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.
Filter Total Items: 171795
Contaminant exposure and transport from three potential reuse waters within a single watershed
Global demand for safe and sustainable water supplies necessitates a better understanding of contaminant exposures in potential reuse waters. In this study, we compared exposures and load contributions to surface water from the discharge of three reuse waters (wastewater effluent, urban stormwater, and agricultural runoff). Results document substantial and varying organic-chemical contribution to
Authors
Jason R. Masoner, Dana W. Kolpin, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Paul M. Bradley, Brian Arnall, Kenneth J. Forshay, James L. Gray, Justin F. Groves, Michelle Hladik, Laura E. Hubbard, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Jeanne B. Jaeschke, Rachael F. Lane, R. Blaine McCleskey, Bridgette F. Polite, David A. Roth, Michael Pettijohn, Michaelah C. Wilson
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Environmental Health Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, California Water Science Center, Central Midwest Water Science Center, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, Kansas Water Science Center, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Reston Biogeochemical Processes in Groundwater Laboratory
Body mass dynamics in wintering mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley
Body mass in overwintering waterfowl is an important fitness attribute as it affects winter survival, timing of spring migration, and subsequent reproductive success. Recent research in Europe and the western United States indicates body mass of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) has increased from the late 1960s to early 2000s. The underlying mechanism is currently unknown; however, researchers hypoth
Authors
John T. Veon, Brett Alexander DeGregorio, Luke W. Naylor, Kenneth J. Reinecke, Brad C. Dabbert, Dean W. Demarest, Kevin M. Hartke, David G. Krementz
Validating a non-lethal method of aging endangered juvenile Lost River and Shortnose Suckers
Populations of imperiled Lost River Deltistes luxatus and Shortnose Chasmistes brevirostris suckers in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, are experiencing long-term decreases in abundance due to limited recruitment of juvenile suckers into the adult populations. Researchers use estimated ages based on fin rays to study environmental factors affecting year-class formation, generate annual juvenile sucker
Authors
Barbara A. Martin, Summer M. Burdick, Rachael Katelyn Paul-Wilson, Ryan J Bart
Wind-energy development alters pronghorn migration at multiple scales
Migration is a critical behavioral strategy necessary for population persistence and ecosystem functioning, but migration routes have been increasingly disrupted by anthropogenic activities, including energy development. Wind energy is the world's fastest growing source of electricity and represents an important alternative to hydrocarbon extraction, but its effects on migratory species beyond bir
Authors
Megan C. Milligan, Aaron N. Johnston, Jeffery L. Beck, Kaitlyn L. Taylor, Embere Hall, Lee Knox, Teal Cufaude, Cody F. Wallace, Geneva W. Chong, Matthew Kauffman
Sound-side inundation and seaward erosion of a barrier island during hurricane landfall
Barrier islands are especially vulnerable to hurricanes and other large storms, owing to their mobile composition, low elevations, and detachment from the mainland. Conceptual models of barrier-island evolution emphasize ocean-side processes that drive landward migration through overwash, inlet migration, and aeolian transport. In contrast, we found that the impact of Hurricane Dorian (2019) on No
Authors
Christopher R. Sherwood, Andrew C. Ritchie, Jin-Si R. Over, Christine J. Kranenburg, Jonathan Warrick, Jenna A. Brown, Wayne Wright, Alfredo Aretxabaleta, Sara Zeigler, Phillipe Alan Wernette, Daniel D. Buscombe, Christie Hegermiller
Evaluating the spatial and temporal variability of groundwater uptake by riparian vegetation in a humid southeastern US catchment
In environments with shallow water tables, vegetation may use groundwater to support transpiration (TG). This process has been carefully studied in some arid climates but rarely in humid climates—even those with severe droughts and seasonal water deficits. As such, the role of TG in humid-catchment hydrology is poorly constrained. We analysed water table fluctuations from nine monitoring wells alo
Authors
Jeffrey W. Riley, Luke A. Pangle, Brent T. Aulenbach
Connecting habitat to species abundance: The role of light and temperature on the abundance of walleye in lakes
Walleye (Sander vitreus) are an ecologically important species managed for recreational, tribal, and commercial harvest. Walleye prefer cool water and low light conditions, and therefore changing water temperature and clarity potentially impacts walleye habitat and populations across the landscape. Using survey data collected from 1993 to 2018 from 312 lakes in Minnesota, we evaluated the relation
Authors
Shad Mahlum, Kelsey Vitense, Hayley Corson-Dosch, Lindsay Platt, Jordan Read, Patrick J Schmalz, Melissa Treml, Gretchen JA Hansen
A comprehensive multi-state conditional occupancy model for evaluating interactions of non-native and native species
A major challenge in ecology is disentangling interactions of non-native, potentially invasive species on native species. Conditional two-species occupancy models examine the effects of dominant species (e.g., non-native) on subordinate species (e.g., native) while considering the possibility that occupancy of one species may affect occupancy and/ or detection of the other. Although conditional tw
Authors
Patti J. Wohner, Paul D. Scheerer, Michael H. Meeuwig, James Peterson
Long-term, high-resolution permafrost monitoring reveals coupled energy balance and hydrogeologic controls on talik dynamics near Umiujaq (Nunavik, Québec, Canada)
Rising temperatures in the Arctic and subarctic are driving the rapid thaw of permafrost by reducing permafrost cooling, increasing active layer thickness, and promoting talik formation. In this study, the cyrohydrogeology of a permafrost mound located within the discontinuous permafrost zone near Umiujaq (Nunavik, Québec, Canada) is characterized through the analysis of a dataset covering more th
Authors
Philippe Fortier, Jean-Michel Lemieux, Nathan L Young, Michelle A. Walvoord, Richard Fortier
Paleomagnetically defined brief lifespans for two large shield volcanoes in the Cascades Arc
Mafic to intermediate shield volcanoes with multi-cubic-kilometer eruptive volumes are common in the Cascades Volcanic Arc, but little is known about their eruptive histories as either singular or sustained episodes, or the total time required for their construction. Paleomagnetic data were collected from the lava flows of Ash Creek Butte (17 sites) and Crater Mountain (14 sites) in northern Calif
Authors
Anthony Francis Pivarunas, Dawnika Blatter, L. J. Patrick Muffler, Michael A. Clynne, Andrew T. Calvert, Lauren N Harrison, R.L. Christiansen
Ages of the granitic basement of Long Valley Caldera, California, USA, and siting of the Quaternary granite-rhyolite pluton
The leucogranitic crystal-mush pluton beneath the iconic Long Valley Caldera, California, USA, released >820 km3 of crystal-poor Pleistocene rhyolite, which was hosted by numerous Mesozoic granitic plutons, only a few of which had been dated until now. Reported here are U-Pb zircon ages, determined by sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe−reverse geometry (SHRIMP-RG), for 11 circumcaldera grani
Authors
Edward Hildreth, Judith E. Fierstein, Jorge A. Vazquez
Multi-scale effects of land cover, weather, and fire on Columbian sharp-tailed grouse
Columbian sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus) are endemic to grassland and shrub-steppe ecosystems of western North America, yet their distribution has contracted to <10% of their historical range. Primary threats to Columbian sharp-tailed grouse include loss of native habitat and conversion to agriculture, reductions in habitat once provided by the Conservation Reserve Prog
Authors
Bryan S. Stevens, Courtney J. Conway, Jeffrey M. Knetter, Shane B. Roberts, Patrick Donnelly