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: 78928
RIce-Net: Integrating ground-based cameras and machine learning for automated river ice detection RIce-Net: Integrating ground-based cameras and machine learning for automated river ice detection
River ice plays a critical role in controlling streamflow in cold regions. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) qualifies affected water-level measurements and inferred streamflow by ice conditions at a date later than the day of the actual measurements. This study introduces a novel computer vision-based framework, River Ice-Network (RIce-Net), that uses the USGS nationwide network of...
Authors
Mahmoud Ayyad, Marouane Temini, Mohamed Abdelkader, Moheb Henein, Frank L. Engel, R. Russell Lotspeich, Jack R. Eggleston
Correction to “The March 1940 superstorm: Geoelectromagnetic hazards and impacts on American communication and power systems” Correction to “The March 1940 superstorm: Geoelectromagnetic hazards and impacts on American communication and power systems”
In Love et al. (2023), 5 estimated geopotentials on long lines for the March 1989 storm are incorrect. This was the result of incorrect calculation of line integrals. This error affects the two paragraphs of Section 11 and Figure 10 of that paper. The most significant impact of this error is that we overestimated the average ratio of the geopotentials measured the long lines during the...
Authors
Jeffrey J. Love, E. Joshua Rigler, Michael D. Hartinger, Greg M. Lucas, Anna Kelbert, Paul A. Bedrosian
From hydrated silica to quartz: Potential hydrothermal precipitates found in Jezero crater, Mars From hydrated silica to quartz: Potential hydrothermal precipitates found in Jezero crater, Mars
On Earth, silica-rich phases from opal to quartz are important indicators and tracers of geological processes. Hydrated silica, such as opal, is a particularly good matrix for the preservation of molecular and macroscopic biosignatures. Cherts, a type of silica-dominated rocks, provide a unique archive of ancient terrestrial life while quartz is the emblematic mineral of the Earth's...
Authors
P.S.A. Beck, O. Beyssac, E. Dehouck, S. Bernard, M. Pineau, L. Mandon, C. Royer, Elise Clavé, Susanne Schröder, O. Forni, R. Francis, N. Mangold, C. C. Bedford, A. Broz, E. A. Cloutis, J.R. Johnson, F. Poulet, T. Fouchet, C. Quantin-Nataf, C. Pilorget, W. Rapin, P.-Y. Meslin, Travis S.J. Gabriel, G. Arana, J.M. Madariaga, A.J. Brown, S. Maurice, S. M. Clegg, Olivier Gasnault, A. Cousin, R. C. Wiens, The SuperCam Team
Effects of chronic metal exposure and metamorphosis on the microbiomes of larval and adult insects and riparian spiders through the aquatic-riparian food web Effects of chronic metal exposure and metamorphosis on the microbiomes of larval and adult insects and riparian spiders through the aquatic-riparian food web
The macroinvertebrate microbiome controls various aspects of the host's physiology, from regulation of environmental contaminants to reproductive output. Aquatic insects provide critical nutritional subsidies linking aquatic and riparian food webs while simultaneously serving as a contaminant pathway for riparian insectivores in polluted ecosystems. Previous studies have characterized...
Authors
Brittany G. Perrotta, Karen A. Kidd, Amy M. Marcarelli, Gordon Paterson, David Walters
Multi-species telemetry quantifies current and future efficacy of a remote marine protected area Multi-species telemetry quantifies current and future efficacy of a remote marine protected area
Large-scale marine protected areas (LSMPAs; > 1000 km2) provide important refuge for large mobile species, but most do not encompass species' ranges. To better understand current and future LSMPA value, we concurrently tracked nine species (seabirds, cetaceans, pelagic fishes, manta rays, reef sharks) at Palmyra Atoll and Kingman Reef (PKMPA) in the U.S. Pacific Islands Heritage Marine...
Authors
Morgan Elizabeth Gilmour, Kydd Pollock, Josh Adams, Barbara A. Block, Jennifer E. Caselle, Alexander Filous, Alan M. Friedlander, Edward T. Game, Elliott L. Hazen, Marie Hill, Nick D. Holmes, Kevin D. Lafferty, Sara M. Maxwell, Douglas J. McCauley, Robert Schallert, Scott A. Shaffer, Nicholas H. Wolff, Alex Wegmann
Seismic moment and local magnitude scales in Ridgecrest, CA from the SCEC/USGS Community Stress Drop Validation Study Seismic moment and local magnitude scales in Ridgecrest, CA from the SCEC/USGS Community Stress Drop Validation Study
We illustrate the systematic difference between moment magnitude and local magnitude caused by underlying earthquake source physics, using seismic moments submitted to the Statewide California Earthquake Center/United States Geological Survey Community Stress Drop Validation Study 2019 Ridgecrest data set. While the relationship between seismic moment and moment magnitude ( M or Mw) of...
