Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Articles

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.

Filter Total Items: 77874

Multi-decadal vegetation transformations of a New Mexico ponderosa pine landscape after severe fires and aerial seeding Multi-decadal vegetation transformations of a New Mexico ponderosa pine landscape after severe fires and aerial seeding

Wildfires and climate change are having transformative effects on vegetation composition and structure, and post-fire management may have long-lasting impacts on ecosystem reorganization. Post-fire aerial seeding treatments are commonly used to reduce runoff and soil erosion, but little is known about how seeding treatments affect native vegetation recovery over long periods of time...
Authors
Andreas Paul Wion, Jens T. Stevens, Kay Beeley, Rebecca Oertel, Ellis Q. Margolis, Craig D. Allen

Post-fire sediment yield from a central California watershed: Field measurements and validation of the WEPP model Post-fire sediment yield from a central California watershed: Field measurements and validation of the WEPP model

In a warming climate, an intensifying fire regime and higher likelihood of extreme rain are expected to increase watershed sediment yield in many regions. Understanding regional variability in landscape response to fire and post-fire rainfall is essential for managing water resources and infrastructure. We measured sediment yield resulting from sequential wildfire and extreme rain and...
Authors
Amy E. East, Joshua B. Logan, Helen Willemien Dow, Douglas P. Smith, Pat Iampietro, Jonathan A. Warrick, Thomas Lorenson, Leticia Hallas, Benjamin Kozlowicz

The influence of vesicularity on grain morphology in basaltic pyroclasts from Mauna Loa and Kīlauea volcanoes The influence of vesicularity on grain morphology in basaltic pyroclasts from Mauna Loa and Kīlauea volcanoes

Vesicularity of individual pyroclasts from airfall tephra deposits is an important parameter that is commonly measured at basaltic volcanoes. Conventional methods used to determine pyroclast vesicularity on a large number of clasts has the potential to be time consuming, particularly when rapid analysis is required. Here we propose dynamic image analysis on two-dimensional (2D)...
Authors
Kira van Helden, Johanne Schmith, Drew T. Downs

Integrating depth measurements from gaging stations with image archives for spectrally based remote sensing of river bathymetry Integrating depth measurements from gaging stations with image archives for spectrally based remote sensing of river bathymetry

Remote sensing can be an effective tool for mapping river bathymetry, but the need for direct measurements to calibrate image-derived depth estimates impedes broader application of this approach. One way to circumvent the need for field campaigns dedicated to calibration is to capitalize upon existing data. In this study, we introduce a framework for Bathymetric Mapping using Gage...
Authors
Carl J. Legleiter, Brandon Overstreet, Paul J. Kinzel

A global assessment of SAOCOM-1 L-band stripmap data for InSAR characterization of volcanic, tectonic, cryospheric, and anthropogenic deformation A global assessment of SAOCOM-1 L-band stripmap data for InSAR characterization of volcanic, tectonic, cryospheric, and anthropogenic deformation

SAOCOM-1 is an L-band (23.5 cm) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) constellation made up of two satellites launched in 2018 and 2020 by Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE, Argentina). In this contribution, we present a global summary of interferometric SAR (InSAR) observations of ground deformation with SAOCOM-1 stripmap data for tracking volcanic, tectonic, glacier, and...
Authors
Francisco Delgado, Tara Shreve, Sven Borgstrom, Pablo Le’on-Ibanez, Joaqu’in Castillo, Michael P. Poland

Using mobile acoustic monitoring and false-positive N-mixture models to estimate bat abundance and population trends Using mobile acoustic monitoring and false-positive N-mixture models to estimate bat abundance and population trends

Estimating the abundance of unmarked animal populations from acoustic data is challenging due to the inability to identify individuals and the need to adjust for observation biases including detectability (false negatives), species misclassification (false positives), and sampling exposure. Acoustic surveys conducted along mobile transects were designed to avoid counting individuals more...
Authors
Bradley James Udell, Bethany R. Straw, Susan C. Loeb, Kathryn Irvine, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Cori Lausen, Jonathan D. Reichard, Jeremy T.H. Coleman, Paul M. Cryan, Winifred F. Frick, Brian E. Reichert

The effects of flow extremes on native and non-native stream fishes in Puerto Rico The effects of flow extremes on native and non-native stream fishes in Puerto Rico

Globally, freshwater fishes are among the taxa most vulnerable to climate change but are generally understudied in tropical island ecosystems where climate change is predicted to alter the intensity, frequency and duration of extreme flow events. These changes may impact stream ecosystems and native and non-native biota in complex ways.We compiled an extensive dataset of fish assemblages...
Authors
B. J. E. Myers, A. C. Engman, A. Ramírez, A. Torres-Molinari, Abigail Lynch, Mitchell J. Eaton, P. B. Cooney, T. J. Kwak

