U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

💚 Pink Goes Good with Green! 🌸 At the USGS, we explore just about everything Earth-related. Or, as we like to call it, Schist University. Here’s a peek at some of the wonders we’ve been working on: 🌌 Auroras in Green & Pink: These colorful displays are more than a dancing-through-life light show—they reveal the impacts of solar storms on our planet. 💎 Augelite (green, with quartz) & Eudialyte (pink): These dazzling minerals aren’t from the Land of Oz—but they do unveil secrets about Earth’s resources and processes. 💚 Green-Dyed Rivers for Science: Don’t worry, it’s temporary! We "greenify” streams with non-toxic dyes (the color is only visible for about a day) to track groundwater flow and better understand our waterways. 🪲 Emerald Ash Borer: Talk about defying gravity! We track these invasive flying pests to protect our forests from degreenifying disasters. 💮 Cushion Pink: This small mountain-dwelling wildflower, common (popular?) all over the high arctic and tundra, is just one of the many plants and animals across the globe that we study! With every project, we’re here to decipherate, discoverate, and swankify science for the better. Thank goodness for USGS—we think it’s just wonderful! 🌟

USGS Critical Minerals Study: Bans on Gallium and Germanium Exports Could Cost the U.S. Billions A new USGS study shows that a ban on Chinese exports of gallium and germanium could cost the U.S. economy $3.4 billion—with over 40% of the loss impacting the semiconductor industry. China imposed export restrictions on both minerals in 2023. The estimates help policymakers and U.S. industry decide on the size of stockpiles of gallium and germanium, investing in plants to recover gallium and germanium from mine waste, and investing in recycling e-waste to recover both minerals from discarded products. “Losing access to critical minerals that make up a fraction of the value of products like semiconductors can add up to billions of dollars in losses across the economy,” said Nedal Nassar, lead author. Through modeling studies like this one, the USGS supports supply-chain resilience. USGS experts provide scientific expertise and technical advice to numerous government organizations, including the intelligence agencies, the National Defense Stockpile, the Federal Reserve Board, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Defense, Energy, Homeland Security and State.   In addition to identifying mineral supply risks and projecting the impact of supply chain disruptions, the USGS, through its Mineral Resources Program, is the Federal government’s primary provider of scientific information and research on mineral potential, production, consumption, and interaction with the environment. This work includes developing the whole-of-government List of Critical Minerals, assessing the Nation’s mineral resource potential, and through the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI), partnering with state geological surveys to modernize the Nation’s data and mapping of mineral resources. Learn more👉 https://ow.ly/6hnI50UbZZ7 📸: Germanium ore. Credit: By Alchemist-hp #CriticalMinerals #Technology #Innovation

It's #WorldFisheriesDay - check out the salmon life cycle! Our internationally recognized Western Fisheries Research Center is at the forefront of aquatic science, addressing key issues such as aquatic diseases, tracking fish behavior and survival, and untangling complex food webs. Their work plays a crucial role in identifying factors affecting threatened fish species in the western U.S. Learn how scientists at the Center are connecting the dots between various environmental stressors and their impact on aquatic ecosystem health. View the Center's Fall 2024 issue of Something Fishy! 👉 https://ow.ly/7mC650UaXGn Video Description: This animated infographic showcases the life cycle of a salmon, highlighting the different life stages. Watch as salmon progress from redd (eggs) to alevin, then to fry, smolt, and finally to fully grown adults that spawn new eggs to start the cycle again.

