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Science Quality and Integrity
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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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Stressor-driven changes in freshwater biological indicators inform spatial management strategies using expert knowledge, observational data, and hierarchical models Stressor-driven changes in freshwater biological indicators inform spatial management strategies using expert knowledge, observational data, and hierarchical models
Stream ecosystems face continuous pressures from multiple anthropogenic stressors that reshape biological communities and impact ecosystem health and services. Managers can encounter challenges in stewarding ecosystems threatened by multiple stressors, in part because most multiple stressor studies are experimental and, while valuable, offer limited management relevance in targeting...
Authors
Sean Cassian Emmons, Matthew J. Cashman, Rosemary M. Fanelli, Greg Pond, Gregory E. Noe, Taylor Woods, Kelly O. Maloney
Gaps in water quality modeling of hydrologic systems Gaps in water quality modeling of hydrologic systems
This review assesses gaps in water quality modeling, emphasizing opportunities to improve next-generation models that are essential for managing water quality and are integral to meeting goals of scientific and management agencies. In particular, this paper identifies gaps in water quality modeling capabilities that, if addressed, could support assessments, projections, and evaluations...
Authors
Lisa Lucas, Craig J. Brown, Dale M. Robertson, Nancy T. Baker, Zachary Johnson, Christopher Green, Jong Cho, Melinda L. Erickson, Allen C. Gellis, Jeramy Roland Jasmann, Noah Knowles, Andreas Prein, Paul E. Stackelberg
Selenium differentially influences methylmercury retention across mayfly life stages Selenium differentially influences methylmercury retention across mayfly life stages
Though high mercury and selenium concentrations are individually toxic to organisms, there is a hypothesized antagonistic relationship. This potential mercury–selenium interaction is under-studied in aquatic macroinvertebrates, particularly in relation to complex life histories. We examined the proposed effect of selenium on methylmercury accumulation between four life stages for a...
Authors
Jacqueline R. Gerson, Rebecca A. Dorman, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, David Walters
Does the Lost Jim lava flow (Alaska) really preserve evidence of interaction with permafrost? Does the Lost Jim lava flow (Alaska) really preserve evidence of interaction with permafrost?
The basaltic Lost Jim lava flow, the youngest member of the Imuruk Lake volcanic field, Alaska, is reported to have interacted with underlying permafrost by thawing it and forming cavities into which the lava flow collapsed, forming pits and other depressions on the lava flow's surface. Our field observations contradict this hypothesis. The Lost Jim lava flow exhibits surface features...
Authors
Tim R. Orr, William M. Coombs, Erika Rader, Jessica Larsen
Field and laboratory evaluations of visible light as a cue for guiding downstream-migrating juvenile Sea Lamprey Field and laboratory evaluations of visible light as a cue for guiding downstream-migrating juvenile Sea Lamprey
Objective We evaluated white light as a potential guidance cue for juvenile Sea Lamprey Petromyzon marinus in a natural setting as well as the effect of water velocity (0.25-, 0.50-, 0.75-, and 1.0-m/s test velocities) on light guidance behavior in a controlled laboratory flume, and characterized emigration timing and movement rates in a small stream (∼10 m wide and 0.7 m deep).Methods...
Authors
Alexander Haro, Scott M. Miehls, Nicholas S. Johnson, C. Michael Wagner
Identifying precursors and tracking pulses of magma ascent in multidisciplinary data during the 2018–2023 phreatomagmatic eruption at Semisopochnoi Island, Alaska Identifying precursors and tracking pulses of magma ascent in multidisciplinary data during the 2018–2023 phreatomagmatic eruption at Semisopochnoi Island, Alaska
The 2018–2023 phreatomagmatic eruptions at Semisopochnoi Island, Alaska produced abundant long-period (LP) seismicity, harmonic and broadband tremor, and explosion signals over several well-monitored periods of eruption and quiescence. The corresponding dataset provides an excellent opportunity to investigate precursory and syn-eruptive geophysical signals of long-lived phreatomagmatic...
Authors
John J. Lyons, Darren Tan, Mario Angarita, Matthew W. Loewen, Taryn Lopez, Ronni Grapenthin, Alicia J. Hotovec-Ellis, David Fee, Matthew M. Haney
What is the lowest latitude of discrete aurorae during superstorms? What is the lowest latitude of discrete aurorae during superstorms?
From a survey of published accounts of visual sightings of aurorae, a compilation is presented of the lowest identified geomagnetic latitude at which discrete aurorae were seen at local zenith during magnetic storms having intensities with maximum − Dst > 200 nT. The compilation includes data for the superstorms of 2 September 1859, 4 February 1872, and 15 May 1921. A statistical model...
Authors
Jeffrey J. Love, Ian R. Mann, Timo Qvick, Kalevi Mursula
Lithium from magma to mine in an early Yellowstone hotspot caldera Lithium from magma to mine in an early Yellowstone hotspot caldera
Renewable energy technologies rely on the extraction of metals not historically in high demand, such as lithium (Li), for which ore deposit models are incompletely understood. One of the world’s largest Li deposits is hosted in lake sediments of the 16.4 Ma McDermitt caldera, which formed during the early stages of Yellowstone hotspot volcanism in the western United States. Eruptive and
Authors
Kathryn E. Watts
The Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 version 2.0 surface reflectance dataset The Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 version 2.0 surface reflectance dataset
Frequent multispectral observations of sufficient spatial detail from well-calibrated spaceborne sensors are needed for large-scale terrestrial monitoring. To meet this demand, the NASA Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 (HLS) project was initiated in early 2010s to produce comparable 30-m surface reflectance from the US Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and the European Copernicus...
Authors
Junchang Ju, Qiang Zhou, Brian Freitag, David P. Roy, Hankui Zhang, Madhu Sridhar, John Mandel, Saeed Arab, Gail L. Schmidt, Christopher J. Crawford, Ferran Gascon, Peter A. Strobl, Jeffrey G. Masek, Christopher S.R. Neigh
Development of species-specific primers for the identification of Atlantic and shortnose sturgeons Development of species-specific primers for the identification of Atlantic and shortnose sturgeons
Atlantic (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) and shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) are broadly distributed along the Atlantic Coast of North America, where they use rivers, estuaries, and coastal habitats. In order to support management under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, it is important to understand when and where these fish occur. However, this presents a challenge as the...
Authors
Miluska Olivera Hyde, David C. Kazyak
Anomalous shear stress variation in wet granular medium: Implications for landslide lateral faults Anomalous shear stress variation in wet granular medium: Implications for landslide lateral faults
Landslide assessments typically focus on the mechanical properties of the basal shear zone, but lateral faults are frequently overlooked, possibly due to their lower normal stresses and variably saturated conditions. Using double-cylinder shear experiments on wet granular systems as analogs for landslide lateral faults, we observe anomalous shear stress variations with fluid volume...
Authors
Chengrui Chang, Kohei Ono, William H. Schulz, Tetsuo Yamaguchi
Mercury trophic transfer to a freshwater biosentinel: Quantifying controlled bioaccumulation in larval dragonflies Mercury trophic transfer to a freshwater biosentinel: Quantifying controlled bioaccumulation in larval dragonflies
Mercury bioavailability and biomagnification in freshwater systems can be highly variable; thus, tissue data from biosentinel taxa can be useful to assess risk. Dragonfly larvae have emerged as biological indicators of mercury impairment, yet their mercury biodynamics over time and across exposure levels are not well understood. Evaluating these attributes using controlled experimental...
Authors
Cailin A Sinclair, Tiffany S. Garcia, Rachel Vasta, Collin A. Eagles-Smith