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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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Legacies of a large flood and biological control on riparian vegetation successional trajectories along a dryland braided river Legacies of a large flood and biological control on riparian vegetation successional trajectories along a dryland braided river
The interplay of disturbance and stability drives vegetation dynamics. Disturbance reduces vegetation biomass, and stability fosters its development. In riparian systems, natural disturbance is largely manifested through flood-driven fluvial processes, but other forms of disturbance, such as herbivory or fire, may influence vegetation dynamics. We studied the successional trajectories of...
Authors
Eduardo González-Sargas, Steven R. Lee, Laura G. Perry, Patrick B. Shafroth
Characterization and validation of tidally calibrated strains from the Alto Tiberina Near Fault Observatory Strainmeter Array (TABOO-NFO-STAR) Characterization and validation of tidally calibrated strains from the Alto Tiberina Near Fault Observatory Strainmeter Array (TABOO-NFO-STAR)
Six horizontal borehole tensor strainmeters (TSM1-6) installed from Fall 2021 to Spring 2022 comprise the Alto Tiberina Near Fault Observatory Strainmeter Array (STAR), providing an unprecedented opportunity to investigate seismic and aseismic deformation from hazardous high- and low-angle normal faults in Italy. Prior to use in tectonic applications, they require in-situ calibration and
Authors
Catherine Elise Hanagan, Eugenio Mandler, Richard Bennett, Lauro Chiaraluce, Mike Gottlieb, Adriano Gualandi, Amanda L. Hughes, Wade Johnson, David Mencin, Simone Marzorati
Assessing gap-filled Landsat land surface temperature time-series data using different observational datasets Assessing gap-filled Landsat land surface temperature time-series data using different observational datasets
Landsat Analysis Ready Data (ARD)-based time-series present challenges in monitoring surface urban heat islands (SUHI) due to rapid changes in land surface temperature (LST) compared to cloud-free satellite observations. This research investigates the use of a spatiotemporal gap-filling model as a feasible and cost-effective solution to produce Landsat time-series LST products with both...
Authors
Hua Shi, George Z. Xian
Municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plant effluent contributions to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the Potomac River: A basin-scale measuring and modeling approach Municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plant effluent contributions to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the Potomac River: A basin-scale measuring and modeling approach
Managing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water resources requires a basin-scale approach. Predicted environmental concentrations (PEC) and stream-vulnerability scores for PFAS were determined for the Potomac River watershed in the eastern United States. Approximately 15% of stream reaches contained municipal and/or industrial wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) discharges...
Authors
Larry B. Barber, Samuel Adam Miller, Lee Blaney, Paul M. Bradley, Kaycee E. Faunce, Jacob Fleck, Malinda Frick, Ke He, Ryan D. Hollins, Conor J. Lewellyn, Emily H. Majcher, Mitchell A. McAdoo, Kelly L. Smalling
Relations of groundwater quality to long-term surface disposal of produced water near the Midway-Sunset and Buena Vista Oil Fields, California, USA Relations of groundwater quality to long-term surface disposal of produced water near the Midway-Sunset and Buena Vista Oil Fields, California, USA
Contamination of groundwater by oil-field fluids in proximity to oil and gas development has been an issue of concern to water users and regulators given long histories of development and legacy disposal practices. A robust set of geochemical tracers including petroleum hydrocarbon compounds, thermogenic gases, inorganic ion concentrations, stable isotopes, radioactive isotopes, and...
Authors
Riley Gannon, Matthew K. Landon, Justin T. Kulongoski, Michael J. Stephens, Lyndsay B. Ball, John G. Warden, Tracy Davis, Janice M. Gillespie, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli
Recent large-scale prescribed fire treatments reduced Carr Fire severity at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area Recent large-scale prescribed fire treatments reduced Carr Fire severity at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area
Background Severe fire weather is becoming more common throughout the western United States. Changing conditions demand a better understanding of how prescribed fire treatments perform under extreme burning conditions, including the interactive influence of the age of treatments, vegetation, and fire weather. The Carr Fire of July 2018 burned nearly the entire land area of Whiskeytown...
Authors
Jill J. Beckman, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Micah C. Wright, Eamon Engber
Survival of captive-raised light-footed Ridgway’s rails is influenced by release date and time in wild Survival of captive-raised light-footed Ridgway’s rails is influenced by release date and time in wild
Captive breeding and translocation programs are an increasingly common conservation tool and management strategy used for some of the rarest and most endangered species in the world. These programs come at a high cost, and many translocation programs fail to monitor animals after release. Light-footed Ridgway’s rails (Rallus obsoletus levipes) are federally endangered marsh birds endemic...
Authors
Kimberly A. Sawyer, Courtney J. Conway
Spatial and temporal variation in dissolved organic matter in urban streams in metropolitan Boston, Massachusetts (USA) Spatial and temporal variation in dissolved organic matter in urban streams in metropolitan Boston, Massachusetts (USA)
Urban riverine systems are heterogeneous, and the substantial variability in impervious cover, riparian cover, wetlands, and wastewater and stormwater infrastructure affect sources and transport of dissolved organic matter (DOM), of which dissolved organic C (DOC) is a substantial component. An understanding of the quantity, bioavailability, and timing of DOM inputs (a key energy source...
Authors
Annika M. Quick, Allison H. Roy, Rebecca L. Hale, Kristina G. Hopkins, Shuo Chen, Liz D. Ortiz Muñoz
Marsh sediment in translation: A review of sediment transport across a natural tidal salt marsh in northern San Francisco Bay Marsh sediment in translation: A review of sediment transport across a natural tidal salt marsh in northern San Francisco Bay
Deposition of inorganic sediment is essential for the sustainability of tidal salt marshes. Understanding variability in sediment sources and the processes of sediment delivery to salt marshes are high priorities for decision-makers responsible for managing sediment and conserving and restoring marshes. Research on sediment transport to marshes is published in technical journals, but...
Authors
Madeline R. Foster-Martinez, Matthew C. Ferner, John C. Callaway, Brenda Goeden, Jessica R. Lacy
Improving welfare of captured gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus): Reducing trap time and temperature Improving welfare of captured gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus): Reducing trap time and temperature
No abstract available.
Authors
Morgan A. Ubbelohde, Derek B. Breakfield, Elizabeth Ann Hunter, Kevin J. Loope
Abundance of ohiʻa-associated ambrosia beetles in two sites with rapid ohiʻa death outbreaks Abundance of ohiʻa-associated ambrosia beetles in two sites with rapid ohiʻa death outbreaks
ʻŌhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha Gaudich.) is the dominant tree in native Hawaiian forests but is threatened by two pathogenic fungi (Ceratocystis spp.) which cause Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD). Understanding the spread of ROD is vital to informing prevention and management strategies. Ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) contribute to the spread of disease by...
Authors
Helen R. Sofaer, Sophia Smith, Robert W. Peck, Ellen J. Dunkle, Jorden A. Zarders, Naiʻa Odachi, Ryan L. Perroy
Fine-grained temporal population monitoring of a declining, critically endangered Hawaiian honeycreeper Fine-grained temporal population monitoring of a declining, critically endangered Hawaiian honeycreeper
Annual point counts are commonly used to monitor birds to track population densities across space and time. Palila (Loxioides bailleui) are surveyed annually in the first quarter, but we recently instituted quarterly sampling that offers a unique opportunity to improve estimator precision. We conducted point-transect distance sampling point counts during the first quarter of 2020 through...
Authors
Richard J. Camp, Chauncey K. Asing, Noah J. Hunt, Alexander Wang, Chris Farmer, Lindsey Neitmann, Paul C. Banko