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The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) aims to understand earthquake hazards and reduce earthquake risks in the United States. Portions of all 50 states, as well as U.S. territories [...]

Updated October 15, 2024 Contents Introduction Cross-Cutting Issues Federal Funding for Research and Development White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Federal Efforts to Boost Regional Innovation Commercializing the [...]

April 5, 2024 Introduction USGS Research of Critical Mineral Resources Mineral Resources Program Earth Mapping Resources Initiative USMIN Mineral Deposit Database National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program National Geological and Geophysical [...]

Updated April 8, 2024 Overview National Materials and Minerals Policy Definition of Critical Mineral 2022 Critical Minerals List USGS Methodology Quantitative Analysis Semi-Quantitative Analysis Qualitative Analysis Byproduct List Minerals Excluded [...]

Updated April 6, 2023 The federal government supports scientific and technological advancement directly by funding and performing research and development and indirectly by creating and maintaining policies that encourage private [...]

Updated November 22, 2023 Contents Introduction Building Codes What Is a Building Code and What Is Its Purpose? What Structural Elements and Design Requirements Do Building Codes Cover? Do Building [...]

August 29, 2023 Contents Introduction Infrastructure What Is Infrastructure? What Is the Purpose of Codes, Standards, and Regulations for Infrastructure? What Types of Infrastructure Are Discussed in This FAQ? Do [...]

Updated August 14, 2023 Impacts of August Wildfires Due to dry and windy conditions, several damaging wildfires spread on the Hawaiian islands of Maui and Hawaii starting on August 8, [...]

Contents Introduction Landslide Types, Hazards, Causes, and Impacts Landslide Susceptibility and Risk in the United States Federal Roles in Landslide Hazards and Risks U.S. Geological Survey National Science Foundation National [...]

January 13, 2023 Contents Introduction Understanding, Monitoring, and Assessing the Risk of Induced Seismicity Seismic Monitoring of Induced Earthquakes Evaluating the Risk of Induced Earthquakes Overview of the Current Regulatory [...]

Updated January 9, 2023 The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is a science agency in the Department of the Interior (DOI) that provides information to describe and understand the geological processes [...]

December 8, 2022 Mauna Loa, a volcano on the island of Hawaii, began erupting on November 27, 2022, with an outbreak of lava at the Mokoaweoweo summit caldera at an [...]

August 15, 2022 Contents Introduction Recommendations to Increase Hazard-Resilient Building Stock Terminology: Occupancy, Function, and National Framework for Building Design Building Design Considerations Risk Category IV Building Codes Performance-Based Design [...]

Updated August 30, 2022 The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is a science agency in the Department of the Interior (DOI) that aims to provide scientific information about the geological processes [...]

June 1, 2022 Contents Introduction Federal Role in Identifying Earthquake Risks Background and Authority to Issue Earthquake Early Warnings The ShakeAlert System Earthquake-Sensing Network Data Processing, Analysis, and Alert Message [...]

Updated June 13, 2022 In 2019, Congress authorized a National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System (NVEWS; Section 5001 of P.L. 116-9; 43 U.S.C. 31k). The law directs the Secretary [...]

Updated December 21, 2021 The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) aims to understand earthquake hazards and reduce earthquake risks in the United States. Portions of all 50 states, as [...]

December 7, 2021 In 2019, Congress authorized a National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System (NVEWS; Section 5001 of P.L. 116-9; 43 U.S.C. 31k). The law directed the Secretary of [...]

The article discusses the U.S. Congressional Research Service and focuses on the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program created in 1977, reauthorized in 2018, It reports on reducing earthquake risks in the U.S. four federal agencies, including the U.S. Geological Survey, National Science Foundation, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and National Institute of Standards and Technology, work on effective measures and advance the National Seismic System.

The article presents a report from the U.S. Congressional Research Service on ocean and coastal mapping. Topics discussed include information on collecting data about underwater terrain to support marine-based economies, enhance security, and protect the marine environment. Despite the importance of this mapping, around 50% of the terrain beneath U.S. coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes waters remains unmapped.

The article presents a report from the U.S. Congressional Research Service on role of the federal government in assessing and warning about post-wildfire debris flows. Topics discussed include information on how debris flows can pose risks to communities, causing fatalities, injuries, property damage, and environmental degradation. Federal agencies like the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Weather Service (NWS) play a role in hazard assessments and warnings.

Observations of molten mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-molybdenum (Mo) interactions produced by shock experiments provide insight into impact and differentiation processes involving metal-silicate partitioning. Analysis of fragments recovered from experiments (achieving MORB liquid shock pressures from 0.8 to 6 GPa) revealed significant changes in the composition of the MORB and Mo due to reaction of the silicate and metal liquids on a short time scale (less than 13 s). The FeO concentration of the shocked liquid decreases systematically with increasing pressure. In fact, the most highly shocked liquid (6 GPa) contains only 0.1 wt% FeO compared to an initial concentration of 9 wt% in the MORB. We infer from the presence of micrometer-sized Fe-, Si- and Mo-rich metallic spheres in the shocked glass that the Fe and Si oxides in the MORB were reduced in an estimated oxygen fugacity of 10(exp -17) bar and subsequently alloyed with the Mo. The in-situ reduction of FeO in the shocked molten basalt implies that shock-induced reduction of impact melt should be considered a viable mechanism for the formation of metallic phases. Similar metallic phases may form during impact accretion of planets and in impacted material found on the lunar surface and near terrestrial impact craters. In particular, the minute, isolated Fe particles found in lunar soils may have formed by such a process. Furthermore, the metallic spheres within the shocked glass have a globular texture similar to the textures of metallic spheroids from lunar samples and the estimated, slow cooling rate of less than or equal to 140 C/s for our spheres is consistent with the interpretation that the lunar spheroids formed by slow cooling within a melted target.