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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Mission Area Publications
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Ubiquity and causes of soil water preferential flow across 17 ecoregions Ubiquity and causes of soil water preferential flow across 17 ecoregions
Preferential flow (PF) in soil causes the rapid transport of water, nutrients, and contaminants into the subsurface, influencing groundwater recharge and streamflow. Data scarcity has hindered the quantification of PF occurrence and the identification of its drivers across diverse ecoregions. We address this gap by analyzing high-frequency, multi-depth soil moisture data across 17...
Authors
Bonan Li, Matthias Sprenger, Briana Wyatt, Daniel Giménez, Daniel Hirmas, Hoori Ajami, Inge Wiekenkamp, Jannis Groh, John R. Nimmo, Matthew Amato, Nitin Singh, Octavia Crompton, Ryoko Araki, Tianfang Xu, Pamela L. Sullivan
The abiotic background as a central component of a Sample Safety Assessment Protocol for Mars Sample Return The abiotic background as a central component of a Sample Safety Assessment Protocol for Mars Sample Return
Martian rock and regolith samples are being collected and cached by NASA’s Perseverance rover, with the goal of returning them to Earth as soon as the mid-2030s. Upon return, samples would be housed in a sample receiving facility under biological containment to prevent exposing Earth’s biosphere to any potential biohazards that might be present. Samples could be released from high...
Authors
Bronwyn L. Teece, David W. Beaty, H. Graham, Gerald McDonnell, Barbara Sherwood Lollar, S. Siljeström, Andrew Steele, SSAP Tiger Team, Rachel Mackelprang, B. M. Ahern, N. Baird, Noel Cressie, Richard Davis, Katherine L. French, Mihaela Glamoclija, K. B. Hummel, Lisa E. Mayhew, John McQuiston, William Page, N. Pearce, Aaron B. Regberg, D. Relman, Mark Sephton, Timothy B. Shirey, J. Vanhomwegen, M.B. Wilhelm
Agronomic practices vs. natural soil factors: Influences on nitrous oxide emissions from corn and soybean fields. Agronomic practices vs. natural soil factors: Influences on nitrous oxide emissions from corn and soybean fields.
Nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) and major contributor to climate change, is primarily released through agricultural activities. To better understand and quantify how land management practices, local climate conditions, and soil physicochemical properties affect these agricultural N2O emissions, we conducted a review of the peer-reviewed literature on N2O emission from...
Authors
Jamshid Ansari, Morgan Davis, Chenhui Li, Sheel Bansal
Sapsucker wells as a keystone nutritional resource: Evaluating methods for detection of secondary sap consumers Sapsucker wells as a keystone nutritional resource: Evaluating methods for detection of secondary sap consumers
North American sapsuckers are considered double keystone species because they (1) excavate nest cavities that are used by other birds, small mammals, and invertebrates, and (2) create and maintain sap wells, a temporary nutritional resource available to a variety of secondary consumers. Most previous reports of secondary sap consumption relied on human observers and were based on either...
Authors
Richard Clawges, Shannon Blair, Jan H. Eitel, Leona Kay Svancara, Lee A. Vierling, Kerri Vierling
Initial responses of songbird communities to forest reclamation on legacy surface mines Initial responses of songbird communities to forest reclamation on legacy surface mines
Surface coal mining and subsequent reclamation efforts in the Appalachian Mountains, USA, transform the ecological characteristics of natural landscapes. The Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA) is a mine reclamation method that emphasizes best management practices in forestry. FRA practices have demonstrated success in establishing native forests and accelerating natural succession on...
Authors
Rebecca N. Davenport, Christopher D. Barton, John J. Cox, Jacquelyn C. Guzy, Lauren Sherman, Jeffery L. Larkin, Todd Fearer, Steven J. Price
Postrelease movements of captive-reared adult Atlantic Salmon in two Maine rivers Postrelease movements of captive-reared adult Atlantic Salmon in two Maine rivers
Objective Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar remain at critically low levels in the United States, with the last remaining populations located in the state of Maine. In 2021, a pilot captive-rearing program, similar to a smolt-to-adult supplementation, was implemented to boost naturally spawning adults in support of recovery goals.Methods We conducted a 2-year acoustic telemetry study to track...
