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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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Ecosystem drivers of freshwater mercury bioaccumulation are context-dependent: Insights from continental-scale modeling Ecosystem drivers of freshwater mercury bioaccumulation are context-dependent: Insights from continental-scale modeling
Significant variation in mercury (Hg) bioaccumulation is observed across the diversity of freshwater ecosystems in North America. While there is support for the major drivers of Hg bioaccumulation, the relative influence of different external factors can vary widely among waterbodies, which makes predicting Hg risk across large spatial scales particularly challenging. We modeled Hg...
Authors
Christopher James Kotalik, James Willacker, Jeff S. Wesner, Branden L. Johnson, Colleen M. Flanagan Pritz, Sarah J. Nelson, David M. Walters, Collin A. Eagles-Smith
Wave ripples formed in ancient, ice-free lakes in Gale crater, Mars Wave ripples formed in ancient, ice-free lakes in Gale crater, Mars
Symmetrical wave ripples identified with NASA’s Curiosity rover in ancient lake deposits at Gale crater provide a key paleoclimate constraint for early Mars: At the time of ripple formation, climate conditions must have supported ice-free liquid water on the surface of Mars. These features are the most definitive examples of wave ripples on another planet. The ripples occur in two...
Authors
C.A. Mondro, C.M. Fedo, J.P. Grotzinger, Michael P. Lamb, S. Gupta, W.E. Dietrich, S. G. Banham, C.M. Weitz, P. Gasda, Lauren A. Edgar, D. Rubin, A.B. Bryk, E.S. Kite, G. Caravaca, J. Schieber, A.R. Vasavada
Hybrid coral reef restoration can be a cost-effective nature-based solution to provide protection to vulnerable coastal populations Hybrid coral reef restoration can be a cost-effective nature-based solution to provide protection to vulnerable coastal populations
Coral reefs can mitigate flood damages by providing protection to tropical coastal communities whose populations are dense, growing fast, and have predominantly lower-middle income. This study provides the first fine-scale, regionally modeled valuations of how flood risk reductions associated with hybrid coral reef restoration could benefit people, property, and economic activity along...
Authors
Curt D. Storlazzi, Borja Reguero, Kristen C. Alkins, James B. Shope, Aaron Cole, Camila Gaido-Lassarre, Shay Viehman, Michael W. Beck
A Colorado Front Range grassland exhibits decreasing dominance of cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) over time A Colorado Front Range grassland exhibits decreasing dominance of cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) over time
Causes, consequences, and potentials for recovery from invasions by the invasive annual grass, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), in western North America have been extensively documented. The vast majority of these studies have come from regions where yearly precipitation is dominated by “winter-wet” patterns, but this species has also demonstrated its ability to invade plant communities in...
Authors
Janet S. Prevéy, Timothy R. Seastedt
Local perceptions of marine conservation aquaculture for the restoration of native Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in Downeast, Maine Local perceptions of marine conservation aquaculture for the restoration of native Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in Downeast, Maine
The entities responsible for the management of the endangered Gulf of Maine Distinct Population Segment of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) have partnered with a commercial aquaculture company to apply a novel conservation aquaculture program. This effort marks a major shift in management and has garnered mixed public reactions. Recent expansion of aquaculture in Maine has been a point of...
Authors
Melissa. E. Flye, Carly C. Sponarski, Joseph D. Zydlewski
Enhanced hydrologic monitoring and characterization of groundwater drainage features Enhanced hydrologic monitoring and characterization of groundwater drainage features
Groundwater drains to the land surface, generating the baseflow of streams, lakes, and wetlands. The hydrologic resilience of baseflow during prolonged dry periods and after disturbance can be assessed with evolving remote sensing analysis paired with localized monitoring of groundwater drainage features and creative model calibration strategies.
Authors
Martin A. Briggs
How can we sea change? Audience subgroups and psychological cognitions to target in action-oriented ocean change communication How can we sea change? Audience subgroups and psychological cognitions to target in action-oriented ocean change communication
Climate change’s impacts on the oceans (“ocean change”) threaten people globally. Climate action is needed at multiple scales, from individual to collective action, and yet there is limited research on what motivates this action in response to ocean change. In this study, we conducted an online survey of residents of the state of Oregon, United States (n = 1414), to assess concerns...
