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.
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Assessing future hydrologic extremes using an integrated hydrology and river operations model in the Russian River watershed Assessing future hydrologic extremes using an integrated hydrology and river operations model in the Russian River watershed
Study regionThe Russian River watershed, situated in coastal, northern California, experiences hydrologic extremes, including periodic droughts and flooding. Water managers are working to maintain sustainable water supplies and environmental flows, while mitigating flood risks.Study focusThis paper introduces an integrated hydrology and river operations model for the Russian River...
Authors
Saalem Tilahun Adera, Ayman H. Alzraiee, Richard G. Niswonger, Enrique Triana, Derek W. Ryter, John A. Engott
Magnitude conversion relations create substantial differences in seismic hazard models Magnitude conversion relations create substantial differences in seismic hazard models
Earthquake catalogs are essential data inputs for seismic hazard modeling. Because earthquake magnitudes are reported in a variety of types (e.g., local magnitudes and moment magnitudes), magnitude conversion relationships must be used to convert the different magnitude types present in a catalog to a uniform magnitude type to avoid biases in the hazard computation. However, these...
Authors
Andrea L. Llenos, David R. Shelly, Allison Shumway
Machine learning generated streamflow drought forecasts for the conterminous United States (CONUS): developing and evaluating an operational tool to enhance sub-seasonal to seasonal streamflow drought early warning for gaged locations Machine learning generated streamflow drought forecasts for the conterminous United States (CONUS): developing and evaluating an operational tool to enhance sub-seasonal to seasonal streamflow drought early warning for gaged locations
Forecasts of streamflow drought, when streamflow declines below typical levels, are notably less available than for floods or meteorological drought, despite widespread impacts. We apply machine learning (ML) models to forecast streamflow drought 1–13 weeks ahead at 3,219 streamgages across the conterminous United States. We applied two ML methods (Long short-term memory neural networks...
Authors
John C. Hammond, Phillip J. Goodling, Jeremy Alejandro Diaz, Hayley R. Corson-Dosch, Aaron Joseph Heldmyer, Scott Douglas Hamshaw, Ryan R. McShane, Jesse Cleveland Ross, Roy Sando, Caelan Simeone, Erik A. Smith, Leah Ellen Staub, David Watkins, Michael Wieczorek, Kendall C. Wnuk, Jacob Aaron Zwart
Tectonic implications of transitional melting regimes from petrological, geochronological, and compositional characterization of the ophiolitic Seventymile terrane, Alaska, USA Tectonic implications of transitional melting regimes from petrological, geochronological, and compositional characterization of the ophiolitic Seventymile terrane, Alaska, USA
New geochemical, U-Pb geochronology, and Sr-Nd-Hf isotope data provide evidence for the tectonic evolution of the Seventymile terrane in interior Alaska, USA. Ultramafic and mafic rocks of the Seventymile terrane are thought to represent components of a dismembered ophiolite and provide unique constraints on regional terrane evolution and accretion. The Seventymile ophiolite represents...
Authors
Erin Todd, Jonathan Saul Caine, Michael Bizimis, Andrew R.C. Kylander-Clark, Robert Reece Hammond, Alicja Wypych
Distinguishing natural from mining-related metal sources by including streambank groundwater data in a stream mass loading study Distinguishing natural from mining-related metal sources by including streambank groundwater data in a stream mass loading study
Distinguishing stream metal loading caused by mine features from that caused by natural background sources remains challenging, yet this distinction is essential for making effective remedial decisions at many legacy mine sites. We combine a stream tracer injection and synoptic sampling study with data from shallow near-stream groundwater wells to estimate left-bank versus right-bank...
Authors
Andrew H. Manning, Robert L. Runkel, Jean M. Morrison, Sara Warix, Richard B. Wanty, Katherine Walton-Day, Michael Snook
Is satellite-derived bathymetry vertical accuracy dependent on satellite mission and processing method? Is satellite-derived bathymetry vertical accuracy dependent on satellite mission and processing method?
This research focusses on three satellite-derived bathymetry methods and optical satellite instruments: (1) a stereo photogrammetry bathymetry module (SaTSeaD) developed for the NASA Ames stereo pipeline open-source software (version 3.6.0) using stereo WorldView data; (2) physics-based radiative transfer equations (PBSDB) using Landsat data; and (3) a modified composite band-ratio...
