U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

10/30/2026

10/29/2026

Meet Annautaq, an orphaned Pacific walrus calf whose unexpected discovery during USGS research in Alaska saved his life.

Last month, USGS biologist Tony Fischbach and Violet Anniskett, an Illisavik College intern, were surveying a beach after a storm moved a walrus herd from the area. While sampling carcasses for a study on harmful algal toxin levels in Pacific walruses, Violet discovered a live, orphaned calf hiding between two adult carcasses.

With approval from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the local Iñupiaq community, the pair cared for the calf for nearly four days. They dispersed the gulls scavenging him, walked a half mile to the nearest shelter (an abandoned building open to the elements), and protected him from polar bears until the storm passed and a local rescue team could boat him across the lagoon. From there, Alaska Sea Life Center (ASLC) vet techs crated him onto a small plane to rehabilitation. Violet joined the journey to ease his transition.

Violet grew up near walrus herds and first joined USGS surveys on a high school class field trip. This September, she joined the USGS team to gain professional experience working with the wildlife central to Iñupiaq culture. Her community agreed to have the orphan saved with the condition that they name him to preserve their connection to him. Violet chose Annautaq, an Iñupiaq word meaning axe, in honor of her father’s Iñupiaq name.

USGS scientists monitor Pacific walrus populations in support of Marine Mammal Protection Act reporting and management requirements. This work depends on partnerships with Alaska Native communities, whose generational knowledge shapes how we understand and protect these animals.

After rehabilitation at the ASFC, Annautaq has moved to his long-term home, where he will serve as a species ambassador, helping people learn about walruses and their connection to Alaska's people and changing marine environments.

All work was conducted under USFWS permit MA3376D.

📷1: Violet and Annautaq.
📷2: Annautaq gazes out the shelter window.
📷3: Tony and Annautaq.
📷4: Violet resting with Annautaq.

Credit: Tony Fischbach, USGS

10/29/2026

Notable quake, preliminary info: M 6.4 - southeast of Easter Island http://ow.ly/5ajg106HsrJ

10/28/2026

What can lava samples tell us about Kīlauea’s recent summit lava fountains? 🌋

Since the current eruption began in late 2024, scientists with our USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory have analyzed 178 lava samples from episodes 1–39 to better understand the magma feeding the eruption and changes occurring beneath the surface.

Here’s what they found:

💠 Variations in fountain height and episode duration are not associated with significant compositional changes

💠 The eruption is fed by lava from the magma chamber that is about a mile (1–2 km) beneath Halemaʻumaʻu

💠 There is evidence that the parts of former lava lake eruptions in Halemaʻumaʻu (between 2020–2023) remain molten below the surface and sometimes influence the chemistry of material erupted by lava fountaining

💠 A subtle change in chemistry suggests that a new magma was erupted within a few weeks of the eruption onset

💠 Kīlauea’s shallow magma storage system beneath Halemaʻumaʻu showed an increase in temperature through fountaining episodes 1–39

Together, these findings offer new clues about the magma system driving Kīlauea’s ongoing eruption.

Read the full article: https://ow.ly/QTKB5101RA0

📷1-2: A scientist collecting fresh lava samples from the Kilauea.
📷3: Analyzing lava samples in the lab.
📷4: An annotated image of a lava sample under a microscope.

10/27/2026

500 million years of Earth’s history are written in the rocks of the Sierra Nevada. 🗺️⛰️

The Sierra Nevada is one of the most iconic landscapes in the western U.S., a major mountain range stretching north to south along eastern California and into a small portion of western Nevada. Its rocks hold a story that spans more than 500 million years.

Now, the Sierra Nevada Earth Science Atlas brings that story into sharper focus.

Created through a collaboration between the California Geological Survey and the USGS, the Atlas provides the most detailed geologic framework of the Sierra Nevada to date. Why does that matter? Detailed geologic maps help scientists and resource managers understand what lies beneath the surface, from the rocks and faults that shape the landscape to the mineral resources and geologic processes that affect the region.

From ancient ocean deposits and volcanic islands to massive mountain-building events, erosion and glaciation, the Atlas captures the geologic processes that shaped the Sierra Nevada we see today.

