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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.

Filter Total Items: 175531

Fault roughness at seismogenic depths and links to earthquake behavior Fault roughness at seismogenic depths and links to earthquake behavior

Fault geometry affects the initiation, propagation, and cessation of earthquake rupture, as well as, potentially, the statistical behavior of earthquake sequences. We analyze 18,250 (−0.27
Authors
Elizabeth S. Cochran, Morgan T. Page, Nicholas van der Elst, Zachary E. Ross, Daniel T. Trugman

Effects of environment and metacommunity delineation on multiple dimensions of stream fish beta diversity Effects of environment and metacommunity delineation on multiple dimensions of stream fish beta diversity

Introduction: Beta diversity represents changes in community composition among locations across a landscape. While the effects of human activities on beta diversity are becoming clearer, few studies have considered human effects on the three dimensions of beta diversity: taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic. Including anthropogenic factors and multiple dimensions of biodiversity may...
Authors
Lauren Stocsynski, Mark C. Scott, Luke Max Bower, Brandon K. Peoples

Microscale spatial variations in coseismic temperature rise on hematite fault mirrors in the Wasatch fault damage zone Microscale spatial variations in coseismic temperature rise on hematite fault mirrors in the Wasatch fault damage zone

Coseismic temperature rise activates fault dynamic weakening that promotes earthquake rupture propagation. The spatial scales over which peak temperatures vary on slip surfaces are challenging to identify in the rock record. We present microstructural observations and electron backscatter diffraction data from three small-displacement hematite-coated fault mirrors (FMs) in the Wasatch...
Authors
Robert Gregory McDermott, Alexis K. Ault, Kelsey F. Wetzel, James P. Evans, Fen-Ann Shen

Increasing hypoxia on global coral reefs under ocean warming Increasing hypoxia on global coral reefs under ocean warming

Ocean deoxygenation is predicted to threaten marine ecosystems globally. However, current and future oxygen concentrations and the occurrence of hypoxic events on coral reefs remain underexplored. Here, using autonomous sensor data to explore oxygen variability and hypoxia exposure at 32 representative reef sites, we reveal that hypoxia is already pervasive on many reefs. Eighty-four...
Authors
Ariel K. Pezner, Travis A. Courtney, Hannah Barkley, Wen-Chen Chou, Hui-Chuan Chu, Samanth M. Clements, Tyler Cyronak, Michael D. DeGrandpre, Samuel A.H. Kekuewa, David I Kline, Yi-Bei Liang, Todd R. Martz, Satoshi Mitarai, Heather N. Page, Max S. Rintoul, Jennifer E. Smith, Keryea Soong, Yuichiro Takeshita, Martin Tresguerres, Yi Wei, Kimberly K. Yates, Andreas J Andersson

A 600-kyr reconstruction of deep Arctic seawater δ18O from benthic foraminiferal oxygen isotopes and ostracode Mg/Ca paleothermometry A 600-kyr reconstruction of deep Arctic seawater δ18O from benthic foraminiferal oxygen isotopes and ostracode Mg/Ca paleothermometry

The oxygen isotopic composition of benthic foraminiferal tests (δ18Ob) is one of the pre-eminent tools for correlating marine sediments and interpreting past terrestrial ice volume and deep-ocean temperatures. Despite the prevalence of δ18Ob applications to marine sediment cores over the Quaternary, its use is limited in the Arctic Ocean because of low benthic foraminiferal abundances...
Authors
Jesse Farmer, Katherine Keller, Robert Poirier, Gary S. Dwyer, Morgan Schaller, Helen K Coxall, Matt O’Regan, Thomas M. Cronin

Editorial: Volcanic forecasting, crisis management, and risk communication Editorial: Volcanic forecasting, crisis management, and risk communication

Volcanic eruptions intermittently punctuate periods of repose at volcanic centers and fields. Forecasting the timing, style, distribution, and magnitude of these eruptions is difficult, because eruptive activity varies over time, commonly in an irregular way. Furthermore, the impacts of eruptions can include loss of lives, property damage, and social and economic disturbance, where every...
Authors
Supriyati Andreastuti, Heather M. Wright, Karen Fontijn, Victoria Miller

