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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: 974
Semi-automated identification of leopard frogs Semi-automated identification of leopard frogs
Principal component analysis is used to implement a semi-automatic recognition system to identify recaptured northern leopard frogs (Lithobates pipiens). Results of both open set and closed set experiments are given. The presented algorithm is shown to provide accurate identification of 209 individual leopard frogs from a total set of 1386 images.
Authors
Dijana Petrovska-Delacretaz, Aaron Edwards, John Chiasson, Gerard Chollet, David S. Pilliod
North American amphibians: Distribution and diversity North American amphibians: Distribution and diversity
Some 300 species of amphibians inhabit North America. The past two decades have seen an enormous growth in interest about amphibians and an increased intensity of scientific research into their fascinating biology and continent-wide distribution. This atlas presents the spectacular diversity of North American amphibians in a geographic context. It covers all formally recognized amphibian...
Social-ecological resilience and law Social-ecological resilience and law
Environmental law envisions ecological systems as existing in an equilibrium state, reinforcing a rigid legal framework unable to absorb rapid environmental changes and innovations in sustainability. For the past four decades, “resilience theory,” which embraces uncertainty and nonlinear dynamics in complex adaptive systems, has provided a robust, invaluable foundation for sound...
InSAR imaging of Aleutian volcanoes: Monitoring a volcanic arc from space InSAR imaging of Aleutian volcanoes: Monitoring a volcanic arc from space
No abstract available.
Authors
Zhong Lu, Daniel Dzurisin
Thresholds for conservation and management: structured decision making as a conceptual framework Thresholds for conservation and management: structured decision making as a conceptual framework
A conceptual framework is provided for considering the threshold concept in natural resource management and conservation. We define three kinds of thresholds relevant to management and conservation. Ecological thresholds are values of system state variables at which small changes bring about substantial or specified changes in system dynamics. They are frequently incorporated into...
Authors
James D. Nichols, Mitchell J. Eaton, Julien Martin
Leave no trace in the outdoors Leave no trace in the outdoors
The essential guide for enjoying the outdoors without harming the environment. - Details the seven core principles of Leave No Trace ethics and practices - Covers hiking, campfires, food storage, and personal hygiene - Endorsed by the USDI National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and the USDA Forest Service
Authors
Jeffrey L. Marion
Trends in groundwater quality in principal aquifers of the United States, 1988-2012 Trends in groundwater quality in principal aquifers of the United States, 1988-2012
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program analyzed trends in groundwater quality throughout the nation for the sampling period of 1988-2012. Trends were determined for networks (sets of wells routinely monitored by the USGS) for a subset of constituents by statistical analysis of paired water-quality measurements collected on a near-decadal time...
Authors
Bruce D. Lindsey, Michael G. Rupert
2014 update of the U.S. national seismic hazard maps 2014 update of the U.S. national seismic hazard maps
We held 8 regional and topical workshops across the U.S. to gather information for these maps. The maps were available to the public for comment during a 60-day period. A Steering Committee (9 experts) was assembled to review the inputs and results and provide additional insights. The maps have been presented at several professional meetings. In this talk we discuss: (1) CEUS, (2) WUS...
Authors
Mark D. Petersen, Morgan P. Moschetti, Peter M. Powers, Charles S. Mueller, Kathleen M. Haller, Arthur D. Frankel, Yuehua Zeng, Sanaz Rezaeian, Stephen C. Harmsen, Oliver S. Boyd, Edward H. Field, R Chen, Kenneth S. Rukstales, Nicolas Luco, Russell L. Wheeler, Anna H. Olsen
A new map of global ecological land units — An ecophysiographic stratification approach A new map of global ecological land units — An ecophysiographic stratification approach
In response to the need and an intergovernmental commission for a high resolution and data-derived global ecosystem map, land surface elements of global ecological pattern were characterized in an ecophysiographic stratification of the planet. The stratification produced 3,923 terrestrial ecological land units (ELUs) at a base resolution of 250 meters. The ELUs were derived from data on...
Authors
Roger Sayre, Jack Dangermond, Charlie Frye, Randy Vaughan, Peter Aniello, Sean P. Breyer, Douglas Cribbs, Dabney Hopkins, Richard Nauman, William Derrenbacher, Dawn J. Wright, Clint Brown, Charles Convis, Jonathan H. Smith, Laurence Benson, D. Paco VanSistine, Harumi Warner, Jill Janene Cress, Jeffrey J. Danielson, Sharon L. Hamann, Thomas Cecere, Ashwan D. Reddy, Devon Burton, Andrea Grosse, Diane TRUE, Marc Metzger, Jens Hartmann, Nils Moosdorf, Hans Durr, Marc Paganini, Pierre Defourny, Olivier Arino, Simone Maynard, Mark Anderson, Patrick Comer
Estimating the magnitude and frequency of floods for urban and small, rural streams in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina Estimating the magnitude and frequency of floods for urban and small, rural streams in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina
Reliable estimates of the magnitude and frequency of floods are essential for such things as the design of transportation and water-conveyance structures, Flood Insurance Studies, and flood-plain management. The flood-frequency estimates are particularly important in densely populated urban areas. A multistate approach was used to update methods for determining the magnitude and...
Authors
Toby D. Feaster, Anthony J. Gotvald, J. Curtis Weaver
Forecasting distribution of numbers of large fires Forecasting distribution of numbers of large fires
Systems to estimate forest fire potential commonly utilize one or more indexes that relate to expected fire behavior; however they indicate neither the chance that a large fire will occur, nor the expected number of large fires. That is, they do not quantify the probabilistic nature of fire danger. In this work we use large fire occurrence information from the Monitoring Trends in Burn...
Authors
Jeffery C. Eidenshink, Haiganoush K. Preisler, Stephen Howard, Robert E. Burgan
Quagga and zebra mussels: biology, impacts, and control Quagga and zebra mussels: biology, impacts, and control
Quagga and Zebra Mussels: Biology, Impacts, and Control, Second Edition provides a broad view of the zebra/quagga mussel issue, offering a historic perspective and up-to-date information on mussel research. Comprising 48 chapters, this second edition includes reviews of mussel morphology, physiology, and behavior. It details mussel distribution and spread in Europe and across North...