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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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Topographic response to simulated Mw 6.5-7.0 earthquakes on the Seattle Fault Topographic response to simulated Mw 6.5-7.0 earthquakes on the Seattle Fault
We explore the response of ground motions to topography during large crustal fault earthquakes by simulating several magnitude 6.5–7.0 rupture scenarios on the Seattle fault, Washington State. Kinematic simulations are run using a 3D spectral element code and a detailed seismic velocity model for the Puget Sound region. This model includes realistic surface topography and a near‐surface...
Authors
Ian P. Stone, Erin A. Wirth, Arthur D. Frankel
Limits to reproduction and seed size-number trade-offs that shape forest dominance and future recovery Limits to reproduction and seed size-number trade-offs that shape forest dominance and future recovery
The relationships that control seed production in trees are fundamental to understanding the evolution of forest species and their capacity to recover from increasing losses to drought, fire, and harvest. A synthesis of fecundity data from 714 species worldwide allowed us to examine hypotheses that are central to quantifying reproduction, a foundation for assessing fitness in forest...
Authors
Tong Qiu, Robert Andrus, Marie-Claire Aravena Acuna, Davide Ascoli, Yves Bergeron, Roberta Berretti, Daniel Berveiller, Thomas Biovin, Raul Bonal, Don C. Bragg, Thomas Caignard, Rafael Calama, J. Julio Camarero, Chia-Huo Chang-Yang, Natalie L. Cleavitt, Benoit Courbaud, Francois Courbet, Thomas Curt, Adrian J. Das, Evangelia Daskalakou, Hendrik Davi, Nicolas Delpierre, Sylvain Delzon, Michael Dietze, Sergio Donoso Calderon, Laurent Dormont, Josep Maria Espelta, Timothy J. Fahey, William Farfan-Rios, Catherine A. Gehring, Gregory S. Gilbert, Georg Gratzner, Cathryn H. Greenberg, Qinfeng Guo, Andrew Hacket-Pain, Arndt Hampe, Qingmin Han, Janneke Hille Ris Lambers, Kazuhiko Hoshizaki, Ines Ibanez, Jill F. Johnstone, Valentin Journe, Daisuke Kabeya, Christopher L. Kilner, Thomas Kitzberger, Johannes M. H. Knops, Richard K. Kobe, Georges Kunstler, Hiroko Kurokawa, Jonathan G. A. Lageard, Jalene M. LaMontagne, Mateusz Ledwon, Francois Lefevre, Theodor Leininger, Jean-Marc Limousin, James A. Lutz, Diana Macias, Eliot J. B. McIntire, Christopher M. Moore, Emily V. Moran, Renzo Motta, Jonathan A. Myers, Thomas A. Nagel, Kyotaro Noguchi, Jean-Marc Ourcival, Robert Parmenter, Ian S. Pearse, Ignacio M. Perez-Ramos, Lukasz Piechnik, John Poulsen, Renata Poulton-Kamakura, Miranda D. Redmond, Chantal D. Reid, Kyle C. Rodman, Francisco Rodrigues-Sanchez, Javier Sanguinetti, C. Lane Scher, Wiliam H Schlesinger, Harald Schmidt Van Marle, Barbara Seget, Shubhi Sharma, Miles Silman, Michael A. Steele, Nathan L. Stephenson, Jacob N. Straub, I-Fang Sun, Samantha Sutton, Jennifer J. Swenson, Margaret Swift, Peter A. Thomas, Maria Uriarte, Giorgio Vacchiano, Thomas T. Veblen, Amy V. Whipple, Thomas G. Whitham, Andreas Wion, Boyd Wright, S. Joseph Wright, Kai Zhu, Jess Zimmermann, Roman Zlotin, Magdalena Zywiec, James S. Clark
Scale-dependent influence of the sagebrush community on genetic connectivity of the sagebrush obligate Gunnison sage-grouse Scale-dependent influence of the sagebrush community on genetic connectivity of the sagebrush obligate Gunnison sage-grouse
Habitat fragmentation and degradation impacts an organism's ability to navigate the landscape, ultimately resulting in decreased gene flow and increased extinction risk. Understanding how landscape composition impacts gene flow (i.e., connectivity) and interacts with scale is essential to conservation decision-making. We used a landscape genetics approach implementing a recently...
