U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

In one of the coldest, quietest places on Earth, scientists are listening for earthquakes. ❄️🌍 The deep Antarctic ice offers something rare in seismology: stillness. Far from surface noise, even the faintest ground motion can be detected, making the South Pole an ideal place to monitor earthquakes happening anywhere on the planet. This winter, USGS scientists are installing two new seismometers more than 8,000 feet beneath the ice surface, deeper than any seismometers have been deployed before. Lowered into narrow boreholes and suspended within the ice, the instruments are carefully positioned to take advantage of this naturally quiet environment. Built to withstand extreme cold and pressure, the seismometers will record earthquakes, subtle ice movement, and long-period waves that reveal Earth’s internal structure. A partnership with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, University of Wisconsin-Madison , and the National Science Foundation (NSF) allows these sensors to be placed exactly where they work best, continuing more than 60 years of seismic research at the South Pole. 📸1: Researchers assemble a seismometer at the Physical Sciences Laboratory in Stoughton, Wisconsin. Photo Credit: Taylor Wolfram / UW–Madison 📸2: The IceCube lab at the South Pole.

USGS Hosts Department of the Interior Leadership Dr. Ned Mamula, USGS Director, welcomed Secretary Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Interior, and Dr. Andrea Travnicek, Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, to the USGS Reston office. During their visit, the group examined historic USGS maps and explored our rock and mineral collections, showcasing the depth and legacy of the bureau’s work. The tour highlighted both our long-standing contributions to Earth science and the ongoing impact of our work: providing clear, reliable data that protects lives and property, supports energy and mineral decisions, strengthens water infrastructure, and promotes economic growth. We thank them for taking the time to engage with our team and for their ongoing support of the USGS mission. 📸1: Dr. Ned Mamula and Secretary Doug Burgum examine a historic map. 📸2: Dr. Ned Mamula, Secretary Doug Burgum, and Dr. Andrea Travnicek in the USGS Reston lobby. 📸3: USGS Map Librarian Debbie Frye showing a map to Secretary Doug Burgum and Dr. Ned Mamula.

Maps from the 1800s. Unpublished photos of earthquakes and volcanoes. Decades of handwritten field notes. That’s just a glimpse of what’s preserved in the USGS Library, one of the oldest and most comprehensive Earth science libraries in the world. Whether you’re researching, teaching, or just curious about the Earth, these collections continue to support learning, discovery, and decision-making today. With millions of items across topics like energy, minerals, volcanoes, water quality, and more, the Library provides access to data, journals, maps, and historic materials that deepen scientific understanding. Highlights from the collection include: 🧭 USGS topographic maps dating from the early 1880s to today, including current and historical editions for all U.S. states and territories 📝 Field records with notes, maps, correspondence, sample analyses, and project archives documenting more than a century of scientific investigations 📷 Photographic archives with more than 500,000 images of earthquakes, volcanoes, landscapes, mining history, fieldwork, and the people behind the science—many never published 💎 Special collections on gems and minerals, featuring rare gemology books, historical trade records, and materials tied to notable gemstones 📜 Rare books and historical maps dating back to the 16th century, covering geology, mining, transportation, and political boundaries Many of these collections are available online, and select materials can be explored in person at USGS Library locations in Denver, CO; Moffett Field, CA; and Reston, VA. Explore the collections 👉 https://library.usgs.gov 📸1: Geologic map of the Pringletown, Ridgeville, Summerville, and Summerville Northwest 7.5-minute quadrangles, Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester Counties, South Carolina. 📸2: Reports of the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel, Volumes 2, 3, and 4. 📸3: Raised relief map of Driggs, Idaho/Wyoming. #America250

*Update (1/22/26): In case you missed the webinar, here is a link to the recording: https://lnkd.in/gFusFW-T ------------------------------ The U.S. Geological Survey is hosting a free virtual webinar to introduce water data users to new features in the Water Data for the Nation (WDFN) delivery system as well as what’s being decommissioned from legacy National Water Information System Web Interface (NWISWeb) pages.   📆 Webinar Details: Date: January 15, 2026 Time: 2:00-3:00 PM ET Who can attend: Anyone who accesses USGS water data from WDFN, legacy NWISWeb pages, or WaterServices APIs – including users of the R and Python dataRetrieval packages.   What to Expect: We will highlight important changes in how we deliver water data. These changes are part of a long-term effort to modernize our WDFN systems, improve performance, and better serve both internal and public users.   💧New features on Monitoring Location Pages and the USGS National Water Dashboard, including field measurements and daily data 💧How to find data and documentation to support water data use cases 💧Checklist of how to transition from NWISWeb to modernized WDFN pages and APIs Join us for this public webinar. No registration required—add the event link to your calendar and join us on Teams when it’s live.👉 https://ow.ly/XWxb50XWTcP

Calling all GIS, remote sensing, and environmental scientists! The USGS is hosting a free webinar on tools that help researchers and analysts visualize, analyze, and interpret data from the Annual National Land Cover Database (NLCD). 📅 Webinar Details: Date: January 20, 2026 Time: 1:00–2:00 PM ET Who should attend: Anyone integrating Annual NLCD data into workflows for mapping, modeling, or analysis. Live demonstrations will show how to use Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium tools to: 🔸 Explore Annual NLCD products 🔸Visualize land cover and land cover change 🔸Request custom downloads 🔸Generate county-level land cover change statistics between selected years 🔗 Register here: https://ow.ly/gktF50XWmYL

