The effects, intentional or unintentional, beneficial or harmful, direct or indirect, which human activities have upon the environment and living things.
Summary of a circular on USGS environmental research and Chesapeake Bay with links to full document. Includes discussion of the problems of the estuary, restoration efforts, water quality, and effects on ecosystem.
Complex interactions among hydrologic events initiated by people and the behaviors and characteristics of animal species (both native and introduced) lead to important scientific and management problems.
Article from American Scientist on study of the San Francisco Bay estuary as a component of the global climate system showing that natural fluctuations might be mistaken for anthropogenic trends affecting waterflow and salinity.
Scientific issues we should consider when conduction high flow experiments to ameliorate the negative effects of dams on native river species and fluvial processes.
Topics in Coastal and Marine Sciences provides background science materials, definitions, and links to give a common context for users from a variety of backgrounds. Coastal erosion was chosen as the first topic.
Report (PDF format) on an evaluation of the potential environmental impacts of contaminated ground water from a metals refinery adjacent to the Missouri River in Omaha, Nebraska testing water and sediments for contaminants and toxicity.
Use of tree ring dating to study distinct episodes of hydrologic change in the Tully Valley wetland, New York recording history of solution-brine injection mining for salt.
Describes cooperation of the USGS office in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the Department of Energy to address environmental and scientific issues at the Nevada Test Site and vicinity with links to project information.
Broad overview of USGS research and monitoring designed to understand current changes in the context of prehistoric and recent earth processes, distinguishing between natural and human-influenced changes, and recognizing ecological and physical responses