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.
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Forecasting the long-term spatial distribution of earthquakes for the 2023 US National Seismic Hazard Model using gridded seismicity
Probabilistic seismic hazard analyses such as the U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) typically rely on declustering and spatially smoothing an earthquake catalog to estimate a long‐term time‐independent (background) seismicity rate to forecast future seismicity. In support of the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) 2023 update to the NSHM, we update the methods used to develop this background o
Authors
Andrea L. Llenos, Andrew J. Michael, Allison Shumway, Justin Rubinstein, Kirstie Lafon Haynie, Morgan P. Moschetti, Jason M. Altekruse, Kevin R. Milner
Hotspots of biogeochemical activity linked to aridity and plant traits across global drylands
Perennial plants create productive and biodiverse hotspots, known as fertile islands, beneath their canopies. These hotspots largely determine the structure and functioning of drylands worldwide. Despite their ubiquity, the factors controlling fertile islands under conditions of contrasting grazing by livestock, the most prevalent land use in drylands, remain virtually unknown. Here we evaluated t
Authors
David J. Eldridge, Jingyi Ding, Josh Dorrough, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Osvaldo E. Sala, Nicolas Gross, Yoann Le Bagousse-Pinguet, Max Mallen-Cooper, Hugo Saiz, Sergio Asensio, Victoria Ochoa, Beatriz Gozalo, Emilio Guirado, Miguel García-Gómez, Enrique Valencia, Jaime Martínez-Valderrama, César Plaza, Mehdi Abedi, Negar Ahmadian, Rodrigo J. Ahumada, Julio M. Alcántara, Fateh Amghar, Luísa Azevedo, Farah Ben Salem, Miguel Berdugo, Niels Blaum, Bazartseren Boldgiv, Matthew A. Bowker, Donaldo Bran, Chongfeng Bu, Rafaella Canessa, Andrea P. Castillo-Monroy, Ignacio Castro, Patricio Castro-Quezada, Simone Cesarz, Roukaya Chibani, Abel Augusto Conceição, Anthony Darrouzet-Nardi, Yvonne C. Davila, Balázs Deák, Paloma Díaz-Martínez, David A. Donoso, Andrew David Dougill, Jorge Durán, Nico Eisenhauer, Hamid Ejtehadi, Carlos Ivan Espinosa, Alex Fajardo, Mohammad Farzam, Ana Foronda, Jorgelina Franzese, Lauchlan H. Fraser, Juan J. Gaitán, Katja Geissler, Sofía Laura Gonzalez, Elizabeth Gusman-Montalvan, Rosa Mary Hernández, Norbert Hölzel, Frederic Mendes Hughes, Oswaldo Jadan, Anke Jentsch, Mengchen Ju, Kudzai F. Kaseke, Melanie Köbel, Anika Lehmann, Pierre Liancourt, Anja Linstädter, Michelle A. Louw, Quanhui Ma, Mancha Mabaso, Gillian Maggs-Kölling, Thulani P. Makhalanyane, Oumarou Malam Issa, Eugene Marais, Mitchel P McClaran, Betty J. Mendoza, Vincent Mokoka, Juan P. Mora, Gerardo Moreno, Seth M. Munson, Alice Nunes, Gabriel Oliva, Gastón R. Oñatibia, Brooke B. Osborne, Guadalupe Peter, Margerie Pierre, Yolanda Pueyo, R. Emiliano Quiroga, Sasha C. Reed, Ana Rey, Pedro J. Rey, Víctor Manuel Reyes Gómez, Víctor Rolo, Matthias C. Rillig, Peter C. le Roux, Jan Christian Ruppert, Ayman Salah, Phokgedi Julius Sebei, Anarmaa Sharkhuu, Ilan Stavi, Colton R. A. Stephens, Alberto L. Teixido, Andrew David Thomas, Katja Tielbörger, Silvia Torres Robles, Samantha K. Travers, Orsolya Valkó, Liesbeth van den Brink, Frederike Velbert, Andreas von Heßberg, Wanyoike Wamiti, Deli Wang, Lixin Wang, Glenda M. Wardle, Laura Yahdjian, Eli Zaady, Yuanming Zhang, Xiaobing Zhou, Fernando T. Maestre
Modeling the impacts of Glen Canyon Dam operations on Colorado River resources
At the time of this report, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is writing two supplemental Environmental Impact Statements (sEIS ) and a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will analyze the effects of changing water flow out of Glen Canyon Dam (GCD) (U.S. Department of Interior, 2024). These actions have the potential to affect downstream resources, including threatened and endanger
Authors
Charles Yackulic, Lucas Bair, Drew Elliot Eppehimer, Gerard Lewis Salter, Bridget Deemer, Bradley J. Butterfield, Alan Kasprak, Joshua Caster, Helen C. Fairley, Paul Grams, Bryce Anthony Mihalevich, Emily C. Palmquist, Joel B. Sankey
Seasonal mortality of Wild Atlantic Menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) is caused by a virulent clone of Vibrio (Listonella) anguillarum; Implications for biosecurity along the Atlantic Coastal United States
Atlantic menhaden are a highly migratory marine species in the Eastern United States that suffer from seasonal chronic mortality. Affected fish show neurologic signs referred to as spinning disease, including circling at the surface and erratic corkscrew swimming before death. We investigated three similar menhaden mortality events consistent with spinning disease in coastal New Jersey and New Yor
Authors
Jan Lovy, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Timothy J. Welch, Bassem Allem, Rodman G. Getchell, Sabrina Geraci-Yee, Christine L Goodale, Jeremy Snyder, Clayton D Raines, Nilanjana Das
Methane seeps on the U.S. Atlantic margin: An updated inventory and interpretative framework
Since the discovery of >570 methane flares on the northern U.S. Atlantic margin between Cape Hatteras and Georges Bank in the last decade, the acquisition of thousands of kilometers of additional water column imaging data has provided greater coverage at water depths between the outer continental shelf and the lower continental slope. The additional high-resolution data reveal >1400 gas flares, bu
