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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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Changes in aeolian saltation cloud properties with wind speed and ripples Changes in aeolian saltation cloud properties with wind speed and ripples
Aeolian sediment transport shapes landscapes on Earth and other planetary surfaces, yet key uncertainties remain in how the near-bed saltation cloud responds to changing wind and surface conditions. Leveraging recent advances in image-based particle tracking, we conducted wind tunnel experiments using high-speed imaging and Particle Tracking Velocimetry to quantify sand grain...
Authors
Madeline Margaret Kelley, Ian J. Walker, Mark W. Schmeeckle, Christy Swann, Ron Dorn, Michaela Roberts, Patrick O'Brien
Impacts of onshore wind energy production on biodiversity Impacts of onshore wind energy production on biodiversity
Wind is increasingly used as a renewable source of energy worldwide. However, harvesting wind energy can have negative consequences for biodiversity. In this Review, we summarize the growth of onshore wind power, its impacts on species and ecosystems, and how those impacts are assessed and mitigated. Across the construction, operation and decommissioning stages, wind facilities are...
Authors
Todd E. Katzner, David M. Nelson, Ana Teresa Marques, Christian C. Voigt, Sergio A Lambertucci, Natalia Rebolo, Enrico Bernard, Robert H. Diehl, Megan Murgatroyd
Speleothem evidence for Late Miocene extreme Arctic amplification – An analogue for near-future anthropogenic climate change? Speleothem evidence for Late Miocene extreme Arctic amplification – An analogue for near-future anthropogenic climate change?
The Miocene provides an excellent climatic analogue for near-future runaway anthropogenic warming, with atmospheric CO2 concentrations and global average temperatures similar to those projected for the coming century under extreme-emissions scenarios. However, the magnitude of Miocene Arctic warming remains unclear due to the scarcity of reliable proxy data. Here we use stable oxygen...
Authors
Stuart Umbo, Franziska Lechleitner, Thomas Opel, Sevasti Modestou, Tobias Braun, Anton Vaks, Gideon Henderson, Pete Scott, Alexander Osintzev, Alexander Kononov, Irina Adrian, Yuri Dublyansky, Alena Maria Giesche, Sebastian F.M. Breitenbach
Simple bagged movement models for telemetry data Simple bagged movement models for telemetry data
Determining which statistical methods are appropriate for data is both user and data dependent and prone to change as new methodology becomes available. This process encompasses model ideation, model selection, and determining appropriate use of statistical methods. Literature on models for animal movement emerging in the past two decades has yielded a rich collection of statistical...
Authors
Andrew B. Whetten, Trevor J. Hefley, David A. Haukos, Dustin E. Brewer
Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum, 1792) life history influences how diagnostic cranial structures relate to fish length Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum, 1792) life history influences how diagnostic cranial structures relate to fish length
Diagnostic bones can aid in identification and size determination of fishes from ingested prey, archaeological remains or damaged specimens. We extracted diagnostic structures, including cleithra, dentaries, opercles and otoliths, from juvenile spring Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) from three distinct groups: hatchery, naturally produced and surrogate, representing shared...
Authors
Jeremy D. Romer, Kevin A. Stertz, Keiara Pham, Christina Amy Murphy
Reducing bias in shorebird nest survival rates across a large Arctic landscape Reducing bias in shorebird nest survival rates across a large Arctic landscape
Reproductive success is a key demographic parameter that can have profound impacts on a species' population trend. Indeed, poor reproductive success has been suggested as a contributing factor to the declines observed in many species of birds, including Arctic-breeding shorebirds. However, the available information on Arctic-breeding shorebird nest survival is restricted to a limited...
Authors
Sarah T. Saalfeld, Emily L. Weiser, Stephen C. Brown, Christopher Latty, Shiloh Schulte, R. B. Lanctot
Small fish, big implications: Considerations for an ecosystem approach to capelin fisheries management Small fish, big implications: Considerations for an ecosystem approach to capelin fisheries management
Climate-driven changes in the Subarctic will directly impact capelin populations and the ecosystem they inhabit, including their predators, prey, and physical habitats. Consequently, incorporating ecosystem considerations in future capelin fisheries management is crucial. In this study, a multidisciplinary group of experts critically evaluated whether the current capelin stock assessment...
