Publications

Lead Belt, an area of major lead mining from the 1860s until 1972 where more than 8.5 million tons of lead were mined. After active mining ceased, the effects of mining activities persisted in the Big River system because of large mine waste pile erosion, and floodplain sediment and streambank contamination along several tributaries and the main stem of the Big River. Lead-contaminated streambed a

Executive Summary Climate is the primary driver of environmental change and is a key consideration in defining science priorities conducted across all mission areas in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Recognizing the importance of climate change to its future research agenda, the USGS’s Climate Science Steering Committee requested the development of a Climate Science Plan to identify future rese

Groundwater is heavily used for public supply and industrial uses in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, area. Lowered water levels resulting from groundwater withdrawals have induced the movement of saltwater towards wells in East Baton Rouge and West Baton Rouge Parishes. Saltwater intrusion has the potential to affect water supply infrastructure, reduce water availability for some uses, and increase tr

This publication describes the U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Science Center (VSC) Response Plan for Significant Volcanic Events (hereinafter referred to as “the plan”) that has been developed for U.S volcano observatories over the past several years in consultation with the lead scientist, or Scientist-in-Charge (SIC), of each of the five U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) volcano observatories. The g

The landscape theory of food web architecture (LTFWA) describes relationships among body size, trophic position, mobility, and energy channels that serve to couple heterogenous habitats, which in turn promotes long-term system stability. However, empirical tests of the LTFWA are rare and support differs among terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems. Further, it is unclear whether the theory ap

As part of a U.S. Geological Survey study in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation and the Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico, and the Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico, a digital three-dimensional geologic framework model was constructed for the Rio San Jose and its surface-water drainage basin in west-central New Mexico. This three-dimensional model defines the altitude, thickness, and extent of 18 geo

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), began a study in 2018 to develop a water-quality monitoring strategy (WQMS) for Mount Hope Bay and the Taunton River Estuary in southeastern Massachusetts. MassDEP is interested in water-quality data in Mount Hope Bay and the Taunton River Estuary to characterize current water-qualit

Surface thermal inertia derived from satellite imagery offers a valuable tool for remotely mapping the physical structure and water content of planetary regolith. Efforts to quantify thermal inertia using surface temperatures on Earth, however, have consistently yielded large uncertainties and suffered from a lack of reproducibility. Unlike dry or airless bodies, Earth's abundant water and dense a

The tectonic evolution of and relation between the Yukon-Tanana terrane and the Lake George assemblage, as well as other associated tectonic assemblages in western Yukon and eastern Alaska, have been debated for decades. The Yukon-Tanana terrane is widely considered to be an allochthonous rifted fragment derived from the Laurentian continental margin, whereas the Lake George assemblage and associa

The Little St. Francis River and its tributaries drain metals-contaminated areas of the Madison County Mines National Priority List Superfund site (MCM) which was designated in 2003 to facilitate remediation of metals contamination within the MCM. One concern for natural resource trustees in the MCM is the potential effects of elevated metals concentrations on the federally threatened St. Francis

Dams commonly restrict fish movements in large rivers but can also help curtail the spread of invasive species, such as invasive bigheaded carps (Hypophthalmichthys spp). To determine how dams in the upper Mississippi River (UMR) affect large-scale invasive and native fish migrations, we tracked American paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) and bigheaded carp across > 600 river km (rkm) and 16 navigatio

Communities around the world rely on snowmelt to meet water demands, and periods of lower than normal snow accumulation, snow droughts, can decrease water supplies. Leveraging 172 minimally disturbed and seasonally snow-covered watersheds, we developed an approach to examine the effects of cool & dry, warm & dry, and warm & wet snow droughts on streamflow timing and magnitude by hydrologic region.