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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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Planning and operations of the Hydrate 01 Stratigraphic Test Well, Prudhoe Bay Unit, Alaska North Slope Planning and operations of the Hydrate 01 Stratigraphic Test Well, Prudhoe Bay Unit, Alaska North Slope
The National Energy Technology Laboratory, the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation, and the U.S. Geological Survey are leading an effort to conduct an extended gas hydrate production test in northern Alaska. The proposed production test required the drilling of an initial stratigraphic test well (STW) to confirm the geologic conditions of the proposed test site. This well was...
Authors
Timothy S. Collett, Margarita V. Zyrianova, Norihiro Okinaka, Motoi Wakatsuki, Ray Boswell, Scott Marsteller, David Minge, Stephen Crumley, David Itter, Robert D. Hunter, Ana Garcia-Ceballos, Ge Jin
Human and ecosystem health in coastal systems Human and ecosystem health in coastal systems
U.S. coastal economies and communities are facing an unprecedented and growing number of impacts to coastal ecosystems including beach and fishery closures, harmful algal blooms, loss of critical habitat, as well as shoreline damage. This paper synthesizes our present understanding of the dynamics of human and ecosystem health in coastal systems with a focus on the need to better...
Authors
Nicole Elko, Diane Foster, Gregory Kleinheinz, Britt Raubenheimer, Suzanne Brander, Julie Kinzelman, Jacob P. Kritzer, Daphne Munroe, Curt D. Storlazzi, Marta Sutula, Annie Mercer, Scott Coffin, Carolyn Fraioli, Luke Ginger, Elise Morrison, Gabrielle Parent-Doliner, Cigdem Akan, Alberto Canestrelli, Michelle DiBenedetto, Jackelyn Lang, Jonathan Simm
Northern long-eared bats in the central Appalachians following white-nose syndrome: Failed maternity colonies? Northern long-eared bats in the central Appalachians following white-nose syndrome: Failed maternity colonies?
Northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) populations have experienced severe declines in eastern North America from white-nose syndrome (WNS), yet potential secondary effects on maternity roosting and recruitment remain largely unknown. We documented female day- roosting at two locations in the central Appalachians of Virginia, Back Creek Mountain (BCM) and Rapidan Camp (RC)...
Authors
Nicholas J. Kalen, Michael S. Muthersbaugh, Joshua B. Johnson, Alexander Silvis, W. Mark Ford
Multiple resource limitation of dryland soil microbial carbon cycling on the Colorado Plateau Multiple resource limitation of dryland soil microbial carbon cycling on the Colorado Plateau
Understanding interactions among biogeochemical cycles is increasingly important as anthropogenic alterations of global climate and of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) cycles interactively affect the Earth system. Ecosystem processes in the dryland biome, which makes up over 40% of Earth's terrestrial surface, are often distinctively sensitive to small changes in resource...
Authors
Ryan T. Choi, Sasha C. Reed, Colin Tucker
Monitoring for adaptive management of burned sagebrush-steppe rangelands: addressing variability and uncertainty on the 2015 Soda Megafire Monitoring for adaptive management of burned sagebrush-steppe rangelands: addressing variability and uncertainty on the 2015 Soda Megafire
• Use of adaptive management supported by robust monitoring is vital to solving severe rangeland problems, such as the exotic annual grass invasion and fire cycle in sagebrush-steppe rangelands. • Uncertainty in post-fire plant-community composition and plant response to treatments poses a challenge to land management and research but can be addressed with a high density of observations...
Authors
Matthew J. Germino, Peter Torma, Matthew Fisk, Cara Applestein
Distribution probability of the Virginia northern flying squirrel in the High Allegheny Mountains Distribution probability of the Virginia northern flying squirrel in the High Allegheny Mountains
In the central Appalachians of Virginia and West Virginia, the Virginia northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus; VNFS) is a subspecies of northern flying squirrel generally associated with red spruce (Picea rubens)-dominated forests at high elevations. Listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 1985 to 2013, the VNFS currently is the subject of a 10-year...
Authors
W. Mark Ford, Corinne A. Diggins, Jesse L. De La Cruz, Alexander Silvis
Interannual colony exchange among breeding Eastern Brown Pelicans Interannual colony exchange among breeding Eastern Brown Pelicans
Colonial seabirds often display high rates of interannual site fidelity to breeding locations, especially as adults. Species using more nearshore or coastal systems, however, may display comparatively less fidelity than highly pelagic species. We used long-term GPS tracking data to assess the frequency of interannual colony switching in Eastern Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis...
Authors
Bradley P. Wilkinson, Patrick G.R. Jodice
Pharmaceutical pollution of the world’s rivers Pharmaceutical pollution of the world’s rivers
Environmental exposure to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can have negative effects on the health of ecosystems and humans. While numerous studies have monitored APIs in rivers, these employ different analytical methods, measure different APIs, and have ignored many of the countries of the world. This makes it difficult to quantify the scale of the problem from a global...
