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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 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: 6158
Chloride and tritium concentrations in a thick unsaturated zone underlying an intermittent stream in the Mojave Desert, Southern California, USA Chloride and tritium concentrations in a thick unsaturated zone underlying an intermittent stream in the Mojave Desert, Southern California, USA
No abstract available.
Authors
John A. Izbicki, Robert L. Michel, P. Martin
Soil sorption of organic pollutants and pesticides Soil sorption of organic pollutants and pesticides
No abstract available.
Authors
C. T. Chiou
Predictive double-layer modeling of metal sorption in mine-drainage systems Predictive double-layer modeling of metal sorption in mine-drainage systems
Previous comparison of predictive double-layer modeling and empirically derived metal-partitioning data has validated the use of the double-layer model to predict metal sorption reactions in iron-rich mine-drainage systems. The double-layer model subsequently has been used to model data collected from several mine-drainage sites in Colorado with diverse geochemistry and geology. This...
Authors
K. S. Smith, J. F. Ranville, D.L. Macalady
Environmental modification of gillraker number in coregonine fishes Environmental modification of gillraker number in coregonine fishes
Gillraker number, one of the most important taxonomic characters in the Coregoninae, has been considered genetically determined and not environmentally modifiable. However, laboratory-reared progeny of Coregonus alpenae, C. artedi, C. clupeaformis, C. hoyi, C. kiyi, C. zenithicus, and Prosopium cylindraceum generally had fewer gillrakers than the wild parents from which eggs were taken...
Authors
Thomas N. Todd
Fundamentals of isotope geochemistry Fundamentals of isotope geochemistry
The dominant use of isotopes in catchment research in the last few decades has been to trace sources of waters and solutes. Generally, such data were evaluated with simple mixing models to determine how much was derived from either of the two (sometimes three) constant-composition sources. This chapter illustrates the environmental isotopes that are natural and anthropogenic isotopes...
Authors
Carol Kendall, Eric A. Caldwell
Use of 13C NMR and FTIR for elucidation of degradation pathways during natural litter decomposition and compositing. III. Characterization of leachate from different types of leaves Use of 13C NMR and FTIR for elucidation of degradation pathways during natural litter decomposition and compositing. III. Characterization of leachate from different types of leaves
No abstract available.
Authors
Robert L. Wershaw, J. A. Leenheer, K. R. Kennedy
Isotopes as indicators of environmental change Isotopes as indicators of environmental change
In addition to providing an understanding of processes within a catchment system, isotopic techniques have been instrumental in providing reconstructions of catchment climate and other environmental indicators at various time scales. Many recent changes are a direct consequence of anthropogenic activities. Isotopic analysis serves as a valuable tool for distinguishing between natural...
Authors
James B. Shanley, Elise Pendall, Carol Kendall, Lora R. Stevens, Robert L. Michel, Patrick J. Phillips, Richard Forester, David L. Naftz, Beiling Liu, Libby Stern, Brent B. Wolfe, C. Page Chamberlain, Steven W. Leavitt, T. H. Heaton, Bernhard Mayer, L. DeWayne Cecil, W. Berry Lyons, Brian G. Katz, Julio L. Betancourt, Diane M. McKnight, Joel D. Blum, Thomas W.D. Edwards, Harold R. House, Emi Ito, Ramon O. Aravena, Joseph F. Whelan
Using transport model interpretations of tracer tests to study microbial processes in groundwater Using transport model interpretations of tracer tests to study microbial processes in groundwater
It has long been known that microorganisms affect the geochemistry of groundwater. But despite this recognition, little detailed information is available regarding the rates and the factors controlling microbial processes in groundwater. Part of the reason stems from the relatively inaccessible nature of most groundwater and the difficulties encountered in obtaining representative...
Authors
Richard L. Smith, Stephen P. Garabedian
A ponderosa pine natural area reveals its secrets A ponderosa pine natural area reveals its secrets
Monument Canyon Research Natural Area preserves an unlogged 259-hectare stand of old-growth ponderosa pine in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico. This preserve, established in 1932, is the oldest research natural area in the state. This two-tiered forest displays an old-growth density of 100 stems per hectare (Muldavin et al. 1995), with an understory thicket of stagnant saplings and...
Authors
Craig D. Allen
American Black Duck American Black Duck
The American black duck, with its brownish-black plumage and iridescent violet speculum, is one of the wariest of all the large dabbling ducks (Kortright 1942; Fig. 1). The black duck’s distribution is confined to eastern North America but extends into Manitoba. The black duck breeds in a variety of habitat types, from the brackish coastal marshes of North Carolina to the open boreal...
Authors
Jerry R. Longcore, David A. Clugston
Amphibians of the northern Great Plains Amphibians of the northern Great Plains
No cry of alarm has been sounded over the fate of amphibian populations in the northern grasslands of North America, yet huge percentages of prairie wetland habitat have been lost, and the destruction continues. Scarcely 30% of the original mixedgrass prairie remains in Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota (See Table 1 in this chapter). If amphibian populations haven’t declined, why...
Authors
Diane L. Larson, Ned H. Euliss, Michael J. Lannoo, David M. Mushet