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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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Earthquake magnitude distributions on northern Caribbean faults from combinatorial optimization models Earthquake magnitude distributions on northern Caribbean faults from combinatorial optimization models

On-fault earthquake magnitude distributions are calculated for northern Caribbean faults using estimates of fault slip and regional seismicity parameters. Integer programming, a combinatorial optimization method, is used to determine the optimal spatial arrangement of earthquakes sampled from a truncated Gutenberg-Richter distribution that minimizes the global misfit in slip rates on a...
Authors
Eric L. Geist, Uri S. ten Brink

Assessment of variation in the detection and prevalence of blood parasites among sympatrically breeding geese in western Alaska, USA Assessment of variation in the detection and prevalence of blood parasites among sympatrically breeding geese in western Alaska, USA

Haemosporidian parasites may impact avian health and are subject to shifts in distribution and abundance with changing ecologic conditions. Therefore, understanding variation in parasite prevalence is important for evaluating biologically meaningful changes in infection patterns and associated population level impacts. Previous research in western Alaska, US, indicated a possible...
Authors
Raymond M. Buchheit, Joel Schmutz, John A. Reed, Brian D. Uher-Koch, Andrew M. Ramey

A new analysis of caldera unrest through the integration of geophysical data and FEM modeling: The Long Valley caldera case study A new analysis of caldera unrest through the integration of geophysical data and FEM modeling: The Long Valley caldera case study

The Long Valley Caldera, located at the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada range in California, has been in a state of unrest since the late 1970s. Seismic, gravity and geodetic data strongly suggest that the source of unrest is an intrusion beneath the caldera resurgent dome. However, it is not clear yet if the main contribution to the deformation comes from pulses of ascending high...
Authors
Fabio Pulvirenti, Francesca Silverii, Maurizio Battaglia

Past, present, and future of Mars Polar Science: Outcomes and outlook from the 7th International Conference on Mars Polar Science and Exploration Past, present, and future of Mars Polar Science: Outcomes and outlook from the 7th International Conference on Mars Polar Science and Exploration

Mars Polar Science is a subfield of Mars science that encompasses all studies of the cryosphere of Mars and its interaction with the Martian environment. Every 4 yr, the community of scientists dedicated to this subfield meets to discuss new findings and debate open issues in the International Conference on Mars Polar Science and Exploration (ICMPSE). This paper summarizes the...
Authors
Patricio Becerra, Isaac B. Smith, Shannon M Hibbard, Chimira Andres, Jonathan Bapst, Ali Bramson, Peter Buhler, Andrea Coronato, Serina Diniega, Jeremy Emmett, Anna Grau Galofre, Clemence Herny, Melinda Kahre, J. Paul Knightly, Stefano Nerozzi, Alyssa Pascuzzo, Ganna Portyankina, Jorge Rabassa, Leslie Tamppari, Timothy N. Titus, Jennifer L Whitten, Zurine Yoldi

Evidence-based guidelines for protective actions and earthquake early warning systems Evidence-based guidelines for protective actions and earthquake early warning systems

Earthquake early warning systems (EEW) are becoming increasingly available or in development throughout the world. With public alerting in Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, and parts of the United States, it is important to provide evidence-based recommendations for protective action so people can protect themselves when they receive an alert. Best-practice warning communication research suggests...
Authors
Sara K. McBride, Hollie Smith, Meredith Morgoch, Danielle F. Sumy, Mariah Jenkins, Lori Peek, Ann Bostrom, Dare Baldwin, Beth Reddy, Robert M. de Groot, Julia Becker, David Johnston, Michelle Wood

Differential landscape use by forest owls two years after a mixed-severity wildfire Differential landscape use by forest owls two years after a mixed-severity wildfire

Owls are important avian predators in forested systems, but little is known about landscape use by most forest-adapted owl species in environments impacted by mixed-severity wildfire. To better understand species-specific patterns of post-wildfire landscape use within an owl guild, we used passive acoustic monitoring using autonomous recording units. The technology is effective for multi...
Authors
Leila S. Duchac, Damon B. Lesmeister, Katie M. Dugger, Raymond J. Davis

