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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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Stream macroinvertebrate reintroductions: A cautionary approach for restored urban streams Stream macroinvertebrate reintroductions: A cautionary approach for restored urban streams
Macroinvertebrate assemblages often remain depauperate in physically restored urban streams despite efforts to improve habitat conditions and increase species abundance and diversity. The lack of biological recovery may be due to a lack of a natural, nearby source of colonists, and this has inspired researchers and practitioners to reintroduce macroinvertebrates in otherwise restored...
Authors
Sandra M. Clinton, Jacqueline Hartman, Kate H. Macneale, Allison H. Roy
Trace elements in quartz: Insights into source and fluid evolution in magmatic-hydrothermal systems Trace elements in quartz: Insights into source and fluid evolution in magmatic-hydrothermal systems
Quartz trace elements record information about fluid evolution as well as metal migration and precipitation. Here, we summarize most of the reported (including this study) quartz trace element data (N = ~4,600) generated by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) on various textural types and paragenetic stages of quartz in I-type porphyry-epithermal (Cu...
Authors
Shen Gao, Xinyu Zou, Albert H. Hofstra, Kezhang Qin, Erin E. Marsh, Mitchell M. Bennett, Guangming Li, Jilian Jiang, Shiqiang Su, Junxing Zhao, Zhenzhen Li
Causality guided machine learning model on wetland CH4 emissions across global wetlands Causality guided machine learning model on wetland CH4 emissions across global wetlands
Wetland CH4 emissions are among the most uncertain components of the global CH4 budget. The complex nature of wetland CH4 processes makes it challenging to identify causal relationships for improving our understanding and predictability of CH4 emissions. In this study, we used the flux measurements of CH4 from eddy covariance towers (30 sites from 4 wetlands types: bog, fen, marsh, and...
Authors
Kunxiaojia Yuan, Qing Zhu, Fa Li, William J. Riley, Margaret Torn, Housen Chu, Gavin McNicol, Mingshu Chen, Sara Knox, Kyle B. Delwiche, Huayi Wu, Dennis Baldocchi, Hongxu Ma, Ankur R. Desai, Jiquan Chen, Torsten Sachs, Masahito Ueyama, Oliver Sonnentag, Manuel Helbig, Eeva-Stiina Tuittila, Gerald Jurasinski, Franziska Koebsch, David I. Campbell, Hans Peter Schmid, Annalea Lohila, Mathias Goeckede, Mats B. Nilsson, Thomas Friborg, Joachim Jansen, Donatella Zona, Eugenie S. Euskirchen, Eric Ward, Gil Bohrer, Zhenong Jin, Licheng Liu, Hiroki Iwata, Jordan P. Goodrich, Robert B. Jackson
Upper Rio Grande Basin water-resource status and trends: Focus area study review and synthesis Upper Rio Grande Basin water-resource status and trends: Focus area study review and synthesis
The Upper Rio Grande Basin (URGB) is a critical international water resource under pressure from a myriad of climatic, ecological, infrastructural, water-use, and legal constraints. The objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the spatial distribution and temporal trends of selected water-budget components (snow processes, evapotranspiration (ET), streamflow...
Authors
Kyle R. Douglas-Mankin, Christine Rumsey, Graham A. Sexstone, Tamara I. Ivahnenko, Natalie Houston, Shaleene Chavarria, Gabriel B. Senay, Linzy K. Foster, Jonathan V. Thomas, Allison K. Flickinger, Amy E. Galanter, C. David Moeser, Toby L. Welborn, Diana E. Pedraza, Patrick M. Lambert, Michael Scott Johnson
A RADical approach to conservation in Alaska: Rapid climate change requires a new perspective A RADical approach to conservation in Alaska: Rapid climate change requires a new perspective
In Alaska, conservation areas are managed to promote the persistence of wild species, habitats, cultural resources, visitor experiences, and ecosystem services. Many conservation areas are managed by federal or state agencies, and have specific boundaries, missions, and legislative mandates. Many are also the domains of Indigenous and local people who derive livelihoods and cultural...
