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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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The Far-Field imprint of the late Paleozoic Ice Age, its demise, and the onset of a dust-house climate across the Eastern Shelf of the Midland Basin, Texas The Far-Field imprint of the late Paleozoic Ice Age, its demise, and the onset of a dust-house climate across the Eastern Shelf of the Midland Basin, Texas
The late Paleozoic is a period of pronounced climatic and tectonic change, characterized by the onset and disappearance of continental-scale glaciers across polar Gondwana, the formation of Pangea, and widespread large igneous province volcanism. The low-latitude equatorial tropics are assumed to be places of persistent warm and wet climatic conditions throughout the Phanerozoic, which...
Authors
Neil Patrick Griffis, Neil Tabor, Daniel Stockli, Lisa Stockli
An assessment of future tidal marsh resilience in the San Francisco Estuary through modeling and quantifiable metrics of sustainability An assessment of future tidal marsh resilience in the San Francisco Estuary through modeling and quantifiable metrics of sustainability
Quantitative, broadly applicable metrics of resilience are needed to effectively manage tidal marshes into the future. Here we quantified three metrics of temporal marsh resilience: time to marsh drowning, time to marsh tipping point, and the probability of a regime shift, defined as the conditional probability of a transition to an alternative super-optimal, suboptimal, or drowned state...
Authors
James Morris, Judith Z. Drexler, Lydia Smith Vaughn, April Robinson
Grazing and ecosystem service delivery in global drylands Grazing and ecosystem service delivery in global drylands
Grazing represents the most extensive use of land worldwide. Yet its impacts on ecosystem services remain uncertain because pervasive interactions between grazing pressure, climate, soil properties, and biodiversity may occur but have never been addressed simultaneously. Using a standardized survey at 98 sites across six continents, we show that interactions between grazing pressure...
Authors
Fernando T. Maestre, Yoann Le Bagousse-Pinguet, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, David J. Eldridge, Hugo Saiz, Miguel Berdugo, Beatriz Gozalo, Victoria Ochoa, Emilio Guirado, Miguel García-Gómez, Enrique Valencia, Juan J. Gaitan, Sergio Asensio, Betty J. Mendoza, Cesar Plaza, Paloma Diaz-Martinez, Ana Rey, Hang-Wei Hu, Ji-Zheng He, Jun-Tao Wang, Anika Lehmann, Matthias C. Rillig, Simone Cesarz, Nico Eisenhauer, Jaime Martinez-Valderrama, Eduardo Moreno-Jimenez, Osvaldo E. Sala, Mehdi Abedi, Negar Ahmadian, Concepcion L. Alados, Valeria Aramayo, Fateh Amghar, Tulio Arredondo, Rodrigo J. Ahumada, Khadijeh Bahalkeh, Farah Ben Salem, Niels Blaum, Bazartseren Boldgiv, Matthew A. Bowker, Donaldo Bran, Chongfeng Bu, Rafaella Canessa, Andrea P. Castillo-Monroy, Helena Castro, Ignacio Castro, Patricio Castro-Quezada, Roukaya Chibani, Abel A. Conceição, Courtney M. Currier, Anthony Darrouzet-Nardi, Balazs Deak, David A. Donoso, Andrew J. Dougill, Jorge Duran, Batdelger Erdenetsetseg, Carlos I. Espinosa, Alex Fajardo, Mohammad Farzam, Daniela Ferrante, Anke S. K. Frank, Lauchlan H. Fraser, Laureano A. Gherardi, Aaron C. Greenville, Carlos A. Guerra, Elizabeth Gusmán-Montalvan, Rosa M. Hernández-Hernández, Norbert Holzel, Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald, Frederic M. Hughes, Oswaldo Jadan-Maza, Florian Jeltsch, Anke Jentsch, Kudzai F. Kaseke, Melanie Kobel, Jessica E. Koopman, Cintia V. Leder, Anja Linstadter, Peter C. le Roux, Xinkai Li, Pierre Liancourt, Jushan Liu, Michelle A. Louw, Gillian Maggs-Kolling, Thulani P. Makhalanyane, Oumarou Malam Issa, Antonio J. Manzaneda, Eugene Marais, Juan P. Mora, Gerardo Moreno, Seth M. Munson, Alice Nunes, Gabriel Oliva, Gastón R. Oñatibia, Guadalupe Peter, Marco O. D. Pivari, Yolanda Pueyo, R. Emiliano Quiroga, Soroor Rahmanian, Sasha C. Reed, Pedro J. Rey, Benoit Richard, Alexandra Rodriguez, Víctor Rolo, Juan G. Rubalcaba, Jan C. Puppert, Ayman Salah, Max A. Schuchardt, Sedona Spann, Ilan Stavi, Colton R. A. Stephens, Anthony M. Swemmer, Alberto L. Teixido, Andrew D. Thomas, Heather L. Throop, Katja Tielborger, Samantha K. Travers, James Val, Orsolya Valko, Liesbeth van den Brink, Sergio Velasco Ayuso, Frederike Velbert, Wanyoike Wamiti, Deli Wang, Lixin Wang, Glenda M. Wardle, Laura Yahdjian, Eli Zaady, Yuanming Zhang, Xiaobing Zhou, Brajesh K. Singh, Nicolas Gross
