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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.
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Near-surface geophysics perspectives on Integrated, Coordinated, Open, Networked (ICON) Science Near-surface geophysics perspectives on Integrated, Coordinated, Open, Networked (ICON) Science
Pointing to the Integrated, Coordinated, Open, Networked Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability (ICON-FAIR) principles, we have determined several opportunities for implementation within the realm of near-surface geophysics (NSG), representing a broad range of data acquisition and processing technologies. Our work explores the multifaceted community-driven nature...
Authors
M. Salman, L. Slater, Martin A. Briggs, L. Li
You can go your own way: No evidence for social behavior based on kinship or familiarity in captive juvenile box turtles You can go your own way: No evidence for social behavior based on kinship or familiarity in captive juvenile box turtles
Behavioral interactions between conspecific animals can be influenced by relatedness and familiarity. Compared to other vertebrate taxa, considering such aspects of social behavior when housing captive reptiles has received less attention, despite the implications this could have for informing husbandry practices, enhancing welfare, and influencing outcomes of conservation translocations...
Authors
Sasha J. Tetzlaff, Jinelle H. Sperry, Brett Alexander DeGregorio
The Lunar Geophysical Network landing site science rationale The Lunar Geophysical Network landing site science rationale
The Lunar Geophysical Network (LGN) mission is proposed to land on the Moon in 2030 and deploy packages at four locations to enable geophysical measurements for 6–10 yr. Returning to the lunar surface with a long-lived geophysical network is a key next step to advance lunar and planetary science. LGN will greatly expand our primarily Apollo-based knowledge of the deep lunar interior by...
Authors
Heidi Haviland, Renee C. Weber, Clive Neal, Philippe Lognonne, Raphael Garcia, Nicholas Schmerr, Seiichi Nagihara, Robert Grimm, Douglas Currie, Simone Dell’Agnello, Thomas R. Watters, Mark Panning, Catherine L. Johnson, Ryuhei Yamada, Martin Knapmeyer, Lillian R. Ostrach, Taichi Kawamura, Noah Petro, Paul Bremner
Joint-species analysis reveals potential displacement of native fishes by non-native fishes within the Santa Ana River, California Joint-species analysis reveals potential displacement of native fishes by non-native fishes within the Santa Ana River, California
Accurate estimates of abundance are a cornerstone for resource managers to make effective decisions for fish conservation. However, multiple sampling methods often are required to sample fish communities, and ignoring the detection process can create substantial bias in latent state parameter estimation (e.g., abundance, survival). We developed a joint-species N-mixture model that...
Authors
Brock M. Huntsman, Larry R. Brown, Kai Palenscar, Chris Jones, Kerwin Russell, Heather Dyer, Brett Mills, Marissa L. Wulff, Jason May
Final report on pilot study CCQM-P211: Carbon isotope delta measurements of vanillin Final report on pilot study CCQM-P211: Carbon isotope delta measurements of vanillin
This pilot study was conducted in parallel to the key comparison CCQM-K167. Vials containing 0.25 mg of vanillin were prepared at NRC and distributed to four participating institutes. Institutes could choose any suitable reference materials and methodology to perform carbon isotope delta measurements. Participants reported analysis details, and a carbon isotope delta value and associated
Authors
Michelle M.G Chartrand, Fuu Ming Kai, Harro A.J. Meijer, Heiko Moossen, Haiping Qi, Anita T Aerts-Bijma, Yuxi Cui, Heike Geilmann, Zoltan Mester, Juris Meija
Geologic and geomorphic evidence for multi-phase history of strands of the San Andreas fault through the San Gorgonio Pass structural knot, southern California Geologic and geomorphic evidence for multi-phase history of strands of the San Andreas fault through the San Gorgonio Pass structural knot, southern California
The San Gorgonio Pass region of southern California is a locus of extensive Quaternary deformation within a multi-strand section of the San Andreas fault zone. The geomorphology of the San Gorgonio Pass region reflects the complicated history of geologic events in the formation of this structurally complex region. We define fault-bounded blocks in San Gorgonio Pass and focus on two that...
