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: 175589
Seismically detected cratering on Mars: Enhanced recent impact flux? Seismically detected cratering on Mars: Enhanced recent impact flux?
Seismic observations of impacts on Mars indicate a higher impact flux than previously measured. Using six confirmed seismic impact detections near the NASA InSight lander and two distant large impacts, we calculate appropriate scalings to compare these rates with lunar-based chronology models. We also update the impact rate from orbital observations using the most recent catalog of new...
Authors
Ingrid J. Daubar, Raphael F. Garcia, Alexander E. Stott, Benjamin Fernando, Gareth S. Collins, Colin M. Dundas, Natalia Wojcicka, Geraldine Zenhausern, Alfred S. McEwen, Simon C. Stahler, Matthew P. Golombek, Constantinos Charalambous, Domenico Giardini, Philippe Lognonne, W. Bruce Banerdt
The National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy The National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy
President Biden has been clear that the ocean is central to life on Earth. As he has proclaimed, “the ocean powers millions of jobs; feeds and sustains us; and is a rejuvenating source of inspiration, exploration, and recreation.” The Biden-Harris Administration has worked hard to fulfill the President’s goal to protect and conserve at least 30% of U.S. waters by 2030. The ocean faces...
Authors
Gabrielle Canonico, J. Emmett Duffy, Masha Edmonson, Katie Fillingham, Abigail Benson, Kelsey Bisson, Amanda Demopoulos, Beth Hinchey, Katsumi Matsumoto, Chris Meyer, James Price, Elaine Shen, Woody Turner, Mike Weise, Andrea Vander Woude, Lauren Wenzel
Coyote use of prairie dog colonies is most frequent in areas used by American badgers Coyote use of prairie dog colonies is most frequent in areas used by American badgers
The consequences of intraguild predation on vulnerable subordinate species are an important consideration in the recovery of endangered species. In prairie ecosystems, coyotes (Canis latrans) are the primary predator of endangered black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes; hereafter, ferrets) and presumably compete for prairie dog (Cynomys spp.) prey. Coyote predation of ferrets is thought...
Authors
Rebecca Windell, Larissa L. Bailey, Travis Livieri, David A. Eads, Dean E. Biggins, Stewart Breck
Evaluating post-wildfire debris-flow rainfall thresholds and volume models at the 2020 Grizzly Creek Fire in Glenwood Canyon, Colorado, USA Evaluating post-wildfire debris-flow rainfall thresholds and volume models at the 2020 Grizzly Creek Fire in Glenwood Canyon, Colorado, USA
As wildfire increases in the western United States, so do postfire debris-flow hazards. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed two separate models to estimate (1) rainfall intensity thresholds for postfire debris-flow initiation and (2) debris-flow volumes. However, the information necessary to test the accuracy of these models is seldom available. Here, we studied how well...
Authors
Francis K. Rengers, Samuel Bower, Andrew Knapp, Jason W. Kean, Danielle W. vonLembke, Matthew A. Thomas, Jaime Kostelnik, Katherine R. Barnhart, Matthew Bethel, Joseph E. Gartner, Madeline Hille, Dennis M. Staley, Justin K. Anderson, Elizabeth K. Roberts, Stephen B. DeLong, Belize Lane, Paxton Ridgeway, Brendan Murphy
Pasture and diurnal temperature are key predictors of regional Plains Spotted Skunk (Spilogale interrupta) distribution Pasture and diurnal temperature are key predictors of regional Plains Spotted Skunk (Spilogale interrupta) distribution
The Plains Spotted Skunk (Spilogale interrupta) is a small carnivore native to central North America that has experienced significant population reductions, and there is a lack of information about the species that could inform conservation. Our study aimed to address knowledge gaps about the distribution and habitat associations of the species in South Dakota using species distribution...
Authors
Kara M. White, Amanda E. Cheeseman, Joshua D. Stafford, Robert Charles Lonsinger
Climate, food and humans predict communities of mammals in the United States Climate, food and humans predict communities of mammals in the United States
Aim The assembly of species into communities and ecoregions is the result of interacting factors that affect plant and animal distribution and abundance at biogeographic scales. Here, we empirically derive ecoregions for mammals to test whether human disturbance has become more important than climate and habitat resources in structuring communities.Location Conterminous United States...
