Reports
Science Quality and Integrity
The USGS provides unbiased, objective, and impartial scientific information upon which our audiences, including resource managers, planners, and other entities, rely.
The USGS provides unbiased, objective, and impartial scientific information upon which our audiences, including resource managers, planners, and other entities, rely.
Browse more than 82,000 reports authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS and refine search by topic, location, year, and advanced search.
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Data from the 2011 International Piping Plover Census Data from the 2011 International Piping Plover Census
This report provides results from the 2011 International Census of Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus). Distribution and abundance data for wintering and breeding Piping Plovers are summarized in tabular format. An appendix provides census data for every site surveyed in every state, province, and island. The 2011 winter census resulted in the observation of 3,973 Piping Plovers...
Authors
Elise Elliott-Smith, Mark T. Bidwell, Amanda E. Holland, Susan M. Haig
Water resources of St. James Parish, Louisiana Water resources of St. James Parish, Louisiana
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in St. James Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water...
Authors
Vincent E. White, Lawrence B. Prakken
Porphyry copper assessment of northeast Asia: Far East Russia and northeasternmost China: Chapter W in Global mineral resource assessment Porphyry copper assessment of northeast Asia: Far East Russia and northeasternmost China: Chapter W in Global mineral resource assessment
The U.S. Geological Survey assesses resources (mineral, energy, water, environmental, and biologic) at regional, national, and global scales to provide science in support of land management and decision making. Mineral resource assessments provide a synthesis of available information about where mineral deposits are known and suspected to be in the Earth’s crust, which commodities may be...
Authors
Mark J. Mihalasky, Stephen Ludington, Dmitriy V. Alexeiev, Thomas P. Frost, Thomas D. Light, Deborah A. Briggs, Jane M. Hammarstrom, John C. Wallis, Arthur A. Bookstrom, Andre Panteleyev
Satellite monitoring of dramatic changes at Hawai'i's only alpine lake: Lake Waiau on Mauna Kea volcano Satellite monitoring of dramatic changes at Hawai'i's only alpine lake: Lake Waiau on Mauna Kea volcano
Lake Waiau is a small, typically 100-meter-long lake, located near the summit of Mauna Kea volcano, on the Island of Hawaiʻi. It is Hawaiʻi’s only alpine lake and is considered sacred in Hawaiian cultural tradition. Over the past few years, the lake has diminished in size, and, by October 2013, surface water had almost completely disappeared from the lake. In this study, we use high...
Authors
Matthew R. Patrick, James P. Kauahikaua
Chance findings about early holocene tidal marshes of Grays Harbor, Washington, in relation to rapidly rising seas and great subduction earthquakes Chance findings about early holocene tidal marshes of Grays Harbor, Washington, in relation to rapidly rising seas and great subduction earthquakes
Tidal marshes commonly build upward apace with gradual rise in the level of the sea. It is expected, however, that few tidal marshes will keep up with accelerated sea-level rise later in this century. Tidal marshes have been drowned, moreover, after subsiding during earthquakes. This report tells of ancient marshes that endured rapid sea-level rise in a region that subsides during...
Authors
James B. Phipps, Eileen Hemphill-Haley, Brian F. Atwater
Curiosity’s robotic arm-mounted Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI): Characterization and calibration status Curiosity’s robotic arm-mounted Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI): Characterization and calibration status
MAHLI (Mars Hand Lens Imager) is a 2-megapixel, Bayer pattern color CCD camera with a macro lens mounted on a rotatable turret at the end of the 2-meters-long robotic arm aboard the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity. The camera includes white and longwave ultraviolet LEDs to illuminate targets at night. Onboard data processing services include focus stack merging and data...
Authors
Kenneth S. Edgett, Michael A. Caplinger, Justin N. Maki, Michael A. Ravine, F. Tony Ghaemi, Sean McNair, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Brian M. Duston, Reg G. Wilson, R. Aileen Yingst, Megan R. Kennedy, Michelle E. Minitti, Aaron J. Sengstacken, Kimberley D. Supulver, Leslie J. Lipkaman, Gillian M. Krezoski, Marie J. McBride, Tessa L. Jones, Brian E. Nixon, Jason K. Van Beek, Daniel J. Krysak, Randolph L. Kirk
Sediment-hosted stratabound copper deposit model Sediment-hosted stratabound copper deposit model
This report contains a descriptive model of sediment-hosted stratabound copper (SSC) deposits that supersedes the model of Cox and others (2003). This model is for use in assessments of mineral resource potential. SSC deposits are the second most important sources of copper in the world behind porphyry copper deposits. Around 20 percent of the copper in the world is produced from this...
Authors
Timothy S. Hayes, Dennis P. Cox, James D. Bliss, Nadine M. Piatak, Robert R. Seal,
Carbon dioxide storage in unconventional reservoirs workshop: summary of recommendations Carbon dioxide storage in unconventional reservoirs workshop: summary of recommendations
“Unconventional reservoirs” for carbon dioxide (CO2) storage—that is, geologic reservoirs in which changes to the rock trap CO2 and therefore contribute to CO2 storage—including coal, shale, basalt, and ultramafic rocks, were the focus of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) workshop held March 28 and 29, 2012, at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The...
Authors
Kevin B. Jones, Madalyn S. Blondes
Framework for a hydrologic climate-response network in New England Framework for a hydrologic climate-response network in New England
Many climate-related hydrologic variables in New England have changed in the past century, and many are expected to change during the next century. It is important to understand and monitor these changes because they can affect human water supply, hydroelectric power generation, transportation infrastructure, and stream and riparian ecology. This report describes a framework for...
Authors
Robert M. Lent, Glenn A. Hodgkins, Robert W. Dudley, Luther Schalk
California State Waters Map Series — Offshore of Salt Point, California California State Waters Map Series — Offshore of Salt Point, California
In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within the 3-nautical-mile limit of California’s State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration...
Authors
Samuel Y. Johnson, Peter Dartnell, Nadine E. Golden, Stephen R. Hartwell, Mercedes D. Erdey, H. Gary Greene, Guy R. Cochrane, Rikk G. Kvitek, Michael W. Manson, Charles A. Endris, Bryan E. Dieter, Janet Watt, Lisa M. Krigsman, Ray W. Sliter, Erik N. Lowe, John L. Chinn
Golden Eagle dietary responses in relation to habitat alteration and climate change in the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey NCA Golden Eagle dietary responses in relation to habitat alteration and climate change in the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey NCA
No abstract available.
Authors
Julie A. Heath, Michael N. Kochert
Nutrient attenuation in rivers and streams, Puget Sound Basin, Washington Nutrient attenuation in rivers and streams, Puget Sound Basin, Washington
Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus are important for aquatic ecosystem health. Excessive amounts of nutrients, however, can make aquatic ecosystems harmful for biota because enhanced growth and decay cycles of aquatic algae can reduce dissolved oxygen in the water. In Puget Sound marine waters, low dissolved oxygen concentrations are observed in a number of marine nearshore areas...
Authors
Rich W. Sheibley, Christopher P. Konrad, Robert W. Black