Authors
John L. Wilkinson, Alistair B. A. Boxall, Dana W. Kolpin, Kenneth M. Y. Leung, Racliffe W. S. Lai, Cristobal Galban-Malagon, Aiko D. Adell, J. Mondon, M. Metian, R. Marchant, Alejandra Bouzas-Monroy, Aida Cuni-Sanchez, A. Coors, Carriquiriborde P., M. Rojo, C. Gordon, Magdalena Cara, M. Moermond, Thais Luarte, V. Petrosyan, Yekaterina Perikhanyan, Clare S. Mahon, Christopher J. McGurk, T. Hofmann, T. Kormoker, V. Iniguez, J. Guzman-Otazo, Jean L. Tavares, Francisco Gildasio de Figueiredo, Maria T. P. Razzolini, V. Dougnon, G. Gbaguidi, Oumar Traore, Jules M. Blais, Linda E. Kimpe, M. Wong, D. Wong, R. Ntchantcho, J. Pizarro, Guang-Guo Ying, Chang-Er Chen, Martha Paez, Jina Martinez-Lara, Jean-Paul Otamonga, John Pote, Suspense A. Ifo, Penelope J. Wilson, Silvia Echeverria-Saenz, N. Udikovic-Kolic, M. Milakovic, D. Fatta-Kassinos, L. Ioannou-Ttofa, Vladimira Belusova, J. Vymazal, Maria Cardenas-Bustamante, Bayable A. Kassa, J Garric, A. Chaumot, Peter Gibba, I. Kunchulia, Seidensticker S., G. Lyberatos, Halldór P. Halldórsson, Molly Melling, T. Shashidhar, Manisha Lamba, A. Nastiti, A. Supriatin, N. Pourang, A. Abedini, Omar Abdullah, Salem S. Gharbia, F. Pilla, B. Chefetz, T. Topaz, Koffi Marcellin Yao, B. Aubakirova, R. Beisenova, L. Olaka, Jemimah Mulu, P. Chatanga, V. Ntuli, Nathaniel T. Blama, S. Sherif, Ahmad Zaharin Aris, Ley Juen Looi, M. Niang, Seydou T. Traore, Rik Oldenkamp, O. Ogunbanwo, M. Ashfaq, M. Iqbal, Z. Abdeen, A. O’Dea, Jorge Manuel Morales-Saldana, M. Custodio, H. de la Cruz, I. Navarrete, F. Carvalho, Alhaji B. Gogra, Bashiru M. Koroma, Vesna Cerkvenik-Flajs, Mitja Gombac, M. Thwala, K. Choi, H. Kang, John L. Celestino Ladu, A. Rico, P. Amerashinghe, A. Sobek, G. Horlitz, Armin K. Zenker, Alex C. King, Jheng-Jie Jiang, Rebecca Kariuki, M. Tumbo, U. Tezel, Turgut T. Onay, Julius B. Lejju, Y. Vystavna, Y. Vergeles, H. Heinzen, Andres Perez-Parada, Douglas B. Sims, M. Figy, David Good, C. Teta
The Coles Hill uranium deposit, Virginia, USA: Geology, geochemistry, geochronology, and genetic model The Coles Hill uranium deposit, Virginia, USA: Geology, geochemistry, geochronology, and genetic model
The Coles Hill uranium deposit with an indicated resource of about 130 million lbs. of U3O8 is the largest unmined uranium deposit in the United States. The deposit is hosted in the Taconian (approximately 480 – 450 Ma) Martinsville igneous complex, which consists of the Ordovician Leatherwood Granite (granodiorite) and Silurian Rich Acres Formation (diorite). The host rock was...
Authors
Susan M. Hall, J.S. Beard, Christopher J. Potter, R.J. Bodnar, Leonid A. Neymark, James B. Paces, Craig A. Johnson, G.N. Breit, Robert A. Zielinski, G. J. Aylor
Modeling functional flows in California rivers Modeling functional flows in California rivers
Environmental flows are critical to the recovery and conservation of freshwater ecosystems worldwide. However, estimating desired ranges of environmental flows across large, diverse landscapes is challenging. To advance protections of environmental flows for streams in California, USA, we developed a statewide modeling approach focused on functional components of the natural flow regime
Authors
Theodore E. Grantham, Daren M. Carlisle, Jeanette K. Howard, Belize Lane, Robert Lusardi, Alyssa Obester, Samuel Sandoval-Solis, Bronwen Stanford, Eric D. Stein, Kristine T. Taniguchi-Quan, Sarah M. Yarnell, Julie K. H Zimmerman
Strength and memory of precipitation's control over streamflow across the conterminous United States Strength and memory of precipitation's control over streamflow across the conterminous United States
How precipitation (P) is translated into streamflow (Q) and over what timescales (i.e., “memory”) is difficult to predict without calibration of site-specific models or using geochemical approaches, posing barriers to prediction in ungauged basins or advancement of general theories. Here, we used a data-driven approach to identify regional patterns and exogenous controls on P–Q...
Authors
Edom Moges, Benjamin L. Ruddell, Liang Zhang, Jessica M. Driscoll, Laurel Larsen
Identification of fresh submarine groundwater off the coast of San Diego, USA, using electromagnetic methods Identification of fresh submarine groundwater off the coast of San Diego, USA, using electromagnetic methods
Climate change has a pronounced effect on water resources in many semiarid climates, causing populated areas such as San Diego County (USA), to become more vulnerable to water shortages in the coming decades. To prepare for decreased water supply, San Diego County is adopting policies to decrease water use and to develop additional local sources of water. One new local source of...
Authors
Roslynn B. King, Wesley R. Danskin, Steven Constable, Jillian M. Maloney