By harry_ackley@ios.doi.gov from All News. Published on Aug 26, 2026.

Scientists from the California and Nevada Water Science Centers attended the 30th annual Lake Tahoe Summit to discuss the work the USGS is doing in the Tahoe Basin. This year’s event was hosted by Nevada senator Jacky Rosen and featured, American rock climber and author, Tommy Caldwell, as keynote speaker.

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 26, 2026.

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory supported the response to Hurricane Lala, which affected the Hawaiian Islands the weekend of August 15.  On Friday, August 21, HVO organized a helicopter LiDAR mission over flood-damaged areas in the Kaʻū district on the Island of Hawaiʻi.

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 25, 2026.

Episode 54 of lava fountaining in Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea began at 10:30 a.m. HST on August 25, 2026.

By kmalpeli@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 25, 2026.

A new USGS study documents an unprecedented decline in two planktic foraminifera species from 2017-2020 in the northern Gulf. 

By ppearsall@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 24, 2026.

Extreme rainfall can send huge amounts of sediment rushing off hillsides and into streams. But a new USGS study finds that even an exceptionally wet year may deliver only a small fraction of that sediment to San Francisco Bay—far short of what is needed to help coastal wetlands and shorelines keep pace with rising sea levels. 

By ppearsall@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 24, 2026.

Beach nourishment projects are often judged by how long newly placed sand remains on the beach. But new research suggests that even when nourishment appears to disappear quickly, it may continue providing important coastal benefits beneath the waves. 

By mpoland@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 23, 2026.

Yellowstone National Park is rightly famous for spectacular geysers.  It also has hot springs that create thumps you can hear and feel!

By jmbaker@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 21, 2026.

topoBuilder is driven by user feedback, and now it’s easier than ever to have your voice heard with the newly released survey feature accessible in the topoBuilder application.

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 20, 2026.

Have you ever felt an earthquake and rushed to the USGS website to check where it happened and what magnitude it was? Or wondered whether Kīlauea’s summit is building pressure again so you took at peek at the tiltmeter data? Maybe you heard that another fountaining episode is happening at Kīlauea’s summit, so you’ve pulled up a livestream to see lava flowing. 

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 20, 2026.

Did you feel that earthquake? Time to check the location and magnitude. Do you need to find out how much Kīlauea summit region has repressurized since the last eruption? You can check tiltmeter data in about three clicks. Is the eruption forecast window open? Turn on those livestreaming cameras to see if lava is flowing. 

By lhsu@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 18, 2026.

The Powell Center invites researchers to submit proposals for two-year synthesis projects on any Earth or environmental science topic.

By arahama@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 18, 2026.

History: In late August of 2025, an adult male 2.5 g Broad-Tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) was found dead in Apache county, Arizona, USA.

By aliford@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 17, 2026.

The USGS Science Data Management Branch will be hosting two upcoming training events for USGS authors and data managers. The first will be focused on Globus Transfer for data release and the second will be a Metadata 101 training.

By mpoland@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 16, 2026.

Supereruptions are often imaged to be massive instantaneous events.  New geological evidence from Yellowstone, however, shows that these eruptions are more complex and might involve numerous smaller pulses spread over years.

By mzoeller@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 13, 2026.

Out in the open ocean, waves are constantly rolling and crashing. That motion creates a steady, rhythmic beating on the seafloor. Those vibrations travel through the Earth and are picked up by seismometers around the world, including here in Hawaii.

By mzoeller@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 13, 2026.

Ocean swells are constantly beating on the ocean floor. This nonstop drumming creates continuous signals that travel through the Earth and are recorded on seismometers. Changes in the speed of these ocean noise signals can give us clues about volcanic activity.

By ppearsall@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 13, 2026.

Long-term satellite observations show how human-built coastal structures influence the movement and buildup of sand along three Southern California beaches: Ventura, Santa Monica and Newport Beach.

By ldesmither@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 12, 2026.

Lava fountaining episode 53 at the summit of Kīlauea started on August 12 at 3:45 p.m. HST and ended on August 13 at 1:23 a.m. HST.

By lmcduffie@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 12, 2026.

The U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center is working in cooperation with the City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ), Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF), and the Corps of Engineers (COE) to provide real-time warning of an impending glacial outburst flood and monitor Mendenhall River conditions during the flood. 

By mzoeller@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 11, 2026.

On Tuesday, August 11, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists completed a brief helicopter overflight of Halema‘uma‘u crater, site of the Kīlauea summit eruption that is expected to see a fifty-third lava fountaining episode in the coming days.

By cduzet@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 11, 2026.

An interdisciplinary team of fisheries science experts is using artificial intelligence to help tackle one of the most data-limited areas of environmental science: inland fisheries.

By jlmckay@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 11, 2026.

The Zooplankton International Geospatial (ZIG) dataset is a global, harmonized collection of freshwater zooplankton records paired with water chemistry data, built through a multi‑year community effort. It includes information from 311 lakes across 37 countries, providing extensive long‑term observations that help researchers analyze ecological change. 

By nandita_kohli@ios.doi.gov from All News. Published on Aug 11, 2026.

The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is responsible for oversight of the animal care and use program and the components as described in the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.

By sbayliss@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 11, 2026.

Scientists from the USGS Climate Adaptation Science Centers published a new paper outlining a research agenda for supporting management of species with shifting ranges, including understanding the drivers of range shifts, evaluating management strategies, and improving how science supports decision-making across ecological and jurisdictional boundaries. 

By sbayliss@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 11, 2026.

By melding scientific measures with human emotional responses and values, National CASC researchers and partners discuss a more holistic way to understand the uncertainties caused by accelerating global changes. 

By kkovacs@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 11, 2026.

Join this Friday's Findings to learn how USGS is investigating the potential effects of critical minerals on aquatic life and characterizing the bioavailability and toxicity of these elements in aquatic ecosystems.

By smieszek@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 10, 2026.

USGS scientists traveled to Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic June 20-27, 2026, to meet with government agencies and other organizations with active water projects to discuss how USGS science could support priorities and address challenges for water resource management in the country.

By rhammer-lester@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 10, 2026.

Joint trend analysis of streamflow and groundwater on a national scale is a critical step toward understanding how national water budget components respond concurrently and interactively to environmental drivers. A new USGS study shows that groundwater and streamflow don’t always respond to drivers of change in the same way. 

By mpoland@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 09, 2026.

Although earthquakes present a major geologic hazard for humans, they may be key in the long-term survival of subsurface microbial communities.

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Aug 06, 2026.

Kīlauea’s summit has been erupting intermittent lava fountains since December 23rd, 2024, producing 52 episodes of lava fountains so far—some shooting more than 1,700 feet into the air, taller than the Empire State Building in New York City. But why do these fountain heights rise and fall?