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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Total shortening estimates across the western Greater Caucasus Mountains from balanced cross sections and area balancing
The Greater Caucasus orogen forms the northern edge of the Arabia-Eurasia collision zone. Although the orogen has long been assumed to exhibit dominantly thick-skinned style deformation via reactivation of high-angle extensional faults, recent work suggests the range may have accommodated several hundred kilometers or more of shortening since its ~30 Ma initiation, and this shortening may be accom
Authors
Charles Cashman Trexler, Eric S. Cowgill, Dylan A Vasey, Nathan A. Niemi
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus)
Keys to Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) management are providing large areas of suitable habitat (for example, native or tame grasslands of moderate vegetative height and density, low shrub density, and moderate litter and forb cover), and protecting nesting habitat from disturbance during the breeding season. Bobolinks have been reported to use habitats with 10–166 centimeters (cm) average veget
Authors
Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Amy L. Zimmerman, Travis L. Wooten, Betty R. Euliss
Preliminary geologic map of the Southern Santa Rosa Mountains and Borrego Badlands, San Diego County, Southern California
This investigation delineates the geologic framework of an area of 75 square kilometers (km2) located west of the Salton Sea in southern California (fig. 1, on sheet 1). The study area encompasses the south flank of the Santa Rosa Mountains and the eastern part of the Borrego Badlands (sheet 1). In this study area, regionally important stratigraphic and structural elements collectively inform the
Authors
Jarg R. Pettinga, Stephanie L. Dudash, Pamela M. Cossette
Your land, your water—Using research to guide conservation practices on local farms in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Agricultural lands are an important part of the economy and heritage of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and are a focus of conservation activities. Streams and rivers around farms provide communities with drinking water and recreational opportunities, but these local benefits can be impaired by elevated nutrient and sediment concentrations. Compared to inputs from the atmosphere, wastewater, and urba
Authors
James S. Webber, John W. Clune, Alex M. Soroka, Kenneth E. Hyer
Influence of a guide net on the presence and behavior of fish near the selective water withdrawal structure in Lake Billy Chinook, Oregon, 2022
Imaging sonar was used to assess the influence of a fish guidance net, installed at the entrances to the selective water withdrawal (SWW) intake structure, in the forebay of Round Butte Dam, Oregon, on behavior, abundance, and timing of fish during the spring of 2022. The purposes of the SWW are (1) to direct surface currents in the forebay to attract and collect downriver migrating juvenile salmo
Authors
Collin D. Smith, Tyson W. Hatton
Rapid population decline in McKay's Bunting, an Alaskan endemic, highlights the species’ current status relative to international standards for vulnerable species
The McKay’s Bunting (Plectrophenax hyperboreus) is endemic to Alaska, breeds solely on the remote and uninhabited St. Matthew and Hall islands (332 km2) in the central Bering Sea, and is designated as a species of high conservation concern due to its small population size and restricted range. A previous hypothesized population estimate (~2,800—6,000 individuals) was greatly increased (~31,200 ind
Authors
Rachel M. Richardson, Courtney L. Amundson, James A. Johnson, Marc D. Romano, Audrey R. Taylor, Michael D. Fleming, Steven M. Matsuoka
The 2022 Chaos Canyon landslide in Colorado: Insights revealed by seismic analysis, field investigations, and remote sensing
An unusual, high-alpine, rapid debris slide originating in ice-rich debris occurred on June 28, 2022, at 16:33:16 MDT at the head of Chaos Canyon, a formerly glacier-covered valley in Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, USA. In this study, we integrate eyewitness videos and seismic records of the event with meteorological data, field observations, pre- and post-event satellite imagery, and uncrewed
Authors
Kate E. Allstadt, Jeffrey A. Coe, Elaine Collins, Francis K. Rengers, Anne Mangeney, Scott M. Esser, Jana Pursley, William L. Yeck, John Bellini, Lance R. Brady
Non-native Rhizophora mangle as sinks for coastal contamination on Moloka'i, Hawai'i
Coastal mangrove forests provide a suite of environmental services, including sequestration of anthropogenic contamination. Yet, research lags on the environmental fate and potential human health risks of mangrove-sequestered contaminants in the context of mangrove removal for development and range shifts due to climate change. To address this, we conducted a study on Moloka'i, Hawai'i, comparing
Authors
Geoffrey Szafranski, Elise F. Granek, Michelle Hladik, Mia Hackett
Examining the complex relations between climate and streamflow in the mid-atlantic region of the United States
We explored the complex relations between climate and streamflow in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. In 124 watersheds across this region, we quantified spatial and temporal variation in air temperature (AT), precipitation (P), and streamflow (Q) from 1981 through 2020. Upward directional trends in monthly values of AT, P, and Q indicated an increase of 0.27–1.9 degrees Celsius, 0.12–
Authors
Karen C. Rice, Chris A. Mason, Aaron L. Mills
Using a coupled integral projection model to investigate interspecific competition during an invasion: An application to silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum)
As a generalization of stage-based matrix models, integral projection models (IPMs) have been used to describe the size-based dynamics of wildlife and fisheries populations. Although some matrix models have explicitly included species interactions, few IPMs have expanded beyond single species, which limits their ability to describe the competitive dynamics of co-occuring taxa. We present a coupled
Authors
James P Peirce, Gregory Sandland, David Schumann, Hannah Mann Thompson, Richard A. Erickson
Applying intrinsic potential models to evaluate salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) introduction into main-stem and tributary habitats upstream from the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project, northern Washington
We assessed habitat suitability for salmonids across selected tributaries upstream from three hydroelectric dams on the upper Skagit River in Whatcom County, northern Washington. We used NetMap, a commercial toolset within the ArcMap geographic information system (GIS), to analyze stream attributes based upon a synthetic stream channel network derived from digital elevation models. The GIS-derived
Authors
Jeffrey J. Duda, Jill M. Hardiman
Forage senescence and disease influence elk pregnancy across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
For various temperate ungulate species, recent research has highlighted the potential for spring vegetation phenology (“green-up”) to influence individual condition, with purported benefits to population productivity. However, few studies have been able to measure the benefit on vital rates directly, and fewer still have investigated the comparative influence of other phenological periods on ungul
Authors
Owen R. Bidder, Thomas Connor, Juan M. Morales, Gregory J.M. Rickbeil, Jerod A. Merkle, Rebecca K. Fuda, Jared D. Rogerson, Brandon M. Scurlock, William H Edwards, Eric K. Cole, Douglas E. McWhirter, Alyson B. Courtemanch, Sarah Dewey, Matthew Kauffman, Daniel R. MacNulty, Johan T. du Toit, Daniel R. Stahler, Arthur D. Middleton