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.
Mission Area Publications
Mission Area Publications
We are focused on some of the most significant issues society faces, and our science is making a substantial contribution to the well-being of the Nation and the world. Learn more about the major topics our research covers and the programs focused on those topics.
Filter Total Items: 175017
Evaluating the applicability of the generalized power-law rating curve model: With applications to paired discharge-stage data from Iceland, Sweden, and the United States Evaluating the applicability of the generalized power-law rating curve model: With applications to paired discharge-stage data from Iceland, Sweden, and the United States
Hydrologic research and operations make extensive use of streamflow time series. In most applications, these time series are estimated from rating curves, which relate flow to some easy-to-measure surrogate, typically stage. The conventional stage-discharge rating takes the form of a segmented power law, with one segment for each hydrologic control at the stream gauge. However, these...
Authors
Rafael Daniel Vias, Birgir Hrafnkelsson, Timothy O. Hodson, Sölvi Rögnvaldsson, Axel Örn Jansson, Sigurdur M. Gardarsson
Points of consensus on catch-and-release: Considerations for science, ethics, and fisheries management Points of consensus on catch-and-release: Considerations for science, ethics, and fisheries management
Catch-and-release (C&R), whether via regulations or voluntary actions, is typically employed with the intent of reducing fishing mortality while maintaining recreational angling opportunities (Isermann & Paukert, 2010), but there has been significant discourse about the relative importance of individual-level (see Cooke et al., 2025) vs. population-level (see Corsi et al., 2025) effects...
Authors
Matthew P. Corsi, Steven J. Cooke, Andy J. Danylchuk, Meaghan Guckian, Joseph Kozfkay, Michael C. Quist
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) mass flux and mass balance at an aqueous film-forming foam release site in semiarid eastern New Mexico, USA Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) mass flux and mass balance at an aqueous film-forming foam release site in semiarid eastern New Mexico, USA
Passive flux meters (PFMs) directly measure groundwater chemistry mass flux and Darcy flux, providing insight into contaminant source-zone architecture and transport properties. This study uses PFMs to characterize PFAS flux in groundwater at a semiarid site with a thick (greater than 90-m) unsaturated zone where groundwater has been contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances...
Authors
Erin Louise Gray, Samuel Edwin Potteiger, Trevor Dylan Brannon, Stuart Bryan Norton, Jay Cho, Michael D. Annable
Monitoring lava lake fluctuations and crater refilling with continuous laser rangefinders Monitoring lava lake fluctuations and crater refilling with continuous laser rangefinders
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) has developed a new method to continuously monitor lava lake elevations. Since 2018, HVO has stationed a laser rangefinder on Kīlauea’s caldera rim. The instrument automatically measures lava lake elevation each second, with centimeter accuracy. A stream of elevation data flows to HVO’s database and public website...
Authors
Edward F. Younger, William Tollett, Matthew R. Patrick
Patterns of water-extractable soil organic matter in the US Great Plains: Insights from the Haas Soil Archive Patterns of water-extractable soil organic matter in the US Great Plains: Insights from the Haas Soil Archive
Novel approaches that are fast and sensitive are needed to evaluate soil change and integrate soil ecosystem properties. Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) extracted from soil with water are associated with plant nutrients and microbial activity but information about change over time in the US Great Plains is sparse. We used cool (20°C) and hot (80°C) water extracts from historic (1947) and...
Authors
Jonathan J. Halvorson, Angela Hansen, Catherine E. Stewart, Mark A. Liebig
Aggregated space use by soft-released translocated Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) Aggregated space use by soft-released translocated Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus)
Translocated herpetofauna can exhibit irregular space use and movement patterns when compared with resident conspecifics. In Florida, USA, Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) are translocated throughout the state to mitigate habitat loss due to development. The postrelease space use of translocated Gopher Tortoises within soft-release pens can affect population dynamics and population
Authors
Max D. Jones, Kevin J. Loope, Vivian H. Porter, Danielle K. Walkup, Wade A. Ryberg, Jeremy R. Preston, Justin T. Johnson, Bruce W. Hagedorn, Robert Bilbow, Billy M. Moore, Brandon C. Bowers, Roel R. Lopez, Elizabeth Ann Hunter
Complex staged emplacement of a basaltic lava: The example of the July 1974 flow of Kīlauea Complex staged emplacement of a basaltic lava: The example of the July 1974 flow of Kīlauea
Basaltic lava flows can be highly destructive. Forecasting the future path and/or behavior of an active lava flow is challenging because topography is often poorly constrained and lava has a complex rheology and emplacement history. Preserved lavas are an important source of information which, combined with observations of active flows, underpins conceptual models of lava flow...
