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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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Bright spots for inland fish and fisheries to guide future hydropower development Bright spots for inland fish and fisheries to guide future hydropower development
Hydropower production is one of the greatest threats to fluvial ecosystems and freshwater biodiversity. Now that we have entered the Anthropocene, there is an opportunity to reflect on what might constitute a ‘sustainable’ Anthropocene in the context of hydropower and riverine fish populations. Considering elements of existing practices that promote favorable social-ecological outcomes...
Authors
William M. Twardek, Ian G. Cowx, Nicolas W.R. Lapointe, Craig P. Paukert, T. Douglas Beard, Elena M. Bennett, David Browne, Andrew K. Carlson, Keith D. Clarke, Zeb Hogan, Kai Lorenzen, Abigail Lynch, Peter B. McIntyre, Paulo S. Pompeu, Mark W. Rogers, Alexis Sakas, William W. Taylor, Taylor D. Ward, Zeenatul Basher, Steven J. Cooke
Isotopic discrimination of natural and anthropogenic perchlorate sources in groundwater in a semi-arid region of northeastern Oregon (USA) Isotopic discrimination of natural and anthropogenic perchlorate sources in groundwater in a semi-arid region of northeastern Oregon (USA)
Perchlorate (ClO4−) has synthetic and natural sources. Synthetic ClO4− is released to the environment from its use as an oxidant in military and aerospace applications, and from its presence in a variety of common commercial products, such as safety flares, chlorate herbicides, and fireworks. Natural sources of ClO4− in the environment include imported nitrate fertilizers derived from...
Authors
Paul B. Hatzinger, J.K. Bohlke, W.A. Jackson, Baohua Gu, Stanley J. Mroczkowski, Neil C. Sturchio
Taking a macroscale perspective to improve understanding of shallow lake total phosphorus and chlorophyll a Taking a macroscale perspective to improve understanding of shallow lake total phosphorus and chlorophyll a
We conducted a macroscale study of 2210 shallow lakes (mean depth ≤ 3 m or a maximum depth ≤ 5 m) in the Upper Midwestern and Northeastern USA. We asked the following: What are the patterns and drivers of shallow lake total phosphorus (TP), chlorophyll a (CHLa), and TP–CHLa relationships at the macroscale, how do these differ from those for 4360 non-shallow lakes, and do results differ...
Authors
Kendra Spence Cheruvelil, Katherine Webster, Katelyn King, Autumn C. Poisson, Tyler Wagner
Active forest management accelerates carbon storage in plantation forests in Lishui, southern China Active forest management accelerates carbon storage in plantation forests in Lishui, southern China
Background China has committed to achieving peak CO2 emissions before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060; therefore, accelerated efforts are needed to better understand carbon accounting in industry and energy fields as well as terrestrial ecosystems. The carbon sink capacity of plantation forests contributes to the mitigation of climate change. Plantation forests throughout the...
Authors
Jiaojiao Diao, Jinxun Liu, Zhiliang Zhu, Xinyuan Wei, Mingshi Li
Quantifying the sensitivity of microearthquake slip inversions to station distribution using a dense nodal array Quantifying the sensitivity of microearthquake slip inversions to station distribution using a dense nodal array
To investigate the sensitivity of slip inversions to station distribution and choice of empirical Green’s function (EGF), we examine three microearthquakes that occurred within the high‐density LArge‐n Seismic Survey in Oklahoma (LASSO) nodal seismic array. The LASSO array’s dense distribution of 1825 geophones provides an exceptional level of spatial and azimuthal coverage, allowing for...
Authors
Colin Nathanael Pennington, Hilary Chang, Justin Rubinstein, Rachel E. Abercrombie, Nori Nakata, Takahiko Uchide, Elizabeth S. Cochran
Lessons learned from 20 y of monitoring suburban development with distributed stormwater management in Clarksburg, Maryland, USA Lessons learned from 20 y of monitoring suburban development with distributed stormwater management in Clarksburg, Maryland, USA
Urban development is a well-known stressor for stream ecosystems, presenting a challenge to managers tasked with mitigating its effects. For the past 20 y, streamflow, water quality, geomorphology, and benthic communities were monitored in 5 watersheds in Montgomery County, Maryland, USA. This study presents a synthesis of multiple studies of monitoring efforts in the study area and new...
