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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: 171176

A biodynamic model predicting copper and cadmium bioaccumulation in caddisflies: Linkages between field studies and laboratory exposures

Hydropsyche and Arctopsyche are filter-feeding caddisflies (Order: Trichoptera; Family: Hydropsychidae) that are commonly used to monitor metal exposures in rivers. While tissue residue concentrations provide important bioaccumulation data regarding metal bioavailability, they do not provide information regarding the mechanisms of uptake and loss, or exposure history. This study examined the physi
Authors
Michelle I. Hornberger

Measuring erosional and depositional patterns across Comet 67P's imhotep region

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko displays a pronounced hemispherical dichotomy in surface morphology, where the southern hemisphere exhibits more erosional features than the northern hemisphere due to receiving much greater solar radiation. Consequently, it is generally assumed that particles are ejected from the southern hemisphere through sublimation and a significant fraction eventually descends
Authors
Abhinav S. Jindal, Samuel P. D. Birch, Alexander G. Hayes, F. P. Özyurt, A. Issah, S. Moruzzi, N. M. Barrington, Jason M. Soderblom, Randolph L. Kirk, R. Marschall, J.-B. Vincent

Wildfire burn severity and stream chemistry influence aquatic invertebrate and riparian avian mercury exposure in forested ecosystems

Terrestrial soils in forested landscapes represent some of the largest mercury (Hg) reserves globally. Wildfire can alter the storage and distribution of terrestrial-bound Hg via reemission to the atmosphere or mobilization in watersheds where it may become available for methylation and uptake into food webs. Using data associated with the 2007 Moonlight and Antelope Fires in California, we examin
Authors
Garth Herring, Lora B. Tennant, James Willacker, Matthew Johnson, Rodney B. Siegel, Julie S. Polasik, Collin Eagles-Smith

Outcomes of control and monitoring of a widespread riparian invader (Tamarix spp.): A comparison of synthesis approaches

Effective ecological restoration requires empirical assessment to determine outcomes of projects, but conclusions regarding the effects of restoration treatments on the whole ecosystem remain rare. Control of invasive shrubs and trees in the genus Tamarix and associated riparian restoration in the American Southwest has been of interest to scientists and resource managers for decades; dozens of st
Authors
Alexander R.B. Goetz, Eduardo Gonzalez-Sargas, Mayra C. Vidal, Patrick B. Shafroth, Annie L. Henry, Anna A. Sher

Upper limits for post-wildfire floods and distinction from debris flows

Upper magnitude limits and scaling with basin size for post-wildfire floods are unknown. An envelope curve was estimated defining post-wildfire flood upper limits as a function of basin area. We show the importance of separating peak flows by floods versus debris flows. Post-wildfire flood maxima are a constant 43 m3 s−1 km−2 for basins from 0.01 to 23 to 34 km2 and then declining with added basin
Authors
Brian A. Ebel

Tracking cycles of Phanerozoic opening and closing of ocean basins using detrital rutile and zircon geochronology and geochemistry

Sedimentary basins provide a deep time archive of tectonic and Earth-surface processes that can be leveraged by detrital mineral U-Pb dating and geochemistry to track paleogeography, magmatism, and crustal evolution. Zircon preserves the long-term (billions of years) record of supercontinent cycles; however, it is biased toward preserving felsic crustal records. Detrital rutile complements the det
Authors
Margaret L. Odlum, Tomas N. Capaldi, Kelly David Thomson, Daniel F. Stockli

Sex-specific recruitment rates contribute to male-biased sex ratio in Adélie penguins

Sex-related differences in vital rates that drive population change reflect the basic life history of a species. However, for visually monomorphic bird species, determining the effect of sex on demographics can be a challenge. In this study, we investigated the effect of sex on apparent survival, recruitment, and breeding propensity in the Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae), a monochromatic, slig
Authors
Virginia Morandini, Katie Dugger, Annie Schmidt, Arvind Varsani, Amelie Lescroël, Grant Ballard, Phil O'B. Lyver, Kerry Barton, David Ainley

The 3D Elevation Program—Supporting Florida's economy

IntroductionFlorida has the longest coastline of any State in the contiguous United States, and its coastal resources are one of the main drivers of its economic growth. High-quality elevation data are beneficial for use in emergency management, especially for hurricane response, recovery, and mitigation, as well as for coastal zone management, flood risk management, infrastructure planning, agric
Authors
Xan Fredericks, Chris Cretini

Conceptual risk framework—Havasupai perspective

The conceptual risk framework, previously developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, for uranium mining was updated to include indigenous knowledge components informed by the Havasupai Tribe perspective. This General Information Product was designed to show the contaminant risk framework from the Havasupai perspective.
Authors
Carletta Tilousi, Jo Ellen Hinck

Contaminant exposure framework—Havasupai perspective

The conceptual risk framework, previously developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, for uranium mining was updated to include indigenous knowledge components informed by the Havasupai Tribe perspective. This General Information Product was designed to show the contaminant exposure framework from the Havasupai perspective.
Authors
Carletta Tilousi, Jo Ellen Hinck

Are threatened seabird colonies of the pacific ocean genetically vulnerable? The case of the red-tailed tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda, as a model species

Oceanic seabirds have suffered population declines and extirpations due to human disturbance and still face multiple threats. Here, we assessed the potential genetic vulnerability of the red-tailed tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda, a seabird species threatened by human disturbance and listed as ‘least concern’ by the IUCN. Using Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) we evaluated the genetic popula
Authors
Andrea I. Varela, Katherina Brokordt, Juliana A. Vianna, María José Frugone, Stefanie M.H. Ismar-Rebitz, Chris P. Gaskin, Nicholas Carlile, Terence O'Dwyer, Josh Adams, Eric A. Vanderwerf, Guillermo Luna-Jorquera

Paleoproterozoic reworking of Archean crust and extreme back-arc metamorphism in the enigmatic southern Trans-Hudson orogen

The crustal evolution of the southernmost ∼2000–1800 Ma Trans-Hudson orogen (THO) is enigmatic due to burial by Phanerozoic sediments. We provide new insights through petrochronologic analysis of a paragneiss drill core sample. Detrital zircon age peaks at 2625, 2340, and 1880 Ma and Hf isotopes suggest Paleoproterozoic arc development proximal to Archean source(s). Phase equilibria modeling and t
Authors
Ian William Hillenbrand, Amy K. Gilmer, Michael L. Williams, Amanda (Kate) Souders, Michael J. Jercinovic, Heather A. Lowers, Jorge A. Vazquez