An atmospheric river storm is hitting the West Coast this week--but what exactly is an atmospheric river? Here are 6 things to know: 1. Atmospheric rivers transport water vapor from the tropics towards the poles. When they reach the coasts and flow inland over mountains, the atmospheric river is pushed upwards, causing water vapor to condense and fall to the ground as rain or snow, creating an atmospheric river-driven storm. 2. Atmospheric rivers are the largest “rivers” of fresh water on Earth. Atmospheric rivers over the Pacific transport water vapor at a rate equal to 7–15x the average daily discharge of the Mississippi River. 3. There’s a rating system for atmospheric rivers like there is for hurricanes. While other rating systems are focused solely on the hazards of the event, the atmospheric river system incorporates the idea that these events can be beneficial, hazardous, or both. 4. Though an atmospheric river can help extinguish fall fires, they can increase the hazard of past and future wildfires. They can lead to especially hazardous conditions near burn scars. 5. An atmospheric river mega-storm could be California's other “Big One.” According to USGS scientists, an atmospheric river-driven mega-storm that could cause catastrophic damage is plausible, if not inevitable, for California. 6. Atmospheric rivers are expected to increase in intensity due to climate change. But with the help of USGS science, we have the information and tools to prepare for even a “big one.” Get more details here: https://ow.ly/kUmj50Ubqfb

With winter just around the corner, the USGS Bird Banding Lab’s Fall Migration Station has just a few more days of banding left this year! The station’s crew is seeing a switch from mostly banding new birds to mostly recapturing already banded individuals, including those banded in prior fall seasons at the station. This suggests that the birds are no longer migrating through the unique shrubby habitat under the powerlines on Patuxent Research Refuge, instead those that are around will likely be there for the winter. Year-round residents are settling in, like the Tufted Titmouse, Northern Cardinal, Carolina Chickadee and Carolina Wren. Winter residents have mostly finished returning to the area, such as Golden-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, Fox Sparrow (pictured, though sadly our crew has yet to catch one with a tiny cloak and sword), White-throated Sparrow, and Dark-eyed Junco. Learn more about the Bird Banding Lab: https://ow.ly/vR0e50U88ey

📢 Exciting news for Puerto Rico & the U.S. Virgin Islands! 🏝️ The @USGS National Geospatial Program has released updated US Topo maps 🗺️ of the islands at https://ow.ly/jZgl50U79Rl These new topographic maps provide critical information for residents, visitors, and professionals. They serve as a vital tool across multiple sectors, including: - Natural resource conservation & recreation - Emergency management - Infrastructure development - Water resources & flood risk management What’s new in these maps? Well, we’ve refreshed data for elevation, hydrography, boundaries, transportation, and more. We’ve incorporated contributions from volunteers, who updated more than 470 structures. And we’ve partnered with many Federal, State, and local agencies to provide the most accurate, up-to-date geospatial data available. #GIS #maps #PuertoRico #USVirginIslands Caption: 🌍 A series of 5 US Topo maps show landscape changes between 2018 and 2024! Explore how Bayamón, El Yunque, Guánica, and Salinas in Puerto Rico, as well as Coral Bay in the U.S. Virgin Islands, have evolved.

Have you ever wished you could travel back in time to see what the ancient earth was like? While we can't literally turn back the clock, scientists at the USGS are piecing together our planet's history through innovative paleoclimate and paleoecology research.  🌎🕰️ Climate and ecosystems are deeply interconnected, shaping each other in complex ways. For instance, about 400 million years ago, an explosion of vascular plants transformed the atmosphere, which in turn stabilized the climate and allowed oxygen-dependent life to flourish—ushering in an era where life evolved into the diverse forms we see today.  🌴🦏 At the USGS, a multidisciplinary team of experts is dedicated to understanding these intricate connections. From marine micropaleontologists studying ancient foraminifera to paleoclimatologists analyzing aerosols in glacial ice, each researcher contributes to a bigger picture of how ecosystems respond to climate changes—both past and present.   Not only does this research satisfy our curiosity about bygone eras, but it also equips us with critical insights into today’s rapidly changing environment. By understanding how ecosystems have adapted to past climate shifts, we can make informed predictions about future transformations under various greenhouse gas scenarios. 📈 Explore the astonishing world of paleo-research at the USGS and discover how uncovering our past can shape a sustainable future: https://ow.ly/ChF650U6v8Y USGS photos IMG 1: Microscopic image of fossilized pollen grains. IMG 2: Deploying a gravity corer to take sediment samples. IMG 3: Scanning Electron Microscopic image of Arctic ostracodes. IMG 4: Scientists observe a peat core taken in Alaska.