Authors
Shawna J Zimmerman, Cameron L. Aldridge, Mevin B. Hooten, Sara J. Oyler-McCance
Development and application of Landsat-based wetland vegetation cover and unvegetated-vegetated marsh ratio (UVVR) for the conterminous United States Development and application of Landsat-based wetland vegetation cover and unvegetated-vegetated marsh ratio (UVVR) for the conterminous United States
Effective management and restoration of salt marshes and other vegetated intertidal habitats require objective and spatially integrated metrics of geomorphic status and vulnerability. The unvegetated-vegetated marsh ratio (UVVR), a recently developed metric, can be used to establish present-day vegetative cover, identify stability thresholds, and quantify vulnerability to open-water...
Authors
Neil K. Ganju, Brady R. Couvillion, Zafer Defne, Kate Ackerman
Fish-inspired segment models for undulatory swimming Fish-inspired segment models for undulatory swimming
Many aquatic animals swim by undulatory body movements and understanding the diversity of these movements could unlock the potential for designing better underwater robots. Here, we analyzed the steady swimming kinematics of a diverse group of fish species to investigate whether their undulatory movements can be represented using a series of interconnected multi-segment models, and if so...
Authors
O. Akanyeti, V. di Santo, Elsa Goerig, Dylan K. Wainwright, J.C. Liao, Theodore R. Castro-Santos, George Lauder
Testing environmental DNA from wolf snow tracks for species, sex, and individual identification – An addendum Testing environmental DNA from wolf snow tracks for species, sex, and individual identification – An addendum
No abstract available.
Authors
Shannon Barber-Meyer, Victoria Zeller, Kristy Pilgrim
USGS Critical Minerals Review: 2021 USGS Critical Minerals Review: 2021
In 2021, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) continued to play a central role in understanding and anticipating potential supply chain disruptions by defining and quantitatively evaluating mineral criticality. In addition, the USGS continued to evaluate new sources of domestic critical minerals by conducting mineral resource assessments, mapping and surveying regions prospective for...
Authors
Steven M. Fortier, Nedal T. Nassar, Garth E. Graham, Jane M. Hammarstrom, Warren C. Day, Jeffrey L. Mauk, Robert R. Seal,
Highly specialized recreationists contribute the most to the citizen science project eBird Highly specialized recreationists contribute the most to the citizen science project eBird
Contributory citizen science projects (hereafter “contributory projects”) are a powerful tool for avian conservation science. Large-scale projects such as eBird have produced data that have advanced science and contributed to many conservation applications. These projects also provide a means to engage the public in scientific data collection. A common challenge across contributory...
Authors
Connor J. Rosenblatt, Ashley A. Dayer, Jennifer N. Duberstein, Tina B. Phillips, H. W. Harshaw, David C. Fulton, Nicholas W. Cole, Andrew H. Raedeke, Jonathan D. Rutter, Christopher L. Wood
Economic benefits supported by surface water in eastern Oregon’s Harney Basin Economic benefits supported by surface water in eastern Oregon’s Harney Basin
The Harney Basin is a closed river basin in southeastern Oregon. Surface water in the basin is used for a variety of social, economic, and ecological benefits. While some surface water uses compete with one another, others are complementary or jointly produce multiple beneficial outcomes. The objective of this study is to conduct a baseline economic assessment of surface water in the...
Authors
Christopher Huber, Matthew Flyr, Lucas Bair
On the role of climate in monthly baseflow changes across the continental United States On the role of climate in monthly baseflow changes across the continental United States
Baseflow is the portion of streamflow that comes from groundwater and subsurface sources. Although baseflow is essential for sustaining streams during low flow and drought periods, we have little information about how and why it has changed over large regions of the continental United States. The objective of this study was to evaluate how changes in the climate system have affected...
Authors
Jessica R. Ayers, Gabriele Villarini, Keith Schilling, Christopher Jones, Andrea E. Brookfield, Samuel Zipper, William H. Farmer
Abrupt quaternary ocean-ice events in the Arctic: Evidence from the ostracode rabilimis Abrupt quaternary ocean-ice events in the Arctic: Evidence from the ostracode rabilimis
The Arctic Ocean has experienced orbital and millennial-scale climate oscillations over the last 500 kilo-annum (ka) involving massive changes in global sea level and components of the Arctic cryosphere, including sea-ice cover, land-based ice sheets and ice shelves. Although these climate events are only partially understood, micropaleontological studies utilizing ostracodes and benthic
Authors
Thomas M. Cronin, Laura Gemery, Baylee M. Olds Olds, Alexa Regnier, Robert Poirier, Sienna Sui
Visualizing climate change Visualizing climate change
Humans are profoundly affecting the planet, and human-caused, or anthropogenic, climate change is the most visible manifestation of this today. In the graph above, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, trends in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) are shown from the present (at far right) back through several ice age cycles, to eight hundred thousand years ago (800 kyBCE...
Authors
Adam J. Terando