Articles
Science Quality and Integrity
The USGS provides unbiased, objective, and impartial scientific information upon which our audiences, including resource managers, planners, and other entities, rely.
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.
Filter Total Items: 78958
Characterizing methane emission hotspots from thawing permafrost Characterizing methane emission hotspots from thawing permafrost
Methane (CH4) emissions from climate-sensitive ecosystems within the northern permafrost region represent a potentially large but highly uncertain source, with current estimates spanning a factor of seven (11–75 Tg CH4 yr−1). Accelerating permafrost thaw threatens significant increases in pan-Arctic CH4 emissions, amplifying the permafrost carbon feedback. We used airborne imaging...
Authors
Clayton D. Elder, David R. Thompson, Andrew K Thorpe, Hrishikesh Chandanpurkar, Philip J Hanke, Nicholas Hasson, Stephanie R. James, Burke J. Minsley, Neal J. Pastick, David Olefeldt, Katey M Walter Anthony, Charles E. Miller
Influencing activity of bats by dimly lighting wind turbine surfaces with ultraviolet light Influencing activity of bats by dimly lighting wind turbine surfaces with ultraviolet light
Wind energy producers need deployable devices for wind turbines that prevent bat fatalities. Based on the speculation that bats approach turbines after visually mistaking them for trees, we tested a potential light-based deterrence method. It is likely that the affected bats see ultraviolet (UV) light at low intensities. Here, we present the results of a multi-month experiment to cast...
Authors
Paul M. Cryan, Marcos Gorresen, Bethany R. Straw, Syhoune Thao, Elise DeGeorge
From anecdotes to quantification: Advances in characterizing volcanic eruption impacts on the built environment From anecdotes to quantification: Advances in characterizing volcanic eruption impacts on the built environment
Over the past 20 years, our understanding of volcanic eruption impacts on the built environment has transformed from being primarily observational with small datasets to one grounded in field investigations, laboratory experiments, and quantitative modeling, with an emphasis on stakeholder collaboration and co-creation. Here, we summarize key advances and knowledge gaps of impacts across...
Authors
Natalia I. Deligne, Susanna F. Jenkins, Elinor S. Meredith, George T. Williams, Graham S. Leonard, Carol Stewart, Thomas M. Wilson, Sebastien Biass, Daniel M. Blake, Russell J. Blong, Costanza Bonadonna, Rodrigo Calderon, Josh L. Hayes, David M. Johnston, Ben M. Kennedy, Christina R. Magill, Robin Spence, Kristi L. Wallace, John Wardman, Alanna M. Weir, Grant Wilson, Giulio Zuccaro
Some systemic risks to progress on seismic hazard assessment Some systemic risks to progress on seismic hazard assessment
No abstract available.
Authors
Edward H. Field
Marine paleoseismic evidence for seismic and aseismic slip along the Hayward-Rodgers Creek fault system in northern San Pablo Bay Marine paleoseismic evidence for seismic and aseismic slip along the Hayward-Rodgers Creek fault system in northern San Pablo Bay
Distinguishing between seismic and aseismic fault slip in the geologic record is difficult, yet fundamental to estimating the seismic potential of faults and the likelihood of multi-fault ruptures. We integrated chirp sub-bottom imaging with targeted cross-fault coring and core analyses of sedimentary proxy data to characterize vertical deformation and slip behavior within an extensional...
Authors
Janet Watt, Mary McGann, Renee K. Takesue, Thomas Lorenson
Progress in protecting air travel from volcanic ash clouds Progress in protecting air travel from volcanic ash clouds
The Eyjafjallajökull eruption of 2010 demonstrated the far-reaching impact of ash clouds and the vulnerability of our jet-based society to them, prompting a review of procedures to detect, warn, and forecast ash cloud hazards to aviation. The years since 2010 have seen marked improvements in satellite technology, more accurate ash-dispersion models that integrate simulations with...
