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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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Continental-scale nutrient and contaminant delivery by Pacific salmon Continental-scale nutrient and contaminant delivery by Pacific salmon
The movement of large amounts of nutrients by migrating animals has ecological benefits for recipient food webs1,2 that may be offset by co-transported contaminants3,4. Salmon spawning migrations are archetypal of this process, carrying marine-derived materials to inland ecosystems where they stimulate local productivity but also enhance contaminant exposure5,6,7. Pacific salmon...
Authors
Jessica E. Brandt, Jeff S. Wesner, Gregory T. Ruggerone, Timothy D. Jardine, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Gabrielle E. Ruso, Craig A. Stricker, Cristofor A. Voss, David M. Walters
Discerning sediment provenance in the Outer Banks (USA) through detrital zircon geochronology Discerning sediment provenance in the Outer Banks (USA) through detrital zircon geochronology
Detrital zircon data from modern barrier island and estuarine environments in the Outer Banks (Atlantic Coast, USA) were statistically compared to sands from nearby rivers to assist in determining source-to-sink pathways. Fluvial samples, collected from near the Fall Line contact between the Appalachian Orogen and sediments of the coastal plain, all have age unique distributions, making...
Authors
John W. Counts, Jared T. Gooley, Joshua Long, William H. Craddock, Paul O’Sullivan
Geologic input databases for the 2025 Puerto Rico – U.S. Virgin Islands National Seismic Hazard Model update: Crustal faults component Geologic input databases for the 2025 Puerto Rico – U.S. Virgin Islands National Seismic Hazard Model update: Crustal faults component
The last National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (PRVI) was published in 2003. In advance of the 2025 PRVI NSHM update, we created three geologic input databases to summarize new onshore and offshore fault source information in the northern Caribbean region between 62°–70° W and 16°–21° N. These databases, of fault sections, fault‐zone polygons...
Authors
Jessica A. Thompson Jobe, Richard W. Briggs, Uri S. ten Brink, Thomas L. Pratt, K. Stephen Hughes, Alexandra Elise Hatem, Christopher B. DuRoss, Nadine G. Reitman, Julie A. Herrick, Sylvia R. Nicovich, Camille Collett, Katherine M. Scharer, Stephen B. DeLong
Oxidation is a potentially significant methane sink in land-terminating glacial runoff Oxidation is a potentially significant methane sink in land-terminating glacial runoff
Globally, aquatic ecosystems are one of the largest but most uncertain sources of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. It is unclear how climate change will affect methane emissions, but recent work suggests that glacial systems, which are melting faster with climate change, may be an important source of methane to the atmosphere. Currently, studies quantifying glacial emissions are limited...
Authors
Kristin E. Strock, Rachel Krewson, Nicole M. Hayes, Bridget R. Deemer
Challenges and future directions in quantifying terrestrial evapotranspiration Challenges and future directions in quantifying terrestrial evapotranspiration
Terrestrial evapotranspiration is the second-largest component of the land water cycle, linking the water, energy, and carbon cycles and influencing the productivity and health of ecosystems. The dynamics of ET across a spectrum of spatiotemporal scales and their controls remain an active focus of research across different science disciplines. Here, we provide an overview of the current...
Authors
K. Yi, Gabriel B. Senay, Jousha B. Fisher, Lixin Wang, Kosana Suvocarev, Housen Chu, Georgianne W. Moore, Kimberly A. Novick, Mallory L. Barnes, Trevor F. Keenan, Kanishka Mallick, Xiangzhong Luo, Justine E.C. Missik, Kyle B. Delwiche, Jacob A. Nelson, Stephen P. Good, Xiangming Xiao, Steven A. Kannenberg, Arman Ahmadi, Tianxin Wang, Gil Bohrer, Marcy E. Litvak, David E. Reed, A. Christopher Oishi, Margaret S. Torn, Dennis Baldocchi
Body size and early marine conditions drive changes in Chinook salmon productivity across northern latitude ecosystems Body size and early marine conditions drive changes in Chinook salmon productivity across northern latitude ecosystems
Disentangling the influences of climate change from other stressors affecting the population dynamics of aquatic species is particularly pressing for northern latitude ecosystems, where climate-driven warming is occurring faster than the global average. Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Yukon-Kuskokwim (YK) region occupy the northern extent of their species' range and are
Authors
Megan L. Feddern, Rebecca Shaftel, Erik R. Schoen, Curry J. Cunningham, Brendan M. Connors, Benjamin A. Staton, Al von Finster, Zachary Liller, Vanessa R. von Biela, Katherine G. Howard
Dynamic water-quality responses to wildfire in Colorado Dynamic water-quality responses to wildfire in Colorado
In 2020, Colorado experienced the most severe wildfire season in recorded history, with wildfires burning 625 357 acres across the state. Two of the largest fires burned parts of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), and a study was initiated to address concerns about potential effects on drinking water quality from mobilization of ash and sediment. The study took advantage of a wealth of...
