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Our scientists in the Northwest Region conduct impartial, multi- and interdisciplinary research and monitoring on a large range of natural-resource issues that impact the quality of life of citizens of the Northwest states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.
News
It is difficult to overstate the importance of energy to the American economy. Managing this vital sector depends on knowing how many energy resources we have, how many we use and need, and how these resources are transported
Resource managers, regulators, and stakeholders of Montana and British Columbia’s Lake Koocanusa now have a new approach for understanding the implications of different levels of selenium, and to explore alternative selenium criteria for waters in the Lake.
Just after Labor Day, U.S. Geological Survey field crews began digging a trench within the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort ski area, on the lower reaches of Buffalo Bowl.
Publications
Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership 2017 Annual Report
The Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership (PNAMP) continued to promote the integration of monitoring resources and development of tools to support monitoring in 2017. Improved coordination and integration of goals, objectives, and activities among Pacific Northwest monitoring programs is essential to improving the quality and...
Puls, Amy L.; Scully, Rebecca A.; Dethloff, Megan M.; Bayer, Jennifer M.; Olson, Sheryn J.; Cimino, Samuel A.
Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative—A case study in partnership development
The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) is a successful example of collaboration between science and natural resource management at the landscape scale. In southwestern Wyoming, expanding energy and mineral development, urban growth, and other changes in land use over recent decades, combined with landscape-scale drivers such as...
D'Erchia, Frank Evaluation and prioritization of stream habitat monitoring in the Lower Columbia Salmon and Steelhead Recovery Domain as related to the habitat monitoring needs of ESA recovery plans
The lower Columbia River and its tributaries once supported abundant runs of salmon and steelhead; however, there are five species currently listed under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The National Marine Fisheries Service has completed, and is proposing for adoption, a comprehensive ESA Recovery Plan for the Lower Columbia...
Puls, Amy L.; Anlauf Dunn, Kara; Graham Hudson, BernadetteOur scientists in the Northwest Region conduct impartial, multi- and interdisciplinary research and monitoring on a large range of natural-resource issues that impact the quality of life of citizens of the Northwest states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.
Experimental suppression of invasive lake trout: Implications for conservation of imperiled bull trout in Glacier National Park
After 14,000 years of dominance, Glacier National Park’s (GNP) greatest native aquatic predator is at high risk of extirpation (local extinction) in several lakes on the western slopes of the Continental Divide. The decline of threatened bull trout in GNP is directly attributed to the invasion and establishment of nonnative lake trout, which consistently displace bull trout in systems where...
Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team
The Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST) is an interdisciplinary group of scientists and biologists responsible for long-term monitoring and research efforts on grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). The team was formed by the Department of the Interior (DOI) in 1973 as a direct result of controversy...
Water Monitoring - Idaho National Laboratory
We monitor groundwater and surface-water quality as well as streamflow and reservoir levels at nine surface-water sites.
Water samples are collected...
Landscape Ecology of Aquatic Ecosystems
Landscape ecology has only a short history as a recognized discipline, but it has transformed our thinking about the interplay between pattern and process. We now understand that many smaller-scale phenomena are driven by spatial processes, such as the proximity of different habitats to one another, the ability of organisms to move through landscapes, and the dynamics of natural disturbance...
Groundwater Flow Modeling - Idaho National Laboratory
Numerical models are being used to better understand the flow of groundwater and the transport of radiochemical and chemical constituents in the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer system.
The models, developed at the INL, afford scientists a framework to organize their knowledge and concepts of groundwater systems and to provide insights for water-resource managers for future water...
Geochemical Modeling - Idaho National Laboratory
Geochemical models for the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer system are being used to better understand the flow of groundwater beneath the INL and, ultimately, to better understand the fate and transport of radiochemical and chemical constituents. As water moves through the ground, it picks up chemicals from the gases and rocks it comes in contact with.
Developing Geological Framework - Idaho National Laboratory
As basaltic lava cools and hardens, the inclination, declination, and polarity of the Earth’s ambient magnetic field is recorded in the magnetic minerals of the rock. The recorded magnetic values are largely preserved and can be deciphered by paleomagnetic analysis.
Drilling and Coring - Idaho National Laboratory
We drill and maintain wells around the INL to monitor and sample groundwater, obtain basalt and sediment cores for study and analysis, and study the physical properties of the subsurface (geophysical logging).
