Publications
Browse more than 160,000 publications authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS. Publications available are: USGS-authored journal articles, series reports, book chapters, other government publications, and more.
Mission Area Publications
Mission Area Publications
We are focused on some of the most significant issues society faces, and our science is making a substantial contribution to the well-being of the Nation and the world. Learn more about the major topics our research covers and the programs focused on those topics.
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Hotter temperatures alter riparian plant outcomes under regulated river conditions
Climate change and river regulation alter environmental controls on riparian plant occurrence and cover worldwide. Simultaneous changes to river flow and air temperature could result in unanticipated plant responses to novel environmental conditions. Increasing temperature could alter riparian plant response to hydrology and other factors, while river regulation may exacerbate...
Authors
Emily C. Palmquist, Kiona Ogle, Bradley J. Butterfield, Thomas G. Whitham, Gerard J. Allan, Patrick B. Shafroth
American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) as wetland ecosystem carbon stock regulators
Blue carbon refers to organic carbon sequestered by oceanic and coastal ecosystems. This stock has gained global attention as a high organic carbon repository relative to other ecosystems. Within blue carbon ecosystems, tidally influenced wetlands alone store a disproportionately higher amount of organic carbon than other blue carbon systems. North America harbors 42% of tidally...
Authors
Christopher M. Murray, Tyler S. Coleman, Wray Gabel, Ken Krauss
Towards mobile wind measurements using joust configured ultrasonic anemometer for applications in gas flux quantification
Small uncrewed aerial systems (sUASs) can be used to quantify emissions of greenhouse and other gases, providing flexibility in quantifying these emissions from a multitude of sources, including oil and gas infrastructure, volcano plumes, wildfire emissions, and natural sources. However, sUAS-based emission estimates are sensitive to the accuracy of wind speed and direction measurements...
Authors
Derek Hollenbeck, Colin W. Edgar, Eugenie Euskirchen, Kristen L. Manies
Light absorbing particles deposited to snow cover across the Upper Colorado River Basin, Colorado Rocky Mountains, 2013-16: Interannual variations from multiple natural and anthropogenic sources
Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) as light-absorbing particles (LAPs) deposited to snow cover can result in early onset and rapid snow melting, challenging management of downstream water resources. We identified LAPs in 38 snow samples (water years 2013–2016) from the mountainous Upper Colorado River basin by comparing among laboratory-measured spectral reflectance, chemical, physical...
Authors
Richard L. Reynolds, Harland L. Goldstein, Raymond F. Kokaly, Heather A. Lowers, Geroge N. Breit, Bruce M. Moskowitz, Peat Solheid, Jeff Derry, Corey Lawrence
Coral reef restoration can reduce coastal contamination and pollution hazards
Coral reef restoration can reduce the wave-driven flooding for coastal communities. However, this protection has yet to be assessed in terms of the reduced risk of flood-driven environmental contamination. Here we provide the first high-resolution valuation of the reduction of flood-related land-based environmental pollution provided by potential coral reef restoration. Along Florida’s...
Authors
Marina Rottmueller, Curt Storlazzi, Fabian Frick
“Leaky weirs” capture alluvial deposition and enhance seasonal mountain-front recharge in dryland streams
“Leaky weirs” are rock structures installed in dryland streams, which are anchored into exposed bedrock, loosely cemented, and designed to allow water to slowly pass through. They are being tested at a ranch in southeastern Arizona, USA, to restore and conserve the historic range and desert wetlands. Data are collected to assess how leaky weirs impact surface water, subsurface water, and...
Authors
Laura M. Norman, Kristine Uhlman, Hanna Coy, Natalie R. Wilson, Andrew M. Bennett, Floyd Gray, Kurt T. Ehrenberg
Perpetuation of avian influenza from molt to fall migration in wild Swan Geese (Anser cygnoides): An agent-based modeling approach
Wild waterfowl are considered to be the reservoir of avian influenza, but their distinct annual life cycle stages and their contribution to disease dynamics are not well understood. Studies of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus have primarily focused on wintering grounds, where human and poultry densities are high year-round, compared with breeding grounds, where...
Authors
John Takekawa, Chang-Yong Choi, Diann Prosser, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Nyambayar Batbayar, Xiangming Xiao
Methods to determine streamflow statistics based on data through water year 2021 for selected streamgages in or near Wyoming
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Wyoming Water Development Office, developed streamflow statistics for streamgages in and near Wyoming. Statistics were computed for active (through September 30, 2021) and discontinued USGS streamgages with 10 or more years of daily mean streamflow record. Streamflow at each streamgage was assessed for degree of human alteration...
Authors
Daniel W. Armstrong, David A. Lange, Katherine J. Chase
The transition from resistance to acceptance: Managing a marine invasive species in a changing world
Marine invasive species can transform coastal ecosystems, yet mitigating their effects can be difficult, and even impractical. Often, marine invasive species are managed at poorly matched spatial scales, and at the same time, rates of spread and establishment are increasing under climate change and can outpace resources available for population suppression. These circumstances challenge...
Authors
Abigail G. Keller, Timothy D. Counihan, Edwin D. Grosholz, Carl Boettiger
Towards seamless global 30-meter terrestrial monitoring: Evaluating 2022 cloud free coverage of harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 (HLS) V2.0
Global observations at 30-m ground sampling distance (GSD) are now possible at a cadence of 1-3 days by combining Landsat 8 and 9 with Sentinel-2A and -2B satellites. Previous studies characterizing pixel-level Landsat-class measurement frequency used data from different sources but offered little information on observation availability after rigorous quality screening. This study...
Authors
Qiang Zhou, Christopher Neigh, Junchang Ju, Philip Dabney, Bruce Cook, Zhe Zhu, Christopher J. Crawford, Ferran Gascon, Peter Strobl, Madhu Sridhar
Earthquake recurrence estimates for northern Caribbean faults from combinatorial optimization
We use combinatorial optimization to find the optimal spatial distribution of random samples of earthquakes (≥6.5) that minimize the misfit in target slip rates for all faults in the northeast Caribbean, and we derive magnitude-frequency relationships with uncertainties for these faults. Slip rates for many faults are derived from GPS block models, not direct measurements, because of...
Authors
Uri S. ten Brink, Eric L. Geist
Landslide-channel feedbacks amplify channel widening during floods
Channel widening is a major hazard during floods, particularly in confined mountainous catchments. However, channel widening during floods is not well understood and not always explained by hydraulic variables alone. Floods in mountainous regions often coincide with landslides triggered by heavy rainfall, yet landslide-channel interactions during a flood event are not well known or...
Authors
Georgina L. Bennett, Diego Panici, Francis K. Rengers, Jason W. Kean, Sara L. Rathburn