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Publications

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

Filter Total Items: 16780

The type localities of the mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus (Rafinesque, 1817), and the Kansas white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus macrourus (Rafinesque, 1817), are not where we thought they were

Among the iconic mammals of the North American West is the mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). This species and a western subspecies of the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus macrourus) were two of seven mammals originally named and described as new species in 1817 by Constantine S. Rafinesque. Rafinesque never saw the animals that he named. Instead, he followed the then-acceptable practice of
Authors
Neal Woodman

Rates and probable causes of freshwater tidal marsh failure, Potomac River Estuary, Northern Virginia, USA

Dyke Marsh, a distal tidal marsh along the Potomac River estuary, is diminishing rapidly in areal extent. This study documents Dyke Marsh erosion rates from the early-1860s to the present during pre-mining, mining, and post-mining phases. From the late-1930s to the mid-1970s, Dyke Marsh and the adjacent shallow riverbottom were mined for gravel, resulting in a ~55 % initial loss of area. Marsh los
Authors
Ronald J. Litwin, Joseph P. Smoot, Milan J. Pavich, Helaine W. Markewich, Erik T. Oberg, Brent W. Steury, Ben Helwig, Vincent L. Santucci, Geoffrey Sanders

Seasonal circulation over the Catalan inner-shelf (northwest Mediterranean Sea)

This study characterizes the seasonal cycle of the Catalan inner-shelf circulation using observations and complementary numerical results. The relation between seasonal circulation and forcing mechanisms is explored through the depth-averaged momentum balance, for the period between May 2010 and April 2011, when velocity observations were partially available. The monthly-mean along-shelf flow is m
Authors
Manel Grifoll, Alfredo L. Aretxabaleta, Josep L. Pelegrí, Manuel Espino, John C. Warner, Agustín Sánchez-Arcilla

Geomorphic and human influence on large-scale coastal change

An increasing need exists for regional-scale measurements of shoreline change to aid in management and planning decisions over a broad portion of the coast and to inform assessments of coastal vulnerabilities and hazards. A recent dataset of regional shoreline change, covering a large portion of the U.S. East coast (New England and Mid-Atlantic), provides rates of shoreline change over historical
Authors
Cheryl J. Hapke, Meredith G. Kratzmann, Emily A. Himmelstoss

The Sunny Point Formation: a new Upper Cretaceous subsurface unit in the Carolina Coastal Plain

This paper formally defines the Sunny Point Formation, a new Upper Cretaceous subsurface unit confined to the outer Atlantic Coastal Plain of North and South Carolina. Its type section is established in corehole NH-C-1-2001 (Kure Beach) from New Hanover County, North Carolina. The Sunny Point Formation consists of light-olive-gray to greenish-gray, fine to coarse micaceous sands and light-olive-br
Authors
Audra E. Balson, Jean Self-Trail, Dennis O. Terry

Complex resistivity signatures of ethanol biodegradation in porous media

Numerous adverse effects are associated with the accidental release of ethanol (EtOH) and its persistence in the subsurface. Geophysical techniques may permit non-invasive, real time monitoring of microbial degradation of hydrocarbon. We performed complex resistivity (CR) measurements in conjunction with geochemical data analysis on three microbial-stimulated and two control columns to investigate
Authors
Yves Robert Personna, Lee Slater, Dimitrios Ntarlagiannis, Dale D. Werkema, Zoltan Szabo

The origin of conodonts and of vertebrate mineralized skeletons

Conodonts are an extinct group of jawless vertebrates whose tooth-like elements are the earliest instance of a mineralized skeleton in the vertebrate lineage, inspiring the ‘inside-out’ hypothesis that teeth evolved independently of the vertebrate dermal skeleton and before the origin of jaws. However, these propositions have been based on evidence from derived euconodonts. Here we test hypotheses
Authors
Duncan J.E. Murdock, Xi-Ping Dong, John E. Repetski, Federica Marone, Marco Stampanoni, Philip C.J. Donoghue

The U.S. Geological Survey Bird Banding Laboratory: an integrated scientific program supporting research and conservation of North American birds

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) was established in 1920 after ratification of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act with the United Kingdom in 1918. During World War II, the BBL was moved from Washington, D.C., to what is now the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (PWRC). The BBL issues permits and bands to permittees to band birds, records bird band recoveries or encou
Authors
Gregory J. Smith

An exploration in mineral supply chain mapping using tantalum as an example

This report uses the supply chain of tantalum (Ta) to investigate the complexity of mineral and metal supply chains in general and show how they can be mapped. A supply chain is made up of all the manufacturers, suppliers, information networks, and so forth, that provide the materials and parts that go into making up a final product. The mineral portion of the supply chain begins with mineral mate
Authors
Yadira Soto-Viruet, W. David Menzie, John F. Papp, Thomas R. Yager

Recent (circa 1998 to 2011) channel-migration rates of selected streams in Indiana

An investigation was completed to document recent (circa 1998 to 2011) channel-migration rates at 970 meander bends along 38 of the largest streams in Indiana. Data collection was completed by using the Google Earth™ platform and, for each selected site, identifying two images with capture dates separated by multiple years. Within each image, the position of the meander-bend cutbank was measured r
Authors
Bret A. Robinson

Bedrock geology and outcrop fracture trends in the vicinity of the Savage Municipal Well Superfund site, Milford, New Hampshire

The Savage Municipal Well Superfund site consists of an eastward-directed plume of volatile organic compounds, principally tetrachloroethylene (PCE), in alluvium and glacial sand and gravel in the Souhegan River valley, just south of the river and about 4 kilometers west of the town of Milford, New Hampshire. Sampling of monitoring wells at the site has helped delineate the extent of the plume and
Authors
William C. Burton, Philip T. Harte

Landscape consequences of natural gas extraction in Lackawanna and Wayne Counties, Pennsylvania, 2004-2010

Increased demands for cleaner burning energy, coupled with the relatively recent technological advances in accessing unconventional hydrocarbon-rich geologic formations, have led to an intense effort to find and extract natural gas from various underground sources around the country. One of these sources, the Marcellus Shale, located in the Allegheny Plateau, is currently undergoing extensive dril
Authors
L.E. Milheim, E.T. Slonecker, C.M. Roig-Silva, A.R. Malizia