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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Patterns and drivers of cliff erosion in Big Sur, California, USA using repeat photogrammetry, 2017–2023 Patterns and drivers of cliff erosion in Big Sur, California, USA using repeat photogrammetry, 2017–2023
Seacliff erosion in steep terrain poses major risks to transportation and critical infrastructure. In Big Sur, California, USA, seacliff erosion threatens the sustainability of the central coast stretch of California State Route 1, a transportation corridor that is critical to the region's economy. Published cliff retreat rates for the region range from 1 to 40 cm yr−1, highlighting that...
Authors
Helen Willemien Dow, Jonathan A. Warrick, Andrew C. Ritchie
Patterns of floodplain forest mortality and recruitment along the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers: Associations with forest fragmentation and flood inundation Patterns of floodplain forest mortality and recruitment along the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers: Associations with forest fragmentation and flood inundation
Context
Authors
Nathan R. De Jager, Jason J. Rohweder, Molly Van Appledorn, Shelby A. Weiss, Matthew Trumper, Lyle J. Guyon
Patterns of recent brook trout invasion in bull trout streams in relation to habitat, source connectivity, biotic resistance, and disturbance Patterns of recent brook trout invasion in bull trout streams in relation to habitat, source connectivity, biotic resistance, and disturbance
Knowledge of which habitats are at risk of invasion by nonnative species is essential to conservation, but a changing climate often complicates assessments of where future invasions may occur. Nonnative brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis threaten cold-adapted native salmonids throughout western North America, and the extent of future invasions in coldwater streams is recognized as an area...
Authors
Nicholas S. Voss, Brett J. Bowersox, Daniel C. Nolfi, Michael C. Quist
Patterns of recent brook trout invasion in bull trout streams in relation to habitat, source connectivity, biotic resistance, and disturbance Patterns of recent brook trout invasion in bull trout streams in relation to habitat, source connectivity, biotic resistance, and disturbance
Anticipating biological invasions by nonnative species is critical to effective conservation. Nonnative brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis represents one of the most widespread threats to native bull trout Salvelinus confluentus, but the factors allowing or preventing ongoing range expansions are poorly understood. We addressed this uncertainty by resampling 221 survey locations in bull...
Authors
Nicholas S. Voss, Brett J. Bowersox, Daniel C. Nolfi, Michael C. Quist
Patterns of rift basin development and the fidelity of the subsidence record: Insights through Bayesian modeling of rapid tectonic subsidence in a Rio Grande rift basin, Socorro, NM, U.S.A Patterns of rift basin development and the fidelity of the subsidence record: Insights through Bayesian modeling of rapid tectonic subsidence in a Rio Grande rift basin, Socorro, NM, U.S.A
Characterizing tectonic subsidence rates within depositional sequences provides direct insight into the driving mechanism(s) of accommodation in a basin. However, the temporal resolution of this record is often stymied by a lack of high-precision and high-resolution ages, which enable a more complete description of basin subsidence drivers. We explore the effect of high-precision and...
Authors
Tyson Michael Smith, Sean Patrick Gaynor, Brenhin C. Keller, Magdalena E. Curry, Blair Schoene, Tom J. Lapen
PDCD-DAT: A global database of pyroclastic density current deposit field data PDCD-DAT: A global database of pyroclastic density current deposit field data
Pyroclastic density currents represent one of the deadliest hazards posed by active volcanoes. Analysis of their deposits provides valuable insights into their internal dynamics and informs numerical simulations of pyroclastic density currents which underpin many volcanic hazard assessments. We present PDCD-DAT, a global database of pyroclastic density current deposit characteristics...
Authors
Joshua I. Brown, Rebecca Williams, Sarah E. Ogburn, Brittany D. Brand, Eric C.P. Breard, Sylvain Charbonnier, Natasha Dowey, Josef Dufek, Mark Jellinek, Ulrich Kueppers, Gert Lube, Pete Rowley
Peak-, mean-, and low-streamflow regional-regression equations for natural streamflow in central and western Colorado, 2019 Peak-, mean-, and low-streamflow regional-regression equations for natural streamflow in central and western Colorado, 2019
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Colorado Department of Transportation, developed peak-, mean-, and low-streamflow regional-regression equations for estimating various statistics for natural streamflow in hydrologic regions of central and western Colorado. The peak-streamflow regression equations were developed using data from 418 streamgages, consisting of 15...
