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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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Testing the efficacy of industrial mitigation measures for caribou in the Arctic Testing the efficacy of industrial mitigation measures for caribou in the Arctic
1. Mitigation measures are commonly employed to reduce the negative effects of industrial development on wildlife but are not often evaluated for their efficacy. For example, oil fields in the Arctic typically incorporate design features intended to increase permeability for migratory, barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus), even though there is limited empirical evidence of the...
Authors
Heather E. Johnson, John P. Severson
Spatio-temporal modeling for assessing geoenergy resources: A workflow applied to gas in place variation in coal beds Spatio-temporal modeling for assessing geoenergy resources: A workflow applied to gas in place variation in coal beds
The ability to estimate spatio-temporal changes in hydrocarbon reservoir properties and energy resources within pore volumes is essential for optimizing production, reservoir management, geologic energy storage, and safety in underground mining operations. In coal seams, predicting remaining methane gas-in-place (GIP) is critical for quantifying producible gas and improving mine safety...
Authors
Oktay Erten, C. Özgen Karacan, Clayton V. Deutsch
Holistic understanding of uncertainty for collaborative and proactive global change decision making Holistic understanding of uncertainty for collaborative and proactive global change decision making
Global change is accelerating and pushing the planet's ecosystems beyond the range of historical observations, creating increasing uncertainty in future system conditions. Despite general agreement that proactive environmental action is warranted, environmental decision conversations often end by identifying additional data needed to reduce uncertainty before taking novel action. Given...
Authors
Nicole K. Ward, Aaron D. Shultz, Amanda L. Sesser, Michael W. Price, Dawn R. Magness, Abigail J. Lynch, Jonathan F. Hansen, Kelly G. Guilbeau
Tectonic controls on volcanism and associated hydrothermal activity in a sediment-dominated mid-ocean ridge; Escanaba Trough Tectonic controls on volcanism and associated hydrothermal activity in a sediment-dominated mid-ocean ridge; Escanaba Trough
Mid-ocean ridges, the Earth's most extensive volcanic system, exhibit unique characteristics in sediment-dominant environments. Thick sediment cover insulates the crust and channels fluid along pathways that can lead to the formation of distinct crustal alteration patterns, exceptionally large mineral deposits, and specialized chemosynthetic ecosystems. This study presents an...
Authors
Chris Galley, John Jamieson, Amy Gartman, Isobel Yeo, Masako Tominaga, Maurice Tivey, Carlos Braga, Laura Moore, Sharon Walker
The impacts of cover crop biomass on satellite-based detectability of cover crops in Maryland The impacts of cover crop biomass on satellite-based detectability of cover crops in Maryland
Cover crop adoption in the U.S. has increased over the past decades, increasing the need to quantify their performance and environmental benefits. While remote sensing (RS)-based approaches for detecting cover crop presence have been developed, there has been limited research on how cover crops with varied biomass and management practices influence detectability. Using unique field-level...
Authors
Yide Xu, Qu Zhou, Kaiyu Guan, Sheng Wang, W. Dean Hively, Jyoti Jennewein, Alison Thieme, Steven B. Mirsky, Zhangliang Chen
Comment on “Assessing the potential for Smallmouth Bass population establishment in Grand Canyon” Comment on “Assessing the potential for Smallmouth Bass population establishment in Grand Canyon”
No abstract available.
Authors
Charles B. Yackulic, Drew Elliot Eppehimer, Lindsey A. Bruckerhoff, Anna Amidon, Kevin R. Bestgen, Nathaniel D. Bransky, Kimberly L. Dibble, Maria C. Dzul, Lindsay Erika Hansen, Brian D. Healy, M. Tildon Jones, Chris Michaud
Seasonal trophic dynamics drive growth potential and predation risk for reintroduced Chinook salmon in Shasta Reservoir Seasonal trophic dynamics drive growth potential and predation risk for reintroduced Chinook salmon in Shasta Reservoir
Reservoir ecosystems can significantly affect anadromous salmon populations reintroduced upstream of impassable high-head dams. In this study, we examine how a novel reservoir food web created by an impoundment can limit juvenile growth or survival through the seasonal production or access to food, promote competition for available resources, and affect risk of the food supply or...