Authors
Katherine J. Kendrick, Jonathan C. Matti, Nicholas C Barth
Partitioning ground motion uncertainty when conditioned on station data Partitioning ground motion uncertainty when conditioned on station data
Rapid estimation of earthquake ground shaking and proper accounting of associated uncertainties in such estimates when conditioned on strong‐motion station data or macroseismic intensity observations are crucial for downstream applications such as ground failure and loss estimation. The U.S. Geological Survey ShakeMap system is called upon to fulfill this objective in light of increased...
Authors
Davis T. Engler, Charles Worden, Eric M. Thompson, Kishor S. Jaiswal
Demographic implications of lead poisoning for eagles across North America Demographic implications of lead poisoning for eagles across North America
Lead poisoning occurs worldwide in populations of predatory birds, but exposure rates and population impacts are known only from regional studies. We evaluated the lead exposure of 1210 bald and golden eagles from 38 US states across North America, including 620 live eagles. We detected unexpectedly high frequencies of lead poisoning of eagles, both chronic (46 to 47% of bald and golden...
Authors
Vincent A. Slabe, James T. Anderson, Brian A. Millsap, Jeffrey L. Cooper, Alan R. Harmata, Marco Restani, Ross H. Crandall, Barbara L. Bodenstein, Peter H. Bloom, Travis L. Booms, John Buchweitz, Renee C. E. Culver, Kim Dickerson, Robert Domenech, Ernesto Dominguez-Villegas, Daniel Driscoll, Brian W. Smith, Michael J. Lockhart, David McRuer, Tricia A. Miller, Patricia Ortiz, Krysta Rogers, Matt Schwarz, Natalie Turley, Brian Woodbridge, Myra E. Finkelstein, Christian A. Triana, Christopher R. DeSorbo, Todd E. Katzner
The global environmental agenda urgently needs a semantic web of knowledge The global environmental agenda urgently needs a semantic web of knowledge
Progress in key social-ecological challenges of the global environmental agenda (e.g., climate change, biodiversity conservation, Sustainable Development Goals) is hampered by a lack of integration and synthesis of existing scientific evidence. Facing a fast-increasing volume of data, information remains compartmentalized to pre-defined scales and fields, rarely building its way up to...
Authors
Stefano Balbi, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Ainhoa Magrach, Maria Jose Sanz, Naikoa Aguilar-Amuchastegui, Carlo Guipponi, Ferdinando Villa
Pollutant co-attenuation via in-stream interactions between mine drainage and municipal wastewater Pollutant co-attenuation via in-stream interactions between mine drainage and municipal wastewater
Municipal wastewater (MWW) and mine drainage (MD) are common co-occurring sources of freshwater pollution in mining regions. The physicochemical interactions that occur after mixing MWW and MD in a waterway may improve downstream water quality of an impaired reach by reducing downstream concentrations of nutrients and metals (i.e., “co-attenuation”). A first-order stream (Bradley Run in...
Authors
Charles J. Spellman, Peter M. Smyntek, Charles A. Cravotta, Travis L. Tasker, William H. J. Strosnider
Subsurface hydrocarbon degradation strategies in low- and high-sulfate coal seam communities identified with activity-based metagenomics Subsurface hydrocarbon degradation strategies in low- and high-sulfate coal seam communities identified with activity-based metagenomics
Environmentally relevant metagenomes and BONCAT-FACS derived translationally active metagenomes from Powder River Basin coal seams were investigated to elucidate potential genes and functional groups involved in hydrocarbon degradation to methane in coal seams with high- and low-sulfate levels. An advanced subsurface environmental sampler allowed the establishment of coal-associated...
Authors
Hannah S. Schweitzer, Heidi J. Smith, Elliott P. Barnhart, Luke J. McKay, Robin Gerlach, Alfred B. Cunningham, Rex R. Malmstrom, Danielle Goudeau, Matthew W. Fields
Effects of weather variation on waterfowl migration: Lessons from a continental-scale generalizable avian movement and energetics model Effects of weather variation on waterfowl migration: Lessons from a continental-scale generalizable avian movement and energetics model
We developed a continental energetics-based model of daily mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) movement during the non-breeding period (September to May) to predict year-specific migration and overwinter occurrence. The model approximates movements and stopovers as functions of metabolism and weather, in terms of temperature and frozen precipitation (i.e., snow). The model is a Markov process...
Authors
Kevin Aagaard, Eric V. Lonsdorf, Wayne E. Thogmartin