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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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The 2023 US 50-State National Seismic Hazard Model: Overview and implications The 2023 US 50-State National Seismic Hazard Model: Overview and implications
The US National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) was updated in 2023 for all 50 states using new science on seismicity, fault ruptures, ground motions, and probabilistic techniques to produce a standard of practice for public policy and other engineering applications (defined for return periods greater than ∼475 or less than ∼10,000 years). Changes in 2023 time-independent seismic hazard...
Authors
Mark D. Petersen, Allison Shumway, Peter M. Powers, Edward H. Field, Morgan P. Moschetti, Kishor S. Jaiswal, Kevin R. Milner, Sanaz Rezaeian, Arthur D. Frankel, Andrea L. Llenos, Andrew J. Michael, Jason M. Altekruse, Sean Kamran Ahdi, Kyle Withers, Charles Mueller, Yuehua Zeng, Robert E. Chase, Leah M. Salditch, Nico Luco, Kenneth S. Rukstales, Julie A. Herrick, Demi Leafar Girot, Brad T. Aagaard, Adrian Bender, Michael L. Blanpied, Richard W. Briggs, Oliver S. Boyd, Brandon Clayton, Christopher DuRoss, Eileen L. Evans, Peter J. Haeussler, Alexandra Elise Hatem, Kirstie Lafon Haynie, Elizabeth H. Hearn, Kaj M. Johnson, Zachary Alan Kortum, N. Simon Kwong, Andrew James Makdisi, Henry Mason, Daniel McNamara, Devin McPhillips, P. Okubo, Morgan T. Page, Frederick Pollitz, Justin Rubinstein, Bruce E. Shaw, Zheng-Kang Shen, Brian Shiro, James Andrew Smith, William J. Stephenson, Eric M. Thompson, Jessica Ann Thompson Jobe, Erin A. Wirth, Robert C. Witter
Climate impacts to inland fishes: Shifting research topics over time Climate impacts to inland fishes: Shifting research topics over time
Climate change remains a primary threat to inland fishes and fisheries. Using topic modeling to examine trends and relationships across 36 years of scientific literature on documented and projected climate impacts to inland fish, we identify ten representative topics within this body of literature: assemblages, climate scenarios, distribution, climate drivers, population growth, invasive...
Authors
Abigail Lynch, Andrew DiSanto, Julian D. Olden, Cindy Chu, Craig Paukert, Daria Gundermann, Mitchel Lang, Ray Zhang, Trevor J. Krabbenhoft
Dive characteristics of Common Loons wintering in the Gulf of Mexico and off the southern U.S. Atlantic coast Dive characteristics of Common Loons wintering in the Gulf of Mexico and off the southern U.S. Atlantic coast
Common Loons (Gavia immer) winter primarily in marine coastal areas and utilize a forage base that is poorly defined, especially for offshore areas. Information on dive activity is needed for describing foraging strategies and for inferring prey distribution. Archival geolocator tags were used to determine the wintering locations and dive characteristics of adult Common Loons captured...
Authors
Kevin P. Kenow, Luke J. Fara, Steven C. Houdek, Brian R. Gray, Darryl J. Heard, Michael W. Meyer, Timothy J. Fox, Robert J. Kratt, Carrol L. Henderson
Mid-contract management alters conservation reserve program vegetation in the central and western United States Mid-contract management alters conservation reserve program vegetation in the central and western United States
Disturbances such as grazing, fire, and burrowing are historically important in North American grasslands, and plans for restoring disturbance regimes are often required for successful restoration. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has become the dominant grassland restoration mechanism in many areas, and requires planned disturbances known as mid...
Authors
Kenneth Elgersma, Mark W. Vandever, Ai Wen
Highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus clade 2.3.4.4b infections in wild terrestrial mammals, United States, 2022 Highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus clade 2.3.4.4b infections in wild terrestrial mammals, United States, 2022
We describe the pathology of natural infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus of Eurasian lineage Goose/Guangdong clade 2.3.4.4b in 67 wild terrestrial mammals throughout the United States during April 1‒July 21, 2022. Affected mammals include 50 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), 6 striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis), 4 raccoons (Procyon lotor), 2 bobcats (Lynx rufus), 2...
