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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.

Filter Total Items: 171816

Evolving magma temperature and volatile contents over the 2008–2018 summit eruption of Kīlauea Volcano

Magma rheology and volatile contents exert primary and highly nonlinear controls on volcanic activity. Subtle changes in these magma properties can modulate eruption style and hazards, making in situ inference of their temporal evolution vital for volcano monitoring. Here, we study thousands of impulsive magma oscillations within the shallow conduit and lava lake of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i, USA,
Authors
Joshua Allen Crozier, Leif Karlstrom

Luminescence sediment tracing reveals the complex dynamics of colluvial wedge formation

Paleoearthquake studies that inform seismic hazard rely on assumptions of sediment transport that remain largely untested. Here, we test a widespread conceptual model and a new numerical model on the formation of colluvial wedges, a key deposit used to constrain the timing of paleoearthquakes. We perform this test by applying luminescence, a sunlight-sensitive sediment tracer, at a field site disp
Authors
Harrison J. Gray, Christopher DuRoss, Sylvia Nicovich, Ryan D. Gold

Newly documented behavior of free-ranging Arctic wolf pups

Whereas much is known about the behavior and development of captive young wolf (Canis lupus) pups, less detail has been published about some aspects of free-ranging wolf pup behavior. This article synthesizes 42 observations of free-ranging Arctic wolf pups from ages 13 through 52 days made during 10 summers from 1987 through 2006 on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada. Besides listing key behaviors
Authors
L. David Mech

Inversion of induced polarization-affected towed-transient electromagnetic data in a lateritic regolith geology: A case study from western Tanzania

For several decades, induced polarization (IP) effects on transient electromagnetic (TEM) responses have been observed. These effects can manifest as late-time negative transients or as rapidly decaying curves and are usually associated with highly polarizable bodies. If neglected, IP effects can lead to erroneous resistivity models. Recent work allows IP effects to be incorporated into the invers
Authors
Pradip Kumar Maurya, Denys Grombacher, John W. Lane, Johan Lind, Esben Auken

Rangeland Condition Monitoring Assessment and Projection (RCMAP)

The Rangeland Condition Monitoring Assessment and Projection (RCMAP) project has partnered with the Bureau of Land Management to provide annual maps of rangeland vegetation condition across the Western United States from 1985 to present. Annual mapping can assist land managers and scientists with monitoring changes to vegetation composition, evaluating past management practices, targeting future i
Authors
Matthew B. Rigge

Modeling and estimating co-occurrence between the invasive Shiny Cowbird and its Puerto Rican hosts

Invasive species threaten island biodiversity globally. For example, the Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) parasitizes many of Puerto Rico’s endemic species, particularly in the open forests in the island’s southwest. Less is known, however, about cowbird parasitism in the agro-ecological highlands, which contain a patchwork of forests, shaded-coffee plantations, and coffee farms without shade
Authors
Philip T. Patton, Krishna Pacifici, Jaime A. Collazo

2021 Tinian Island forest bird abundance estimates

The U.S. Navy, through Micronesian Environmental Services, surveyed landbirds in the Military Lease Area on Tinian Island in May and June 2021 using point-transect distance sampling methods. There were 2,074 individuals of 14 species detected during 123 point counts. Six species were detected during >50% of the counts and were observed at relatively high abundances, while eight species occurred at
Authors
Richard J. Camp, Trevor Bak, Ayesha Genz

LANDFIRE data and applications

LANDFIRE is a Federal program that provides a suite of spatial datasets indicating areas of disturbance, vegetation and fuels distributions and structure, and historical conditions. The level of detail presented in LANDFIRE’s classifications of disturbance, vegetation, and fuels is unparalleled and can be used in a variety of applications, including (1) modeling wildfire risk and fire behavior, (2
Authors
Inga P. La Puma, Timothy D. Hatten

Lake Barkley BioAcoustic fish fence effectiveness study project status update

No abstract available. 
Authors
Rob Simmonds, Brent C. Knights, Andrea K. Fritts, Jessica C. Stanton, Marybeth K. Brey, Jonathan M. Vallazza

River Metabolism Estimation Tools (RiverMET) with demo in the Illinois River Basin

Ecosystem metabolism quantifies the rate of production, maintenance, and decay of organic matter in terrestrial and aquatic systems. It is a fundamental measure of energy flow associated with biomass production by photosynthesizing organisms and biomass oxidation by respiring plants, animals, algae, and bacteria (Bernhardt et al., 2022) . Ecosystem metabolism also provides an understanding of ener
Authors
Jay Choi, Katherine Michelle Bernabe Quion, Ariel Reed, Judson Harvey

Hydrologic controls on peat permafrost and carbon processes: New insights from past and future modeling

Soil carbon (C) in permafrost peatlands is vulnerable to decomposition with thaw under a warming climate. The amount and form of C loss likely depends on the site hydrology following permafrost thaw, but antecedent conditions during peat accumulation are also likely important. We test the role of differing hydrologic conditions on rates of peat accumulation, permafrost formation, and response to w
Authors
Claire C. Treat, Miriam C. Jones, Jay R. Alder, Steve Frolking

Variability in marsh migration potential determined by topographic rather than anthropogenic constraints in the Chesapeake Bay region

Sea level rise (SLR) and saltwater intrusion are driving inland shifts in coastal ecosystems. Here, we make high-resolution (1 m) predictions of land conversion under future SLR scenarios in 81 watersheds surrounding Chesapeake Bay, United States, a hotspot for accelerated SLR and saltwater intrusion. We find that 1050–3748 km2 of marsh could be created by 2100, largely at the expense of forested
Authors
Grace Molino, Joel A. Carr, Neil K. Ganju, Matthew Kirwan
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