The USGS National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program has just wrapped up the 2024 Best Student Geologic Map Competition (BSGMC), and we have our winners! 🏆 Huge congratulations to Andrew Yokel-Deliduka, who took home the 1st place prize for this stunning map of Bear Camp Gulch Quadrangle, Idaho! 🎉 2nd place goes to Dominik Vlaha, and 3rd place to Jordan Dahle. Amazing work, everyone! 👏 Want to join the ranks of these talented geoscience students? Mark your calendars! The 2025 BSGMC will be held at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX, from October 19-22, 2025. Start planning now! 📅 Image 1: Brunton CEO Lauren Heerschap presents BSGMC winner Andrew Yokel-Deliduka with a special edition Gold Standard Transit. Photo Credit, GSA. Image 2: Geologic Map of the Bear Camp Gulch Quadrangle, Bannock and Caribou Counties, Idaho. #Geology #BSGMC #Geoscience #StudentSuccess #MappingTheFuture #GSA2025 #GeologyCommunity

Did you know that the health of our communities is directly tied to the health of our ecosystems? This is the core idea behind the One Health initiative, which highlights the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health. Environmental stressors often overlap, creating complicated challenges that impact us all. Fortunately, Scientists are collaborating across multiple disciplines to disentangle and solve these complex issues. By addressing ecosystem and environmental issues holistically, the USGS plays a critical role in One Health-related efforts. USGS scientists provide valuable insights into how ecosystem health affects all aspects of life, from wildlife management to public health. 🧑🔬🤝 For example, USGS research on wildlife diseases like sylvatic plague and avian influenza informs not only wildlife management but also supports public health efforts in collaboration with agencies like the CDC and USDA. 🦠🐾 Curious to learn how USGS science can benefit our communities and environments? Read our new story to delve deeper: https://ow.ly/n80Y50TXwBQ #OneHealth #EcosystemHealth #PublicHealth #OneHealthDay #UnleashingTheScience #UnleashTheScience USGS Video. A father and daughter fly fish. The One Health Framework showing overlapping, interconnected aspect of One Health, including humans, animals, and ecosystems. A family walks on a beach, cows eat from a trough, and a person takes a water sample. Overlapping images of an invasive species (a Burmese python), a forest that has been clear cut showing habitat loss, a body of water full of trash showing pollution, and a microscope image of bacteria representing disease. Scientists look in a microscope and work on a computer, a scientist tracks an animal with an antenna in a forest, and a scientist takes a water sample at the edge of a stream. The camera pans away from a forest and the USGS logo pops up. Narration is the post text.

Bats don’t make it easy to study them. How do you study an animal that is small enough to fit in your hand, blends well into its surroundings, only active at night, has a call that humans can’t hear, and spends much of its time well-hidden in caves and trees? Bat scientists have to get creative. Some of the methods used by USGS bat scientists have been around for a long time, like setting up big nets to capture bats, or counting bats as they emerge from a roost. But other methods rely on the latest technology, and USGS scientists are innovators, constantly coming up with and testing out new strategies for studying bat biology. Swipe through the carousel to see some of the tools USGS scientists are using to study bats, from nets and acoustic monitors to tiny transmitters, CRISPR, and 3D printing, then learn more about these tools and more in our new feature here: https://ow.ly/bvsW50TXIQA 1) A bat with a Motus nanotag, a type of radio transmitter that can weigh as little as a raindrop 2) Biologist Andrea Schuhmann examines an acoustic bat recording. 3) Biologists set up a mist net at Yosemite National Park to trap bats. 4) Fluorescent samples show that the pathogen that causes white-nose syndrome in bats has been detected using a biosensor developed using CRISPR, a type of gene editing. 5) Biologist Paul Cryan holds 3D printed tools that make bat monitoring more accessible and customizable. P.S. #BatWeek is a made-up greeting card holiday so we can actually celebrate it whenever we want, including one day late.