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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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Banking on strong rural livelihoods and the sustainable use of natural capital in post-conflict Colombia Banking on strong rural livelihoods and the sustainable use of natural capital in post-conflict Colombia

In post-conflict Colombia, the government has prioritized resettlement of displaced people through development of strong rural livelihoods and the sustainable use of natural capital. In this paper, we considered government proposals for expanding payment for ecosystem services (PES) and sustainable silvopastoral systems, and private-sector investment in habitat banking. We coupled the...
Authors
Onil Banerjee, Martin Cicoweiz, Ziga Malek, Peter H. Verburg, Renato Vargas, Sean Goodwin, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Josue Avila Murillo

Mechanisms of water-rock interaction and implications for remediating flooded mine workings elucidated from environmental tracers, stable isotopes, and rare earth elements Mechanisms of water-rock interaction and implications for remediating flooded mine workings elucidated from environmental tracers, stable isotopes, and rare earth elements

Contamination from acid mine drainage affects ecosystems and usability of groundwater for domestic and municipal purposes. The Captain Jack Superfund Site outside of Ward, Boulder County, Colorado, USA, hosts a draining mine adit that was remediated through emplacement of a hydraulic bulkhead to preclude acid mine drainage from entering nearby Lefthand Creek. During impoundment of water...
Authors
Connor P. Newman, Katherine Walton-Day, Robert L. Runkel, Richard Wilkin

Societal benefits of floodplains in the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds: Sediment, nutrient, and flood regulation ecosystem services Societal benefits of floodplains in the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds: Sediment, nutrient, and flood regulation ecosystem services

Floodplains provide critical ecosystem services to people by regulating floodwaters and retaining sediments and nutrients. Geospatial analyses, field data collection, and modeling were integrated to quantify a portfolio of services that floodplains provide to downstream communities within the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds. The portfolio of services included floodplain...
Authors
Kristina G. Hopkins, Jacqueline Sage Welles, Emily Pindilli, Gregory E. Noe, Peter Claggett, Labeeb Ahmed, Marina J. Metes

Ground‐motion variability from kinematic rupture models and the implications for nonergodic probabilistic seismic hazard analysis Ground‐motion variability from kinematic rupture models and the implications for nonergodic probabilistic seismic hazard analysis

The variability of earthquake ground motions has a strong control on probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA), particularly for the low frequencies of exceedance used for critical facilities. We use a crossed mixed‐effects model to partition the variance components from simulated ground motions of Mw 7 earthquakes on the Salt Lake City segment of the Wasatch fault zone. Total...
Authors
Grace Alexandra Parker, Morgan P. Moschetti, Eric M. Thompson

Paleomagnetism and geochronology of the Gwalior Sills, Bundelkhand craton, Northern India Block: New constraints on Greater India assembly Paleomagnetism and geochronology of the Gwalior Sills, Bundelkhand craton, Northern India Block: New constraints on Greater India assembly

We present an updated paleomagnetic pole from the Gwalior Sills in the Bundelkhand craton within the Northern India Block (NIB). Geochronological results from baddeleyite grains from one of the sills yielded an age of 1719 ± 7 Ma which together with a previously published age indicates the emplacement of sills between 1712 and 1756 Ma (∼1730 Ma). The paleomagnetic pole calculated from...
Authors
Joseph Meert, Scott W. Miller, Anthony Francis Pivarunas, Manoj K. Pandit, Paul A. Mueller, Anup K. Sinha, George Kamenov, Samuel Kwafo, Ananya Singha

Cost-benefit analysis for evacuation decision-support: Challenges and possible solutions for applications in areas of distributed volcanism Cost-benefit analysis for evacuation decision-support: Challenges and possible solutions for applications in areas of distributed volcanism

During a volcanic crisis, evacuation is the most effective mitigation measure to preserve life. However, the decision to call an evacuation is typically complex and challenging, in part due to uncertainties related to the behaviour of the volcano. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) can support decision-makers: this approach compares the cost of evacuating versus the expected loss from not...
Authors
Alec Wild, Mark S. Bebbington, Jan Lindsay, Natalia I. Deligne