Geospatial standard operating procedures of the Chesapeake Bay Program Geospatial standard operating procedures of the Chesapeake Bay Program

Introduction The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) has operated a geographic information system (GIS) program since the early 1990s to address the established and growing need for and use of geospatial data, maps, and analysis within the CBP Partnership. This report is intended to detail the standard operating procedures of the CBP GIS program and address the quality assurance, quality...
Authors
John C. Wolf, Labeeb Ahmed, Peter Claggett, Andrew Fitch, Frederick Irani, Sarah McDonald, David Strong, Renee Thompson, Zhaoying Wei

Dynamics of the December 2020 ash-poor plume formed by lava-water interaction at the summit of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii Dynamics of the December 2020 ash-poor plume formed by lava-water interaction at the summit of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

On 20 December 2020, after more than 2 years of quiescence at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, renewed volcanic activity in the summit crater caused boiling of the water lake over a period of ∼90 min. The resulting water-rich, electrified plume rose to 11–13 km above sea level, which is among the highest plumes on record for Kīlauea. Although conventional models would infer a high mass flux...
Authors
Ryan Cain Cahalan, Larry G. Mastin, Alexa R. Van Eaton, Shaul Hurwitz, Adam B. Smith, Josef Dufek, Stephen A. Solovitz, Matthew R. Patrick, Jo Schmith, Carolyn Parcheta, Weston Thelen, Drew T. Downs

Diurnal time–activity budget and habitat use of Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) in the reintroduced Louisiana nonmigratory population Diurnal time–activity budget and habitat use of Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) in the reintroduced Louisiana nonmigratory population

Time–activity budget studies provide valuable insights for better understanding animal behavior relative to spatial and temporal habitat use. We examined a reintroduced, nonmigratory Whooping Crane (Grus americana) population to determine how time–activity budgets change relative to crane age, sex, habitat type, and season. Our study area encompassed natural marshes and working wetlands...
Authors
Phillip L. Vasseur, Sammy L. King, Michael D. Kaller

Crossing the threshold: Invasive grasses inhibit forest restoration on Hawaiian islands Crossing the threshold: Invasive grasses inhibit forest restoration on Hawaiian islands

Forest removal for livestock grazing is a striking example of human-caused state change leading to a stable, undesirable invasive grass system that is resistant to restoration efforts. Understanding which factors lead to resilience to the alternative grass state can greatly benefit managers when planning forest restoration. We address how thresholds of grass cover and seed rain might...
Authors
Evan M Rehm, Carla M. D'Antonio, Stephanie G. Yelenik

Ecological harm and economic damages of chemical contamination to linked aquatic-terrestrial food webs: A study-design tool for practitioners Ecological harm and economic damages of chemical contamination to linked aquatic-terrestrial food webs: A study-design tool for practitioners

Contamination of aquatic ecosystems can have cascading effects on terrestrial consumers by altering the availability and quality of aquatic insect prey. Comprehensive assessment of these indirect food-web effects of contaminants on natural resources and their associated services necessitates using both ecological and economic tools. In the present study we present an aquatic-terrestrial...
Authors
Johanna M. Kraus, Kristin Skrabis, Serena Ciparis, John Isanhart, Aleshia Kenney, Jo Ellen Hinck

Development of a benchmark eddy flux evapotranspiration dataset for evaluation of satellite-driven evapotranspiration models over the CONUS Development of a benchmark eddy flux evapotranspiration dataset for evaluation of satellite-driven evapotranspiration models over the CONUS

A large sample of ground-based evapotranspiration (ET) measurements made in the United States, primarily from eddy covariance systems, were post-processed to produce a benchmark ET dataset. The dataset was produced primarily to support the intercomparison and evaluation of the OpenET satellite-based remote sensing ET (RSET) models and could also be used to evaluate ET data from other...
Authors
J. M. Volk, Justin Huntington, Forrest M. Melton, Richard Allen, Martha C. Anderson, Joshua B. Fisher, Ayse Kilic, Gabriel B. Senay, Gregory Halverson, Kyle Knipper, Blake Minor, Christopher Pearson, Tianxin Wang, Yun Yang, Steven R. Evett, Andrew N. French, Richard L. Jasoni, William P. Kustas
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