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.
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Upstream experience and experimental translocation of invasive bigheaded carps results in increased upstream passage success at a navigation lock in a large river
Fish movements in regulated rivers can be challenging to study because anthropogenic modifications, such as locks and dams, can influence animal behavior. Upper Mississippi River Lock and Dam 19 (LD 19), for example, is an invasive carp movement bottleneck due to an impassable dam. Upstream fish passage at LD19 is restricted to the lock chamber, making it an optimal location to test invasive fish
Authors
Andrea K. Fritts, Daniel Gibson-Reinemer, Brent Knights, Amanda S. Milde, Jessica C. Stanton, Marybeth K. Brey, Douglas Appel, Aaron R. Cupp, Sarah Tripp, James T. Lamer, Mark W. Fritts
Deep structure of Siletzia in the Puget Lowland: Imaging an obducted plateau and accretionary thrust belt with potential fields
Detailed understanding of crustal components and tectonic history of forearcs is important due to their geological complexity and high seismic hazard. The principal component of the Cascadia forearc is Siletzia, a composite basaltic terrane of oceanic origin. Much is known about the lithology and age of the province. However, glacial sediments blanketing the Puget Lowland obscure its lateral exten
Authors
Megan L. Anderson, Richard J. Blakely, Ray Wells, Joseph D. Dragovich
Life-history connections to long-term fish population trends in a species-rich temperate river
Fishes exhibit a diverse range of traits encompassing life-history strategies, feeding behaviours and spawning behaviours. These traits mediate fish population responses to changing environmental conditions such as those caused by anthropogenic stressors. The Conasauga River, located in northwestern Georgia and southeastern Tennessee, USA, hosts a diverse assemblage of over 75 species of freshwate
Authors
Andrew J. Nagy, Mary Freeman, Brian J. Irwin, Seth J. Wenger
Stress-driven recurrence and precursory moment-rate surge in caldera collapse earthquakes
Predicting the recurrence times of earthquakes and understanding the physical processes that immediately precede them are two outstanding problems in seismology. Although geodetic measurements record elastic strain accumulation, most faults have recurrence intervals longer than available measurements. Foreshocks provide the principal observations of processes before mainshocks, but variability bet
Authors
Paul Segall, Mark V. Matthews, David R. Shelly, Taiyi Wang, Kyle R. Anderson
Hydrology and water quality of a dune-and-swale wetland adjacent to the Grand Calumet River, Indiana, 2019–22
Adverse ecological and water-quality effects associated with industrial land-use changes are common for littoral wetlands connected to river mouth ecosystems in the Grand Calumet River-Indiana Harbor Canal Area of Concern. These effects can be exacerbated by recent high Lake Michigan water levels that are problematic for wetland restoration. Wetlands in the adjacent Clark and Pine Nature Preserve
Authors
Shawn Naylor, Amy M. Gahala
Chemical composition of leachates from hydraulic fracturing proppants from surficial releases in southeastern New Mexico
Resin-coated proppants (RCPs) are used in hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells to improve well performance; however, these proppants could be a cause for environmental concern if they are disposed of improperly. In this study, we investigate the water-leachable organic and inorganic constituents from proppants collected from surficial releases of RCPs in southeastern New Mexico. Significant c
Authors
Matthew S. Varonka, Terry G. Gregston, Michael Villalobos, Jacqueline Benefield, William H. Orem
Precision of four calcified structures for age estimation of Black Carp
ObjectiveBlack Carp Mylopharyngodon piceus is an emerging invasive species in North America with an expanding population in the Mississippi River basin. Current aging methods use a suite of structures for age estimation, and a single structure is needed to minimize processing time, to maximize consistency of age and growth measurements, and to allow for back-calculation of individual fish length a
Authors
Patrick Kroboth, Anne Marie Herndon, Cortney Cox, Jesse Robert Fischer
Local and systemic replicative fitness for viruses in specialist, generalist, and non-specialist interactions with salmonid hosts
Host tissues represent diverse resources or barriers for pathogen replicative fitness. We tested whether viruses in specialist, generalist, and non-specialist interactions replicate differently in local entry tissue (fin), and systemic target tissue (kidney) using infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) and three salmonid fish hosts. Virus tissue replication was host specific, but one featu
Authors
David James Páez, Gael Kurath, Rachel L. Powers, Kerry A. Naish, Maureen K. Purcell
Establishing quantitative benchmarks for soil erosion and ecological monitoring, assessment, and management
Soil erosion can have a multitude of negative impacts on agroecosystems and society and there remains an urgent need for tools to support its management. Quantitative benchmarks based on holistic understanding of erosion processes, ecosystem function, and land use objectives can be used with monitoring data and models to inform assessments and make objective and actionable decisions about erosion
Authors
Nicholas P. Webb, Brandon L. Edwards, Alexandra Heller, Sarah E. McCord, Jeremy W. Schallner, Ronald S. Treminio, Brandi E. Wheeler, Nelson G. Stauffer, Sheri Spiegal, Michael C. Duniway, Alexander C.E. Traynor, Emily Kachergis, Carrie-Ann Houdeshell
Pesticides in small volume plasma samples: Method development and application to smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) from the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA
Nontarget organisms are exposed to pesticides following applications in agricultural and urban settings, potentially resulting in deleterious effects. Direct measurements of pesticides in biological tissues may aid in characterizing exposure, accumulation, and potential toxicity versus analyses in environmental media alone (e.g., water, soil, and air). Plasma represents a nonlethal sampling medium
Authors
Michael S. Gross, Vicki S. Blazer, Michelle Hladik
Variability in weather and site properties affect fuel and fire behavior following fuel treatments in semiarid sagebrush-steppe.
Fuel-treatments targeting shrubs and fire-prone exotic annual grasses (EAGs) are increasingly used to mitigate increased wildfire risks in arid and semiarid environments, and understanding their response to natural factors is needed for effective landscape management. Using field-data collected over four years from fuel-break treatments in semiarid sagebrush-steppe, we asked 1) how the outcomes of
Authors
Samuel J. Price, Matthew Germino
Non-native plant invasion after fire in western USA varies by functional type and with climate
Invasions by non-native plant species after fire can negatively affect important ecosystem services and lead to invasion-fire cycles that further degrade ecosystems. The relationship between fire and plant invasion is complex, and the risk of invasion varies greatly between functional types and across geographic scales. Here, we examined patterns and predictors of non-native plant invasion followi
Authors
Janet S. Prevéy, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Ian Pearse, Seth M. Munson, Jens T. Stevens, Kevin Barrett, Jonathon D. Coop, Michelle Day, David Firmage, Paula J. Fornwalt, Katharine Haynes, James B. Johnston, Becky Kerns, Meg A. Krawchuk, Becky Miller, Ty Nietupski, Jacquilyn Roque, Judith Diane Springer, Camille S. Stevens-Rumann, Micheal T. Stoddard, Claire Tortorelli