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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Probing the upper end of intracontinental earthquake magnitude: A prehistoric example from the Dzhungarian and Lepsy faults of Kazakhstan
The study of surface ruptures is key to understanding the earthquake occurrence of faults especially in the absence of historical events. We present a detailed analysis of geomorphic displacements along the Dzhungarian Fault, which straddles the border of China and Kazakhstan. We use digital elevation models derived from structure-from-motion analysis of Pléiades satellite imagery and drone imager
Authors
Chia-Hsin Tsai, Kanatbek Abdrakhmatov, Aidyn Mukambayev, Austin John Elliott, John R. Elliott, Christoph Grützner, Edward J. Rhodes, A. H. Ivester, R. T. Walker, Roberta Wilkinson
Report of the River Master of the Delaware River for the period December 1, 2012–November 30, 2013
A Decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, entered June 7, 1954, established the position of Delaware River Master within the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, the Decree authorizes diversion of water from the Delaware River Basin and requires compensating releases from certain reservoirs, owned by New York City, to be made under the supervision and direction of the River Master. The D
Authors
Vincent J. DiFrenna, William J. Andrews, Kendra L. Russell, J. Michael Norris, Robert R. Mason,
Review of harmful algal blooms effects on birds with implications for avian wildlife in the Chesapeake Bay region
The Chesapeake Bay, along the mid-Atlantic coast of North America, is the largest estuary in the United States and provides critical habitat for wildlife. In contrast to point and non-point source release of pesticides, metals, and industrial, personal care and household use chemicals on biota in this watershed, there has only been scant attention to potential exposure and effects of algal toxins
Authors
Barnett A. Rattner, Catherine E. Wazniak, Julia S. Lankton, Peter C. McGowan, Serguei Vyacheslavovich Drovetski, Todd A. Egerton
Largest recent impact craters on Mars: Orbital imaging and surface seismic co-investigation
Two 130+ meter diameter impact craters formed on Mars during the later half of 2021. These are the two largest fresh impact craters discovered by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter since operations started 16 years ago. The impacts created two of the largest seismic events (magnitudes greater than 4) recorded by InSight during its three year mission. The combination of orbital imagery and seismic gro
Authors
Lilia Posiolova, P Lognonne, W B Banerdt, John Clinton, Gareth S Collins, Taichi Kawamura, S Ceylan, Ingrid J. Daubar, B Fernando, M Froment, D Giardini, Michael C. Malin, Katarina Miljkovic, Simon C Stahler, Z. Xue, Maria E Banks, E Beucler, Bruce A Cantor, C. Charalambous, N Dahmen, Paul W. Davis, Cesar M. Duran, M. Drilleau, Colin M. Dundas, F Euchner, R F Garcia, Matthew P. Golombek, Anna Horleston, C Keegan, Abdul S. Khan, D. Kim, C Larmat, Ralph D. Lorenz, L Margerin, S Menina, Mark Panning, C Pardo, C Perrin, W T Pike, M Plasman, A Rajsic, Lucie Rolland, E Rougier, Gunnar Speth, Aymeric Spiga, Alexander E. Stott, David Susko, N Teanby, A Valeh, A. Werynski, N Wojcicka, G Zenhausern
Level and pattern of overstory retention shape the abundance and long-term dynamics of natural and created snags
Standing dead trees, or snags, serve myriad functions in natural forests, but are often scarce in forests managed for timber production. Variable retention (VR), the retention of live and dead trees through harvest, has been adopted globally as a less intensive form of regeneration harvest. In this study, we explore how two key elements of VR systems — level (amount) and spatial pattern of live-tr
Authors
Charles B. Halpern, Allison K. Rossman, Joan Hagar
Demographic and environmental correlates of home ranges and long-distance movements of Mohave ground squirrels
Space use by mammals can differ among age-classes, sexes, or seasons, and these processes are recognized as adaptive behavioral strategies. Semi-fossorial ground squirrels, in particular, have shown age- and sex-specific patterns in their aboveground movement behaviors. We studied space use of Mohave ground squirrels (Xerospermophilus mohavensis) at the Freeman Gulch study site in the central regi
