Environments Program
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Scientists in the Environments Program conduct research on the various ecosystems that occur across 416 million acres of public lands in the United States and its territories. We conduct research on these natural systems to provide information to Department of Interior agencies, which they can use to make decisions about how to manage public lands and trust resources.
Ecosystem Management
Our ecological research improves the Nation’s understanding of how management decisions and environmental variation are impacting ecosystems now and in the future.
Find out howWildland Fire Research
Wildfires are a natural process in most regions of the U.S. They serve a vital role in nature but can also be unusually intense, widespread, or frequent. As a result, response and recovery costs are increasing.
Learn moreEnvironments Science
USGS science provides tools and information to protect responders, communities, managers and species by identifying wildland fire risks, developing ways to reduce wildfire hazards, and assessing and minimizing the aftermath of wildfires.
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Bringing the Bubbles Home
As our cruise ends, lead scientist Amanda Demopoulos brings it all together and charts the path forward
Voyage of Luck
I cannot believe how lucky we’ve been.
Bringing the Lab to the Field
Usually when scientists do research, they go into the field, take samples, then bring them back to the lab. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill research engineer Howard Mendlovitz, working with Professor Chris Martens wants to reverse that.
Publications
Global virtual water trade and the hydrological cycle: Patterns, drivers, and socio-environmental impacts
The increasing global demand for farmland products is placing unprecedented pressure on the global agricultural system and its water resources. Many regions of the world, that are affected by a chronic water scarcity relative to their population, strongly depend on the import of agricultural commodities and associated embodied (or virtual) water....
D'Odorico, Paolo; Carr, Joel A.; Dalin, Carole; Dell'Angelo, Jampel; Konar, Megan; Laio, Francesco; Ridolfi, Luca; Rosa, Lorenzo; Suweis, Samir; Tamea, Stefania; Tuninetti, Marta
Potential sea level rise for the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana
Situated in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain of the Gulf Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GCP LCC), the Chitimacha Tribe is one of four federally recognized tribes in Louisiana. The Tribal seat, trust lands/ reservation, and adjacent Tribal owned lands are located near Charenton, Louisiana, totaling nearly 1,000 acres. The...
Spear, Kathryn A.; Jones, William; Griffith, Kereen; Tirpak, Blair E.; Walden, Kimberly Drivers and uncertainties of forecasted range shifts for warm-water fishes under climate and land cover change
Land cover is an important determinant of aquatic habitat and is projected to shift with climate changes, yet climate-driven land cover changes are rarely factored into climate assessments. To quantify impacts and uncertainty of coupled climate and land cover change on warm-water fish species’ distributions, we used an ensemble model approach to...
Bouska, Kristen L.; Whitledge, Gregory W.; Lant, Christopher; Schoof, Justin