Authors
Annemarie S. Baltay, Rachel E. Abercrombie
Lead exposure in waterfowl before contoxic shot requirements: A nationwide study, 1983−1986 Lead exposure in waterfowl before contoxic shot requirements: A nationwide study, 1983−1986
Before implementing nontoxic shot requirements for hunting waterfowl and American coots Fulica americana in the United States in 1991, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service monitored lead poisoning in waterfowl on federal and state wildlife hunting areas during 1983-1986. Federal and state collaborators collected gizzards and livers from 9,029 hunter-killed waterfowl (10 species of dabbling...
Authors
J. Christian Franson, Christine M. Bunck
Acute heat stress and the extirpation of a threatened coral species from a remote, subtropical reef system Acute heat stress and the extirpation of a threatened coral species from a remote, subtropical reef system
The ecological significance of the reef-building elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, is threatened by heat-stress-induced mortality. The intensity and duration of the ocean heatwave affecting Dry Tortugas National Park in the summer of 2023 was historically unprecedented in its early timing and maximum temperatures reached and resulted in 100% A. palmata mortality. To understand the...
Authors
Ava Madeline Thompson, Anastasios Stathakopoulos, Karli J. Hollister, Amelia M. Lynch, Jordan C. Holder, Ilsa B. Kuffner
Solution-collapse breccia pipe uranium deposits of the southern Colorado Plateau, northwestern Arizona, USA Solution-collapse breccia pipe uranium deposits of the southern Colorado Plateau, northwestern Arizona, USA
Some of the highest-grade uranium deposits in the United States occur in breccia pipes that formed by solution and collapse of sedimentary strata, which occur in the southern portion of the Colorado Plateau in northwestern Arizona. The host breccia pipes are up to 1200 m in vertical extent, average about 90 m in diameter, and can cross-cut strata from their base in the Mississippian...
Authors
Bradley S. Van Gosen, Susan Hall, Craig A. Johnson, William Benzel
A quantitative classification of the geography of non-native flora in the United States A quantitative classification of the geography of non-native flora in the United States
Aim
Authors
Bethany A. Bradley, Annette Evans, Helen R. Sofaer, Montserrat Vilà, David Barnett, Evelyn M. Beaury, Dana M. Blumenthal, Jeffrey Corbin, Jeffrey Dukes, Regan Early, Ines Ibanez, Ian S. Pearse, Lais Petri, Cascade J.B. Sorte
Tapwater exposures, residential risk, and mitigation in a PFAS-impacted-groundwater community Tapwater exposures, residential risk, and mitigation in a PFAS-impacted-groundwater community
Tapwater (TW) safety and sustainability are priorities in the United States. Per/polyfluoroalkyl substance(s) (PFAS) contamination is a growing public-health concern due to prolific use, widespread TW exposures, and mounting human-health concerns. Historically-rural, actively-urbanizing communities that rely on surficial-aquifer private wells incur elevated risks of unrecognized TW...
Authors
Paul M. Bradley, Kristin M. Romanok, Kelly L. Smalling, Lee Donahue, Mark P. Gaikowski, Randy K. Hines, Sara E. Breitmeyer, Stephanie E. Gordon, Keith A. Loftin, R. Blaine McCleskey, Shannon M. Meppelink, Molly L. Schreiner
Ecological thresholds and transformations due to climate change: The role of abiotic stress Ecological thresholds and transformations due to climate change: The role of abiotic stress
An ecological threshold is the point at which a comparatively small environmental change triggers an abrupt and disproportionately large ecological response. In the face of accelerating climate change, there is concern that abrupt ecosystem transformations will become more widespread as critical ecological thresholds are crossed. There has been ongoing debate, however, regarding the...
Authors
Michael Osland, John B. Bradford, Lauren T. Toth, Matthew J. Germino, James B. Grace, Judith Z. Drexler, Camille L. Stagg, Eric E. Grossman, Karen M. Thorne, Stephanie Romanach, Davina L. Passeri, Gregory B. Noe, Jessica R. Lacy, Ken Krauss, Kurt P. Kowalski, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Neil K. Ganju, Nicholas Enwright, Joel A. Carr, Kristin B. Byrd, Kevin J. Buffington
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, California Water Science Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Southwest Biological Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Western Geographic Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center , Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center