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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.

Filter Total Items: 172292

Optimization of wetland environmental DNA metabarcoding protocols for Great Lakes region herpetofauna

Many species of reptiles and amphibians (herpetofauna) rely on wetlands that are being degraded and lost at a high rate. Characterization of herpetofauna diversity in different wetland types may help guide conservation strategies. However, traditional survey methods often involve sampling within small temporal windows, and the gear deployed may be taxonomically biased, thus, they may...
Authors
Olivia M. Ruppert, Jared Joseph Homola, Jeannette Kanefsky, Alyssa Swinehart, Kim T. Scribner, John D. Robinson

Integrated water availability in the conterminous United States, 2010–20

Water availability is defined as the spatial and temporal distribution of water quantity and quality as it relates to the needs of humans and ecosystems. Broad assessment of water availability requires the consideration of multiple indicators because water users have different sensitivities to the degradation of water conditions. This chapter draws upon estimates of water supply, water...
Authors
Edward G. Stets, Matthew J. Cashman, Olivia L. Miller, Kathryn A. Powlen

Climate change and future water availability in the United States

The steady rise in global temperature as a result of human activity is causing changes in Earth’s water cycle. The balance of water stored within and moving between vapor, liquid, and frozen states in the water cycle is shifting, with consequences for water availability that include increases in drought, fire weather, flooding, and heavy precipitation, as well as cryosphere decline and...
Authors
Martha A. Scholl, Gregory J. McCabe, Carolyn G. Olson, Kathryn A. Powlen

Water use across the conterminous United States, water years 2010–20

Withdrawals of water for human use are fundamental to the evaluation of the Nation’s water availability. This chapter provides an analysis of public supply, crop irrigation, and thermoelectric power water use for the conterminous United States (CONUS) during water years 2010–20. These three categories account for about 90 percent of water withdrawals in the Nation. The values presented...
Authors
Laura Medalie, Amy E. Galanter, Anthony J. Martinez, Althea A. Archer, Carol L. Luukkonen, Melissa A. Harris, Jonathan V. Haynes

Status of water-quality conditions in the United States, 2010–20

Degradation of water quality can make water harmful or unusable for humans and ecosystems. Although many studies have assessed the effect of individual constituents or narrow suites of constituents on freshwater systems, no consistent, comprehensive assessment exists over the wide range of water-quality effects on water availability. Using published studies, data, and models completed at...
Authors
Melinda L. Erickson, Olivia L. Miller, Matthew J. Cashman, James R. Degnan, James E. Reddy, Anthony J. Martinez, Elmera Azadpour

Water supply in the conterminous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, water years 2010–20

We present an assessment of water supply across the conterminous United States (CONUS), Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico covering water years 2010–20. Our analysis drew on two national hydrologic models, the National Hydrologic Model Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System and the Weather Research and Forecasting model hydrologic modeling system. Both models produced estimates of streamflow...
Authors
Galen Gorski, Edward G. Stets, Martha A. Scholl, James R. Degnan, John R. Mullaney, Amy E. Galanter, Anthony J. Martinez, Julie Padilla, Jacob H. LaFontaine, Hayley R. Corson-Dosch, Allen Shapiro

The National integrated water availability assessment, water years 2010–20

Water availability is fundamentally important to human well-being, economic vitality, and ecosystem health. Because of its central importance, the U.S. Congress tasked the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and other Federal agencies with conducting regular, comprehensive assessments of water availability in the United States through the requirements under the SECURE Water Act. In response to...
Authors
Edward G. Stets, Althea A. Archer, James R. Degnan, Melinda L. Erickson, Galen Gorski, Laura Medalie, Martha A. Scholl

U.S. Geological Survey Integrated Water Availability Assessment—2010–20

This professional paper is a multichapter report that assesses water availability in the United States for water years 2010–20. This work was conducted as part of the fulfillment of the mandates of Subtitle F of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-11), also known as the SECURE Water Act. As such, this work examines the spatial and temporal distribution of water...

The Center for the Advancement of Population Assessment Methodology (CAPAM): A perspective on the first 10 years

The Center for the Advancement of Population Assessment Methodology (CAPAM) was established in 2013, envisioned as an institute that could conduct, organize, and communicate stock assessment research with the aim of benefiting fisheries assessment efforts internationally. CAPAM’s activities have focused on its workshop series and consequent special issues in Fisheries Research. The...
Authors
Mark N. Maunder, Paul R. Crone, Brice X. Semmens, Juan L. Valero, Lynn Waterhouse, Richard D. Methot, André E. Punt

Endemic and invasive species: A history of distributional trends in the fish fauna of the lower New River drainage

Invasive species are often central to conservation efforts, particularly when concerns involve potential impacts on rare, endemic native species. The lower New River drainage of the eastern United States is a watershed that warrants conservation assessment, as the system is naturally depauperate of native fish species and it is nearly saturated with non-native fish species: there are 31...
Authors
Stuart A. Welsh, Daniel A. Cincotta, Nathaniel V. Owens, Jay R. Stauffer

Ecosystem drivers of freshwater mercury bioaccumulation are context-dependent: Insights from continental-scale modeling

Significant variation in mercury (Hg) bioaccumulation is observed across the diversity of freshwater ecosystems in North America. While there is support for the major drivers of Hg bioaccumulation, the relative influence of different external factors can vary widely among waterbodies, which makes predicting Hg risk across large spatial scales particularly challenging. We modeled Hg...
Authors
Christopher James Kotalik, James Willacker, Jeff S. Wesner, Branden L. Johnson, Colleen M. Flanagan Pritz, Sarah J. Nelson, David Walters, Collin A. Eagles-Smith

Hybrid coral reef restoration can be a cost-effective nature-based solution to provide protection to vulnerable coastal populations

Coral reefs can mitigate flood damages by providing protection to tropical coastal communities whose populations are dense, growing fast, and have predominantly lower-middle income. This study provides the first fine-scale, regionally modeled valuations of how flood risk reductions associated with hybrid coral reef restoration could benefit people, property, and economic activity along...
Authors
Curt Storlazzi, Borja Reguero, Kristen C. Alkins, James B. Shope, Aaron Cole, Camila Gaido-Lassarre, T. Shay Viehman, Michael W. Beck
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