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.
Science Quality and Integrity
Science Quality and Integrity
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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.
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Changes in mangrove blue carbon under elevated atmospheric CO2
While there is consensus that blue carbon ecosystems, such as mangroves, have an important role in mitigating some aspects of global climate change, little is known about mangrove carbon cycling under elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations (eCO2). Here, we review studies in order to identify pathways for how eCO2 might influence mangrove ecosystem carbon cycling. In general, eCO2 alters plant pro
Authors
Xiaoxuan Gu, Peiyang Qiao, Ken Krauss, Catherine E. Lovelock, Janine B. Adams, Samantha K. Chapman, Tim C. Jennerjahn, Qiulian Lin, Luzhen Chen
Combinatorial optimization of earthquake spatial distributions under minimum cumulative stress constraints
We determine optimal on‐fault earthquake spatial distributions using a combinatorial method that minimizes the long‐term cumulative stress resolved on the fault. An integer‐programming framework was previously developed to determine the optimal arrangement of a millennia‐scale earthquake sample that minimizes the misfit to a target slip rate determined from geodetic data. The resulting cumulative
Authors
Eric L. Geist, Thomas E. Parsons
Identifying research in support of the management and control of dreissenid mussels in the western United States
On February 9–10, 2022, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and Washington State University hosted a workshop to establish research priorities that support the implementation of action items listed in a current invasive species management plan, the Quagga and Zebra Mussel Action Plan (QZAP) 2.0, that are intended to limit the esta
Authors
Timothy D. Counihan, Lisa DeBruyckere, Stephen M. Bollens, Stephen Phillips, Theresa Thom, Barak Shemai
Incorporation of real-time earthquake magnitudes estimated via peak ground displacement scaling in the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning system
The United States earthquake early warning (EEW) system, ShakeAlert®, currently employs two algorithms based on seismic data alone to characterize the earthquake source, reporting the weighted average of their magnitude estimates. Nonsaturating magnitude estimates derived in real time from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data using peak ground displacement (PGD) scaling relationships off
Authors
Jessica R. Murray, Brendan W. Crowell, Mark Hunter Murray, Carl W Ulberg, Jeffrey McGuire, Mario Aranha, Mike Hagerty
Nutrient and suspended-sediment concentrations, loads, and yields in upper Macoupin Creek, Illinois, 2017–21
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Macoupin County Soil and Water Conservation District and the American Farmland Trust, undertook a monitoring effort from 2017 to 2021 in the upper Macoupin Creek watershed. The monitoring effort was to determine and characterize nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment concentrations, loads, and yields for a 566.7 square kilometer area of the
Authors
Luis A. Garcia, Paul J. Terrio, Adam E. Manaster
Data summary report: Unregulated contaminants monitoring project
The Drinking Water Protection Section of the Minnesota Department of Health conducted reconnaissance monitoring of selected public water systems in Minnesota. Funding was obtained primarily from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. Sampling was conducted in 2019 and 2021. Laboratory analysis of samples was conducted for a variety of different contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), i
Authors
Jane de Lambert, Alycia Overbo, Steve Robertson, Sarah M. Elliott
Vulnerability of estuarine systems in the contiguous United States to water quality change under future climate and land-use
Changes in climate and land-use and land-cover (LULC) are expected to influence surface water runoff and nutrient characteristics of estuarine watersheds, but the extent to which estuaries are vulnerable to altered nutrient loading under future conditions is poorly understood. The present work aims to address this gap through the development of a new vulnerability assessment framework that account
Authors
Lise R. Montefiore, Natalie Nelson, Michelle Staudinger, Adam J. Terando
Reduction in overwinter body condition and size of Pacific sand lance has implications for piscivorous predators during marine heatwaves
Acute anomalous ocean warming events, including marine heatwaves (MHWs), have significant effects on reproduction and survival of piscivorous seabirds. Additionally, MHWs have negative effects on seabird fish prey, exacerbating these consequences and resulting in population implications for seabirds. We evaluated the relative body condition of Pacific sand lance Ammodytes personatus, an important
Authors
Clifford LK Robinson, Douglas F Bertram, Hayleigh Shannon, Vanessa R. von Biela, Wesley Greentree, William Duguird, Mayumi L. Arimitsu
Functional stability of vegetation following biocontrol of an invasive riparian shrub
Understanding plant community response to environmental change is a crucial aspect of biological conservation and restoration, but species-based approaches are limited in that they do not reveal the underlying mechanisms driving vegetation dynamics. An understanding of trait-environment relationships is particularly important in the case of invasive species which may alter abiotic conditions and a
Authors
Annie L. Henry, Eduardo Gonzalez-Sargas, Patrick B. Shafroth, Alexander R.B. Goetz, Anna A. Sher
Juvenile salmonid monitoring to assess natural recolonization following removal of Condit Dam on the White Salmon River, Washington, 2016–21
Condit Dam was removed from river kilometer (rkm) 5.3 of the White Salmon River, Washington, in 2011 and 2012 after blocking upstream passage of anadromous fish for nearly 100 years. The dam removal opened habitat upstream and improved habitat downstream with addition of cobble and gravel to a reach depauperate of spawning and rearing habitat. We assessed juvenile anadromous salmonid abundance and
Authors
Ian G. Jezorek, Jill M. Hardiman
The water cycle
An illustrated diagram of the water cycle. This is a modern, updated version of the widely used diagram featured on the USGS Water Science School. Notably, this new water cycle diagram depicts humans and major categories of human water use as key components of the water cycle, in addition to the key pools and fluxes of the hydrologic cycle. This product targets an 8th grade audience and is designe
Authors
Hayley Corson-Dosch, Cee Nell, Rachel E. Volentine, Althea A. Archer, Ellen Bechtel, Jennifer L. Bruce, Nicole Felts, Tara A. Gross, Dianne Lopez-Trujillo, Charlotte E. Riggs, Emily K. Read
National map of focus areas for potential critical mineral resources in the United States
Introduction The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) launched the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) to modernize the surface and subsurface geologic mapping of the United States, with a focus on identifying areas that may have the potential to contain critical mineral resources. EarthMRI can inform strategies to ensure secure and reliable domestic critical mineral supplies for the United St
Authors
Jane M. Hammarstrom, Douglas C. Kreiner, Connie L. Dicken, Laurel G. Woodruff