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The USGS provides unbiased, objective, and impartial scientific information upon which our audiences, including resource managers, planners, and other entities, rely.
Browse more than 65,000 articles authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS and refine search by topic, location, year, and advanced search.
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Quantitative mineral resource assessment of lithium pegmatite deposits in the northern Appalachian orogen, USA Quantitative mineral resource assessment of lithium pegmatite deposits in the northern Appalachian orogen, USA
Lithium demand is projected to increase more than 48 times by 2040 due to electric vehicle production and other energy storage needs. Most lithium production is outside of the USA, thereby increasing supply chain vulnerability. The combined end use importance and heightened supply risk of lithium make this lightest metallic element a critical commodity to the USA. To mitigate this supply...
Authors
Niki E. Wintzer, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Jacob Evan Poletti, Dalton M. McCaffrey, Stanley Paul Mordensky, Erik Roger Tharalson, Collin Cronkite-Ratcliff
The role of groundwater in contributing to surface water salinization in the Upper Colorado River Basin The role of groundwater in contributing to surface water salinization in the Upper Colorado River Basin
Freshwater salinization impacts the availability of water for human use and ecosystem needs worldwide. It has been estimated that total dissolved solids (TDS) in the Colorado River Basin cause $350 million/year in damages and substantial resources are devoted to reducing TDS loading to streams. This study describes the development and application of coupled watershed models that enable...
Authors
Matthew P. Miller, Olivia L. Miller, Patrick C. Longley, Daniel R. Wise, Morgan C. McDonnell, Noah M. Schmadel, Jay R. Alder
Water volumes, heat flow, and solute discharge from Old Faithful Geyser eruptions, Yellowstone National Park, USA Water volumes, heat flow, and solute discharge from Old Faithful Geyser eruptions, Yellowstone National Park, USA
The iconic Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park, USA, has attracted a significant amount of research because of the relative regularity and impressive size of its eruptions. Numerous studies have included observations, measurements, and analyses that informed models of geyser eruptions. However, fundamental quantities, including the associated mass and heat discharged, remain...
Authors
Shaul Hurwitz, R. Blaine McCleskey, Maxwell L. Rudolph, Sara Peek, David A. Roth, Melissa Schott-Atkins, Michael Manga, Kiernan F. Folz Donahue, Mara H. Reed, Jefferson D.G. Hungerford
A roadmap for implementing the Emergency Recovery Plan for freshwater biodiversity A roadmap for implementing the Emergency Recovery Plan for freshwater biodiversity
No abstract available.
Authors
Steve J. Cooke, Abigail Lynch, David Tickner, Robin Abell, Morgan L. Piczak, Angela H. Arthington, Michele Thieme, Denielle M. Perry, J. Robert Britton, Tatenda Dalu, Kim Birnie-Gauvin, Steve J. Ormerod, Fernanda Ayaviri Matuk, Rajeev Raghavan, John P. Smol
Characterizing changes in postfire debris-flow hazard as burned areas recover Characterizing changes in postfire debris-flow hazard as burned areas recover
Emergency assessments of postfire debris-flow hazards that are performed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provide estimates of debris-flow likelihood and rainfall triggering conditions that are used for evaluating and managing runoff-generated debris-flow hazards in recently burned areas throughout the western United States. Although the immediate postfire period, within roughly one...
Authors
Andrew Paul Graber, Matthew A. Thomas, Jason W. Kean, Jonathan Michael King, Jaime Kostelnik
The global proliferation of aquatic, benthic Microcoleus: Taxonomy, distribution, toxin production, ecology, and future directions The global proliferation of aquatic, benthic Microcoleus: Taxonomy, distribution, toxin production, ecology, and future directions
There have been sporadic reports of aquatic, benthic Microcoleus proliferations in freshwater rivers, lakes, and reservoirs for four decades, with reports increasing in frequency over the last twenty years, suggesting a possible rise in their global distribution, frequency, and intensity. Microcoleus can produce anatoxins which are neurotoxic, and ingestion of toxic mats has caused...
Authors
Laura T. Kelly, Daniel G Beach, Joanna R. Blaszczak, Keith Bouma-Gregson, Sydney M. Brown, Haowu Cheng, Janette L. Davidson, Jutta Fastner, Marcus Francis, Andrea Garcia Jimenez, Laurel Genzoli, Ramesh Goel, Diego Gonzalez, Kim M. Handley, Sabine Hilt, Jean-Francois Humbert, Rob Jamieson, Lindsay Johnston, Pilar Junier, Janice Lawrence, Pearse McCarron, Sven Meissner, Jacob Mormando, Jonathan Puddick, Catherine Quiblier, Nagasaijanani Rajpirathap, Charlotte Schampera, Andy Selwood, Karen Shearer, Abeer Sohrab, Rosalina Stancheva, Cecilio Valadez-Cano, Jordan M. Zebrecky, Susanna A. Wood
Morphometric properties of the CP-21 landing site on the Moon at Mons Gruithuisen Gamma Morphometric properties of the CP-21 landing site on the Moon at Mons Gruithuisen Gamma
Characterizing terrain surface properties is an essential step in assessing the feasibility of landing successfully at a location on a planetary surface. Slopes and terrain ruggedness index (TRI) values derived from high-resolution (2 m pixel−1) digital terrain models provided important constraints in selecting the landing site for the upcoming Payloads and Research Investigations on the...
