USGS Submissions

The Greater Platte River Basin is an area that contains many fragile ecosystems that could be sensitive to changes in climate and land use.  Geologic mapping of surficial deposits in the South Platte River in eastern Colorado and the Niobrara National Scenic River in northern Nebraska is underway to better understand the geologic framework of some of these ecosystems.  The mapping, combined with geochronologic research, is key to understanding the timing and causes of landscape change in the two areas.  National Aerial Photography Program (NAPP) color infrared

The USGS MRP has released a new set of maps compiled from Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data that illustrate minerals deposited by hydrothermal alteration that are typically associated with copper, gold, silver, and molybdenum deposits. Some of the minerals mapped are also associated with REE-rich carbonatite deposits. Map coverage of the Basin and Range includes Nevada, southern Arizona, and parts of California, New Mexico, and Utah.

Since 2007, the USGS has been supporting the U.S. Department of State (DoS), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Kimberley Process (KP) to stem the flow of conflict diamonds into the international market. The Kimberley Process (KP) is a joint government, industry, and civil society initiative to prevent "conflict diamonds" (rough diamonds used by rebel movements to finance wars against legitimate governments) from entering the mainstream rough diamond market.

Bernard Hubbard, funded by the USGS Mineral Resources Program (MRP), is using a variety of spaceborne remote sensing image assets (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), Landsat 8, EO-1 ALI, and Hyperion) to better understand the distribution and formation of laterite clay-hosted rare earth element (REE) deposits in southern China as a guide to exploration for such deposits in the southeastern United States.   

Ongoing USGS national-scale mineral resource and geoenvironmental assessments require an efficient and accurate means of mapping and characterizing mineral exposures related to mined and unmined hydrothermally altered rocks and mine waste.   The presence and mineralogy of altered rocks are important factors in determining the occurrence potential of concealed mineral deposits.  Investigations at the deposit and watershed scales have described the importance of sulfide-bearing altered rocks and mine waste as diffuse sources of acidic solutions that can transpor

The USGS is partnering with State agencies in Utah to acquire more than 1,300 square miles of airborne lidar data (8 points per square meter) along the 186-mile Wasatch fault and nearby urban areas. These high-resolution topographic data will allow scientists to map the Quaternary fault traces in unprecedented detail, recognize previously unidentified fault strands, and identify future paleoseismic trench study sites. The data will advance the USGS Earthquake Hazard Program’s goal to characterize and reduce seismic hazards along the Wasatch Front urban corridor.

USGS scientists, in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), have developed forecasts of the number of large fires to expect in specific geographic regions.  The weekly forecasts of the location and number of large fires are provided for the Nation for each predictive service area.

After a major disaster, a satellite image or a collection of aerial photography is frequently the fastest, most effective way to determine the scope and severity of the event. With that goal, the USGS operates the Hazards Data Distribution System (HDDS) to process and deliver satellite and aerial imagery in near-real time during natural or human-caused disasters (e.g., hurricanes or oil spills).  For example, after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2005, Landsat images showed when and where the floodwaters drained.

Many low-lying U.S. coastal communities are threatened by tsunami hazards and could be inundated minutes after a local earthquake or landslide.  To support tsunami outreach and preparedness efforts in Alaska, USGS geographers modeled pedestrian-evacuation travel times in Seward using high-resolution imagery (e.g., 1-m 2005 IKONOS) and lidar-derived, 5-foot elevation data. Evacuation modeling was done based on modern landscape and population characteristics and historical conditions in Seward before the 1964 Good Friday earthquake and tsunami disaster.

Paleoseismic records are essential for conducting thorough seismic hazard assessments. High slip rates along geologic faults and the presence of tectonic plate margins in the western United States result in many well expressed faults at the surface, and these faults are prime targets for acquiring the paleoseismic data needed for hazard assessments.  The opposite is true in the central and eastern United States, and particularly so in the Wabash Valley seismic zone (southern Illinois, southwestern Indiana, and western Kentucky).