Authors
Michael S. Kohn, M. Alisa Mast, Tara A. Gross
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other contaminants of concern in tribal waters of Montana Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other contaminants of concern in tribal waters of Montana
We assessed potential exposures to a broad suite of contaminants (inorganic, organic and microbial) in culturally important surface waters from three watersheds in a northern plains Native American community (Apsáalooke [Crow Tribe of Montana]) in south-central Montana, United States, with water insecurity concerns. Inorganic (37), organic (435) and microbial (3) constituents were...
Authors
Kelly L. Smalling, Paul M. Bradley, Kristin M. Romanok, John T. Doyle, Margaret J. Eggers, Christine Martin, Elliott P. Barnhart, Picabo Binette, Eric M. Castro, Madisan Chavez, Stephanie A. Ewing, Stephanie E. Gordon, Mathew W. Fields, James L. Gray, Ashley M. Groshong, Chiachi Hwang, Leslie K. Kanagy, JoRee WClay LaFrance, Keith A. Loftin, Carrie Mae Long, R. Blaine McCleskey, Shannon M. Meppelink, Crystal L. Richards, Molly L. Schreiner, Jonathan I. Shikany, Mahelat Tesfamariam
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and pesticides in black bears (Ursus americanus) and grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) from Montana's Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem: A baseline assessment of emerging and legacy contaminants Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and pesticides in black bears (Ursus americanus) and grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) from Montana's Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem: A baseline assessment of emerging and legacy contaminants
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and pesticides are globally distributed contaminants that persist in terrestrial food webs, yet baseline data for large omnivores in the continental U.S. remain limited. This study quantified PFAS and pesticides in whole blood from free-ranging black bears (Ursus americanus, n = 15) and grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis, n = 9) in the...
Authors
Brian C. Balmer, Marina D. Rodriguez, Justin E. Teisberg, Michelle L. Hladik, Wayne F. Kasworm, Amber Kornak, Thomas G. Radandt, Landon M. Keele, Erin L. Pulster
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in waters associated with oil and gas development in the Denver Basin Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in waters associated with oil and gas development in the Denver Basin
Use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the petroleum industry could be a cause for concern due to the large volumes of produced water (PW) generated during oil and gas extraction, the reuse of these wastes in water-stressed regions, and adverse health outcomes related to PFAS exposures. However, PW PFAS characterization is nearly absent in the literature, and hydraulic...
Authors
Matthew S. Varonka, Aaron M. Jubb, Bonnie McDevitt, Jenna L. Shelton, Elliott P. Barnhart, Denise M. Akob, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli
Perceptions of parcel-level wildfire risk differ between homeowners and trained assessors in wildland-urban interface communities across the western United States Perceptions of parcel-level wildfire risk differ between homeowners and trained assessors in wildland-urban interface communities across the western United States
Wildfire risk mitigation on private property is central to reducing community wildfire vulnerability. Homeowners have control over many of the key factors that contribute to wildfire risk on their parcels, yet vulnerable conditions persist. One potential explanation is a misalignment between homeowners' and trained assessors' perceptions of parcel-level wildfire risk. Prior research has...
Authors
Kelly Wallace, Grant Webster, Hannah Brenkert-Smith, Patricia A. Champ, Colleen Donovan, Carolyn Wagner, Christopher M. Barth, Josh Kuehn, Suzanne Wittenbrink, James R. Meldrum
Performance evaluation and methods comparison of transcriptomic-based approaches for the characterization of wastewater treatment effluent Performance evaluation and methods comparison of transcriptomic-based approaches for the characterization of wastewater treatment effluent
Wastewater treatment effluents (WWTE) present complex risks to aquatic ecosystems that are difficult to characterize using traditional methods. This study systematically evaluated the consistency and performance of transcriptomic-based approaches over time with repeated sampling and with differing experimental approaches (selection of reference condition, grab vs. composite sampling...
Authors
Adam Biales, M. S. Hu, D. C. Bencic, M. J. See, Susan T. Glassmeyer, E.T. Furlong, Julia M. Stelman, W. Huang, Dana W. Kolpin, Marc A. Mills, L. D. Brunelle, Angela L. Batt, S. Thomas Purucker