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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Assessment of three methods to evaluate the distribution of submersed aquatic vegetation in western Lake Erie
Submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) plays an important role in ecosystems. Inventories of SAV spatial distribution and composition are important for monitoring changes in SAV. In this study, we compared three common SAV sampling methods to quantify SAV in western Lake Erie. Aerial imagery of near-shore areas in western Lake Erie was classified using object-based image analysis (OBIA) and evaluated
Authors
Nicole R. King, Jenny L. Hanson, Travis J. Harrison, Patrick M. Kočovský, Christine M. Mayer
Nocturnal basking in freshwater turtles: A global assessment
Diurnal basking (“sunning”) is common in many ectotherms and is generally thought to be a behavioural mechanism for thermoregulation. Recent studies have reported the occurrence of nocturnal basking in a few distantly-related species of freshwater turtles, but the true extent of this behaviour is unknown, and it may be underreported due to sampling biases (e.g., not surveying for turtles at night)
Authors
Donald T. McKnight, Kendall Ard, Renoir J. Auguste, Gaurav Barhadiya, Michael F. Benard, Paige Boban, Martin L. Dillon, Colleen T. Downs, Brett Alexander DeGregorio, Brad Glorioso, Rachel M. Goodman, Coen Hird, Ethan C. Hollender, Malcolm Kennedy, Rosie A. Kidman, Andrhea Massey, Pearson McGovern, Max Mühlenhaupt, Kayhan Ostovar, Danusia Podgorski, Cormac Price, Beth A. Reinke, Louise M. Streeting, Jane Venezia, Jeanne Young, Eric J. Nordberg
Does coat colour influence survival? A test in a cyclic population of snowshoe hares
Some mammal species inhabiting high-latitude biomes have evolved a seasonal moulting pattern that improves camouflage via white coats in winter and brown coats in summer. In many high-latitude and high-altitude areas, the duration and depth of snow cover has been substantially reduced in the last five decades. This reduction in depth and duration of snow cover may create a mismatch between coat co
Authors
Madan K. Oli, Alice J Kenny, Rudy Boonstra, Stan Boutin, Dennis L. Murray, Michael J.L. Peers, B. Scott Gilbert, Thomas S. Jung, Vratika Chaudhary, James E. Hines, Charles J Krebs
Calibration of imperfect geophysical models by multiple satellite interferograms with measurement bias
Model calibration consists of using experimental or field data to estimate the unknown parameters of a mathematical model. The presence of model discrepancy and measurement bias in the data complicates this task. Satellite interferograms, for instance, are widely used for calibrating geophysical models in geological hazard quantification. In this work, we used satellite interferograms to relate gr
Authors
Mengyang Gu, Kyle R. Anderson, Erika McPhillips
Energy-related wastewater contamination alters microbial communities of sediment, water, and amphibian skin
To inform responsible energy development, it is important to understand the ecological effects of contamination events. Wastewaters, a common byproduct of oil and gas extraction, often contain high concentrations of sodium chloride (NaCl) and heavy metals (e.g., strontium and vanadium). These constituents can negatively affect aquatic organisms, but there is scarce information for how wastewaters
Authors
Brian J. Tornabene, Kelly L. Smalling, Carrie E Givens, Emily Bea Oja, Blake R. Hossack
Investigating spatio-temporal variability of initial 230Th/232Th in intertidal corals
One of the key factors in obtaining precise and accurate 230Th ages of corals, especially for corals with ages less than a few thousand years, is the correction for non-radiogenic 230Th based on an initial 230Th/232Th value (230Th/232Th0). Studies that consider coral 230Th/232Th0 values in intertidal environments are limited, and it is in these environments that corals have Th concentrations 100–1
Authors
Hong-Wei Chiang, Belle E. Philibosian, Aron J. Meltzner, Chung-Che Wu, Chuan-Chou Shen, R. Lawrence Edwards, Chih-Kai Chuang, Bambang W. Suwargadi, Danny H. Natawidjaja
22 years of aquatic plant spatiotemporal dynamics in the upper Mississippi River
Macrophyte (aquatic plant) recovery has occurred in rivers worldwide, but assemblage patterns and habitat requirements are generally not well understood. We examined patterns of species composition and macrophyte abundance in the Upper Mississippi River (UMR), spanning 22 years of monitoring and a period of vegetation recovery. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) ordination revealed a gradi
Authors
Alicia Carhart, Jason J. Rohweder, Danelle M. Larson
A new permanent, low-cost, low-power SO2 camera for continuous measurement of volcanic emissions
Since its introduction to volcanology in the mid-2000 s, the SO2 camera has become an important instrument for the acquisition of accurate and high time-resolution SO2 emission rates, aiding in hazard assessment and volcanological research. However, with the exception of a few locations (Stromboli, Etna, Kīlauea), hitherto the majority of measurements have been made on discrete field campaigns, wh
Authors
Thomas Charles Wilkes, Tom David Pering, Felipe Aguilera, Susana Layana, Patricia Nadeau, Christoph Kern, Andrew J.S. McGonigle, Mauricio Aguilera, Chengxi Zhu
U.S. Geological Survey and Blackfeet Water Department Hydrologic Assessment of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Montana
The Blackfeet Nation seeks an increased scientific understanding of the water resources within the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of northwestern Montana. Hydrologic information is needed to better inform water-management decisions as the Blackfeet Nation implements the Blackfeet Water Rights Compact, initiates new water-use projects, and improves the Blackfeet Irrigation Project.The U.S. Geological
Authors
Sean M. Lawlor, Rodney R. Caldwell, Timothy T. Bartos, Brett Price
Population dynamics and harvest management of eastern mallards
Managing sustainable harvest of wildlife populations requires regular collection of demographic data and robust estimates of demographic parameters. Estimates can then be used to develop a harvest strategy to guide decision-making. Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) are an important species in the Atlantic Flyway for many users and they exhibited exponential growth in the eastern United States between
Authors
Anthony J. Roberts, Jeffrey A. Hostetler, Joshua C. Stiller, Patrick K. Devers, William Link
Multiresidue extraction of current-use pesticides from complex solid matrices using energized dispersive guided extraction with analysis by gas and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy
The development of sample processing techniques that recover a broad suite of pesticides from solid matrices, while mitigating coextracted matrix interferences, and reducing processing time is beneficial for high throughput analyses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an automated extraction system for pesticide analyses in solid environmental samples. An Energized Di
Authors
Gabrielle Pecora Black, Emily Woodward, Corey Sanders, Michael S. Gross, Michelle Hladik
The Lower Cretaceous sequence of western Alaska – demise of the Koyukuk terrane?
Lower Cretaceous marine sedimentary rocks, deposited in shallow shelf and basin settings and unconformity-bound, are well exposed in southwest Alaska. Collections of Early Cretaceous fossils from across western Alaska show that similar and coeval Lower Cretaceous clastic rocks are widely distributed though only locally exposed. Volcanic rocks become an important part of the Lower Cretaceous sequ
Authors
Travis L. Hudson, Robert Blodgett, Frederic H. Wilson