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.
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Mapping ancient sedimentary organic matter molecular structure at nanoscales using optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy
Elucidating the molecular structure of sedimentary organic matter (SOM) is key to understanding petroleum generation processes, as well as ancient sedimentary environments. SOM structure is primarily controlled by biogenic source material (e.g., marine vs. terrigenous), depositional conditions, and subsurface thermal history. Additional factors, e.g., strain, may also impact the molecular structur
Authors
Aaron M. Jubb, Martha (Rebecca) Stokes, Ryan J. McAleer, Paul C. Hackley, Eoghan Dillion, Jing Qu
Peak Cenozoic warmth enabled deep-sea sand deposition
The early Eocene (~ 56–48 million years ago) was marked by peak Cenozoic warmth and sea levels, high CO2, and largely ice-free conditions. This time has been described as a period of increased continental erosion and silicate weathering. However, these conclusions are based largely on geochemical investigation of marine mudstones and carbonates or study of intermontane Laramide basin settings. Her
Authors
Zachary FM Burton, Tim McHargue, Christopher H. Kremer, Richard B Bloch, Jared T. Gooley, Chayawan Jailka, Jake Harrington, Stephan A. Graham
Declines in body size of sockeye salmon associated with increased competition in the ocean
Declining body sizes have been documented for several species of Pacific salmon; however, whether size declines are caused mainly by ocean warming or other ecological factors, and whether they result primarily from trends in age at maturation or changing growth rates remain poorly understood. We quantified changes in mean body size and contributions from shifting size-at-age and age structure of m
Authors
Jan Ohlberger, Timothy Joseph Cline, Daniel Schindler, Bert Lewis
The Volcanic Hazard Maps Database: An initiative of the IAVCEI Commission on Volcanic Hazards and Risk
In this work we present the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI) Commission on Volcanic Hazards and Risk (CVHR) Volcanic Hazard Maps Database and the accompanying volcanichazardmaps.org website. Using input from a series of IAVCEI CVHR Working Group on Hazard Mapping workshops, we developed a classification scheme and terminology framework for cat
Authors
Sarah E. Ogburn, Danielle Charlton, Diana Norgaard, Heather M. Wright, Eliza S. Calder, Jan Lindsay, John W. Ewert, Shinji Takarada, Yasuhisa Tajima
Applications of nonergodic site response models to ShakeAlert case studies in the Los Angeles area
In this study, we explore whether the Parker and Baltay (2022) site response models for the Los Angeles (LA) basin region can improve ground‐motion forecasts in the U.S. Geological Survey ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system (hereafter ShakeAlert). We implement the peak ground acceleration and peak ground velocity site response models of Parker and Baltay (2022) in ShakeAlert via the earthqu
Authors
Rongrong Lin, Grace Alexandra Parker, Jeffrey McGuire, Annemarie S. Baltay
An evaluation of multistate occupancy models for estimating relative abundance and population trends
Detecting spatiotemporal changes in the abundances of organisms is key to effectively conserving species. While indices of abundance have long been used, there has been a shift toward model-based estimators that account for the detection process. Popular approaches including traditional occupancy models and N-mixture models entail tradeoffs. The traditional occupancy approach requires the research
Authors
Valerie A. Steen, Adam Duarte, James Peterson
Anthropogenic subsidies influence resource use during a mange epizootic in a desert coyote population
Colonization of urban areas by synanthropic wildlife introduces novel and complex alterations to established ecological processes, including the emergence and spread of infectious diseases. Aggregation at urban resources can increase disease transfer, with wide-ranging species potentially infecting outlying populations. The garrison at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California, USA, was
Authors
Craig D. Reddell, Gary W. Roemer, David K. Delaney, Talesha Karish, James W. Cain
A review of common natural disasters as analogs for asteroid impact effects and cascading hazards
Modern civilization has no collective experience with possible wide-ranging effects from a medium-sized asteroid impactor. Currently, modeling efforts that predict initial effects from a meteor impact or airburst provide needed information for initial preparation and evacuation plans, but longer-term cascading hazards are not typically considered. However, more common natural disasters, such as vo
Authors
Timothy N. Titus, D. G. Robertson, Joel B. Sankey, Larry G. Mastin, Francis K. Rengers
From bottom-up to top-down control of invertebrate herbivores in a retrogressive chronosequence
In the long-term absence of disturbance, ecosystems often enter a decline or retrogressive phase which leads to reductions in primary productivity, plant biomass, nutrient cycling and foliar quality. However, the consequences of ecosystem retrogression for higher trophic levels such as herbivores and predators, are less clear. Using a post-fire forested island-chronosequence across which retrogres
Authors
Anne Kempel, Eric Allan, Martin M. Gossner, Malte Jochum, James Grace, David A. Wardle
Six years of fluvial response to a large dam removal on the Carmel River, California, USA
Measuring river response to dam removal affords a rare, important opportunity to study fluvial response to sediment pulses on a large field scale. We present a before–after/control–impact study of the Carmel River, California, measuring fluvial geomorphic and grain-size evolution over 8 years, six of which postdated removal of a 32 m-high dam (one of the largest dams removed worldwide) and include
Authors
Amy E. East, Lee R. Harrison, Douglas P. Smith, Joshua B. Logan, Rosealea Bond
Increasing Alaskan river discharge during the cold season is driven by recent warming
Arctic hydrology is experiencing rapid changes including earlier snow melt, permafrost degradation, increasing active layer depth, and reduced river ice, all of which are expected to lead to changes in stream flow regimes. Recently, long-term (>60 years) climate reanalysis and river discharge observation data have become available. We utilized these data to assess long-term changes in discharge an
Authors
D Blaskey, Joshua C. Koch, M. Gooseff, A. C. Newman, Yang Cheng, Jonathan A. O'Donnell, K Musselman
Upwelling, climate change, and the shifting geography of coral reef development
The eastern tropical Pacific is oceanographically unfavorable for coral-reef development. Nevertheless, reefs have persisted there for the last 7000 years. Rates of vertical accretion during the Holocene have been similar in the strong-upwelling Gulf of Panamá (GoP) and the adjacent, weak-upwelling Gulf of Chiriquí (GoC); however, seasonal upwelling in the GoP exacerbated a climate-driven hiatus i
Authors
Victor Rodriguez-Ruano, Lauren Toth, Ian C. Enochs, Carly J. Randall, Richard B. Aronson