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.
Mission Area Publications
Mission Area Publications
We are focused on some of the most significant issues society faces, and our science is making a substantial contribution to the well-being of the Nation and the world. Learn more about the major topics our research covers and the programs focused on those topics.
Filter Total Items: 171698
Isotopic evidence against North Pacific Deep Water formation during late Pliocene warmth
Several modelling and observational studies suggest deep water formation in the subpolar North Pacific as a possible alternative mode of thermohaline circulation that occurred in the warm Pliocene, a time when global atmospheric partial pressure of carbon dioxide was like the modern atmosphere (~400 ppm). We test this hypothesis by measuring the δ13C of the benthic foraminifer Cibicidoides wueller
Authors
Joseph Novak, Rocio Caballero-Gill, Rebecca Rose, Timothy D. Herbert, Harry J. Dowsett
Debris avalanches in the northern California Coast Range triggered by plate boundary earthquakes
Determining the timing and cause for ancient hillslope failures proves difficult in the western United States, yet critical as it ties directly into groundmotion estimates for hazardous events. This knowledge gap is important to confront as hillslope failures are candidates to be triggered by earthquakes along active plate boundaries. We identify two prehistoric, i.e., preinstrumental history, deb
Authors
Jessie K. Pearl, Harvey Kelsey, Stephen J. Angster, Dylan Caldwell, Ian Pryor, Brian Sherrod
Urban tree cover provides consistent mitigation of extreme heat in arid but not humid cities
Urban land cover types influence the urban microclimates. However, recent work indicates the magnitude of land cover's microclimate influence is affected by aridity. Moreover, this variation in cooling and warming potentials of urban land cover types can substantially alter the exposure of urban areas to extreme heat. Our goal is to understand both the relative influences of urban land cover on lo
Authors
Peter Christian Ibsen, Benjamin R Crawford, Lucila Marie Corro, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Brandon E McNellis, G. Darrel Jenerette, James E. Diffendorfer
The effect of myiasis on Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) body condition, movement, and habitat use at Camp Edwards in Massachusetts
In 2020, natural resource managers at Camp Edwards, Barnstable County, MA, observed Terrapene carolina carolina (Eastern Box Turtle) individuals infected by myiasis, where parasitic flesh flies larviposit into the living tissue of a host. The hypothesized parasite was Dexosarcophaga cistudinis, but its impacts on the host's body condition, movement, and habitat use were unknown. Our objectives wer
Authors
Andrew B. Gordon Jr., Donovan Drummey, Anthony Tur, Annie E. Curtis, Jacob C. McCumber, Michael T. Jones, Jeremy C. Andersen, Graziella Vittoria Direnzo
Feedbacks: A new synthesis of causal loops across ecology
Feedbacks are the basic linkages of living systems. In organisms, they regulate the processes of growth and homeostasis, as well as their interactions with their world. Feedback, which Judson (1980) called ‘one of the chief themes of scientific understanding,' is equally important in ecological systems. The ecological literature is rich in papers dealing with the role of feedback in various phenom
Authors
Donald L. DeAngelis, Linhao Xu
Predictor importance in habitat suitability models for invasive terrestrial plants
AimDue to the socioeconomic and environmental damages caused by invasive species, predicting the distribution of invasive plants is fundamental for effectively targeting management efforts. A habitat suitability model (HSM) is a powerful tool to predict potential habitat of invasive species to help guide the early detection of invasive plants. Despite numerous studies of the predictors used in HSM
Authors
Demetra A. Williams, Keana S. Shadwell, Ian Pearse, Janet S. Prevéy, Peder Engelstad, Grace Henderson, Catherine S. Jarnevich
Multi-decadal vegetation transformations of a New Mexico ponderosa pine landscape after severe fires and aerial seeding
Wildfires and climate change are having transformative effects on vegetation composition and structure, and post-fire management may have long-lasting impacts on ecosystem reorganization. Post-fire aerial seeding treatments are commonly used to reduce runoff and soil erosion, but little is known about how seeding treatments affect native vegetation recovery over long periods of time, particularly
Authors
Andreas Paul Wion, Jens T. Stevens, Kay Beeley, Rebecca Oertel, Ellis Margolis, Craig D. Allen
Post-fire sediment yield from a central California watershed: Field measurements and validation of the WEPP model
In a warming climate, an intensifying fire regime and higher likelihood of extreme rain are expected to increase watershed sediment yield in many regions. Understanding regional variability in landscape response to fire and post-fire rainfall is essential for managing water resources and infrastructure. We measured sediment yield resulting from sequential wildfire and extreme rain and flooding in
Authors
Amy E. East, Joshua B. Logan, Helen Willemien Dow, Douglas P. Smith, Pat Iampietro, Jonathan Warrick, Thomas Lorenson, Leticia Hallas, Benjamin Kozlowicz
The influence of vesicularity on grain morphology in basaltic pyroclasts from Mauna Loa and Kīlauea volcanoes
Vesicularity of individual pyroclasts from airfall tephra deposits is an important parameter that is commonly measured at basaltic volcanoes. Conventional methods used to determine pyroclast vesicularity on a large number of clasts has the potential to be time consuming, particularly when rapid analysis is required. Here we propose dynamic image analysis on two-dimensional (2D) projection shapes o
Authors
Kira van Helden, Johanne Schmith, Drew T. Downs
Integrating depth measurements from gaging stations with image archives for spectrally based remote sensing of river bathymetry
Remote sensing can be an effective tool for mapping river bathymetry, but the need for direct measurements to calibrate image-derived depth estimates impedes broader application of this approach. One way to circumvent the need for field campaigns dedicated to calibration is to capitalize upon existing data. In this study, we introduce a framework for Bathymetric Mapping using Gage Records and Imag
Authors
Carl J. Legleiter, Brandon Overstreet, Paul J. Kinzel
A predictive analysis of water use for Providence, Rhode Island
To explain the drivers of historical water use in the public water systems (PWSs) that serve populations in Providence, Rhode Island, and surrounding areas, and to forecast future water use, a machine-learning model (cubist regression) was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with Providence Water to model daily per capita rates of domestic, commercial, and industrial water use.
Authors
Catherine A. Chamberlin
A global assessment of SAOCOM-1 L-band stripmap data for InSAR characterization of volcanic, tectonic, cryospheric, and anthropogenic deformation
SAOCOM-1 is an L-band (23.5 cm) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) constellation made up of two satellites launched in 2018 and 2020 by Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE, Argentina). In this contribution, we present a global summary of interferometric SAR (InSAR) observations of ground deformation with SAOCOM-1 stripmap data for tracking volcanic, tectonic, glacier, and anthropogenic
Authors
Francisco Delgado, Tara Shreve, Sven Borgstrom, Pablo Le´on-Ibanez, Joaqu´ın Castillo, Michael P. Poland