Book Chapters
Science Quality and Integrity
The USGS provides unbiased, objective, and impartial scientific information upon which our audiences, including resource managers, planners, and other entities, rely.
The USGS provides unbiased, objective, and impartial scientific information upon which our audiences, including resource managers, planners, and other entities, rely.
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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Data Report: Permeability, porosity, and frictional strength of core samples from IODP Expedition 366 in the Mariana forearc
Core samples from the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 366 were tested in the laboratory to determine permeability, porosity, density, and frictional strength and their relation to mineralogy as part of an effort to understand hydro-mechanical processes at convergent plate margins. Seven samples were tested from a depth range of 19.6 to 197.9 m below the sea floor. The sampl
Authors
Carolyn A. Morrow, Diane E. Moore, David A. Lockner, Barbara A. Bekins
Problems of Large Spatial Databases
Large spatial databases often labeled as geospatial big data exceed the capacity of commonly used computing systems as a result of data volume, variety, velocity, and veracity. Additional problems also labeled with V’s are cited, but the four primary ones are the most problematic and focus of this chapter (Li et al., 2016, Panimalar et al., 2017). Sources include satellites, aircraft and drone pl
Authors
E. Lynn Usery
Contemporary human impacts on alpine ecosystems: the direct and indirect effects of human-induced climate change and land use
Alpine ecosystems account for ca. 3 % of terrestrial habitats yet, along with adjacent mountain systems, provide water resources to nearly half of the world’s human population. Approximately 20 % of humans live in or near mountain areas, making it inherently important to understand current impacts on these systems. Here, I review literature regarding current and projected human impacts on alpine e
Authors
Daniel E. Winkler
Monitoring volcanic deformation
Whereas research in volcano geodesy seeks to push the boundaries of our knowledge of the physics of volcanoes, monitoring looks at changes in volcano behavior to predict when a volcanic crisis might develop. To be effective, geodetic monitoring must be done before, during, and after eruptions and must be integrated with other monitoring techniques. It requires the type of long-term commitment of t
Authors
Maurizio Battaglia, Jorge Alpala, Rosa Alpala, Mario Angarita, Dario Arcos, Leonardo Eullides, Pablo Euillades, Cyrill Mueller, Lourdes Narvaez
Volcano deformation: Insights into magmatic systems
Volcano geodesy is the branch of geodetic science that deals with the changing shapes of volcanoes, whether large or small, deep-seated or surficial. Together with seismicity and volcanic gas flux, deformation of the ground surface can be a key indicator of subsurface conditions and processes at volcanoes—information that not only improves scientific understanding of magmatic systems but also is u
Authors
Daniel Dzurisin
Encylopedia of Caves
For many people, a visit to a cave is a wondrous event directing our minds to ponder the mysteries presented by these unique places
and inspiring questions: How old is the cave? What was the role of water in forming the cave and where did the water come from?
How is the cave connected to the surface environment? These are intriguing questions to ask, and karst scientists use isotope
geochemistry t
Authors
Katherine J. Knierim, Phillip D. Hays
Seed-vectored microbes: Their roles in improving seedling fitness and competitor plant suppression
This chapter discusses the role of seed-vectored microbes in modulating seedling development and increasing fitness of plants in terms of increased biotic and abiotic stress tolerance.
Authors
James F. Jr. White, Kathryn L. Kingsley, Susan Butterworth, Lara Brindisi, Judy W Gatei, Matthew T. Elmore, Satish Kumar Verma, Xiang Yao, Kurt P. Kowalski
Revisiting Herto: New evidence of Homo sapiens from Ethiopia
Localities in the radiometrically dated Upper Herto Member of Ethiopia’s Bouri Formation continue to produce new data that complement and extend initial reports of fossils and artifacts published in 2003. Results of these revisits are reported here and include the in situ recovery of artifacts from the same sediments containing hominid fossils. We evaluate the absolute and relative temporal placem
Authors
Yonatan Sahle, Yonas Beyene, Alban Defleur, Berhane Asfaw, Giday WoldeGabriel, William K Hart, Leah E. Morgan, Paul R. Renne, Joshua Carlson, Tim D White
Shrews (Eulipotyphla, Soricidae) of Guatemala /Musarañas (Eulipotyphla, Soricidae) de Guatemala
Shrews (Soricidae) are the only members of the mammalian order Eulipotyphla that occur in Central and South America. In Guatemala, 15 species have been recorded belonging to the genera Cryptotis and Sorex, three of which are new and undescribed. Two additional species are expected to be discovered in the country based on their known distributions. Most species appear to have limited reproduction t
Authors
John O. Matson, Neal Woodman
Changing climates and challenges to Charadrius plover success throughout the annual cycle
The Arctic tundra, as well as coastal and inland mudflats and beaches occupied by the 63 Charadrius plover species and subspecies around the world encompass some of the habitats most threatened by current climatic challenges. The migratory habits of most plover species further intensifies these effects as the birds occupy more than one major biome during the annual cycle. And yet there have only
Authors
Susan M. Haig
Future challenges for Charadruis Plovers
No abstract available.
Authors
Susan M. Haig, Mark A Colwell
S2HM of buildings in USA
The evolution of seismic structural-health monitoring (S2HM) of buildings in the USA is described in this chapter, emphasizing real-time monitoring. Rapid and accurate assessment of post-earthquake building damage is of paramount importance to stakeholders (including owners, occupants, city officials, and rescue teams). Relying merely on rapid visual inspection could result in serious damage being
Authors
Mehmet Çelebi