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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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Feature-based maximum entropy for geophysical properties of the seabed Feature-based maximum entropy for geophysical properties of the seabed
The coherent recombination of a direct and seabed reflected path is sensitive to the geophysical properties of the seabed. The concept of feature-based inversion is used in the analysis of acoustic data collected on a vertical line array (VLA) on the New England continental shelf break in about 200 m of water. The analysis approach for the measurements is based on a ray approach in which...
Authors
D.P. Knobles, William S.. Hodgkiss, Jason Chaytor, Tracianne Neilsen, Ying-Tsong Lin
A seismic nodal deployment to understand magmatic structure in the vicinity of the Pahala earthquake swarm A seismic nodal deployment to understand magmatic structure in the vicinity of the Pahala earthquake swarm
In summer-fall 2022, 80 three-component SmartSolo IGU-BD3C-5 nodal seismometers were deployed surrounding the Pāhala seismic swarm on the Island of Hawaiʻi, with the goal of improving seismicity catalogs, and seismic velocity images of the crust and upper mantle in this region. The Pāhala swarm, located south of Mauna Loa and Kīlauea, has been the site of a multiyear sustained swarm of...
Authors
Helen Janiszewski, Ninfa Lucia Bennington, Jade Wight
Valuing wildlife sightings at the species-wide and individual animal levels: An approach and application to bear viewing in Yellowstone National Park Valuing wildlife sightings at the species-wide and individual animal levels: An approach and application to bear viewing in Yellowstone National Park
Wildlife viewing is a popular recreation activity in parks and protected areas around the world, yet information on the nonmarket value that visitors derive from viewing specific species, and how that value is affected by small-scale population changes, is lacking. We devised an approach to fill the gap. First, we applied the travel cost method to obtain the value of a wildlife viewing...
Authors
Leslie Richardson, Aaron Joey Enriquez
Development of high surface area organosilicate nanoparticulate thin films for use in sensing hydrophobic compounds in sediment and water Development of high surface area organosilicate nanoparticulate thin films for use in sensing hydrophobic compounds in sediment and water
The scope of this study was to apply advances in materials science, specifically the use of organosilicate nanoparticles as a high surface area platform for passive sampling of chemicals or pre-concentration for active sensing in multiple-phase complex environmental media. We have developed a novel nanoporous organosilicate (NPO) film as an extraction phase and proof of concept for...
Authors
Sangho Bok, Venumadhav R. Korampally, Jacob K. Stanley, Keshab Gangopadhyay, Shubhra Gangopadhyay, Jeffery A. Steevens
Predicting the odds of chronic wasting disease with Habitat Risk software Predicting the odds of chronic wasting disease with Habitat Risk software
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy that was first detected in captive cervids in Colorado, United States (US) in 1967, but has since spread into free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) across the US and Canada as well as to Scandinavia and South Korea. In some areas, the disease is considered endemic in wild deer populations, and...
Authors
W. David Walter, Brenda J. Hanley, Cara E. Them, Corey I. Mitchell, James Kelly, Daniel Grove, Nicholas Hollingshead, Rachel C. Abbott, Krysten L. Schuler
Microtopographic variation as a potential early indicator of ecosystem state change and vulnerability in salt marshes Microtopographic variation as a potential early indicator of ecosystem state change and vulnerability in salt marshes
As global climate change alters the magnitude and rates of environmental stressors, predicting the extent of ecosystem degradation driven by these rapidly changing conditions becomes increasingly urgent. At the landscape scale, disturbances and stressors can increase spatial variability and heterogeneity — indicators that can serve as potential early warnings of declining ecosystem...
Authors
Alexander J. Smith, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Joel A. Carr, David Walters, Matt L. Kirwan
Integrating presence-only and detection/non-detection data to estimate distributions and expected abundance of difficult-to-monitor species on a landscape-scale Integrating presence-only and detection/non-detection data to estimate distributions and expected abundance of difficult-to-monitor species on a landscape-scale
Estimating species distribution and abundance is foundational to effective management and conservation.Using an integrated species distribution model that combines presence-only data from various sources with detection/non-detection data from structured surveys, we estimated the distribution and expected abundance of three difficult-to-monitor mammals of management concern across New...
