Articles
Science Quality and Integrity
The USGS provides unbiased, objective, and impartial scientific information upon which our audiences, including resource managers, planners, and other entities, rely.
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.
Filter Total Items: 77863
The sands of time: Predicting sea level rise impacts to barrier island habitats The sands of time: Predicting sea level rise impacts to barrier island habitats
Coastal beach ecosystems support critical habitat for numerous species and are vulnerable to sea level rise. Sand beaches are spatially and temporally dynamic, making it difficult to accurately predict future habitat loss – estimates that are crucial as species are being assessed for protection. We mapped sand beach habitat on 12 focal barrier islands and low-lying beaches off the Gulf...
Authors
Erin L. Koen, William Barichivich, Susan C. Walls
Interlaboratory comparison of testing hydraulic, elastic, and failure properties in compression: Lessons learned Interlaboratory comparison of testing hydraulic, elastic, and failure properties in compression: Lessons learned
Many geoscientific problems require us to exploit synergies of experimental and numerical approaches, which in turn lead to questions regarding the significance of experimental details for validation of numerical codes. We report results of an interlaboratory comparison regarding experimental determination of mechanical and hydraulic properties of samples from five rock types, three...
Authors
Yang Cheng, David A. Lockner, Mandy Duda, Carolyn A. Morrow, Demian Saffer, Insun Song, Joerg Renner
The long shadow of a major disaster: Modeled dynamic impacts of the hypothetical HayWired earthquake on California’s economy The long shadow of a major disaster: Modeled dynamic impacts of the hypothetical HayWired earthquake on California’s economy
We develop and apply a dynamic economic simulation model to analyze the multi-regional impacts of, and mechanisms of recovery from, a major disaster, the HayWired scenario — a hypothetical Magnitude 7.0 earthquake affecting California’s San Francisco Bay Area. The model integrates loss pathways: capital stock damage, labor supply shocks due to short-term population displacement and...
Authors
Ian Sue Wing, Adam Z Rose, Dan Wei, Anne Wein
Machine learning application to assess occurrence and saturations of methane hydrate in marine deposits offshore India Machine learning application to assess occurrence and saturations of methane hydrate in marine deposits offshore India
Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) were used to assess methane hydrate occurrence and saturation in marine sediments offshore India. The ANN analysis classifies the gas hydrate occurrence into three types: methane hydrate in pore space, methane hydrate in fractures, or no methane hydrate. Further, predicted saturation characterizes the volume of gas hydrate with respect to the available...
Authors
Leebyn Chong, Timothy Collett, C. Gabriel Creason, Yongkoo Seol, E.M. Myshakin
Reimagining large river management using the Resist–Accept–Direct (RAD) framework in the Upper Mississippi River Reimagining large river management using the Resist–Accept–Direct (RAD) framework in the Upper Mississippi River
Background Large-river decision-makers are charged with maintaining diverse ecosystem services through unprecedented social-ecological transformations as climate change and other global stressors intensify. The interconnected, dendritic habitats of rivers, which often demarcate jurisdictional boundaries, generate complex management challenges. Here, we explore how the Resist–Accept...
Authors
Nicole K. Ward, Abigail Lynch, Erik A. Beever, Joshua Booker, Kristen L. Bouska, Holly Susan Embke, John F. Kocik, Joshua Kocik, Mary Grace T. Lemon, David J. Lawrence, Douglas Limpinsel, Madeline Magee, Bryan M. Maitland, Owen P. McKenna, Andrew R. Meier, John M. Morton, Jeffrey Muehlbauer, Robert Newman, Devon C. Oliver, Heidi M. Rantala, Greg G. Sass, Aaron D. Shultz, Laura Thompson, Jennifer L. Wilkening
Effects of vehicle traffic on space use and road crossings of caribou in the Arctic Effects of vehicle traffic on space use and road crossings of caribou in the Arctic
Assessing the effects of industrial development on wildlife is a key objective of managers and conservation practitioners. However, wildlife responses are often only investigated with respect to the footprint of infrastructure, even though human activity can strongly mediate development impacts. In Arctic Alaska, there is substantial interest in expanding energy development, raising...
