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.
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Climatic drivers of estuarine sediment dynamics Climatic drivers of estuarine sediment dynamics
Estuarine sediment dynamics are controlled by myriad physical processes that operate across broad spatiotemporal scales. On the smallest scales, interactions between turbulence and individual particles control mobilization and settling, while interactions across larger scales between freshwater and marine inflow can control decadal timescale geomorphic change. Climate change, through the...
Authors
Neil K. Ganju
Seed banks of rare Physostegia correllii (Lamiaceae) in Lady Bird Lake, Austin, Texas, U.S.A. Seed banks of rare Physostegia correllii (Lamiaceae) in Lady Bird Lake, Austin, Texas, U.S.A.
Rare species threatened by climate and land-use change may harbor seeds in soil seed banks for periods of time even if adults have disappeared from the site. Soil samples were collected from sites with current Phyostegia correllii populations and from sites with former populations in Lady Bird Lake (a reservoir of the Colorado River, Austin, Texas. A seedling emergence study was...
Authors
Beth Middleton, Casey R. Williams
Streamflow—Water year 2022 Streamflow—Water year 2022
The maps and graphs describe national streamflow conditions for water year 2022 (October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022) in the context of streamflow ranks relative to the 93-year period of water years 1930–2022. Annual runoff in the Nation’s rivers and streams during water year 2022 (8.97 inches) was a slighter smaller than the long-term (1930–2022) mean annual runoff of 9.39 inches for...
Authors
Xiaodong Jian, David M. Wolock, Harry F. Lins, Ronald J. Henderson, Steven J. Brady
Selenium hazards in the Salton Sea environment—Summary of current knowledge to inform future wetland management Selenium hazards in the Salton Sea environment—Summary of current knowledge to inform future wetland management
Quaternary marine and continental shales in the western United States are sources of selenium that can be loaded into the aquatic environment through mining, agricultural, and energy production processes. The mobilization of selenium from shales through agricultural irrigation has been recognized since the 1930s; however, discovery of deformities in birds and other wildlife using...
Authors
Michael R. Rosen, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Krishangi D. Groover, Isa Woo, Sarah A. Roberts, Melanie J. Davis, Cristiana Y. Antonino
PCB source assessment in the lower Clinton River, Clinton River Area of Concern, Mount Clemens, Michigan PCB source assessment in the lower Clinton River, Clinton River Area of Concern, Mount Clemens, Michigan
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), some of the earliest “forever chemicals,” were used for decades in the United States before 1979 when PCB manufacturing was banned. High PCB concentrations were found recently in the lower Clinton River in the Great Lakes drainage. To determine the possible existence, location, and significance of a current source of PCBs, the U.S. Geological Survey...
Authors
Barbara C. Scudder Eikenberry, Hayley T. Olds, Owen M. Stefaniak, David A. Alvarez
Shallow and local or deep and regional? Inferring source groundwater characteristics across mainstem riverbank discharge faces Shallow and local or deep and regional? Inferring source groundwater characteristics across mainstem riverbank discharge faces
Riverbank groundwater discharge faces are spatially extensive areas of preferential seepage that are exposed to air at low river flow. Some conceptual hydrologic models indicate discharge faces represent the spatial convergence of highly variable age and length groundwater flowpaths, while others indicate greater consistency in source groundwater characteristics. Our detailed field...
Authors
Adam Haynes, Martin A. Briggs, Eric Moore, Kevin Jackson, James Knighton, David M. Rey, Ashley Helton
Ocean current patterns drive the worldwide colonization of eelgrass (Zostera marina) Ocean current patterns drive the worldwide colonization of eelgrass (Zostera marina)
Currents are unique drivers of oceanic phylogeography and thus determine the distribution of marine coastal species, along with past glaciations and sea-level changes. Here we reconstruct the worldwide colonization history of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.), the most widely distributed marine flowering plant or seagrass from its origin in the Northwest Pacific, based on nuclear and...
