Publications

IntroductionInland flooding, sea-level rise, and pollution pose challenges for Maine’s infrastructure and natural resources. A highly detailed, three-dimensional (3D) model of the Earth’s surface is allowing the State of Maine to address these challenges in an increasingly comprehensive and timely manner. In addition, highly accurate elevation data facilitate land development, forest management, a

The James Tributary Summary outlines change over time for a suite of monitored tidal water quality parameters and associated potential drivers of those trends for the period 1985 – 2021 and provides a brief description of the current state of knowledge explaining these observed changes. Water quality parameters described include surface (above pycnocline) total nitrogen (TN), surface total phospho

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Risk Research and Applications Community of Practice (Risk CoP) is a bureau-wide forum to share resources and discuss issues relevant to “conducting and applying scientific research in hazards—the dangerous processes or phenomena that may cause damage—to enhance the reduction of risk—the potential for societally relevant losses caused by hazards” (Ludwig and other

Integrating recent scientific knowledge into management decisions supports effective natural resource management and can lead to better resource outcomes. However, finding and accessing scientific knowledge can be time consuming and costly. To assist in this process, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) created a series of annotated bibliographies on topics of management concern for western lands. Pr

IntroductionThe Elk Hills Oil Field is one of the many fields selected for regional groundwater mapping and monitoring by the California State Water Resources Control Board as part of the Oil and Gas Regional Monitoring Program (California State Water Resources Control Board, 2015, 2022b; U.S. Geological Survey, 2022a). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the California State Wa

A variety of data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of South Padre Island, to better understand the physical and biological habitat in Tompkins Channel and adjacent seagrass beds in the lower Laguna Madre, Texas, where the construction of berms has been proposed in the City of South Padre Island’s Shoreline Master Plan. These berms would be used to create l

The U.S. Geological Survey is working with Federal land management agencies to develop a series of science syntheses to support environmental effects analyses that agencies conduct to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This report synthesizes science information about the potential effects of noise from oil and gas development on North American ungulates and small mammals, i

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The water management system within developed communities includes stormwater, wastewater, and drinking-water sources and sinks. Each water management system component provides critical services that support public health in these areas. Stormwater can be quite variable and difficult to manage in developed communities because the amount of stormwater that must be routed through a developed area dep

The 2022 annual report of the U.S. Geological Survey Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center highlights accomplishments of 2022, includes a list of 2022 publications, and summarizes the work of the center, as well as the work of each of its science groups. This product allows readers to gain a general understanding of the focus areas of the center’s scientific research and learn more about sp

Trace elements within groundwater that originate from aquifer materials and pose potential public-health hazards if consumed are known as geogenic contaminants. The geogenic contaminants arsenic, chromium, and vanadium can form negatively charged ions with oxygen known as oxyanions. Uranium complexes with bicarbonate and carbonate to form negatively charged ions having aqueous chemistry similar to

Surface-water availability has major implications for the environment and society in the 21st century. With climate change, increased drought severity, and altered water and land use, future water availability is predicted to continue to decline in many areas, including much of the western United States. An understanding of where and when water will be available at multiple scales is crucial for t