Publications

IntroductionThe Rocky Mountains and the Colorado River Basin in the Western United States are complex, interconnected systems that sustain a large variety of species, including tens of millions of humans. These regions face risks from drought, wildfires, invasive plant and animal species, and habitat reduction. Working with many stakeholders, scientists can help to characterize these...

Executive Summary This report addresses system characterization of the Indian Space Research Organisation Resourcesat-2A Linear Imaging Self Scanning-3 sensor and is part of a series of system characterization reports produced and delivered by the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Cal/Val Center of Excellence since 2021. These reports present and detail the...

The eastern migratory monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) population has declined by ∼84% between 1993 and 2024. Population recovery in the Midwestern United States is limited by the availability of the monarch's main host plant for egg laying—common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). The extent to which common milkweed availability is limiting in other breeding regions is unknown. Our...

Climate change is likely to affect infectious diseases that are facilitated by biological invasions, with repercussions for wildlife conservation and zoonotic risks. Current invasion management and policy are underprepared for the future risks associated with such invasion-related wildlife diseases. By considering evidence from bioclimatology, invasion biology, and disease research, we...

Water temperature is a primary control on the occurrence and distribution of fish and other ectothermic aquatic species. In the Pacific Northwest, cold-water species such as Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) have specific temperature requirements during different life stages that must be met to ensure the viability of their populations. Rivers...

The hydrogeologic framework at closed-loop geothermal sites in the Erie-Ontario Lowlands and Allegheny Plateau of central and western New York is the result of the complex interaction of bedrock geology, glacial geology, and groundwater hydrology, and the occurrence of petroleum and gas. Considerations for closed-loop geothermal bore installation include the thickness and character of...

During prolonged periods of above-average precipitation, rising groundwater levels have the potential to cause damage to and interfere with underground infrastructure and building foundations. To understand the relations between precipitation and groundwater in the vicinity of Lake Nokomis, the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with the University of Minnesota, quantified five...

Introduction The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Environmental Health Program conducts various activities related to PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) to understand their impacts on human health and the environment. Through these activities, the program aims to provide critical information and resources to address the challenges posed by PFAS contamination.

This study evaluates the potential water availability in Barka Slough and the effects of changing hydrological conditions on the aquatic habitat of five protected species. Barka Slough is a historically perennial wetland at the downstream western end of the San Antonio Creek Valley watershed (SACVW). A previously published hydrologic model of the SACVW for 1948–2018 was extended to...

Fisheries encompass humans and fish, but fisheries researchers rarely model human–nature interactions over space and time. I filled this information gap for dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus), a popular, widely distributed species that supports industrial, artisanal, recreational, and subsistence fisheries. Dolphinfish human–nature interactions showed a long-term up-and-down pattern in...

We obtained 12 core samples for physical and chemical characterization from three serpentinite mud volcanoes (Yinazao, Asùt Tesoru, and Fantangisña) located on the forearc of the Mariana subduction system, that were drilled during International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 366. Two samples from the Fantangisña mud volcano are interpreted to be clay-rich fault gouges derived from...

Users of Earth remotely sensed optical imagery are increasingly demanding a surface reflectance or surface temperature product instead of the top-of-atmosphere products that have been produced historically. Validating the accuracy of surface products remains a difficult task since it involves assessment across a range of atmospheric profiles, as well as many different land surface types...