Authors
E. J. Elsmo, A. Wunschmann, Kimberlee B. Beckmen, L. B. Broughton-Neiswanger, E. L. Buckles, J. Hugh Ellis, S. D. Fitzgerald, Robert Gerlach, S. Hawkins, Hon S. Ip, Julia S. Lankton, E. M. Lemley, J. B. Lenoch, M. L. Killian, K. Lantz, L. Long, R. Maes, M. Mainenti, J. Melotti, M. E. Moriarty, S. Nakagun, R. M. Ruden, Valerie I. Shearn-Bochsler, D.A. Thompson, M. K. Torchetti, A. J. Van Wettere, A. G. Wise, A. L. Lim
Lactation performance in polar bears is associated with fasting time and energetic state Lactation performance in polar bears is associated with fasting time and energetic state
Females must continually make resource allocation decisions because of fitness trade-offs between self-maintenance and investment in current offspring, yet factors underpinning these decisions are unresolved. Polar bears Ursus maritimus face considerable allocation challenges when seasonal sea-ice melt precludes access to prey for several months, and females rely solely on energy stores...
Authors
Louise C. Archer, Stephen N. Atkinson, Anthony M. Pagano, Stephanie R. Penk, Peter K. Molnar
Visitor use and activities detected using trail cameras at forest restoration sites Visitor use and activities detected using trail cameras at forest restoration sites
We used trail cameras to monitor human visits and activities at two sites in northeast Indiana being restored to bottomland hardwood forests. These sites, managed as nature preserves, are close to cities, where trails and parking lots have been added for ease of access. In this study, trail cameras were successfully used to capture visitation rates and activity types. The two sites had...
Authors
Janice L. Albers, Mark L. Wildhaber, Nicholas S. Green, Matthew Struckhoff, Michael J. Hooper
Operational aspects of Landsat 8 and 9 geometry Operational aspects of Landsat 8 and 9 geometry
Landsat 9 (L9) was launched on 27 September 2021. This spacecraft contained two instruments, the Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2) and Thermal Infrared Sensor-2 (TIRS-2), that allow for a continuation of the Landsat program and the mission to acquire multi-spectral observations of the globe on a moderate scale. Following a period of commissioning, during which time the spacecraft and...
Authors
Michael J. Choate, Rajagopalan Rengarajan, Nahid Hasan, Alex Denevan, Kathryn Ruslander
Utilizing high-resolution genetic markers to track population-level exposure of migratory birds to renewable energy development Utilizing high-resolution genetic markers to track population-level exposure of migratory birds to renewable energy development
With new motivation to increase the proportion of energy demands met by zero-carbon sources, there is a greater focus on efforts to assess and mitigate the impacts of renewable energy development on sensitive ecosystems and wildlife, of which birds are of particular interest. One challenge for researchers, due in part to a lack of appropriate tools, has been estimating the effects from...
Authors
Ryan J. Harrigan, Jasmine Rajbhandary, Christen Bossu, Peter M. Sanzenbacher, Thomas Dietsch, Cristian Gruppi, Todd E. Katzner, Thomas J. Smith III, Kristen Ruegg
Water, water everywhere, but every drop unique: Emerging challenges in the science to understand the role of contaminants in management of drinking water supplies Water, water everywhere, but every drop unique: Emerging challenges in the science to understand the role of contaminants in management of drinking water supplies
The protection and management of water resources continues to be challenged by multiple and ongoing factors such as shifts in demographic, social, economic, and public health requirements. Physical limitations placed on access to potable supplies include natural and human-caused factors such as aquifer depletion, aging infrastructure, saltwater intrusion, floods, and drought. These...
Authors
S.T. Glassmeyer, E.E. Burns, Michael J. Focazio, Edward Furlong, Matthew O. Gribble, M.A. Jahne, S.P. Keely, A.R. Kenicutt, Dana W. Kolpin, E.K. Medlock Kakaley, S.L. Pfaller
Modular compositional learning improves 1D hydrodynamic lake model performance by merging process-based modeling with deep learning Modular compositional learning improves 1D hydrodynamic lake model performance by merging process-based modeling with deep learning
Hybrid Knowledge-Guided Machine Learning (KGML) models, which are deep learning models that utilize scientific theory and process-based model simulations, have shown improved performance over their process-based counterparts for the simulation of water temperature and hydrodynamics. We highlight the modular compositional learning (MCL) methodology as a novel design choice for the...
Authors
Robert Ladwig, Arka Daw, Elen A Albright, Cal Buelo, Anuj Karpatne, Michael Frederick Meyer, Abhilash Neog, Paul C. Hanson, Hilary A. Dugan
Ectoparasitism and energy infrastructure limit survival of preadult Golden Eagles in the Southern Great Plains Ectoparasitism and energy infrastructure limit survival of preadult Golden Eagles in the Southern Great Plains
Much of the US Southern Great Plains (SGP) continues to undergo intensive energy development that could affect the region's Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos), yet the species' population status there is unknown. During 2011–2020, we used satellite telemetry to assess annual survival rates and causes of mortality among 40 preadult (
Authors
Robert K. Murphy, Brian A. Millsap, Dale W. Stahlecker, Clint W. Boal, Brian W. Smith, Shea D. Mullican, Corrie C. Borgman