This information helps us to improve the scientific understanding of the eastern Snake River Plain and its aquifer. In particular, we are examining the subsidence of the plain and...
Video Logging - Idaho National Laboratory
Drillers use the vertical and horizontal views captured by our downhole video camera to examine borehole integrity before placing water well casing, well screens, and submersible pumps. Hydrologists and geologists use the images to verify geophysical data such as: changes in rock type, small-scale geologic structures, rock fractures, and groundwater movement.
Geophysical Logging - Idaho National Laboratory
Our scientists collect geophysical data from wells to understand the character of rocks and fluids below the surface. Geophysical data for a well are recorded, interpreted, and then disseminated as a geophysical log. Engineers and well drillers use geophysical logs to make well construction decisions such as design for well casing, well screen, and pump placement. Hydrologists, geologists and...
Water Archive Library - Idaho National Laboratory
Since 1966, we have archived over 6000 samples of about 500 mL each of "raw" (unfiltered and unpreserved) water from groundwater and surface-water quality sites collected during our monitoring activities. Through the years, we've kept the water samples in a secure room and tracked which samples researchers have requested and analyzed for various projects.
Contact us for more information...
Core Storage Library - Idaho National Laboratory
Our Core Storage Library currently houses about 73,000 feet of core and several suites of cuttings from boreholes drilled at the INL. More cores and cuttings are added every year. The CSL also houses two suites of core and cuttings from the western Snake River Plain. In 2015, we added new core storage space in building CF 674. We recently...
Our scientists in the Northwest Region conduct impartial, multi- and interdisciplinary research and monitoring on a large range of natural-resource issues that impact the quality of life of citizens of the Northwest states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.
Area of the Named Glaciers of Glacier National Park (GNP) and Flathead National Forest (FNF) Derived from Aerial and Satellite Imagery, 1966, 1998, 2005, 2015
These data represent a time series of the 37 named glaciers of Glacier National Park, MT, USA and two named glaciers in the Flathead National Forest.
Elevation Data
The 3DEP products and services available through The National Map consist of lidar point clouds (LPC), standard digital elevation models (DEMs) at various horizontal resolutions, elevation source and associated datasets, an elevation point query service and bulk point query service. All 3DEP products are available, free of charge and without use restrictions.
Our scientists in the Northwest Region conduct impartial, multi- and interdisciplinary research and monitoring on a large range of natural-resource issues that impact the quality of life of citizens of the Northwest states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.
This map shows the overlapping boundaries of significant ecological and land management areas in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem used by the IGBST to show grizzly bear distribution and occupancy. Click on each boundary for more information.
Links to publications that contain maps of the sea floor or lake beds and the digital data used to create them.
This portal is a “go to” source for maps related to ocean and coastal mapping. Information is organized by geography or region, by theme, and by the year data was published.
Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership 2017 Annual Report
The Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership (PNAMP) continued to promote the integration of monitoring resources and development of tools to support monitoring in 2017. Improved coordination and integration of goals, objectives, and activities among Pacific Northwest monitoring programs is essential to improving the quality and...
Puls, Amy L.; Scully, Rebecca A.; Dethloff, Megan M.; Bayer, Jennifer M.; Olson, Sheryn J.; Cimino, Samuel A. Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative—A case study in partnership development
The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) is a successful example of collaboration between science and natural resource management at the landscape scale. In southwestern Wyoming, expanding energy and mineral development, urban growth, and other changes in land use over recent decades, combined with landscape-scale drivers such as...
D'Erchia, Frank Evaluation and prioritization of stream habitat monitoring in the Lower Columbia Salmon and Steelhead Recovery Domain as related to the habitat monitoring needs of ESA recovery plans
The lower Columbia River and its tributaries once supported abundant runs of salmon and steelhead; however, there are five species currently listed under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The National Marine Fisheries Service has completed, and is proposing for adoption, a comprehensive ESA Recovery Plan for the Lower Columbia...
Puls, Amy L.; Anlauf Dunn, Kara; Graham Hudson, Bernadette Top 10 principles for designing healthy coastal ecosystems like the Salish Sea
Like other coastal zones around the world, the inland sea ecosystem of Washington (USA) and British Columbia (Canada), an area known as the Salish Sea, is changing under pressure from a growing human population, conversion of native forest and shoreline habitat to urban development, toxic contamination of sediments and species, and overharvest of...
