Reports
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 82,000 reports 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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The 150th anniversary of the 1869 Powell expedition—USGS participation in the Sesquicentennial Colorado River Exploring Expedition and reflections from the ~1,000-mile journey down the Green and Colorado Rivers The 150th anniversary of the 1869 Powell expedition—USGS participation in the Sesquicentennial Colorado River Exploring Expedition and reflections from the ~1,000-mile journey down the Green and Colorado Rivers
In 1869, John Wesley Powell completed the first well-recorded scientific river journey to explore an extensive region of the Colorado River Basin. Powell later helped to establish the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and served as its second director (1881–94), cementing his position in the folklore of the Survey. In 2019, the USGS marked the 150th anniversary of Powell’s first expedition...
Authors
Annie Scott, Eleanour Snow
External quality assurance project report for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program’s National Trends Network and Mercury Deposition Network, 2017–18 External quality assurance project report for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program’s National Trends Network and Mercury Deposition Network, 2017–18
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Precipitation Chemistry Quality Assurance project (PCQA) operated five distinct programs to provide external quality-assurance monitoring for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program’s (NADP) National Trends Network and Mercury Deposition Network during 2017–18. The National Trends Network programs included (1) a field audit program to evaluate sample
Authors
Gregory A. Wetherbee, RoseAnn Martin
2017 Volcanic activity in Alaska—Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory 2017 Volcanic activity in Alaska—Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory
The Alaska Volcano Observatory responded to eruptions, significant and minor volcanic unrest, and seismic events at 16 volcanic centers in Alaska during 2017. The most notable volcanic activity consisted of a major eruption at Bogoslof Island, continuing intermittent dome growth and ash eruptions from Mount Cleveland, the end of the Pavlof Volcano eruption, volcanic unrest at Shishaldin...
Authors
James P. Dixon, Cheryl E. Cameron, Alexandra M. Iezzi, John A. Power, Kristi L. Wallace, Christopher F. Waythomas
2016 Volcanic activity in Alaska—Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory 2016 Volcanic activity in Alaska—Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory
The Alaska Volcano Observatory responded to eruptions, volcanic unrest or suspected unrest, and seismic events at 15 volcanic centers in Alaska during 2016. The most notable volcanic activity consisted of eruptions at Pavlof and Bogoslof volcanoes. Both eruptions produced significant ash clouds that affected regional air travel. Mount Cleveland continued a pattern of dome growth followed...
Authors
Cheryl E. Cameron, James P. Dixon, Christopher F. Waythomas, Alexandra M. Iezzi, Kristi L. Wallace, Robert G. McGimsey, Katharine F. Bull
Forest management and bats Forest management and bats
Because more than half of the forest land in the United States is privately owned, forest landowners play an important role in the stewardship of our wildlife resources. This publication will introduce you to a group of wildlife that is particularly important to forest ecosystems, but also one of the most misunderstood: bats. We will demonstrate how active forest management can improve...
Authors
Daniel A. R. Taylor, Roger W. Perry, Darren A. Miller, W. Mark Ford
Research priorities for migratory birds under climate change—A qualitative value of information assessment Research priorities for migratory birds under climate change—A qualitative value of information assessment
The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey National Climate Adaptation Science Center is to provide actionable, management-relevant research on climate change effects on ecosystems and wildlife to U.S. Department of the Interior bureaus. Providing this kind of useful scientific information requires understanding how natural-resource managers make decisions and identifying research...
Authors
Madeleine A. Rubenstein, Clark S. Rushing, James E. Lyons, Michael C. Runge
Structure contour and isopach maps of the Wolfcamp shale and Bone Spring Formation of the Delaware Basin, Permian Basin Province, New Mexico and Texas Structure contour and isopach maps of the Wolfcamp shale and Bone Spring Formation of the Delaware Basin, Permian Basin Province, New Mexico and Texas
A series of structure contour and isopach maps for the Wolfcamp shale and the Bone Spring Formation of the Delaware Basin, Permian Basin Province, were generated in support of the U.S. Geological Survey 2018 assessment of undiscovered continuous oil and gas resources. The interpreted formation tops used to generate the maps are from the IHS Markit® PRODFit™ database, a commercial...