Authors
Warsha Singh, John T. Trochta, Hannah M. Hannah M. Murphy, David W. McGowan, Aaron T. Adamack, Mayumi L. Arimitsu, Birkir Barðarson, Höskuldur Björnsson, Bjarte Bogstad, Mathieu Boudreau, Catherine Chambers, Harald Gjøsæter, Teunis Jansen, Sigurður Þ. Jónsson, Sturla Kvamsdal, Ron S. Lewis, Nina Mikkelsen, Torstein Pedersen, Anna H. Olafsdottir, Maartje Oostdijk, Teresa Silva, Georg Skaret, Robert M. Suryan, Sam Subbey
Evaluation of polymer-based dust palliatives in soil and stormwater runoff in an arid environment Evaluation of polymer-based dust palliatives in soil and stormwater runoff in an arid environment
Dust palliatives are used to reduce fugitive dust in areas susceptible to erosion by wind and rain. In 2015, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) temporarily approved the use of polymer-based dust palliatives during the construction and operation of a solar energy facility and, in 2019, on a mining access road in Clark County, Nevada. The areas treated with palliative are habitat to the...
Authors
Angela Paul, Erin L. Orozco-Whitaker, S. Shamsuddin, Peng Xiang, Eric Landry
Seasonal variation in bay-marsh sediment exchange through a back-barrier salt marsh tidal creek Seasonal variation in bay-marsh sediment exchange through a back-barrier salt marsh tidal creek
Salt marsh resilience to sea-level rise largely depends on the balance of sediment exchanges with surrounding bays. In this study, we investigate mechanisms that determine residual sediment fluxes using continuous measurements of bay-marsh sediment exchange conducted in a tidal creek spanning 13 months (753 tidal cycles) in an intertidal marsh recently subsidized with sediment via thin...
Authors
Gregg A. Snedden, S. Jarrell Smith
Mitigating flood risks in urban estuaries: Tidal dynamics, shoreline hardening, nature-based solutions, and floodgates in San Francisco Bay Mitigating flood risks in urban estuaries: Tidal dynamics, shoreline hardening, nature-based solutions, and floodgates in San Francisco Bay
Hydrodynamic models are valuable tools for understanding the primary factors influencing daily and peak water levels and for guiding discussions on potential adaptation strategies for managing flood risk in coastal areas. This analysis uses the Delft3D San Francisco Bay-Delta Community Model to simulate water levels and incorporates the effects of a number of adaptation measures in the...
Authors
Kees Nederhoff, Rohin Saleh, Patrick L. Barnard, Mark T. Stacey
Invasive predatory fish occupies highest trophic position leading to expansion of isotopic niches in a riverine food web Invasive predatory fish occupies highest trophic position leading to expansion of isotopic niches in a riverine food web
Invasive species are drivers of ecological change with the potential to reshape the structure and function of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The invasive flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) is an opportunistic predator that has established a rapidly growing population in the Susquehanna River, Pennsylvania, USA, since they were first detected in 2002. Although the predatory...
Authors
Olivia C. Hodgson, Sydney Stark, Megan K. Schall, Geoffrey D. Smith, Kelly Smalling, Tyler Wagner
Placing environmental DNA monitoring for new detections into perspective: Fishes in the Milwaukee River, Wisconsin Placing environmental DNA monitoring for new detections into perspective: Fishes in the Milwaukee River, Wisconsin
Invasive species management frameworks, such as the early detection of and rapid response to invasive species, use monitoring programs to detect new species occurrences. Resource managers use environmental DNA (eDNA) as one tool for these monitoring programs. An eDNA detection in a new location may lack perspective for resource managers and researchers because of the rarity of potential...
Authors
Richard A. Erickson, Patrick W. DeHaan, Nicholas K. Frohnauer, Cari-Ann Hayer, Keta L. Oettinger, Tariq Tajjioui, Kyle M. Von Ruden, Hailey M. Willner, Stephen Frank Spear