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: 77874
Lake sturgeon population trends in the St. Clair–Detroit River System, 2001–2019 Lake sturgeon population trends in the St. Clair–Detroit River System, 2001–2019
Lake Sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens are listed as threatened or endangered in 15 states or provinces within their native range. Accordingly, investments in habitat and population restoration for this species have increased throughout the Great Lakes. To aide evaluation of restoration efficacy, robust population parameters are needed to inform management decisions. The St. Clair – Detroit...
Authors
Justin A. Chiotti, James C. Boase, Andrew S Briggs, Chris Davis, Richard Drouin, Darryl W. Hondorp, Lloyd Mohr, Edward F. Roseman, Michael V. Thomas, Todd C. Wills
Extrusion tectonism of Indochina reassessed: constraints from 40Ar/39Ar geochronology from the Day Nui Con Voi metamorphic massif, Vietnam Extrusion tectonism of Indochina reassessed: constraints from 40Ar/39Ar geochronology from the Day Nui Con Voi metamorphic massif, Vietnam
The extrusion tectonic model for the southeastern margin of the Himalayan orogeny links the crustal shear activity along the Red River Shear Zone (RRSZ) to the opening of the South China Sea (SCS). The Day Nui Con Voi (DNCV) metamorphic massif in northern Vietnam strikes NW-SE, is bounded by the RRSZ to the south and continues along the strike where it meets the SCS. The DNCV is thus a...
Authors
Thi-Hue Dinh, Meng-Wan Yeh, Tung-Yi Lee, Michael J. Kunk, Robert P. Wintsch, Ryan J. McAleer
Impacts of a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake on water levels and wetlands of the lower Columbia River and Estuary Impacts of a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake on water levels and wetlands of the lower Columbia River and Estuary
Subsidence after a subduction zone earthquake can cause major changes in estuarine bathymetry. Here, we quantify the impacts of earthquake-induced subsidence on hydrodynamics and habitat distributions in a major system, the lower Columbia River Estuary, using a hydrodynamic and habitat model. Model results indicate that coseismic subsidence increases tidal range, with the smallest...
Authors
M.W. Brand, H.L. Diefenderfer, Jim E. O'Connor, A.B. Borde, D.A. Jay, A. Al-Bahadily, M. McKeon, S.A. Talke
River geomorphology affects biogeochemical responses to hydrologic events in a large river ecosystem River geomorphology affects biogeochemical responses to hydrologic events in a large river ecosystem
Shifts in the frequency and intensity of high discharge events due to climate change may have important consequences for the hydrology and biogeochemistry of rivers. However, our understanding of event-scale biogeochemical dynamics in large rivers lags that of small streams. To fill this gap, we used high-frequency sensor data collected during four consecutive summers from a main channel...
Authors
Taryn Waite, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Denise Bruesewitz, Molly Van Appledorn, Megan Johnston, Jeffrey N. Houser, Douglas Baumann, Barbara Bennie
A recruitment niche framework for improving seed-based restoration A recruitment niche framework for improving seed-based restoration
As larger tracts of land experience degradation, seed-based restoration (SBR) will be a primary tool to reestablish vegetation and ecosystem function. SBR has advanced in terms of technical and technological approaches, yet plant recruitment remains a major barrier in some systems, notably drylands. There is an unmet opportunity to test science-based approaches to seed mix design and...
Authors
Julie E. Larson, A. C. Agneray, Chad S. Boyd, John B. Bradford, O. A. Kildisheva, Katharine N. Suding, Stella M. Copeland
An algorithm for correction of atmospheric scattering dilution effects in volcanic gas emission measurements using skylight differential optical absorption spectroscopy An algorithm for correction of atmospheric scattering dilution effects in volcanic gas emission measurements using skylight differential optical absorption spectroscopy
Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) is commonly used to measure gas emissions from volcanoes. DOAS instruments measure the absorption of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation scattered in the atmosphere by sulfur dioxide (SO2) and other trace gases contained in volcanic plumes. The standard spectral retrieval methods assume that all measured light comes from behind the plume...
