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These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.

Filter Total Items: 16780

Ion-adsorption REEs in regolith of the Liberty Hill pluton, South Carolina, USA: An effect of hydrothermal alteration

Ion-adsorbed rare earth element (REE) deposits supply the majority of world heavy REE production and substantial light REE production, but relatively little is known of their occurrence outside Southeast Asia. We examined the distribution and forms of REEs on a North American pluton located in the highly weathered and slowly eroding South Carolina Piedmont. The Hercynian Liberty Hill pluton experi
Authors
Carleton R. Bern, Tiffany Yesavage, Nora K. Foley

Automatic delineation of seacliff limits using lidar-derived high-resolution DEMs in southern California

Seacliff erosion is a serious hazard with implications for coastal management and is often estimated using successive hand-digitized cliff tops or bases (toe) to assess cliff retreat. Even if efforts are made to standardize manual digitizing and eliminate subjectivity, the delineation of cliffs is time-consuming and depends on the analyst's interpretation. An automatic procedure is proposed to ext
Authors
Monica Palaseanu-Lovejoy, Jeffrey J. Danielson, Cindy A. Thatcher, Amy C. Foxgrover, Patrick L. Barnard, John Brock, Adam Young

Migratory delay leads to reduced passage success of Atlantic salmon smolts at a hydroelectric dam

Passage of fish through hydropower dams is associated with mortality, delay, increased energy expenditure and migratory failure for migrating fish and the need for remedial measures for both upstream and downstream migration is widely recognised. A functional fish passage must ensure safe and timely passage routes that a substantial portion of migrating fish will use. Passage solutions must addres
Authors
Daniel Nyqvist, L. Greenberg, E. Goerig, O. Calles, E. Bergman, William R. Ardren, Theodore R. Castro-Santos

Massachusetts reservoir simulation tool—User’s manual

IntroductionThe U.S. Geological Survey developed the Massachusetts Reservoir Simulation Tool to examine the effects of reservoirs on natural streamflows in Massachusetts by simulating the daily water balance of reservoirs. The simulation tool was developed to assist environmental managers to better manage water withdrawals in reservoirs and to preserve downstream aquatic habitats.
Authors
Sara B. Levin

Effects of water-supply reservoirs on streamflow in Massachusetts

State and local water-resource managers need modeling tools to help them manage and protect water-supply resources for both human consumption and ecological needs. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, has developed a decision-support tool to estimate the effects of reservoirs on natural streamflow. The Massachusetts Reservoir Sim
Authors
Sara B. Levin

Submarine glacial landforms on the Bay of Fundy–northern Gulf of Maine continental shelf

The Bay of Fundy–northern Gulf of Maine region surrounds the southern part of Nova Scotia, encompassing, from west to east, the Bay of Fundy, Grand Manan Basin, German Bank, Browns Bank, Northeast Channel and northeastern Georges Bank (Fig. 1a, b). During the last glacial maximum (c. 24–20 14C ka BP), the SE margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) occupied the study area, the rest of the Gulf of
Authors
B.J. Todd, J. Shaw, Page C. Valentine

Geology and mineral resources of the North-Central Idaho Sagebrush Focal Area: Chapter C in Mineral resources of the Sagebrush Focal Areas of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming

SummaryThe U.S. Department of the Interior has proposed to withdraw approximately 10 million acres of Federal lands from mineral entry (subject to valid existing rights) from 12 million acres of lands defined as Sagebrush Focal Areas (SFAs) in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming (for further discussion on the lands involved see Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5089–A). The purpo
Authors
Karen Lund, Lukas Zürcher, Albert H. Hofstra, Bradley S. Van Gosen, Mary Ellen Benson, Stephen E. Box, Eric D. Anderson, Donald I. Bleiwas, Jacob DeAngelo, Ronald M. Drake, Gregory L. Fernette, Stuart A. Giles, Jonathan M. G. Glen, Jon E. Haacke, John D. Horton, David John, Gilpin R. Robinson, Barnaby W. Rockwell, Carma A. San Juan, Brian N. Shaffer, Steven M. Smith, Colin F. Williams

Geology and mineral resources of the North-Central Montana Sagebrush Focal Area: Chapter D in Mineral resources of the Sagebrush Focal Areas of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming

SummaryThe U.S. Department of the Interior has proposed to withdraw approximately 10 million acres of Federal lands from mineral entry (subject to valid existing rights) from 12 million acres of lands defined as Sagebrush Focal Areas (SFAs) in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming (for further discussion on the lands involved see Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5089–A). The purpo
Authors
Jeffrey L. Mauk, Michael L. Zientek, B. Carter Hearn, Heather L. Parks, M. Christopher Jenkins, Eric D. Anderson, Mary Ellen Benson, Donald I. Bleiwas, Jacob DeAngelo, Paul Denning, Connie L. Dicken, Ronald M. Drake, Gregory L. Fernette, Helen W. Folger, Stuart A. Giles, Jonathan M. G. Glen, Matthew Granitto, Jon E. Haacke, John D. Horton, Karen D. Kelley, Joyce A. Ober, Barnaby W. Rockwell, Carma A. San Juan, Elizabeth S. Sangine, Peter N. Schweitzer, Brian N. Shaffer, Steven M. Smith, Colin F. Williams, Douglas B. Yager

Groundwater level trends and drivers in two northern New England glacial aquifers

We evaluated long-term trends and predictors of groundwater levels by month from two well-studied northern New England forested headwater glacial aquifers: Sleepers River, Vermont, 44 wells, 1992-2013; and Hubbard Brook, New Hampshire, 15 wells, 1979-2004. Based on Kendall Tau tests with Sen slope determination, a surprising number of well-month combinations had negative trends (decreasing water l
Authors
James B. Shanley, Ann T. Chalmers, Thomas J. Mack, Thor E. Smith, Philip T. Harte

Seismic evidence of glacial-age river incision into the Tahaa barrier reef, French Polynesia

Rivers have long been recognized for their ability to shape reef-bound volcanic islands. On the time-scale of glacial–interglacial sea-level cycles, fluvial incision of exposed barrier reef lagoons may compete with constructional coral growth to shape the coastal geomorphology of ocean islands. However, overprinting of Pleistocene landscapes by Holocene erosion or sedimentation has largely obscure
Authors
Michael Toomey, Jonathan D. Woodruff, Andrew D. Ashton, J. Taylor Perron

Determining the flux of methane into Hudson Canyon at the edge of methane clathrate hydrate stability

Methane seeps were investigated in Hudson Canyon, the largest shelf-break canyon on the northern US Atlantic Margin. The seeps investigated are located at or updip of the nominal limit of methane clathrate hydrate stability. The acoustic identification of bubble streams was used to guide water column sampling in a 32 km2 region within the canyon's thalweg. By incorporating measurements of dissolve
Authors
A. Weinsten, L Navarrete, Carolyn D. Ruppel, T.C. Weber, M. Leonte, M. Kellermann, E. Arrington, D.L. Valentine, M.L Scranton, John D. Kessler

Evaluating methods to establish habitat suitability criteria: A case study in the upper Delaware River Basin, USA

Defining habitat suitability criteria (HSC) of aquatic biota can be a key component to environmental flow science. HSC can be developed through numerous methods; however, few studies have evaluated the consistency of HSC developed by different methodologies. We directly compared HSC for depth and velocity developed by the Delphi method (expert opinion) and by two primary literature meta-analyses (
Authors
Heather S. Galbraith, Carrie J. Blakeslee, Jeffrey C. Cole, Colin Talbert, Kelly O. Maloney