This initial release features a geologic map and descriptive text, with more components of the full Atlas coming soon. Upcoming map layers will depict carbonate rocks, fossils, metallic mineralization regions, and geochronology data, along with an associated report.

Explore the Atlas 👉 https://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/sierra-nevada-atlas

📽️ Video consisting of several clips of the Sierra Nevada Earth Science Atlas. The video pans and zooms across the map to show different geographic and geologic features. The video includes close-up views of map details, the legend, and the entire atlas.

10/26/2026

Ready to go batty? 🦇 Celebrate Bat Week with a few fun facts about these nighttime flyers!

🦇 Bats eat – a lot! A single little brown bat, which has a body no bigger than an adult human’s thumb, can eat 4 to 8 grams (the weight of about a grape or two) of insects each night. Others feed on feed on fruit, nectar, or pollen.

🦇 Bats are not blind. They have small eyes with very sensitive vision, which helps them see in conditions we might consider pitch black.

🦇Bats are important pollinators. More than 300 species of fruits and plants rely on bats for pollination and seed dispersal. Bats are significant pollinators to cacao, the key ingredient in chocolate.

🦇Not all bats hibernate. In winter, bats either hibernate or migrate to warmer areas. One hoary bat GPS tagged by USGS scientists traveled from Marin County, California to southwest Idaho!

🦇 Bats make up one-fifth of all mammalian species worldwide and are found on every continent except Antarctica.

📷1: ‘ōpe‘ape‘a (Hawaiian hoary bat) - The only land mammal native to the Hawaiian archipelago that still exists today. They prefer coastal lowlands during breeding season (May to October) and move to interior highlands in winter. They feed on insects and roost in trees. Credit: USGS

📷2: Spotted Bat – One of the few bat species whose echolocation frequency is low enough for humans to hear. Little is known about this species, but it is believed to roost in high cliff crevices and feed primarily on moths. Credit: USGS

📷3: Cave myotis - Found throughout the southwestern U.S., they feed on insects and form nursery colonies, usually numbering in the thousands, in caves, mines, barns, buildings, and sometimes under bridges. Credit: J Scott Altenbach, NABat

📷4: Indiana Bat - This small, insectivorous, migratory bat requires forests for foraging and roosting. They are found in forested areas in the eastern U.S. and hibernate in colonies in caves and mines in the winter. Credit: Dane Smith, NABat

10/26/2026

Something strange is haunting the coast.

Along the edges of rivers, marshes, and bays, stands of tall, gray, leafless trees rise from the water like skeletons. These are ghost forests, and they are as real as they are eerie.

Ghost forests form when saltwater reaches land once sustained by freshwater. As sea levels rise, saltwater moves farther inland, sometimes carried by storm surges and high tides. The trees slowly die, but their bleached trunks remain, while salt-tolerant marsh grasses quietly take over the ground beneath them.

These transitions are happening up and down the Atlantic coast. USGS scientists are studying them in several areas, including ongoing research on the Delmarva Peninsula in the Chesapeake Bay region. This region consists of several low sloped landscapes, which allows for rapid change to occur.

Here is where it gets even more mysterious.

Scientists drilled into the trees themselves to see what lurks inside. Living trees naturally take in and release gases, but little is known about how that changes once a coastal forest dies. A recent study, led by Hollins University with USGS as a coauthor, found that standing dead trees in ghost forests host microbes that convert methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into carbon dioxide, which is less potent.

It is one more piece of the puzzle as officials weigh the trade-offs of managing these landscapes. These ghostly trees may look lifeless, but they still have secrets to share.

📹: This ghost forest in Goose Creek State Park, North Carolina is an example of a freshwater forested wetland that is transitioning to open water. Credit: USGS.

10/25/2026

Notable quake, preliminary info: M 5.8 - 209 km ENE of Nagqu, China http://ow.ly/woIZ106Hca1

10/25/2026

Notable quake, preliminary info: M 7.0 - Bonin Islands, Japan region http://ow.ly/IxcW106HbuQ

10/24/2026

Notable quake, preliminary info: M 6.3 - 170 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu http://ow.ly/i93m106H9Wn