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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.
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Wildlife friendly roads: the impacts of roads on wildlife in urban areas and potential remedies Wildlife friendly roads: the impacts of roads on wildlife in urban areas and potential remedies
Roads are one of the most important factors affecting the ability of wildlife to live and move within an urban area. Roads physically replace wildlife habitat and often reduce habitat quality nearby, fragment the remaining habitat, and cause increased mortality through vehicle collisions. Much ecological research on roads has focused on whether animals are successfully crossing roads, or...
Authors
Seth P.D. Riley, Justin L. Brown, Jeff A. Sikich, Catherine M. Schoonmaker, Erin E. Boydston
Using multiple data sets to populate probabilistic volcanic event trees Using multiple data sets to populate probabilistic volcanic event trees
The key parameters one needs to forecast outcomes of volcanic unrest are hidden kilometers beneath the Earth’s surface, and volcanic systems are so complex that there will invariably be stochastic elements in the evolution of any unrest. Fortunately, there is sufficient regularity in behaviour that some, perhaps many, eruptions can be forecast with enough certainty for populations to be...
Authors
C. G. Newhall, John S. Pallister
Lessons from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill: A biological perspective Lessons from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill: A biological perspective
On March 24, 1989, the tanker vessel Exxon Valdez altered its course to avoid floating ice, and ran aground on Bligh Reef in northeastern Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska (Figure 1). The tanker was carrying about 53 million gallons of Prudhoe Bay crude, a heavy oil, and an estimated 11 million gallons spilled (264,000 barrels or about 42 million liters) in what was, prior to the...
Authors
Brenda E. Ballachey, James L. Bodkin, Daniel Esler, Stanley D. Rice
210Pb dating 210Pb dating
Roughly fifty years ago, a small group of scientists from Belgium and the United States, trying to better constrain ice sheet accumulation rates, attempted to apply what was then know about environmental lead as a potential geochronometer. Thus Goldberg (1963) developed the first principles of the 210Pb dating method, which was soon followed by a paper by Crozaz et al. (1964), who...
Authors
Peter W. Swarzenski
Lianas as invasive species in North America Lianas as invasive species in North America
Liana diversity is typically low in the temperate zones; however, the influx of non-native invasive liana species in North America has increased local diversity at the expense of native habitats and species. Some of the most illustrative studies of invasive lianas in temperate North America compared the biological traits of invasive lianas with native congeners or ecological analogs. The...
Authors
Stacey A. Leicht-Young, Noel B. Pavlovic
Tsunamis: stochastic models of occurrence and generation mechanisms Tsunamis: stochastic models of occurrence and generation mechanisms
The devastating consequences of the 2004 Indian Ocean and 2011 Japan tsunamis have led to increased research into many different aspects of the tsunami phenomenon. In this entry, we review research related to the observed complexity and uncertainty associated with tsunami generation, propagation, and occurrence described and analyzed using a variety of stochastic methods. In each case...
Authors
Eric L. Geist, David D. Oglesby
Potassium-argon (argon-argon), structural fabrics Potassium-argon (argon-argon), structural fabrics
Definition: 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of structural fabrics: The application of 40Ar/39Ar methods to date development of structural fabrics in geologic samples. Introduction: Structural fabrics develop during rock deformation at variable pressures (P), temperatures (T), fluid compositions (X), and time (t). Structural fabrics are represented in rocks by features such as foliations and...
Authors
Michael A. Cosca
Carbonate margin, slope, and basin facies of the Lisburne Group (Carboniferous-Permian) in northern Alaska Carbonate margin, slope, and basin facies of the Lisburne Group (Carboniferous-Permian) in northern Alaska
The Lisburne Group (Carboniferous-Permian) consists of a carbonate platform that extends for >1000 km across northern Alaska, and diverse margin, slope, and basin facies that contain world-class deposits of Zn and Ba, notable phosphorites, and petroleum source rocks. Lithologic, paleontologic, isotopic, geochemical, and seismic data gathered from outcrop and subsurface studies during the...
Authors
Julie A. Dumoulin, Craig A. Johnson, John F. Slack, Kenneth J. Bird, Michael T. Whalen, Thomas E. Moore, Anita G. Harris, Paul B. O’Sullivan
Connectivity in the tropical coastal seascape: Implications for marine spatial planning and resource management Connectivity in the tropical coastal seascape: Implications for marine spatial planning and resource management
No abstract available.
Authors
John C. Ogden, Ivan Nagelkerken, Carole C. McIvor
Lesser Scaup Lesser Scaup
No abstract available.
Authors
Michael J. Anteau, Jean-Michel DeVink, David N. Koons, Jane E. Austin, Christine M. Custer, Alan D. Afton
Biodemography of ectothermic tetrapods provides insights into the evolution and plasticity of mortality patterns Biodemography of ectothermic tetrapods provides insights into the evolution and plasticity of mortality patterns
No abstract available.
Authors
David A. W. Miller, Fredric J. Janzen, Gary M. Fellers, Patrick M. Kleeman, Anne M. Bronikowski
Stochastic ground motion simulation Stochastic ground motion simulation
Strong earthquake ground motion records are fundamental in engineering applications. Ground motion time series are used in response-history dynamic analysis of structural or geotechnical systems. In such analysis, the validity of predicted responses depends on the validity of the input excitations. Ground motion records are also used to develop ground motion prediction equations(GMPEs)...
Authors
Sanaz Rezaeian, Sun Xiaodan