Authors
Carolyn D. Ruppel, Adam Skarke, Nathaniel C. Miller, Maleen Kidiwela, Jared W. Kluesner, Wayne E. Baldwin
Estimating age and growth of Largemouth Bass in southwestern reservoirs using otoliths and scales
Age and growth data are frequently used to monitor and manage important North American sport fishes such as Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides. Continental and regional growth standards have been developed for this species to assess fish growth over time and across space. However, Largemouth Bass age and growth data are infrequently collected in Arizona and the reliability of age estimates deri
Authors
Steven J. Ingram, Joshua D. Grant, Zachary S. Beard, Nathan Berg, Anna M. Ringelman, Scott A. Bonar
Evaluating streamflow and temperature effects on Bull Trout migration and survival with linear spatial capture-recapture models
ObjectiveIn the U.S. Pacific Northwest, climate change is increasing air temperatures, decreasing warm season (April–September) streamflow, and increasing cool season (October–March) streamflow. Warmer water temperatures may alter conditions for migratory coldwater fishes like the Bull Trout Salvelinus confluentus. Consequently, an understanding of Bull Trout migration and survival is critical for
Authors
Patti Wohner, Russell F. Thurow, James Peterson
Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) case definition for wildlife
Diagnostic laboratories receive carcasses and samples for diagnostic evaluation and pathogen/toxin detection. Case definitions bring clarity and consistency to the evaluation process. Their use within and between organizations allows more uniform reporting of diseases and etiologic agents. The intent of a case definition is to provide scientifically based criteria for determining (a) if an individ
Authors
Aine C. Hawthorn, Michelle Dennis, Yasu Kiryu, Jan Landsberg, Ester Peters, Thierry M. Work
Ungulate migrations of the Western United States, volume 4
Broadly distributed across the Western United States, ungulates (hooved mammals) play an important role in ecosystem function by affecting vegetation communities and forming the prey base for large carnivores. Additionally, ungulates provide economic benefits to regional communities through tourism and hunting and hold cultural significance for many Tribal communities. Many ungulates migrate seaso
Authors
Matthew Kauffman, Blake Lowrey, Chloe Beaupre, Scott Bergen, Stefanie Bergh, Kevin Blecha, Samantha Bundick, Hunter Burkett, James W. Cain, Peyton Carl, David Casady, Corey Class, Alyson Courtemanch, Michelle Cowardin, Jennifer Diamond, Katie Dugger, Orrin Duvuvuei, Joanna R. Ennis, Michelle Flenner, Jessica Fort, Gary Fralick, Ian Freeman, Jeff Gagnon, David Garcelon, Kyle Garrison, Emily Gelzer, Evan Greenspan, Valerie Hinojoza-Rood, Pat Hnilicka, Andy Holland, Brian Hudgens, Bart Kroger, Art Lawson, Cody McKee, Jennifer L. McKee, Jerod Merkle, Tony W. Mong, Haley Nelson, Brendan Oates, Marie-Pier Poulin, Craig Reddell, Robert Ritson, Hall Sawyer, Cody Schroeder, Jessie Shapiro, Scott Sprague, Erik Steiner, Alethea Steingisser, Sam Stephens, Blair Stringham, Patrick Ryan Swazo-Hinds, Nicole Tatman, Cody F. Wallace, Don Whittaker, Benjamin Wise, Heiko U. Wittmer, Erin Wood
Global patterns of allochthony in stream–riparian meta-ecosystems
Ecosystems that are coupled by reciprocal flows of energy and nutrient subsidies can be viewed as a single “meta-ecosystem.” Despite these connections, the reciprocal flow of subsidies is greatly asymmetrical and seasonally pulsed. Here, we synthesize existing literature on stream–riparian meta-ecosystems to quantify global patterns of the amount of subsidy consumption by organisms, known as “allo
Authors
Daniel C. Allen, James H. Larson, Christina Amy Murphy, Erica A. Garcia, Kurt E. Anderson, Michelle H. Busch, Alba Argerich, Alice M. Belskis, Kierstyn T. Higgins, Brooke E Penaluna, Veronica Saenz, Jay E. Jones, Matt R. Whiles
Integrating social-ecological outcomes into invasive species management: The Tamarix case
Incorporating societal considerations into decisions related to invasive species management is desirable, but can be challenging because it requires a solid understanding of the ecological functions and socio-cultural and economic benefits and values of the invaded environment before and after invasion. The ecosystem service (ES) concept was designed to facilitate such decision-making by establish
Authors
Eduardo Gonzalez-Sargas, Patrick B. Shafroth, Francesc Baro
Empirical ground-motion basin response in the California Great Valley, Reno, Nevada, and Portland, Oregon
We assess how well the Next-Generation Attenuation-West 2 (NGA-West2) ground-motion models (GMMs), which are used in the US Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) for crustal faults in the western United States, predict the observed basin response in the Great Valley of California, the Reno basin in Nevada, and Portland and Tualatin basins in Oregon. These GMMs rely on sit
Authors
Sean Kamran Ahdi, Brad T. Aagaard, Morgan P. Moschetti, Grace Alexandra Parker, Oliver S. Boyd, William J. Stephenson