Authors
Roland Kays, Matthew H. Snider, George Hess, Michael V. Cove, Alex Jensen, Hila Shamon, William J. McShea, Brigit Rooney, Maximilian L. Allen, Charles E. Pekins, Christopher C. Wilmers, Mary E. Pendergast, Austin M. Green, Justin Suraci, Matthew S. Leslie, Sophie Nasrallah, Dan Farkas, Mark Jordan, Melissa Grigione, Michael LaScaleia, Miranda L. Davis, Chris Hansen, Josh Millspaugh, Jesse S. Lewis, Michael Havrda, Robert Long, Kathryn R. Remine, Kodi J. Jaspers, Diana J. R. Lafferty, Tru Hubbard, Colin E. Studds, Erika L. Barthelmess, Katherine Andy, Andrea Romero, Brian J. O’Neill, Melissa T.R. Hawkins, Jason V. Lombardi, Maksim Sergeyev, M. Caitlin Fisher-Reid, Michael S. Rentz, Christopher Nagy, Jon D Davenport, Christine C. Rega-Brodsky, Cara L. Appel, Damon B. Lesmeister, Sean T. Giery, Christopher A. Whittier, Jesse M. Alston, Chris Sutherland, Christopher Rota, Thomas Murphy, Thomas E. Lee, Alessio Mortelliti, Dylan L. Bergman, Justin A. Compton, Brian D. Gerber, Jess Burr, Kylie Rezendes, Brett Alexander DeGregorio, Nathaniel H. Wehr, John F. Benson, M. Teague O’Mara, David S. Jachowski, Morgan Gray, Dean E. Beyer, Jerrold L. Belant, Robert V. Horan, Robert Charles Lonsinger, Kellie M. Kuhn, Steven C. M. Hasstedt, Marketa Zimova, Sophie M. Moore, Daniel J. Herrera, Sarah Fritts, Andrew J. Edelman, Elizabeth A. Flaherty, Tyler R. Petroelje, Sean A. Neiswenter, Derek R. Risch, Fabiola Iannarilli, Marius van der Merwe, Sean P. Maher, Zach J. Farris, Stephen L. Webb, David S. Mason, Marcus A. Lashley, Andrew M. Wilson, John P. Vanek, Samuel R. Wehr, L. Mike Conner, James C. Beasley, Helen L. Bontrager, Carolina Baruzzi, Susan N. Ellis-Felege, Mike D. Proctor, Jan Schipper, Katherine Weiss, Andrea K. Darracq, Evan G. Barr, Peter D. Alexander, Cagan H. Sekercioglu, Daniel A. Bogan, Christopher M. Schalk, Jean E. Fantle-Lepczyk, Christopher A. Lepczyk, Scott LaPoint, Laura S. Whipple, Helen Ivy Rowe, Kayleigh Mullen, Tori Bird, Adam Zorn, LaRoy Brandt, Richard G. Lathrop, Craig McCain, Anthony P. Crupi, James Clark, Arielle Parsons
Total phosphorus and suspended-sediment concentrations and loads from two main tributaries to Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, 2014–20 Total phosphorus and suspended-sediment concentrations and loads from two main tributaries to Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, 2014–20
Total phosphorus (TP) and suspended-sediment concentrations (SSC) and loads were computed at two U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgages in the upper Klamath River Basin on the Sprague (USGS site ID 11501000) and Williamson (USGS site ID 11502500) Rivers using high temporal resolution turbidity and streamflow data to develop surrogate regression models. Regression models were updated...
Authors
Liam N. Schenk, Caelan Simeone
An integrated perspective of paleoenvironmental change in the Western Interior Seaway before and during OAE-2 reveals how organic-rich mudstones form in dynamic environments An integrated perspective of paleoenvironmental change in the Western Interior Seaway before and during OAE-2 reveals how organic-rich mudstones form in dynamic environments
Organic and inorganic geochemistry was integrated with sedimentology from the Eagle Ford Group in the U.S. Geological Survey Gulf Coast-3 drill core to investigate why organic matter enrichment and anoxia predate the Cenomanian–Turonian oceanic anoxic event (OAE-2) at the southern Western Interior Seaway (WIS). The relationship between the degree of organic matter sulfurization and...
Authors
Katherine L. French, Jason A. Flaum, Justin E. Birdwell
Geographic principles applied to population dynamics: A spatially interpolated integrated population model Geographic principles applied to population dynamics: A spatially interpolated integrated population model
A major impediment to wildlife conservation and management, from a quantitative perspective, is dealing with high degrees of uncertainty associated with population estimates. Integrated population models (IPMs) can help alleviate that challenge, but they are often limited to narrow spatial or temporal windows owing to the financial and logistical burdens of acquiring requisite datasets...
Authors
Brian G. Prochazka, Peter S. Coates, Shawn T. O’Neil, Shawn P. Espinosa, Cameron L. Aldridge
Factors influencing larval coregonine spatial distribution in Lake Geneva (Europe) and Lake Superior (North America) during a single season near known spawning sites Factors influencing larval coregonine spatial distribution in Lake Geneva (Europe) and Lake Superior (North America) during a single season near known spawning sites
Survival rate of the larval stage is an important driver of fish recruitment. To understand mechanisms regulating larval survival it is important to understand the relative importance of abiotic and biotic factors that shape larval spatial distributions. We studied larval Coregonus distributions in surface waters (surface to 1 m) by repeatedly sampling study sites in two lakes that...
Authors
Jamie A. Dobosenski, Daniel L. Yule, Jean Guillard, Orlane Anneville, Edmund J. Isaac, Jason D. Stockwell, Jared T. Myers, Amanda Susanne Ackiss, Rosaura J. Chapina, Seth A. Moore
Metal release from manganese nodules in anoxic seawater and implications for deep-sea mining dewatering operations Metal release from manganese nodules in anoxic seawater and implications for deep-sea mining dewatering operations
The potential mining of deep-sea polymetallic nodules has been gaining increasing attention due to their enrichment in metals essential for a low-carbon future. To date, there have been few scientific studies concerning the geochemical consequences of dewatered mining waste discharge into the pelagic water column, which can inform best practices in future mining operations. Here, we...
Authors
Yang Xiang, Janelle M. Steffen, Phoebe J. Lam, Amy Gartman, Kira Mizell, Jessica N. Fitzsimmons
Detection of periodic peaks in Karenia brevis concentration consistent with the time-delay logistic equation Detection of periodic peaks in Karenia brevis concentration consistent with the time-delay logistic equation
The logistic equation models single-species population growth with a sigmoid curve that begins as exponential and ends with an asymptotic approach to a final population determined by natural system carrying capacity. But the population of a natural system often does not stabilize as it approaches carrying capacity. Instead, it exhibits periodic change, sometimes with very large...
Authors
Bruce E. Kurtz, James E. Landmeyer, James K. Culter