Authors
Stephanie B. Gaswirth
Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Upper Cretaceous Austin Chalk and Tokio and Eutaw Formations, U.S. Gulf Coast, 2019 Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Upper Cretaceous Austin Chalk and Tokio and Eutaw Formations, U.S. Gulf Coast, 2019
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 6.9 billion barrels of oil and 41.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in conventional and continuous accumulations in the Upper Cretaceous Austin Chalk and Tokio and Eutaw Formations onshore and in State waters of the U.S. Gulf Coast region.
Authors
Janet K. Pitman, Stanley T. Paxton, Scott A. Kinney, Katherine J. Whidden, Seth S. Haines, Brian A. Varela, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl A. Woodall, Christopher J. Schenk, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Ofori N. Pearson, Lauri A. Burke, Phuong A. Le, Justin E. Birdwell, Nicholas J. Gianoutsos, Katherine L. French, Ronald M. Drake, Thomas M. Finn, Geoffrey S. Ellis, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Kristen R. Marra, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Chilisa M. Shorten
Genetically-informed seed transfer zones for Cleome lutea and Machaeranthera canescens across the Colorado Plateau and adjacent regions Genetically-informed seed transfer zones for Cleome lutea and Machaeranthera canescens across the Colorado Plateau and adjacent regions
Genetically-based seed transfer zones are described herein for two priority restoration species on and adjacent to the Colorado Plateau (Massatti 2020). Species include Cleome lutea Hook. (Capparaceae; commonly called yellow spiderflower or yellow beeplant; synonym Peritoma lutea (Hook.) Raf.) and Machaeranthera canescens (Pursh) A. Gray (Asteraceae; commonly called hoary tansyaster...
Authors
Robert Massatti
Environmental data associated with sites infected with white-nose syndrome (WNS) before October 2011 in North America Environmental data associated with sites infected with white-nose syndrome (WNS) before October 2011 in North America
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emerging infectious disease of hibernating bats caused by a fungus previously known as Geomyces destructans and reclassified as Pseudogymnoascus destructans. The disease was first documented in 2006 in New York, has since spread across much of eastern North America, and as of January 2012, had caused the death of at least 5.7 to 6.7 million bats. Previous...
Authors
Christopher S. Swezey, Christopher P. Garrity
Groundwater quality and groundwater levels in Dougherty County, Georgia, April 2019 through March 2020 Groundwater quality and groundwater levels in Dougherty County, Georgia, April 2019 through March 2020
The Upper Floridan aquifer is the uppermost, reliable aquifer in southwest Georgia. The aquifer lies on top of the Claiborne, Clayton, and Cretaceous aquifers, all of which exhibited water level declines in the 1960s and 1970s. The U.S. Geological Survey has been working cooperatively with Albany Utilities to monitor groundwater quality and availability in these aquifers since 1977...
Authors
Debbie W. Gordon
Interpretation of hydrogeologic data to support groundwater management, Bazile Groundwater Management Area, northeast Nebraska, 2019—A case demonstration of the Nebraska Geocloud Interpretation of hydrogeologic data to support groundwater management, Bazile Groundwater Management Area, northeast Nebraska, 2019—A case demonstration of the Nebraska Geocloud
Nitrate, age tracer, and continuous groundwater-level data were interpreted in conjunction with airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey data to understand the movement of nitrate within the Bazile Groundwater Management Area (BGMA) in northeastern Nebraska. Previously published age tracer data and nitrate data indicated vertical stratification of groundwater quality. Younger groundwater...
Authors
Christopher M. Hobza, Gregory V. Steele