On this day 30 years ago, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake left a gash in the Mojave Desert 🏜️ and damage to local communities in Southern California.
The #LandersEarthquake didn’t just change the landscape, it changed earthquake science 🌎.
Read more about the Landersversary here: http://ow.ly/ep3U50JGGOV (link also in profile)
Image 1: Lorraine Hwang (then USGS) stands on a dirt road offset by lateral fault movement near the town of Landers. Offset roads, fences, and other manmade structures were used to measure the amount of fault movement at the surface. Photo: Susan E. Hough, USGS
Image 2: The earthquake rupture along HWY 247 (Old Woman Springs Rd), north of Yucca Valley about 4 or 5 miles. Photo: Scott Lydeen, USGS
#Landers#OTD#SoCalEarthquake#USGS#science@USGS_Quakes
It's Pollinator Week! Did you know when a pollinator such as a bee visits a flower, it may leave evidence of the visit behind in the form of environmental DNA, or eDNA?
As living or dead organisms interact with their environment, they release eDNA through shed skin or hair, excretions like saliva, or even body parts. Sampling the environment for eDNA and sequencing it can help researchers determine what organisms have used that area without having to observe the organisms themselves.
USGS scientists are using funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to test a new approach of detecting pollinators from eDNA extracted from flowers. The results of this study will help researchers better understand which plants best support pollinators and provide information to managers on which native seeds to use for restoration efforts.
Learn more here: http://ow.ly/kzrK50JFSz4 (link also in bio)
Image shows a Bombyliidae fly or bee fly, a species that imitates bees pollinating a flower.
Image credit: Scott Horvath, USGS
#USGS#science#pollinatorweek#pollinators#bees#eDNA
Big news! 📢 AASG & we are announcing $74.6 million to be distributed in 30 states to invest in geoscience data collection, mapping, data preservation & scientific interpretation of areas with potential for critical minerals: http://ow.ly/VxVR50JCXZa (link also in profile).
Funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will account for $64 million in this effort. This is part of the broader $510.7 million investment in USGS from the Law to support scientific innovation.
These investments will be managed by our Earth Mapping Resource Initiative, or Earth MRI, under which we've partnered with the Association of American State Geologists and state geological surveys to jointly fund and conduct new geologic mapping and geochemical reconnaissance sampling and preserve existing geologic data and samples.
As we conduct these surveys and analyze the data, we'll share them here and on our website, so keep an eye out!
Image shows a USGS scientist walking along an old exploration trench in Alaska.
Image credit: Susan Karl, USGS
#USGS#Science#CriticalMinerals#Data#Infrastructure#Geology#Minerals#Mapping
We have some good news during Oceans Month: we have partnered with NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information & U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System to make sure that ocean data submitted to the US node of the Ocean Biodiversity Information System will be preserved & accessible for decades to come: http://ow.ly/gI3I50JzkXv (link also in profile)
The Ocean Biodiversity Information System is one way that marine biodiversity information is being shared in web-accessible ways. OBIS, created as part of the 80-nation Census of Marine Life, is an international network of data providers and data managers that have been integrating and sharing key information on marine species for over 20 years.
Image shows a healthy coral reef in the Tumon Bay Marine Preserve off Tumon, Guam, showing a number of different species of fish swimming over a high coral cover reef composed of a number of hard and soft coral species.
Image Credit: Curt Storlazzi, USGS
#USGS#Science#Data#Oceans#MarineLife#OceansMonth
*Repost from @USGSVolcanoes*
#MountStHelens - May 18, 1980
USGS’ Coldwater II observation post on South Coldwater Ridge is 5.5 mi N-NW of Mount St. Helens. Scientist David Johnston had taken over from Harry Glicken on the evening of May 17. Before 7 AM, Johnston collects 3 laser measurements of the bulge and radios data to the Vancouver (WA) office. Nothing significant to report.
After 8:32 AM, a ham operator records the transmission by Johnston, “Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!”
The fractured bulge on the north flank releases. The sliding, pulverizing rock and ice flows off the volcano, toward Spirit Lake, and 17 miles down the North Fork Toutle River valley.
Freed from the weight of north flank, gassy magma and hot fluids explode. It speeds down the flanks to more than three hundred miles an hour. The scorching current surges north, east, and west as a hot hurricane, hugging the landscape. It rides up a near ridge, boils over its top, flows down into the next valley. It rides up and over another ridge, spreading outward. Within 6 minutes, 230 square miles are a barren, scorched waste. In three minutes, the rising ash column punches through 35,000 ft. carrying with it millions of tons of the surge’s sand, silt and tree litter.
Residents of Portland (OR) are bestowed with a resplendent view while winds spread a gigantic ash anvil east. Ash falls hundreds of miles away. Street lights blink on in Yakima and Moses Lake as day sinks into darkness.
High on the volcano’s flanks, the hot, turbulent current melts snow and ice. Slush-flows converge as muddy floods that pour off the volcano into the heads of South Fork Toutle, Smith Creek and Muddy River. A muddy flood rages down Toutle and lower Cowlitz valleys to the Columbia, smashing bridges, logging camps and houses. In afternoon, the column widens, goes turbulent, and feeds fiery ash flows onto the Pumice Plain.
A single-day eruption and everything has changed.
#USGS#science#CVO#CascadesVolcanoObservatory#MSH1980#VolcanoAwarenessMonth#naturalhazards
View rarely seen archival footage of the rising ash column ➡️http://ow.ly/e6zJ50JbjEc (link in story)
The Ocean physically and culturally connects Pacific Island communities. Although Pacific Islander communities carry a deep understanding of resilience, the ocean and the diverse Pacific Island communities and ecosystems connected by it face unprecedented challenges related to climate change adaptation.
