InfoGempa

WASHINGTON – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar today announced joint scientific research projects that address the effects of climate change on freshwater systems and sensitive aquatic species in the northwestern and southeastern United States.

American and Canadian scientists are setting sail this summer to map the Arctic seafloor and gather data to help define the outer limits of the continental shelf.
Each coastal nation may exercise sovereign rights over the natural resources of their continental shelf, which includes the seabed and subsoil. These rights include control over minerals, petroleum, and sedentary organisms such as clams, crabs and coral.
Under international law, specifically the United Nations Convention on the Law of the [...]

A new species of turtle no bigger than a small dinner plate has been discovered, bringing the number of native turtle species in the U.S. to 57.
The Pearl River map turtle, discovered by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, is found only in the Pearl River in Louisiana and Mississippi. It is a relict of sea-level fluctuations between glacial and interglacial periods over 10,000 years ago, which isolated map turtles in different rivers along [...]

Decision makers need a toolbox full of ideas to understand the large-scale impacts of their choices—to secure water for cities and wildlife, to adapt to climate change, to meet the nation’s energy needs and to better conserve biodiversity. Scientists are developing new tools that help decision makers and the public understand the consequences of different choices at the scale of entire landscapes. Learn how researchers look at the natural world and how their perspective can [...]

Glaciers that lose their footing on the seafloor and begin floating behave very erratically, according to a new study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. Floating glaciers produce larger icebergs than their grounded cousins and do so at unpredictable intervals.
This study presents the first detailed observation of the transition from grounded to floating glaciers, which is currently ongoing at Columbia Glacier, one of Alaska’s many tidewater glaciers. Tidewater glaciers flow directly into the ocean, [...]

The Greater Everglades Ecosystem Restoration Conference (Planning, Science, Policy) 2010 meets from July 12-16 in Naples, Fla. Below are a few USGS presentation highlights from the conference. For more information visit the conference website. 
High Mercury Levels Found in Burmese Pythons: Some invasive Burmese pythons have high levels of mercury, enough to merit concern from anyone interested in hunting them to eat, according to preliminary research by USGS researchers. Pythons are at the top of [...]

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A revised web page with new tools enabling researchers to link planetary features and names directly to programs such as ArcGis and GoogleEarth was unveiled today, greatly simplifying the work of standardizing terminology and locations of planetary features throughout the solar system.
This new “web feature service,” which links the planetary database to the end-user’s program, is part of a comprehensive renovation of the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature website. This website, run by [...]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Space Policy announced by the White House today recognizes and endorses the Department of the Interior’s expertise and accomplishments in land imaging and remote sensing to advance global climate change research and provide data for science and natural resource management.

It’s National Pollinator Week, and you can get the inside buzz on North America’s pollinators by listening to re-broadcast podcasts about the essential birds, bees, bats, and even beetles that pollinate your food and flowering plants, and make our wild areas beautiful and healthy. You can also find out about USGS research on our nation’s wild pollinators.
The National Academy of Sciences has reported that not only is there direct evidence for decline of some pollinator [...]

In the next 50 years, it is estimated that drinking water needs in the Kabul Basin of Afghanistan may increase sixfold due to population increases resulting from returning refugees. It is also likely that future water resources in the Kabul Basin will be reduced as a result of increasing air temperatures associated with global climate change. These are the findings of a new study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The study estimates that at least [...]