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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Plague and trace metals in natural systems
All pathogenic organisms are exposed to abiotic influences such as the microclimates and chemical constituents of their environments. Even those pathogens that exist primarily within their hosts or vectors can be influenced directly or indirectly. Yersinia pestis, the flea-borne bacterium causing plague, is influenced by climate and its survival in soil suggests a potentially strong influence of s
Authors
Michael Kosoy, Dean E. Biggins
Quantifying large-scale surface change using SAR amplitude images: Crater morphology changes during the 2019-2020 Shishaldin Volcano eruption
Morphological processes often induce meter-scale elevation changes. When a volcano erupts, tracking such processes provides insights into the style and evolution of eruptive activity and related hazards. Compared to optical remote-sensing products, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) observes surface change during inclement weather and at night. Differential SAR interferometry estimates phase change be
Authors
Mario Angarita, Ronni Grapenthin, Simon Plank, Franz Meyer, Hannah R. Dietterich
In hot water? Patterns of macroinvertebrate abundance in Arctic thaw ponds and relationships with environmental variables
Ongoing environmental change across the Arctic is affecting many freshwater ecosystems, including small thaw ponds that support macroinvertebrates, thus potentially affecting important forage for fish and bird species. To accurately predict how fish and wildlife that depend on these macroinvertebrates will be affected by ecosystem change at high latitudes, understanding proximate factors that infl
Authors
Kirsty E. B. Gurney, Joshua C. Koch, Joel A. Schmutz, J. H. Schmidt, Mark S. Wipfli
The distribution of clay minerals and their impact on diagenesis in Glen Torridon, Gale crater, Mars
Glen Torridon (GT) is a recessive-trough feature on the northwestern slope of “Mt. Sharp” in Gale crater, Mars with the highest Fe-/Mg-phyllosilicates abundances detected by the Curiosity rover to date. Understanding the origin of these clay minerals and their relationship with diagenetic processes is critical for reconstructing the nature and habitability of past surface and subsurface environmen
Authors
Amanda Rudolph, Briony H. N. Horgan, Jeffrey B. Johnson, Kristen A. Bennett, James Haber, James F. Bell, V. F. Fox, Samantha Jacob, S. Maurice, Elizabeth B. Rampe, Melissa Rice, Christina Seeger, Roger C. Wiens
Using microbial source tracking to identify fecal contamination sources in South Oyster Bay on Long Island, New York
The U.S. Geological Survey worked in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to assess the potential sources of fecal contamination entering South Oyster Bay, a shallow embayment on the southern shore of Long Island, New York. Water samples are routinely collected by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in the bay and analyzed for fecal c
Authors
Tristen N. Tagliaferri, Shawn C. Fisher, Christopher M. Kephart, Natalie Cheung, Ariel P. Reed, Robert J. Welk
Using paleoecological data to inform decision making: A deep-time perspective
Latest climate models project conditions for the end of this century that are generally outside of the human experience. These future conditions affect the resilience and sustainability of ecosystems, alter biogeographic zones, and impact biodiversity. Deep-time records of paleoclimate provide insight into the climate system over millions of years and provide examples of conditions very different
Authors
Harry J. Dowsett, Peter Jacobs, Kim de Mutsert
Growth and survival rates of dispersing free embryos and settled larvae of pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) in the Missouri River, Montana and North Dakota
We released nearly 1.0 million 1-day post-hatch (dph) and 5-dph pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) free embryos in the Missouri River on 1 July 2019 and sequentially captured survivors at multiple sites through a 240-km river reach to quantify daily growth and survival rates during the early life stages. Genetic analysis was used to assign captured fish to released family lots and known ages.
Authors
Patrick Braaten, R.J. Holm, J. A. Powell, E.J. Heist, Amy C. Buhman, Colt Taylor Holley, Aaron J. Delonay, T.M. Haddix, R.H. Wilson, R. B. Jacobson
One shell of a problem: Cumulative threat analysis of male sea turtles indicates high anthropogenic threat for migratory individuals and Gulf of Mexico residents
Human use of oceans has dramatically increased in the 21st century. Sea turtles are vulnerable to anthropogenic stressors in the marine environment because of lengthy migrations between foraging and breeding sites, often along coastal migration corridors. Little is known about how movement and threat interact specifically for male sea turtles. To better understand male sea turtle movement and the
Authors
Micah Ashford, James I. Watling, Kristen Hart
Effects of an early mass-flowering crop on wild bee communities and traits in power line corridors vary with blooming plants and landscape context
ContextPower line corridors have been repeatedly assessed as habitat for wild bees; however, few studies have examined them as bee habitat relative to nearby crop fields and surrounding landscape context.ObjectivesWe surveyed bee communities in power line corridors near to and isolated from lowbush blueberry fields in two landscape contexts in Maine, U.S.A. We examined the influences of blooming p
Authors
Brianne Du Clos, Francis A. Drummond, Cyndy Loftin
Tracking geomorphic changes after suburban development with a high density of green stormwater infrastructure practices in Montgomery County, Maryland
Stream morphology is affected by changes on the surrounding landscape. Understanding the effects of urbanization on stream morphology is a critical factor for land managers to maintain and improve vulnerable stream corridors in urbanizing landscapes. Stormwater practices are used in urban landscapes to manage runoff volumes and peak flows, potentially mitigating alterations to the flow regime that
Authors
Brianna Williams, Kristina G. Hopkins, Marina Metes, Daniel Jones, Stephanie Gordon, William B. Hamilton
Sedimentological and geochemical perspectives on a marginal lake environment recorded in the Hartmann’s Valley and Karasburg members of the Murray formation, Gale crater, Mars
This study utilizes instruments from the Curiosity rover payload to develop an integrated paleoenvironmental and compositional reconstruction for the 65-m thick interval of stratigraphy comprising the Hartmann's Valley and Karasburg members of the Murray formation, Gale crater, Mars. The stratigraphy consists of cross-stratified sandstone (Facies 1), planar-laminated sandstone (Facies 2), and plan
Authors
Samantha Gwizd, Christopher M. Fedo, John P. Grotzinger, Steven G. Banham, Frances Rivera-Hernandez, Kathryn M. Stack, Kirsten L. Siebach, Michael T. Thorpe, Lucy Thompson, Catherine O'Connell-Cooper, Nathan Stein, Lauren A. Edgar, Sanjeev Gupta, David M. Rubin, Dawn Sumner, Ashwin R. Vasavada
The power of forecasts to advance ecological theory
Ecological forecasting provides a powerful set of methods for predicting short- and long-term change in living systems. Forecasts are now widely produced, enabling proactive management for many applied ecological problems. However, despite numerous calls for an increased emphasis on prediction in ecology, the potential for forecasting to accelerate ecological theory development remains underrealiz
Authors
Abigail S L Lewis, Christine R. Rollinson, Andrew J Allyn, Jaime Ashander, Stephanie Brodie, Cole B Brookson, Elyssa Collins, Michael C. Dietze, Amanda S. Gallinat, Noel Juvigny-Khenafou, Gerbrand Koren, Daniel J McGlinn, Hassan Moustahfid, Jody Peters, Nicholas R. Record, Caleb J Robbins, Jonathan Tonkin, Glenda M Wardle