Authors
Kristina G. Hopkins, Sean Woznicki, Brianna Williams, Charles C. Stillwell, Eric Naibert, Marina J. Metes, Daniel K. Jones, Dianna M. Hogan, Natalie Celeste Hall, Rosemary M. Fanelli, Aditi S. Bhaskar
Comparison of sediment composition by smear slides to quantitative shipboard data: A case study on the utility of smear slide percent estimates, IODP Expedition 353, northern Indian Ocean Comparison of sediment composition by smear slides to quantitative shipboard data: A case study on the utility of smear slide percent estimates, IODP Expedition 353, northern Indian Ocean
Smear slide petrography has been a standard technique during scientific ocean drilling expeditions to characterize sediment composition and classify sediment types, but presentation of these percent estimates to track downcore trends in sediment composition has become less frequent over the past 2 decades. We compare semi-quantitative smear slide composition estimates to physical...
Authors
Stephen C. Phillips, Kate Littler
Nekton community dynamics within active and inactive deltas in a major river estuary: Potential implications for altered hydrology regimes Nekton community dynamics within active and inactive deltas in a major river estuary: Potential implications for altered hydrology regimes
High fisheries production within estuaries is associated with coastal upwelling, tidal mixing, and land-based runoff facing increasing impacts from climate and human activities. Active river deltas receive large riverine inflows compared to inactive river deltas, providing contrasting estuaries to compare impacts of river inflow on estuarine nekton. We quantified nekton assemblages and...
Authors
Caleb B. Taylor, John Andrew Nyman, Megan K. La Peyre
Three decades of stranding data reveal insights into endangered hawksbill sea turtles in Hawai‘i Three decades of stranding data reveal insights into endangered hawksbill sea turtles in Hawai‘i
Hawksbill sea turtles Eretmochelys imbricata inhabiting the Hawaiian Islands are extremely rare and listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act. The paucity of data on basic hawksbill ecology continues to hinder effective management of the species. We analyzed stranding data collected between 1984 and 2018 to gain insights into the distribution, demography, and conservation...
Authors
Shandell Brunson, Alexander Gaos, Irene Kelly, Kyle van Houtan, Yonat Swimmer, Stacy Hargrove, George H. Balazs, Thierry M. Work, T. Todd Jones
A geochronological review of magmatism along the external margin of Columbia and in the Grenville-age orogens forming the core of Rodinia A geochronological review of magmatism along the external margin of Columbia and in the Grenville-age orogens forming the core of Rodinia
A total of 4344 magmatic U-Pb ages in the range 2300 to 800 Ma have been compiled from the Great Proterozoic Accretionary Orogen along the margin of the Columbia / Nuna supercontinent and from the subsequent Grenvillian collisional orogens forming the core of Rodinia. The age data are derived from Laurentia (North America and Greenland, n = 1212), Baltica (NE Europe, n = 1922), Amazonia...
Authors
Ake Johansson, Bernard Bingen, Hannu Huhma, Tod Waight, Rikke Vestergaard, Alvar Soesoo, Grazina Skridlaite, Ewa Krzeminska, Leonid Shumlyanskyy, Mark E. Holland, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Wilson Teixeira, Frederico Faleiros, Bruno Riberio, Joachim Jacobs, Cheng-Cheng Wang, Robert Thomas, Paul Macey, Christopher Kirkland, Michael Hartnady, Bruce Eglington, Stephen Puetz, Kent Condie
Pervasive, preferential flow through mega-thick unsaturated zones in the Southern Great Basin Pervasive, preferential flow through mega-thick unsaturated zones in the Southern Great Basin
Recharge from preferential flow through mega-thick (100–1,000 m) unsaturated zones is a pervasive phenomenon, as demonstrated with a case study of volcanic highland recharge areas in the Great Basin province in southern Nevada, USA. Statistically significant rising water-level trends occur for most study-area wells and resulted from a relatively wet period (1969–2005) in south-central...
Authors
Tracie R. Jackson, Joseph M. Fenelon, Seth Reilly Gainey
Behavioural adjustments in the social associations of a precocial shorebird mediate the costs and benefits of grouping decisions Behavioural adjustments in the social associations of a precocial shorebird mediate the costs and benefits of grouping decisions
Animals weigh multiple costs and benefits when making grouping decisions. The cost-avoidance grouping framework proposes that group density, information quality and risk affect an individual’s preference for con or heterospecific groups. However, this assumes the cost–benefit balance of a particular grouping is constant spatiotemporally, which may not always be true. Investigating how
Authors
Luke R. Wilde, Rose J. Swift, Nathan R. Senner