Authors
Jennifer L. Waldo, Mark D. Needham, Megan Siobhan Jones
Relatedness of white-tailed deer from culling efforts within chronic wasting disease management zones in Minnesota Relatedness of white-tailed deer from culling efforts within chronic wasting disease management zones in Minnesota
In white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), closely related females form social groups, avoiding other social groups. Consequently, females infected with chronic wasting disease (CWD) are more likely to infect social group members. Culling has been used to reduce CWD transmission in high-risk areas; however, its effectiveness in removing related individuals has not been assessed. We...
Authors
Alberto F. Fameli, Christopher S. Jennelle, Jessie Edson, Erik C. Hildebrand, Michelle Carstensen, W. David Walter
Microbial ecology of permafrost soils: Populations, processes, and perspectives Microbial ecology of permafrost soils: Populations, processes, and perspectives
Permafrost microbial research has flourished in the past decades, due in part to improvements in sampling and molecular techniques, but also the increased focus on the permafrost greenhouse gas feedback to climate change and other ecological processes in high latitude and alpine permafrost soils. Permafrost microorganisms are adapted to these extreme environments and remain active at low
Authors
Mark P. Waldrop, Jessica Ernakovich, Tatiana A. Vishnivetskaya, Sean Schaefer, Rachel Mackelprang, Jiri Barta, Joy O’Brien, Matthias Winkel, Robyn A. Barbato, Liam Heffernan, Mary-Cathrine Leewis, Rebecca E. Hewitt, Jenni Hultman, Yanchen Sun, Christina Biasi, James A. Bradley, Susanne Liebner, Michael P. Ricketts, Mario Muscarella, Ursel Schuette, Fumnanya Abuah, Emily Whalen, Ina Timling, Carolina Voigt, Neslihan Tas, Karen G. Lloyd, Henri M.P. Siljanen, Elizaveta M. Rivkina, Jana Voriskova, Jing Tao, Renxing Liang, Zhen Li, Jay T. Lennon, T.C. Onstott
Burbot population dynamics in northern Lake Michigan, 2001–2023, and predation on newly stocked lake trout by burbot Burbot population dynamics in northern Lake Michigan, 2001–2023, and predation on newly stocked lake trout by burbot
Although the worldwide status of burbot (Lota lota) across its Holarctic distribution has recently been assessed, adverse effects of dreissenid mussels on burbot abundance in waters invaded by mussels have not been investigated. We analyzed data from an annual spring gillnet survey to characterize burbot population dynamics in northern Lake Michigan during 2001–2023. Adult burbot...
Authors
Charles P. Madenjian, Benjamin Scott Leonhardt, Patricia Dieter, Steven A. Farha
Enhancing One Health outcomes using decision science and negotiation Enhancing One Health outcomes using decision science and negotiation
One Health initiatives have advanced zoonotic disease management by recognizing the interconnectedness of three sectors of governance (human, ecosystem, and animal) and by identifying options that can improve full-system health. Although One Health has had many successes, its full realization may be inhibited by a lack of strategies to overcome simultaneous impediments in decision making...
Authors
Jonathan D. Cook, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Howard S. Ginsberg, Diann J. Prosser, Michael C. Runge
Chemostratigraphy of the Cretaceous Hue Shale in Arctic Alaska: Exploring paleoceanographic controls on trace element enrichment, organic matter accumulation, and source-rock evolution Chemostratigraphy of the Cretaceous Hue Shale in Arctic Alaska: Exploring paleoceanographic controls on trace element enrichment, organic matter accumulation, and source-rock evolution
We document chemostratigraphy in an outcrop of late Albian to early Campanian (∼103–82 Ma) marine source rocks to better understand paleoenvironmental controls on trace element (TE) enrichment and organic matter accumulation in the distal Colville foreland basin of Arctic Alaska and how those drivers are linked to arc volcanism and successions of Cretaceous oceanographic and climatic
Authors
Palma J. Botterell, Margaret M. Sanders, David W. Houseknecht, Richard O. Lease, William A. Rouse, Katherine J. Whidden, Julie A. Dumoulin, Rebecca A. Smith, Christina A. DeVera, Brett J. Valentine