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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Mission Area Publications
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Shelf ecosystems along the U.S. Atlantic Coastal Plain prior to and during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum: Insights into the stratigraphic architecture
The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is the most pronounced global warming event of the early Paleogene related to atmospheric CO2 increases. It is characterized by negative δ18O and δ13C excursions recorded in sedimentary archives and a transient disruption of the marine biosphere. Sites from the U.S. Atlantic Coastal Plain show an additional small, but distinct δ13C excursion below the on
Authors
Monika Doubrawa, Peter Stassen, Marci M. Robinson, Tali Babila, James Zachos, Robert P. Speijer
Scat as a source of DNA for population monitoring
Sampling fecal droppings (scat) to genetically identify individual animals is an established method for monitoring mammal populations and could be highly useful for monitoring reptile populations. Whereas existing protocols for obtaining DNA from reptile scat focus on analyses of whole, fresh scat deposited during animal handling, the collection of scat naturally deposited by reptiles in situ, as
Authors
Jeffrey A. Manning, Taylor Edwards, John Clemons, Daniel J. Leavitt, Caren S. Goldberg, Melanie Culver
Assessing the impact of chloride deicer application in the Siskiyou Pass, southern Oregon
Chloride deicers have been applied by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to Interstate Route 5 (I–5) from the Oregon-California border north to mile marker 10 for several years in the high-elevation area known as the Siskiyou Pass. Magnesium chloride (MgCl2) and sodium chloride (NaCl) are applied to keep the interstate highway safe for drivers and allow for efficient transport of goods
Authors
Adam J. Stonewall, Matthew C. Yates, Gregory E. Granato
Assessment of undiscovered conventional gas resources in the Deep Tuscaloosa Group Sandstones of the Western Gulf Basin Province, U.S. Gulf Coast region, 2021
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 14,785 billion cubic feet of gas resources in the Western Gulf Basin Province, U.S. Gulf Coast region.
Authors
Matthew D. Merrill, Catherine B. Enomoto
The socioecology of fear: A critical geographical consideration of human-wolf-livestock conflict
Animal fear can be an important driver of ecological community structure: predators affect prey not only through predation, but by inducing changes in behavior and distribution—a phenomenon evocatively called the “ecology of fear.” The return of wolves to the western United States is a notable instance of such dynamics, yet plays out in a complex socio-ecological system where efforts to mitigate i
Authors
Robert M. Anderson, Susan Charnley, Kathleen Epstein, Kaitlyn M. Gaynor, Jeff Vance Martin, Michael (Alex) C Mcinturff
Lateral moraines, ice-dammed lakes, and meltwater-carved channels in the Pelham, Shutesbury, Leverett area of west-central Massachusetts: A record of Connecticut Valley ice lobe retreat
Temporary ice-dammed glacial lakes formed high in the landscape in several westward sloping valleys on the east side of the Connecticut Valley lowland during late Wisconsinan deglaciation. These lakes were impounded by a lengthy lobe of ice that extended farther south in the lowland than at upland retreatal ice-margin positions (fig. 1). The formation, lowering, and drainage of these ice-dammed la
Authors
Janet R. Stone, Mary L. DiGiacomo-Cohen
The future of fungi: Threats and opportunities
The fungal kingdom represents an extraordinary diversity of organisms with profound impacts across animal, plant, and ecosystem health. Fungi simultaneously support life, by forming beneficial symbioses with plants and producing life-saving medicines, and bring death, by causing devastating diseases in humans, plants, and animals. With climate change, increased antimicrobial resistance, global tra
Authors
Nicola T. Case, Judith Berman, David S. Blehert, Robert A. Cramer, Christina A. Cuomo, Cameron R. Currie, Iuliana V. Ene, Matthew C. Fisher, Lillian K. Fritz-Laylin, Aleeza C. Gerstein, N. Louise Glass, Neil A. R. Gow, Sarah J. Gurr, Chris Todd Hittinger, Tobias M. Hohl, Iliyan D. Iliev, Timothy Y. James, Hailing Jin, Bruce S. Klein, James W. Kronstad, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Victoria McGovern, Aaron P. Mitchell, Julia A. Segre, Rebecca S. Shapiro, Donald C. Sheppard, Anita Sil, Jason E. Stajich, Eva E. Stukenbrock, John W. Taylor, Dawn Thompson, Gerard D. Wright, Joseph Heitman, Leah E. Cowen
Snake River fall Chinook salmon research and monitoring
In 2021, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) focused adult salmon survey efforts in the Snake River on deepwater redd searches and fish collection for parentage-based tagging (PBT) analyses. We use used a boat-mounted underwater video camera to count 93 deepwater redds at 17 of the 28 sites surveyed. Redd depths averaged 3.9 m. In conjunction with the Idaho Power Company, we collected genetic sample
Applied aspects of locomotion and biomechanics
Locomotion is the act and process of moving from place to place, which is fundamental to the life history of all mobile organisms. While the field of biomechanics encompasses the study of the physical constraints of what animals are capable of, ecological contexts require an integrated view that includes ecology and behavior. This chapter provides an overview of some of the areas where locomotion
Authors
Theodore R. Castro-Santos, Elsa Goerig, Pingguo He, George Lauder
Toward next-generation lava flow forecasting: Development of a fast, physics-based lava propagation model
During effusive volcanic crises, the eruption and propagation of lava flows pose a significant hazard to nearby populations, homes, and infrastructure. Consequently, timely lava flow forecasts are a critical need for volcano observatory and emergency management operations. Previous lava flow modeling tools are typically either too slow to produce timely forecasts, or are fast, but lack critical as
Authors
David M.R. Hyman, Hannah R. Dietterich, Matthew R. Patrick
Modeling protected species distributions and habitats to inform siting and management of pioneering ocean industries: A case study for Gulf of Mexico aquaculture
Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) provides a process that uses spatial data and models to evaluate environmental, social, economic, cultural, and management trade-offs when siting (i.e., strategically locating) ocean industries. Aquaculture is the fastest-growing food sector in the world. The United States (U.S.) has substantial opportunity for offshore aquaculture development given the size of its ex
Authors
Nicholas A Farmer, Jessica R Powell, James A Jr Morris, Melissa S Soldevilla, Lisa C. Wickliffe, Jonathan A Jossart, Jonathan K MacKay, Alyssa L Randall, Gretchen E Bath, Penny Ruvelas, Laura Gray, Jennifer Lee, Wendy Piniak, Lance Garrison, Robert Hardy, Kristen Hart, Christopher Sasso, Lesley Stokes, Kenneth L Riley
Very high Middle Miocene surface productivity on the U.S. mid-Atlantic shelf amid glacioeustatic sea level variability
The Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO) provides important insights into how the climate system operates under elevated temperatures and atmospheric CO2 levels. Few western North Atlantic paleotemperature or paleoecological records exist from the MCO, despite their importance for understanding both regional and global climate dynamics. Here we present quantitative MCO paleoecological data from the west
Authors
Marci M. Robinson, Harry J. Dowsett, Timothy D. Herbert