Articles
Science Quality and Integrity
The USGS provides unbiased, objective, and impartial scientific information upon which our audiences, including resource managers, planners, and other entities, rely.
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.
Filter Total Items: 77373
Multi-scale predictors of Northern Long-eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis) occupancy in the United States Multi-scale predictors of Northern Long-eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis) occupancy in the United States
Historically, Myotis septentrionalis (Northern Long eared Bat) was among the most common forest-interior species in North America. Largely due to high mortality from white-nose syndrome, this species has experienced severe population declines across its range. To create an updated species distribution map representing summer occupancy probabilities from 2017 to 2022, we integrated...
Authors
Amy Kristine Wray, Bradley James Udell, Helen Trice Davis, Richard D. Inman, Bennet Thomas Lohre, Haley Breiann Price, Jonathan D. Reichard, Andrea Nichole Schuhmann, Bethany Straw, Frank Charles Tousley, Jill Utrup, Ashton M. Wiens, Brian Reichert
STREAMS guidelines: Standards for technical reporting in environmental and host-associated microbiome studies STREAMS guidelines: Standards for technical reporting in environmental and host-associated microbiome studies
The interdisciplinary nature of microbiome research, coupled with the generation of complex multi-omics data, makes knowledge sharing challenging. The Strengthening the Organization and Reporting of Microbiome Studies (STORMS) guidelines provide a checklist for the reporting of study information, experimental design and analytical methods within a scientific manuscript on human...
Authors
Julia Kelliher, Chloe Mirzayi, Sarah R. Bordenstein, Aaron Oliver, Christina A. Kellogg, Eneida L. Hatcher, Maureen Berg, Petr Baldrian, Mashael Aljumaah, Cassandra Maria Miller, Christopher Mungall, Vlastimil Novak, Alexis Palucki, Ethan Smith, Nazifa Tabassum, Gregory Bonito, J. Rodney Brister, Patrick S. Chain, Jose Pablo Dundore-Arias, Joanne B. Emerson, Vanessa Moreira Fernandes, Roberto Flores, Antonio Gonzalez, Zoe A. Hansen, Scott A. Jackson, Ahmed M. Moustafa, Trent R. Northen, Nonia Pariente, Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Sydne Record, Linta Reji, Anna-Louise Reysenbach, Virginia I. Rich, Lorna Richardson, Simon Roux, Lynn M. Schriml, Reed S. Shabman, Maria A. Sierra, Matthew B. Sullivan, Punithavathi Sundaramurthy, Katherine M. Thibault, Luke R. Thompson, Scott W. Tighe, Ethell Vereen, Emiley A. Eloe-Fadrosh
Evaluating Three-Dimensional Elevation Program lidar consistency and accuracy at scale using cloud-native, open-source methods Evaluating Three-Dimensional Elevation Program lidar consistency and accuracy at scale using cloud-native, open-source methods
The U.S. Geological Survey three-dimensional elevation program (3DEP) has significantly expanded national lidar coverage, necessitating scalable, reproducible methods for assessing data quality across diverse terrains and acquisition conditions. This study introduces a cloud-native, open-source workflow designed to evaluate the geometric accuracy and consistency of 3DEP lidar data sets...
Authors
Aparajithan Sampath, Jeffrey Irwin, Jason M. Stoker
Estimation of dynamic geologic CO2 storage resources in the Illinois Basin, including effects of brine extraction, anisotropy, and hydrogeologic heterogeneity Estimation of dynamic geologic CO2 storage resources in the Illinois Basin, including effects of brine extraction, anisotropy, and hydrogeologic heterogeneity
Since the vast majority of carbon dioxide (CO2) storage resources in the United States are in deep saline aquifers, optimizing the use of these saline storage resources could be crucial for efficient development of geologic CO2 storage (GCS) resources and basin- or larger-scale deployment of GCS in the country. Maximum CO2 injection rates can be enhanced by extracting brine from the CO2...
Authors
Michelle R. Plampin, Steven T. Anderson, Stefan Finsterle, Ashton M. Wiens
The continued decline of the Palila (Loxioides bailleui) on Mauna Kea, Island of Hawaiʻi The continued decline of the Palila (Loxioides bailleui) on Mauna Kea, Island of Hawaiʻi
Palila (Loxioides bailleui) are critically endangered Hawaiian honeycreepers specializing on māmane (Sophora chrysophylla) seeds and restricted to Mauna Kea volcano on the Island of Hawaiʻi. Recently, the population was estimated to decline by 89% between 1998 and 2021, despite decades of ungulate removal, fence construction, māmane regeneration, fire suppression, and predator control...
