Publications
Browse more than 160,000 publications authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS. Publications available are: USGS-authored journal articles, series reports, book chapters, other government publications, and more.
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Science Quality and Integrity
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Mission Area Publications
Mission Area Publications
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Invasive hitchhiking organisms on aquarium plants: An emerging pathway of introduction Invasive hitchhiking organisms on aquarium plants: An emerging pathway of introduction
The aquarium trade is a global industry responsible for the movement of live plants and animals, but it also serves as a major pathway for the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species. Invasive species contribute to biodiversity loss, disrupt ecosystems, and can have widespread economic and societal impacts. A significant but poorly understood invasion risk in the plant...
Authors
Kathryn A. O'Shaughnessy, Wesley Daniel, Zoey C.W. Hendrickson, Samantha N. Smith, Ashley M. McDonald, Charles W. Martin
A compilation pipeline for wildlife tracking datasets collected from ground-based and satellite-based telemetry transmission devices A compilation pipeline for wildlife tracking datasets collected from ground-based and satellite-based telemetry transmission devices
Wildlife conservation planning increasingly requires collaboration and integration of research from discrete studies spanning large geographic areas. Tracking datasets are essential for analyzing animal movements and species distributions in relation to environmental conditions and combining them can enable powerful analyses to further aid planning efforts. However, combining datasets...
Authors
Gregory T. Wann, Ashley L. Whipple, Michael S. O’Donnell, Cameron L. Aldridge
Assessing policy effectiveness trends in nonindigenous aquatic species introduction in the Ohio River basin Assessing policy effectiveness trends in nonindigenous aquatic species introduction in the Ohio River basin
Aquatic invasive species (AIS) create costly, detrimental effects when established. Recognition of this in the United States reached a threshold in 1990 with the federal passage of the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act. This act created six regional panels, the national Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, and incentivized state-level AIS planning. The management...
Authors
Abigail N. Clasgens, Brent A. Murry, Kaylyn Zipp, Caroline C. Arantes, Matthew Neilson
Improved prediction of postfire debris flows through rainfall anomaly maps Improved prediction of postfire debris flows through rainfall anomaly maps
Predicting where runoff-generated debris flows might occur during rainfall on steep, recently burned terrain is challenging. Studies of mass-movement processes in unburned areas indicate that event locations are well-predicted by rainfall anomaly, R*, in which peak observed rainfall is normalized by local rainfall climatology. Here, we use remote and field methods to map debris flows...
Authors
David B. Cavagnaro, Scott W. McCoy, Matthew A. Thomas, Jaime Kostelnik, Donald N. Lindsay
Estimating the hypothetical endowment of critical minerals and other commodities in porphyry copper mine waste in the Four Corners states, USA Estimating the hypothetical endowment of critical minerals and other commodities in porphyry copper mine waste in the Four Corners states, USA
Society is fundamentally dependent upon commodities that are used in end-use products for the aerospace, defense, energy, telecommunication, and transportation sectors, resulting in centuries of mining to supply these commodities and materials. Waste from these mining operations can remain on the landscape indefinitely, but there is a lack of national understanding of the distribution...
Authors
Sean Patrick Gaynor, Nick Karl, Autumn Lynne Helfrich, Andrew Francis Smith, Jeffrey L. Mauk
Potomac Tributary Summary: A summary of trends in tidal water quality and associated factors, 1985 - 2022 Potomac Tributary Summary: A summary of trends in tidal water quality and associated factors, 1985 - 2022
The Potomac Tributary Summary outlines change over time for a suite of monitored tidal water quality parameters and associated potential drivers of those trends for the period of 1985 to 2022, and provides a brief description of the current state of knowledge explaining these observed changes. Water quality parameters described include surface (above pycnocline) total nitrogen (TN)...
Authors
Breck Maura Sullivan, Kaylyn Gootman, Alex Gunnerson, Sarah Betts, Gabriel Duran, Cindy Johnson, Christopher A. Mason, Elgin Perry, Gopal Bhatt, Jennifer L. Keisman, James S. Webber, Jon Harcum, Michael Lane, Olivia Devereux, Qian Zhang, Rebecca Murphy, Renee Karrh, Thomas Butler, Zhaoying Wei
Shifts in suitability of pinyon-juniper communities: A climate adaptation framework for range-wide management of arid woodland resources Shifts in suitability of pinyon-juniper communities: A climate adaptation framework for range-wide management of arid woodland resources
Pinyon-juniper (PJ) woodlands are a diverse ecosystem type providing a wealth of ecosystem services across western North America. Managing PJ woodlands in the 21st century entails balancing multiple conservation objectives, and resource managers and policy-makers working to sustain PJ woodlands need spatially explicit information about current PJ woodland conditions and how they may be...
