the saltiness of the water is a very important factor in how well the marsh retains soil.

Freshwater marshes seem to be holding onto organic material (like decaying plant leaves) and converting it to new soil. But as a marsh gets saltier, less organic matter is retained in the short term. Rising sea levels mean it might be tougher for Louisiana coastal marshes to rebuild naturally. Photo: (1) USFWS (2) The Water Institute of the Gulf

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U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) shared a link.

January 10 at 8:07am

M 6.4 - 108km WNW of Kirakira, Solomon Islands

PAGER - GREEN ShakeMap - VI DYFI? - III Time2017-01-10 15:27:17 UTC2017-01-11 02:27:17 +11:00 at epicenterLocation10.132°S 160.989°EDepth45.97 km (28.56 mi)

earthquake.usgs.gov

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) shared a link.

January 9 at 10:43pm

M 6.9 - 190km SSE of Tabiauan, Philippines

PAGER - GREEN ShakeMap - III DYFI? - III Time2017-01-10 06:13:48 UTC2017-01-10 14:13:48 +08:00 at epicenterLocation4.459°N 122.607°EDepth629.52 km (391.17 mi)

earthquake.usgs.gov

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

January 9 at 12:43pm

Today, the US Fish and Wildlife Service issued their Conservation Management Plan for polar bears. The Service used science from the U.S. Geological Survey not only to list the species as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2008, but to help inform the CMP.

Here is a video showing these massive creatures using sea-ice to hunt their prey. Without sea-ice, their access to prey would be diminished.

For more information on the US FWS's Polar Bear Program and the see the Conservation Management Plan, visit https://www.fws.gov/alas…/fisheries/mmm/polarbear/pbmain.htm

Polar Bear POV Cams (Spring 2016)

Posted by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

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U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

January 9 at 9:00am

An important part of USGS groundwater science is studying groundwater quality. Why is groundwater quality important? Many areas around the country depend on groundwater for their drinking water - which is true for the entire population of southwestern Idaho's Gem County. In this photo, a USGS hydrologist collects a sample for water-quality testing from a residential well in Emmett, Idaho, after receiving permission from the homeowner.

Results from this water-quality study, and other groundwater science highlights are now available in the USGS Monthly Groundwater News and Highlights: http://go.usa.gov/cEMsF

#USGS #science #water #groundwater #aquifer

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