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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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Drivers, dynamics and impacts of changing Arctic coasts Drivers, dynamics and impacts of changing Arctic coasts
Arctic coasts are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including rising sea levels and the loss of permafrost, sea ice and glaciers. Assessing the influence of anthropogenic warming on Arctic coastal dynamics, however, is challenged by the limited availability of observational, oceanographic and environmental data. Yet, with the majority of permafrost coasts being erosive...
Authors
Anna M. Irrgang, Mette Bendixen, Louise M. Farquharson, Alisa V. Baranskaya, Li H. Erikson, Ann E. Gibbs, Stanislav A. Ogorodov, Pier Paul Overduin, Hugues Lantuit, Mikhail N. Grigoriev, Benjamin M. Jones
Nutrient identity modifies the destabilising effects of eutrophication in grasslands Nutrient identity modifies the destabilising effects of eutrophication in grasslands
Nutrient enrichment can simultaneously increase and destabilise plant biomass production, with co-limitation by multiple nutrients potentially intensifying these effects. Here, we test how factorial additions of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium with essential nutrients (K+) affect the stability (mean/standard deviation) of aboveground biomass in 34 grasslands over 7 years
Authors
Oliver Carroll, Evan Batzer, Siddharth Bharath, Elizabeth T. Borer, Sofia Campana, Ellen Esch, Yann Hautier, Timothy Ohlert, Eric W. Seabloom, Peter B. Adler, Jonathan D. Bakker, Lori A. Biederman, Miguel N. Bugalho, Maria Caldeira, Qingqing Chen, Kendi F. Davies, Philip A. Fay, Johannes M. H. Knops, Kimberly Komatsu, Jason P. Martina, Kevin S. McCann, Joslin L. Moore, John W. Morgan, Taofeek O. Muraina, Brooke Bossert Osborne, Anita C. Risch, Carly J. Stevens, Peter A. Wilfahrt, Laura Yahdjian, Andrew S. MacDougall
Multi-year, spatially extensive, watershed-scale synoptic stream chemistry and water quality conditions for six permafrost-underlain Arctic watersheds Multi-year, spatially extensive, watershed-scale synoptic stream chemistry and water quality conditions for six permafrost-underlain Arctic watersheds
Repeated sampling of spatially distributed river chemistry can be used to assess the location, scale, and persistence of carbon and nutrient contributions to watershed exports. Here, we provide a comprehensive set of water chemistry measurements and ecohydrological metrics describing the biogeochemical conditions of permafrost-affected Arctic watersheds. These data were collected in...
Authors
Arial Shogren, Jay P. Zarnetske, Benjamin Abbott, Samuel P. Bratsman, Brian C. Brown, Michael P. Carey, Randy Fulweiber, Heather Greaves, Emma Haines, Frances Iannucci, Joshua C. Koch, Alex Medvedeff, Jonathan A. O’Donnell, Leika Patch, Brett Poulin, Tanner J. Williamson, William B. Bowden
Response to comment on “Evidence of humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum” Response to comment on “Evidence of humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum”
Madsen et al. question the reliability of calibrated radiocarbon ages associated with human footprints discovered recently in White Sands National Park, New Mexico, USA. On the basis of the geologic, hydrologic, stratigraphic, and chronologic evidence, we maintain that the ages are robust and conclude that the footprints date to between ~23,000 and 21,000 years ago.Madsen et al. (1)...
Authors
Jeffrey S. Pigati, Kathleen B. Springer, Matthew R. Bennett, David Bustos, Thomas M. Urban, Vance T. Holliday, Sally C. Reynolds, Daniel Odess
Evaluating the effect of expert elicitation techniques on population status assessment in the face of large uncertainty Evaluating the effect of expert elicitation techniques on population status assessment in the face of large uncertainty
Population projection models are important tools for conservation and management. They are often used for population status assessments, for threat analyses, and to predict the consequences of conservation actions. Although conservation decisions should be informed by science, critical decisions are often made with very little information to support decision-making. Conversely...
Authors
Jennifer F. Moore, Julien Martin, Hardin Waddle, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Jillian Elizabeth Fleming, Eve Bohnett, Thomas S.B. Akre, Donald J. Brown, Michael T. Jones, Jessica R. Meck, Kevin J. Oxenrider, Anthony Tur, Lisabeth L. Willey, Fred A Johnson
Increasing the uptake of ecological model results in policy decisions to improve biodiversity outcomes Increasing the uptake of ecological model results in policy decisions to improve biodiversity outcomes
Models help decision-makers anticipate the consequences of policies for ecosystems and people; for instance, improving our ability to represent interactions between human activities and ecological systems is essential to identify pathways to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. However, use of modeling outputs in decision-making remains uncommon. We share insights from a...
