This topical directory provides an alternate way to browse United States Geological Survey (USGS) science programs and activities. It is not an exhaustive list of all USGS science topics but provides a categorization using a thesaurus of related terms that will give definitions, links to science content, and a structured approach to discovery. The directory is divided into fourteen major topic headings, ... Full description.

This virtual tour features three-dimensional images from the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) collection. It introduces visitors to the geology, landforms, and history of Crater Lake in Oregon, a lake filling the caldera of what was Mount Mazama, an ancient volcano in the Cascades Range that erupted and collapsed about 7,700 years ago. The 3-D images are anaglyphs and require red and cyan ... Full description.

This virtual tour features three-dimensional images from the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) collection. It introduces visitors to the geology, landforms, and volcanic history of Sunset Crater National Monument, which was the scene of volcanic activity beginning in 1064 to 1065 AD and continuing for approximately 200 years. Visitors can see Sunset Cater itself, cinder and spatter cones, the ... Full description.

This virtual tour features three-dimensional images from the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) collection. These images are restored versions of famous 'stereographs' shot in the park by Frank Jay Haynes in the 1880s. They introduce visitors to the volcanic deposits and features of Yellowstone National Park, including geysers, hot springs, and deposits of tuff and rhyolite associated with massive ... Full description.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) established the National Water Quality Assesment (NAWQA) program in 1985 to assess water quality conditions and trends in representative river basins and aquifers across the United States. With this report, the NRC's Water Science and Technology Board has provided advice to USGS regarding NAWQA five separate times as the program evolved from an unfunded concept to ... Full description.

The destructive force of earthquakes has stimulated human inquiry since ancient times, yet the scientific study of earthquakes is a surprisingly recent endeavor. Instrumental recordings of earthquakes were not made until the second half of the 19th century, and the primary mechanism for generating seismic waves was not identified until the beginning of the 20th century. From this recent start, a ... Full description.

Estimates of groundwater recharge and discharge rates are needed at many different scales for many different purposes. These include such tasks as evaluating landslide risks, managing groundwater resources, locating nuclear waste repositories, and estimating global budgets of water and greenhouse gasses. Groundwater Fluxes Across Interfaces focuses on scientific challenges in (1) spatial and temporal ... Full description.

This volume discusses the readiness of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) facility near Carlsbad, New Mexico, to serve as a geological repository for transuranic radioactive waste. WIPP is located in a Permian-age bedded salt deposit 658 meters below the surface. The committee has long reviewed DOE's readiness efforts, now aimed at demonstrating compliance with ... Full description.

Just below our feet is an environment that supports our infrastructure, yields water, provides for agriculture, and receives our waste. Our capacity to describe, or characterize, this environment is crucial to the solution of many resource, environmental, and engineering problems. And just as medical imaging technologies have reduced the need for exploratory surgeries, a variety of technologies hold ... Full description.

This book, the result of a congressionally mandated study, examines the adequacy of the regulatory framework for mining of hardrock minerals--such as gold, silver, copper, and uranium--on over 350 million acres of federal lands in the western United States. These lands are managed by two agencies--the Bureau of Land Management in the Department of the Interior, and the Forest Service in the Department ... Full description.