USGS Submissions

Imagery collected using unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are being used to document baseline vegetation conditions and to monitor progress of bottomland forest restoration at the Little Saint Francis River, Missouri.

The USGS Dakota Water Science Center is conducting high-resolution hydrographic mapping on two additional study areas in southeastern South Dakota.

Cyanobacterial blooms in eutrophic inland waters are a worldwide concern and are exacerbated by high nutrient inputs and warm waters. Blooms are appearing with increasing frequency in water bodies used for drinking water supply or recreation, a problem that will likely worsen as the climate warms.

Satellite images and streamgages are the two most common measurement tools used to assemble a record of historical water inundation dynamics, but access to necessary tools and analysis software is often sparse in those parts of the world most vulnerable to extreme hydrologic events.

Obtaining timely, accurate information on streamflow in Alaska’s rivers is difficult because gaging stations are sparse, with many located in remote inaccessible areas. Even for established gages, the maintenance and periodic measurements required to operate a gage are logistically challenging and can place personnel at risk, particularly during high flows.

Wetlands and surface waters are critically important for both natural and anthropogenic processes including climate regulation, the maintenance of biodiversity, and the provision of ecosystem services important for human well-being. Until recently, mapping the spatial and temporal variability of the Earth’s surface waters and wetlands would have been an impossible task.

The USGS is developing innovative technologies and approaches for measuring river discharge using remotely sensed data. Given the expense associated with remote sensing from conventional aerial platforms (e.g., helicopter, airplane), unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) offer hydrographers a lower cost alternative for data acquisition.

Carbonate precipitation can occur where groundwater enters lakes and supplies chemicals missing from the lake, creating carbonate mounds called tufa mounds or microbialites. These precipitates can often be associated with microbes that either create micro-environments that encourage precipitation or act as templates for precipitation.

The rich archive of Landsat imagery combined with the Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop) model can be used to estimate and map actual evapotranspiration (ET) across large basins to quantify long-term crop consumptive use.

The Central Valley of California is one of the most productive agricultural regions of the United States and irrigated agriculture is one of the heaviest consumers of water resources, so understanding how different crops use water over time is essential for planning and managing water allocation, water rights, and agricultural production.