Authors
Joshua P. Twining, Angela K. Fuller, Catherine C. Sun, Camilo A. Calderon-Acevedo, Matthew D. Schlesinger, Melanie Berger, David Kramer, Jacqueline L. Frair
Avian communities respond to plant and landscape composition in actively revegetated floodplains of the Colorado River delta in Mexico Avian communities respond to plant and landscape composition in actively revegetated floodplains of the Colorado River delta in Mexico
We examined the influence of local habitat factors such as plant community composition and species cover, and landscape habitat factors (e.g., land cover types) on the composition of the avian community in an arid-region large river delta (Colorado River). This 106 river km-long study area has experienced restoration through environmental water deliveries and active management of...
Authors
Eduardo Gonzalez-Sargas, Martha Gomez-Sapiens, Osvel Hinojosa-Huera, Steffany Villagomez-Palma, Alejandra Calvo-Fonseca, Joanna Grand, Timothy D. Meehan, Christopher Dodge, Pamela L. Nagler, Carlos Restrepo-Giraldo, Carlos Nieblas, Angela Melendez, Roberto Real Rangel, Patrick B. Shafroth
Enhancing assessments of coastal wetland migration potential with sea-level rise: Accounting for uncertainty in elevation data, tidal data, and future water levels Enhancing assessments of coastal wetland migration potential with sea-level rise: Accounting for uncertainty in elevation data, tidal data, and future water levels
Sea-level rise rates are predicted to surpass rates of wetland vertical adjustment in the coming decades in many areas, increasing the potential for wetland submergence. Information on where wetland migration is possible can help natural resource managers for planning land acquisition or enhancing habitat connectivity to bolster adaptation of coastal wetlands to rising seas. Elevation...
Authors
Nicholas Enwright, Michael Osland, Hana R. Thurman, Claire E. McHenry, William C. Vervaeke, Brett Patton, Davina Passeri, Jason M. Stoker, Richard Day, Bethanie M. Simons
Remote sensing evapotranspiration in ensemble-based framework to enhance cascade routing and re-infiltration concept in integrated hydrological model applied to support decision making Remote sensing evapotranspiration in ensemble-based framework to enhance cascade routing and re-infiltration concept in integrated hydrological model applied to support decision making
Integrated hydrological models (IHMs) help characterize the complexity of surface–groundwater interactions. The cascade routing and re-infiltration (CRR) concept, recently applied to a MODFLOW 6 IHM, improved conceptualization and simulation of overland flow processes. The CRR controls the transfer of rejected infiltration and groundwater exfiltration from upslope areas to adjacent...
Authors
Mostafa Gomaa Daoud, Jeremy T. White, Eric D. Morway, Christiaan van der Tol, Maciek W. Lubczynski
A decade-long study demonstrates that a population of invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) can be controlled by introducing sterilized males A decade-long study demonstrates that a population of invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) can be controlled by introducing sterilized males
The release of sterilized insects to control pest populations has been used successfully during the past 6 decades, but application of the method in vertebrates has largely been overlooked or met with failure. Here, we demonstrate for the first time in fish, that a small population of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus; Class Agnatha), arguably one of the most impactful invasive fish in the...
Authors
Nicholas S. Johnson, Sean Alois Lewandoski, Aaron K. Jubar, Matthew J Symbal, Solomon M Benson, Gale A Bravener, Jessica M. Barber, Michael J. Siefkes
Quantifying uncertainty when extrapolating the relationship between snorkel counts and mark-recapture estimates of juvenile salmonids Quantifying uncertainty when extrapolating the relationship between snorkel counts and mark-recapture estimates of juvenile salmonids
Snorkel surveys are frequently used to monitor stream-dwelling fish. Inferring local abundance from snorkel surveys is complicated by two primary factors: variable fish detection probabilities and the relative abundance of fish in habitat types below the recommended minimum depth for snorkeling. We examine these factors across three salmonid species (Oncorhynchus spp.), 4 years, and 113...
Authors
Matthew Richard Falcy, Ronald J. Constable Jr.