By lowen@contractor.usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 22, 2026.

In 2025, Landsat celebrated several milestones. We officially bid farewell to Landsat 7 and its 26-year mission and legacy, while continuing to show how Landsat imagery supports real world decision-making through new stories highlighting its role across industries. The year also brought the announcement of  a new Landsat Science Team set to begin in 2026. Catch up on our year here.

By jlawson@contractor.usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 22, 2026.

The USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center scientists’ work helps save lives and protect property while EROS offers remote sensing data to the world.

As the Earth begins its next revolution around the sun, let’s look back at some of the exciting accomplishments at EROS in 2025!

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 21, 2026.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists conducted a monitoring overflight of Kīlauea summit on January 16, following the eruption of episode 40 in Halemaʻumaʻu on January 12, 2026. 

By lcorey@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 21, 2026.

This is the latest in a series of Get to Know posts highlighting and celebrating the contributions of exemplary Scientists Emeriti.  Their work, experience, and contributions are essential to the mission of the USGS. 

By mhartwell@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 20, 2026.

The Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC) is based in Flagstaff, AZ, with field stations in Tucson, AZ, and Moab, UT.  SBSC's social media highlights terrestrial and river ecosystem science conducted on the Colorado Plateau, Colorado River, and drylands of Arizona, California, and Utah. SBSC's mission is to conduct quality, objective research on the lands and aquatic systems of the Southwest.

By ssobie@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 20, 2026.

Since December 23, 2024, an eruption has been intermittently active within the Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea on the island of Hawaiʻi. This recent eruptive event is one of many that have occurred at the volcano over the past few decades. In the timeline below, we outline how these recent eruptions have shaped the island and impacted the people who live there.

By cduzet@contractor.usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 20, 2026.

CASC researchers, in partnership with other federal and university partners, are studying the impacts of warming temperatures on Arctic rivers that are vital for cultural, spiritual, and subsistence activities, by integrating Indigenous knowledges with western science through the Arctic Rivers Project.

By mpoland@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 19, 2026.

When trying to understand the behavior of a volcanic system like Yellowstone and the likelihood it will have another eruption, it is important to determine how many eruptions occurred in the past and when they occurred. Some of Yellowstone’s past eruptions may be hiding, which makes this question difficult to answer.

By dchilds@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 16, 2026.

USGS researchers at the Oklahoma Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, biologists at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC), and researchers at Oklahoma State University are leading a study on rainbow trout fishing at the lower Mountain Fork River (LMFR) below Broken Bow Dam in southeastern Oklahoma. 

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 15, 2026.

Last week’s “Volcano Watch” article reviewed the lava fountaining eruption of Kīlauea Iki in 1959. This week, we’ll continue looking back in time at the next episodic lava fountaining eruption in Kīlauea’s history: the Maunaulu eruption that occurred a decade later, in 1969. 

By edietrich@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 15, 2026.

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has proven to be a complex issue for wildlife managers: effective disease management may not always align with stakeholder wants. In a new study, researchers found that some wildlife managers are feeling caught between a rock and a hard place, operating under constrained decision options where they may struggle to reduce CWD prevalence and meet the public’s needs.  

By lowen@contractor.usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 15, 2026.

The U.S. Geological Survey Technology Transfer Office has entered into three Cooperative Research & Development Agreements (CRADAs) aimed at advancing Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications and Machine Learning (ML) methods to optimize Landsat Missions Flight Operations.

By mnewbrough@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 15, 2026.

Chesapeake Bay Program — Press Release — January 15, 2026

By ssobie@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 15, 2026.

The USGS Albuquerque Seismological Observatory is partnering with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the National Science Foundation to deploy new seismometers in the coolest way possible.

By nschmer@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 14, 2026.

USGS groundwater and surface water monitoring data contributed to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's (PaDEP) January 8, 2026, expansion of drought watches to three additional counties. A total of 40 counties are now under drought watch, and one county under a warning.

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 14, 2026.

Kīlauea summit eruption episode 40 lava fountaining lasted for just under 10 hours on January 12, with maximum lava fountain heights of about 800 feet (250 meters). 

By samgott@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 14, 2026.

RESTON, Va. — The U.S. Geological Survey released its assessment of undiscovered gas and oil in the Woodford and Barnett shales in the Permian Basin, assessing that there are technically recoverable resources of 28.3 trillion cubic feet of gas – enough to supply the United States for 10 months at the current rate of consumption -- and 1.6 billion barrels of oil, or 10 weeks’ supply for the nation.

By aaarcher@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 14, 2026.

Despite increases in human population and agricultural production, new national data show meaningful progress in reducing nutrient pollution sources across the United States. 

By jrichie@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 13, 2026.

For millennia, our ancestors have gazed at the stars, wondering what lay beyond our cosmic doorstep, but today we no longer must wonder.  In 1977, NASA’s Voyagers disclosed the view, returning historic images and stirring groundbreaking science. As we step into 2026, we are watching humanity’s most distant messengers reach a mind-blowing new frontier.

By ssobie@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 13, 2026.

New details about the ShakeAlert System False Alert Delivery for a M5.9 Earthquake near Carson City, NV, on December 4, 2025.

By jmbaker@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 13, 2026.

Learn how to explore National Map data using the updated National Map Viewer application in a new training video released by the National Geospatial Program.

By samgott@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 13, 2026.

RESTON, Va. — Low-level helicopter flights are planned over parts of eastern New Mexico in Curry and Roosevelt counties, and western Texas in Parmer and Bailey counties, to image geology and aquifers using airborne geophysical technology. The survey is scheduled to begin the week of January 12, 2026, and last for approximately 1-2 months, weather permitting. 

By jlball@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 13, 2026.

Last week we talked about how Long Valley has been seismically quiet during the past few years. Alongside this seismic quiescence, Long Valley has also been deflating.

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

Far below the ocean surface off the Pacific Northwest coast, earthquake-triggered landslides record the powerful stirrings of the Cascadia Subduction Zone. 

By ppearsall@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 12, 2026.

Coastal communities across California face increasing threats from flooding with changes in storm patterns and sea-level. Now all coastal areas across the state have future flood hazard projections from the USGS Coastal Storm Modeling System (CoSMoS) to inform coastal planning and risk reduction.

By mpoland@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 12, 2026.

In July 2025, an area on the north rim of Yellowstone caldera began to uplift slightly. This area also experienced uplift during 1996–2004.

By lhsu@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 11, 2026.

CDI Monthly Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month, from 11-12:30 pm Eastern Time. 

By shouse@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 09, 2026.

Title:  Climate Adaptation Technical Services (CATS): The first year of rapid science delivery

Date:  January 23, 2026, at 2:00-2:30 pm Eastern/11:00 -11:30 am Pacific 

By ppearsall@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 09, 2026.

Sediment bulk density is a physical property of the sediment bed that tells scientists how compacted the particles are. It’s a key parameter for calculating sediment budgets, modeling sediment transport, and predicting bed erosion, and can be used to calculate carbon density when measured with carbon content to quantify sequestration rates. 

By kmulliken@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Jan 08, 2026.

A series of lava fountains building a cone perched on the crater rim...sounds like the ongoing eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit of Kīlauea, but this description could also fit the Kīlauea Iki eruption in 1959. Let’s compare these two episodic lava fountaining eruptions.