Authors
Carolyn A. Merriam, Danielle Frechette, Joseph D. Zydlewski
Application of a data-limited stock assessment model to understand the historical population of cisco in Lake Erie Application of a data-limited stock assessment model to understand the historical population of cisco in Lake Erie
Historically, cisco (Coregonus artedi) supported one of the largest commercial fisheries in Lake Erie with over 25 million kilograms landed in a single year during the fisheries’ peak in 1912. Like many other coregonines in the Laurentian Great Lakes, the Lake Erie cisco population eventually collapsed and is now considered extirpated. Management interest in restoring coregonine...
Authors
Laura M. Lee, John A. Sweka, Brian Weidel
Confocal laser-scanning microscopy (CLSM)-based thermal maturity of Tasmanites and progress in standardization of fluorescence microspectrometry Confocal laser-scanning microscopy (CLSM)-based thermal maturity of Tasmanites and progress in standardization of fluorescence microspectrometry
Evaluation of thermal maturity in vitrinite-free or vitrinite-deficient sediments via fluorescence microspectrometry can provide relevant information related to petroleum exploration and thermal history assessment. However, variation in spectral fluorescence properties of alginite macerals with increasing thermal maturity is largely underexplored. Here, authors of this study have applied...
Authors
Jolanta Kus, Paul C. Hackley
Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) movement states and backwater use can inform removal efforts Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) movement states and backwater use can inform removal efforts
Expansion of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) within the Laurentian Great Lakes poses significant ecological and economic risks. Suppression efforts to remove grass carp have increased to curtail population growth, but capture efficiency remains low. One management challenge is the lack of understanding how this invasive species is using its novel habitats in the Great Lakes. This...
Authors
Sophia Marie Bonjour, Robert D. Hunter, James J. Roberts, Travis O. Brenden, Scott F. Colborne, Matthew D. Faust, Christine M. Mayer, Robert L. Mapes, Richard Kraus, Robin D. Calfee, Matthew Ross Acre
Longevity, age-specific survival, and mean generation time of Rana muscosa: Implications for conservation of possibly the longest lived Ranid frog Longevity, age-specific survival, and mean generation time of Rana muscosa: Implications for conservation of possibly the longest lived Ranid frog
Life history strategies vary widely among species and play a vital role in extinction risk, especially in a rapidly changing environment. For many taxa, information on life history such as longevity, lifespan, and generation time is incomplete. This is especially true for amphibians, which have experienced large-scale declines in recent decades. The mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana...
Authors
Cynthia Joan Hitchcock, Adam R. Backlin, Amanda Renee Goldberg, Sarah Kay Thomsen, Erin L. Muths, Elizabeth Gallegos, Robert D. Fisher
Tree swallows as indicators of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance exposure and effects at select Department of Defense sites along the East Coast and at sites with different sources in the Upper Midwest, United States Tree swallows as indicators of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance exposure and effects at select Department of Defense sites along the East Coast and at sites with different sources in the Upper Midwest, United States
Questions remain about the distribution of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment, the sources and movement within and between ecosystems, and whether there are effects from such exposure. Information from the Upper Midwest and the mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, which have different PFAS sources, were investigated. Concentrations of Total40 (sum of 40...
Authors
Christine M. Custer, Paul M. Dummer, Sandra L. Schultz, Natalie Karouna-Renier, Cole W. Matson
Experimental warming alters free-living nitrogen fixation in a humid tropical forest Experimental warming alters free-living nitrogen fixation in a humid tropical forest
Microbial nitrogen (N) fixation accounts for c. 97% of natural N inputs to terrestrial ecosystems. These microbes can be free-living in the soil and leaf litter (asymbiotic) or in symbiosis with plants. Warming is expected to increase N-fixation rates because warmer temperatures favor the growth and activity of N-fixing microbes. We investigated the effects of warming on asymbiotic...
Authors
Parker M. Bartz, Iana F. Grullón-Penkova, Molly A. Cavaleri, Sasha C. Reed, Saima Shahid, Tana E. Wood, Benedicte Bachelot