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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Patterns of zero and nonzero counts suggest spatiotemporal distributions, aggregation, and dispersion of invasive carp
Bigheaded carp Hypophthalmichthys spp. are invasive species native to Asia expanding in the Mississippi River Basin in North America. An understanding of spatiotemporal distribution and aggregation of invasive carp is key to establishing when and where to focus surveillance designed to monitor expansion, and to managing harvest programs designed to curb population densities. We applied a two-stage
Authors
Leandro E. Miranda, J. Tompkins, Corey Garland Dunn, J. L. Morris, Matthew C. Combs
Insights into the metamorphic history and origin of flake graphite mineralization at the Graphite Creek graphite deposit, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, USA
Graphite Creek is an unusual flake graphite deposit located on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, USA. We present field observations, uranium-lead (U–Pb) monazite and titanite geochronology, carbon (C) and sulfur (S) stable isotope geochemistry, and graphite Raman spectroscopy data from this deposit that support a new model of flake graphite ore genesis in high-grade metamorphic environments. The Graph
Authors
George N. D. Case, Susan M. Karl, Sean P. Regan, Craig A. Johnson, Eric T Ellison, Jonathan Caine, Christopher Holm-Denoma, Laura Pianowski, Jeff A. Benowitz
Laboratory and field comparisons of TFM bar formulations used to treat small streams for larval sea lamprey
A solid formulation of the pesticide TFM (4-nitro-3-(trifluoromethyl)-phenol) was developed in the 1980s for application in small tributaries during treatments to control invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus Linnaeus, 1758). Several initial inert ingredients were discontinued and substituted, culminating with an interim formulation that unacceptably softens and rapidly decays in warm condition
Authors
James A. Luoma, Justin Schueller, Nicholas A. Schloesser, Todd Johnson, Courtney A Kirkeeng
Estimates of volcanic mercury emissions from Redoubt Volcano, Augustine Volcano, and Mount Spurr eruption ash
Ash is a potential sink of volcanically sourced atmospheric mercury (Hg), and the concentration of particle-bound Hg may provide constraints on Hg emissions during eruptions. We analyze Hg concentrations in 227 bulk ash samples from the Mount Spurr (1992), Redoubt Volcano (2009), and Augustine Volcano (2006) volcanic eruptions to investigate large-scale spatial, temporal, and volcanic-source trend
Authors
D Skye Kushner, Taryn Lopez, Kristi L. Wallace, David Damby, Christoph Kern, Cheryl Cameron
Complex life histories alter patterns of mercury exposure and accumulation in a pond-breeding amphibian
Quantifying how contaminants change across life cycles of species that undergo metamorphosis is critical to assessing organismal risk, particularly for consumers. Pond-breeding amphibians can dominate aquatic animal biomass as larvae and are terrestrial prey as juveniles and adults. Thus, amphibians can be vectors of mercury exposure in both aquatic and terrestrial food webs. However, it is still
Authors
Freya Elizabeth Rowland, Erin L. Muths, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Craig A. Stricker, Johanna M. Kraus, Rachel A. Harrington, David Walters
Climate change as a global amplifier of human–wildlife conflict
Climate change and human–wildlife conflict are both pressing challenges for biodiversity conservation and human well-being in the Anthropocene. Climate change is a critical yet underappreciated amplifier of human–wildlife conflict, as it exacerbates resource scarcity, alters human and animal behaviours and distributions, and increases human–wildlife encounters. We synthesize evidence of climate-dr
Authors
Briana Abrahms, Neil H. Carter, T.J. Clark-Wolf, Kaitlyn M. Gaynor, Erik Johansson, Michael (Alex) C Mcinturff, Anna Nisi, Kasim Rafiq, Leigh West
Nitrate-stimulated release of naturally occurring sedimentary uranium
Groundwater uranium (U) concentrations have been measured above the U.S. EPA maximum contaminant level (30 μg/L) in many U.S. aquifers, including in areas not associated with anthropogenic contamination by milling or mining. In addition to carbonate, nitrate has been correlated to uranium groundwater concentrations in two major U.S. aquifers. However, to date, direct evidence that nitrate mobilize
Authors
Jeffrey P Westrop, Pooja Yadav, PJ Nolan, Kate M. Campbell, Rajesh Singh, Sharon Bone, Alicia Chan, Anthony Hohtz, Donald Pan, Olivia Healy, John Bargar, Daniel D. Snow, Karrie Weber
Poleward amplification, seasonal rainfall and forest heterogeneity in the Miocene of the eastern USA
Paleoclimate reconstructions can provide a window into the environmental conditions in Earth history when atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations were higher than today. In the eastern USA, paleoclimate reconstructions are sparse, because terrestrial sedimentary deposits are rare. Despite this, the eastern USA has the largest population and population density in North America, and understanding
Authors
Tammo Reichgelt, Aly Baumgartner, Ran Feng, Debra A. Willard
Can angler-assisted broodstock collection programs improve harvest rates of hatchery-produced steelhead?
Fish that exhibit high foraging activity or bold behavior can be particularly vulnerable to angling. If these traits are heritable, selection through harvest can drive phenotypic change, eventually rendering a target population less vulnerable to angling and consequently impacting the quality of the fishery. In this study, we used parental-based tags to investigate whether vulnerability to angling
Authors
Marc A. Johnson, Michelle K. Jones, Matthew Richard Falcy, John Spangler, Ryan B. Couture, David L.G. Noakes
Invasive predator diet plasticity has implications for native fish conservation and invasive species suppression
Diet plasticity is a common behavior exhibited by piscivores to sustain predator biomass when preferred prey biomass is reduced. Invasive piscivore diet plasticity could complicate suppression success; thus, understanding invasive predator consumption is insightful to meeting conservation targets. Here, we determine if diet plasticity exists in an invasive apex piscivore and whether plasticity cou
Authors
Hayley C. Glassic, Christopher S. Guy, Lusha M. Tronstad, Dominique R. Lujan, Michelle A. Briggs, Lindsey K. Albertson, Todd M. Koel
Status and trends of total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations, loads, and yields in streams of Mississippi, water years 2008–18
To assess the status and trends of conditions of surface waters throughout Mississippi, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), summarized concentrations and estimated loads, yields, trends, and spatial and temporal patterns of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) at 20 stream sites in MDEQ’s ambient water-quality monitor
Authors
Matthew B. Hicks, Angela S. Crain, Natalie G. Segrest
The drift history of the Dharwar Craton and India from 2.37 Ga to 1.01 Ga with refinements for an initial Rodinia configuration
Coupled paleomagnetic and geochronologic data derived from mafic dykes provide valuable records of continental movement. To reconstruct the Proterozoic paleogeographic history of Peninsular India, we report paleomagnetic directions and U-Pb zircon ages from twenty-nine mafic dykes in the Eastern Dharwar Craton near Hyderabad. Paleomagnetic analysis yielded clusters of directional data that corresp
Authors
Scott R Miller, Joseph Meert, Anthony Francis Pivarunas, Anup K. Sinha, Manoj K. Pandit, Paul A. Mueller, George Kamenov