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: 78946
Fluid migration pathways to groundwater in mature oil fields: Exploring the roles of water injection/production and oil-well integrity in California, USA Fluid migration pathways to groundwater in mature oil fields: Exploring the roles of water injection/production and oil-well integrity in California, USA
Mature oil fields potentially contain multiple fluid migration pathways toward protected groundwater (total dissolved solids, TDS, in nonexempted aquifer
Authors
Peter B. McMahon, Matthew K. Landon, Michael J. Stephens, Kimberly A. Taylor, Janice M. Gillespie, Tracy Davis, David H. Shimabukuro
Physicochemical hazard assessment of ash and dome rock from the 2021 eruption of La Soufrière, St Vincent, for the assessment of respiratory health impacts and water contamination Physicochemical hazard assessment of ash and dome rock from the 2021 eruption of La Soufrière, St Vincent, for the assessment of respiratory health impacts and water contamination
La Soufrière, St Vincent, began an extrusive eruption on 27 December 2020. The lava dome was destroyed, along with much of the pre-existing 1979 dome, in explosive eruptions from 9 to 22 April 2021. Lava domes generate crystalline silica – inhalation of which can cause silicosis in occupational settings – which can become hazardous when dome material is incorporated into volcanic ash. La...
Authors
Claire J. Horwell, David Damby, Carol Stewart, Erouscilla Joseph, Jenni Barclay, Bridie V. Davies, Martin F Mangler, L G. Marvin, Jens Najorka, Sara Peek, Neil Tunstall
Interlaboratory study: Testing reproducibility of solid biofuels component identification using reflected light microscopy Interlaboratory study: Testing reproducibility of solid biofuels component identification using reflected light microscopy
Considering global market trends and concerns about climate change and sustainability, increased biomass use for energy is expected to continue. As more diverse materials are being utilized to manufacture solid biomass fuels, it is critical to implement quality assessment methods to analyze these fuels thoroughly. One such method is reflected light microscopy (RLM), which has the...
Authors
Agnieszka Drobniak, Maria Mastalerz, Zbigniew Jelonek, Iwona Jelonek, Tushar Adsul, Neza Malensek Andolsek, Omid Haeri Ardakani, Tara Congo, Batbold Demberelsuren, Bryon S. Donohoe, Ashley Douds, Deolinda Flores, Ranjin Ganzorig, Santanu Ghosh, Andrew Gize, Paula Alexandra Goncalves, Paul C. Hackley, Javin J. Hatcherian, James C. Hower, Stavros Kalaitzidis, Slawomir Kedzior, Wayne Knowles, Jolanta Kus, Kacper Lis, Grzegorz Lis, Bei Liu, Qingyong Luo, Meili Du, Divya Mishra, Magdalena Misz-Kennan, Theophile Mugerwa, Jennifer Nedzweckas, Jennifer M.K. O'Keefe, Jackie Park, Richard Pearson, Henrik I. Petersen, Julito Reyes, Joana Ribeiro, Genaro de la Rosa-Rodriguez, Piotr Sosnowski, Brett J. Valentine, Atul Kumar Varma, Malgorzata Wojtaszek-Kalaitzidi, Zhanjie Xu, Alexander Zdravkov, Konrad Ziemianin
Photochemical mobilization of dissolved hydrocarbon oxidation products from petroleum contaminated soil into a shallow aquifer activate human nuclear receptors Photochemical mobilization of dissolved hydrocarbon oxidation products from petroleum contaminated soil into a shallow aquifer activate human nuclear receptors
Elevated non-volatile dissolved organic carbon (NVDOC) concentrations in groundwater monitoring wells under oil-contaminated hydrophobic soils originating from a pipeline rupture at the National Crude Oil Spill & Natural Attenuation Research Site near Bemidji, MN are documented.. We hypothesized the elevated NVDOC is comprised of water-soluble photooxidation products transported from the...
Authors
Phoebe Zito, Barbara A. Bekins, Dalma Martinović-Weigelt, Maxwell L. Harsha, Katherine E. Humpal, Jared J. Trost, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Lynn R. Mazzoleni, Simeon K. Schum, David C. Podgorski
Genetic structure of the Silver Chub indicates distinctiveness of Lake Erie population Genetic structure of the Silver Chub indicates distinctiveness of Lake Erie population
Objective
Authors
Ahmed Elbassiouny, Joao Pedro Fontenelle, Patrick M. Kocovsky, Nicholas E. Mandrak, Nathan R Lovejoy
A Monte-Carlo chemical budget approach to assess ambient groundwater flow in bedrock open boreholes A Monte-Carlo chemical budget approach to assess ambient groundwater flow in bedrock open boreholes
In low-permeability rocks, ambient groundwater flow in open boreholes may go undetected using conventional borehole-flowmeter tools and alternative approaches may be needed to identify flow. Understanding ambient flow in open boreholes is important for tracking of cross contamination in groundwater. Chlorinated volatile organic compound (CVOC) concentrations from three open boreholes set...
Authors
Philip Harte
The Government eDNA Working Group 6th Annual eDNA Technical Exchange Workshop The Government eDNA Working Group 6th Annual eDNA Technical Exchange Workshop
The 6th annual Environmental DNA (eDNA) Technical Exchange Workshop was a virtual workshop hosted and coordinated by the Government eDNA Working Group (GEDWG) on January 24–26, 2023. GEDWG is a no-cost consortium that focuses on bringing together stakeholders associated with federal, state, provincial, municipal, and other government and non-government agencies interested in eDNA and...
Authors
Carol A. Stepien, Richard F. Lance, Katy E. Klymus, Margaret Hunter
Browsers or Grazers? New insights into feral burro diet using a non-invasive sampling and plant DNA metabarcoding approach Browsers or Grazers? New insights into feral burro diet using a non-invasive sampling and plant DNA metabarcoding approach
By selecting certain plants for consumption, ungulates (hoofed mammals) shape ecosystems and influence which plant species are present in their habitats. We investigated the summer diets of non-native feral burros in two ecosystems: a subtropical Sonoran Desert in Arizona and a temperate juniper shrubland in Utah, the United States. In June and July of 2019, we gathered 50 fecal samples...
Authors
Saeideh Esmaeili, Kathryn A. Schoenecker, Sarah King
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 B. 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