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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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Atmospheric circulation drivers of extreme high water level events at Foggy Island Bay, Alaska Atmospheric circulation drivers of extreme high water level events at Foggy Island Bay, Alaska
The northern coast of Alaska is experiencing significant climatic change enhancing hazards from reduced sea ice and increased coastal erosion. This same region is home to offshore oil/gas activities. Foggy Island Bay is one region along the Beaufort Sea coast with planned offshore oil/gas development that will need to account for the changing climate. High water levels impact...
Authors
Peter A. Bieniek, Li H. Erikson, Jeremy L. Kasper
Using a grid-search approach to validate the Graves-Pitarka broadband simulation method Using a grid-search approach to validate the Graves-Pitarka broadband simulation method
This work assesses the ability of the Graves–Pitarka simulation approach to reproduce observed ground motions for 12 California and Baja California earthquakes. A total of 240 realizations are computed for each earthquake and compared with recorded strong motions from near-fault sites. In addition to spatial variability in slip, each realization samples from discrete combinations of...
Authors
Robert Graves
Effects of release techniques on parent-reared whooping cranes in the eastern migratory population Effects of release techniques on parent-reared whooping cranes in the eastern migratory population
Reintroduction of an Eastern Migratory Population (EMP) of whooping cranes (Grus americana) in the United States by release of captive-reared individuals began in 2001. As of 2020, the EMP has approximately 21 breeding pairs and has had limited recruitment of wild-hatched individuals, thus captive-reared juveniles continue to be released into breeding areas in Wisconsin to maintain the...
Authors
Hillary L. Thompson, M. Susanna Mann, Marianne Wellington, Kim H. Boardman, Glenn H. Olsen
The cycles driving Io’s tectonics The cycles driving Io’s tectonics
Io is famous for its active volcanoes, but its vigorous tectonics, which are unlike Earth’s plate tectonics, are no less remarkable. The nature of Io’s thick, cold, brittle lithosphere has been revealed through decades of investigations. The dynamics of this system is most easily explained by considering three cycles: magmatic, tectonic, and sulfurous. The magmatic cycle transports heat...
Authors
Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Windy L Jaeger, Jani Radebaugh
Connecting diverse disciplines to improve understanding of surface water-groundwater interactions Connecting diverse disciplines to improve understanding of surface water-groundwater interactions
Laura K. Lautz is a premier mentor, collaborator, and researcher at the intersection of natural hydrologic systems and humans. Her research has shifted the paradigm around measuring and understanding the impacts of surface water and groundwater interactions across spatial and temporal scales. She has done this by testing and refining new methods and by collaborating with, training...
Authors
Sarah Ledford, Martin A. Briggs, Robin L. Glas, Margaret Zimmer
Ratification of Neogene subseries as formal units in international chronostratigraphy Ratification of Neogene subseries as formal units in international chronostratigraphy
The International Union of Geological Sciences Executive Committee (IUGS EC) voted on 13 October 2021 to ratify a proposal for the Neogene subseries/subepochs to have formal status. They are now incorporated into a sixtiered chronostratigraphic hierarchy within the International Chronostratigraphic Chart (ICC). The Lower/Early Miocene Subseries/Subepoch comprises the Aquitanian and...
Authors
Marie-Pierre Aubry, Kenneth Miller, Elena Turco, Jose Flores Villajero, Andrey Yu. Gladenkov, Patrick Grunert, Frits Hilgen, Hiroshi Nishi, Ann Holbourn, Wout Krijgsman, Fabrizio Lirer, Werner Piller, Frederic Quillevere, Isabella Raffi, Marci M. Robinson, Lorenzo Rook, Jun Tian, Maria Triantaphyllou, Felipe Vallejo
OpenET: Filling a critical data gap in water management for the western United States OpenET: Filling a critical data gap in water management for the western United States
The lack of consistent, accurate information on evapotranspiration (ET) and consumptive use of water by irrigated agriculture is one of the most important data gaps for water managers in the western United States (U.S.) and other arid agricultural regions globally. The ability to easily access information on ET is central to improving water budgets across the West, advancing the use of...
