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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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Inferring snowpack contributions and the mean elevation of source water to streamflow in the Willamette River, Oregon using water stable isotopes Inferring snowpack contributions and the mean elevation of source water to streamflow in the Willamette River, Oregon using water stable isotopes
Snowpacks are an important water source for mountainous rivers, worldwide. The timing and volume of streamflow in systems reliant on snowmelt can be affected by changes in snow accumulation and melt time. In the Cascade Range (western USA), seasonal snowpacks are predicted to decrease by over 50% within the next century. During the last decade, Cascade Range snowpacks have varied between...
Authors
J. Renee Brooks, Henry M. Johnson, Keira R. Johnson, Steven P. Cline, Randy Comeleo, WIlliam Rugh, Lisandra Trine
Stable occupancy of conservation-priority birds amid community shifts across 16 years on Iowa wetland easements Stable occupancy of conservation-priority birds amid community shifts across 16 years on Iowa wetland easements
Intensive agriculture in the Prairie Pothole Region of Iowa, USA has resulted in significant wetland drainage and wildlife population declines. However, easement programs are increasingly used to protect and restore wetlands and revitalize biodiversity. Short-term responses (i.e., 1–5 years) of birds to wetland restorations are well-documented, but long-term trends are less understood...
Authors
Lindsey A.W. Gapinski, Karen E. Kinkead, Adam K. Janke, Stephen J. Dinsmore, Todd Bishop, Anna Maureen Tucker
Metal fingerprints of Eocene rhyolite magmas coincident with Carlin-type gold deposition in Nevada USA Metal fingerprints of Eocene rhyolite magmas coincident with Carlin-type gold deposition in Nevada USA
Eocene magmatic systems contemporaneous with world-class Carlin-type Au deposits in Nevada (USA) have been proposed by some researchers as a key ingredient for Au mineralization, though evidence conclusively demonstrating their genetic relationship remains tenuous. This study provides the first direct evidence of the pre-eruptive metal budget of volatile- and metal-charged silicic magmas
Authors
Celestine N. Mercer, Hannah R. Babel, Cameron Mark Mercer, Albert H. Hofstra
Geomorphological evidence of near-surface ice at candidate landing sites in northern Amazonis Planitia, Mars Geomorphological evidence of near-surface ice at candidate landing sites in northern Amazonis Planitia, Mars
This work presents geomorphological analyses of an area at the boundary between Arcadia Planitia and northern Amazonis Planitia, situated in the northern mid-latitudes of Mars. Recent studies have indicated the presence of substantial volumes of near-surface excess ice in Arcadia Planitia, making this region a promising candidate for future human and robotic exploration. This study...
Authors
Erica Luzzi, Jennifer L. Heldmann, Kaj E. Williams, Giacomo Nodjoumi, Ariel Deutsch, Alexander Sehlke
Groundwater dominates snowmelt runoff and controls streamflow efficiency in the western United States Groundwater dominates snowmelt runoff and controls streamflow efficiency in the western United States
Climate change in seasonally snow-covered mountain catchments is reducing water supply and decreasing streamflow predictability. Here, we use tritium age dating to show that contrary to the common assumption that snowmelt quickly contributes to runoff, streamflow during snowmelt in western US catchments is dominated by older groundwater. The average age of streamwater during snowmelt...
Authors
Paul D. Brooks, D. Kip Solomon, Stephanie Kampf, Sara Warix, Carleton R. Bern, David Barnard, Holly R. Barnard, Gregory T. Carling, Rosemary Carroll, Jon Chorover, Adrian Harpold, Kathleen Lohse, Fabiola Meza, Jennifer McIntosh, Bethany Neilson, Megan Sears, Margaret Wolf
One-hundred fundamental, open questions to integrate methodological approaches in lake ice research One-hundred fundamental, open questions to integrate methodological approaches in lake ice research
The rate of technological innovation within aquatic sciences outpaces the collective ability of individual scientists within the field to make appropriate use of those technologies. The process of in situ lake sampling remains the primary choice to comprehensively understand an aquatic ecosystem at local scales; however, the impact of climate change on lakes necessitates the rapid...
