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.
Mission Area Publications
Mission Area Publications
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.
Filter Total Items: 177638
First application of a coastal-dune model (AeoLiS) to simulate fluvial-aeolian morphodynamics First application of a coastal-dune model (AeoLiS) to simulate fluvial-aeolian morphodynamics
Quantifying aeolian processes is important to decision-making in river management and for optimizing strategies for ecosystem conservation, natural resource management, and recreation. We applied the AeoLiS aeolian transport model, originally developed for coastal environments, to a dryland river corridor to evaluate its ability to simulate sediment dynamics in a fluvial-aeolian system...
Authors
Madeline Margaret Kelley, Joel B. Sankey, Nicholas Cohn, Amy E. East, Alan Kasprak, Helen C. Fairley, Joshua Caster, B. van Westen
Stability changes after weak layer collapse: Insights from an unexpected dataset Stability changes after weak layer collapse: Insights from an unexpected dataset
While conducting avalanche mitigation or traveling through the backcountry, avalanche professionals sometimes experience a "whumpf": a collapse-mode crack accompanied by surface cracking that does not produce an avalanche. These whumpfs are a clear warning sign of instability in the surrounding terrain. But assessing the collapsed slope itself, if it is steep enough to avalanche, carries...
Authors
Andrea Bruckmeier, Erika Hart Birkeland, Ron Simenhois, Alex Marienthal, Erich Peitzsch, Karl W. Birkeland
Pre-eruptive volatiles and magma storage depth for the 2018 eruption at Mount Veniaminof, Alaska Pre-eruptive volatiles and magma storage depth for the 2018 eruption at Mount Veniaminof, Alaska
Mount Veniaminof is a frequently active, open-system arc volcano on the Alaska Peninsula, part of the Alaska-Aleutian arc. Mount Veniaminof's September–December 2018 eruption began with small lava flows and culminated in a larger explosive event in November that produced a 450 km long continuous ash plume—one of the volcano's most significant ash-producing events in recently observed...
Authors
Ellyn G. Huggins, Phillipp Ruprecht, Matthew W. Loewen, M. Gavrilenko, R.J. Bodnar, M. Harlaux
Spontaneous combustion of metal sulfide minerals and implications for seafloor massive sulfide mining Spontaneous combustion of metal sulfide minerals and implications for seafloor massive sulfide mining
Metal sulfide minerals are abundant phases in many environments on earth, including seafloor massive sulfide (SMS) deposits, which occur at hydrothermal vents throughout the global ocean. These deep-sea settings are currently undergoing exploration for potential future mining. Here, we describe rocks from Escanaba Trough on the southern Gorda Ridge that underwent spontaneous combustion...
Authors
Amy Gartman, Jaycee Favela, Katlin Bowman Adamczyk, Aude Picard, John Jamieson, Rob Zierenberg, Isobel A. Yeo, Karen Bustillo, I. Maru Shapiro, Kha Cam Phan, Hope Lee Ianiri
Considerations for using autonomous recording units to monitor northern bobwhite occupancy at large spatial scales Considerations for using autonomous recording units to monitor northern bobwhite occupancy at large spatial scales
Northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) have experienced widespread declines across their range, increasing the need for population monitoring across broad spatial and temporal scales. Yet large-scale monitoring of post-breeding bobwhites remains limited by the time-intensive nature of fall (i.e., autumn) covey counts. Passive acoustic monitoring with autonomous recording units (ARUs)...
Authors
Riggs O. Wilson, Todd R. Bogenschutz, Anna Maureen Tucker, Adam K. Janke
Niobium-bearing minerals from the Sheep Creek carbonatite-related deposits of southwest Montana, USA Niobium-bearing minerals from the Sheep Creek carbonatite-related deposits of southwest Montana, USA
The Sheep Creek area in southwest Montana contains a number of small, tabular, carbonatite-related deposits that are rich in Nb and REE minerals. Nb-rich minerals from Sheep Creek and nearby Woods Creek are herein described in detail. The carbonatite veins contain a mix of calcite and Fe-bearing dolomite, with locally abundant apatite, baryte, celsian, actinolite, phlogopite, monazite-...
