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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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Petrological, textural, and volatile constraints on the architecture of Mauna Loa’s magmatic system over 170 years (1852–2022) Petrological, textural, and volatile constraints on the architecture of Mauna Loa’s magmatic system over 170 years (1852–2022)
Mauna Loa’s reawakening in 2022 highlighted the limited availability of petrological constraints characterizing the geometry and dynamics of pre-eruptive storage at this volcano. In particular, there has been relatively little prior work constraining pre-eruptive volatile budgets, mineral zoning and textures. To address this, we examine olivine- and orthopyroxene-hosted melt inclusions...
Authors
Alexander T. Bearden, Penny E. Wieser, Charlotte DeVitre, Charlotte Gordon, Kendra J. Lynn, Brian Monteleone
Environmental relationships with Silver Carp population ecology across the Mississippi River basin Environmental relationships with Silver Carp population ecology across the Mississippi River basin
Objective
Authors
Jeffery N. Stevens, Cooper E. Barshinger, Andrew L. Althoff, Derek K. Owens, Jamie L. Kindschuh, Jonathan J. Spurgeon, Michael E. Eggleton, Steve E. Lochmann
Methodology for assessing the accuracy of long-term, annual land cover monitoring at national scale: Experiences from the Land Change Monitoring, Assessment, and Projection (LCMAP) initiative Methodology for assessing the accuracy of long-term, annual land cover monitoring at national scale: Experiences from the Land Change Monitoring, Assessment, and Projection (LCMAP) initiative
Annual land cover monitoring using medium-resolution satellite imagery represents a transition from periodic mapping campaigns to continuous observation systems. This transition introduces accuracy assessment challenges not encountered in one-time mapping efforts, particularly when the initial monitoring period is extended forward in time. These challenges are not addressed in existing...
Authors
Danika F. Wellington, Stephen V. Stehman, Josephine Horton, Bruce Pengra, Christopher P. Barber
Quantifying the subfield heterogeneity in winter cereal cover crop biomass across farms in the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain Quantifying the subfield heterogeneity in winter cereal cover crop biomass across farms in the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain
Winter cover crops can reduce erosion and improve water quality. Ecosystem services generally increase with higher cover crop biomass, but they are known to be variable within the field. We generated a large remotely-sensed biomass dataset from more than 8,000 fields enrolled in a cover crop cost share program to study biomass heterogeneity from fields in the Choptank and Chester...
Authors
Alexandra M. Huddell, Jyoti S. Jennewein, Steven B. Mirsky, W. Dean Hively, Alison Thieme, Brian Needelman
Dismembering the Lava Creek Tuff, Yellowstone volcano Dismembering the Lava Creek Tuff, Yellowstone volcano
The youngest large explosive eruption of Yellowstone volcano generated the 0.63 Ma Lava Creek Tuff (LCT) ignimbrite and a voluminous, widespread fall deposit accompanying formation of Yellowstone Caldera. The tuff is conventionally divided into members A (LCT-A) and B (LCT-B), defined by a reversal in density/welding profiles and the presence of phenocrystic amphibole in LCT-A. Remapping...
Authors
Stacy L. Henderson, Madison L. Myers, Mark E. Stelten, Colin J.N. Wilson
Duck nesting response to experimental management of upland habitats in California Duck nesting response to experimental management of upland habitats in California
Habitat loss and limited upland nesting cover likely constrain waterfowl productivity in intensively managed wetland landscapes in California, USA. We evaluated whether experimental manipulations of upland habitats, including the seeding of native plants, dense nesting cover, or cereal grains, could enhance nesting vegetation and improve duck nest density and nest survival in a...
Authors
Mark P. Herzog, Joshua T. Ackerman, Robert Eddings
Insights from more than a year of ongoing episodic lava fountaining at Kilauea Insights from more than a year of ongoing episodic lava fountaining at Kilauea
Episodic lava fountaining is rare globally, with only three occurrences from Kīlauea (Hawaii) since 1823. Beginning in December 2024, an eruption within the summit crater, Halemaʻumaʻu, has produced 52 fountaining episodes to date, each lasting typically for hours and separated by days to weeks. Although multiple mechanisms have been proposed, fundamental questions remain about how magma...