Authors
Monica Palaseanu-Lovejoy, Jeffrey J. Danielson, Minsu Kim, Bryan Eder, Gretchen Imahori, Curt D. Storlazzi
Assessment of the fish tumors or other deformities beneficial use impairment and associated risks at two Lake Michigan Areas of Concern Assessment of the fish tumors or other deformities beneficial use impairment and associated risks at two Lake Michigan Areas of Concern
The U.S. Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs) have been designated due to significant environmental degradation, with multiple Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) requiring remediation before delisting. The “fish tumors or other deformities” BUI remains at the Sheboygan River and the Lower Green Bay and Fox River AOCs, necessitating evaluation in white sucker (Catostomus commersonii), a...
Authors
Vicki S. Blazer, Cheyenne Rose Smith, Heather L. Walsh, P.M. Mazik, M.R. Magee
Rapid characterization of the 2025 Mw 8.8 Kamchatka, Russia earthquake Rapid characterization of the 2025 Mw 8.8 Kamchatka, Russia earthquake
The 29 July 2025 Mw 8.8 Kamchatka, Russia, earthquake was the sixth largest instrumentally recorded earthquake. This event was seismically well observed at regional and teleseismic distances, but publicly available near‐source data were sparse at the time of the event, presenting unique challenges for rapid source and impact characterization. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National...
Authors
Harriet Zoe Yin, Kate E. Allstadt, William D Barnhart, Samantha Ann Clapp, Paul S. Earle, Dara Elyse Goldberg, Alex R. Grant, Matt Herman, Kishor S. Jaiswal, Sara K. McBride, Adam T. Ringler, Max Schneider, Eric M. Thompson, Nicholas van der Elst, David Wald, Dun Wang, Charles Worden, William L. Yeck
Insights into widespread landsliding in southern Appalachia from Hurricane Helene Insights into widespread landsliding in southern Appalachia from Hurricane Helene
Between 23 and 27 September 2024, antecedent rain followed by Hurricane Helene produced one of the most damaging weather events in southern Appalachia history. The back-to-back storm events resulted in a maximum cumulative rainfall of 848 mm and hurricane-force wind gusts over 170 km/h in western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and southwestern Virginia. The resulting regional...
Authors
Lauren N. Schaefer, Francis K. Rengers, Benjamin Mirus, Liam Toney, Kate E. Allstadt, Richard Wooten, Patrick Moore, Paula Madeline Burgi, Anne Witt, Eric Leland Bilderback, Jennifer Bauer, David Korte, Matthew Crawford
The 2025 “Hacking Limnology” Workshop Series and DSOS Virtual Summit: A half decade of data-intensive aquatic science The 2025 “Hacking Limnology” Workshop Series and DSOS Virtual Summit: A half decade of data-intensive aquatic science
No abstract available.
Authors
Michael Frederick Meyer, Jorrit Mesman, Carolina C. Barbosa, Jonathan J Borelli, Johannes Feldbauer, Merritt Elizabeth Harlan, Robert T. Hensley, Burak Kuyumcu, Robert Ladwig, Isabella Oleksy, Rachel M. Pilla, Jacob Aaron Zwart, Matthew Biddle, Paul J. Kinzel, Carl J. Legleiter, Tadhg Moore, Tylar Murray, Lipa Nkwalale, Brandon Overstreet, Mehraz Rumman, Whitney M. Woelmer
Capturing the uncertainty of seismicity observations in earthquake rate estimates: Implications for probabilistic seismic hazard analysis and the USGS National Seismic Hazard Model Capturing the uncertainty of seismicity observations in earthquake rate estimates: Implications for probabilistic seismic hazard analysis and the USGS National Seismic Hazard Model
The rate of earthquakes in a region is a fundamental input to Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis. We present a Monte Carlo method for computing that rate from seismicity catalogs while including a range of data and analysis uncertainties. This method is applied to regions for which the b value is assumed to be spatially invariant. Each region is broken down into epochs for which each...
Authors
Andrew J. Michael, Andrea L. Llenos
Neotectonic origins for the Meadow Bank scarp, Wabash Valley seismic zone USA Neotectonic origins for the Meadow Bank scarp, Wabash Valley seismic zone USA
The Meadow Bank scarp (MBS) in southeastern Illinois is a linear geomorphic expression, ∼10 km long and ∼8 m high above a relatively flat landscape. It parallels an underlying northeast‐oriented Late‐Precambrian–Early‐Cambrian structural fabric, called the Wabash Valley fault zone, and is within an area of modern, historic, and paleo seismicity, called the Wabash Valley seismic zone. In...
Authors
Edward W Woolery, William J. Stephenson, Kevin Woller, Alena L. Leeds, Noah Silas Lindberg, Jackson K. Odum, Cooper Cearley, Ron Counts