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.
Mission Area Publications
Mission Area Publications
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An aridity threshold model of fire sizes and annual area burned in extensively forested ecoregions of the western USA
Wildfire occurrence varies among regions and through time due to the long-term impacts of climate on fuel structure and short-term impacts on fuel flammability. Identifying the climatic conditions that trigger extensive fire years at regional scales can enable development of area burned models that are both spatially and temporally robust, which is crucial for understanding the impacts of past and
“Aftershock Faults” and what they could mean for seismic hazard assessment
We study stress‐loading mechanisms for the California faults used in rupture forecasts. Stress accumulation drives earthquakes, and that accumulation mechanism governs recurrence. Most moment release in California occurs because of relative motion between the Pacific plate and the Sierra Nevada block; we calculate relative motion directions at fault centers and compare with fault displacement dire
Drivers and facilitators of the illegal killing of elephants across 64 African sites
Ivory poaching continues to threaten African elephants. We (1) used criminology theory and literature evidence to generate hypotheses about factors that may drive, facilitate or motivate poaching, (2) identified datasets representing these factors, and (3) tested those factors with strong hypotheses and sufficient data quality for empirical associations with poaching. We advance on previous analys
Comparison of ventifact orientations and recent wind direction indicators on the floor of Jezero crater, Mars
Wind-abraded rocks and aeolian bedforms have been observed at the Mars 2020 Perseverance landing site, providing evidence for recent and older wind directions. This study reports orientations of aeolian features measured in Perseverance images to infer formative wind directions. It compares these measurements with orbital observations, climate model predictions, and wind data acquired by the Mars
Burmese pythons in Florida: A synthesis of biology, impacts, and management tools
Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) are native to southeastern Asia, however, there is an established invasive population inhabiting much of southern Florida throughout the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. Pythons have severely impacted native species and ecosystems in Florida and represent one of the most intractable invasive-species management issues across the globe. The difficulty stems f
Contaminant exposure and transport from three potential reuse waters within a single watershed
Global demand for safe and sustainable water supplies necessitates a better understanding of contaminant exposures in potential reuse waters. In this study, we compared exposures and load contributions to surface water from the discharge of three reuse waters (wastewater effluent, urban stormwater, and agricultural runoff). Results document substantial and varying organic-chemical contribution to
Validating a non-lethal method of aging endangered juvenile Lost River and Shortnose Suckers
Populations of imperiled Lost River Deltistes luxatus, and Shortnose Chasmistes brevirostris, suckers in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon are experiencing long-term decreases in abundance due to limited recruitment of juvenile suckers into the adult populations. Researchers use estimated ages based on fin rays to study environmental factors affecting year-class formation, generate annual juvenile sucker
Connecting habitat to species abundance: The role of light and temperature on the abundance of walleye in lakes
Walleye (Sander vitreus) are an ecologically important species managed for recreational, tribal, and commercial harvest. Walleye prefer cool water and low light conditions, and therefore changing water temperature and clarity potentially impacts walleye habitat and populations across the landscape. Using survey data collected from 1993 to 2018 from 312 lakes in Minnesota, we evaluated the relation
The source, fate, and transport of arsenic in the Yellowstone hydrothermal system - An overview
The Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field (YPVF) contains >10,000 thermal features including hot springs, pools, geysers, mud pots, and fumaroles with diverse chemical compositions. Arsenic (As) concentrations in YPVF thermal waters typically range from 0.005 to 4 mg/L, but an As concentration of 17 mg/L has been reported. Arsenic data from thermal springs, outflow drainages, rivers, and from volcani
Long-term, high-resolution permafrost monitoring reveals coupled energy balance and hydrogeologic controls on talik dynamics near Umiujaq (Nunavik, Québec, Canada)
Rising temperatures in the Arctic and subarctic are driving the rapid thaw of permafrost by reducing permafrost cooling, increasing active layer thickness, and promoting talik formation. In this study, the cyrohydrogeology of a permafrost mound located within the discontinuous permafrost zone near Umiujaq (Nunavik, Québec, Canada) is characterized through the analysis of a dataset covering more th
Paleomagnetically defined brief lifespans for two large shield volcanoes in the Cascades Arc
Mafic to intermediate shield volcanoes with multi-cubic-kilometer eruptive volumes are common in the Cascades Volcanic Arc, but little is known about their eruptive histories as either singular or sustained episodes, or the total time required for their construction. Paleomagnetic data were collected from the lava flows of Ash Creek Butte (17 sites) and Crater Mountain (14 sites) in northern Calif
Simulating post-dam removal effects of hatchery operations and disease on juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) production in the Lower Klamath River, California
Executive SummaryThe Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has been considering the approval to breach four dams on lower Klamath River in southern Oregon and northern California. Approval of this application would allow for Strikeouts indicate text deletion hereafter. decommissioning and dam removal, beginning as early as 2023. This action would affect Klamath River salmon (Oncorhynchus ssp.) popu