Authors
Joshua Culpepper, Sapna Sharma, Grant Gunn, Madeline Magee, Michael Frederick Meyer, Eric Anderson, Christoper D. Arp, Sarah Cooley, Wayana Dolan, Hilary Dugan, Claude R. Duguay, Benjamin C. Jones, Georgiy Kirillin, Robert Ladwig, Matti Lepparanta, Di Long, John J. Magnuson, Tamlin Pavelsky, Sebastiano Piccolroaz, Dale M. Robertson, Bethel Steele, Manu Tom, Gesa A. Weyhenmeyer, R. Iesytn Woolway, Marguerite A. Xenopoulos, Xiao Yang
Reproductive characteristics and spawning potential ratio modeling of a vulnerable riverine specialist in the lower unchannelized Missouri River, USA Reproductive characteristics and spawning potential ratio modeling of a vulnerable riverine specialist in the lower unchannelized Missouri River, USA
Reproductive characteristics for populations of imperiled, non-game species are not regularly studied but may be important for identifying factors associated with their population sustainability. Understanding reproductive traits of vulnerable species, particularly long-lived species, may provide insight for implementing management actions to respond to potential overharvest. This study...
Authors
Lindsey A.P. LaBrie, Tanner L. Carlson, Jeff S. Wesner, Chelsey A. Pasbrig, Steven R. Chipps, Benjamin J. Schall
Occurrence of pesticides in Oregon coastal waters Occurrence of pesticides in Oregon coastal waters
Pesticides are used globally for a wide range of applications including agricultural, forestry, roadsides, freshwater systems, and personal use. While pesticides have ensured efficient crop production, they are frequently transported away from application sites and are found in almost all terrestrial and aquatic environments. Pesticides are frequently detected in watersheds and rivers...
Authors
Bria Bleil, Elise F. Granek, Michelle L. Hladik
Overview of The SCEC/USGS Community Stress Drop Validation Study using the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence Overview of The SCEC/USGS Community Stress Drop Validation Study using the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence
We present initial findings from the ongoing Community Stress Drop Validation Study to compare spectral stress‐drop estimates for earthquakes in the 2019 Ridgecrest, California, sequence. This study uses a unified dataset to independently estimate earthquake source parameters through various methods. Stress drop, which denotes the change in average shear stress along a fault during...
Authors
Rachel E. Abercrombie, Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Shanna Chu, Taka’aki Taira, Dino Bindi, Oliver S. Boyd, Xiaowei Chen, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Emma Devin, Douglas Dreger, William Ellsworth, Fan Wenyuan, Rebecca Harrington, Yihe Huang, Kilian Kemna, Meichen Liu, Adrien Oth, Grace Alexandra Parker, Colin Pennington, Matteo Picozzi, Christine J. Ruhl, Peter Shearer, Daniele Spallarossa, Daniel Trugman, Ian Vandevert, Qimin Wu, Clara Yoon, Ellen Yu, Gregory C. Beroza, Tom Eulenfeld, Trey Knudson, Kevin Mayeda, Paola Morasca, James S. Neely, Jorge I. Roman-Nieves, Claudio Satriano, Mariano Supino, William R. Walter, Ralph Archuleta, Gail Marie Atkinson, Giovanna Calderoni, Chen Ji, Hongfeng Yang, Jiewen Zhang
Introduction to the special section on improving measurements of earthquake source parameters Introduction to the special section on improving measurements of earthquake source parameters
Earthquake source parameters such as magnitude, seismic moment, source dimension, stress drop, and radiated energy are fundamental to understanding earthquake physics, and are also key ingredients in earthquake ground‐motion modeling, rupture simulation, and statistical seismology. However, the uncertainties in these parameters estimated from the radiated seismic wavefield are large due...
Authors
Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Rachel E. Abercrombie, Adrien Oth, Takahiko Uchide
Utility of a swath laser rangefinder for characterizing mass movement flow depth and landslide initiation Utility of a swath laser rangefinder for characterizing mass movement flow depth and landslide initiation
Mass movements such as debris flows and landslides are some of the deadliest and most destructive natural hazards occurring mostly in alpine and volcanic settings. With ever-growing populations located downslope from known debris flow channels, early warning systems can help prevent loss of life. Geophysical and technological advances have improved monitoring and detection capabilities...
Authors
Maciej K. Obryk, Emily Christina Bedinger, Alexandra M. Iezzi, Emily H Bryant, Kate E. Allstadt, David L. George, Benjamin B. Mirus
An early Holocene wet period in the southwestern United States An early Holocene wet period in the southwestern United States
Multiple generations of spring-fed streams traversed ∼800 km2 of the Las Vegas Valley in southern Nevada between ca. 10.9 ka and 8.5 ka, depositing an extensive tufa network. The scale of this network and diversity of tufa morphologies is novel in North America and offers an opportunity to obtain quantitative paleoclimate data for the region during the early Holocene. We determined...
Authors
Kathleen B. Springer, Adam M. Hudson, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Katharine W. Huntington, Andrew J. Schauer