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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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Lead isotopes in New England (USA) volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits: Implications for metal sources and pre-accretionary tectonostratigraphic terranes Lead isotopes in New England (USA) volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits: Implications for metal sources and pre-accretionary tectonostratigraphic terranes
Lead isotope values for volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits provide important insights into metal sources and the nature of pre-accretionary tectonostratigraphic terranes and underlying basements. Deposits of this type in New England formed in diverse tectonic settings including volcanic arcs and backarcs, a supra–subduction zone arc, a rifted forearc foreland basin, and a rifted
Authors
John F. Slack, Scott Swinden, Stephen Piercey, Robert A. Ayuso, Cees Van Staal, Anne P. LeHuray
Demography with drones: Detecting growth and survival of shrubs with unoccupied aerial systems Demography with drones: Detecting growth and survival of shrubs with unoccupied aerial systems
Large-scale disturbances, such as megafires, motivate restoration at equally large extents. Measuring the survival and growth of individual plants plays a key role in current efforts to monitor restoration success. However, the scale of modern restoration (e.g., >10,000 ha) challenges measurements of demographic rates with field data. In this study, we demonstrate how unoccupied aerial...
Authors
Peter J. Olsoy, Andrii Zaiats, Donna M. Delparte, Matthew J. Germino, Bryce Richardson, Anna V. Roser, Jennifer S. Forbey, Megan E Cattau, Trevor Caughlin
The addition of 144Nd atomic mass to routine ICP-MS analysis as a Quick Screening Tool for Approximating Rare Earth Elements (Q-STAR) in natural waters The addition of 144Nd atomic mass to routine ICP-MS analysis as a Quick Screening Tool for Approximating Rare Earth Elements (Q-STAR) in natural waters
Rare earth elements (REEs) are a class of critical minerals, all of which can have supply chain vulnerability that impacts economic security. These elements are widely measured in environmental matrices via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS); however, successful quantification can require time-consuming, sample-specific optimization. While a sample-by-sample approach...
Authors
Elizabeth J. Tomaszewski, Zhouming Sun, Anthony J. Bednar
Male lake char release taurocholic acid as part of a mating pheromone Male lake char release taurocholic acid as part of a mating pheromone
The evolutionary origins of sexual preferences for chemical signals remain poorly understood, due, in part, to scant information on the molecules involved. In the current study, we identified a male pheromone in lake char (Salvelinus namaycush) to evaluate the hypothesis that it exploits a non-sexual preference for juvenile odour. In anadromous char species, the odour of stream-resident...
Authors
Tyler J. Buchinger, Ke Li, Ugo Bussy, Belinda Huerta, Sonam Tamrakar, Nicholas S. Johnson, Weiming Li
Seasonal differences in larval sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) sensitivity to the pesticide TFM Seasonal differences in larval sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) sensitivity to the pesticide TFM
Invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) are controlled in the Great Lakes with 4-nitro-3-(trifluoromethyl)phenol (commonly 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol or TFM). The proper amount of TFM must be applied during treatments to effectively kill larval sea lamprey while minimizing impacts to non-target species. In this study, bioassay tests were conducted in May, July, and September in a...
Authors
Justin R. Schueller, Michael A. Boogaard, Courtney A. Kirkeeng, Nicholas Schloesser, Samantha L. Wolfe, Avery J. Lettenberger, Tisha King-Heiden, James A. Luoma
Using resiliency, redundancy, and representation in a Bayesian belief network to assess imperilment of riverine fishes Using resiliency, redundancy, and representation in a Bayesian belief network to assess imperilment of riverine fishes
Conservation prioritization frameworks are used worldwide to identify species at greatest risk of extinction and to allocate limited resources across regions, species, and populations. Conservation prioritization can be impeded by ecological knowledge gaps and data deficiency, especially in freshwater species inhabiting highly complex aquatic ecosystems. Therefore, we developed a...
Authors
Corey Garland Dunn, David A. Schumann, Michael E. Colvin, Logan John Sleezer, Matthew Wagner, D. Todd Jones-Farrand, Erin Rivenbark, Sarah McRae, Kristine Evans
A framework to facilitate development and testing of image-based river velocimetry algorithms A framework to facilitate development and testing of image-based river velocimetry algorithms
Image-based methods have compelling, demonstrated potential for characterizing flow fields in rivers, but algorithms like particle image velocimetry (PIV) must be further tested and improved to enable more effective use of these techniques. This paper presents a framework designed for this exact purpose: Simulating Hydraulics and Images for Velocimetry Evaluation and Refinement (SHIVER)...
Authors
Carl J. Legleiter, Paul J. Kinzel
Macroscale controls determine the recovery of river ecosystem productivity following flood disturbances Macroscale controls determine the recovery of river ecosystem productivity following flood disturbances
River ecosystems rely on varied flows, including regular floods, to provide food and habitat for aquatic organisms. However, flows of freshwater are becoming increasingly managed for irrigation, industry, and other human activities, and the frequency of floods is changing. Our study used time-series data of photosynthesis from 143 rivers across the United States and developed a modeling...
Authors
Heili Lowman, Robert K. Shriver, Robert O. Hall, Judson Harvey, Philip Savoy, Charles B. Yackulic, Joanna R. Blaszczak
Remote sensing-based 3D assessment of landslides: A review of the data, methods, and applications Remote sensing-based 3D assessment of landslides: A review of the data, methods, and applications
Remote sensing (RS) techniques are essential for studying hazardous landslide events because they capture information and monitor sites at scale. They enable analyzing causes and impacts of ongoing events for disaster management. There has been a plethora of work in the literature mostly discussing (1) applications to detect, monitor, and predict landslides using various instruments and...
Authors
Hessah Albanwan, Rongjun Qin, Jung-Kuan Liu
Examining the effect of physicochemical and meteorological variables on water quality indicators of harmful algal blooms in a shallow hypereutrophic lake using machine learning techniques Examining the effect of physicochemical and meteorological variables on water quality indicators of harmful algal blooms in a shallow hypereutrophic lake using machine learning techniques
Two independent machine learning techniques, boosted regression trees and artificial neural networks, were used to examine the physicochemical and meteorological variables that affect the seasonal growth and decline of harmful algal blooms (HABs) in a shallow, hypereutrophic lake in southern Oregon. High temporal resolution data collected at four monitoring locations were aggregated into...
Authors
Susan Wherry, Liam N. Schenk
Identifying indicators of polar bear population status Identifying indicators of polar bear population status
Monitoring trends in large mammal populations is a fundamental component of wildlife management and conservation. However, direct estimates of population size and vital rates of large mammals can be logistically challenging and expensive. Indicators that reflect trends in abundance, therefore, can be valuable tools for supporting population monitoring. Polar bears have a relatively...
Authors
Karyn D. Rode, Ryan R. Wilson, Justin A. Crawford, Lori T. Quakenbush