Authors
Bo Galle, Santiago Arellano, Mattias Johansson, Christoph Kern, Melissa Pfeffer
Slip deficit rates on southern Cascadia faults resolved with viscoelastic earthquake cycle modeling of geodetic deformation Slip deficit rates on southern Cascadia faults resolved with viscoelastic earthquake cycle modeling of geodetic deformation
The fore‐arc of the southern Cascadia subduction zone (CSZ), north of the Mendocino triple junction (MTJ), is home to a network of Quaternary‐active crustal faults that accumulate strain due to the interaction of the North American, Juan de Fuca (Gorda), and Pacific plates. These faults, including the Little Salmon and Mad River fault (LSF and MRF) zones, are located near the most...
Authors
Kathryn Zerbe Materna, Jessica R. Murray, Frederick Pollitz, Jason R. Patton
Widespread regeneration failure in ponderosa pine forests of the southwestern United States Widespread regeneration failure in ponderosa pine forests of the southwestern United States
As climate changes in coming decades, ponderosa pine forest persistence may be increasingly dictated by their regeneration. Sustained regeneration failure has been predicted for forests of the southwestern US (SWUS) even in absence of stand-replacing wildfire, but regeneration in undisturbed and lightly disturbed forests has been studied infrequently and at a limited number of locations...
Authors
Matthew D. Petrie, Robert M. Hubbard, John B. Bradford, Tom E. Kolb, Adam Roy Noel, Daniel Rodolphe Schlaepfer, M.A. Bowen, L.R. Fuller, W. Keith Moser
Minimal shift of eastern wild turkey nesting phenology associated with projected climate change Minimal shift of eastern wild turkey nesting phenology associated with projected climate change
Climate change may induce mismatches between wildlife reproductive phenology and temporal occurrence of resources necessary for reproductive success. Verifying and elucidating the causal mechanisms behind potential mismatches requires large-scale, longer-duration data. We used eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) nesting data collected across the southeastern U.S. over...
Authors
Wesley W. Boone, Christopher E. Moorman, Adam Terando, David J. Moscicki, Bret A. Collier, Michael J. Chamberlain, Krishna Pacifici
Landsat 9 geometric commissioning calibration updates and system performance assessment Landsat 9 geometric commissioning calibration updates and system performance assessment
Starting with launch of Landsat 7 (L7) on 15 April 1999, the USGS Landsat Image Assessment System (IAS) has been performing calibration and characterization operations for over 20 years on the Landsat spacecrafts and their associated payloads. With the launch of Landsat 9 (L9) on 27 September 2021, that spacecraft and its payloads, the Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2) and Thermal...
Authors
Michael J. Choate, Rajagopalan Rengarajan, James Storey, Mark Lubke
Combining expert knowledge of a threatened trout distribution with sparse occupancy data for climate-related projection Combining expert knowledge of a threatened trout distribution with sparse occupancy data for climate-related projection
Objective To evaluate the vulnerability of Bull Trout Salvelinus confluentus to potential climate changes across its range in Oregon, we compiled disparate expert knowledge of the distribution of spawning and rearing and combined these probabilistic statements as data along with documented records of breeding and rearing in a joint occupancy model.Methods The joint expert knowledge...
Authors
Nathan Chelgren, Jason Dunham, Stephanie L Gunckel, David P Hockman-Wert, Chris S Allen
A prioritization protocol for coastal wetland restoration on Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi A prioritization protocol for coastal wetland restoration on Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi
Hawaiian coastal wetlands provide important habitat for federally endangered waterbirds and socio-cultural resources for Native Hawaiians. Currently, Hawaiian coastal wetlands are degraded by development, sedimentation, and invasive species and, thus, require restoration. Little is known about their original structure and function due to the large-scale alteration of the lowland...
Authors
Judith Z. Drexler, Helen Raine, James D. Jacobi, Sally House, Pulama Lima, William Haase, Arleone Dibben-Young, Brett T. Wolfe