Gaydos, Joseph K.; Dierauf, Leslie; Kirby, Grant; Brosnan, Deborah; Gilardi, Kirsten; Davis, Gary E. Top 10 principles for designing healthy coastal ecosystems
Like other coastal zones around the world, the inland sea ecosystem of Washington (USA) and British Columbia (Canada), an area known as the Salish Sea, is changing under pressure from a growing human population, conversion of native forest and shoreline habitat to urban development, toxic contamination of sediments and species, and overharvest of...
Gaydos, Joseph K.; Dierauf, Leslie; Kirby, Grant; Brosnan, Deborah; Gilardi, Kirsten; Davis, Gary E.Our scientists in the Northwest Region conduct impartial, multi- and interdisciplinary research and monitoring on a large range of natural-resource issues that impact the quality of life of citizens of the Northwest states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.
Model archive for Wood River Valley groundwater-flow model
The R package wrv is for processing the groundwater-flow model of the Wood River Valley (WRV) aquifer system, south-central Idaho. The groundwater-flow model is described in the associated model report and model archive. Included in the package is MODFLOW-USG version 1.3, a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) computer code that solves the groundwater-flow equation.
The Shoreline Management Tool—An ArcMap Tool for Analyzing Water Depth, Inundated Area, Volume, and Selected Habitats, with an Example for the Lower Wood River Valley, Oregon
Our scientists in the Northwest Region conduct impartial, multi- and interdisciplinary research and monitoring on a large range of natural-resource issues that impact the quality of life of citizens of the Northwest states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.
Rainbow Glacier perimeter: 1966, 1998, 2005, 2015.
This image shows the perimeter of Rainbow Glacier in Glacier National Park: 1966, 1998, 2005, 2015.
Scientist participating in snowmobile training in Montana.
Scientist participating in snowmobile training in Montana.
USGS scientists collect a sediment sample from Brownlee Reservoir
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and Idaho Power Company collected water, sediment, and biological samples from Brownlee Reservoir as part of an ongoing, cooperative study of mercury cycling in the Hells Canyon complex of reservoirs along the Snake River bordering Idaho and Oregon. The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality is also a partner in the study.
...
Panoramic image from Sperry Glacier in Glacier NP showing fire smoke.
Panoramic image from Sperry Glacier in Glacier National Park showing smoke from forest fires. Information gathered by the USGS managed Sperry Weather Station are being used by regional fire managers to forecast fire weather and future fire behavior.
USGS scientist doing weather station repairs in Glacier National Park.
USGS scientist Erich Peitzsch does repair on the Sperry Weather Station in Glacier National Park. Information gathered by the USGS managed Sperry Weather Station are being used by regional fire managers to forecast fire weather and future fire behavior during the 2017 fire season.
USGS weather station repair operations in Glacier NP.
Crews perform repairs on the Sperry Weather Station as part of Fire Operations in Glacier National Park. Information gathered by the USGS managed Sperry Weather Station are being used by regional fire managers to forecast fire weather and future fire behavior during the 2017 fire season.
Return of the Yellowstone Grizzly Bear
Yellowstone grizzly bears inhabit federal, state, tribal, and private lands, and long-term research requires careful coordination across governmental levels. The Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST) is an interdisciplinary group of scientists and biologists responsible for long-term monitoring and research efforts on grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone
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Bob The Beaver
Meet Bob.
Bob is a beaver.
Beavers and their dams are common sights along creeks in Oregon. Beaver activity can create diverse habitats and homes for many animals, including birds, fishes, and dragonflies. The USGS are studying beaver dams and ponds in Portland, Oregon, to understand how they affect the amount and quality of water in urban streams. Insights
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Using a Continuous Flow Centrifuge to Collect Suspended Sediment
Kathy Conn, a U.S. Geological Survey Water Quality Specialist, demonstrates a new USGS field method using a continuous flow centrifuge to collect suspended sediment from large volumes of water in the Duwamish River near Seattle Washington.