Sixty-fifth supplement to the American Ornithological Society’s check-list of North American birds Sixty-fifth supplement to the American Ornithological Society’s check-list of North American birds

This is the 24th supplement since publication of the 7th edition of the Check-list of North American Birds (American Ornithologists’ Union [AOU] 1998). It summarizes decisions made between April 25, 2023 and April 30, 2024 by the American Ornithological Society’s (formerly American Ornithologists’ Union) Committee on Classification and Nomenclature—North and Middle America. The Committee...
Authors
R. Terry Chesser, Shawn Billerman, Kevin J Burns, Carla Cicero, Jon L. Dunn, Blanca Hernandez-Banos, Rosa Alicia Jimenez, Oscar W. Johnson, Andrew W. Kratter, Nicholas Mason, Pamela Ramussen, J.V. Remsen

Tire-derived contaminants 6PPD and 6PPD-Q: Analysis, sample handling, and reconnaissance of United States stream exposures Tire-derived contaminants 6PPD and 6PPD-Q: Analysis, sample handling, and reconnaissance of United States stream exposures

The environmental ubiquity of tire and road wear particles (TRWP) underscores the need to understand the occurrence, persistence, and environmental effects of tire-related chemicals in aquatic ecosystems. One such chemical is 6PPD-quinone (6PPD-Q), a transformation product of the tire antioxidant 6PPD. In urban stormwater runoff 6PPD-Q can exceed acute toxicity thresholds for several...
Authors
Rachael F. Lane, Kelly Smalling, Paul M. Bradley, Justin Blaine Greer, Stephanie E. Gordon, John D. Hansen, Dana W. Kolpin, Andrew R. Spanjer, Jason R. Masoner

Interactive effects of salinity and hydrology on radial growth of bald cypress (Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.) in coastal Louisiana, USA Interactive effects of salinity and hydrology on radial growth of bald cypress (Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.) in coastal Louisiana, USA

Tidal freshwater forests are usually located at or above the level of mean high water. Some Louisiana coastal forests are below mean high water, especially bald cypress (Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.) forests because flooding has increased due to the combined effects of global sea level rise and local subsidence. In addition, constructed channels from the coast inland act as conduits for...
Authors
Richard Day, Andrew From, Darren Johnson, Ken Krauss

Mitigating risk: Predicting H5N1 avian influenza spread with an empirical model of bird movement Mitigating risk: Predicting H5N1 avian influenza spread with an empirical model of bird movement

Understanding timing and distribution of virus spread is critical to global commercial and wildlife biosecurity management. A highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIv) global panzootic, affecting ~600 bird and mammal species globally and over 83 million birds across North America (Dec 2023), poses a serious global threat to animals and public health. We combined a large, long-term...
Authors
Fiona McDuie, Cory T. Overton, Austen Lorenz, Elliott Matchett, Andrea Mott, Desmond Alexander Mackell, Joshua T. Ackerman, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Vijay P. Patil, Diann Prosser, John Y. Takekawa, Dennis L. Orthmeyer, Maurice E. Pitesky, Samuel L. Diaz-Munoz, Brock M. Riggs, Joseph Gendreau, Eric T. Reed, Mark J. Petrie, Chris K. Williams, Jeffrey J. Buler, Matthew J. Hardy, Brian S. Ladman, Pierre Legagneux, Joel Bety, Philippe J. Thomas, Jean Rodrigue, Josee Lefebvre, Michael L. Casazza

Upland Yedoma taliks are an unpredicted source of atmospheric methane Upland Yedoma taliks are an unpredicted source of atmospheric methane

Landscape drying associated with permafrost thaw is expected to enhance microbial methane oxidation in arctic soils. Here we show that ice-rich, Yedoma permafrost deposits, comprising a disproportionately large fraction of pan-arctic soil carbon, present an alternate trajectory. Field and laboratory observations indicate that talik (perennially thawed soils in permafrost) development in
Authors
Katey M. Walter Anthony, Nicholas Hasson, Colin W. Edgar, Orit Sivan, Effrat Eliani-Russak, Oded Bergman, Burke J. Minsley, Stephanie R. James, Neal J. Pastick, Alexander Kholodov, Sergey Zimov, Eugenie Euskirchen, Marion S. Bret-Harte, Guido Grosse, Moritz Langer, Jan Nitzbon
Was this page helpful?