Authors
Ashton F. Flinders, Natalia I. Deligne, Ken Hon, Drew T. Downs, Kendra J. Lynn, Patricia A. Nadeau, Katie Mulliken, Jefferson C. Chang, Peter J. Dotray, Marco Bagnardi, Ingrid A. Johanson, Michael H. Zoeller, Kyle Anderson, Matthew R. Patrick, Christoph Kern, Christine Ruth Sealing, Michael P. Poland, David Alan Phillips, Michael Cappos, Liliana G. Desmither, Andria P. Ellis, Steven Fuke, Pauline N. Fukunaga, Madeline Kaliko Hawk, Thomas-Jon Kekoa Hiroaki Hoomanawanui, John David Jamora, Albert Keliiaimoku Kamake'eaina, Kevan Kamibayashi, William Tollett, Kody Rubio, Seth Soren Swaney, S. Miki Warren, Heather Brianne Winslow, Ninfa Lucia Bennington, Arthur Jolly, R.G. Adams, M. Decker, L. Forster, Elisabeth Gallant, Cheryl Gansecki, Richard W. Hazlett, B.F. Houghton, N. Kohagura, S. Lundblad, N.G. Pasqualon, K. Poepoe, Hannah Kelsay Neuman, C. Cauley, K. Wilde
Improving estimates of spatially distributed agricultural land use using pesticide data Improving estimates of spatially distributed agricultural land use using pesticide data
Accurate, spatially resolved agricultural land-use data are essential for estimating water demand, evaluating agricultural production, and understanding long-term changes in managed landscapes. However, existing land-use datasets are often temporally discontinuous, particularly for historical periods, and remotely sensed classifications face persistent challenges distinguishing...
Authors
Stefan Voss, Wesley R. Henson
Detecting polar bears on land using satellite imagery and deep learning Detecting polar bears on land using satellite imagery and deep learning
Summer land use is increasing for polar bears in the Beaufort Sea, which may lead to increases in human-bear interactions. Remote methods may enable noninvasive approaches to monitor polar bear abundance and distribution on land. We examined the potential of using very high-resolution optical satellite imagery to detect polar bears on land from images collected at three sites on the...
Authors
Anthony M. Pagano, Ryan H. Wilson, Anthony S. Fischbach, Todd C. Atwood
Re-evaluation of shaking, dynamic strain, and the source of the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake Re-evaluation of shaking, dynamic strain, and the source of the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake
As the largest historical event in the eastern United States, the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake, plays a prominent role in our nation’s seismological and human history and an outsized role in our probabilistic ground‐motion hazard estimates, affecting building codes, insurance rates, and geophysical monitoring. Thus, constraining the characteristics of the 1886 earthquake...
Authors
David J. Wald
On the fidelity of oxygen isotope-based sea level reconstructions: A case study of Marine Isotope Stage 3 On the fidelity of oxygen isotope-based sea level reconstructions: A case study of Marine Isotope Stage 3
Although foraminiferal oxygen isotope records (δ18OF) have long been used to develop time-continuous estimates of past global ice volume, growing evidence indicates that the ice volume and temperature contributions to δ18OF diverge considerably over the last glacial cycle. Across Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3; 57 to 29 ka), estimates of peak global sea level based on δ18OF are ∼30 m...
Authors
Tamara Pico, Jesse R. Farmer, Sarah Shackleton, Robert K. Poirier, Bradley R. Markle, Lorraine E. Lisiecki
Improving predictions of insect harassment for barren-ground caribou in the Arctic Improving predictions of insect harassment for barren-ground caribou in the Arctic
Many populations of barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus) have declined or are declining, which is concerning given their ecological role in Arctic ecosystems and their societal role in northern communities. Insect harassment is an important driver of the behavior, energetics, and demographic rates of caribou, and yet, due to challenges in predicting harassment, there is limited...
Authors
William H. Hein, Murray M. Humphries, Heather E. Johnson, Gabrielle L. Coulombe, Michael J. Suitor