Mission Areas
Natural Hazards
Every year in the United States, natural hazards threaten lives and livelihoods and result in billions of dollars in damage. We work with many partners to monitor, assess, and conduct targeted research on a wide range of natural hazards so that policymakers and the public have the understanding they need to enhance preparedness, response, and resilience.
Reducing Risk
USGS scientists develop new products to make science available to the public, emergency managers, and decision-makers. These efforts increase public safety and reduce risk and economic losses caused by natural hazards.
Learn MoreSubduction Zone Science
The most powerful earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, and volcanic eruptions occur in subduction zones, where two plates collide and one is thrust beneath another.
Learn MoreNews
Climate change will continue preventing coral reef growth in subtropics
Based on new research, USGS scientists predict future climate change will continue to suppress coral reef growth in the subtropics.
Media Advisory: Mount St. Helens Revisited - Live Online Public Lecture
You are invited to a public lecture about the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruptions.
Supplemental Funds at USGS: A Sound Investment to Support Community Preparedness for the 2021 Hurricane Season
Completed 2018 and ...
Publications
Streambank erosion and related geomorphic change in Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park, California
Landscape change in Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park, California, was characterized using data derived from four lidar surveys: one airborne survey in 2006 and three terrestrial surveys in 2016, 2017, and 2018. These surveys were used to generate a better quantitative understanding of changes associated with fluvial processes along the...
DeLong, Stephen B.; Pickering, Alexandra J.; Kuhn, Timothy
A massive rock and ice avalanche caused the 2021 disaster at Chamoli, Indian Himalaya
On 7 Feb 2021, a catastrophic mass flow descended the Ronti Gad, Rishiganga, and Dhauliganga valleys in Chamoli, Uttarakhand, India, causing widespread devastation and severely damaging two hydropower projects. Over 200 people were killed or are missing. Our analysis of satellite imagery, seismic records, numerical model results, and eyewitness...
Shugar, D. H.; Jacquemart, Mylène; Shean, D.; Bhushan, S.; Upadhyay, K.; Sattar, A.; Schwanghart, W.; McBride, Sara K.; Van Wyk de Vries, M.; Mergili, M.; Emmer, A.; Deschamps-Berger, C.; McDonnell, M.; Bhambri, R.; Allen, S.; Berthier, E.; Carrivick, J.L.; Clague, J.J.; Dokukin, M.; Dunning, S.A.; Frey, Herbert; Gascoin, S.; Haritashya, U. K.; Huggel, C.; Kaab, A.; Kargel, J.S.; Kavanaugh, J.L.; Lacroix, P.; Petley, D. N.; Rupper, S.; Azam, M.F.; Cook, S.J.; Dimri, A.P.; Eriksson, M.; Farinotti, D.; Fiddes, J.; Gnyawali, K.R.; Harrison, S.; Jha, M.K.; Koppes, M.; Kumar, S.; Leiness, S.; Majeed, U.; Mai, S.; Muhuri, A.; Noetzli, J.; Paul, F.; Rashid, I.; Sain, K.; Steiner, J.; Ugalde, F.; Watson, C.S.; Westoby, M.J.
Impacts of sediment removal from and placement in coastal barrier island systems
Executive SummaryOn June 24, 2019, Congressman Raul Grijalva of Arizona, Chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, sent a letter to the directors of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey to request their assistance in answering questions regarding coastal sediment resource management within the Coastal Barrier...
Miselis, Jennifer L.; Flocks, James G.; Zeigler, Sara; Passeri, Davina; Smith, David R.; Bourque, Jill; Sherwood, Christopher R.; Smith, Christopher G.; Ciarletta, Daniel J.; Smith, Kathryn; Hart, Kristen; Kazyak, David; Berlin, Alicia; Prohaska, Bianca; Calleson, Teresa; Yanchis, Kristi