Authors
Rachelle Carina Johnson, Claire E. Couch, Rebecca E. Barsky, Candice R. Powers, Chloe E. Pak, Karl D. Stenberg, Jessica O. Diallo, Kimberly A. Larsen, Marshal S. Hoy, David A. Beauchamp, Tobias J. Kock
Effect of rotenone treatment on alpine stream invertebratecommunities in Colorado Effect of rotenone treatment on alpine stream invertebratecommunities in Colorado
Objective: Introduction of non-native salmonids to western United States streams has resulted in extirpation and even extinction of native cutthroat trout. Once thought to be extinct, a genetically verified population of Greenback Cutthroat Trout (GBCT) Oncorhynchus virginalis stomias was identified and used for population re-establishment efforts. To restore native trout habitat, stream...
Authors
Charles F. Wahl, Robert E. Zuellig, James J. Roberts, Travis S. Schmidt, Andrea Nichole Schuhmann, Janet L. Miller, Matthew P. Fairchild
Apatite (U-Th)/He thermochronology from Marsh Creek anticline reconciles Cenozoic and Holocene strain patterns and elucidates the Cenozoic canning displacement zone of Arctic Alaska Apatite (U-Th)/He thermochronology from Marsh Creek anticline reconciles Cenozoic and Holocene strain patterns and elucidates the Cenozoic canning displacement zone of Arctic Alaska
The northeastern Brooks Range is a vast fold-thrust belt that records the northernmost expression of Cenozoic deformation in Alaska, likely with complex dynamic linkages to distant tectonic elements. The principal focus of this manuscript is the Marsh Creek anticline (MCA), which is a large and recently active structure within the broader northeastern Brooks Range. The MCA is a complex...
Authors
William H. Craddock, Julie C Fosdick, Christopher D. Connors, Richard O. Lease, David W. Houseknecht, Megan Mueller, Andrew R C Kylander-Clark
Examples of eruption response teams from the Alaska Volcano Observatory Examples of eruption response teams from the Alaska Volcano Observatory
During times of eruption response, volcano observatories need to organize themselves differently than during normal operations. The number of formal operational roles grows to ensure that critical responsibilities are covered, including management of all activities at the observatory as well as increased staffing to ensure proper surveillance of data and issuance of timely notices and...
Authors
Michelle L. Coombs, Kristi L. Wallace, Ronni Grapenthin, Jordan Edward Lubbers, Tom Murray
Plant diversity shifts with drying and wetting cycles following removal of poplar plantations in Dongting Lake, China Plant diversity shifts with drying and wetting cycles following removal of poplar plantations in Dongting Lake, China
Dongting Lake, the second largest lake in China, plays a crucial role in maintaining regional ecological security by providing key habitats for waterbirds. This study examined how hydrology and topography (ditches and mounds) together generate fine-scale wet–dry gradients that shape species establishment and successional trajectories. Over the past decade, vegetation restoration has been
Authors
Xueer Ma, Chenchen Liu, Lingli Peng, Chengzhu Liu, Beth Middleton, Ting Lei
Precipitation intensity increased across the South Pacific Convergence Zone in the Industrial Age Precipitation intensity increased across the South Pacific Convergence Zone in the Industrial Age
The position, strength, and variability of precipitation in the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) remain challenging for coupled ocean-atmosphere climate models to represent, leaving future rainfall projections in this dynamically important region uncertain. Here, we present quantitative records of mean annual precipitation (MAP) spanning the past 1,000 years using sediment cores...
Authors
S. Nemiah Ladd, Ashley E. Maloney, Daniel B. Nelson, Mark D. Peaple, Julie N. Richey, Amanda Witt, Polly Sobeck, Matthew Prebble, David A. Sear, Peter G. Langdon, Nathalie Dubois, Julian P. Sachs