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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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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
Authors
Spencer VanderBloemen, Leandro E. Miranda, Greg G. Sass, Michael Colvin, Nicky Faucheux
Lake Trout population dynamics in the Northern Refuge of Lake Michigan: Importance of stocking rate Lake Trout population dynamics in the Northern Refuge of Lake Michigan: Importance of stocking rate
Objective The Northern Refuge of Lake Michigan was established under the auspices of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission in 1985 as an additional step toward restoring a self‐sustaining Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush population to the lake. The overall goal of our study was to assess progress toward Lake Trout rehabilitation in the Northern Refuge through 2021. Methods We conducted...
Authors
Charles P. Madenjian, Patricia Dieter, Tim Desorcie, Stephen A. Lengnick, Timothy P. O’Brien, Lynn Benes, Steven A. Farha, Benjamin Scott Leonhardt
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
Viscous relaxation of Oort and Edgeworth craters on Pluto: Possible indicators of an epoch of early high heat flow Viscous relaxation of Oort and Edgeworth craters on Pluto: Possible indicators of an epoch of early high heat flow
Impact craters, with their well-defined initial shapes, have proven useful as heat flow probes of a number of icy bodies, provided characteristics of viscous relaxation can be identified. For Pluto's numerous craters, such identifications are hampered/complicated by infilling and erosion by mobile volatile ices, but not in every case. Large craters offer relatively deep probes of...
Authors
W. B. McKinnon, Michael T. Bland, K. Singer, P. M. Schenk, S. Robbins
Capsaicin-treated bait is ineffective in deterring non-target mammals from trap disturbance during invasive lizard control Capsaicin-treated bait is ineffective in deterring non-target mammals from trap disturbance during invasive lizard control
Excluding non-target species from invasive species control efforts can be challenging due to non-target attraction to trap structure, baits, and lures. Various methods have been used to deter non-target species from entering or disturbing traps including altered features (e.g., mesh size, trip mechanism, or entrances), staking traps, and chemical deterrents. Invasive populations of...
Authors
Lance D McBrayer, Daniel Haro, Michael Brennan, Bryan G. Falk, Amy A. Yackel Adams
Assessing environmental change associated with early Eocene hyperthermals in the Atlantic Coastal Plain, USA Assessing environmental change associated with early Eocene hyperthermals in the Atlantic Coastal Plain, USA
Eocene transient global warming events (hyperthermals) can provide insight into a future warmer world. While much research has focused on the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), hyperthermals of a smaller magnitude can be used to characterize climatic responses over different magnitudes of forcing. This study identifies two events, namely the Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM2 and H2)...
Authors
William Rush, Jean Self-Trail, Yan Zhan, Appy Sluijs, Henk Brinkhuis, James Zachos, James G. Ogg, Marci M. Robinson