Authors
Sarah R. Weiskopf, Zuzana Harmáčková, Ciara G. Johnson, Maria Cecilia Londono-Murcia, Brian W. Miller, Bonnie J.E. Myers, Laura M. Pereira, Maria Isabel Arce-Plata, Julia L. Blanchard, Simon Ferrier, Elizabeth A. Fulton, Mike Harfoot, Forest Isbell, Justin A. Johnson, Akira S. Mori, Ensheng Weng, Isabel M.D. Rosa
UAS-based tools for mapping and monitoring hydrothermal systems: An example from Mammoth Lakes, California UAS-based tools for mapping and monitoring hydrothermal systems: An example from Mammoth Lakes, California
Unoccupied Aerial Systems (UAS) can accommodate a variety of tools for mapping and monitoring hydrothermal systems (e.g., magnetic, gas, photogrammetry, and thermal infrared [TIR]). These platforms offer increased speed, coverage area, and uniformity compared to ground-based measurements, as well as lower flight height – and therefore higher resolution – than occupied aircraft. We...
Authors
Laurie Antoinette Zielinski, Jonathan M.G. Glen, Tait E. Earney, Grant H. Rea-Downing, R. Greg Vaughan, Peter J. Kelly, Gordon H. Keller, Branden James Dean, William Schermerhorn
A borehole test for chlorinated solvent diffusion and degradation rates in sedimentary rock A borehole test for chlorinated solvent diffusion and degradation rates in sedimentary rock
We present a new field measurement and numerical interpretation method (combined termed ‘test’) to parameterize the diffusion of trichloroethene (TCE) and its biodegradation products (DPs) from the matrix of sedimentary rock. The method uses a dual-packer system to interrogate a low-permeability section of the rock matrix adjacent to a previously contaminated borehole and uses the...
Authors
Richelle M. Allen-King, Rebecca L. Kiekhaefer, Daniel J. Goode, Paul A. Hsieh, Michelle M. Lorah, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta
Paleoclimatology and paleoceanography perspectives on integrated, coordinated, open, networked (ICON) science Paleoclimatology and paleoceanography perspectives on integrated, coordinated, open, networked (ICON) science
This article is composed of three independent commentaries about the state of Integrated, Coordinated, Open, Networked (ICON) principles (Goldman et al., 2021, https://doi.org/10.1002/essoar.10508554.1) in the AGU section paleoclimatology and paleoceanography (P&P), and a discussion on the opportunities and challenges of adopting them. Each commentary focuses on a different topic:...
Authors
A Belem, T Bell, H L Burdett, D Ibarra, N Kaushal, B Keenan, A Klimaszewski-Patterson, Madelyn Jean Mette, S Naeher, O D Onafeso, C Panmei, S Ratnayake, O Truax
Microcontinent breakup and links to possible plate boundary reorganization in the northern Gulf of California, México Microcontinent breakup and links to possible plate boundary reorganization in the northern Gulf of California, México
Faults on microcontinents record the dynamic evolution of plate boundaries. However, most microcontinents are submarine and difficult to study. Here, we show that the southern part of the Isla Ángel de la Guarda (IAG) microcontinent, in the northern Gulf of California rift, is densely faulted by a late Quaternary-active normal fault zone. To characterize the onshore kinematics of this...
Authors
Justin T. Higa, Nathan D. Brown, Seulgi Moon, Joann M. Stock, Leah Sabbeth, Scott E.K. Bennett, Arturo Martin-Barajas, Marina O. Argueta
Spatial personalities: A meta-analysis of consistent individual differences in spatial behavior Spatial personalities: A meta-analysis of consistent individual differences in spatial behavior
Individual variation in behavior, particularly consistent among-individual differences (i.e., personality), has important ecological and evolutionary implications for population and community dynamics, trait divergence, and patterns of speciation. Nevertheless, individual variation in spatial behaviors, such as home range behavior, movement characteristics, or habitat use has yet to be
Authors
Erica Francis Stuber, Ben Carlson, Brett Jesmer
Non-target effects of herbicides on the Zerene silverspot butterfly, a surrogate subspecies for the threatened Oregon silverspot butterfly Non-target effects of herbicides on the Zerene silverspot butterfly, a surrogate subspecies for the threatened Oregon silverspot butterfly
Herbicides are used as management tools to improve habitat for native plants and animals, but their application may also have harmful effects on the native community. The federally threatened Oregon silverspot butterfly (Speyeria = Argynnis zerene hippolyta) resides in remnant native grasslands along the Pacific Northwest coast. However, like many grasslands, many of these areas have...
Authors
Cassandra F. Doll, Sarah J. Converse, Cheryl B. Schultz