Publications
Browse more than 160,000 publications authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS. Publications available are: USGS-authored journal articles, series reports, book chapters, other government publications, and more.
Mission Area Publications
Mission Area Publications
We are focused on some of the most significant issues society faces, and our science is making a substantial contribution to the well-being of the Nation and the world. Learn more about the major topics our research covers and the programs focused on those topics.
Filter Total Items: 170521
Integrated science for the study of microplastics in the environment—A strategic science vision for the U.S. Geological Survey
Executive SummaryEvidence of the widespread occurrence of microplastics throughout our environment and exposure to humans and other organisms over the past decade has led to questions about the possibility of health hazards and mitigation of exposures. This document discusses nanoplastics as well as microplastics (referred to solely as microplastics); the microplastics have a range from 1 micromet
Authors
Deborah D. Iwanowicz, Austin K. Baldwin, Larry B. Barber, Vicki S. Blazer, Steven R. Corsi, Joseph W. Duris, Shawn C. Fisher, Michael Focazio, Sarah E. Janssen, Jeramy R. Jasmann, Dana W. Kolpin, Johanna M. Kraus, Rachael F. Lane, Mari E. Lee, Kristen B. McSwain, Timothy D. Oden, Timothy J. Reilly, Andrew R. Spanjer
A new era of genetic diversity conservation through novel tools and accessible data
As the foundation of biodiversity, genetic diversity is necessary for species to adapt to ecological changes, such as impacts from disease, invasive species, and climate change. Genetic diversity also supports ecosystem resilience and societal innovations. Unfortunately, declines in genetic diversity have been frequently observed in populations of wild and domestic species. Yet the field of popula
Authors
Margaret Hunter, Jessica M. da Silva, Alicia Mastretta-Yanes, Sean M. Hoban
Lead poisoning of raptors: State of the science and cross-discipline mitigation options for a global problem
Lead poisoning is an important global conservation problem for many species of wildlife, especially raptors. Despite the increasing number of individual studies and regional reviews of lead poisoning of raptors, it has been over a decade since this information has been compiled into a comprehensive global review. Here, we summarize the state of knowledge of lead poisoning of raptors, we review dev
Authors
Todd E. Katzner, Deborah J. Pain, Michael McTee, Leland Brown, Sandra Cuadros, Mark Pokras, Vince Slabe., Rick Watson, Guillermo Wiemeyer, Bryan Bedrosian, Jordan O Hampton, Chris N. Parish, James M. Pay, Keisuke Saito, John Schulz
Abundance of Long-billed Curlews on military lands in the Columbia Basin
Long-billed Curlews (Numenius americanus) are declining throughout North America, and the loss of grassland breeding habitat is one of the primary threats to the species. Intermountain West, in particular, has been identified as the most important region in North America for breeding curlews. Nevertheless, the density and abundance of Long-billed Curlews in this region is not well understood. Land
Authors
Sharon Poessel, Elise Elliott-Smith, Sean M. Murphy, Susan M Haig, Adam E. Duerr, Todd E. Katzner
Using open-science workflow tools to produce SCEC CyberShake physics-based probabilistic seismic hazard models
The Statewide (formerly Southern) California Earthquake Center (SCEC) conducts multidisciplinary earthquake system science research that aims to develop predictive models of earthquake processes, and to produce accurate seismic hazard information that can improve societal preparedness and resiliency to earthquake hazards. As part of this program, SCEC has developed the CyberShake platform, which c
Authors
Scott Callaghan, Phillip J. Maechling, Fabio Silva, Mei-Hui Su, Kevin R. Milner, Robert Graves, Kim Olsen, Yifeng Cui, Karan Vahi, Albert Kottke, Christine A Goulet, Ewa Deelman, Tom Jordan, Yehuda Ben-Zion
Living with wildfire in Santa Fe: 2021 Data Report
The City of Santa Fe is well known for arts, food, and architecture, but it also faces significant risk of wildfire. In 2020, the City of Santa Fe partnered with the Wildfire Research (WiRē) team with the goal of better understanding the needs of residents within the study area and their level of support for wildfire risk mitigation programs. The resulting project centers on two types of property-
Authors
James Meldrum, Julia Goolsby, Colleen Donovan, Porfirio Chavarria, Hannah Brenkert-Smith, Patricia A. Champ, Christopher M. Barth, Carolyn Wagner, Chiara Forrester
Investigating past earthquakes with coral microatolls
Intertidal corals (microatolls) preserve evidence of past uplift or subsidence with annual precision. Microatoll records are particularly useful along subduction zones, and can reveal past earthquake ruptures at a level of detail that is ordinarily limited to the instrumental era.
Authors
Belle E. Philibosian
Accounting for the fraction of carcasses outside the searched area in the estimation of bird and bat fatalities at wind energy facilities
Accurate estimation of bird and bat mortality at wind energy facilities requires accounting for carcasses that lie outside the search plots because they lie beyond the search radius or in areas within the search radius that remain unsearched due to sub-optimal search conditions such as thick vegetation, rough or dangerous ground, water, or restricted access to the land. However, carcass density is
Authors
Daniel Dalthorp, Manuela Huso, Mark Dalthorp, Jeffrey Mintz
Adult green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) movements in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, California, December 2020–January 2023
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers American River Watershed Common Features project (ACRF) seeks to reduce flood risk for the City of Sacramento, California, and surrounding areas. The project includes levee-remediation measures to address seepage, stability, erosion, and height concerns as well as the widening of the Sacramento Weir and Bypass. The project reach is in the lower extent of the Sacram
Authors
Amy C. Hansen, Summer M. Burdick, Ryan P. Johnson, Robert D. Chase, Michael J. Thomas
NEWTS1.0: Numerical model of coastal Erosion by Waves and Transgressive Scarps
Models of rocky-coast erosion help us understand the physical phenomena that control coastal morphology and evolution, infer the processes shaping coasts in remote environments, and evaluate risk from natural hazards and future climate change. Existing models, however, are highly complex, are computationally expensive, and depend on many input parameters; this limits our ability to explore planfor
Authors
Rose Elizabeth Palermo, J. Taylor Perron, Jason M. Soderblom, Samuel P. D. Birch, Alexander G. Hayes, Andrew D. Ashton
Double take: Ingestion of two rats by a juvenile Burmese Python (Python bivittatus) in Big Cypress National Preserve, FL, USA
No abstract available.
Authors
Teah M. Evers, Andrea F. Currylow, Mark Robert Sandfoss, Lisa Marie McBride, Christina M. Romagosa, Wesley W. Boone, Jacquelyn C. Guzy, Gretchen Erika Anderson, Kristen Hart, Matthew McCollister, Amy A. Yackel Adams
Simulation of hydrodynamics and water temperature in a 21-mile reach of the upper Illinois River, Illinois, 2020–22
This report describes the development of a CE-QUAL-W2 river hydrodynamics and temperature model of a 21-mile reach of the Illinois River including a 3-mile reach of a major tributary, the Fox River. Model outputs consist of streamflow, water velocity, water-surface elevation, and water-temperature time series that can be used to simulate summer conditions in years with and without extensive develo
Authors
Michael R. Ament, David C. Heimann