Authors
Christopher H. Gammons, Heather A. Lowers, Jay M. Thompson, Gary F. Wyss
Elemental and isotope geochemistry of Smackover Formation brines in Alabama and Arkansas: Implications for fluid mixing and water-rock interaction Elemental and isotope geochemistry of Smackover Formation brines in Alabama and Arkansas: Implications for fluid mixing and water-rock interaction
This study investigates the geochemical characteristics of brines within the Upper Jurassic Smackover Formation in Alabama and Arkansas through elemental and isotopic analyses and geochemical modeling to reveal the extent and nature of fluid mixing and water-rock interactions. Smackover Formation brines exhibit Na-Cl-Ca hydrogeochemical facies and sulfate depletion relative to seawater...
Authors
Kelly Kreitzer, Ming-Kuo Lee, Haibo Zou, Yang Wang, Andrew L. Masterson, Ann S. Ojeda, Billor Zeki, Natalia Malina, Gregory Guthrie, Bonnie McDevitt, Ann Arnold, Demi Durham
A practical model and online tool to predict cover crop nitrogen content and carbon-to-nitrogen ratio via remote sensing A practical model and online tool to predict cover crop nitrogen content and carbon-to-nitrogen ratio via remote sensing
Purpose: Estimations of cover crop (CC), nitrogen (N) content and carbon-to-nitrogen (C:N) ratio are crucial for guiding N fertilizer recommendations for subsequent cash crops, yet prediction tools that can be easily adopted by practitioners are lacking. This study aims to (1) develop models to predict CC N content and C:N ratio using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and...
Authors
Navdeep Kaur, Charlie White, Andrew Lefever, Alison Thieme, Jyoti Jennewein, W. Dean Hively, Daniella Carrijo
Predictability creates vulnerability: Long-term acoustic telemetry reveals hidden threat windows for endangered Atlantic sturgeon Predictability creates vulnerability: Long-term acoustic telemetry reveals hidden threat windows for endangered Atlantic sturgeon
1.Individual movement strategies govern access to important habitats but can expose certain animals to spatially and temporally variable threats, producing consistent, phenotype-specific differences in risk. For endangered Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus), migration timing shapes exposure risk to vessel strikes, dredging activity, and shifting estuarine conditions, yet management...
Authors
Shannon L. White, Amanda L. Higgs, Dewayne A. Fox, Matthew W. Breece, Harold M. Brundage
Does wind disrupt overwintering monarch butterfly clusters? An observational study of western monarchs Does wind disrupt overwintering monarch butterfly clusters? An observational study of western monarchs
Wind protection is a central focus of western monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) overwintering habitat conservation. The Wind Disruption Hypothesis guiding management decisions predicts that winds at or above 2 m/s disrupt clusters and that cluster abundance decreases as wind speed increases. At two California groves during the 2023–2024 overwintering season, we paired time-lapse...
Authors
Kyle Nessen, Peter Christian Ibsen, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Frances X. Villablanca
Trends and seasonal patterns of nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations and loads in two Mississippi Alluvial Plain watersheds following nutrient reduction efforts during 2010–22 Trends and seasonal patterns of nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations and loads in two Mississippi Alluvial Plain watersheds following nutrient reduction efforts during 2010–22
The Mississippi Alluvial Plain ecoregion in Mississippi was historically part of the largest continuous wetland in North America but was clearcut and converted to row crop agriculture beginning in the late 1800s. To reduce the effects of agriculture on surface waters in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, nutrient reduction best management practices have been implemented throughout the...
Authors
Stephen E. DeVilbiss, Matthew B. Hicks, Emily Gain, Natalie Segrest
Streamflow, water quality, and energy development characteristics and water-quality trends for selected sites in the Green River and Muddy Creek drainage basins, southwestern Wyoming, water years 2006–16 Streamflow, water quality, and energy development characteristics and water-quality trends for selected sites in the Green River and Muddy Creek drainage basins, southwestern Wyoming, water years 2006–16
Energy resource development in southwestern Wyoming has been rapidly expanding since the early 2000s to include innovative technologies for extracting oil and gas and enhancing renewable energy. In response to concerns about the potential negative effects of energy development on natural resources, the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative was created to implement a long-term...
Authors
Steven K. Sando, Cheryl A. Eddy-Miller, Roy Sando, Sara L. Caldwell Eldridge, Seth E. Younger, Haylie M. Brown