Authors
Lei Yu, Marina Khachaturyan, Michael Matschiner, Adam Healey, Diane Bauer, Brenda Cameron, Mathieu Cusson, J. Emmett Duffy, F. Joel Fodrie, Diana Gill, Jane Grimwood, Masakazu Hori, Kevin Hovel, A. Randall Hughes, Marlene Jahnke, J. Jenkins, K. Keymanesh, C. Kruschel, S. Mamidi, Damian M. Menning, P. Moksnes, M. Nakaoka, C. Pennacchio, K. Reiss, F. Rossi, J. Ruesink, S. Schultz, S. Talbott, R. Unsworth, David H. Ward, T. Dagan, J. Schmutz, J. A. Eisen, J. Stachowicz, Y. Van de Peer, J. L. Olsen, T. B. H. Reusch
Adjacent and downstream effects of forest harvest on the distribution and abundance of larval headwater stream amphibians in the Oregon Coast Range Adjacent and downstream effects of forest harvest on the distribution and abundance of larval headwater stream amphibians in the Oregon Coast Range
Forest harvest is a primary landscape-scale management action affecting riparian forests. Although concerns about impacts of forest harvest on stream amphibians is generally limited to areas adjacent to harvest, there is a paucity of information regarding potential downstream effects of forest harvest on these species. We designed a before-after, control-impact (BACI) experiment to...
Authors
Adam Duarte, Nathan Chelgren, Jennifer Rowe, Christopher Pearl, Sherri L Johnson, Michael J. Adams
Hidden Markov movement models reveal diverse seasonal movement patterns in two North American ungulates Hidden Markov movement models reveal diverse seasonal movement patterns in two North American ungulates
Animal movement is the mechanism connecting landscapes to fitness, and understanding variation in seasonal animal movements has benefited from the analysis and categorization of animal displacement. However, seasonal movement patterns can defy classification when movements are highly variable. Hidden Markov movement models (HMMs) are a class of latent-state models well-suited to modeling...
Authors
J. Terrill Paterson, Aaron N. Johnston, Anna Ortega, Cody F. Wallace, Matthew J. Kauffman
Comparing sediment microbial communities of Arctic beaver ponds to tundra lakes and streams Comparing sediment microbial communities of Arctic beaver ponds to tundra lakes and streams
In recent decades the habitat of North American beaver (Castor canadensis) has expanded from boreal forests into Arctic tundra ecosystems. Beaver ponds in Arctic watersheds are known to alter stream biogeochemistry, which is likely coupled with changes in the activity and composition of microbial communities inhabiting beaver pond sediments. We investigated bacterial, archaeal, and...
Authors
Kelly Shannon, Natasha R. Christman, Byron C. Crump, Michael P. Carey, Joshua C. Koch, Laura L. Lapham, Jonathan A. O’Donnell, Brett A. Poulin, Ken D. Tape, Jason A. Clark, Frederick S. Colwell
Modeling global indices for estimating non-photosynthetic vegetation cover Modeling global indices for estimating non-photosynthetic vegetation cover
Non-photosynthetic vegetation (NPV) includes plant litter, senesced leaves, and crop residues. NPV plays an essential role in terrestrial ecosystem processes, and is an important indicator of drought severity, ecosystem disturbance, agricultural resilience, and wildfire danger. Current moderate spatial resolution multispectral satellite systems (e.g., Landsat and Sentinel-2) have only a...
Authors
Phillip Dennison, Brian T. Lamb, Michael J. Campbell, Raymond F. Kokaly, W. Dean Hively, Eric F. Vermote, Philip W. Dabney, Guy Serbin, Miguel Quemada, Craig S.T. Daughtry, Jeffery G. Masek, Zhuoting Wu
Compressional-wave seismic velocity, bulk density, and their empirical relations for geophysical modeling of the Midcontinent Rift System in the Lake Superior region Compressional-wave seismic velocity, bulk density, and their empirical relations for geophysical modeling of the Midcontinent Rift System in the Lake Superior region
Compressional-wave seismic velocity (velocity) and bulk density (density) data were compiled from published sources for rock suites and earth materials that are significant for geophysical modeling of the Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent Rift System in the Lake Superior region. The data include laboratory measurements of outcrop and drill core samples, seismic refraction studies, and a sonic...
Authors
V. J. S. Grauch