Authors
Adam Roy Noel, Daniel Rodolphe Schlaepfer, Ian P. Barrett, Michael C. Duniway, Jodi R. Norris, Chris T. Domschke, Brad J. Butterfield, Megan C. Swan, Kim Hartwig, Michelle R. Crist, John B. Bradford
Revisiting an enigma on California's north coast: The Mw6.5 Fickle Hill earthquake of 21 December 1954 Revisiting an enigma on California's north coast: The Mw6.5 Fickle Hill earthquake of 21 December 1954
Many earthquakes occur along the North Coast of California in the vicinity of the Mendocino Triple Junction (MTJ), where the Pacific, Gorda, and North American (NA) plates meet, and on the adjacent plate boundaries. The MTJ marks the nexus of the Mendocino and San Andreas faults with the Cascadia subduction zone (CSZ). Historically, most large earthquakes around the MTJ have been within...
Authors
Margaret Hellweg, Thomas A. Lee, Douglas S. Dreger, Anthony Lomax, Lijam Hagos, Hamid Haddabi, Robert C. McPherson, Lori Dengler, Susan E. Hough, Jason R. Patton
Evaluation of daily stream temperature predictions (1979-2021) across the contiguous United States using a spatiotemporal aware machine learning algorithm Evaluation of daily stream temperature predictions (1979-2021) across the contiguous United States using a spatiotemporal aware machine learning algorithm
Stream temperature controls a variety of physical and biological processes that affect ecosystems, human health, and economic activities. We used 42 years (1979–2021) of data to predict daily summary statistics of stream temperature across >50,000 stream reaches in the contiguous United States using a recurrent graph convolution network. We comprehensively documented the performance –...
Authors
Jeremy Alejandro Diaz, Samantha K. Oliver, Galen Gorski
Avian influenza spillover into poultry: Environmental influences and biosecurity protections Avian influenza spillover into poultry: Environmental influences and biosecurity protections
With the continued spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), understanding the complex dynamics of virus transfer at the wild – agriculture interface is paramount. Spillover events (i.e., virus transfer from wild birds into poultry) are related to proximity to infected wild bird populations and environmental conditions. By accounting for such dynamics, we can take a combined...
Authors
Matthew Brandon Gonnerman, Jennifer Mullinax, Andrew Fox, Kelly A. Patyk, Victoria Fields, Mary-Jane McCool, Mia K. Torchetti, Kristina Lantz, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Diann J. Prosser
Tracking status and trends in seven key indicators of river and stream condition in the Chesapeake Bay watershed Tracking status and trends in seven key indicators of river and stream condition in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Freshwater streams and rivers are recognized as vital habitats within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which has been undergoing extensive restoration efforts for more than 30 years. Resource managers need to understand stream and river condition and how these conditions are changing over time to determine whether regional long-term restoration and conservation goals are being met. The...
Authors
Lindsey J. Boyle, Samuel H. Austin, Matthew J. Cashman, Zachary J. Clifton, John W. Clune, James E. Colgin, Kaitlyn E.M. Elliott, Rosemary M. Fanelli, Ellie P. Foss, Nathaniel P. Hitt, Elizabeth A. Hittle, Coral M. Howe, Emily H. Majcher, Kelly O. Maloney, Christopher A. Mason, Marina J. Metes, Douglas L. Moyer, Trevor P. Needham, Karli M. Rogers, Joshua J. Thompson, Guoxiang Yang, Tammy M. Zimmerman
Cryptic CAM photosynthesis in Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia, Y. jaegeriana) Cryptic CAM photosynthesis in Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia, Y. jaegeriana)
Joshua trees are long-lived perennial monocots native to the Mojave Desert in North America. Composed of two species, Yucca brevifolia and Y. jaegeriana (Asparagaceae), Joshua trees are imperiled by climate change, with decreases in suitable habitat predicted under future climate change scenarios. Relatively little is understood about the ecophysiology of Joshua trees across their range...
Authors
Karolina Heyduk, Sara J. Scoles-Sciulla, Bridget Hennessy, Madeline Czymmek, Edward V. McAssey, Chase Kane, G. Young Kim, Ifeoluwa Sogunle, Lulu Heublein, Dhriti Sriram, Bryan MacNeill, Michael T. Hren, Todd C. Esque, Jeremy B. Yoder, Michael R. McKain, Christopher Irwin Smith, Lesley A. DeFalco