Publications

We present an assessment of water supply across the conterminous United States (CONUS), Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico covering water years 2010–20. Our analysis drew on two national hydrologic models, the National Hydrologic Model Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System and the Weather Research and Forecasting model hydrologic modeling system. Both models produced estimates of streamflow

Water availability is fundamentally important to human well-being, economic vitality, and ecosystem health. Because of its central importance, the U.S. Congress tasked the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and other Federal agencies with conducting regular, comprehensive assessments of water availability in the United States through the requirements under the SECURE Water Act. In response to...

This professional paper is a multichapter report that assesses water availability in the United States for water years 2010–20. This work was conducted as part of the fulfillment of the mandates of Subtitle F of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-11), also known as the SECURE Water Act. As such, this work examines the spatial and temporal distribution of water...

The Center for the Advancement of Population Assessment Methodology (CAPAM) was established in 2013, envisioned as an institute that could conduct, organize, and communicate stock assessment research with the aim of benefiting fisheries assessment efforts internationally. CAPAM’s activities have focused on its workshop series and consequent special issues in Fisheries Research. The...

Invasive species are often central to conservation efforts, particularly when concerns involve potential impacts on rare, endemic native species. The lower New River drainage of the eastern United States is a watershed that warrants conservation assessment, as the system is naturally depauperate of native fish species and it is nearly saturated with non-native fish species: there are 31...

Addressing public preferences can enhance wildlife management effectiveness and reduce backlash. We conducted novel research on public acceptance of wildlife management by accounting for the role of underexplored drivers including emotion and political identity across an urban-to-rural gradient. Using data from a 2022 survey about white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Durham...

Significant variation in mercury (Hg) bioaccumulation is observed across the diversity of freshwater ecosystems in North America. While there is support for the major drivers of Hg bioaccumulation, the relative influence of different external factors can vary widely among waterbodies, which makes predicting Hg risk across large spatial scales particularly challenging. We modeled Hg...

Symmetrical wave ripples identified with NASA’s Curiosity rover in ancient lake deposits at Gale crater provide a key paleoclimate constraint for early Mars: At the time of ripple formation, climate conditions must have supported ice-free liquid water on the surface of Mars. These features are the most definitive examples of wave ripples on another planet. The ripples occur in two...

Coral reefs can mitigate flood damages by providing protection to tropical coastal communities whose populations are dense, growing fast, and have predominantly lower-middle income. This study provides the first fine-scale, regionally modeled valuations of how flood risk reductions associated with hybrid coral reef restoration could benefit people, property, and economic activity along...

Causes, consequences, and potentials for recovery from invasions by the invasive annual grass, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), in western North America have been extensively documented. The vast majority of these studies have come from regions where yearly precipitation is dominated by “winter-wet” patterns, but this species has also demonstrated its ability to invade plant communities in...

The entities responsible for the management of the endangered Gulf of Maine Distinct Population Segment of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) have partnered with a commercial aquaculture company to apply a novel conservation aquaculture program. This effort marks a major shift in management and has garnered mixed public reactions. Recent expansion of aquaculture in Maine has been a point of...

Executive Summary Geospatial products of land use and land cover are broadly used in many applications. For example, the annual national greenhouse gas inventory uses the National Land Cover Database, the Coastal Change Analysis Program, Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools, the Forest Inventory and Analysis, and the National Resources Inventory to represent the land use...