Authors
David W. Clow, Garrett Alexander Akie, Sheila F. Murphy, Evan J. Gohring
Effects of initial vegetation heterogeneity on competition of submersed and floating macrophytes Effects of initial vegetation heterogeneity on competition of submersed and floating macrophytes
Non-spatial models of competition between floating aquatic vegetation (FAV) and submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) predict a stable state of pure SAV at low total available limiting nutrient level, N, a stable state of only FAV for high N, and alternative stable states for intermediate N, as described by an S-shaped bifurcation curve. Spatial models that include physical heterogeneity of...
Authors
Linhao Xu, Don DeAngelis
One Health collaboration is more effective than single-sector actions at mitigating SARS-CoV-2 in deer One Health collaboration is more effective than single-sector actions at mitigating SARS-CoV-2 in deer
One Health aims to achieve optimal health outcomes for people, animals, plants, and shared environments. We describe a multisector effort to understand and mitigate SARS-CoV-2 transmission risk to humans via the spread among and between captive and wild white-tailed deer. We first framed a One Health problem with three governance sectors that manage captive deer, wild deer populations...
Authors
Jonathan D. Cook, Elias Rosenblatt, Graziella Vittoria DiRenzo, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Brittany A. Mosher, Fernando Arce, Sonja Christensen, Ria R. Ghai, Michael C. Runge
Historical insights, current challenges: Tracking marine biodiversity in an urban harbor ecosystem in the face of climate change Historical insights, current challenges: Tracking marine biodiversity in an urban harbor ecosystem in the face of climate change
The Boston Harbor Islands is the only coastal drumlin archipelago in the USA, featuring a distinctive and uncommon geological intertidal habitat known as mixed coarse substrate, which supports a range of coastal species and ecological processes. Recently designated as one of America’s 11 most endangered historic places due to climate change impacts, coastal adaptation and restoration...
Authors
Alysha B. Putnam, Sarah C. Endyke, Ally Rose Jones, Lucy A.D. Lockwood, Justin Taylor, Marc Albert, Michelle Staudinger
An accuracy assessment of the surface reflectance product from the EMIT imaging spectrometer An accuracy assessment of the surface reflectance product from the EMIT imaging spectrometer
The Earth surface Mineral dust source InvesTigation (EMIT) is an imaging spectrometer launched to the International Space Station in July 2022 to measure the mineral composition of Earth’s dust-producing regions. We present a systematic accuracy assessment of the EMIT surface reflectance product in two parts. First, we characterize the surface reflectance product’s overall performance...
Authors
Red Willow Coleman, David R. Thompson, Philip G. Brodrick, Eyal Ben-Dor, Evan Cox, Carlos Perez Garcıa-Pando, Todd M. Hoefen, Raymond F. Kokaly, John Michael Meyer, Francisco Ochoa, Gregory S. Okin, Daniela Heller Pearlshtien, Gregg A. Swayze, Robert O. Green
Temperature-driven convergence and divergence of ecohydrological dynamics in the ecosystems of a sky island mountain range Temperature-driven convergence and divergence of ecohydrological dynamics in the ecosystems of a sky island mountain range
Forest and woodland decline is predicted to be increasingly influenced by meteorological variation and climate change in the future. By determining how meteorological variation leads to similar versus differing ecohydrological dynamics of forest and woodland ecosystems, we can gain insight on how future climate-driven declines may be realized. We characterized 23 mixed conifer forest (MC...
Authors
M.D. Petrie, John B. Bradford, Daniel Rodolphe Schlaepfer