Authors
Forrest Melton, Justin Huntington, Robyn Grimm, Jamie Herring, Maurice Hall, Dana Rollison, Tyler Erickson, Richard Allen, Martha Anderson, Joshua Fisher, Ayse Kilic, Gabriel B. Senay, J. M. Volk, Christopher Hain, Lee Johnson, Anderson Ruhoff, Philip Blankenau, Matthew Bromley, Will Carrara, Britta Daudert, Conor Doherty, Christian Dunkerly, MacKenzie Friedrichs, Alberto Guzman, Gregory Halverson, Jody Hansen, Jordan Harding, Yanghui Kang, David C. Ketchum, Blake Minor, Charles Morton, Samuel Ortega-Salazar, Thomas Ott, Mutlu Ozdogan, Peter Revelle, Mitch Schull, Carlos Wang, Yun Yang, Ray G. Anderson
Habitat-specific foraging by striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in the San Francisco Estuary, California: Implications for tidal restoration Habitat-specific foraging by striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in the San Francisco Estuary, California: Implications for tidal restoration
Non-native predatory fish strongly impact aquatic communities, and their impacts can be exacerbated by anthropogenic habitat alterations. Loss of natural habitat and restoration actions reversing habitat loss can modify relationships between non-native predators and prey. Predicting how these relationships will change is often difficult because insufficient information exists on the...
Authors
Matthew J. Young, Frederick V. Feyrer, Collin D. Smith, Dennis A. Valentine
Endangered Cape Sable seaside sparrow ecology: Actions towards recovery through landscape-scale ecosystem restoration Endangered Cape Sable seaside sparrow ecology: Actions towards recovery through landscape-scale ecosystem restoration
Understanding the ecology of endangered taxa and the factors affecting their population growth and decline is imperative for their recovery. In the southeastern USA, the Everglades wetland ecosystem supports a high diversity of species and communities, including many endemic and imperiled taxa, such as the federally endangered Cape Sable seaside sparrow Ammospiza maritima mirabilis (CSSS...
Authors
Allison Benscoter, Stephanie Romanach
A case study: Temporal trends of environmental stressors and reproductive health of smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) from a site in the Potomac River Watershed, Maryland, USA A case study: Temporal trends of environmental stressors and reproductive health of smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) from a site in the Potomac River Watershed, Maryland, USA
Decades of poor reproductive success and young-of-the-year survival, combined with adult mortality events, have led to a decline in the smallmouth bass (SMB; Micropterus dolomieu) population in sections of the Potomac River. Previous studies have identified numerous biologic and environmental stressors associated with negative effects on SMB health. To better understand the impact of...
Authors
Heather L. Walsh, Stephanie E. Gordon, Adam J. Sperry, Michael Kashiwagi, John E. Mullican, Vicki S. Blazer
Density-dependent and environmental influences on juvenile walleye Sander vitreus (Mitchill) survivorship in northern Wisconsin lakes Density-dependent and environmental influences on juvenile walleye Sander vitreus (Mitchill) survivorship in northern Wisconsin lakes
Walleye, Sander vitreus (Mitchill), natural recruitment has declined in northern Wisconsin lakes over time. Age-0 and age-1 walleye relative abundance (catch per unit effort; CPE) data from northern Wisconsin (1986–2019) were used to test for abiotic (i.e. lake characteristics and temperature variables) and biotic (age-0 and age-1 CPE) factors influencing age-0 to age-1 walleye mortality...
Authors
Logan R. Zebro, Joseph T. Mrnak, Stephanie L. Shaw, Steven R. Chipps, Greg G. Sass
Hybrid broadband ground-motion simulation validation of small magnitude active shallow crustal earthquakes in New Zealand Hybrid broadband ground-motion simulation validation of small magnitude active shallow crustal earthquakes in New Zealand
This article presents a comprehensive validation of the hybrid broadband ground-motion simulation approach (via the commonly used Graves and Pitarka method) in a New Zealand context with small magnitude point source ruptures using an extensive set of 5218 ground motions recorded at 212 sites from 479 active shallow crustal earthquakes across the country. Modifications to the simulation...
Authors
Robin L. Lee, Brendon A. Bradley, Peter J. Stafford, Robert Graves, Adrian Rodriguez-Marek