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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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Dietary composition and fatty acid content of giant salmonflies (Pteronarcys californica) in two Rocky Mountain rivers Dietary composition and fatty acid content of giant salmonflies (Pteronarcys californica) in two Rocky Mountain rivers
Many aquatic invertebrates are declining or facing extinction from stressors that compromise physiology, resource consumption, reproduction, and phenology. However, the influence of these common stressors specifically on consumer–resource interactions for aquatic invertebrate consumers is only beginning to be understood. We conducted a field study to investigate Pteronarcys californica...
Authors
Lindsey K. Albertson, Michelle A. Briggs, Zachary Maguire, Sophia Swart, Wyatt F. Cross, Cornelia W. Twining, Jeff S. Wesner, Colden V. Baxter, David M. Walters
Modeling of barrier breaching during Hurricanes Sandy and Matthew Modeling of barrier breaching during Hurricanes Sandy and Matthew
Physical processes driving barrier island change during storms are important to understand to mitigate coastal hazards and to evaluate conceptual models for barrier evolution. Spatial variations in barrier island topography, landcover characteristics, and nearshore and back-barrier hydrodynamics can yield complex morphological change that requires models of increasing resolution and...
Authors
Christie Hegermiller, John C. Warner, Maitane Olabarrieta, Christopher R. Sherwood, Tarandeep S. Kalra
Influences of channel and floodplain modification on expansion of woody vegetation into Catahoula Lake, Louisiana, USA Influences of channel and floodplain modification on expansion of woody vegetation into Catahoula Lake, Louisiana, USA
Ecosystem structure of wetlands in managed floodplains depends on hydrological processes controlled by geomorphology and water management. Overlapping effects of direct modifications and geomorphic adjustments to management can combine to trigger changes to floodplain ecosystem structure. We examined the case of woody vegetation encroaching into the depressional Catahoula Lake, Louisiana...
Authors
R.F. Keim, L. Dugue, K.D. Latuso, S. Joshi, Sammy L. King, F.L. Willis
The potential of wave energy conversion to mitigate coastal erosion from hurricanes The potential of wave energy conversion to mitigate coastal erosion from hurricanes
Wave energy conversion technologies have recently attracted more attention as part of global efforts to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy resources. While ocean waves can provide renewable energy, they can also be destructive to coastal areas that are often densely populated and vulnerable to coastal erosion. There have been a variety of efforts to mitigate the impacts of wave-...
Authors
Cigdem Ozkan, Talea Mayo, Davina L. Passeri
Guidelines for volcano-observatory operations during crises: Recommendations from the 2019 Volcano Observatory Best Practices meeting Guidelines for volcano-observatory operations during crises: Recommendations from the 2019 Volcano Observatory Best Practices meeting
In November 2019, the fourth meeting on Volcano Observatory Best Practices workshop was held in Mexico City as a series of talks, discussions, and panels. Volcanologists from around the world offered suggestions for ways to optimize volcano-observatory crisis operations. By crisis, we mean unrest that may or may not lead to eruption, the eruption itself, or its aftermath, all of which...
Authors
Jacob B. Lowenstern, Kristi L. Wallace, Sara Barsotti, Laura Sandri, Wendy K. Stovall, Benjamin Bernard, Eugenio Privitera, Jean-Christophe Komorowski, Nico Fournier, Charles Baligizi, Esline Gareabiti
Navigating ecological transformation: Resist-accept-direct as a path to a new resource management paradigm Navigating ecological transformation: Resist-accept-direct as a path to a new resource management paradigm
Natural resource managers worldwide face a growing challenge: Intensifying global change increasingly propels ecosystems toward irreversible ecological transformations. This nonstationarity challenges traditional conservation goals and human well-being. It also confounds a longstanding management paradigm that assumes a future that reflects the past. As once-familiar ecological...
Authors
Gregor W. Schuurman, David N. Cole, Amanda E. Cravens, Scott Covington, Shelley D. Crausbay, Cat Hawkins Hoffman, David J. Lawrence, Dawn R. Magness, John M. Morton, Elizabeth Nelson, Robin O'Malley
Testing the potential of streamflow data to predict spring migration of an ungulate herds Testing the potential of streamflow data to predict spring migration of an ungulate herds
In mountainous and high latitude regions, migratory animals exploit green waves of emerging vegetation coinciding with rising daily mean temperatures initiating snowmelt across the landscape. Snowmelt also causes rivers and streams draining these regions to swell, a process referred to as to as the ‘spring pulse.’ Networks of streamgages measuring streamflow in these regions often have...
