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By Administrator Lisa P. JacksonHispanic Heritage Month is a time to reflect on the important role the environment plays in every community, and the important role every community should play in protecting our environment. The EPA has taken considerable steps to make sure all Americans have a voice…
The USGS does not make forecasts about the future potential of a particular resource to resolve national energy needs. It is difficult to determine if oil from the Bakken Formation, or any of the formations we have done assessments on, could offset other sources of oil. A number of logistical and…
All currently available USGS material on the Bakken Assessment can be found on our website at http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/oilgas/noga/ (choose Bakken/Williston Basin on the map to see available documents), including a summary of the geology, geologic model, and methodology in poster format on our…
During the three giant caldera-forming eruptions that occurred between 2.1 million and 640,000 years ago, tiny particles of volcanic debris ( volcanic ash ) covered much of the western half of North America, likely a third of a meter deep several hundred kilometers from Yellowstone and several…
Lava and Lava Flows The temperature of basalt lava at Kilauea reaches 1,160 degrees Celsius (2,120 degrees Fahrenheit). -- USGS/VHP Website, 1998 The tube system (lava tubes) of episode 53 (Pu'u O'o eruption, Hawaii) carried lava for 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the vent to the sea. So…
The USGS Publications Warehouse ( http://pubs.usgs.gov/ ) has released a new interface and a variety of new content and features. The new version of this tool now includes citations for USGS-authored content including journal articles, books, book chapters, proceedings, and other research…
The Barataria-Terrebonne intertidal salt marshes, which are mostly composed of smooth cordgrass, cover approximately 390,000 acres. About 110,000 acres have been severely impacted ; of those acres, at least 17,000, or about 4%, have converted from dense vegetation to open mud flats with little or no…
Coral reefs can be damaged by natural processes, such as storms, but they are increasingly at risk from human activities. Oil spills and pollutants can threaten entire reefs. Excessive nutrients from land sources, such as sewage and agricultural fertilizers, promote the growth of algae that can…
Several of these trace elements are regulated by the EPA and are on their list of primary drinking water standards. These include arsenic, copper, and lead, as well as cadmium, chromium, mercury, and selenium. Iron is not a regulated contaminant because it is not known to cause health problems, but…
The USGS provides access to water-resources data collected at approximately 1.5 million sites in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Online access to this data is organized around the categories listed to the left. The USGS investigates the occurrence, quantity, quality,…
There is no certain answer. There are 616 officially named glaciers in Alaska (see USGS Geographic Names Information System online data base ), and many more unnamed glaciers. The Alaska Almanac estimates that Alaska has 100,000 glaciers -- that's a pretty good estimate.
Yes. The main body of subsurface water is found in the saturated zone of aquifers. Aquifers can be only a few feet below the surface or more than a thousand feet deep. Aquifers are the primary source of drinking water in arid and semi-arid parts of the United States where the amount of surface water…