Microplastcs Sampling on Lake Mead
Sampling for microplastics on Lake Mead, March 21, 2017
USGS hydrologic technician collecting data with ADCP from a cableway
USGS hydrologic technician Michael Allen collects streamflow data from the Boise River at streamgage station 13206000 using an acoustic Doppler current profiler.
Post-wildfire debris flow: 2016 Fish Fire, Las Lomas Canyon
The June 2016 Fish Fire burned over 12 km^2 in Los Angeles County, California. After the fire, the USGS installed an automated rain-triggered camera to monitor post-wildfire flooding and debris flow in a small canyon above the Las Lomas debris basin in Duarte. This video shows the peak flow triggered by an intense rainstorm on January 20, 2017.
Our scientists in the Northwest Region conduct impartial, multi- and interdisciplinary research and monitoring on a large range of natural-resource issues that impact the quality of life of citizens of the Northwest states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.
It is difficult to overstate the importance of energy to the American economy. Managing this vital sector depends on knowing how many energy resources we have, how many we use and need, and how these resources are transported
Resource managers, regulators, and stakeholders of Montana and British Columbia’s Lake Koocanusa now have a new approach for understanding the implications of different levels of selenium, and to explore alternative selenium criteria for waters in the Lake.
Just after Labor Day, U.S. Geological Survey field crews began digging a trench within the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort ski area, on the lower reaches of Buffalo Bowl.
BONNERS FERRY, Idaho — From Sept. 24 through 29, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey will conduct dye tracer and aerial mapping studies on northern Idaho’s Kootenai River. Data from the studies will support Idaho Department of Fish and Game and Kootenai Tribe of Idaho fisheries and river restoration projects.
A new U.S. Geological Survey study provides a larger window into the future for understanding how seasonal stream temperatures may change in one of the most ecologically diverse ecosystems in North America – the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem, USA and Canada.
A carbonatite here, a glacial moraine there, a zig-zagging fault or two, even a behemoth of a batholith. The geology of the 50 States is an enormous patchwork of varied forms, beautiful in their variance but challenging to present as a single map.
The U.S. Geological Survey awarded approximately $4.9 million this week to six universities and a university-governed non-profit, to support transitioning the west coast “ShakeAlert” earthquake early warning system into a production system.
After the next significant earthquake, many sources will be disseminating information from a variety of accounts, tools and services.
MEDIA ADVISORY
Twenty-five middle-school girls from 11 cities in Washington and Oregon are participating in the third annual “GeoGirls” outdoor volcano science program at Mount St. Helens, jointly organized by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Mount St. Helens Institute.
From the journals of Lewis & Clark, April 13, 1805 (in the vicinity of Pouch Point Recreation Area - 16 miles south of New Town, North Dakota):
Reporters: If interested in being notified when the study date is chosen, please contact Jennifer or Susannah.
The U.S. Geological Survey has released a new report detailing changes of groundwater levels in the High Plains aquifer. The report presents water-level change data in the aquifer for two separate periods: from 1950 – the time prior to significant groundwater irrigation development – to 2015, and from 2013 to 2015.
Our scientists in the Northwest Region conduct impartial, multi- and interdisciplinary research and monitoring on a large range of natural-resource issues that impact the quality of life of citizens of the Northwest states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.
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Locations
Idaho Water Science Center
Phone: Phone: (208) 387-1300
Fax: (208) 387-1372
Washington Water Science Center
Phone: (253) 552-1600
Fax: (253) 552-1581
Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center - Cheyenne Office
Phone: (307) 778-2931
Fax: (307) 778-2764
Geologic Hazards Science Center
Phone: 303-273-8500
Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center - Helena Office
Phone: (406) 457-5900
Fax: (406) 457-5990
NOROCK Headquarters
Phone: 406-994-7544
Fax: 406-994-6556
FRESC Headquarters
fresc_outreach@usgs.gov
Phone: 541-750-1030
Fax: 541-750-1069
Western Fisheries Research Center (WFRC)
Phone: (206) 526-6282
Fax: (206) 526-6654
Northwest Washington Field Office
Phone: (360) 312-8155 x2001
Fax: (360) 312-8565
Klamath Falls Field Office
Phone: 541-273-8689
Contacts
Our scientists in the Northwest Region conduct impartial, multi- and interdisciplinary research and monitoring on a large range of natural-resource issues that impact the quality of life of citizens of the Northwest states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.
