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Publications

These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.

Filter Total Items: 16784

Urban development and stream ecosystem health—Science capabilities of the U.S. Geological Survey

Urban development creates multiple stressors that can degrade stream ecosystems by changing stream hydrology, water quality, and physical habitat. Contaminants, habitat destruction, and increasing streamflow variability resulting from urban development have been associated with the disruption of biological communities, particularly the loss of sensitive aquatic biota. Understanding how algal, inve
Authors
Pamela A. Reilly, Zoltan Szabo, James F. Coles

Contaminants in urban waters—Science capabilities of the U.S. Geological Survey

Streams and estuaries with urban watersheds commonly exhibit increased streamflow and decreased base flow; diminished stream-channel stability; excessive amounts of contaminants such as pesticides, metals, industrial and municipal waste, and combustion products; and alterations to biotic community structure. Collectively, these detrimental effects have been termed the “urban-stream syndrome.” Wate
Authors
John D. Jastram, Kenneth E. Hyer

Quantification of a pretreatment procedure for organic-rich calcareous nannofossil samples

No abstract available.
Authors
Jamie L. Shamrock, Jean Self-Trail

Identification and distribution of the Olympic Shrew (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae), Sorex rohweri Rausch et al., 2007 in Oregon and Washington, based on USNM specimens

Review of specimens of long-tailed shrews (Mammalia, Soricidae, Sorex) from the northwestern United States in the National Museum of Natural History (USNM), Washington, DC, has revealed the presence of the Olympic Shrew, Sorex rohweri Rausch et al., 2007, in the Coastal Range west of the Willamette Valley in Oregon. This determination nearly doubles the documented distribution for this species and
Authors
Neal Woodman, Robert D. Fisher

Tree island pattern formation in the Florida Everglades

The Florida Everglades freshwater landscape exhibits a distribution of islands covered by woody vegetation and bordered by marshes and wet prairies. Known as “tree islands”, these ecogeomorphic features can be found in few other low gradient, nutrient limited freshwater wetlands. In the last few decades, however, a large percentage of tree islands have either shrank or disappeared in apparent resp
Authors
Joel A. Carr, P. D'Odorico, Victor C. Engel, Jed Redwine

Proposed Auxiliary Boundary Stratigraphic Section and Point (ASSP) for the base of the Ordovician System at Lawson Cove, Utah, USA

The Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Ordovician System is at the First Appearance Datum (FAD) of the conodont Iapetognathus fluctivagus at Green Point in Newfoundland, Canada. Strata there are typical graptolitic facies that were deposited near the base of the continental slope.We propose establishing an Auxiliary boundary Stratotype Section and Point (ASSP)
Authors
James F. Miller, Kevin R. Evans, Raymond L. Ethington, Rebecca Freeman, James D. Loch, John E. Repetski, Robert Ripperdan, John F. Taylor

Phosphorus removal from aquaculture effluents at the Northeast Fishery Center in Lamar, Pennsylvania using iron oxide sorption media

Three different iron oxide-based sorption media samples were tested for removal of phosphorus (P) from fish hatchery effluents using fixed bed processing. Two of the media samples were derived from residuals produced by the treatment of acid mine drainage, which were then compared to granular ferric hydroxide (GFH), a commercially available sorption medium. All of the media types removed from 50 t
Authors
Philip Sibrell, Thomas Kehler

Mineral commodity summaries 2016

This report is the earliest Government publication to furnish estimates covering 2015 nonfuel mineral industry data. Data sheets contain information on the domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, and 5-year salient statistics for more than 90 individual minerals and materials
Authors
Joyce A. Ober

Pranked by Audubon: Constantine S. Rafinesque's description of John James Audubon's imaginary Kentucky mammals

The North American naturalist Constantine S. Rafinesque spent much of the year 1818 engaged in a solo journey down the Ohio River Valley to explore parts of what was then the western United States. Along the way, he visited a number of fellow naturalists, and he spent more than a week at the Henderson, Kentucky, home of artist and ornithologist John James Audubon. During the succeeding two years,
Authors
Neal Woodman

Enriched groundwater seeps in two Vermont headwater catchments are hotspots of nitrate turnover

Groundwater seeps in upland catchments are often enriched relative to stream waters, higher in pH, Ca2+ and sometimes NO3¯. These seeps could be a NO3¯ sink because of increased denitrification potential but may also be ‘hotspots’ for nitrification because of the relative enrichment. We compared seep soils with nearby well-drained soils in two upland forested watersheds in Vermont that are sites o
Authors
Amninder J. Kaur, Donald S. Ross, James B. Shanley, Anna R. Yatzor

A multiagency and multijurisdictional approach to mapping the glacial deposits of the Great Lakes region in three dimensions

The Great Lakes Geologic Mapping Coalition (GLGMC), consisting of state geological surveys from all eight Great Lakes states, the Ontario Geological Survey, and the U.S. Geological Survey, was conceived out of a societal need for unbiased and scientifically defensible geologic information on the shallow subsurface, particularly the delineation, interpretation, and viability of groundwater resource
Authors
Richard C. Berg, Steven E. Brown, Jason F. Thomason, Nancy R. Hasenmueller, Sally L. Letsinger, Kevin A. Kincare, John M. Esch, Alan E. Kehew, Harvey Thorleifson, Andrew Kozlowski, Brian C. Bird, Richard R. Pavey, Andy F. Bajc, Abigail K. Burt, Gary M. Fleeger, Eric C. Carson

Fines classification based on sensitivity to pore-fluid chemistry

The 75-μm particle size is used to discriminate between fine and coarse grains. Further analysis of fine grains is typically based on the plasticity chart. Whereas pore-fluid-chemistry-dependent soil response is a salient and distinguishing characteristic of fine grains, pore-fluid chemistry is not addressed in current classification systems. Liquid limits obtained with electrically contrasting po
Authors
Junbong Jang, J. Carlos Santamarina