Authors
John P. Severson, Heather E. Johnson, Timothy C. Vosburgh
Spatial variation in density of American black bears in northern Yellowstone National Park Spatial variation in density of American black bears in northern Yellowstone National Park
The quality and availability of resources are known to influence spatial patterns of animal density. In Yellowstone National Park, relationships between the availability of resources and the distribution of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) have been explored but have yet to be examined in American black bears (Ursus americanus). We conducted non-invasive genetic sampling during 2017–2018...
Authors
Nathaniel R. Bowersock, Andrea R. Litt, Michael A. Sawaya, Kerry A. Gunther, Frank T. van Manen
How long do runoff-generated debris-flow hazards persist after wildfire? How long do runoff-generated debris-flow hazards persist after wildfire?
Runoff-generated debris flows are a potentially destructive and deadly response to wildfire until sufficient vegetation and soil-hydraulic recovery have reduced susceptibility to the hazard. Elevated debris-flow susceptibility may persist for several years, but the controls on the timespan of the susceptible period are poorly understood. To evaluate the connection between vegetation...
Authors
Andrew Paul Graber, Matthew A. Thomas, Jason W. Kean
Lateral edifice collapse and volcanic debris avalanches: A post-1980 Mount St. Helens perspective Lateral edifice collapse and volcanic debris avalanches: A post-1980 Mount St. Helens perspective
The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens was instrumental in advancing understanding of how volcanoes work. Lateral edifice collapses and the generation of volcanic debris avalanches were not widely recognized prior to that eruption, making assessment of their hazards and risks challenging. The proliferation of studies since 1980 on resulting deposits and evaluation of processes leading to...
Authors
Lee Siebert, Mark E. Reid
Monitoring sediment transport pathways from an artificial nearshore berm, South Padre Island, Texas, USA, August 2018 to November 2019: Implications for coastal management Monitoring sediment transport pathways from an artificial nearshore berm, South Padre Island, Texas, USA, August 2018 to November 2019: Implications for coastal management
During August 2018 – November 2019, the transport pathways of dredge material from a specially constructed nearshore feeder berm were investigated as part of a collaborative study by the City of South Padre Island, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers–Galveston District, U.S. Geological Survey, Partrac GeoMarine Inc., and Texas A&M University, into the efficacy of beneficial use dredge material...
Authors
Darwin Ockerman, Douglas James Schnoebelen, Jack Poleykett, Patrick L. Friend, Coraggio K. Maglio, Kristina Boburka
Predatory impacts of invasive Blue Catfish in an Atlantic coast estuary Predatory impacts of invasive Blue Catfish in an Atlantic coast estuary
Objective Predatory invasive fishes may consume species of management interest and alter food webs. Blue Catfish Ictalurus furcatus is a large-bodied, salinity-tolerant species that exhibits broad diet breadth and preys on species of both conservation concern and fisheries management interest. To better understand the ecological consequences of the establishment of Blue Catfish fisheries...
Authors
Corbin David Hilling, Joseph Schmitt, Yan Jiao, Donald J. Orth
Interactions among rainfall, fire, forbs and non-native grasses predict occupancy dynamics for the endangered Pacific pocket mouse (Perognathus longimembris pacificus) in a Mediterranean-type ecosystem Interactions among rainfall, fire, forbs and non-native grasses predict occupancy dynamics for the endangered Pacific pocket mouse (Perognathus longimembris pacificus) in a Mediterranean-type ecosystem
It is important to understand species-habitat relationships to implement effective adaptive management for rare species. However, it can be challenging to assess habitat associations and their relationships to abiotic stressors in dynamic habitats without the insights that can be gained from long-term monitoring. We report results from the first six years of extensive track tube...
Authors
Cheryl S. Brehme, Sarah Kay Thomsen, Devin T. Adsit-Morris, Robert N. Fisher