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.
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Science Quality and Integrity
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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: 171158
The diversity of volcanic hazard maps around the world: Insights from map makers
The IAVCEI Working Group on Hazard Mapping has been active since 2014 and has facilitated several activities to enable sharing of experiences of how volcanic hazard maps are developed and used around the world. One key activity was a global survey of 90 map makers and practitioners to collect data about official, published volcanic hazard maps and how they were developed. The survey asked question
Authors
Jan Lindsay, Danielle Charlton, Mary Ann T. Clive, Daniel Bertin, Sarah E. Ogburn, Heather M. Wright, John W. Ewert, Eliza S. Calder, Bastian Steinke
Shallow fault slip of the 2020 M5.1 Sparta, North Carolina, earthquake
The 2020 M 5.1 Sparta, North Carolina, earthquake is the largest in the eastern United States since the 2011 M 5.8 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake and produced a ∼2.5‐km‐long surface rupture, unusual for an event of this magnitude. A geological field study conducted soon after the event indicates oblique slip along a east‐southeast‐trending fault with a consistently observed thrust component. My ana
Authors
Fred Pollitz
ENSO and NAO linkages to interannual salinity variability in north central Gulf of Mexico estuaries through teleconnections with precipitation
Though the importance of Earth's internal climate modes such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) to regional-scale climate variability is well recognized, the degree to which these oscillations are reflected by spatio-temporal salinity variability over interannual timescales in estuaries is less understood. Here an 11-year continuous salinity monitor
Authors
Gregg Snedden
A reference genome assembly for the continentally distributed ring-necked snake, Diadophis punctatus
Snakes in the family Colubridae include more than 2,000 currently recognized species, and comprise roughly 75% of the global snake species diversity on Earth. For such a spectacular radiation, colubrid snakes remain poorly understood ecologically and genetically. Two subfamilies, Colubrinae (788 species) and Dipsadinae (833 species), comprise the bulk of colubrid species richness. Dipsadines are a
Authors
Erin P. Westeen, Merly Escalona, Eric Beraut, Mohan P. A. Marimuthu, Oanh Nguyen, Robert N. Fisher, Erin Toffelmier, H. Bradley Shaffer, Ian J. Wang
a-positive: A robust estimator of the earthquake rate in incomplete or saturated catalogs
Detection thresholds in earthquake catalogs frequently change in time due to station coverage improvements and network saturation effects during active periods such as mainshock-aftershock cascades. This presents a challenge to seismicity-rate estimation; there is a tradeoff between using as low a minimum magnitude as possible to maximize data while not undercounting the rate due to catalog incomp
Authors
Nicholas van der Elst, Morgan T. Page
Summary of the history and research of the U.S. Geological Survey gas hydrate properties laboratory in Menlo Park, California, active from 1993 to 2022
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Clathrate Hydrate Properties Project, active from 1993 to 2022 in Menlo Park, California, stemmed from an earlier project on the properties of planetary ices supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Planetary Geology and Geophysics Program. We took a material science approach in both projects, emphasizing chemical purity of samples
Authors
Laura A. Stern, Stephen H. Kirby
Priority research needs to inform amphibian conservation in the Anthropocene
The problem of global amphibian declines has prompted extensive research over the last three decades. Initially, the focus was on identifying and characterizing the extent of the problem, but more recently efforts have shifted to evidence-based research designed to identify best solutions and to improve conservation outcomes. Despite extensive accumulation of knowledge on amphibian declines, there
Authors
Evan H. Campbell Grant, Staci M. Amburgey, Brian Gratwicke, Victor Acosta Chaves, Anat M. Belasen, David Bickford, Carsten Brühl, Natalie E. Calatayud, Nick Clemann, Simon Clulow, Jelka Crnobrnja-Isailovic, Jeff Dawson, David A. De Angelis, C. Kenneth Dodd, Annette Evans, Gentile Francesco Ficetola, Mattia Falaschi, Sergio González-Mollinedo, David M. Green, Roseanna Gamlen-Greene, Richard A. Griffiths, Brian J. Halstead, Craig Hassapakis, Geoffrey Heard, Catharina Karlsson, Tom Kirschey, Blake Klocke, Tiffany A. Kosch, Sophia Kusterko Novaes, Luke Linhoff, John C. Maerz, Brittany A. Mosher, Katherine M O'Donnell, Leticia M. Ochoa-Ochoa, Deanna H. Olson, Kristiina Ovaska, J. Dale Roberts, Aimee J. Silla, Tariq Stark, Jeanne Tarrant, R. Upton, Judit Vörös, Erin L. Muths
Polar bear's range dynamics and survival in the Holocene
Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is the apex predator of the Arctic, largely dependent on sea-ice. The expected disappearance of the ice cover of the Arctic seas by the mid 21st century is predicted to cause a dramatic decrease in the global range and population size of the species. To place this scenario against the backdrop of past distribution changes and their causes, we use a fossil dataset to in
Authors
Heikki Seppä, Marit-Solveig Seidenkrantz, Beth Elaine Caissie, Marc Macias Fauria
Local topography and streambed hydraulic conductivity influence riparian groundwater age and groundwater-surface water connection
The western U.S. is experiencing increasing rain to snow ratios due to climate change, and scientists are uncertain how changing recharge patterns will affect future groundwater-surface water connection. We examined how watershed topography and streambed hydraulic conductivity impact groundwater age and stream discharge at eight sites along a headwater stream within the Manitou Experimental Forest
Authors
Sara R. Warix, Alexis Navarre-Sitchler, Andrew H. Manning, Kamini Singha
Development of a volcanic risk management system at Mount St. Helens—1980 to present
Here, we review volcanic risk management at Mount St. Helens from the perspective of the US Geological Survey’s (USGS) experience over the four decades since its 18 May 1980 climactic eruption. Prior to 1980, volcano monitoring, multidisciplinary eruption forecasting, and interagency coordination for eruption response were new to the Cascade Range. A Mount St. Helens volcano hazards assessment had
Authors
Heather M. Wright, Carolyn L. Driedger, John S. Pallister, Christopher G. Newhall, Michael A. Clynne, John W. Ewert
Characterization of peak streamflows and flooding in select areas of Pennsylvania from the remnants of Hurricane Ida, September 1–2, 2021
Pennsylvania experienced heavy rainfall on September 1 and 2, 2021, as the remnants of Hurricane Ida swept over parts of the State. Much of eastern and south-central Pennsylvania received 5 to 10 inches of rain, and most of the rainfall fell within little more than 6 hours. Southeastern Pennsylvania experienced widespread, substantial flooding, and the city of Philadelphia and surrounding areas we
Authors
Marla H. Stuckey, Matthew D. Conlon, Mitchell R. Weaver
Dead-end hollow fiber ultrafiltration capture of environmental DNA for freshwater mussel (Unionidae) species detection with metabarcoding
Insufficient water sample volumes can be a limiting factor for detecting species with environmental DNA (eDNA) from aquatic habitats. We compared detections of freshwater mussel (Unionidae) communities using large water sample volumes and dead-end hollow fiber ultrafiltration (D-HFUF or DEUF) with traditional eDNA filtration methods that use relatively small water sample volumes. Unionid species w
Authors
Anna M. McKee, Katy E. Klymus, Yer Lor, Marissa H Kaminski, Tariq Tajjioui, Nathan Johnson, Matthew Carroll, Christopher Goodson, Stephen Frank Spear