News

For centuries, people have crossed oceans in search of valuable minerals. In recent times, though, increasing attention has been paid to the oceans themselves for their mineral potential, especially rock formations on the seafloor. 

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1, and the U.S. Geological Survey is prepared to provide science that can help guide efforts to protect lives and property if a major storm makes landfall this season.

Most residents of southern Puerto Rico were startled by the sequence of earthquakes that began Dec. 28, 2019 and included a magnitude 6.4 quake on Jan. 7, 2020. Aftershocks are expected to continue for years, including some relatively strong ones, like a May 2 magnitude 5.4 temblor. 

On May 14, Director Reilly signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of the Navy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The MOA provides for continuity of operations for the USFWS and the USGS with construction of new office and lab facilities on the Guam National Wildlife Refuge in conjunction with DOD’s construction of a Marine Corps firing range.

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck near Tonopah, Nevada, near the California-Nevada border and about 120 miles southeast of Carson City, early this morning on May 15, 2020, at 4:03 am local time (11:03:27 UTC).

If scientists armed with today's monitoring tools and knowledge could step back in time to the two months before May 18, 1980, they would have been able to better forecast the forthcoming devastating eruption.

U.S. Geological Survey field crews are measuring flooding across the country as spring weather is in full swing. Warming temperatures, increased precipitation and snowmelt have caused moderate to major flooding in the upper Midwest, East Coast, Central Plains and the Southeast portions of the country.

On May 2, 2020, a  magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck about 4 miles offshore of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico, at a depth of about 5-6 miles (9 kilometers). This story will be updated if/when more information becomes available.

This month marks the second anniversary of the largest rift zone eruption and summit collapse at Kīlauea Volcano in 200 years. In 2018, scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaii Volcano Observatory monitored more than 60 collapse events at the summit that caused the floor of Halema‘uma‘u crater to drop about 1600 feet, or more than five times the height of the Statue of Liberty.

The U.S. Geological Survey Youth and Education in Science (YES) Team has revamped their web presence to better assist with online and home learning.

On March 31, 2020, a  magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck  near Boise, ID, in the Challis National Forest. Seismic instruments indicate the earthquake originated at a depth of 6.2 miles (10 kilometers).