Perspectives on the scientific legacy of J. Philip Grime Perspectives on the scientific legacy of J. Philip Grime

Perhaps as much as any other scientist in the 20th century, J.P. Grime transformed the study of plant ecology and helped shepherd the field toward international prominence as a nexus of ideas related to global environmental change. Editors at the Journal of Ecology asked a group of senior plant ecologists to comment on Grime's scientific legacy.This commentary piece includes individual...
Authors
Jason D. Fridley, Xiaojuan Liu, Natalia Perez-Harguindeguy, F. Stuart Chapin III, Mick Crawley, Gerlinde De Deyn, Sandra Diaz, James Grace, Peter Grubb, Susan P. Harrison, Sandra Lavorel, Zhimin Liu, Simon Pierce, Bernhard Schmid, Carly J. Stevens, David A. Wardle, Mark Westoby

Organohalogenated contaminants in multiple life stages of the Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus), Oregon, USA Organohalogenated contaminants in multiple life stages of the Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus), Oregon, USA

Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) are ecologically and culturally important anadromous animals native to the West Coast of the United States. Pacific lamprey populations are in decline, and contaminants may be a contributing factor. Between 2017 and 2021, three life stages of Pacific lamprey and collocated sediment samples were collected in Oregon (larval lamprey, sediment, and...
Authors
Cassandra Smith, Sean E. Payne, Jennifer L. Morace, Elena Nilsen

Transporting timbers to Chaco Canyon: How heavy, how many carriers and how far/fast? Transporting timbers to Chaco Canyon: How heavy, how many carriers and how far/fast?

A total of 200,000+ large timbers were transported >75 km to Chaco Canyon, a political and religious center in the precontact U.S. Southwest, using only human power. Previous researchers reported that typical primary roof beams (vigas) of Chacoan Great Houses averaged 0.22 m in diameter and 5 m in length with a mass of 275 kg. However, the 275 kg mass appears to be a miscalculation. Here...
Authors
James A. Wilson, Robert S. Weiner, Jeffrey S. Dean, Julio L. Betancourt, Rodger Kram

Adult Sea Lamprey approach and passage at the Milford Dam fishway, Penobscot River, Maine, United States Adult Sea Lamprey approach and passage at the Milford Dam fishway, Penobscot River, Maine, United States

Objective Sea Lamprey Petromyzon marinus provide important ecological services within their native range, such as nutrient cycling, and can also act as a prey source for other species. Adult Sea Lamprey must access freshwater rivers to spawn, and because of this they are susceptible to changes in river connectivity. Human-made structures, such as dams, can exclude them from usable...
Authors
Erin Peterson, Rex Thors, Danielle Frechette, Joseph D. Zydlewski

Influence of invasive bigheaded carps on abundance of Gizzard Shad in the Tennessee River Influence of invasive bigheaded carps on abundance of Gizzard Shad in the Tennessee River

Objective The Tennessee River basin and its cascade of reservoirs are home to some of the most diverse freshwater fish assemblages in the world. This unique system is threatened by the ongoing invasion of Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix and Bighead Carp H. nobilis, hereafter referred to together as “bigheaded carps.” Bigheaded carps may directly compete for food resources with...
Authors
Spencer VanderBloemen, Leandro E. Miranda, Greg G. Sass, Michael Colvin, Nicky Faucheux

Spatial and temporal variation of large wood in a coastal river Spatial and temporal variation of large wood in a coastal river

Large wood (LW) is a critical habitat-forming feature in rivers, but our understanding of its spatial and temporal dynamics remains incomplete due to its historical removal from waterways. Few studies have the necessary spatial and temporal extent and resolution to assess wood dynamics over long time periods or in response to flood disturbance. We used an exceptional dataset from 65 km...
Authors
Kimberly Yazzie, Christian E. Torgersen, Daniel Schindler, Gordon H. Reeves
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