Authors
Jeremy S. Littell, Gregor W. Schuurman, Joel H. Reynolds, John M. Morton, Nicole Schmitt
What makes wildfires destructive in California? What makes wildfires destructive in California?
As human impacts from wildfires mount, there is a pressing need to understand why structures are lost in destructive fires. Despite growing research on factors contributing to structure loss, fewer studies have focused on why some fires are destructive and others are not. We characterized overall differences between fires that resulted in structure loss (“destructive fires”) and those...
Authors
Alexandra D. Syphard, Jon Keeley, Mike Gough, Mitchell Lazarz, John Rogan
Environmental DNA metabarcoding read numbers and their variability predict species abundance, but weakly in non-dominant species Environmental DNA metabarcoding read numbers and their variability predict species abundance, but weakly in non-dominant species
Metabarcoding of environmental DNA (eDNA) provides more comprehensive, efficient, and non-invasive sampling of biological communities than conventional methods. However, limitations of metabarcoding include taxon-specific biases in amplification and sequencing that distort assessments of community composition. Further, hyper-abundant species may disproportionately affect community...
Authors
James Skelton, Allison R. Cauvin, Margaret Hunter
Mortality associated with extreme heat in Washington State: The historical and projected public health burden Mortality associated with extreme heat in Washington State: The historical and projected public health burden
Extreme heat is one of the most important pathways illustrating the connection between climate and human health, and climate change is expected to exacerbate this public health issue. This study first used a case-crossover analysis to characterize the historical (1980–2018) association between summertime heat and non-traumatic mortality in Washington State. A separate analysis was...
Authors
Logan Arnold, Mark David Scheuerell, T.B. Isaksen
Simulated global coastal ecosystem responses to a half-century increase in river nitrogen loads Simulated global coastal ecosystem responses to a half-century increase in river nitrogen loads
Coastal ecosystems are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic stressors such as harmful algal blooms and hypoxia projected to intensify through the combined effects of eutrophication and warming. As a major terrestrial nitrogen (N) source to the ocean, rivers play a critical role in shaping both coastal and global biogeochemical cycling. Combining an enhanced-resolution (1/4°), global...
Authors
Xiao Liu, Charles A. Stock, John P. Dunne, Minjin Lee, Elena Shevliakova, Sergey Malyshev, Paul C. D. Milly
Spaceborne InSAR mapping of landslides and subsidence in rapidly deglaciating terrain, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and vicinity, Alaska and British Columbia Spaceborne InSAR mapping of landslides and subsidence in rapidly deglaciating terrain, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and vicinity, Alaska and British Columbia
The Glacier Bay area in southeastern Alaska and British Columbia, encompassing Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, has experienced rapid glacier retreat since the end of the Little Ice Age in the mid-1800s. The impact that rapid deglaciation has had on the slope stability of valley walls and on the sedimentation of fans and deltas adjacent to fjords and inlets is an ongoing research...
Authors
Jinwook Kim, Jeffrey A. Coe, Zhong Lu, Nikita N. Avdievitch, Chad Hults
Microbial endophytes and compost improve plant growth in two contrasting types of hard rock mining waste Microbial endophytes and compost improve plant growth in two contrasting types of hard rock mining waste
The re-vegetation of mining wastes with native plants is a comparatively low-cost solution for mine reclamation. However, re-vegetation fails when extreme pH values, low organic matter, or high concentrations of phytotoxic elements inhibit plant establishment and growth. Our aim was to determine whether the combined addition of municipal waste compost and diazotrophic endophytes (i.e
Authors
Courtney Creamer, Mary-Catherine Leewis, Francesca C. Governali, John Freeman, Floyd Gray, Emily G. Wright, Andrea L. Foster
Over the hills and through the farms: Land use and topography influence genetic connectivity of northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens) in the Prairie Pothole Region Over the hills and through the farms: Land use and topography influence genetic connectivity of northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens) in the Prairie Pothole Region
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Authors
Justin M. Waraniak, David M. Mushet, Craig A. Stockwell