Helicopter

At roughly 50,000 mi², the Yukon-Kuskokwim River Delta forms a vast, flat expanse in western Alaska that is a critical northern breeding and staging habitat for migrating waterbirds and hosts more than 35 indigenous villages.  Due to its orientation, shallow bathymetry, and low relief, the delta is highly vulnerable to coastal flooding associated with storm surges, which can reach miles inland.  The region also appears to be subsiding, which further exacerbates flooding concerns.  As a result, the villages in the area are some of the most imperiled communities in A

How often does the Fairweather Fault break in large earthquakes along the outer coast of Glacier Bay National Park in southeastern Alaska? Researchers at the USGS Alaska Science Center are mapping active surface traces of the Fairweather Fault to identify sites that may answer this question and reveal the frequency and size of past large earthquakes. By assessing past earthquake activity of the Fairweather Fault, scientists hope to improve the USGS National Seismic Hazard Map for the southeastern Alaska region.

The USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory utilizes oblique and vertical aerial photography to monitor topographic changes at Mount St. Helens volcano.  During the 2004–2008 eruption of Mount St.

Airborne, surface, and borehole geophysical surveys were conducted as a major component of a  groundwater resource exploration study of arid basins at Fort Irwin National Training Center (NTC) in the Mojave Desert in eastern California. To plan for the long-term water availability at the NTC, water resources are being evaluated in undeveloped groundwater basins underlying the NTC.

A quantitative understanding of snow accumulation on glaciers is essential to understanding glacier mass balance and provides insights into a wide range of scientific and resource management topics. The USGS Alaska Science Center is using 500 MHz ground penetrating radar (GPR) to map snow accumulation at multiple glaciers.

The hazard posed by earthquakes is strongly related to the geologic slip rate of active faults.  To determine slip rates, geologists use high-resolution digital elevation maps (DEMs) to reconstruct landforms offset by meters to hundreds of meters by active faults.  Scientists at the Earthquake Science Center in Pasadena, California, are working to improve methods for obtaining low-cost but high-resolution DEMs using structure from motion (SfM) photogrammetry.  SfM software utilizes a set of overlapping photographs to determine the relative camera position and orientation of e

Refuge staff photographed one unit of Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) using a handheld digital single-lens reflex camera from a helicopter.  The flight produced hundreds of oblique angle aerial images.  Images were stitched together in flight lines using Adobe Photoshop, then georeferenced and rectified using ArcGIS.  The rectified images were then seamlessly mosaicked to create a single aerial image of the unit.  The photographs were taken at an extreme high tide to depict where water was pooling on the refuge, creating a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Measurements of the volume and rate of growth of active lava flows and domes are key parameters of volcano monitoring.  Measurements of the volume and rate of growth of active lava flows and domes are key parameters of volcano monitoring that help scientists to better understand eruption dynamics.  During lava dome effusion, these metrics also provide important information about potential hazards such as effusion rate changes that may signify a transition from effusive to explosive activity, and the volume of erupted materials subject to potential gravitational col

Salmon and trout often use cold-water refuges when surrounding water temperatures are higher than their preferred water temperatures. The relatively cool areas may be small patches of cool water created by groundwater inputs or junctions with cold tributary streams. These “refuges” are described in detail at http://www.epa.gov/region10/pdf/water/torgersen_etal_2012_cold_water_refuges.pdf.

This project evaluates the spatial distribution and volume of the fresh and brackish (saline) groundwater resources on the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. This investigation will evaluate the sources of water and water use in the Reservation through activities such as historical water use, characterization of water wells, and predicting the potential effects of groundwater overdraft and contamination from upwelling of deeper saline water.