Study confirms fossil footprints at White Sands National Park date to the Last Glacial Maximum
National Uncrewed Systems Office
Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
The Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center (GECSC) delivers critical science to support economic growth, energy security, and infrastructure resilience. Through geologic mapping and Earth system research, GECSC provides essential data on the nation’s geologic resources, landscape dynamics, and surface processes—informing resource development, hazard mitigation, and land-use planning.
News
The Powerhouse of USGS Paleo-research
The Powerhouse of USGS Paleo-research
Trees in cities are beyond shady
Trees in cities are beyond shady
Los árboles en las ciudades dan más que sombra
Los árboles en las ciudades dan más que sombra
Publications
Organic matter composition versus microbial source: Controls on carbon loss from fen wetland and permafrost soils
Wetland and permafrost soils contain some of Earth's largest reservoirs of organic carbon, and these stores are threatened by rapid warming across the Arctic. Nearly half of northern wetlands are affected by permafrost. As these ecosystems warm, the cycling of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and the opportunities for microbial degradation are changing. This is particularly evident as the...
One-hundred fundamental, open questions to integrate methodological approaches in lake ice research
The rate of technological innovation within aquatic sciences outpaces the collective ability of individual scientists within the field to make appropriate use of those technologies. The process of in situ lake sampling remains the primary choice to comprehensively understand an aquatic ecosystem at local scales; however, the impact of climate change on lakes necessitates the rapid...
An early Holocene wet period in the southwestern United States
Multiple generations of spring-fed streams traversed ∼800 km2 of the Las Vegas Valley in southern Nevada between ca. 10.9 ka and 8.5 ka, depositing an extensive tufa network. The scale of this network and diversity of tufa morphologies is novel in North America and offers an opportunity to obtain quantitative paleoclimate data for the region during the early Holocene. We determined...