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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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Local topography and streambed hydraulic conductivity influence riparian groundwater age and groundwater-surface water connection Local topography and streambed hydraulic conductivity influence riparian groundwater age and groundwater-surface water connection
The western U.S. is experiencing increasing rain to snow ratios due to climate change, and scientists are uncertain how changing recharge patterns will affect future groundwater-surface water connection. We examined how watershed topography and streambed hydraulic conductivity impact groundwater age and stream discharge at eight sites along a headwater stream within the Manitou...
Authors
Sara R. Warix, Alexis Navarre-Sitchler, Andrew H. Manning, Kamini Singha
Testosterone identifies hatchling sex for Mojave desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) Testosterone identifies hatchling sex for Mojave desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii)
The threatened Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) exhibits temperature-dependent sex determination, and individuals appear externally sexually monomorphic until sexual maturity. A non-surgical sex identification method that is suitable for a single in situ encounter with hatchlings is essential for minimizing handling of wild animals. We tested (1) whether plasma testosterone...
Authors
M. A. Walden, Kevin J. Loope, Elizabeth Ann Hunter, Stephen J. Divers, Jessica R. Comolli, Todd Esque, Kevin T. Shoemaker
Development of a volcanic risk management system at Mount St. Helens—1980 to present Development of a volcanic risk management system at Mount St. Helens—1980 to present
Here, we review volcanic risk management at Mount St. Helens from the perspective of the US Geological Survey’s (USGS) experience over the four decades since its 18 May 1980 climactic eruption. Prior to 1980, volcano monitoring, multidisciplinary eruption forecasting, and interagency coordination for eruption response were new to the Cascade Range. A Mount St. Helens volcano hazards...
Authors
Heather M. Wright, Carolyn L. Mastin, John S. Pallister, Christopher G. Newhall, Michael A. Clynne, John W. Ewert
Dead-end hollow fiber ultrafiltration capture of environmental DNA for freshwater mussel (Unionidae) species detection with metabarcoding Dead-end hollow fiber ultrafiltration capture of environmental DNA for freshwater mussel (Unionidae) species detection with metabarcoding
Insufficient water sample volumes can be a limiting factor for detecting species with environmental DNA (eDNA) from aquatic habitats. We compared detections of freshwater mussel (Unionidae) communities using large water sample volumes and dead-end hollow fiber ultrafiltration (D-HFUF or DEUF) with traditional eDNA filtration methods that use relatively small water sample volumes. Unionid...
Authors
Anna M. McKee, Katy E. Klymus, Yer Lor, Marissa Kaminski, Tariq Tajjioui, Nathan Johnson, Matthew Carroll, Christopher Goodson, Stephen Frank Spear
Leveraging multimission satellite data for spatiotemporally coherent cyanoHAB monitoring Leveraging multimission satellite data for spatiotemporally coherent cyanoHAB monitoring
Cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) present a critical public health challenge for aquatic resource and public health managers. Satellite remote sensing is well-positioned to aid in the identification and mapping of cyanoHABs and their dynamics, giving freshwater resource managers a tool for both rapid and long-term protection of public health. Monitoring cyanoHABs in lakes...
Authors
Kate Colleen Fickas, Ryan O’Shea, Nima Pahlevan, Brandon Smith, Sarah Bartlett, Jennifer L. Wolny
To remediate or not? Source identification in an acid mine drainage stream, Warden Gulch, Colorado To remediate or not? Source identification in an acid mine drainage stream, Warden Gulch, Colorado
A synoptic water quality study was implemented in Warden Gulch, a headwater stream affected by metals that are contributed by both natural and mining-impacted sources. Warden Gulch is a tributary to Peru Creek (Colorado, USA), where emplacement of a mine tunnel bulkhead and other remedial actions have improved water quality upstream of Warden Gulch. The goal of this study was to identify
Authors
Matthew M. Jones, Robert L. Runkel, Diane M. McKnight
Lesser Prairie-chicken incubation behavior and nest success most influenced by nest vegetation structure Lesser Prairie-chicken incubation behavior and nest success most influenced by nest vegetation structure
Incubation breaks are necessary for any nesting bird but can increase the mortality risk of the nest or attending parent. How intrinsic and extrinsic variables affect nest attentiveness—the proportion of time a female is on nest during incubation— and subsequent survival of the nest remains unclear for uniparental species. We related female nest attentiveness to nest survival and tested...
