We promise, no turkeys this month -- Just a harvest of great science stories. And in honor of Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Month, we even have some interesting work involving antique photos of Native Americans. This monthly collection can help you cover ongoing earth and natural science research and investigations at the U.S. Geological Survey -- photos and web links are provided to enhance your story.

Included this month:

• California Wildfires Test Scientists' Skills
  
• West Nile Deaths Continue
  
• Earth Escapes Brunt of Violent Solar Storms
  
• Abbey Road: Lost Photos of Native Americans Salvaged in South Dakota
  
• Watching Volcanoes From Space
  
• USGS is Geography Aware

LEADS:

Southern California Wildfires Also Test Scientists' Skills: Throughout the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists scrambled to contain damage from this fall's deadly wildfires in Southern California, and ensure that a core USGS mission -- science for public safety -- was unaffected by the sweeping fires. Fires damaged earthquake measurement equipment, throwing offline seismic sensors which monitored small earthquakes north of Los Angeles. Quick-thinking seismologists developed workarounds to ensure information delivery until permanent repairs could be made. Similarly, USGS hydrologists worry that sediments washing from now denuded hillsides could clog streamgages which track water flowing in rivers and streams. USGS landslide experts, working with local emergency managers and federal partners, are determining the risk of landslides that could follow expected rains in the burned mountainous regions. USGS mapping experts were also hard at work providing the U.S. Forest Service with emergency topographic map coverage of the Cleveland National Forest in California for fire crews working on containment of the Cedar East Fire. USGS topographic maps provide the greatest level of detail for fire crew
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Contact: Butch Kinerney
bkinerney@usgs.gov
703-648-4732
United States Geological Survey
6-Nov-2003

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