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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: 6196

Design of future surveys Design of future surveys

This brief chapter addresses two related issues: how effort should be allocated to different parts of the sampling plan and, given optimal allocation, how large a sample will be required to achieve the PRISM accuracy target. Simulations based on data collected to date showed that 2 plots per cluster on rapid surveys, 2 intensive camps per field crew-year, 2-4 intensive plots per...
Authors
Jonathan Bart, Paul A. Smith

Digital outcrop model of stratigraphy and breccias of the southern Franklin Mountains, El Paso, Texas Digital outcrop model of stratigraphy and breccias of the southern Franklin Mountains, El Paso, Texas

This chapter reviews and synthesizes the lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy, chronostratigraphy, and breccia types of the southwestern part of the great American carbonate bank in the southern Franklin Mountains (SFM), El Paso, Texas. Primary stratigraphic units of focus are the Lower Ordovician El Paso and Upper Ordovician Montoya Groups. These groups preserve breccias formed by...
Authors
Jerome A. Bellian, Charles Kerans, John E. Repetski

Earthquake ground motion Earthquake ground motion

Most of the effort in seismic design of buildings and other structures is focused on structural design. This chapter addresses another key aspect of the design process—characterization of earthquake ground motion. Section 3.1 describes the basis of the earthquake ground motion maps in the Provisions and in ASCE 7. Section 3.2 has examples for the determination of ground motion parameters...
Authors
Nicolas Luco, Michael Valley, C.B. Crouse

Ecological impacts of non-native species Ecological impacts of non-native species

Non-native species are considered one of the greatest threats to freshwater biodiversity worldwide (Drake et al. 1989; Allen and Flecker 1993; Dudgeon et al. 2005). Some of the first hypotheses proposed to explain global patterns of amphibian declines included the effects of non-native species (Barinaga 1990; Blaustein and Wake 1990; Wake and Morowitz 1991). Evidence for the impact of...
Authors
John W. Wilkinson

Estimating the benefits of land imagery in environmental applications: a case study in nonpoint source pollution of groundwater Estimating the benefits of land imagery in environmental applications: a case study in nonpoint source pollution of groundwater

Moderate-resolution land imagery (MRLI) is crucial to a more complete assessment of the cumulative, landscape-level effect of agricultural land use and land cover on environmental quality. If this improved assessment yields a net social benefit, then that benefit reflects the value of information (VOI) from MRLI. Environmental quality and the capacity to provide ecosystem services evolve...
Authors
Richard L. Bernknopf, William M. Forney, Ronald P. Raunikar, Shruti K. Mishra

Expert knowledge as a foundation for the management of secretive species and their habitat Expert knowledge as a foundation for the management of secretive species and their habitat

In this chapter, we share lessons learned during the elicitation and application of expert knowledge in the form of a belief network model for the habitat of a waterbird, the King Rail (Rallus elegans). A belief network is a statistical framework used to graphically represent and evaluate hypothesized cause and effect relationships among variables. Our model was a pilot project to...
Authors
C. Ashton Drew, Jaime Collazo

FOP 2012 stop, Honey Lake fault, Doyle, CA FOP 2012 stop, Honey Lake fault, Doyle, CA

The Honey Lake fault system (HLFS) strikes north-northwestward across Long Valley near Doyle, CA and is part of a network of active, dextral strike-slip faults in the northern Walker Lane (Figure 1). Geologic investigations of a right-laterally offset terrace riser along the north bank of Long Valley Creek, which we refer to as site 1 (Figure 2), indicate a latest Quaternary slip rate of...
Authors
Ryan Gold, Richard W. Briggs, Anthony Crone, Steve Angster

Freshwater to seawater transitions in migratory fishes Freshwater to seawater transitions in migratory fishes

The transition from freshwater to seawater is integral to the life history of many fishes. Diverse migratory fishes express anadromous, catadromous, and amphidromous life histories, while others make incomplete transits between freshwater and seawater. The physiological mechanisms of osmoregulation are widely conserved among phylogenetically diverse species. Diadromous fishes moving...
Authors
Joseph D. Zydlewski, Michael P. Wilkie

Fungal influence on plant tolerance to stress Fungal influence on plant tolerance to stress

No abstract available.
Authors
Russell J. Rodriguez, Claire J. Woodward, Regina S. Redman

Goals and objectives Goals and objectives

We report results from shorebird surveys in the North American Arctic, defined here as Bird Conservation Regions 2 and 3 of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (http://www.nabci.net/International/English/bcrmap.html). The surveys estimate population size and trend, and provide information on habitat relationships, at the regional and Arctic-wide scale (Table 1, Fig 1). Of the...
Authors
Victoria Johnston, Jonathan Bart
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