Publications
These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.
Filter Total Items: 16784
Inundation of a barrier island (Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, USA) during a hurricane: Observed water-level gradients and modeled seaward sand transport
Large geomorphic changes to barrier islands may occur during inundation, when storm surge exceeds island elevation. Inundation occurs episodically and under energetic conditions that make quantitative observations difficult. We measured water levels on both sides of a barrier island in the northern Chandeleur Islands during inundation by Hurricane Isaac. Wind patterns caused the water levels to sl
Authors
Christopher R. Sherwood, Joseph W. Long, Patrick Dickhudt, P. Soupy Dalyander, David M. Thompson, Nathaniel G. Plant
High-resolution swath interferometric data collected within Muskeget Channel, Massachusetts
Swath interferometric bathymetery data were collected within and around Muskeget Channel and along select nearshore areas south and east of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Data were collected aboard the U.S. Geological Survey research vessel Rafael in October and November 2010 in a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. This report d
Authors
Elizabeth A. Pendleton, Jane F. Denny, William W. Danforth, Wayne E. Baldwin, Barry J. Irwin
A comprehensive population dataset for Afghanistan constructed using GIS-based dasymetric mapping methods
This report summarizes the application of dasymetric methods for mapping the distribution of population throughout Afghanistan. Because Afghanistan's population has constantly changed through decades of war and conflict, existing vector and raster GIS datasets (such as point settlement densities and intensities of lights at night) do not adequately reflect the changes. The purposes of this report
Authors
Allyson L. Thompson, Bernard E. Hubbard
Estimation of flood discharges at selected annual exceedance probabilities for unregulated, rural streams in Vermont, with a section on Vermont regional skew regression
This report provides estimates of flood discharges at selected annual exceedance probabilities (AEPs) for streamgages in and adjacent to Vermont and equations for estimating flood discharges at AEPs of 50-, 20-, 10-, 4-, 2-, 1-, 0.5-, and 0.2-percent (recurrence intervals of 2-, 5-, 10-, 25-, 50-, 100-, 200-, and 500-years, respectively) for ungaged, unregulated, rural streams in Vermont. The equa
Authors
Scott A. Olson, Andrea G. with a section by Veilleux
Streamflow, water quality, and aquatic macroinvertebrates of selected streams in Fairfax County, Virginia, 2007-12
Efforts to mitigate the effects of urbanization on streams rely on best management practices (BMPs) that are implemented with the intent of reducing and retaining stormwater runoff. A cooperative monitoring effort between the U.S. Geological Survey and Fairfax County, Virginia, was initiated in 2007 to assess the condition of county streams and document watershed-scale responses to the implementat
Authors
John D. Jastram
A field trip guidebook to the type localities of Marland Billings' 1935 Paleozoic bedrock stratigraphy near Littleton, New Hampshire
Marland Billings' classic paper published in 1937 in the Geological Society of America Bulletin established a succession of six stratigraphic units in rocks of low metamorphic grade near Littleton, New Hampshire. The two youngest units are fossiliferous in the area, with ages established at the time as “middle” Silurian and Early Devonian. Billings and students mapped the same stratigraphic sectio
Authors
Douglas W. Rankin, Mary B. Rankin
What are gas hydrates?
The English chemistry pioneer Sir Humphry Davy first combined gas and water to produce a solid substance in his lab in 1810. For more than a century after that landmark moment, a small number of scientists catalogued various solid “hydrates” formed by combining water with an assortment of gases and liquids. Sloan and Koh (2007) review this early research, which was aimed at discerning the chemical
Arsenic, iron, lead, manganese, and uranium concentrations in private bedrock wells in southeastern New Hampshire, 2012-2013
Trace metals, such as arsenic, iron, lead, manganese, and uranium, in groundwater used for drinking have long been a concern because of the potential adverse effects on human health and the aesthetic or nuisance problems that some present. Moderate to high concentrations of the trace metal arsenic have been identified in drinking water from groundwater sources in southeastern New Hampshire, a rapi
Authors
Sarah M. Flanagan, Marcel Belaval, Joseph D. Ayotte
Assessment of the fish tumor beneficial use impairment in brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) at selected Great Lakes Areas of Concern
A total of 878 adult Brown Bullhead were collected at 11 sites within the Lake Erie and Lake Ontario drainages from 2011 to 2013. The sites included seven Areas of Concern (AOC; 670 individuals), one delisted AOC (50 individuals) and three non-AOC sites (158 individuals) used as reference sites. These fish were used to assess the “fish tumor or other deformities” beneficial use impairment. Fish we
Authors
Vicki Blazer, Patricia M. Mazik, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Ryan P. Braham, Cassidy M. Hahn, Heather L. Walsh, Adam J. Sperry
Multiseason occupancy models for correlated replicate surveys
Occupancy surveys collecting data from adjacent (sometimes correlated) spatial replicates have become relatively popular for logistical reasons. Hines et al. (2010) presented one approach to modelling such data for single-season occupancy surveys. Here, we present a multiseason analogue of this model (with corresponding software) for inferences about occupancy dynamics. We include a new paramet
Authors
James E. Hines, James D. Nichols, Jaime Collazo
Karst geomorphology and hydrology of the Shenandoah Valley near Harrisonburg, Virginia
The karst of the central Shenandoah Valley has characteristics of both shallow and deep phreatic formation. This field guide focuses on the region around Harrisonburg, Virginia, where a number of these karst features and their associated geologic context can be examined. Ancient, widespread alluvial deposits cover much of the carbonate bedrock on the western side of the valley, where shallow karst
Authors
Daniel H. Doctor, Wil Orndorff, Joel Maynard, Matthew J. Heller, Gerolamo C. Casile
Reducing fatigue damage for ships in transit through structured decision making
Research in structural monitoring has focused primarily on drawing inference about the health of a structure from the structure’s response to ambient or applied excitation. Knowledge of the current state can then be used to predict structural integrity at a future time and, in principle, allows one to take action to improve safety, minimize ownership costs, and/or increase the operating envelope.
Authors
J.M. Nichols, P.L. Fackler, K. Pacifici, K.D. Murphy, J. D. Nichols