Authors
Jacquelyn M. Gehrt, Daniel S. Sullins, Bram H. F. Verheijen, David A. Haukos
3-D wave propagation simulations of Mw 6.5+ earthquakes on the Tacoma Fault, Washington state, considering the effects of topography, a geotechnical gradient, and a fault damage zone 3-D wave propagation simulations of Mw 6.5+ earthquakes on the Tacoma Fault, Washington state, considering the effects of topography, a geotechnical gradient, and a fault damage zone
We simulate shaking in Tacoma, Washington, and surrounding areas from Mw 6.5 and 7.0 earthquakes on the Tacoma fault. Ground motions are directly modeled up to 2.5 Hz using kinematic, finite‐fault sources; a 3D seismic velocity model considering regional geology; and a model mesh with 30 m sampling at the ground surface. In addition, we explore how adjustments to the seismic velocity...
Authors
Ian P. Stone, Erin A. Wirth, Alex R. Grant, Arthur D. Frankel
2.d.7 Lake water levels 2.d.7 Lake water levels
No abstract available.
Authors
Benjamin M. Kraemer, Hilary A. Dugan, Sofia La Fuente, Michael Frederick Meyer
Upscaling wetland methane emissions from the FLUXNET-CH4 Eddy Covariance Network (UpCH4 v1.0): Model development, network assessment, and budget comparison Upscaling wetland methane emissions from the FLUXNET-CH4 Eddy Covariance Network (UpCH4 v1.0): Model development, network assessment, and budget comparison
Wetlands are responsible for 20%–31% of global methane (CH4) emissions and account for a large source of uncertainty in the global CH4 budget. Data-driven upscaling of CH4 fluxes from eddy covariance measurements can provide new and independent bottom-up estimates of wetland CH4 emissions. Here, we develop a six-predictor random forest upscaling model (UpCH4), trained on 119 site-years...
Authors
Gavin McNicol, Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, Zutao Ouyang, Sarah Knox, Zhang Zhen, Tuula Aalto, Sheel Bansal, Kuang-Yu Chang, Min Chen, Kyle Delwiche, Sarah Feron, Mathias Goeckede, Jinxun Liu, Avni Malhotra, Joe R. Melton, William Riley, Rodrigo Vargas, Kunxiaojia Yuan, Qing Yang, Qing Zhu, Pavel Alekseychik, Mika Aurela, David P. Billesbach, David I. Campbell, Jiquan Chen, Housen Chu, Ankur Desai, Eugenie Euskirchen, Jordan Goodrich, Timothy Griffis, Manuel Helbig, Takashi Hirano, Hiroki Iwata, Gerald Jurasinski, John King, Franziska Koebsch, Randall Kolka, Ken Krauss, Annalea Lohila, Ivan Mammarella, Mats Nilson, Asko Noormets, Walter Oechel, Matthias Peichl, Torsten Sachs, Ayaka Sakabe, Christopher Schulze, Oliver Sonnentag, Ryan C. Sullivan, Eeva-Stiina Tuittila, Masahito Ueyama, Timo Vesala, Eric Ward, Christian Wille, Guan Xhuan Wong, Donatella Zona, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Benjamin Poulter, Robert B. Jackson
An agent-based model to quantify energetics, movement and habitat selection of mid-continent mallards in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley An agent-based model to quantify energetics, movement and habitat selection of mid-continent mallards in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley
The dynamics of wintering waterfowl populations at the landscape scale are the result of complex interactions of environmental, behavioral and energetic drivers. Agent-based models provide a method to directly link these factors in a spatially explicit framework and allow the emergence of patterns from the aggregation of individual agent actions. We adapted the Spatially-explicit...
Authors
Florian G. Weller, Elisabeth B. Webb, Sean Fogenburg, William S. Beatty, Dylan Kesler, Robert H. Blenk, Kevin M. Ringelman, Matt L. Miller, John M. Eadie
Memorial to Norman W. Ten Brink (1943–2023) Memorial to Norman W. Ten Brink (1943–2023)
No abstract available.
Authors
William J. Neal, Alan Werner, Christopher F. Waythomas