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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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Site response in the Walnut Creek–Concord region of the San Francisco Bay, California: Ground motion amplification in a fault-bounded basin Site response in the Walnut Creek–Concord region of the San Francisco Bay, California: Ground motion amplification in a fault-bounded basin
Thirty‐seven portable accelerometers were deployed in the eastern San Francisco Bay communities of Walnut Creek and Concord to study site response in a fault‐bounded, urban, sedimentary basin. Local earthquakes were recorded for a period of two years from 2017 to 2019 resulting in 101 well‐recorded events. Site response is estimated by two methods: the reference site spectral ratio...
Authors
Stephen H. Hartzell, Alena L. Leeds, Leonardo Ramirez-Guzman, Victoria Langenheim, Robert G. Schmitt
Translocation in a fragmented river provides demographic benefits for imperiled fishes Translocation in a fragmented river provides demographic benefits for imperiled fishes
Fragmentation isolates individuals and restricts access to valuable habitat with severe consequences for populations, such as reduced gene flow, disruption of recolonization dynamics, reduced resiliency to disturbance, and changes in aquatic community structure. Translocations to mitigate the effects of fragmentation and habitat loss are common, but few are rigorously evaluated...
Authors
Casey A. Pennock, Brian D. Healy, Matthew R. Bogaard, Mark C. McKinstry, Keith B. Gido, C. Nathan Cathcart, Brian Hines
Estimating price elasticity of demand for mineral commodities used in lithium-ion batteries in the face of surging demand Estimating price elasticity of demand for mineral commodities used in lithium-ion batteries in the face of surging demand
The accelerating adoption of clean energy technologies is driving demand for certain mineral commodities like lithium, essential for electric vehicle batteries. Understanding the influence of the energy transition on each market requires examining their supply and demand price elasticities. However, there have only been a limited number of studies that have estimated mineral demand price
Authors
Ensieh Shojaeddini, Elisa Alonso, Nedal T. Nassar
Infectivity of wild-bird origin Influenza A viruses in Minnesota wetlands across seasons Infectivity of wild-bird origin Influenza A viruses in Minnesota wetlands across seasons
The environmental tenacity of influenza A viruses (IAVs) in the environment likely plays a role in their transmission; IAVs are able to remain infectious in aquatic habitats and may have the capacity to seed outbreaks when susceptible wild bird hosts utilize these same environments months or even seasons later. Here, we aimed to assess the persistence of low-pathogenicity IAVs from...
Authors
Rebecca L. Poulson, Andrew B. Reeves, Christina A. Ahlstrom, Laura Celeste Scott, Laura E. Hubbard, Alinde Fojtik, Deborah L. Carter, David E. Stallknecht, Andrew M. Ramey
Modeling forest snow using relative canopy structure metrics Modeling forest snow using relative canopy structure metrics
Snow and watershed models typically do not account for forest structure and shading; therefore, they display substantial uncertainty when attempting to account for forest change or when comparing hydrological response between forests with varying characteristics. This study collected snow water equivalent (SWE) measurements in a snow-dominated forest in Colorado, the United States, with...
Authors
C. David Moeser, Graham A. Sexstone, Jake Kurzweil
A two-dimensional, reach-scale implementation of space-time image velocimetry (STIV) and comparison to particle image velocimetry (PIV) A two-dimensional, reach-scale implementation of space-time image velocimetry (STIV) and comparison to particle image velocimetry (PIV)
Image-based algorithms have become a powerful tool for estimating flow velocities in rivers. In this study, we generalize the space-time image velocimetry (STIV) framework for reach-scale application rather than along a cross section. The new algorithm provides information on both the magnitude and orientation of velocity vectors, and we refer to the algorithm as two-dimensional STIV, or...
Authors
Carl J. Legleiter, Paul J. Kinzel, Frank L. Engel, Lee R. Harrison, Gregory Hewitt
A model for evaluation of sediment exposure and burial for freshwater mussels from heavy particle sedimentation A model for evaluation of sediment exposure and burial for freshwater mussels from heavy particle sedimentation
Freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionida) are an ecologically important faunal group. Excessive sediments, both in suspended and deposited formats, are believed to have negative effects on survival of freshwater mussels. However, there is a lack of quantitative tools for assessing the impact of abrupt and excessive sedimentation on freshwater mussel habitats. This gap in knowledge poses...