Authors
Jason S. Alexander, Marissa L. Murr, Cheryl A. Eddy-Miller
Oxygen isotopes of land snail shells in high latitude regions Oxygen isotopes of land snail shells in high latitude regions
The present study investigates the environmental significance of the oxygen isotopic composition of several modern land snail species collected along two north-to-south transects in Alaska and Scandinavia at latitudes between 60 and 70 °N. We tested the hypothesis that land snail shell δ18O values primarily track precipitation δ18O. The results show that shell δ18O values from...
Authors
Catherine Nield, Yurena Yanes, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Jason A. Rech, Ted von Proschwitz, Jeffrey C. Nekola
Earthquake early warning for estimating floor shaking levels of tall buildings Earthquake early warning for estimating floor shaking levels of tall buildings
This article investigates methods to improve earthquake early warning (EEW) predictions of shaking levels for residents of tall buildings. In the current U.S. Geological Survey ShakeAlert EEW system, regions far from an epicenter will not receive alerts due to low predicted ground‐shaking intensities. However, residents of tall buildings in those areas may still experience significant...
Authors
S. Farid Ghahari, Annemarie S. Baltay, Mehmet Celebi, Grace Alexandra Parker, Jeffrey J. McGuire, Ertugrul Taciroglu
The Mw 5.1 9 August 2020, Sparta earthquake, North Carolina: The first documented seismic surface rupture in the eastern United States The Mw 5.1 9 August 2020, Sparta earthquake, North Carolina: The first documented seismic surface rupture in the eastern United States
At 8:07 a.m. EDT on 9 Aug. 2020 a Mw 5.1 earthquake located ~3 km south of Sparta, North Carolina, USA, shook much of the eastern United States, producing the first documented surface rupture due to faulting east of the New Madrid seismic zone. The co-seismic surface rupture was identified along a 2-km-long traceable zone of predominantly reverse displacement, with folding and flexure...
Authors
Paula M Figueiredo, Jesse S Hill, Arthur J. Merschat, Corey M Scheip, Kevin G. Stewart, Lewis A Owen, Richard M Wooten, Mark W. Carter, Eric Szymanski, Stephen P Horton, Karl W. Wegmann, DelWayne R. Bohnenstiehl, Gary W Thompson, Anne Witt, Bart Cattanach
Age-specific survival rates, causes of death, and allowable take of golden eagles in the western United States Age-specific survival rates, causes of death, and allowable take of golden eagles in the western United States
In the United States, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act prohibits take of golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) unless authorized by permit, and stipulates that all permitted take must be sustainable. Golden eagles are unintentionally killed in conjunction with many lawful activities (e.g., electrocution on power poles, collision with wind turbines). Managers who issue permits for...
Authors
Brian Milsap, Guthrie S. Zimmerman, William L. Kendall, Joseph G. Barnes, Melissa A. Braham, Bryan E Bedrosian, Douglas A. Bell, Peter H. Bloom, Ross H. Crandall, Robert Domenech, Daniel Driscoll, Adam E. Duerr, Rick Gerhardt, Samantha E.J. Gibbs, Alan R. Harmata, Kenneth Jacobson, Todd E. Katzner, Robert N. Knight, J. Michael Lockhart, Carol McIntyre, Robert K. Murphy, Steven J. Slater, Brian W. Smith, Jeff P. Smith, Dale W. Stahlecker, James W. Watson
Enhanced bioremediation of RDX and co-contaminants perchlorate and nitrate using an anaerobic dehalogenating consortium in a fractured rock aquifer Enhanced bioremediation of RDX and co-contaminants perchlorate and nitrate using an anaerobic dehalogenating consortium in a fractured rock aquifer
The potential neurotoxic and carcinogenic effects of the explosives compound RDX (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine) on human health requires groundwater remediation strategies to meet low cleanup goals. Bioremediation of RDX is feasible through biostimulation of native microbes with an organic carbon donor but may be less efficient, or not occur at all, in the presence of the...
Authors
Michelle M. Lorah, Eric Vogler, Fredrick E. Gebhardt, Duane Graves, Jennifer Grabowski