Authors
Larry G. Mastin, Michael J. Pavolonis, Samantha Engwell, Rory Clarkson, Claire Witham, Greg Brock, Ian Lisk, Marianne C. Guffanti, Andrew C. Tupper, David J. Schneider, Frances Beckett, Thomas J. Casadevall, Graham Rennie
Post-seismic relaxation following the 2019 Ridgecrest, California, earthquake sequence Post-seismic relaxation following the 2019 Ridgecrest, California, earthquake sequence
The 2019 Ridgecrest, California, earthquake sequence involved predominantly right‐lateral strike slip on a northwest–southeast‐trending subvertical fault in the 6 July M 7.1 mainshock, preceded by left‐lateral strike slip on a northeast–southwest‐trending subvertical fault in the 4 July M 6.4 foreshock. To characterize the postseismic deformation, we assemble displacements measured by...
Authors
Frederick Pollitz, Charles Wicks, Jerry L. Svarc, Ellen L. Phillips, Benjamin A. Brooks, Mark Hunter Murray, Ryan C. Turner
Strengthening local volcano observatories through global collaborations Strengthening local volcano observatories through global collaborations
We consider the future of volcano observatories in a world where new satellite technologies and global data initiatives have greatly expanded over the last two decades. Observatories remain the critical tie between the decision-making authorities and monitoring data. In the coming decade, the global scientific community needs to continue to collaborate in a manner that will strengthen...
Authors
Jacob B. Lowenstern, John W. Ewert, Andrew Lockhart
Volcanic air pollution and human health: Recent advances and future directions Volcanic air pollution and human health: Recent advances and future directions
Volcanic air pollution from both explosive and effusive activity can affect large populations as far as thousands of kilometers away from the source, for days to decades or even centuries. Here, we summarize key advances and prospects in the assessment of health hazards, effects, risk, and management. Recent advances include standardized ash assessment methods to characterize the...
Authors
Carol Stewart, David Damby, Claire J. Horwell, Tamar Elias, Evgenia Ilyinskaya, Ines Tomasek, Bernadette Longo, Anja Schmidt, Hanne Carlsen, Emily Mason, Peter J. Baxter, Shane Cronin, Claire Witham
Plant community succession following ungulate exclusion in a temperate rainforest Plant community succession following ungulate exclusion in a temperate rainforest
Ecosystem structure and processes of coastal temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest are thought to be strongly influenced by herbivory primarily of Roosevelt elk (Cervus elaphus roosevelti) and secondarily of Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus). Two large (0.5-ha) exclosures were built in old-growth coniferous rainforest communities in Olympic National...
Authors
Andrea Woodward, Kurt Jenkins, Mark E Harmon
Fatal infection with Versteria sp. in a muskrat, with implications for human health Fatal infection with Versteria sp. in a muskrat, with implications for human health
The Taeniidae tapeworms are a family of helminths that have a similar life cycle, with intermediate hosts developing characteristic cysts in visceral organs. We describe here a case in Pennsylvania, USA, of fatal Versteria infection in a muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), which, to our knowledge, has not been reported to develop disease associated with infection. Postmortem examination...
Authors
Kevin D. Niedringhaus, Laken S. Ganoe, Matthew Lovallo, W. David Walter, Michael J. Yabsley, Justin Brown
Genetic variation in sea otters (Enhydra lutris) from the North Pacific with relevance to the threatened Southwest Alaska Distinct Population Segment Genetic variation in sea otters (Enhydra lutris) from the North Pacific with relevance to the threatened Southwest Alaska Distinct Population Segment
For the sea otter (Enhydra lutris), genetic population structure is an area of research that has not received significant attention, especially in Southwest Alaska where that distinct population segment has been listed as threatened since 2005 pursuant to the U.S. Endangered Species Act. In this study, 501 samples from 14 locations from Prince William Sound, Alaska to the Commander...
Authors
Blair G. Flannery, Ora L. Russ, Michelle St. Martin, William S. Beatty, Kristen Worman, Joel Garlich-Miller, Verena A. Gill, Patrick R. Lemons, Daniel Monson, Kimberly A. Kloecker, Daniel Esler, John Wenburg