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Books

Browse almost 1,000 books authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS and refine search by topic, location, year, and advanced search.

Filter Total Items: 971

Application of the SHOALS survey system to fisheries investigations in the Columbia River

We used a Scanning Hydrographic Operational Airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) Survey (SHOALS) system to collect high-resolution bathymetry for 33 km of the Hanford Reach. Data were used in conjunction with hydrodynamic and predictive habitat models within a GIS (Geographical Information System) framework to evaluate the effects of a varying hydrograph on juvenile fall Chinook salmon rea
Authors
Kenneth F. Tiffan, Paul G. Wagner, Keith S. Wolf, Paul A. Hoffarth

Movement triggers and remediation in a fracture-dominated translational landslide at the Oregon coast

The Johnson Creek landslide is a translational slide in seaward dipping Miocene siltstone and sandstone (Astoria Formation) and an overlying Quaternary marine terrace deposit. The slide terminates in a sea cliff and has a hummocky to nearly horizontal ground surface. The basal slide plane, however, slopes subparallel to the dip of the Miocene rocks, except beneath the back-tilted toe blocks where
Authors
George R. Priest, Jonathan Allan, Alan Niem, Wendy A. Niem, Stephen E. Dickenson

African desert dust in the Amazon Basin: implications for human and ecosystem health

No abstract available.
Authors
Dale W. Griffin

Landscape features, standards, and semantics in U.S. national topographic mapping databases

The objective of this paper is to examine the contrast between local, field-surveyed topographical representation and feature representation in digital, centralized databases and to clarify their ontological implications. The semantics of these two approaches are contrasted by examining the categorization of features by subject domains inherent to national topographic mapping. When comparing five
Authors
Dalia Varanka

A field guide to Newberry Volcano, Oregon

Newberry Volcano is located in central Oregon at the intersection of the Cascade Range and the High Lava Plains. Its lavas range in age from ca. 0.5 Ma to late Holocene. Erupted products range in composition from basalt through rhyolite and cover ~3000 km2. The most recent caldera-forming eruption occurred ~80,000 years ago. This trip will highlight a revised understanding of the volcano's history
Authors
Robert A. Jenson, Julie M. Donnelly-Nolan, Daniele McKay

A topographic feature taxonomy for a U.S. national topographic mapping ontology

Using legacy feature lists from the U.S. National Topographic Mapping Program of the twentieth century, a taxonomy of features is presented for purposes of developing a national topographic feature ontology for geographic mapping and analysis. After reviewing published taxonomic classifications, six basic classes are suggested; terrain, surface water, ecological regimes, built-up areas, divisi
Authors
Dalia E. Varanka

Carbon sequestration and its role in the global carbon cycle

For carbon sequestration the issues of monitoring, risk assessment, and verification of carbon content and storage efficacy are perhaps the most uncertain. Yet these issues are also the most critical challenges facing the broader context of carbon sequestration as a means for addressing climate change. In response to these challenges, Carbon Sequestration and Its Role in the Global Carbon Cycle pr
Authors
Brian J. McPherson, Eric T. Sundquist

Diffusion-equation representations of landform evolution in the simplest circumstances: Appendix C

The diffusion equation is one of the three great partial differential equations of classical physics. It describes the flow or diffusion of heat in the presence of temperature gradients, fluid flow in porous media in the presence of pressure gradients, and the diffusion of molecules in the presence of chemical gradients. [The other two equations are the wave equation, which describes the propagati
Authors
Thomas C. Hanks

Mammals of the Smokies

Guide to the most popular and famous critters in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Includes bear, elk, deer, flying squirrels, and buffalo.
Authors
Edward Pivorun, M. J. Harvey, F.T. Van Manen, M.R. Pelton, J. D. Clark, E. Kim Delozier, B. Stiver

Organochlorine pesticides residue in lakes of Khorezm, Uzbekistan

The Khorezm province in northwest Uzbekistan is a productive agricultural area within the Aral Sea Basin that produces cotton, rice and wheat. Various organochlorine pesticides were widely used for cotton production before Uzbekistan's independence in 1991. In Khorezm, small lakes have formed in natural depressions that receive inputs mostly from agricultural runoff. Samples from lake waters and s
Authors
Michael R. Rosen, Bakhriddin Nishonov, Dilorom Fayzieva, L. Saito, J. Lamers

Remote sensing of global croplands for food security

Increases in populations have created an increasing demand for food crops while increases in demand for biofuels have created an increase in demand for fuel crops. What has not increased is the amount of croplands and their productivity. These and many other factors such as decreasing water resources in a changing climate have created a crisis like situation in global food security. Decision maker
Authors
Prasad S. Thenkabail, Chandrashekhar M. Biradar, Hugh Turral, John G. Lyon