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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.
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Water withdrawal and consumption trends for thermoelectric-power plants in the conterminous United States, 2008-2020 Water withdrawal and consumption trends for thermoelectric-power plants in the conterminous United States, 2008-2020
Freshwater-using utility-scale thermoelectric (TE) plant water-use estimates were evaluated for annual trends from 2008 to 2020 across the conterminous United States (CONUS) and within hydrologic regions. Overall, TE water withdrawal and consumption trends declined across CONUS by 14,335 and 278 million liters/day, respectively. Decreasing water withdrawal and consumption trends for TE...
Authors
Kenneth D. Skinner, Richard G. Niswonger, Melissa A. Harris, Brendan A. McCarthy, Catherine A. Chamberlin, Melissa A. Lombard, Timothy H. Diehl, Amy E. Galanter, Lillian E. Gorman Sanisaca, Jana S. Stewart
Strategic planning of prevention and surveillance for emerging diseases and invasive species Strategic planning of prevention and surveillance for emerging diseases and invasive species
Emerging infectious diseases and biological invasions pose increasing threats to public and ecosystems health. Proactive measures—such as prevention and surveillance taken before initial detection of the pathogen or species—are essential to ensure minimal spread prior to first detection. We developed an optimization model to determine where, when, and how much effort should be allocated...
Authors
Jue Wang, Brenda J. Hanley, Noelle E. Thompson, Yu Gong, Daniel P. Walsh, Carlos Gonzalez-Crespo, Yitong Huang, James G. Booth, Joe N. Caudell, Landon A. Miller, Krysten L. Schuler
Ice Age biogeography corresponds with current climate vulnerability of freshwater fishes Ice Age biogeography corresponds with current climate vulnerability of freshwater fishes
1. Both local environmental factors and historical biogeography shape ecological communities, but determining which historical biogeographical patterns correspond with contemporary climate vulnerability is an underused conservation method. The historical colonization patterns of freshwater fishes following the Pleistocene (“Ice Age”) glaciations offers an ideal model for comparing...
Authors
Niall G. Clancy, Phaedra E. Budy, Annika W. Walters
Spatially resolved source apportionment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) within a post-industrial river catchment Spatially resolved source apportionment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) within a post-industrial river catchment
Source apportionment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in rivers is typically based on water concentrations, which cannot quantify PFAS loads or define geographical source areas. This study applied a river catchment-scale approach to identify PFAS source zones and assess the relative importance of industrial PFAS sources in the River Mersey, UK – a post-industrial, densely...
Authors
Patrick Byrne, William M. Mayes, Alun L. James, Sean Comber, Emma Biles, Alex L. Riley, Philip L. Verplanck, Lee Bradley
Sundial: A method for inferring image acquisition time from shadow orientation Sundial: A method for inferring image acquisition time from shadow orientation
Aerial photography and satellite imagery can be used to characterize landscape change over time and help to understand how these changes are related to climate and hydrology. Publicly available optical imagery from sources such as the United States National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP) is particularly valuable in this context due to its high temporal and spatial resolution...
Authors
Inhyeok Bae, Carl J. Legleiter, Elowyn Yager
Scenario projections of COVID-19 burden in the US, 2024-2025 Scenario projections of COVID-19 burden in the US, 2024-2025
Importance COVID-19 remains a disease with high burden in the US, prompting continued debate about optimal targets for annual vaccination. Objective To project COVID-19 burden in the US for April 2024 to April 2025 under 6 scenarios of immune escape (20% and 50% per year) and levels of vaccine recommendation (no recommendation, vaccination for individuals at high risk only, vaccination...
