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By David SarokinThe theme of this year’s Pollution Prevention Week is P2: The Cornerstone of Sustainability.Is it? Can P2 really take us to a future we can honestly say is more sustainable?Becoming sustainable is about much more than just environmental improvement. When I was working on Agenda 21…
Continuous real-time water quality information is at http://water.usgs.gov/waterwatch/wqwatch/ . These data are limited to measurable characteristics such as temperature, turbidity, specific conductance (salinity), dissolved oxygen, and pH (acidity). WaterQualityWatch is a USGS web site that…
The U.S. Geological Survey WaterAlert service sends e-mail or text messages when certain parameters measured by a USGS data-collection station exceed user-definable thresholds. The development and maintenance of the WaterAlert system is supported through the USGS Cooperative Water Program , the USGS…
You can purchase topographic maps several ways: Download or online from the USGS Store at http://store.usgs.gov Click on Maps in the left margin or click on the Map Locator near the center of the screen. Topographic maps in GeoPDF format are available for free download by using the Map…
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…
The special cameras are used to collect remotely sensed pictures of the Earth , and used to help us ' sense ' things about the Earth. Some examples are: cameras on satellites and airplanes take pictures of large areas of the Earth's surface , allowing us to see much more than we can…
An earthquake is caused by a sudden slip on a fault . The tectonic plates are always slowly moving, but they get stuck at their edges due to friction. When the stress on the edge overcomes the friction, there is an earthquake that releases energy in waves that travel through the earth's crust…
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…
See Earthquakes by State .
Mercury contamination is widespread. Mercury was detected in all fish sampled from 291 streams across the U.S. Concentrations in about a quarter of the fish sampled exceeded the criterion for the protection of humans who consume average amounts of fish, established by the U.S. Environmental…
Scientists have documented four major 'hot spots' for amphibian declines: western North America, Central America, northeast Australia, and Puerto Rico. Researchers believe that all of these declines--most in seemingly pristine areas--have occurred since around 1980. Other areas of the world…