Authors
Sharon Poessel, Philip Leitner, Richard D. Inman, Todd C. Esque, Todd E. Katzner
A serological survey of Francisella tularensis exposure in wildlife on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska
Tularemia is an infectious zoonotic disease caused by one of several subspecies of Francisella tularensis bacteria. Infections by F. tularensis are common throughout the northern hemisphere and have been detected in more than 250 wildlife species. In Alaska, US, where the pathogen was first identified in 1938, studies have identified F. tularensis antibodies in a diverse suite of taxa, including i
Authors
Matthew M. Smith, Caroline R. Van Hemert, Todd C. Atwood, David R. Sinnett, Jerry W. Hupp, Brandt W Meixell, David D. Gustine, Layne G. Adams, Andrew M. Ramey
Diet composition and overlap of larval pallid sturgeon and shovelnose sturgeon from the upper Missouri River, USA
Early life stages of pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus are rarely collected, and thus information on their biology and ecology is extremely limited. We sampled 75 larval pallid sturgeon (25-110 mm) and 148 larval shovelnose sturgeon S. platorynchus (15-95 mm) by trawl from the upper Missouri River (USA) in 2019. Stomach contents were identified to compare food use and diet overlap between the 2
Authors
Colt Taylor Holley, Patrick Braaten, Barry Poulton, Edward J. Heist, Levi Umland, Tyler M. Haddix
A hydrologic perspective of major U.S. droughts
Drought is a recurring natural hazard that has substantial human and environmental impacts. Given continued global warming and associated climate change, there is concern that droughts could become more severe and longer lasting. To better monitor and understand drought development and persistence, it is helpful to understand the development and climatic drivers of past droughts. In this study we
Authors
Gregory J. McCabe, David M. Wolock, Melissa Lombard, Robert W. Dudley, John Christopher Hammond, Jory Seth Hecht, Glenn A. Hodgkins, Carolyn G. Olson, Roy Sando, Caelan E. Simeone, Michael E. Wieczorek
Getting ahead of flash drought: From early warning to early action
Flash droughts, characterized by their unusually rapid intensification, have garnered increasing attention within the weather, climate, agriculture, and ecological communities in recent years due to their large environmental and socioeconomic impacts. Because flash droughts intensify quickly, they require different early warning capabilities and management approaches than are typically used for sl
Authors
Jason Otkin, Molly Woloszyn, Hailan Wang, Mark Svoboda, Marina Skumanich, Roger Pulwarty, Joel Lisonbee, Andrew Hoell, Mike Hobbins, Tonya Haigh, Amanda E. Cravens
Industrial particulate pollution and historical land use contribute metals of concern to dust deposited in neighborhoods along the Wasatch Front, UT, USA
The Salt Lake Valley, UT, USA, is proximal to the desiccating Great Salt Lake (GSL). Prior work has found that this lakebed/playa contributes metals-laden dust to snow in the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains. Dust and industrial particulate pollution are also delivered to communities along the Wasatch Front, but their sources, compositions, and fluxes are poorly characterized. In this study, we analyze
Authors
Annie L. Putman, Daniel Jones, Molly Ann Blakowski, Destry N DiViesti, Scott Hynek, Diego P. Fernandez, Danielle Mendoza
Using active source seismology to image the Palos Verdes Fault damage zone as a function of distance, depth, and geology
Fault damage zones provide a window into the non-elastic processes of an earthquake. Geological and seismic tomography methods have been unable to measure damage zones at depth with sufficient spatial sampling to evaluate the relative influence of depth, distance, and lithological variations. Here, we identify and analyze the damage zone of the Palos Verdes Fault offshore southern California using
Authors
Travis Alongi, Emily Brodsky, Jared W. Kluesner, Daniel S. Brothers