*Update (1/22/26): In case you missed the webinar, here is a link to the recording: https://lnkd.in/gY9bxgAk ----------------------------- The U.S. Geological Survey is hosting a free webinar to introduce researchers and water managers to newly available, modeled water data for the lower 48 states, including water quantity, use, and availability. 📅 Workshop Details: Date: January 13, 2026 Time: 3:00–4:00 PM ET Who can attend: Anyone interested in accessing modeled water data, including researchers, educators, and water managers What to expect: An introduction to nationally consistent modeled water datasets, including: 🔹 Water quantity data (new!) including precipitation, actual evapotranspiration, snow water equivalent, and soil moisture 🔹 Water use data including thermoelectric power, public supply, and crop irrigation  🔹 Integrated surface water supply and use data (new!), which indicates water limitation In addition, we’ll guide you on how to: 🔹 Interpret the data, using key findings on water limitation and regional comparisons 🔹 Access the data, including subsets for different areas or timeframes 🔹 Find tutorials for R and Python to graph or map modeled water data 🔹 Build customizable queries through our API service Join us for this public webinar. No registration required—add the event link to your calendar and join us on Teams when it’s live.👉 https://ow.ly/MXZG50XTcuk

Drawing the contours of a nation in the making. ✏️🗺️ Founded in 1879, the USGS published its first topographic map just three years later, in 1882. Our topographers tackled rugged landscapes and harsh conditions to map the United States, long before aerial photos and GPS.  These historic images capture their dedication, skill, and sometimes sheer grit as they carried heavy instruments, took precise measurements, and sketched the land by hand. Their work laid the foundation for America’s first detailed maps—and for the maps, data, and science we rely on today. Explore the full history of USGS topographic mapping here 👉https://lnkd.in/gVbFuv8z 📸1: Topographer triangulating on top of Highland Peak, Siskiyou County, California, 1913. 📸2: Topographic field party crossing a snowdrift at the head of Grand Creek while mapping the Mt. Constance quadrangle in the Olympic Mountains of Washington, 1931. 📸3: Topographers at work on the Canadian boundary, illustrating the use of a planetable, 1906. 📸4: Roland Burchard (left) and Claude Birdseye (recording on right) on the Colorado River, 1923. 📸5: Pack train in snow at the head of Palisade Creek, California, taken during mapping of the Mt. Goddard quadrangle, 1907. #America250 #TopographicMapping

Build the future of water tech this summer! Applications are open for the 2026 Future Leaders in Observations of Water (FLOW) Academy. ⏰Deadline to apply is January 5th. This seven-week program, hosted by USGS and the The University of Alabama Water Institute, will be held from June 8 to July 30, 2026, in Tuscaloosa, AL. Undergraduate and graduate students passionate about water, STEM, and exploring water science careers are encouraged to apply. Benefits: ✔️ Interactive workshops and field excursions ✔️ Federal careers day ✔️ Networking and professional growth ✔️ Experience in the groundbreaking USGS Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF) Don't miss your chance to join the 2026 cohort of future water innovators and leaders. Apply today👉https://ow.ly/qer950XQ2PE 📷 Students in the USGS HIF's Basic Electronics and Troubleshooting class practice hands-on learning of basic soldering and wiring techniques.

Celebrating the winners of the USGS National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program’s 2025 Best Student Geologic Map Competition! 🗺️🏆 At this year’s Geological Society of America meeting in San Antonio, Texas, 16 undergraduate and graduate students put their mapping skills to the test, showcasing geologic maps spanning from the U.S. Pacific Northwest to the Iberian Peninsula. We’re pleased to announce the top awards: 🥇 First Place: Terri Zach, University of Kentucky Geology of the Survey Peak 7.5' Quadrangle, Wyoming: Using Detailed Mapping to Reconstruct the Paleo-Topography of the Northern Teton Range and Implications for the Paleo-Teton Collapse Hypothesis. 🥈 Second Place: Terry Lee, University of Nevada, Reno 1:24,000-Scale Geologic Map of the Western Half of the Franklin Lake NW 7.5-Minute Quadrangle, Ruby Mountains–East Humboldt Range Metamorphic Core Complex, Northeast Nevada. 🥉 Third Place: David Canova, Universitat de Barcelona Salt structures in the Eastern External Betics fold and thrust belt, SE Iberia—Geologic maps, cross sections, and palinspastic reconstructions. A big congratulations to the winners, and thank you to all the students who participated this year! The next Best Student Geologic Map Competition will be held at GSA Connects 2026 in Denver, CO, 11–14 October. Visit the EDMAP website for future updates! 👉https://ow.ly/VI1o50XNPO3 📸: Left to right: First place winner Terri Zach showcasing her poster to Ryan Thigpen, University of Kentucky, Jillian Cavellier, University of Kentucky, and Drew Andrews, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology. Credit: GSA

🎶 Baby, it’s cold inside… ❄️ The USGS houses and operates the National Science Foundation (NSF) Ice Core Facility (NSF-ICF) located in Denver, Colorado, where scientists work in temperatures far below freezing to protect some of Earth’s most valuable climate records. The facility’s main job is to safely store and care for ice cores, which are long cylinders of ice collected mainly by NSF-funded projects. Scientists can study these frozen “time capsules” here without traveling to remote locations. The main archive freezer is about 55,000 cubic feet and kept at a frosty -36°C. An adjacent 12,000-cubic-foot room at -24°C gives scientists space for close-up ice core examination. By analyzing ice cores, scientists can reconstruct past climates and better understand how the Earth’s climate is changing today. Science has never been cooler 🥶 Learn how to request samples, view the inventory, and visit the facility 👉https://ow.ly/qtvM50XJOFj #SnowyScience 📷1: All bundled up and ready to enter the ice core freezer. Credit: USGS 📷2: An ice lab worker with a 16,000-year-old core. Credit: NSF-ICF 📷3: A scientist saws a section of an ice core that will be analyzed for its ancient trapped gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane. Credit: NSF-ICF