U.S. Department of the Interior
The presence of water in streams can serve as an indicator for potential droughts. The National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) is the most comprehensive dataset of surface waters in the United States and supports a broad range of applications. The streams mapped in the NHD are classified by streamflow permanence into classes of perennial, intermittent, or ephemeral.
Scientists from eight USGS Science Centers completed a multidisciplinary data collection effort during the week of October 21–25, 2019, using new technologies to map and validate bathymetry over a large stretch of the non-tidal Potomac River.
To support the modeling of the Colorado River water storage area capacity tables by the USGS Utah Water Science Center, the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center created a three-dimensional (3D) high-resolution topobathymetric digital elevation model (TBDEM) for Lake Powell, the second largest man-made reservoir in the United States.
In preparation for the anticipated removal of four large dams from the Klamath River on the California coast, the USGS has begun a multi-year, intensive monitoring program to document the effects that dam removal will have on the river system.
With many years of multi-scale optical system geospatial and radiometric calibration and characterization experience, the EROS Cal/Val Center of Excellence (ECCOE) is a global leader in performing traceable measures of accuracy and assessing data quality to support credible science.
Alterations to river flow can impact natural and cultural resources within river valleys and riparian zones.
Fountain Creek, a tributary to the Arkansas River, is located along the Colorado Front Range. Over the last 100 years, considerable changes in land use and water use have occurred within the Fountain Creek watershed. To meet the needs of the growing population, water is imported from outside the watershed by means of trans-mountain diversions, and most recently, the Southern Delivery System (SDS).
The USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) is leading a study to construct, deploy, and evaluate an underwater Acoustic Deterrent System (uADS) at Lock and Dam 19 (LD19) near Keokuk, Iowa. The uADS will be designed with the goal of deterring Asian carp from moving upstream in the upper Mississippi River.
A vital aspect of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fire management is to conduct fuels treatments that maintain habitat for wildlife, reduce the risk of large wildfires and maintain viewsheds.
This project builds upon wildland fire remote sensing research by addressing novel questions through the analysis of pre-fire and post-fire light detection and ranging (lidar) data and fusion with optical remote sensing.