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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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Assessing spatial transferability of a random forest metamodel for predicting drainage fraction Assessing spatial transferability of a random forest metamodel for predicting drainage fraction
Fully distributed hydrological models are widely used in groundwater management, but model speed and data requirements impede their use for decision support purposes. Metamodels provide a simpler and faster model which emulates the underlying complex model using machine learning techniques. However, metamodel predictions beyond the ranges, in space and/or time, of training data are...
Authors
Elisa Bjerre, Michael N. Fienen, Raphael Schneider, Julian Koch, Anker L. Højberg
Riparian buffers provide refugia during secondary forest succession Riparian buffers provide refugia during secondary forest succession
Aim Secondary forests regenerating from human disturbance are increasingly becoming a predominant forest type in many regions, and they play a significant role in forest community dynamics. Understanding the factors that underlie the variation in species responses during secondary succession is important for understanding community assembly and biodiversity monitoring and management...
Authors
Michelle E. Thompson, Brian J. Halstead, Maureen A. Donnelly
Evapotranspiration covers at uranium mill tailings sites Evapotranspiration covers at uranium mill tailings sites
Waste isolation is a key strategy for mitigating risk from municipal solid waste (MSW) and hazardous waste streams. Conventional covers at MSW facilities are designed for a 30-yr post-closure period where compacted soils and geosynthetics are used to minimize percolation into buried waste. Recently, evapotranspiration (ET) covers have shown beneficial use for MSW management...
Authors
Todd Caldwell, Sarah Tabatabai, Jena Huntington, Gwendolyn Elizabeth Davies, Mark Fuhrmann
The formation mechanisms for mid-latitude ice scarps on Mars The formation mechanisms for mid-latitude ice scarps on Mars
Mid-latitude exposed ice scarps have recently been identified on Mars (Dundas et al., 2018; 2021). The presence of such surface ice exposures at relatively low latitudes was itself a mystery, and the formation dynamics of such scarps have also not been explained. In this work we model the ice ablation rates of several identified mid-latitude scarps. We find that, given certain...
Authors
Kaj E. Williams, Colin M. Dundas, Melinda A. Kahre
Scanning the horizon for invasive plant threats using a data-driven approach Scanning the horizon for invasive plant threats using a data-driven approach
Early detection and eradication of invasive plants are more cost-effective than managing well-established invasive plant populations and their impacts. However, there is high uncertainty around which taxa are likely to become invasive in a given area. Horizon scanning that combines a data-driven approach with rapid risk assessment and consensus building among experts can help identify...
Authors
Amy E Kendig, Susan Canavan, Patti J Anderson, S Luke Flory, Lyn A Gettys, Doria R. Gordon, Basil V Iannone, John M Kunzer, Tabitha Petri, Ian A. Pfingsten, Deah Lieurance
Large-scale distribution models for optimal prediction of Eastern black rail habitat within tidal ecosystems Large-scale distribution models for optimal prediction of Eastern black rail habitat within tidal ecosystems
Eastern black rails (Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis) are among the rarest and least-studied birds in North America and were recently listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Spatial models that predict habitat quality across the subspecies range are therefore needed to inform conservation, recovery, and monitoring efforts for this rare bird. We used data from 47...
Authors
Bryan S. Stevens, Courtney J. Conway, Kirsten Luke, Aimee Weldon, Christy Hand, Amy Schwarzer, Fletcher Smith, Craig Watson, Bryan D. Watts
Fluid transport and storage in the Cascadia forearc influenced by overriding plate lithology Fluid transport and storage in the Cascadia forearc influenced by overriding plate lithology
Subduction of hydrated oceanic lithosphere can carry water deep into the Earth, with consequences for a range of tectonic and magmatic processes. Most of the fluid is released in the forearc where it plays a critical role in controlling the mechanical properties and seismic behaviour of the subduction megathrust. Here we present results from three-dimensional inversions of data from...
Authors
Gary D. Egbert, Bo Yang, Paul A. Bedrosian, Kerry Key, Dean Livelybrooks, Adam Schultz, Anna Kelbert, Blake Parris
Africa’s drylands in a changing world: Challenges for wildlife conservation under climate and land-use changes in the Greater Etosha Landscape Africa’s drylands in a changing world: Challenges for wildlife conservation under climate and land-use changes in the Greater Etosha Landscape
Proclaimed in 1907, Etosha National Park in northern Namibia is an iconic dryland system with a rich history of wildlife conservation and research. A recent research symposium on wildlife conservation in the Greater Etosha Landscape (GEL) highlighted increased concern of how intensification of global change will affect wildlife conservation based on participant responses to a...
Authors
Wendy Christine Turner, Stéphanie Périquet, Claire E. Goelst, Kimberlie B. Vera, Elissa Z. Cameron, Kathleen A. Alexander, Jerrold L. Belant, Claudine C. Cloete, Pierre du Preez, Wayne M. Getz, Robyn S. Hetem, Pauline L. Kamath, Marthin K. Kasaona, Monique Mackenzie, John Mendelsohn, John K.E. Mfune, Jeff Muntifering, Ruben Portas, H. Ann Scott, W. Maartin Strauss, Wilferd Versfeld, Bettina Wachter, George Wittemyer, J. Werner Kilian
Drought and nutrient pollution produce multiple interactive effects in stream ecosystems Drought and nutrient pollution produce multiple interactive effects in stream ecosystems
Drought and nutrient pollution can affect the dynamics of stream ecosystems in diverse ways. While the individual effects of both stressors are broadly examined in the literature, we still know relatively little about if and how these stressors interact. Here, we performed a mesocosm experiment that explores the compounded effects of seasonal drought via water withdrawals and nutrient...
Authors
R.J. Fournier, Daniel D. Magoulick
Warming temperatures affect meadow-wide nectar resources, with implications for plant-pollinator communities Warming temperatures affect meadow-wide nectar resources, with implications for plant-pollinator communities
Nectar production may be a point of sensitivity that can help link primary and secondary trophic responses to climate shifts, and is therefore important to our understanding of ecosystem responses. We evaluated the nectar response of two widespread native forbs, Balsamorhiza sagittata and Eriogonum umbellatum, to experimental warming in a high-elevation sagebrush meadow in the Teton...
Authors
Audrey L. McCombs, Diane Debinski, Keith Reinhardt, Matthew J. Germino, Petrutza Caragea
Gill-net selectivity for fifteen fish species of the upper San Francisco Estuary Gill-net selectivity for fifteen fish species of the upper San Francisco Estuary
Gill-net size selectivity for 15 fish species occurring in the upper San Francisco Estuary was estimated from a data set compiled from multiple studies which together contained 7,096 individual fish observations from 882 gill net sets. The gill nets considered in this study closely resembled the American Fisheries Society’s recommended standardized experimental gill nets for sampling...
Authors
Marissa L. Wulff, Frederick V. Feyrer, Matthew J. Young
Genetic diversity and connectivity of chemosynthetic cold seep mussels from the U.S. Atlantic margin Genetic diversity and connectivity of chemosynthetic cold seep mussels from the U.S. Atlantic margin
Background Deep-sea mussels in the subfamily Bathymodiolinae have unique adaptations to colonize hydrothermal-vent and cold-seep environments throughout the world ocean. These invertebrates function as important ecosystem engineers, creating heterogeneous habitat and promoting biodiversity in the deep sea. Despite their ecological significance, efforts to assess the diversity and...
Authors
Danielle M. DeLeo, Cheryl Morrison, Mariki Sei, Veronica J. Salamone, Amanda Demopoulos, Andrea M. Quattrini