Authors
Sebastian Biass, Bruce F. Houghton, Edward W. Llewellin, Kristine C Curran, Thorvaldur Thordarson, Tim R. Orr, Carolyn Parcheta, Peter J. Mouginis-Mark
The effects of breeding status on common raven movement, home range, and habitat selection The effects of breeding status on common raven movement, home range, and habitat selection
Anthropogenic infrastructure has contributed to increasing common raven (Corvus corax) abundance across the Great Basin region of the United States, particularly in sagebrush ecosystems, where high raven densities are correlated with reduced sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) nest survival. Our understanding of how raven reproductive behavior affects sage-grouse nest predation is...
Authors
Julia C. Brockman, Peter S. Coates, John C. Tull, Pat J. Jackson, Shawn T. O’Neil, Perry J. Williams
Topographic controls on landslide mobility: Modeling hurricane-induced landslide runout and debris-flow inundation in Puerto Rico Topographic controls on landslide mobility: Modeling hurricane-induced landslide runout and debris-flow inundation in Puerto Rico
In 2017, Hurricane Maria triggered more than 70 000 landslides in Puerto Rico. After initiation, these predominantly shallow landslides were mobilized to varying extents – some landslides only traveled partway downslope, whereas others reached drainage channels and were mobilized into long-traveled debris flows that could severely impact roads and infrastructure. Thus, forecasting...
Authors
Dianne L. Brien, Mark E. Reid, Collin Cronkite-Ratcliff, Jonathan P. Perkins
The GorDAS Distributed Acoustic Sensing experiment above the Cascadia locked zone and subducted Gorda Slab The GorDAS Distributed Acoustic Sensing experiment above the Cascadia locked zone and subducted Gorda Slab
The southernmost portion of the Cascadia Subduction zone in Northern California produces high rates of moderate and large earthquakes owing to subduction of the Gorda slab and deformation associated with the Mendocino Triple Junction. Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) is rapidly advancing as a method for detecting earthquakes and imaging crustal structure. We have begun a long-term DAS...
Authors
Jeffrey J. McGuire, Andrew J. Barbour, Connie Stewart, Victor Yartsev, Martin Karrenbach, Mark Hemphill-Haley, Robert C. McPherson, Kari Stockdale, Clara Yoon, Theresa Marie Sawi
Assessment of western Oregon debris-flow hazards in burned and unburned environments Assessment of western Oregon debris-flow hazards in burned and unburned environments
In the steep and mountainous environment of western Oregon, debris flows pose a considerable threat to property, infrastructure and life. Wildfire is commonly known to increase the susceptibility of steep slopes to debris flows, but the extent of this process in the western Cascades is not well understood. The US Geological Survey (USGS) currently estimates postfire debris-flow...
Authors
Brittany Danielle Selander, Nancy C. Calhoun, William Burns, Jason W. Kean, Francis K. Rengers
Understanding predator-prey-competitor dynamics between Lower Missouri River Macrhybopsis and Scaphirhynchus using a population—bioenergetics model ensemble Understanding predator-prey-competitor dynamics between Lower Missouri River Macrhybopsis and Scaphirhynchus using a population—bioenergetics model ensemble
The pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus is a long-lived, endangered fish in the Missouri River. Individuals become piscivorous as adults, so recruitment from stocking or reproduction could reduce populations of prey, including Macrhybopsis chubs. We constructed an individual- and age-based, multi-species, predator-prey-competitor model (IAMP) to represent the benthic community...
Authors
Mark L. Wildhaber, Janice L. Albers, Nicholas S. Green