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Browse more than 5,500 book chapters authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS and refine search by topic, location, year, and advanced search.

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No abstract available.
Authors
Thomas M. Cronin

Myocastor coypus Molina (coypu)

Myocastor coypus (coypu) (Figure 30.1) is a large semi-aquatic rodent native to South America that is now present in all continents, except Oceania and Antarctica, after widespread introductions in the 1930-1940s. There is a division in English speaking countries as to common name usage. In England and former British colonies (i.e. Kenya) they are called "coypus". In North America and Asia they ar
Authors
Sandro Bertolino, Laura Guichon, Jacoby Carter

Elevation uncertainty in coastal inundation hazard assessments

Coastal inundation has been identified as an important natural hazard that affects densely populated and built-up areas (Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction, 2008). Inundation, or coastal flooding, can result from various physical processes, including storm surges, tsunamis, intense precipitation events, and extreme high tides. Such events cause quickly rising water levels. When rapidly rising wate
Authors
Dean B. Gesch

Incorporating spatial context into the analysis of salmonid habitat relations

In this response to the chapter by Lapointe (this volume), we discuss the question of why it is so difficult to predict salmonid-habitat relations in gravel-bed rivers and streams. We acknowledge that this cannot be an exhaustive treatment of the subject and, thus, identify what we believe are several key issues that demonstrate the necessity of incorporating spatial context into the analysis of f
Authors
Christian E. Torgersen, Colden V. Baxter, J. L. Ebersole, Bob Gresswell

Fluid geochemistry of Yucca Mountain and vicinity

Yucca Mountain, a site in southwest Nevada, has been proposed for a deep underground radioactive waste repository. An extensive database of geochemical and isotopic characteristics has been established for pore waters and gases from the unsaturated zone, perched water, and saturated zone waters in the Yucca Mountain area. The development of this database has been driven by diverse needs of the Yuc
Authors
Brian D. Marshall, Richard J. Moscati, Gary L. Patterson

Active transtensional intracontinental basins: Walker Lane in the western Great Basin

The geometry and dimensions of sedimentary basins within the Walker Lane are a result of Plio-Pleistocene transtensive deformation and partial detachment of the Sierra Nevada crustal block from the North American plate. Distinct morpho-tectonic domains lie within this active transtensive zone. The northeast end of the Walker Lane is partly buried by active volcanism of the southern Cascades, and a
Authors
Angela S. Jayko, Marcus Bursik

Anaerobic oxidation of arsenite by autotrophic bacteria: The view from Mono Lake, California

Introduction The phenomenon of arsenite [As(III)] oxidation by aerobic bacteria was first reported by Green (1918), and the many subsequent discoveries made in this realm, most occurring over the past three decades, are the primary focus of this book. In contrast, the fact that select anaerobes can also achieve this feat was an entirely serendipitous discovery. As often occurs in science, the inte
Authors
Ronald S. Oremland, John F. Stolz, Chad W. Saltikov

Restoration of freshwater cypress-tupelo wetlands in the southeastern U.S. following severe hurricanes

Freshwater forested wetlands commonly occur in the lower Coastal Plain of the southeastern US with baldcypress (Taxodium distichum [L.] L.C. Rich.) and water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica L.) often being the dominant trees. Extensive anthropogenic activities combined with eustatic sea-level rise and land subsidence have caused widespread hydrological changes in many of these forests. In addition, hurrica
Authors
William H. Conner, Ken W. Krauss, Gary P. Shaffer

Sirenian pathology and mortality assessment: Chapter 17

No abstract available.
Authors
Robert K. Bonde, Antonio Mignucci-Giannoni, Gregory D. Bossart

Thermal maturation history of Arctic Alaska and the southern Canada Basin

The emerging global focus on the oil and gas potential of the Arctic underscores the importance of understanding petroleum systems with limited data. Geohistory modeling of Arctic Alaska (including the Chukchi shelf) and the southern Canada basin indicates that regional patterns of thermal maturity and timing of petroleum generation reflect geologic processes associated with rift-opening of the Can
Authors
David W. Houseknecht, W. Matthew Burns, Kenneth J. Bird

Remote sensing of evapotranspiration for operational drought monitoring using principles of water and energy balance

Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important component of the hydrologic budget because it režects the exchange of mass and energy between the soil-water-vegetation system and the atmosphere. Prevailing weather conditions inžuence potential or reference ET through variables such as radiation, temperature, wind, and relativity humidity. In addition to these weather variables, actual ET (ETa) is also aff
Authors
Gabriel B. Senay, Stefanie Bohms, James P. Verdin, Martha C. Anderson, Christopher Hain, Brian D. Wardlow, Agustin Pimstein, John R. Mecikalski, William P. Kustas