Authors
Bin Wang, Brandon James Sansom, Wenyu Zhu, James L. Kunz, M. Christopher Barnhart, Henry Brown, Stephen E. McMurray, Andrew D Roberts, Christopher Shulse, Caleb Knerr, Kathleen Trauth, Jeffery A. Steevens, Baolin Deng
Evidence on the ecological and physical effects of built structures in shallow, tropical coral reefs: A systematic map Evidence on the ecological and physical effects of built structures in shallow, tropical coral reefs: A systematic map
Shallow, tropical coral reefs face compounding threats from climate change, habitat degradation due to coastal development and pollution, impacts from storms and sea-level rise, and pulse disturbances like blast fishing, mining, dredging, and ship groundings that reduce reef height and complexity. One approach toward restoring coral reef physical structure from such impacts is deploying...
Authors
Avery Paxton, Iris R. Foxfoot, Christina Cutshaw, D’amy Steward, Leanne Poussard, Trevor Riley, Todd M. Swannack, Candice Piercy, Safra Altman, Brandon Puckett, Curt D. Storlazzi, Shay Viehman
Duckling survival increased with availability of flooded wetland habitat and decreased with salinity concentrations in a brackish marsh Duckling survival increased with availability of flooded wetland habitat and decreased with salinity concentrations in a brackish marsh
Waterfowl population recruitment is sensitive to duckling survival. We quantified predator types and survival rates for Anas platyrhynchos (Mallard) and Mareca strepera (Gadwall) ducklings in one of the largest brackish water marshes in western North America (Suisun Marsh, California) using 556 radio-tagged ducklings from 284 broods tracked during the 2016 to 2019 breeding seasons...
Authors
Sarah H. Peterson, Joshua T. Ackerman, C. Alex Hartman, Andrew C. Greenawalt, Michael L. Casazza, Mark P. Herzog
Unexpected effect of geographic origin on post-translocation survival in a long-lived reptile, the gopher tortoise Unexpected effect of geographic origin on post-translocation survival in a long-lived reptile, the gopher tortoise
Mitigation translocations move wildlife from specific areas due to conflict with humans over land use at the site. A critical decision when carrying out mitigation translocation is the acceptable distance across which animals can be moved. This decision trades off logistical expediency of unrestricted translocation with the risk of reducing translocation success due to environmental...
Authors
Kevin J. Loope, Rebecca A. Cozad, Derek. B. Breakfield, Matthew J. Aresco, Elizabeth Ann Hunter
Impacts of artificial rearing on cisco Coregonus artedi morphology, including pugheadedness Impacts of artificial rearing on cisco Coregonus artedi morphology, including pugheadedness
Cisco (Coregonus artedi Lesueur, 1818) in the Laurentian Great Lakes declined throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Managers are attempting to restore Great Lakes cisco and other coregonines using multiple approaches, including stocking. A potential obstacle to these efforts is that artificially reared coregonines can display deformities and morphological differences compared to wild...
Authors
Andrew Edgar Honsey, Katie Victoria Anweiler, David Bunnell, Cory O. Brant, Georgia Wende Hoffman, Brian O’Malley, Kevin M. Keeler, Chris Olds, Jeremy Kraus, Yu-Chun Kao, Wendylee Stott
Early pandemic recreational fishing patterns across the urban-to-rural gradient in the U.S. Early pandemic recreational fishing patterns across the urban-to-rural gradient in the U.S.
In 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted individual and social behaviors and norms, including outdoor activities. A recreational angling survey of 18,000 licensed anglers from 10 states (AR, CT, FL, IA, MO, NC, SC, TX, UT, WY) was conducted in summer 2020 to characterize recreational fishing trends during the first few months of the pandemic. The study presented here builds...
Authors
Anna L. Kaz, Michael D. Kaller, Abigail J. Lynch, Stephen R. Midway