Lava fountain jet noise during the 2018 eruption of fissure 8 of Kīlauea volcano Lava fountain jet noise during the 2018 eruption of fissure 8 of Kīlauea volcano
Real-time monitoring is crucial to assess hazards and mitigate risks of sustained volcanic eruptions that last hours to months or more. Sustained eruptions have been shown to produce a low frequency (infrasonic) form of jet noise. We analyze the lava fountaining at fissure 8 during the 2018 Lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Hawaii, and connect changes in fountain...
Authors
Julia Gestrich, David Fee, Robin Matoza, John J. Lyons, Hannah R. Dietterich, Valerie Cigala, Ulrich Kueppers, Matthew R. Patrick, Carolyn Parcheta
Editorial: Plant phenology shifts and their ecological and climatic consequences Editorial: Plant phenology shifts and their ecological and climatic consequences
Climate change is causing plant phenology to shift, with consequences for ecosystems and the Earth’s climate. Over the last decades, the timing of many important phenological events has advanced in spring, such as leaf emergence and flowering, or been delayed in fall, such as leaf coloration and leaf fall. The consequences of such phenological shifts are still largely unknown, but are...
Authors
Yongshuo H. Fu, Janet S. Prevey, Yann Vitasse
A reappraisal of explosive–effusive silicic eruption dynamics: Syn-eruptive assembly of lava from the products of cryptic fragmentation A reappraisal of explosive–effusive silicic eruption dynamics: Syn-eruptive assembly of lava from the products of cryptic fragmentation
Silicic volcanic eruptions range in style from gently effusive to highly explosive, and may switch style unpredictably during a single eruption. Direct observations of subaerial rhyolitic eruptions (Chaiten 2008, Cordón Caulle 2011–2012, Chile) challenged long-standing paradigms of explosive and effusive eruptive styles and led to the formulation of new models of hybrid activity. However...
Authors
Fabian Wadsworth, Edward W. Llewellin, Jonathan Castro, Hugh Tuffen, Ian Schipper, James E. Gardner, Annabelle Foster, Jeremie Vasseur, David Damby, Iona McIntosh, Sina Boettcher, Holly Unwin, Michael J. Heap, Jamie Farquharson, Donald B. Dingwell, Kayla Iacovino, Rebecca Paisley, Calvin Jones, Jack Whattam
An integrated approach for physical, economic, and demographic evaluation of coastal flood hazard adaptation in Santa Monica Bay, California An integrated approach for physical, economic, and demographic evaluation of coastal flood hazard adaptation in Santa Monica Bay, California
The increased risk of coastal flooding associated with climate-change driven sea level rise threatens to displace communities and cause substantial damage to infrastructure. Site-specific adaptation planning is necessary to mitigate the negative impacts of flooding on coastal residents and the built environment. Cost-benefit analyses used to evaluate coastal adaption strategies have...
Authors
Klaus Schroder, Michele A. Hummel, Kevin A. Befus, Patrick L. Barnard
Direct and indirect pathways for environmental drivers of hatching success in the loggerhead sea turtle Direct and indirect pathways for environmental drivers of hatching success in the loggerhead sea turtle
Nest site selection has consequences for hatching success by mediating the temperature and moisture conditions that eggs experience during the incubation period. Understanding the potentially complex pathways by which nest placement influences these abiotic mediators, and therefore hatching success, is important for predicting which nests will be successful and which may require...
