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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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We are focused on some of the most significant issues society faces, and our science is making a substantial contribution to the well-being of the Nation and the world. Learn more about the major topics our research covers and the programs focused on those topics.

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Filter Total Items: 175531

Igniting the transition from water quality to biological condition and ecological health Igniting the transition from water quality to biological condition and ecological health

Karr (1981), which introduced the index of biotic (or biological) integrity (IBI) has been cited more often (>4,500 times) than any other paper in Fisheries. In this essay, we reflect on the historical context of this seminal publication and its broad, continuing impact on the management of natural resources, especially freshwater ecosystems.
Authors
Paul L. Angermeier, James R. Karr, Chris O. Yoder, Robert M. Hughes
By
Cooperative Research Units

ENSO and PDO drive shoreline position anomalies in the U.S. Pacific Northwest ENSO and PDO drive shoreline position anomalies in the U.S. Pacific Northwest

Sandy beaches act as buffers against various coastal hazards but are vulnerable to episodic (seasonal) and chronic (interannual) erosion. Understanding the variation of shoreline position, a key metric in coastal morphology, over a spectrum of time scales is therefore crucial in assessing hazard vulnerability. Long-standing research has investigated the role of El Niño-Southern...
Authors
Mohsen Taherkhani, Sean Vitousek, Marcan Graffin, Kilian Vos, Jonathan C. Allan, George M. Kaminsky, Peter Ruggiero
By
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Performance evaluation and methods comparison of transcriptomic-based approaches for the characterization of wastewater treatment effluent Performance evaluation and methods comparison of transcriptomic-based approaches for the characterization of wastewater treatment effluent

Wastewater treatment effluents (WWTE) present complex risks to aquatic ecosystems that are difficult to characterize using traditional methods. This study systematically evaluated the consistency and performance of transcriptomic-based approaches over time with repeated sampling and with differing experimental approaches (selection of reference condition, grab vs. composite sampling...
Authors
Adam Biales, M. S. Hu, D. C. Bencic, M. J. See, Susan T. Glassmeyer, E.T. Furlong, Julia M. Stelman, W. Huang, Dana W. Kolpin, Marc A. Mills, L. D. Brunelle, Angela L. Batt, S. Thomas Purucker
By
Central Midwest Water Science Center

Climate change has increased crop water consumption in Central Asia despite less water-intensive cropping Climate change has increased crop water consumption in Central Asia despite less water-intensive cropping

Climate change and land use change are crucial determinants of crop water consumption, particularly in drylands where water scarcity limits crop production. In Central Asia, the effects of land use and climate changes on crop water consumption remain unknown. We estimated the dynamics of crop water consumption by mapping annual actual evapotranspiration from Landsat imagery from 1987 to...
Authors
M. Daniela Peña-Guerrero, Gabriel B. Senay, A. Umirbekov, L. Tarasova, P. Rufin, B. Pulatov, D. Müller
By
Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center

New measurements indicate that natural geologic methane emissions from microseepage in the Michigan Basin are likely negligible New measurements indicate that natural geologic methane emissions from microseepage in the Michigan Basin are likely negligible

The magnitude of natural geologic methane (CH4) emissions to the atmosphere (including emissions of fossil CH4 from offshore and onshore gas and oil seeps, diffuse microseepage, mud volcanoes, volcanic vents, and geothermal areas) is highly uncertain. The largest component of geologic emissions is thought to be microseepage, which is the diffuse flux of CH4 from soils across large areas...
Authors
Kathleen R. Hall, Thomas S. Weber, Marika P. Stock, Marc L. Buursink, Haoran Piao, Mingzhe Zhu, Katey M. Walter-Anthony, Vasilii V. Petrenko
By
Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

The functional effects of African lions on co-occurring carnivores differ across species pairs and with changes in resource availability and lion abundance The functional effects of African lions on co-occurring carnivores differ across species pairs and with changes in resource availability and lion abundance

Apex carnivores are known to regulate ecosystem structure and function, including via interactions with syntopic, competitively inferior carnivores. These effects may be dependent on relative carnivore density and resource availability or productivity. We investigated the functional effect of African lions as an apex carnivore on the presence of co-occurring large carnivore species...
Authors
Kristoffer T. Everatt, Leah Andresen, Jennifer F. Moore, James E. Hines, Graham I.H. Kerley
By
Eastern Ecological Science Center
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