Authors
Noah Hunt, Chauncey K. Asing, Lindsey Nietmann, Paul C. Banko, Richard J. Camp
Pre-eruptive characteristics of “suspect” silicic magmas in Carlin-type Au-forming systems Pre-eruptive characteristics of “suspect” silicic magmas in Carlin-type Au-forming systems
World-class Carlin-type Au deposits hosted in sedimentary rock were formed when profuse Eocene silicic magmatism swept across northern Nevada in response to arc migration. Carlin-type Au deposits formed along with porphyry/skarn Cu-Mo-W-Au deposits, epithermal Ag-Au deposits, and distal disseminated Ag-Au deposits. But unlike these other Au-bearing deposits that have clear associations...
Authors
Celestine N. Mercer, Julie Roberge, Regina Marie Khoury, Albert H. Hofstra
Predicting niche spaces of expanding Evening Bat (Nycticeius humeralis) populations following white-nose syndrome establishment Predicting niche spaces of expanding Evening Bat (Nycticeius humeralis) populations following white-nose syndrome establishment
Observations of the Evening Bat (Nycticeius humeralis), a species historically distributed abundantly throughout the southeastern United States, are speculated to have increased in the Midwest. One hypothesis for this expansion in geographic distribution is that local extirpations of other bat species resulted in the expanded realized niche spaces for evening bats. In Indiana, such niche...
Authors
Sally B. Martinez, Laura D’Acunto, Bradford J. Westrich, Scott M. Bergeson, Patrick A. Zollner
Geochemistry and Soils of the Big Smoky Valley Fens, Nevada Geochemistry and Soils of the Big Smoky Valley Fens, Nevada
Fens are groundwater-fed wetlands that can provide habitat for plants and animals. Due to anthropogenic activities and climate change, many fens around the world are at risk. This paper presents the results of a study of the hydrology and geochemistry of fens in Big Smoky Valley, central Nevada to support the Bureau of Land Management’s activities in the area. A water sample from the...
Authors
Sade K. Cromratie Clemons, Geoffrey John Moret, Katherine J. Earp
Leveraging an observed-data likelihood improves the use of machine learning labels in a Bayesian hierarchical model for bioacoustic data Leveraging an observed-data likelihood improves the use of machine learning labels in a Bayesian hierarchical model for bioacoustic data
Classification of massive datasets by machine learning (ML) algorithms is promising for many scientific domains, especially wildlife monitoring programs that rely on passive acoustic surveys for detecting species. However, treating ML-predicted class labels (e.g., species identity) as truth biases inferences of focal parameters within common modeling frameworks. One solution is to model...
Authors
Jacob Oram, Katharine M. Banner, Christian Stratton, Andrew Hoegh, Kathryn Irvine
A framework for analyzing wild turkey summer sighting data. A framework for analyzing wild turkey summer sighting data.
Wildlife agencies collect data on productivity (e.g., proportion of hens with poults and number of poults per hen) of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) to monitor population status and trends. However, sampling protocols to collect productivity data rely on opportunistic observations reported by wildlife agency personnel and the public and have changed over time and differed among...
Authors
Duane R. Diefenbach, Frances E. Buderman, Mary Jo Casalena, Michael Dye, Robert Gates, Laura Christine Gigliotti, C. Robert Long, Katherine Martin, Michael Muthersbaugh, Michael L. Peters, James Sloan, Joshua Stiller, Mark Wiley
The Hawaiian Volcanoes Supersite: Open data for the benefit of science and society The Hawaiian Volcanoes Supersite: Open data for the benefit of science and society
The Hawaiian Volcanoes Supersite was established in 2008 with the goal of making large amounts of volcano monitoring data, especially satellite measurements, freely available at a site of international interest, scientific importance, and impactful natural hazards. The location was chosen because of the long history of volcanological research and innovation on the Island of Hawaiʻi, as...
Authors
Michael Poland, Stefano Salvi, Falk Amelung, Marco Bagnardi, Tyler Grant Paladino, Ingrid A. Johanson, Megan McLay
Sentinel-2 based estimates of rangeland fractional cover and canopy gap class for the western United States Sentinel-2 based estimates of rangeland fractional cover and canopy gap class for the western United States
Rangelands are extensive ecosystems, providing important ecosystem services while undergoing continuous change. As a result, improved monitoring technologies can help better characterize vegetation change. Satellite remote sensing has proven effective in this regard, tracking vegetation dynamics at broad and fine scales. We leveraged the spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution of...
Authors
Brady W. Allred, Sarah E. McCord, Timothy J. Assal, Brandon T. Bestelmeyer, Chad S. Boyd, Alexander C. Brooks, Samantha M. Cady, Michael C. Duniway, Samuel D. Fuhlendorf, Shane A. Green, Georgia R. Harrison, Eric R. Jensen, Emily J. Kachergis, Anna C. Knight, Chloe M. Mattilio, Brian A. Mealor, David E. Naugle, Dylan O’Leary, Peter J. Olsoy, Erika S. Peirce, Jason R. Reinhardt, Robert K. Shriver, Joseph T. Smith, Jason D. Tack, Ashley M. Tanner, Evan P. Tanner, Dirac Twidwell, Nicholas P. Webb, Scott L. Morford