Books
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 almost 1,000 books 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: 975
Acquisition and history of water on Mars Acquisition and history of water on Mars
The purpose of this chapter is to summarize the geologic history of Mars and the role water has played in the evolution of the surface so that subsequent chapters on more specific topics can be viewed in a broader context. It focuses mainly on surficial processes such as erosion, sedimentation, and weathering, rather than on primary terrain-building processes such as impact, tectonism...
Authors
M. H. Carr, James W. Head
Reconnaissance geochronology of tuffs in the Miocene Barstow Formation: implications for basin evolution and tectonics in the central Mojave Desert Reconnaissance geochronology of tuffs in the Miocene Barstow Formation: implications for basin evolution and tectonics in the central Mojave Desert
Early to middle Miocene lacustrine strata of the Barstow Formation are well dated in just a few places, limiting our ability to infer basin evolution and regional tectonics. At the type section in the Mud Hills, previous studies have shown that the lacustrine interval of the Barstow Formation is between ~16.3 Ma and ~13.4 Ma. Elsewhere, lake beds of the Barstow Formation have yielded...
Authors
D. M. Miller, S.R. Leslie, John W. Hillhouse, J. L. Wooden, J.A. Vazquez, R. E. Reynolds
Frequency domain, waveform inversion of laboratory crosswell radar data Frequency domain, waveform inversion of laboratory crosswell radar data
A new waveform inversion for crosswell radar is formulated in the frequency-domain for a 2.5D model. The inversion simulates radar waves using the vector Helmholtz equation for electromagnetic waves. The objective function is minimized using a backpropagation method suitable for a 2.5D model. The inversion is tested by processing crosswell radar data collected in a laboratory tank. The...
Authors
Karl J. Ellefsen, Aldo T. Mazzella, Robert Horton, Jason R. McKenna
Ecological assessment of selenium in the aquatic environment Ecological assessment of selenium in the aquatic environment
Based on the work and contributions of 46 scientists, managers, and policymakers, Ecological Assessment of Selenium in the Aquatic Environment documents the state of the science and explores how to use this information when assessing and managing the environmental effects of Se. A focused discussion on the fate and effects of Se in aquatic ecosystem.
Effect of numerical dispersion as a source of structural noise in the calibration of a highly parameterized saltwater intrusion model Effect of numerical dispersion as a source of structural noise in the calibration of a highly parameterized saltwater intrusion model
A model with a small amount of numerical dispersion was used to represent saltwater 7 intrusion in a homogeneous aquifer for a 10-year historical calibration period with one 8 groundwater withdrawal location followed by a 10-year prediction period with two groundwater 9 withdrawal locations. Time-varying groundwater concentrations at arbitrary locations in this low-10 dispersion model...
Authors
Christian D. Langevin, Joseph D. Hughes
The Mt. Lewis fault zone: Tectonic implications for eastern San Francisco Bay The Mt. Lewis fault zone: Tectonic implications for eastern San Francisco Bay
No abstract available
Authors
Janet Watt, David A. Ponce, Robert W. Simpson, Russell W. Graymer, Robert C. Jachens, Carl M. Wentworth
Bayesian Inference: with ecological applications Bayesian Inference: with ecological applications
This text provides a mathematically rigorous yet accessible and engaging introduction to Bayesian inference with relevant examples that will be of interest to biologists working in the fields of ecology, wildlife management and environmental studies as well as students in advanced undergraduate statistics.. This text opens the door to Bayesian inference, taking advantage of modern...
Authors
William A. Link, Richard J. Barker
Comparative toxicity of diphacinone to northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and American kestrels (Falco sparverius) Comparative toxicity of diphacinone to northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and American kestrels (Falco sparverius)
The acute oral toxicity of the anticoagulant rodenticide diphacinone was found to be about 20 times greater to American kestrels (LD50=97 mg/kg) than to northern bobwhite (LD50=2,014 mg/kg). Several precise and sensitive clotting assays (prothrombin time, Russell's Viper venom time, thrombin clotting time) were adapted for use in these species, and this combination of assays is...
Authors
Barnett A. Rattner, Katherine E. Horak, Sarah E. Warner, Daniel D. Day, John J. Johnston
Creation of next generation U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps Creation of next generation U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is 2 years into a 3-year cycle to create new digital topographic map products for the conterminous United States from data acquired and maintained as part of The National Map databases. These products are in the traditional, USGS topographic quadrangle, 7.5-minute (latitude and longitude) cell format. The 3-year cycle was conceived to follow the...
Authors
Kari J. Craun
Estimating groundwater recharge Estimating groundwater recharge
Understanding groundwater recharge is essential for successful management of water resources and modeling fluid and contaminant transport within the subsurface. This book provides a critical evaluation of the theory and assumptions that underlie methods for estimating rates of groundwater recharge. Detailed explanations of the methods are provided - allowing readers to apply many of the...
Authors
Richard W. Healy
Geomorphic response of sandbars to the March 2008 high-flow experiment on the Colorado River downstream from Glen Canyon Dam Geomorphic response of sandbars to the March 2008 high-flow experiment on the Colorado River downstream from Glen Canyon Dam
The completion of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963 drastically altered the downstream flow regime and resulted in more than a 90 percent reduction of sand supply to the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. Sandbars that were maintained by annual floods and a large sediment supply are now fewer in number and smaller in area and volume. Efforts to maintain sandbars in the current era of...
Authors
Paul E. Grams, Joseph E. Hazel, John C. Schmidt, Matt Kaplinski, Scott Wright, David J. Topping, Theodore S. Melis
Local sensitivity analysis for inverse problems solved by singular value decomposition Local sensitivity analysis for inverse problems solved by singular value decomposition
Local sensitivity analysis provides computationally frugal ways to evaluate models commonly used for resource management, risk assessment, and so on. This includes diagnosing inverse model convergence problems caused by parameter insensitivity and(or) parameter interdependence (correlation), understanding what aspects of the model and data contribute to measures of uncertainty, and...
Authors
M. C. Hill, B. T. Nolan