All Publications

Coastal wetlands are among the most important ecosystems on the planet but are increasingly imperiled by accelerating sea-level rise (SLR). In the past, biogeomorphic feedbacks have allowed coastal wetlands to adjust vertically and persist through periods of accelerated SLR. Recent rates of SLR are faster than any in recent geologic history, making the fate of coastal wetlands highly...

Urban green spaces (UGSs) are vital for enhancing a city’s resilience and livability; however, their functionality is increasingly jeopardized by drought, particularly in water-scarce regions. This study evaluates drought impact on UGSs in Metropolitan Adelaide, Australia, a representative semi-arid urban system, using satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time...

Decomposition of organic matter is critical to the biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nutrients in all ecosystems. In streams, decomposition can be influenced by anthropogenic impacts, including contaminants. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are resistant to degradation and widespread in freshwater ecosystems, yet little is known about their influence on organic matter...

Changing environmental conditions are increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather and environmental hazards, including heat waves, wildfires, drought, reduced water quality, and degraded air quality from ozone (O3) and fine particulate matter pollution (AghaKouchak et al., 2020; Bolinger et al., 2024; Colorado Health Institute, 2023a; Fann et al., 2015; IPCC, 2023a; Nagamoto...

Shifts in phytoplankton communities, from beneficial taxa that fuel food webs to harmful taxa that degrade water quality, are often linked to anthropogenic modifications to estuaries. We analyzed monitoring data from 2000 to 2023 in the heavily modified southern, landward portion of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (California, USA) to determine the status and drivers of phytoplankton...

Headwater catchments provide essential water and nutrients to downstream ecosystems. The timing and evolution of their transport is shaped in part by the “invisible” subsurface structure but have been largely unexplored at the watershed scale. This raises a fundamental question: how and to what extent does subsurface structure influence streamflow and solute transport in montane...

This editorial introduces the Special Issue entitled “Hyperspectral Narrowband Imaging Spectroscopy: A New Paradigm for Earth Observation” in the August 2026 issue of Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing (PE&RS), the flagship journal of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS). This volume represents the fourth dedicated hyperspectral special issue...

The giant gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) is a semi-aquatic species of snake endemic to marshes and sloughs in the Central Valley of California. Because the Central Valley has lost a substantial amount of wetland habitat, giant gartersnake populations are typically found in aquatic habitats associated with rice (Oryza sativa) agriculture. Therefore, changes to the amount and location of...

Many agricultural conservation practices (hereafter conservation practices) are intended to protect streams from the deleterious effects of agriculture, but desired effects of their implementation are not always realized. Understanding the pathways through which conservation practices influence stream health can guide future implementation. Our goal was to quantify how conservation...

Subsurface water ice deposits on Mars are an important resource for potential future human exploration. They are also an indicator of the planet’s past climate. However, the distribution of subsurface water ice in Mars’s midlatitudes is uncertain because spacecraft imagery cannot directly observe subsurface ice in most cases. Various spacecraft remote sensing instruments are sensitive to

Detailed and accurate historical data are crucial to characterizing landscape change, whether it is caused by natural phenomena or of anthropogenic origin. Aerial imagery has been periodically collected by government and nongovernment agencies, for a broad range of purposes, since the early 20th century. The acquisition of aerial images involves using standardized equipment with large...

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, has used MODFLOW 6 to develop a groundwater-flow model to simulate groundwater and surface-water interactions in the Mobile Bay, Alabama, area. The model results indicated that, on average, groundwater discharge near the coastline is equal to 2.5 percent of the surface water that flows into the...