Authors
Mattie J. Whitesell, Elizabeth Ann Hunter, David C. Rostal, John M. Carroll
Natural resource system size can be used for managing recreational use Natural resource system size can be used for managing recreational use
Outdoor recreation provides societal benefits that are often measured by the amount of use natural resource systems receive. Still, the amount of resource use natural resource systems receive is often unknown or unstudied. Monitoring and quantifying resource use is often logistically difficult and costly but is paramount to optimize societal benefits. Identifying a simple and readily...
Authors
Derek S. Kane, Kevin L. Pope, Keith D. Koupal, Mark A. Pegg, Christopher J. Chizinski, Mark A. Kaemingk
Variation in carbon and nitrogen concentrations among peatland categories at the global scale Variation in carbon and nitrogen concentrations among peatland categories at the global scale
Peatlands account for 15 to 30% of the world’s soil carbon (C) stock and are important controls over global nitrogen (N) cycles. However, C and N concentrations are known to vary among peatlands contributing to the uncertainty of global C inventories, but there are few global studies that relate peatland classification to peat chemistry. We analyzed 436 peat cores sampled in 24 countries...
Authors
Shaun A. Watmough, Spencer Gilbert-Parkes, Nathan Basiliko, Louis J. Lamit, Erik A. Lilleskov, Roxanne Andersen, Jhon del Aguila-Pasquel, Rebekka E. Artz, Brian W. Benscoter, Werner Borken, Luca Bragazza, Stefani M. Brandt, Suzanna L. Brauer, Michael A. Carson, Xin Chen, Rodney A. Chimner, Bev R. Clarkson, Alexander R. Cobb, Andrea S. Enriquez, Jenny Farmer, Samantha P. Grover, Charles F. Harvey, Lorna I. Harris, Christina Hazard, Alison M. Hoyt, John Hribljan, Jyrki Jauhiainen, Sari Juutinen, Evan S. Kane, Klaus-Holger Knorr, Randy Kolka, Mari Kononen, Anna M. Laine, Tuula Larmola, Patrick A. Levasseur, Carmody K. McCalley, Jim McLaughlin, Tim R. Moore, Nadia Mykytczuk, Anna E. Normand, Virginia Rich, Bryce Robinson, Danielle L. Rupp, Jasmine Rutherford, Christopher W. Schadt, Dave S. Smith, Graeme Spiers, Leho Tedersoo, Pham Q. Thu, Carl C. Trettin, Eeva-Stiina Tuittila, Merritt Turetsky, Zuzana Urbanova, Ruth K. Varner, Mark Waldrop, Meng Wang, Zheng Wang, Matt Warren, Magdalena M. Wiedermann, Shanay T. Williams, Joseph B. Yavitt, Zhi-Guo Yu, Geoff Zahn
Freshwater mussels show elevated viral richness and intensity during a mortality event Freshwater mussels show elevated viral richness and intensity during a mortality event
Freshwater mussels (Unionida) are among the world’s most imperiled taxa, but the relationship between freshwater mussel mortality events and infectious disease is largely unstudied. We surveyed viromes of a widespread and abundant species (mucket, Actinonaias ligamentina; syn: Ortmanniana ligamentina) experiencing a mortality event of unknown etiology in the Huron River, Michigan, in...
Authors
Jordan Richard, Eric Leis, Christopher D. Dunn, Cleyo Harris, Rose Agbalog, Lewis J. Campbell, Susan Knowles, Diane L. Waller, Joel G. Putnam, Tony Goldberg
Violent groundwater eruption triggered by a distant earthquake Violent groundwater eruption triggered by a distant earthquake
It is now well established that earthquakes cause various hydrogeological responses at distances thousands of kilometers from the epicenter. What remains unexplained is the large amplitude and intensity of some responses. Following the 2004 Mw 9.1 Sumatra earthquake, groundwater 3,200 km from the epicenter erupted violently from a well and formed a water fountain reaching a height...
Authors
Xin Yan, Zheming Shi, Chi-Yuen Wang, Steven E. Ingebritsen, Michael Manga