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.
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Mission Area Publications
Mission Area Publications
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Filter Total Items: 171698
A comparison of CO2 seasonal activity in Mars' northern and southern hemispheres
Carbon dioxide is Mars' most active volatile. The seasonal and diurnal processes of when and where it condenses and sublimates are determined by energy balance between the atmosphere and surface ice in Mars' vapor pressure equilibrium climate. Mars' current obliquity ensures that the polar caps are stable locations for seasonal condensation. The eccentricity of Mars' orbit is the major driver of d
Authors
Candice J. Hansen, Shane Byrne, Wendy M. Calvin, Serina Diniega, Colin M. Dundas, Paul O. Hayne, Alfred S. McEwen, Lauren E McKeown, Sylvain Piqueux, Ganna Portyankina, Meg E Schwamb, Timothy N. Titus, Jacob M Widmer
The High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) in the MRO extended science phases (2009–2023)
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been orbiting Mars since 2006 and has acquired >80,000 HiRISE images with sub-meter resolution, contributing to over 2000 peer-reviewed publications, and has provided the data needed to enable safe surface landings in key locations by several rovers or landers. This paper describes the changes to science planning, data processing, and analysis tools since the in
Authors
Alfred S. McEwen, Shane Byrne, Candice J. Hansen, Ingrid J. Daubar, Sarah Sutton, Colin M. Dundas, Nicole Bardabelias, Nicole Baugh, James W. Bergstrom, Ross A. Beyer, Kristin M Block, Veronica Bray, John C. Bridges, Matthew Chojnacki, Susan J. Conway, W Alan Delamere, T. Ebben, Yisrael Espinosa, Audrie Fennema, John Grant, Virginia C Gulick, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Rodney Heyd, Richard Leis, Lujendra Ojha, Singleton Papendick, Christian Schaller, Nicolas Thomas, Livio L. Tornabene, Catherine M. Weitz, Sharon A. Wilson
Polar science results from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter: Multiwavelength, multiyear insights
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), with its arrival in 2006 and nearly continuous operation since, has provided data for the study of martian polar processes spanning nine Mars years. Mars' polar deposits have long been thought to preserve records of past climates, potentially readable like terrestrial ice cores. However, unraveling millions of years of history in the ice depends on understanding
Authors
Margaret E. Landis, P. J. Acharya, N. R. Alsaeed, C. Andres, Patricio Becerra, Wendy M. Calvin, E. M. Cangi, S. F. A. Cartwright, M. S. Chaffin, Serina Diniega, Colin M. Dundas, Candice J. Hansen, Paul O. Hayne, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, David M. Kass, Aditya R. Khuller, Lauren McKeown, Patrich S. Russell, Isaac B. Smith, Sarah S. Sutton, J. M. Widmer, Jennifer L Whitten
New, dated small impacts on the South Polar Layered Deposits (SPLD), Mars, and implications for shallow subsurface properties
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Context Camera (CTX) imaged two newly formed impact craters on the South Polar Layered Deposits (SPLD) of Mars in 2018 and 2020. These two new craters, the first detected on the SPLD, measure ∼17 m and ∼48 m in diameter. Follow-up observations were conducted with the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), showing seasonal and interannual changes,
Authors
Margaret E. Landis, Colin M. Dundas, Alfred S. McEwen, Ingrid J. Daubar, Paul O. Hayne, Shane Byrne, Sarah S. Sutton, Vidhya Ganesh Rangarajan, Livio L. Tornabene, Andrew Britton, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff
Novel quantitative methods to enable multispectral identification of high-purity water ice exposures on Mars using High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) images
Reliable detection and characterization of water ice on the Martian surface is pivotal to not only understand its present and past climate, but to also provide valuable information on in-situ resource availability and distribution for future human exploration missions. Ice-rich features are currently identified with visible/near-IR (VNIR), thermal IR and radar data. However, their coarse spatial s
Authors
Vidhya Ganesh Rangarajan, Livio L. Tornabene, G. R. Osinski, Colin M. Dundas, Ross A. Beyer, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Shane Byrne, Rodney Heyd, Frank P. Seelos, G. Munaretto, Angela Dapremont
Predicting Lake Huron Dreissena spp. spatial distribution patterns from environmental characteristics
Invasive dreissenid mussels (Dreissena polymorpha and Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) have altered Great Lakes ecosystems through a multitude of effects on benthic habitats, food web structure, and nutrient cycling. This study explores whether spatially continuous geographic data of environmental factors can be utilized to predict Dreissena spp. spatial distributions on a lake-wide scale. Categor
Authors
Jennifer M. Morrison, Peter C. Esselman, Catherine M. Riseng, Ashley K. Elgin, Mark D. Rowe
The dynamic feasibility of resisting (R), accepting (A), or directing (D) ecological change
Ecological transformations are occurring as a result of climate change, challenging traditional approaches to land management decision-making. The resist–accept–direct (RAD) framework helps managers consider how to respond to this challenge. We examined how the feasibility of the choices to resist, accept, and direct shifts in complex and dynamic ways through time. We considered 4 distinct types o
Authors
Amanda E. Cravens, Katherine R. Clifford, Corrine N. Knapp, William Travis
Report of the River Master of the Delaware River for the period December 1, 2015 - November 30, 2016
Executive SummaryA Decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, entered June 7, 1954 (New Jersey v. New York, 347 U.S. 995), established the position of Delaware River Master within the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, the Decree authorizes the diversion of water from the Delaware River Basin and requires compensating releases from reservoirs owned by New York City to be made under the su
Authors
Kendra L. Russell, William J. Andrews, Vincent J. DiFrenna, J. Michael Norris, Robert R. Mason,
The 3D Elevation Program—Supporting Mississippi's economy
IntroductionMississippi has a dispersed population of nearly three million residents in an area of approximately 48,400 square miles and has a favorable climate for agriculture, with abundant precipitation and minimal extreme temperatures. The topography consists mostly of low hills and lowland plains, with the highest elevation about 800 feet above sea level. An exception is the nearly flat Missi
Authors
George Heleine
Modeling the potential habitat gained by planting sagebrush in burned landscapes
Many revegetation projects are intended to benefit wildlife species. Yet, there are few a priori evaluations that assess the potential efficiency of restoration actions in recovering wildlife habitats. We developed a spatial vegetation–habitat recovery model to gauge the degree to which field planting strategies could be expected to recover multi-factor habitat conditions for wildlife following wi
Authors
Julie A. Heinrichs, Michael O'Donnell, Elizabeth Kari Orning, David A. Pyke, Mark A. Ricca, Peter S. Coates, Cameron L. Aldridge
Probabilistic assessment of postfire debris-flow inundation in response to forecast rainfall
Communities downstream of burned steep lands face increases in debris-flow hazards due to fire effects on soil and vegetation. Rapid postfire hazard assessments have traditionally focused on quantifying spatial variations in debris-flow likelihood and volume in response to design rainstorms. However, a methodology that provides estimates of debris-flow inundation downstream of burned areas based o
Authors
A. B. Prescott, L. A. McGuire, K.-S. Jun, Katherine R. Barnhart, N. S. Oakley
Remote sensing of volcano deformation and surface change
Volcanic unrest and eruptions are associated with surface deformation and landscape change that can be detected, characterized, and tracked via remote sensing measurements. Subsurface processes, including magma accumulation, withdrawal, and transport, can cause displacements at the surface that are best tracked at subaerial volcanoes with interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) and Global
Authors
M. Poland