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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.

Filter Total Items: 171158

A methodology to combine shaking and ground failure models for forecasting seismic damage to buried pipeline networks

How does an earthquake affect buried pipeline networks? It is well known that the seismic performance of buried pipelines depends on ground failures (GFs) as well as strong ground shaking (SGS), but it is unclear how the various types of earthquake hazards should be collectively combined, as existing methodologies tend to examine each of the earthquake hazards separately. In this article, we devel
Authors
N. Simon Kwong, Kishor S. Jaiswal

The 3D Elevation Program—Supporting Oregon's economy

IntroductionOregon’s physical environments and vegetation are diverse. The varied geologic and climatic conditions combined with increasing population have created the need for high-quality elevation data that can be used for infrastructure management, forestry and wildfire management, agriculture, natural resources conservation, and other business uses. Critical applications that meet the State’s
Authors
Tom Carlson

Comparison of earthquake early warning systems and the national volcano early warning system at the U.S. Geological Survey

IntroductionEvery year in the United States, natural hazards threaten lives and livelihoods, resulting in thousands of casualties and billions of dollars in damage. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Natural Hazards Mission Area works with many partners to monitor, assess, and research a wide range of natural hazards, including earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. These efforts aim to enhance commun
Authors
Aleeza Wilkins, Charlie Mandeville, John Power, Doug Given

Modeling the effects of interior headland restoration on estuarine sediment transport processes in a marine-dominant estuary

The effects of interior headland restoration on estuarine sediment transport processes were assessed through process-based numerical modeling. Three proposed interior headland restoration scenarios in the Grand Bay estuary (Mississippi/Alabama) were modeled using Delft3D to understand impacts on suspended sediment concentrations, bed level morphology, and sediment fluxes under present-day conditio
Authors
Robert L. Jenkins, Davina Passeri, Christopher G. Smith, David M. Thompson, Kathryn Smith

Geology and assessment of coal resources for the Cherokee coal bed in the Fort Union Formation, south-central Wyoming

The Cherokee coal bed is a locally thick and laterally continuous coal bed in the Overland Member of the Paleocene Fort Union Formation in south-central Wyoming. It represents a significant resource that is easily accessible and may be extractable through both surface and underground mining methods. A database of more than 600 data points, comprising coalbed methane wells, coal exploration drill h
Authors
Brian N. Shaffer, Ricardo A. Olea

Porosity and pore-size distribution

Porosity, the fraction of soil volume not occupied by solids, is relatively easy to conceptualize and measure. Pore-size distribution is a complex topic, in part from the lack of a clear and unique concept of a soil pore as a discrete object. Available tools for evaluating pore-size distribution involve traditional conventions and operational definitions applied to hydraulic property characterizat
Authors
John R. Nimmo, Sheela Katuwal, Maik Lucas

Flood-inundation maps for Fourmile Creek at Silver Grove, Kentucky

Digital flood-inundation maps for a 3.4-mile reach of Fourmile Creek at Silver Grove, Kentucky, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the City of Silver Grove and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District. Because the City of Silver Grove is subject to flooding from Fourmile Creek and the Ohio River (backwater flooding up Fourmile Creek), a set of flood-i
Authors
Justin A. Boldt

Managing conflict between nesting common terns and herring gulls

Context: Due to the frequent depredation of eggs and chicks by herring gulls (Larus argentatus), numerous approaches to reduce their impact on tern colonies have been tested by wildlife managers. Previous studies have shown that the use of overhead lines presents a promising method to prevent gull nesting in tern colonies, but little work has evaluated if this approach is suitable for excluding bo
Authors
Jeffery D. Sullivan, Amy O'Donnell, Lauren Marie-Therese Lescure, Andrew Rapp, Carl C. Callahan, Peter C. McGowan, Tim Carney, Diann Prosser

Des Moines water trails: Health risk from waterborne pathogens during recreational water use

No abstract available.
Authors
Tucker R. Burch, Joel P. Stokdyk, Aaron Firnstahl, Sarah Opelt, Rachel Cook, Mark A. Borchardt

Drought-vulnerability assessment of public water systems in West Virginia

Water withdrawn from rivers and streams accounts for approximately 80 percent of the public water supply in West Virginia. Localized and (or) seasonal droughts may threaten future water availability in the state, particularly in rural communities located in the headwaters of unregulated watersheds. Monthly water withdrawal data obtained from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
Authors
Matthew R. Kearns, Kaycee E. Faunce, Terence Messinger

The late Pleistocene Sacarosa tephra-fall deposit, Misti Volcano, Arequipa, Peru: Its magma, eruption, and implications for past and future activity

Between 38.5 ka cal BP and 32.4 ka cal BP, a dacitic Volcanic Explosivity Index 5 eruption at Misti volcano emplaced the Sacarosa tephra-fall deposit. Its biotite phenocrysts, fine grain size, scarce lithics, and abundant loose crystals characterize the deposit at locations sampled. The eruption’s ~ 800 °C magma rose rapidly from ~ 10 km depth, culminating in a Plinian eruption which reached a mas
Authors
Christopher Harpel, JJ Cuno, Marie K. Takach, M. Rivera, Rigoberto Aguilar, Frank III Tepley, F. Garcia-Arenal

Predicting burn severity for integration with post-fire debris-flow hazard assessment: A case study from the Upper Colorado River Basin, USA

Background: Burn severity significantly increases the likelihood and volume of post-wildfire debris flows. Pre-fire severity predictions can expedite mitigation efforts because precipitation contributing to these hazards often occurs shortly after wildfires, leaving little time for post-fire planning and management.Aim: The aim of this study was to predict burn severity using pre-fire conditions o
Authors
Adam Gerhard Wells, Todd Hawbaker, John Kevin Hiers, Jason W. Kean, Rachel A. Loehman, Paul F. Steblein