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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Know what you don't know: Embracing state uncertainty in disease-structured multistate models
Hidden Markov models (HMMs) are broadly applicable hierarchical models that derive their utility from separating state processes from observation processes yielding the data. Multistate models such as mark–recapture and dynamic multistate occupancy models are HMMs frequently used in ecology. In their early formulations, states, such as pathogen infection status, were assumed to be perfectly observ
Authors
Matthijs Hollanders, Andy Royle
A characterization of the deep-sea coral and sponge community along the California, Oregon, and Washington coasts using a remotely operated vehicle on the EXPRESS 2019 expedition
NOAA’s Deep-Sea Coral Research Technology Program (DSCRTP) began a 4-year funding initiative for the U.S. West Coast in 2018. The goals of the West Coast Deep-Sea Coral Initiative were to: 1) gather baseline information on DSCS in areas subject to fishing regulation changes prior to the implementation of Amendment 28; 2) improve our understanding of known DSCS bycatch “hot spots”; and 3) explore a
Authors
Tom Laidig, Diana Watters, Nancy G. Prouty, Meredith Everett, Lizzie Duncan, Liz Clarke, Chris Caldow, Jill Bourque, Jennifer McClain Counts, Amanda Demopoulos
On the use of high-resolution and deep-learning seismic catalogs for short-term earthquake forecasts: Potential benefits and current limitations
Enhanced earthquake catalogs provide detailed images of evolving seismic sequences. Currently, these data sets take some time to be released but will soon become available in real time. Here, we explore whether and how enhanced seismic catalogs feeding into established short-term earthquake forecasting protocols may result in higher predictive skill. We consider three enhanced catalogs for the 201
Authors
Simone Mancini, Margarita Segou, Maximillan J. Werner, Thomas E. Parsons, Gregory C. Beroza, Lauro Chiaraluce
Are canned sardines or dry cat food more effective as bait for capturing Northwestern Pond Turtles (Actinemys marmorata) and Red-eared Sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans)?
During an occupancy study of Northwestern Pond Turtles (Actinemys marmorata) and Red-eared Sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans) in California’s Sacramento Valley in 2018, we tested the relative effectiveness of 2 bait types: sardines packed in soybean oil and Meow Mix® Original Choice dry cat food. We sampled 116 sites with 2 traps each: one baited with sardines and one baited with dry cat food. Sa
Authors
Alexandria M Fulton, Jonathan P. Rose, Brian J. Halstead
An evaluation of transmitter effects on adult and juvenile Common Terns using leg-loop harness attachments
Marking birds with transmitters allows for the collection of data that are critical for fully understanding avian life history, but researchers must also be confident that performing such studies is as safe as possible for transmittered individuals. While much could be learned from tracking juveniles across dependency periods and first migration, doing so would require a harness-based attachment m
Authors
Evan J Buck, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Claire S. Teitelbaum, David F. Brinker, Peter C. McGowan, Diann Prosser
Observed and forecasted changes in land use by polar bears in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, 1985–2040
Monitoring changes in the distribution of large carnivores is important for managing human safety and supporting conservation. Throughout much of their range, polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are increasingly using terrestrial habitats in response to Arctic sea ice decline. Their increased presence in coastal areas has implications for bear-human conflict, inter-species interactions, and polar bear h
Authors
Karyn D. Rode, David C. Douglas, Todd C. Atwood, George M. Durner, Ryan R. Wilson, Anthony M. Pagano
Modeling geomagnetic induction in submarine cables
Submarine cables have become a vital component of modern infrastructure, but past submarine cable natural hazard studies have mostly focused on potential cable damage from landslides and tsunamis. A handful of studies examine the possibility of space weather effects in submarine cables. The main purpose of this study is to develop a computational model, using Python, of geomagnetic induction on su
Authors
Shibaji Chakraborty, David H. Boteler, Xueling Shi, Benjamin Scott Murphy, Michael D. Hartinger, Xuan Wang, Greg M. Lucas, Joseph B. H. Baker
Evolutionary ecology of fire
Fire has been an ecosystem process since plants colonized land over 400 million years ago. Many diverse traits provide a fitness benefit following fires, and these adaptive traits vary with the fire regime. Some of these traits enhance fire survival, while others promote recruitment in the postfire environment. Demonstrating that these traits are fire adaptations is challenging, since many arose e
Authors
Jon Keeley, Juli G. Pausas
The development of genetic sex identification markers and evidence of a male heterogametic sex determination system in Red Shiner
The Red Shiner Cyprinella lutrensis is of increasing management interest as an invasive species that negatively impacts many native fishes throughout North America. Trojan sex chromosome (TSC)-carrying individuals could theoretically control invasive fish populations by skewing the sex ratio to 100% male. The efficacy of TSC-based control programs requires an understanding of a population's sex de
Authors
Chad N. Teal, D. Katharine Coykendall, Matthew R. Campbell, Thomas A. Delomas, Daniel L. Eardley, John A. Erwin, Daniel J. Schill, Javan Mathias Bauder, Scott A. Bonar, Melanie Culver
Modeled distribution shifts of North American birds over four decades based on suitable climate alone do not predict observed shifts
As climate change alters the global environment, it is critical to understand the relationship between shifting climate suitability and species distributions. Key questions include whether observed changes in population abundance are aligned with the velocity and direction of shifts predicted by climate suitability models and if the responses are consistent among species with similar ecological tr
Authors
Qiongyu Huang, Brooke L. Bateman, Nicole Michel, Anna M. Pidgeon, Voelker C. Radeloff, Patrician Heglund, Andrew J. Allstadt, Jesse Wong, John R. Sauer
Multi-hazard risk analysis for the U.S. Department of the Interior: An integration of expert elicitation, planning priorities, and geospatial analysis
An integral part of disaster risk management is identifying and prioritizing hazards and their potential impacts in a meaningful way to support risk-reduction planning. There has been considerable use and subsequent criticism of threat prioritization efforts that simply compare likelihoods and consequences of plausible threats. This article summarizes a new mixed-methods and scalable approach for
Authors
Nathan J. Wood, Alice Pennaz, Jason Marineau, Jeanne M. Jones, Jamie Jones, Peter Ng, Kevin Henry
Characterization of the Sevier/Toroweap Fault Zone in Kane County, Utah, using controlled-source audio-frequency magnetotelluric (CSAMT) surveys
The Sevier/Toroweap Fault Zone is a major north-south-striking fault located in northern Arizona and southwestern Utah. In partnership with the National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted two geophysical controlled-source audio-frequency magnetotelluric (CSAMT) surveys that transected the Sevier/Toroweap Fault Zone at Clay Flat, Utah, a potential pull-apart basin, west of a site of
Authors
Casey J.R. Jones, Michael J. Robinson, Jamie P. Macy