USGS EROS

The Pecora Award nominations are open! 🌎 Since 1974, the William T. Pecora Award has celebrated individuals or teams using satellite or aerial remote sensing and making outstanding contributions toward understanding the Earth. Who comes to mind when you hear innovative work, impactful research, and dedication to Earth observation? Consider nominating them for this prestigious honor! William T. Pecora, a geologist, served as director of the USGS from 1965 to 1971. During that time, he was instrumental in the creation of the Landsat Program, which led to the establishment of the USGS EROS Center to support Landsat data distribution. Nominations for the 2026 award will be accepted until May 29, 2026. Learn more at ow.ly/rUBP50YrWH2

The pot at the end of the rainbow over EROS contains science and data worth more than gold! Landsat satellite data alone has an annual economic value of $25 billion. Learn more: ow.ly/vVjk50Yqn6A 🍀#StPatricksDay 📷: Photo credit: Grant Mah, USGS, August 19, 2025

DOI Job Alert! USGS EROS is hiring two Flight System Managers. 🌎Location: Greenbelt, Maryland 🗓️Closing date: March 26, 2026 🔗Open to the Public: ow.ly/Mr8l50YtoRI 🔗Open to Federal Employees: ow.ly/u1re50YtoRJ Some specific duties of a Flight System Manager include: •Serving as a recognized authority and principal expert of Landsat flight and ground systems. •Advising and consulting with a wide range of leaders and partners on flight and ground operations issues and associated impacts. •Providing technical leadership regarding satellite flight dynamics and control, space and ground communication systems, and data processing and storage systems. 📷: An illustration of a Landsat satellite in space.

x.com/USGS_EROS/stat… If you missed this webinar don't worry, you can watch the recording here: usgs.gov/media/videos/v…

The Exotic Annual Grass (EAG) dataset, produced by EROS, maps invasive species across the western U.S. that can increase wildfire intensity, reduce rangeland productivity, and outcompete native plants. 👉 Latest version, from 2016-2024: ow.ly/ZK1150YhAf1 #NISAW

Big shoutout to Brandon Valley sixth-graders! Thanks for visiting USGS EROS Center. Planning a visit for your classroom? Give us a call! We also offer guided tours to the public each day at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Learn more about tours here: ow.ly/8bLL50YietM

Catch USGS EROS scientists on the live LANDFIRE Office Hour! Tune in to “Contrasting LANDFIRE with Fractional Vegetation Cover Data (RCMAP and RAP)” at 12 p.m. CT February 25 to consider which Landsat-based dataset works for your needs. Register here: ow.ly/MJUq50Yi9Fi

This Presidents Day, we’re looking at Medora, ND—home of the in-progress Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, opening July 4, 2026. NAIP imagery, from Sept. 8, 2023 (EROS archive), shows the site chosen for its rugged isolation that President Roosevelt loved.

New Data Alert! EROS scientists surveyed 133 plots across Sierra Nevada forests & parks to reveal insights into predicting fire behavior post-management. 🔗 ow.ly/jymh50Y8qjW #DataRelease #FireManagement

The LANDFIRE 2025 Update is here! Limited Annual Disturbance provides initial landscape change assessments for critical activities for CONUS, AK, HI, & PRVI. 🔥Download the data here: ow.ly/LW1X50Y8pQm #LANDFIRE #FireScience #DataRelease

Happy #WorldWetlandsDay! This duck-shaped wetland in South Dakota is part of the Prairie Pothole Region—North America’s “duck factory.” These wetlands store water, filter runoff, and provide vital habitat for waterfowl. 👉 Learn more: ow.ly/SwGQ50Y7J8f #NAIPimagery

New data alert! EROS scientists surveyed more than 30 plots in South Dakota’s Highland Creek & Legion Lake fire areas to study wildfire’s long-term effects on the Black Hills ponderosa pine savanna. 🔗 ow.ly/Jifc50Y4SC7 #DataRelease

When you want a view of what’s on the ground, turn to satellites! Here, a Landsat-based Annual NLCD land cover image shows a forest (the Black Hills of SD and WY) and a barren area (Badlands National Park) surrounded mostly by grassland. Learn more: ow.ly/sAQy50Y0lnR

FYI, data users: An extended planned maintenance for EROS tools and services will be Wednesday, January 28, 2026. From 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. CT, tools will be unavailable, and Landsat data processing will be paused. Bookmark the data notifications page: ow.ly/Ifb950Y1LFl

Satellites aren’t just for scientists! 🚀 On #InternationalEducationDay, dive into FREE remote sensing resources: kid-friendly lessons, games & Landsat’s views of land changes! Start exploring: ow.ly/2Yf250Y1KRf #STEM #Landsat

2025 was a busy year at EROS! Data releases galore included the addition of 2024 data to Annual NLCD for 40 years of land cover info. Publications and news articles spotlighted all kinds of scientific and societal uses of data. Read our year in review: ow.ly/IGjN50Y1kMU

USGS partners with AI/ML experts to advance Landsat satellite operations. From anomaly detection to smarter data analysis, these innovations make satellite operations faster, more reliable, and ready for future of Earth observation. Learn more: ow.ly/OCKq50Y0Qbx 🚀

Landsat satellite imagery, which is archived at EROS, provides foundational data used by a wide range of industries, from agriculture (even vineyards!) to utilities. Landsat helps protect lives, resources and property. Learn about some examples here: ow.ly/Na5f50XXgT3

It’s the dead of winter. Perfect time for Landsat satellites to capture the hotspots of Yellowstone National Park! Find out why from the USGS’s Greg Vaughan, with the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, in our most recent Eyes on Earth episode: ow.ly/6Mkj50XXgcu

New year, same beautiful Earth.🌍 Cheers to 2026! 🎉 From Siberia’s looping Vilyuy River meanders to ring-like relict water systems and ghost rivers etched in permafrost, these “numbers” from the same Landsat 8 image display Earth’s patterns with stories of change and time.