Spatio-temporal analysis of hypoxia in the Central Basin of Lake Erie of North America Spatio-temporal analysis of hypoxia in the Central Basin of Lake Erie of North America

We develop a spatio-temporal geostatistical interpolation framework to estimate hypoxia extent (dissolved oxygen [DO] concentrations below 2 mg/L) with data from a network of DO loggers. The framework uses empirical orthogonal functions and Bayesian kriging to identify the spatially varying temporal pattern and estimate the distribution of hypoxia, including estimation uncertainty. A...
Authors
Wenzhao Xu, Paris D. Collingsworth, Richard Kraus, Barbara Minsker

Patch utilization and flower visitations by wild bees in a honey bee-dominated, grassland landscape Patch utilization and flower visitations by wild bees in a honey bee-dominated, grassland landscape

Understanding habitat needs and patch utilization of wild and managed bees has been identified as a national research priority in the United States. We used occupancy models to investigate patterns of bee use across 1030 transects spanning a gradient of floral resource abundance and richness and distance from apiaries in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of the United States. Estimates of...
Authors
Clint Otto, Larissa L. Bailey, Autumn H. Smart

An assessment of current wolf Canis lupus domestication hypotheses based on wolf ecology and behaviour An assessment of current wolf Canis lupus domestication hypotheses based on wolf ecology and behaviour

The dog was the first domesticated animal. Its derivation from grey wolves Canis lupus is important to the study of mammalian domestication, and wolf domestication is an active area of investigation. Recent popular books have promoted a hypothesis that wolves domesticated themselves as opposed to the earliest hypothesis that featured pup collection, adoption, and artificial selection...
Authors
L. David Mech, Luc A. A. Janssens

Impact of precipitation and increasing temperatures on drought trends in eastern Africa Impact of precipitation and increasing temperatures on drought trends in eastern Africa

In eastern Africa droughts can cause crop failure and lead to food insecurity. With increasing temperatures, there is an a priori assumption that droughts are becoming more severe. However, the link between droughts and climate change is not sufficiently understood. Here we investigate trends in long-term agricultural drought and the influence of increasing temperatures and precipitation...
Authors
Sarah F. Kew, Sjoukje Y. Philip, Mathias Hauser, Michael Hobbins, Niko Wanders, Ted Veldkamp, Gert von Oldenburgh, Karin van der Wiel, Ted I. E. Veldkamp, Joyce Kimutai, Chris Funk, Friederike Otto

Acute oral toxicity and tissue residues of saxitoxin in the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) Acute oral toxicity and tissue residues of saxitoxin in the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Since 2014, widespread, annual mortality events involving multiple species of seabirds have occurred in the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and Chukchi Sea. Among these die-offs, emaciation was a common finding with starvation often identified as the cause of death. However, saxitoxin (STX) was detected in many carcasses, indicating exposure of these seabirds to STX in the marine environment...
Authors
Robert J. Dusek, Matthew M. Smith, Caroline R. Van Hemert, Valerie I. Shearn-Bochsler, Sherwood Hall, Clark D. Ridge, Ransome Hardison, Robert Kaler, Barbara L. Bodenstein, Erik K. Hofmeister, Jeffrey S. Hall

Lessons learned from development of natural capital accounts in the United States and European Union Lessons learned from development of natural capital accounts in the United States and European Union

The United States and European Union (EU) face common challenges in managing natural capital and balancing conservation and resource use with consumption of other forms of capital. This paper synthesizes findings from 11 individual application papers from a special issue of Ecosystem Services on natural capital accounting (NCA) and their application to the public and private sectors in...
Authors
Kenneth J. Bagstad, Jane Carter Ingram, Carl D. Shapiro, Alessandra La Notte, Joachim Maes, Sara Vallecillo, Clyde F. Casey, Pierre D. Glynn, Mehdi Heris, Justin A. Johnson, Chris Lauer, John Matuszak, Kirsten L. L. Oleson, Stephen M. Posner, Charles Rhodes, Brian Voigt
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