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
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Overwinter and prespawning movements by a vulnerable freshwater pelagophilic minnow Overwinter and prespawning movements by a vulnerable freshwater pelagophilic minnow
The decline of pelagophil minnows is related to river fragmentation across the southern Great Plains landscape. Because we know little about pelagophil movement patterns and timing, we aimed to quantify the movements of the vulnerable Arkansas River shiner (ARS) during the winter (November–March) and prespawning (April–June) seasons. We tagged 4233 ARS using visible implant elastomer...
Authors
Desiree M. Moore, Shannon K. Brewer
Submarine canyon sediment transport and accumulation during sea level highstand: Interactive seasonal regimes in the head of Astoria Canyon, WA Submarine canyon sediment transport and accumulation during sea level highstand: Interactive seasonal regimes in the head of Astoria Canyon, WA
The majority of submarine canyons on Earth today do not directly intersect littoral or fluvial sediment sources, yet these systems are rarely studied. The shelf-incised head of Astoria Canyon receives sediment from the nearby Columbia River and is subject to energetic forcing from shelf and slope processes, making it an ideal site to evaluate the modern activity of canyons in high-stand...
Authors
E. Lahr, A. Ogston, Jenna C. Hill, H. Glover, Kurt J. Rosenberger
Limited directional change in mountaintop plant communities over 19 years in western North America Limited directional change in mountaintop plant communities over 19 years in western North America
Plant communities on mountain summits are commonly long-lived, cold-adapted perennials with low dispersal ability. These characteristics in tandem with limited area to track suitable conditions make these mountain communities potentially highly vulnerable to climate change, and indicators of climate change impacts. We investigated temporal changes in plant communities on 29 arid mountain...
Authors
Kaleb Goff, Meagan Ford Oldfather, Jan Nachlinger, Brian Smithers, Michael Koontz, Catie Bishop, Jim Bishop, Mary Burke, Seema Sheth
Critical Minerals in Ores (CMiO) database Critical Minerals in Ores (CMiO) database
Critical minerals are commodities essential to modern industrial and strategic technologies and are highly vulnerable to supply chain disruption. The Critical Minerals Mapping Initiative (CMMI) is a collaboration among the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Geological Survey of Canada, and Geoscience Australia that aims to deepen global understanding of where critical minerals are...
Authors
George N.D. Case, Garth E. Graham, Christopher Lawley, Evgeniy Bastrakov, David Huston, Albert H. Hofstra, Vladimir Lisitsin, Steph Hawkins, Bronwen Wang
The effect of turbidity on foraging by prerostrum juvenile Paddlefish The effect of turbidity on foraging by prerostrum juvenile Paddlefish
Objective A previous study evaluating restoration success of Paddlefish Polyodon spathula suggested that excessive turbidity in lakes and rivers may inhibit foraging by juveniles prior to the development of the rostrum. Although a Paddlefish's rostrum, which contains electroreceptors, helps the fish to locate zooplankton prey, the prerostrum stage lacks many of these electroreceptors...
Authors
Ethan Hood, James M. Long, Daniel E. Shoup, Casey A. Pennock, Andrew R. Dzialowski, Jason D. Schooley
Applying U-Th disequilbrium for dating siliceous sinters Applying U-Th disequilbrium for dating siliceous sinters
Continental hydrothermal systems are critical avenues for the crustal transport of heat and mass captured for geothermal energy and mineral exploration. Thus, understanding their temporal evolution and longevity is important for resource characterization. Deposits of microlaminated siliceous sinter, common surface expressions of high temperature reservoirs (> 170 °C), have the potential...
Authors
Lauren Sankovitch, Carolina Munoz-Saez, Adam M. Hudson, Linda V. Godfrey, Jay Michael Thompson
Wangyanite, PdNi8S8, a new Pd end-member mineral of the pentlandite group from the J-M reef, Stillwater Complex, Montana, USA Wangyanite, PdNi8S8, a new Pd end-member mineral of the pentlandite group from the J-M reef, Stillwater Complex, Montana, USA
Wangyanite (IMA2024-008a), ideally PdNi8S8, is a Pd end-member mineral of the pentlandite group that was discovered in the J-M reef of the Stillwater Complex, Montana, USA. Wangyanite occurs as anhedral-subhedral granular crystals 200–400 µm in size, associated with isoferroplatinum, braggite, pentlandite, and chalcopyrite interstitial to plagioclase grains within anorthosite. Wangyanite...
