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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

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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Filter Total Items: 171207

Demography with drones: Detecting growth and survival of shrubs with unoccupied aerial systems

Large-scale disturbances, such as megafires, motivate restoration at equally large extents. Measuring the survival and growth of individual plants plays a key role in current efforts to monitor restoration success. However, the scale of modern restoration (e.g., >10,000 ha) challenges measurements of demographic rates with field data. In this study, we demonstrate how unoccupied aerial system (UAS

Authors
Peter J. Olsoy, Andrii Zaiats, Donna M. Delparte, Matthew Germino, Bryce Richardson, Anna V. Roser, Jennifer S. Forbey, Megan E Cattau, Trevor Caughlin
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Seasonal differences in larval sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) sensitivity to the pesticide TFM

Invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) are controlled in the Great Lakes with 4-nitro-3-(trifluoromethyl) phenol (commonly 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol or TFM). The proper concentration of TFM must be applied during treatments to effectively kill larval sea lamprey while minimizing impacts to non-target species. In this study, bioassay tests were conducted in May, July, and September over tw
Authors
Justin Schueller, Michael A. Boogaard, Courtney A Kirkeeng, Nicholas A. Schloesser, Samantha L. Wolfe, Avery J. Lettenberger, Tisha King-Heiden, James A. Luoma
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

The addition of 144Nd atomic mass to routine ICP-MS analysis as a Quick Screening Tool for Approximating Rare Earth Elements (Q-STAR) in natural waters

Rare earth elements (REEs) are a class of critical minerals, all of which can have supply chain vulnerability that impacts economic security. These elements are widely measured in environmental matrices via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS); however, successful quantification can require time-consuming, sample-specific optimization. While a sample-by-sample approach is appropri

Authors
Elizabeth J. Tomaszewski, Zhouming Sun, Anthony J. Bednar
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Mineral Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center

Male lake char release taurocholic acid as part of a mating pheromone

The evolutionary origins of sexual preferences for chemical signals remain poorly understood, due, in part, to scant information on the molecules involved. In the current study, we identified a male pheromone in lake char (Salvelinus namaycush) to evaluate the hypothesis that it exploits a non-sexual preference for juvenile odour. In anadromous char species, the odour of stream-resident juveniles
Authors
Tyler J. Buchinger, Ke Li, Ugo Bussy, Belinda Huerta, Sonam Tamrakar, Nicholas S. Johnson, Weiming Li
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Great Lakes Science Center

Seasonal differences in larval sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) sensitivity to the pesticide TFM

Invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) are controlled in the Great Lakes with 4-nitro-3-(trifluoromethyl)phenol (commonly 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol or TFM). The proper amount of TFM must be applied during treatments to effectively kill larval sea lamprey while minimizing impacts to non-target species. In this study, bioassay tests were conducted in May, July, and September in a portable t
Authors
Justin Schueller, Michael A. Boogaard, Courtney A Kirkeeng, Nicholas A. Schloesser, Samantha L. Wolfe, Avery J. Lettenberger, Tisha King-Heiden, James A. Luoma
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Seasonal and breeding phenologies of 38 grassland bird species in the midcontinent of North America

Grasslands in the midcontinent of North America are highly imperiled, and grassland birds have suffered the largest bird declines of any terrestrial biome in North America in the last 50 years. Consequently, the conservation and management of grasslands, as well as their associated avian communities, are major priorities for the State, Provincial, and Federal agencies; non-governmental organizatio
Authors
Garrett J. MacDonald, Michael J. Anteau, Kristen S. Ellis, Lawrence D. Igl, Neal D. Niemuth, Josh L. Vest
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Satellite Interferometry Landslide Detection and Preliminary Tsunamigenic Plausibility Assessment in Prince William Sound, Southcentral Alaska

Regional mapping of actively deforming landslides, including measurements of landslide velocity, is integral for hazard assessments in paraglacial environments. These inventories are also critical for describing the potential impacts that the warming effects of climate change have on slope instability in mountainous and cryospheric terrain. The objective of this study is to identify slow-moving la

Authors
Lauren N. Schaefer, Jinwook Kim, Dennis M. Staley, Zhong Lu, Katherine R. Barnhart
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Landslide Hazards Program, Volcano Hazards Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Volcano Science Center

Water-quality indicators of surface-water-influenced groundwater supplies in the Ohio River alluvial aquifer of West Virginia

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, studied surface-water-influenced groundwater supplies in the Ohio River alluvial aquifer of West Virginia for the purpose of understanding the influence of surface water on groundwater chemistry. Public groundwater supplies obtained from these aquifers receive substantial recharge from surfa
Authors
Mitchell A. McAdoo, Gregory T. Connock
By
Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center

The U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Research Act Program—Meeting local, State, and national needs for water resources science and training

IntroductionThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has a broad research portfolio that addresses water resource issues that are critical to our Nation’s prosperity and quality of life. Socioeconomics, geopolitical stressors, population growth, climate variability, and other factors provide challenges for the management of water resources. Working collaboratively with partners, the USGS observes and mon
Authors
Mark P. Miller, Earl A. Greene, Tanja N. Williamson

A framework to facilitate development and testing of image-based river velocimetry algorithms

Image-based methods have compelling, demonstrated potential for characterizing flow fields in rivers, but algorithms like particle image velocimetry (PIV) must be further tested and improved to enable more effective use of these techniques. This paper presents a framework designed for this exact purpose: Simulating Hydraulics and Images for Velocimetry Evaluation and Refinement (SHIVER). The appro
Authors
Carl J. Legleiter, Paul J. Kinzel
By
Water Resources Mission Area, National Innovation Center

Macroscale controls determine the recovery of river ecosystem productivity following flood disturbances

River ecosystems rely on varied flows, including regular floods, to provide food and habitat for aquatic organisms. However, flows of freshwater are becoming increasingly managed for irrigation, industry, and other human activities, and the frequency of floods is changing. Our study used time-series data of photosynthesis from 143 rivers across the United States and developed a modeling framework
Authors
Heili Lowman, Robert K. Shriver, Robert O. Hall Jr., Judson Harvey, Philip Savoy, Charles Yackulic, Joanna R. Blaszczak
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Southwest Biological Science Center

Remote sensing-based 3D assessment of landslides: A review of the data, methods, and applications

Remote sensing (RS) techniques are essential for studying hazardous landslide events because they capture information and monitor sites at scale. They enable analyzing causes and impacts of ongoing events for disaster management. There has been a plethora of work in the literature mostly discussing (1) applications to detect, monitor, and predict landslides using various instruments and image anal
Authors
Hessah Albanwan, Rongjun Qin, Jung-Kuan (Ernie) Liu
By
Core Science Systems Mission Area, Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS)