Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

Filter Total Items: 1333

Comparing tree-ring based reconstructions of snowpack variability at different scales for the Navajo Nation

Snowpack in the western U.S. is on the decline, largely attributed to increasing temperatures in the region. This is a critical issue for many Native American communities who disproportionately rely on local snow-fed water supplies. In light of a combined ongoing drought and limited climate information for the Navajo Nation, Navajo water managers face decision-making challenges complicated by past
Authors
Rebecca Lynn Brice, Christopher H. Guiterman, Connie A. Woodhouse, Carlee McClellan, Paul Sheppard

Book review: Replacing GDP by 2030: Towards a common language for the well-being and sustainability community, Rutger Hoekstra, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2019)

Critiques of gross domestic product (GDP) as the economy's primary measuring stick have emanated from the feminist and ecological economics communities for decades (Kubiszewski et al., 2013) and have grown to include mainstream economists (Stiglitz, Sen, and Fitousi, 2009) and national accountants (Coyle, 2015). To the casual observer, such critiques seem to be growing almost as quickly as the num
Authors
Kenneth J. Bagstad, Mairi-Jane Fox

Duration of hydrothermal alteration and mineralization of the Don Manuel porphyry copper system, central Chile

The Don Manuel porphyry copper system, located in the Miocene–Pliocene metallogenic belt of central Chile, contains spatially zoned alteration styles common to other porphyry copper deposits including extensive potassic alteration, propylitic alteration, localized sericite-chlorite alteration and argillic alteration but lacks pervasive hydrolytic alteration typical of some deposits. It is one of t
Authors
Amy K. Gilmer, R. Stephen J. Sparks, Dan N. Barfod, Emily Brugge, Catherine Annen, Ian Parkinson

Piloting urban ecosystem accounting for the United States

In this study, we develop urban ecosystem accounts in the U.S., using the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EEA) framework. Most ecosystem accounts focus on regional and national scales, which are appropriate for many ecosystem services. However, ecosystems provide substantial services in cities, improving quality of life and contributing to resili
Authors
Mehdi Heris, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Charles Rhodes, Austin Troy, Ariane Middel, Kristina G. Hopkins, John Matuszak

Changing climate drives future streamflow declines and challenges in meeting water demand across the southwestern United States

Society and the environment in the arid southwestern United States depend on reliable water availability, yet current water use outpaces supply. Water demand is projected to grow in the future and climate change is expected to reduce supply. To adapt, water managers need robust estimates of future regional water supply to support management decisions. To address this need, we estimate future strea
Authors
Olivia L. Miller, Annie L. Putman, Jay R. Alder, Matthew P. Miller, Daniel Jones, Daniel Wise

Paleoseismic trenching reveals late quaternary kinematics of the Leech River Fault: Implications for forearc strain accumulation in Northern Cascadia

New paleoseismic trenching indicates late Quaternary oblique right‐lateral slip on the Leech River fault, southern Vancouver Island, Canada, and constrains permanent forearc deformation in northern Cascadia. A south‐to‐north reduction in northward Global Navigation Satellite System velocities and seismicity across the Olympic Mountains, Strait of Juan de Fuca (JDF), and the southern Strait of Geor
Authors
Nicolas Harrichhausen, Kristin D. Morell, Christine Regalla, Scott E. K. Bennett, Lucinda J. Leonard, Emerson M. Lynch, Edwin Nissen

USGS permafrost research determines the risks of permafrost thaw to biologic and hydrologic resources

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with university, Federal, Tribal, and independent partners, conducts fundamental research on the distribution, vulnerability, and importance of permafrost in arctic and boreal ecosystems. Scientists, land managers, and policy makers use USGS data to help make decisions for development, wildlife habitat, and other needs. Native villages and cities
Authors
Mark P. Waldrop, Lesleigh Anderson, Mark Dornblaser, Li H. Erikson, Ann E. Gibbs, Nicole M. Herman-Mercer, Stephanie R. James, Miriam C. Jones, Joshua C. Koch, Mary-Cathrine Leewis, Kristen L. Manies, Burke J. Minsley, Neal J. Pastick, Vijay Patil, Frank Urban, Michelle A. Walvoord, Kimberly P. Wickland, Christian Zimmerman

Influence of pre-existing structure on pluton emplacement and geomorphology: The Merrimac plutons, northern Sierra Nevada, California (USA)

In much of the western Cordillera of North America, the geologic framework of crustal structure generated in the Mesozoic leaves an imprint on later plutonic emplacement, subsequent structural setting, and present landscape morphology. The Merrimac plutons in the northern Sierra Nevada (California, USA) are a good example of the influence of pre-existing structure at a larger scale. This paper upd
Authors
Victoria Langenheim, Jorge A. Vazquez, Kevin M. Schmidt, Giovanni Jr. Guglielmo, Donald S. Sweetkind

Extensive frost weathering across unglaciated North America during the Last Glacial Maximum

In unglaciated terrain, the imprint of past glacial periods is difficult to discern. The topographic signature of periglacial processes, such as solifluction lobes, may be erased or hidden by time and vegetation, and thus their import diminished. Belowground, periglacial weathering, particularly frost cracking, may have imparted a profound influence on weathering and erosion rates during past clim
Authors
Jill J Marshall, Joshua J. Roering, Alan W. Rempel, Sarah Shafer, Patrick J. Bartlein

Radiometric constraints on the timing, tempo, and effects of large igneous province emplacement

There is an apparent temporal correlation between large igneous province (LIP) emplacement and global environmental crises, including mass extinctions. Advances in the precision and accuracy of geochronology in the past decade have significantly improved estimates of the timing and duration of LIP emplacement, mass extinction events, and global climate perturbations, and in general have supported
Authors
Jennifer Kasbohm, Blair Schoene, Seth D. Burgess

Toward an integrative geological and geophysical view of Cascadia subduction zone earthquakes

The Cascadia subduction zone (CSZ) is an exceptional geologic environment for recording evidence of land level changes, tsunamis, and ground motion that reveals at least 19 great megathrust earthquakes over the past 10 kyr. Such earthquakes are among the most impactful natural hazards on Earth, transcend national boundaries, and can have global impact. Reducing the societal impacts of future event
Authors
Maureen A. L. Walton, Lydia M. Staisch, Tina Dura, Jessie K. Pearl, Brian L. Sherrod, Joan S. Gomberg, Simon E. Engelhart, Anne Trehu, Janet Watt, Jonathan P. Perkins, Robert C. Witter, Noel Bartlow, Chris Goldfinger, Harvey Kelsey, Ann Morey, Valerie J. Sahakian, Harold Tobin, Kelin Wang, Ray Wells, Erin Wirth