Book Chapters
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 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.
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Energy development Energy development
Large areas of the desert southwest are currently developed or being evaluated for construction of utility-scale renewable energy projects. These projects include numerous solar and wind energy facilities some of which will be massive. Unfortunately, peer-reviewed scientific publications are not yet available to evaluate the potential effects of solar-based utility-scale renewable energy
Authors
Jeffrey E. Lovich
Responses of bat social groups to roost loss: More questions than answers Responses of bat social groups to roost loss: More questions than answers
Though characterization of, and understanding determinants of, social structure in bats is increasing, little is known about how bat social groups respond to disturbance resulting in roost loss. Given that many species of bats roost in ephemeral or transitory resources such as plants, it is clear that bat social groups can tolerate some level of roost loss. Understanding responses of bat...
Authors
Alexander Silvis, Nicole Abaid, W. Mark Ford, Eric R. Britzke
Generation and migration of Bitumen and oil from the oil shale interval of the Eocene Green River formation, Uinta Basin, Utah Generation and migration of Bitumen and oil from the oil shale interval of the Eocene Green River formation, Uinta Basin, Utah
The results from the recent U.S. Geological Survey assessment of in-place oil shale resources of the Eocene Green River Formation, based primarily on the Fischer assay method, are applied herein to define areas where the oil shale interval is depleted of some of its petroleum-generating potential along the deep structural trough of the basin and to make: (1) a general estimates of the...
Authors
Ronald C. Johnson, Justin E. Birdwell, Tracey J. Mercier
Biological soil crusts as an organizing principle in drylands Biological soil crusts as an organizing principle in drylands
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) have been present on Earth’s terrestrial surfaces for billions of years. They are a critical part of ecosystem processes in dryland regions, as they cover most of the soil surface and thus mediate almost all inputs and outputs from soils in these areas. There are many intriguing, but understudied, roles these communities may play in drylands. These...
Authors
Jayne Belnap, Bettina Weber, Burkhard Budel
Biological soil crusts as soil stabilizers Biological soil crusts as soil stabilizers
Soil erosion is of particular concern in dryland regions, as the sparse cover of vascular plants results in large interspaces unprotected from the erosive forces of wind and water. Thus, most of these soil surfaces are stabilized by physical or biological soil crusts. However, as drylands are extensively used by humans and their animals, these crusts are often disturbed, compromising...
Authors
Jayne Belnap, Burkhard Buedel
Fecal indicator organism modeling and microbial source tracking in environmental waters: Chapter 3.4.6 Fecal indicator organism modeling and microbial source tracking in environmental waters: Chapter 3.4.6
Mathematical models have been widely applied to surface waters to estimate rates of settling, resuspension, flow, dispersion, and advection in order to calculate movement of particles that influence water quality. Of particular interest are the movement, survival, and persistence of microbial pathogens or their surrogates, which may contaminate recreational water, drinking water, or...
Authors
Meredith Nevers, Muruleedhara Byappanahalli, Mantha S. Phanikumar, Richard L. Whitman
Measurement of bedform migration rates on the Lower Missouri River in Missouri, USA using repeat measurements with a multibeam echosounder Measurement of bedform migration rates on the Lower Missouri River in Missouri, USA using repeat measurements with a multibeam echosounder
High-resolution repeat multibeam echosounder measurements on the Lower Missouri River near Boonville, Missouri, USA show bedform movement and sand storage patterns over daily to seasonal time scales and a range of discharges. Higher flows are frequently, but not always, associated with larger bedforms, higher bedform movement rates, and higher bedload transport rates. Measurements of the...
Authors
Caroline M. Elliott, Robert B. Jacobson
Rare earth element ore geology of carbonatites Rare earth element ore geology of carbonatites
For nearly 50 years, carbonatites have been the primary source of niobium and rare earth elements (REEs), in particular the light REEs, including La, Ce, Pr, and Nd. Carbonatites are a relatively rare type of igneous rock composed of greater than 50 vol % primary carbonate minerals, primarily calcite and/or dolomite, and contain the highest concentrations of REEs of any igneous rocks...
Authors
Philip L. Verplanck, Anthony N. Mariano, Anthony Mariano
Recreation, values and stewardship: Rethinking why people engage in environmental behaviors in parks and protected areas Recreation, values and stewardship: Rethinking why people engage in environmental behaviors in parks and protected areas
Successfully promoting and encouraging the adoption of environmental stewardship behavior is an important responsibility for public land management agencies. Although people increasingly report high levels of concern about environmental issues, widespread patterns of stewardship behavior have not followed suit (Moore 2002). One concept that can be applied in social science research to...
Authors
Carena J. van Riper, Ryan Sharp, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Wade M. Vagias, Jane Kwenye, Gina Depper, Wayne Freimund
Archiving and access systems for remote sensing: Chapter 6 Archiving and access systems for remote sensing: Chapter 6
Focuses on major developments inaugurated by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites, the Group on Earth Observations System of Systems, and the International Council for Science World Data System at the global level; initiatives at national levels to create data centers (e.g. the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Distributed Active Archive Centers and other...
Authors
John Faundeen, George Percivall, Shirley Baros, Peter Baumann, Peter H. Becker, J. Behnke, Karl Benedict, Lucio Colaiacomo, Liping Di, Chris Doescher, J. Dominguez, Roger Edberg, Mark Ferguson, Stephen Foreman, David Giaretta, Vivian B. Hutchison, Alex Ip, N.L. James, Siri Jodha S. Khalsa, B. Lazorchak, Adam Lewis, Fuqin Li, Leo Lymburner, C.S. Lynnes, Matt Martens, Rachel Melrose, Steve Morris, Norman Mueller, Vivek Navale, Kumar Navulur, D.J. Newman, Simon Oliver, Matthew Purss, H.K. Ramapriyan, Russ Rew, Michael Rosen, John Savickas, Joshua Sixsmith, Tom Sohre, David Thau, Paul Uhlir, Lan-Wei Wang, Jeff Young
Climate change Climate change
Climate change (including climate variability) refers to regional or global changes in mean climate state or in patterns of climate variability over decades to millions of years often identified using statistical methods and sometimes referred to as changes in long-term weather conditions (IPCC, 2012). Climate is influenced by changes in continent-ocean configurations due to plate...
Authors
Thomas M. Cronin
Geologic materials and human health: Chapter 5.14 Geologic materials and human health: Chapter 5.14
No abstract available.
Authors
Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Suzette A. Morman