Authors
Sara L Loo, Sung-mok Jung, Lucie Contamin, Emily Howerton, Samantha Bents, Harry Hochheiser, Michael C. Runge, Claire P. Smith, Erica Carcelén, Katie Yan, Joseph C. Lemaitre, Emily Przykucki, Clif McKee, Koji Sato, Allison Hill, Matteo Chinazzi, Jessica T. Davis, Clara Bay, Alessandro Vespignani, Shi Chen, Rajib Paul, Daniel Janies, Jean-Claude Thill, Sean Moore, T. Alex Perkins, Ajitesh Srivastava, Majd Al Aawar, Kaiming Bi, Shraddha Ramdas Bandekar, Anass Bouchnita, Spencer Fox, Lauren Ancel Meyers, Przemyslaw Porebski, Srinivasan Venkatramanan, Bryan Lewis, Jiangzhuo Chen, Madhav Marathe, Michal Ben-Nun, James Turtle, Pete Riley, Katriona Shea, Cécile Viboud, Justin Lessler, Shaun Truelove
Evaluating freshwater mussel sampling methodologies using a simulation model Evaluating freshwater mussel sampling methodologies using a simulation model
Field surveys form the basis of many research efforts and are the foundation for estimates of population size and density that inform conservation and management practices for imperiled species. As a result, evaluating the performance of different survey methods across a range of conditions that may be encountered in the field can increase understanding of the time and effort that may be...
Authors
Iris R. Foxfoot, Kiara C. Cushway, Astrid N. Schwalb, David R. Smith, Todd M. Swannack
Native crayfish shows high desiccation tolerance and potential to outcompete invader Native crayfish shows high desiccation tolerance and potential to outcompete invader
Biological invasions threaten global biodiversity, with aquatic systems being particularly susceptible. Invasive crayfish drive native crayfish imperilment in North America and worldwide. Despite the probable increase in extreme hydrological events, the synergistic effects from invasive species and drought on crayfish are understudied. The invasion of Faxonius neglectus chaenodactylus in...
Authors
Leah M. Bayer, Daniel D. Magoulick
Reservoir operational strategies for sustainable sand management in the Colorado River Reservoir operational strategies for sustainable sand management in the Colorado River
Climate change and increasing societal demands for water pose challenges for the management of dam-regulated rivers. Management decisions impact the environment of these rivers, creating the need to balance societal needs with environmental conservation. Here we present a modeling framework that optimizes resource benefits within imposed water use goals for the Colorado River in Grand...
Authors
Gerard Lewis Salter, David J. Topping, Jianghao Wang, John C. Schmidt, Charles B. Yackulic, Lucas Bair, Erich R. Mueller, Paul E. Grams
Effects of dietary selenium on the amphipod Hyalella azteca and the midge Chironomus dilutus Effects of dietary selenium on the amphipod Hyalella azteca and the midge Chironomus dilutus
Chronic selenium (Se) water quality criteria are based primarily on dietary organoselenium exposure and subsequent reproductive effects in fish. Available chronic Se toxicity data suggests that invertebrates are less sensitive than fish, but chronic invertebrate studies are limited. We evaluated yeast-based diets for chronic toxicity studies with Hyalella azteca and Chironomus dilutus...
Authors
John M. Besser, Danielle M. Cleveland, David D. Harper, Rebecca A. Dorman, Aida Farag
Habitat features influencing waterbird use of managed wetlands enrolled in a public-private partnership for land conservation: The California Waterfowl Habitat Program Habitat features influencing waterbird use of managed wetlands enrolled in a public-private partnership for land conservation: The California Waterfowl Habitat Program
Draining, water diversion, and development have greatly reduced the availability of freshwater wetland habitat around the world, and many remaining wetlands are on private lands. Public–private partnership programs can be an important means for promoting habitat conservation and management on private lands. We investigated bird use of 117 wetlands enrolled in the California Waterfowl...
Authors
C. Alex Hartman, Joshua T. Ackerman, Sarah H. Peterson, Brady Lynn Fettig, Mark P. Herzog
Interrogating process deficiencies in large-scale hydrologic models with interpretable machine learning Interrogating process deficiencies in large-scale hydrologic models with interpretable machine learning
Large-scale hydrologic models are increasingly being developed for operational use in the forecasting and planning of water resources. However, the predictive strength of such models depends on how well they resolve various functions of catchment hydrology, which are influenced by gradients in climate, topography, soils, and land use. Most assessments of hydrologic model uncertainty have...
Authors
Admin Husic, John Christopher Hammond, Adam N. Price, Joshua Roundy