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Book Chapters

Browse more than 5,500 book chapters 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: 6062

Remote sensing of volcano deformation and surface change

Volcanic unrest and eruptions are associated with surface deformation and landscape change that can be detected, characterized, and tracked via remote sensing measurements. Subsurface processes, including magma accumulation, withdrawal, and transport, can cause displacements at the surface that are best tracked at subaerial volcanoes with interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) and Global
Authors
M. Poland

Amur Falcon Falco amurensis

No abstract available.
Authors
Jaume Orta, Guy M. Kirwan, Jeffrey S. Marks, Ryan C. Burner, Sundev Gombobaatar, Paul van Els, Chuenchom Hansasuta

Bornean Wren-Babbler Ptilocichla leucogrammica

No abstract available.
Authors
Ryan C. Burner, Guy M. Kirwan, Peter Pyle, Nigel J. Collar, Craig Robson

Bare-headed Laughingthrush Melanocichla calva

No abstract available.
Authors
Ryan C. Burner, Guy M. Kirwan, Peter Pyle, Nigel J. Collar, Craig Robson

Climate change

Amphibian ecology and distribution are strongly correlated with climate. Regional patterns of amphibian biodiversity are intimately linked to temperature, evapotranspiration rate, and clines in humidity. While amphibians are and will continue to be adversely affected by recent and projected changes in climate, research suggests that adaptation may happen more slowly than the expected rate of envir
Authors
David Bickford, Guinevere O.U. Wogan, Deanna H. Olson, K.S. Seshadri, Mark C. Urban, Ana Carnaval, John Measey, Jodi J.L. Rowley, Sean Rovito, Rudolf von May, Susan Walls

Ancient permafrost and past permafrost in the Northern Hemisphere

The existence and dynamics of permafrost depend on the prevailing climate conditions. Therefore, the study of ancient permafrost (existing since the Pleistocene or earlier) and past permafrost (Late Pleistocene or older permafrost that no longer exists) and their dynamics may inform about climate and environmental changes in the past. In this chapter, we provide a brief overview of characteristics
Authors
Thomas Opel, Pascal Bertran, Guido Grosse, Miriam C. Jones, Marc Luetscher, Lutz Schirrmeister, Kim Stadelmeier, Alexandra Veremeeva

Post-wildfire debris flows

Post-wildfire debris flows pose severe hazards to communities and infrastructure near and within recently burned mountainous terrain. Intense heat of wildfires changes the runoff characteristics of a watershed by combusting the vegetative canopy, litter, and duff, introducing ash into the soil and creating water repellant soils. Following wildfire, rainfall on bare ground is less able to infiltrat
Authors
Joseph Gartner, Jason W. Kean, Francis K. Rengers, Scott W. McCoy, Nina S. Oakley, Gary J. Sheridan

Numerical modeling of debris flows: A conceptual assessment

Real-world hazard evaluation poses many challenges for the development and application of numerical models of debris flows. In this chapter we provide a conceptual overview of physically based, depth-averaged models designed to simulate debris-flow motion across three-dimensional terrain. When judiciously formulated and applied, these models can provide useful information about anticipated depths,
Authors
Richard M. Iverson, David L. George

Environmental disturbances and restoration of salt marshes

Salt and brackish marshes (hereafter salt marshes) are the dominant coastal wetland in temperate and boreal intertidal settings. Human-enhanced disturbances threaten their persistence and functionality, with consequences to many ecosystem services. Restoration potentials are very site specific, varying by degree of disturbance and target goals. Global changes in climate and land-use will continue
Authors
Judith Weis, Lisamarie Windham-Myers

Partitioning of chemicals in aquatic organisms

Human populations have utilized heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants for their physiochemical properties in industrial, agricultural, and consumer goods for decades. Limited knowledge on their persistence and toxicological effects has resulted in organisms being exposed to some of the most problematic compounds ever generated by humans. Although overlap in exposure paradigms exists for h
Authors
Gavin N. Saari, Samreen Siddiqui, Susanne M. Brander

The geochemistry of continental hydrothermal systems

Hydrothermal systems on the continents are of great significance because they are primary sources of economically important metals and geothermal energy, they are tourist attractions, they support bathing and health resorts, and they host extreme life forms. Research on hot springs and their deposits provide clues to early life on Earth and possibly on Mars and have led to major breakthroughs in b
Authors
Shaul Hurwitz, Andri Stefánsson, Everett L. Shock, Barbara I. Kleine

Survey and monitoring methods for furbearers

There is a continuing need to assess the state (distribution and abundance) of furbearer populations throughout North America for state and provincial agencies to properly manage furbearers. With an expanding human population and continued changes in land-use practices, habitat loss and fragmentation, declines in natural prey, increases in disease transmission from domestic species, and increased
Authors
Eric M Gese, Patricia Terletzky, Hilary S. Cooley, Frederick F. Knowlton, Robert Charles Lonsinger
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