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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Understanding impacts of sea-level rise and land management on critical coastal marsh habitat
Coastal wetlands in the Louisiana Mississippi River Deltaic Plain (MRDP) experience some of the highest rates of relative sea-level rise (SLR) in the world, leading to elevated surface water salinity and prolonged flooding. Elevated salinity causes a shift toward more salt-tolerant vegetation communities, associated with changes in ecosystem function and services. As sea level continues to rise, e
Authors
Camille Stagg
Microbial community response to a bioaugmentation test to degrade trichloroethylene in a fractured rock aquifer, Trenton, N.J
Bioaugmentation is a promising strategy for enhancing trichloroethylene (TCE) degradation in fractured rock. However, slow or incomplete biodegradation can lead to stalling at degradation byproducts such as 1,2-dichloroethene (cis-DCE) and vinyl chloride (VC). Over the course of 7 years, we examined the response of groundwater microbial populations in a bioaugmentation test where an emulsified veg
Authors
Jennifer C. Underwood, Denise M. Akob, Michelle Lorah, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, Ronald W. Harvey, Claire R. Tiedeman
Assessing population genomic structure and polyploidy: A crucial step for native plant restoration
Establishing an effective restoration program requires baseline genetic information to make sound decisions for seed increase and transfer. For many plants this information is lacking, especially among native forbs that are critical for pollinator health. Erigeron speciosus is a widespread, perennial forb occupying montane environments in the western United States and Canada. This species is impor
Authors
Bryce A. Richardson, Robert Massatti, Nurul Islam-Faridi, Skylar Johnson, Francis F. Kilkenny
Bedrock depth influences spatial patterns of summer baseflow, temperature and flow disconnection for mountainous headwater streams
In mountain headwater streams, the quality and resilience of summer cold-water habitat is generally regulated by stream discharge, longitudinal stream channel connectivity and groundwater exchange. These critical hydrologic processes are thought to be influenced by the stream corridor bedrock contact depth (sediment thickness), a parameter often inferred from sparse hillslope borehole information,
Authors
Martin Briggs, Phillip J. Goodling, Zachary Johnson, Karli M. Rogers, Nathaniel P. Hitt, Jennifer Burlingame Hoyle Fair, Craig D. Snyder
Status of water-level altitudes and long-term water-level changes in the Chicot and Evangeline (undifferentiated) and Jasper aquifers, greater Houston area, Texas, 2021
Since the early 1900s, groundwater withdrawn from the primary aquifers that compose the Gulf Coast aquifer system—the Chicot and Evangeline (undifferentiated) and Jasper aquifers—has been the primary source of water in the greater Houston area, Texas. This report, prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District, City of Houston, Fort Bend Subside
Authors
Christopher L. Braun, Jason K. Ramage
Treatment of the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers as a single hydrogeologic unit and use of geostatistical interpolation methods to develop gridded surfaces of water-level altitudes and water-level changes in the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers (undifferenti
The greater Houston area of Texas includes approximately 11,000 square miles and encompasses all or part of 11 counties (Harris, Galveston, Fort Bend, Montgomery, Brazoria, Chambers, Grimes, Liberty, San Jacinto, Walker, and Waller). From the early 1900s until the mid-1970s, groundwater withdrawn from the three primary aquifers that compose the Gulf Coast aquifer system—the Chicot, Evangeline, and
Authors
Jason K. Ramage, Christopher L. Braun, John H. Ellis
Development, structure, and behavior of a perched lava channel at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, during 2007
Channelized lava flows are commonly produced during the early stages of basaltic eruptions. These channels usually maintain their morphology until the eruption ends or discharge is diverted. In some instances, narrower channels can roof over, developing into lava tubes. We report here on a channelized flow erupted at Kīlauea volcano in 2007 that evolved into a “perched lava channel” composed of a
Authors
T. Orr, Edward W. Llewellin, Matthew R. Patrick
Science facilitation: Navigating the intersection of intellectual and interpersonal expertise in scientific collaboration
Today’s societal challenges, such as climate change and global pandemics, are increasingly complex and require collaboration across scientific disciplines to address. Scientific teams bring together individuals of varying backgrounds and expertise to work collaboratively on creating new knowledge to address these challenges. Within a scientific team, there is inherent diversity in disciplinary cul
Authors
Amanda E. Cravens, Megan Siobhan Jones, Courtney Ngai, Jill Zarestky, Hannah B. Love
Low levels of hybridization between sympatric cold-water-adapted Arctic cod and Polar cod in the Beaufort Sea confirm genetic distinctiveness
As marine ecosystems respond to climate change and other stressors, it is necessary to evaluate current and past hybridization events to gain insight on the outcomes and drivers of such events. Ancestral introgression within the gadids has been suggested to allow cod to inhabit a variety of habitats. Little attention has been given to contemporary hybridization, especially within cold-water-adapte
Authors
Robert E. Wilson, Sarah A. Sonsthagen, P. Lavretsky, A. Majewski, E. Arnason, K. Halldórsdóttir, A.W. Einarsson, K. Wedemeyr, Sandra L. Talbot
Distribution and trends of endemic Hawaiian waterbirds
Four endemic species of wetland-dependent waterbirds occur on the main Hawaiian Islands, all of which have experienced sharp population declines and are listed as endangered species. Twice per year, state-wide surveys are conducted to count waterbirds, but these surveys are evaluated only infrequently. We used a state-space approach to evaluate long-term (1986–2016) and short-term (2006–2016) tren
Authors
Eben H. Paxton, Kevin W. Brinck, Adonia Henry, Afsheen Siddiqi, Rachel A. Rounds, Jennifer Chutz
Understory plant communities show resistance to drought, hurricanes, and experimental warming in a wet tropical forest
Global climate change has led to rising temperatures and to more frequent and intense climatic events, such as storms and droughts. Changes in climate and disturbance regimes can have non-additive effects on plant communities and result in complicated legacies we have yet to understand. This is especially true for tropical forests, which play a significant role in regulating global climate. We use
Authors
Aura M. Alonso-Rodríguez, Tana E. Wood, Jamarys Torres-Díaz, Molly A. Cavaleri, Sasha C. Reed, Benedicte Bachelot
A comprehensive assessment of mangrove species and carbon stock on Pohnpei, Micronesia
Mangrove forests are the most important ecosystems on Pohnpei Island, Federated States of Micronesia, as the island communities of the central Pacific rely on the forests for many essential services including protection from sea-level rise that is occurring at a greater pace than the global average. As part of a multi-component assessment to evaluate vulnerabilities of mangrove forests on Pohnpei,
Authors
Victoria Woltz, Elitsa I. Peneva-Reed, Zhiliang Zhu, Eric L. Bullock, Richard A. MacKenzie, Maybeleen Apwong, Ken Krauss, Dean B. Gesch