Authors
Chen Chen, Haiyang Xian, Christopher Jenkins, Zhuosen Yao, Yiping Yang, Xiaoju Lin, Shan Li, Jiaxin Xi, Yuhuan Yuan, Jianxi Zhu, Hongping He
Greater sage-grouse seasonal habitat associations: A review and considerations for interpretation and management applications Greater sage-grouse seasonal habitat associations: A review and considerations for interpretation and management applications
Habitat features needed by wildlife can change in composition throughout the year, particularly in temperate ecosystems, leading to distinct seasonal spatial-use patterns. Studies of species-habitat associations therefore often focus on understanding relationships within discrete seasonal periods with common goals of prediction (e.g., habitat mapping) and inference (e.g., interpreting...
Authors
Gregory T. Wann, Ashley L. Whipple, Elizabeth Kari Orning, Megan M. McLachlan, Jeffrey L. Beck, Peter S. Coates, Courtney J. Conway, Jonathan B. Dinkins, Aaron N. Johnston, Christian A. Hagen, Paul Makela, David Naugle, Michael A Schroeder, James S. Sedinger, Brett L. Walker, Perry J. Williams, Richard D. Inman, Cameron L. Aldridge
Social composition of soft‐release groups is correlated with survival of translocated gopher tortoises Social composition of soft‐release groups is correlated with survival of translocated gopher tortoises
The social structure of translocated animal populations can have important effects on the survival and reproduction of translocated individuals for both solitary and social species. The gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is a reptile of conservation concern that is currently experiencing high levels of mitigation translocation in Florida, USA. Individuals live in aggregations of...
Authors
Kevin J. Loope, Rebecca A. Cozad, Derek. B. Breakfield, Matthew J. Aresco, Elizabeth Ann Hunter
Scaling from microsite to landscape to resolve litter decomposition dynamics in globally extensive drylands Scaling from microsite to landscape to resolve litter decomposition dynamics in globally extensive drylands
1. Decomposition controls the release of carbon and nutrients from decaying plant litter into soils or the atmosphere. In most biomes decomposition rates can be accurately predicted with simple mathematical models, but these models have long under-predicted decomposition in globally- extensive drylands. 2. We posit that the exposed surface conditions characteristic of drylands makes...
Authors
Heather L. Throop, Jiwei Li, Daryl L. Moorhead, Sasha C. Reed, Katherine Todd-Brown, Alexi Besser, Dellena Bloom, Thomas Ingalls, Alejandro Cueva
Shortening migration by 4500 km does not affect nesting phenology or increase nest success for black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) breeding in Arctic and subarctic Alaska Shortening migration by 4500 km does not affect nesting phenology or increase nest success for black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) breeding in Arctic and subarctic Alaska
Background Since the 1980s, Pacific Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans, hereafter brant) have shifted their winter distribution northward from Mexico to Alaska (approximately 4500 km) with changes in climate. Alongside this shift, the primary breeding population of brant has declined. To understand the population-level implications of the changing migration strategy of brant, it is...
Authors
Toshio Doroff Matsuoka, Vijay P. Patil, Jerry W. Hupp, Alan G. Leach, John Reed, James S. Sedinger, David H. Ward
Structural analysis of brittle-plastic shear zones in the Sangre de Cristo Range, southern Colorado USA: Superposition of Rio Grande rift extension on Laramide contraction Structural analysis of brittle-plastic shear zones in the Sangre de Cristo Range, southern Colorado USA: Superposition of Rio Grande rift extension on Laramide contraction
The Sangre de Cristo Range in southern Colorado exposes some of the deepest Cenozoic structural levels in the Rocky Mountain region, including mylonitic shear zones associated with both the Laramide orogeny and Rio Grande rift. We investigated the relation between Laramide contraction and Rio Grande rift extension with detailed geologic mapping, kinematic analysis, and geochronometry in...
Authors
Michael C. Sitar, John S. Singleton, Jeffrey M. Rahl, Jonathan Saul Caine, Jacob King, Andrew R C Kylander-Clark, Paul O’Sullivan