USGS scientists research how a changing climate is affecting communities and ecosystems across the globe. Through USGS Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASC), we are working with local resource managers and communities to co-develop science that helps nature and people adapt to climate change.
The Pacific Islands CASC, or PI-CASC, maintains a rich network of regional expertise able to convene around and build synergistic connections to address the unique climate challenges faced by island communities and ecosystems. We serve communities on Hawaiʻi and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands in support of sustainable and place-based adaptation in the face of climate change.
PI-CASC is committed to partnering with Pacific communities, coupling indigenous and local knowledge with emerging science, and co-developing science-based adaptation strategies informed by appropriate climate science, local leadership structures, and effective solutions. PI-CASC supports local and regional capacity in climate change adaptation, building resilience while conserving the region’s natural and cultural heritage for generations to come.
PI-CASC is always open to building new and meaningful
relationships with local communities, resource managers, researchers, and others committed to developing strategies to address climate change challenges.
See today's story for a link to learn more about PI-CASC and the important work we do!
Alt text: People stand around a table covered in potted plants
USGS photo
#USGS#science#AANHPIMonth
Happy Mother’s Day to everyone who shows love like a mother! 💕💐
Mommas mean so much to humans – and animals. Sometimes life in the animal kingdom even looks a lot like life in our society. To celebrate all kinds of mothers, here are some relatable activities, from sea otters to moose!
Photo 1: Momma seals’ daily energy demands increase by 96 percent when her pup is 6 months old. That equates to a whopping 222,275 calories towards her pup!! For mothers of a 6-month-old, this may sound like an underestimate. Photo Credit: William A. Link, Image obtained under NMFS Permit #1032-1917.
Photo 2: For their first 10 weeks of life, baby spider monkeys like to spend time clinging to mom (but without a complicated baby carrying device). Photo Credit: USGS
Photo 3: Baby songbirds get ready to take flight, just as babies prepare to take their first steps! Photo Credit: USGS
Photo 4: Baby moose likely rely on their mothers and society to help them learn how to migrate! Photo Credit: Tom Koerner,
USFWS.
More here ➡️ http://ow.ly/qkjU50J1KH9 (link also in bio).
#USGS#science#MothersDay#babyanimals#toocutetohandle
As #AmphibianWeek2022 wraps up, take a moment to recognize how important our amphibians are.
Amphibians are a critical part of ecosystems as both predator and prey. They migrate to new habitat and breeding locations, eating insect pests which benefits agriculture and as well as helping to control mosquitos which benefits human health. Additionally, amphibians are indicators of ecosystem health, if they are declining, that probably means the ecosystem isn't healthy and needs conservation or restoration.
This salamander is in dire need of conservation. It is the endangered Shenandoah salamander. For many amphibians, their name describes what they look like, who found them or like in the case of the Shenandoah salamander, where they are from. Many amphibians are found in small regions and thus the name of where they're found can be quite a descriptive one. Naturally then, the endangered Shenandoah salamander is found in Shenandoah National Park and nowhere else in the world.
But what does Shenandoah mean then? Well the truth is uncertain but it is believed to be derived from the Senedo people, a group of Native Americans that lived in Northwest Virginia. In this instance then the name of this salamander is both describing where it's from but also honoring the stewards of the land that came before us.
Visit the USGS website (http://ow.ly/HKHp50IWYiK) and search "Importance of amphibians" to learn more!
USGS image by Kevin Hutcheson
#USGS#science#AmphibianWeek2022#EESC#Amphibians#Conservation
Oregon spotted frogs are highly aquatic, they live the majority of their lives in the water, overwintering and breeding in ponds and streams.
Most North American frogs overwinter on land and migrate to aquatic habitats for breeding in the spring.
USGS researchers investigated the timing, duration, and potential cues for Oregon spotted frog migrations from a wintering lake near the Cascade Mountains by tagging frogs with tiny telemetry radio-tags.
See today's story for links to more information about Oregon spotted frog science!
USGS image by Brome McCreary and Marcus Rehrman
#USGS#science#AmphibianWeek2022
🎵Listen to the sweet symphony of an amphibian breeding chorus in a Wisconsin wetland.🎶🎤🐸
The frogs you can hear in this clip include wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus), spring peepers (Pseudacris crucifer), and northern leopard frogs (Lithobates pipiens) captured with an acoustic recorder.
Video Description: A still image accompanies an audio track. Open captions are included in the video file and audio description for the still image follows the frog call chorus audio clip.
#USGS#science#AmphibianWeek2022
👂🎵🐸 Some biologists use their ears during amphibian research!
Hardin Wadle is a research ecologist for the USGS Wetlands and Aquatic Research Center and leads the south-central region of the USGS Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative. His research includes using amphibian calls to study their populations. Hardin's research interests include population ecology and conservation of amphibians and reptiles, primarily in the wetlands and swamps of the southeastern United States.
Listen to Hardin describe some of his research in the USGS podcast linked to in todays' story.
#USGS#science#AmphibianWeek2022
🤨 The Oregon spotted frog is native to the northwestern United States and is listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Its body coloration ranges from brown or tan to brick red, usually overlain with dark, ragged spots and a red wash of color on the underside. This species is reliant on connected seasonal habitats for breeding, summer foraging, and overwintering.
Oregon spotted frogs could once be found from southwest British Columbia to northeastern California but have declined in much of their range.
Possible reasons for the decline include habitat loss, invasive predators and competitors, and water quality degradation. Now, most known populations are in the Cascades Range in central Oregon.
See today's story for a link to read more about USGS-led research aimed at helping the Oregon spotted frog recover.
USGS images by Marcus Rehrman
#USGS#science#AmphibianWeek2022