Authors
Jean-Pierre Williams, Sarah Valencia, Kristen A. Bennett, Margaret E. Landis, Kerri L. Donaldson Hanna, Addison T. Dove, Patrick O'Brien, Brett W. Denevi, Justin Hagerty, Craig Hardgrove, Paul O. Hayne, Adam LaMee, Thomas H. Prettyman, Katherine A. Shirley, Matthew A. Siegler, Jessica M. Sunshine
Detecting bumble bees in the wild using environmental DNA: Development and validation of a qPCR assay for the endangered Franklin’s bumble bee (Bombus franklini) Detecting bumble bees in the wild using environmental DNA: Development and validation of a qPCR assay for the endangered Franklin’s bumble bee (Bombus franklini)
Environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling is a noninvasive alternative to conventional methods of surveying insects that may be particularly useful for detecting pollinators. We developed a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay to detect the DNA of Franklin’s bumble bee (Bombus franklini) from flower samples and conducted an initial test of the assay using samples collected within...
Authors
Michaela Ray Grossklaus, David S. Pilliod, Stephen Frank Spear, Matthew B B. Laramie, Akhil Kholwadwala, Amanda Jean Boone, Yer Lor, Marissa Kaminski, Jeffrey G. Everett
The WOAH global wildlife health collaborating centre network (WOAH-WildNet): A coordinated and transformative approach to global wildlife health challenges The WOAH global wildlife health collaborating centre network (WOAH-WildNet): A coordinated and transformative approach to global wildlife health challenges
Wildlife health is integral to functioning, complex ecosystems [1], directly and indirectly influencing the health of people, animals, plants, and the environment [2–4]. Healthy wildlife populations are essential for ecosystem services and are at the heart of the One Health approach [3,4], which aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals, and ecosystems...
Authors
David T.S. Hayman, Steve Unwin, Kelly Bateman, Casey Barton Behravesh, Charlotte Berg, Jemma Bergfeld, Cristina Casalone, Claire Cayol, Erin Davis, Sunday Ekesi, Johan Esterhuizen, Merid Getahun, Federica Giorda, Keith Hamilton, Damien O. Joly, Christa Kuhn, Jean-Claude Manuguerra, Daniel Masig, Anita Michel, Paolo Mulatti, Misheck Mulumba, Annah Njui, Richard Paley, Antonio Fernandez, Sascha Knauf, David Poumo Tchouassi, Youming Wang, Nathalie Vachiery, Jandouwe Villinger, Frank Y.K. Wong, Gongxun Zhong, B. Dharmaveer Shetty
Incorporating data sets with multiple sources of uncertainty in integrated species distribution models Incorporating data sets with multiple sources of uncertainty in integrated species distribution models
Data integration methods aim to improve species distribution estimates by incorporating multiple sources of uncertainty across datasets. Two major sources of uncertainty are: (1) variation in sampling effort across space and within datasets, and (2) variation in reliability associated with data collection protocols or timing among datasets. Our goal was to evaluate how different...
Authors
Fiona Lunt, C. Lane Scher, Riley Olivia Mummah, David A.W. Miller
Estimating GPS-based social aggregation metrics using collar data Estimating GPS-based social aggregation metrics using collar data
Understanding social aggregation patterns in ungulate herds is essential for gaining behavioral insights, optimizing resource use, reducing human-wildlife conflict, and managing disease risk. As chronic wasting disease is the preeminent disease-related threat to cervid populations in North America, knowledge of contact between individuals and spatiotemporal patterns of aggregation...
Authors
William Michael Janousek, Gavin G. Cotterill, Olivia J. Lobo, Eric K. Cole, Sarah R. Dewey, Tabitha A. Graves
Semantic segmentation of light-toned veins in multimodal ChemCam data Semantic segmentation of light-toned veins in multimodal ChemCam data
Since the Mars Science Laboratory landed in 2012, the ChemCam instrument aboard the rover has collected in-situ laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) data and context images along more than 35 km of the Gale Crater traverse, providing valuable observations including diagenetic features such as light-toned veins. These veins are of particular scientific interest because they are...
Authors
Ana Lomashvili, Kristin Rammelkamp, Protim Bhattacharjee, Olivier Gasnault, Elise Clavé, Christoph H. Egerland, Susanne Schröder, Travis S.J. Gabriel, Ari Essunfeld, Stéphane Le Mouélic, Begüm Demir