Publications
Filter Total Items: 34
Ecosystems, Ecosystem Services, and Biodiversity
Biodiversity—the variety of life on Earth—provides vital services that support and improve human health and well-being. Ecosystems, which are composed of living things that interact with the physical environment, provide numerous essential benefits to people. These benefits, termed ecosystem services, encompass four primary functions: provisioning materials, such as food and fiber; regulating crit
Authors
Douglas Lipton, Madeleine A. Rubenstein, Sarah R. Weiskopf, Shawn L. Carter, Jay Peterson, Lisa Crozier, Michael Fogarty, Sarah Gaichas, Kimberly J. W. Hyde, Toni Lyn Morelli, Jeffrey Morisette, Hassan Moustahfid, Roldan Munoz, Rajendra Poudel, Michelle D. Staudinger, Charles Stock, Laura Thompson, Robin S. Waples, Jake Weltzin
Southeast
The Southeast includes vast expanses of coastal and inland low-lying areas, the southern portion of the Appalachian Mountains, numerous high-growth metropolitan areas, and large rural expanses. These beaches and bayous, fields and forests, and cities and small towns are all at risk from a changing climate. While some climate change impacts, such as sea level rise and extreme downpours, are being a
Authors
Lynne Carter, Adam J. Terando, Kirstin Dow, Kevin Hiers, Kenneth E. Kunkel, Aranzazu R. Lascurain, Doug Marcy, Michael J. Osland, Paul Schramm
U.S. Caribbean
Historically, the U.S. Caribbean region has experienced relatively stable seasonal rainfall patterns, moderate annual temperature fluctuations, and a variety of extreme weather events, such as tropical storms, hurricanes, and drought. However, the Caribbean climate is changing and is projected to be increasingly variable as levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increase.The high percentage
Authors
William A. Gould, Ernesto L. Diaz, Nora L. Álvarez-Berríos, Felix Aponte-González, Wayne Archibald, Jared H. Bowden, Lisamarie Carrubba, Wanda Crespo, Stephen J. Fain, Grizelle González, Annmarie Goulbourne, Eric Harmsen, Eva Holupchinski, Azad H. Khalyani, James P. Kossin, Amanda J. Leinberger, Vanessa I. Marrero-Santiago, Odalys Martínez-Sánchez, Kathleen McGinley, Pablo Méndez-Lázaro, Julio Morrell, Melissa Meléndez Oyola, Isabel K. Parés-Ramos, Roger Pulwarty, William V. Sweet, Adam J. Terando, Sigfredo Torres-González
Northern Great Plains
In the Northern Great Plains, the timing and quantity of both precipitation and runoff have important consequences for water supplies, agricultural activities, and energy production. Overall, climate projections suggest that the number of heavy precipitation events (events with greater than 1 inch per day of rainfall) is projected to increase. Moving forward, the magnitude of year-to-year variabil
Authors
Richard T. Conant, Doug Kluck, Mark T. Anderson, Andrew Badger, Barbara M. Boustead, Justin D. Derner, Laura Farris, Michael Hayes, Ben Livneh, Shannon McNeeley, Dannele Peck, Martha Shulski, Valerie Small
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the Nation, almost one-fifth the size of the combined lower 48 United States, and is rich in natural capital resources. Alaska is often identified as being on the front lines of climate change since it is warming faster than any other state and faces a myriad of issues associated with a changing climate. The cost of infrastructure damage from a warming climate is pro
Authors
Carl Markon, Stephen Gray, Matthew Berman, Laura Eerkes-Medrano, Thomas Hennessy, Henry P. Huntington, Jeremy Littell, Molly McCammon, Richard Thoman, Sarah Trainor
Scientific integrity - Recent Department of the Interior policies, codes, and their implementation
Established on January 28, 2011, the Department of Interior's (DOI’s) Scientific and Scholarly Integrity Policy was the first federal agency policy to respond to the Presidential Memorandum on Scientific Integrity (March 9, 2009) and guidance issued by the Office of Science and Technology Policy Memorandum on Scientific Integrity (December 17, 2010). The increasingly important role of science in
Authors
Alan D. Thornhill, Richard Coleman
Case studies of riparian and watershed restoration in the southwestern United States—Principles, challenges, and successes
Globally, rivers and streams are highly altered by impoundments, diversions, and stream channelization associated with agricultural and water delivery needs. Climate change imposes additional challenges by further reducing discharge, introducing variability in seasonal precipitation patterns, and increasing temperatures. Collectively, these changes in a river or stream’s annual hydrology affects s
Authors
Barbara E. Ralston, Daniel A. Sarr
Student and recent graduate employment opportunities
As an unbiased, multidisciplinary science organization, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is dedicated to the timely, relevant, and impartial study of the health of our ecosystems and environment, our natural resources, the impacts of climate and land-use change, and the natural hazards that affect our lives. Opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as recent graduates, to pa
Authors
Grant opportunities for academic research and training
As an unbiased, multidisciplinary science organization, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is dedicated to the timely, relevant, and impartial study of the health of our ecosystems and environment, our natural resources, the impacts of climate and land-use change, and the natural hazards that affect our lives. Grant opportunities for researchers and faculty to participate in USGS science through th
Authors
Proceedings of the 12th Biennial Conference of research on the Colorado Plateau
Introduction
The Colorado Plateau is a physiographic region that encompasses 330,000 square kilometers in parts of four states in the southwestern United States (Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona). Known for its high deserts, the Colorado Plateau also includes isolated mountains, high plateaus, and rugged canyons. Not only is the region topographically diverse, but geologically, biologically
Formulating the American Geophysical Union's Scientific Integrity and Professional Ethics Policy: Challenges and lessons learned
Creating an ethics policy for a large, diverse geosciences organization is a challenge, especially in the midst of the current contentious dialogue in the media related to such issues as climate change, sustaining natural resources, and responding to natural hazards. In 2011, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) took on this challenge, creating an Ethics Task Force to update their ethics policies
Authors
Linda C. Gundersen, Randy Townsend
U.S. Geological Survey activities related to American Indians and Alaska Natives: Fiscal years 2009 and 2010
The U.S. Geological Survey is the earth and natural science bureau within the U.S. Department of the Interior. The U.S. Geological Survey provides impartial information on the health of our ecosystems and environment, the natural hazards that threaten us, the natural resources we rely on, the negative effects of climate and land-use change, and the core science systems that help us provide timely,
Authors
Monique Fordham, Maria R. Montour