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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Age and colony variation in Adélie penguin metapopulation vital rates: Insights from a 25-year mark–recapture study Age and colony variation in Adélie penguin metapopulation vital rates: Insights from a 25-year mark–recapture study
Understanding how vital rates vary with age, life-history stage, and among populations is fundamental for predicting the demographic consequences of environmental change, especially in longer-lived species with complex life histories. These species often exhibit delayed maturity and iteroparity, making nuanced demographic insights critical for assessing their long-term viability. This...
Authors
Katie M. Dugger, Grant Ballard, Kerry J Barton, Amélie Lescroël, Phil O’B. Lyver, Annie E. Schmidt, Ainley G. David
Numerical modeling of Late Pleistocene to Holocene earthquake-induced progressive rock slope damage in the paraglacial Serpentine valley, Prince William Sound, Alaska Numerical modeling of Late Pleistocene to Holocene earthquake-induced progressive rock slope damage in the paraglacial Serpentine valley, Prince William Sound, Alaska
Landslides in deglaciating fjords pose a potential tsunami threat to nearby communities; however, processes contributing to long-term progressive rock damage and landslide conditioning remain poorly constrained in paraglacial settings. Here, we analyse the role of earthquake-induced rock mass damage over late Pleistocene to Holocene time scales, as a conditioning factor for modern...
Authors
Molly E. McCreary, Jeffrey R. Moore, Erin K. Jensen, Valentin S. Gischig, Dennis M. Staley, Brian D. Collins
Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the central Arabian Peninsula, 2026 Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the central Arabian Peninsula, 2026
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean conventional resources of 13.3 billion barrels of oil and 111 trillion cubic feet of gas in the central Arabian Peninsula.
Authors
Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Phuong A. Le, Andrea D. Cicero, Sarah E. Gelman, Jane S. Hearon, Benjamin G. Johnson, Jenny H. Lagesse, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller
Towards a refined definition of “tidal influence” for the coastal wetland sciences Towards a refined definition of “tidal influence” for the coastal wetland sciences
The astronomical tide relates to lunar (and to a lesser extent solar) influences on rising and falling water bodies, and is a key control of many coastal processes. However, tides manifest along coastal margins in different ways to muddle application beyond Sir Isaac Newton’s first descriptions. Here, we argue that tide, or specifically “tidal,” has not been adequately defined for the...
Authors
Ken W. Krauss, Laura S. Brophy, Judith Z. Drexler, Jeffrey A. Kelleway, Janine B. Adams, Havalend E. Steinmuller, Gregory B. Noe, Michael J. Osland, Jamie A. Duberstein, Kurt P. Kowalski, Amanda L. McCutcheon, Kaile'a M. Annandale, Daniel A. Friess, Eric E. Grossman, Kristin B. Byrd, Kevin J. Buffington, Joel A. Carr, Nicholas M. Enwright, Camille L. Stagg, Davina L. Passeri, Stephanie S. Romanach, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, James B. Grace, Christopher G. Smith, Justine A. Neville, Karen M. Thorne, Brian J. Roberts
Applying a metapopulation model to compare native and invasive fish passage scenarios in the Upper Mississippi River Applying a metapopulation model to compare native and invasive fish passage scenarios in the Upper Mississippi River
The U.S. Geological Survey assessed the ability of metapopulation models to evaluate population-level effects of fish passage projects in the Upper Mississippi River for six native species: Ictalurus furcatus (Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1840; blue catfish), Ictiobus cyprinellus (Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1844; bigmouth buffalo), Acipenser fulvescens...
Authors
Morganne Borsh, Charles J. Labuzzetta, Marybeth K. Brey, Mark Cornish, Alison Coulter, Andrea K. Fritts, David Smith, Richard A. Erickson
Satellite embeddings for crop type classification: A comparative examination Satellite embeddings for crop type classification: A comparative examination
Embedding datasets encode complex relationships among multiple sources of Earth observation data into a compact format. Here, we evaluated the utility of a 10-m global Satellite Embedding product (SE) for classifying crop types in central California for the year 2020. We compared the classification accuracy of a random forest model based exclusively on the SE layer to an existing random...
Authors
Britt Windsor Smith, Jessica J. Walker, Christopher E. Soulard
SlideDetect: Spatio-temporal landslide detection using a three-dimensional convolutional neural network SlideDetect: Spatio-temporal landslide detection using a three-dimensional convolutional neural network
Landslides pose a serious and ongoing threat to both human lives and infrastructure worldwide; therefore, it is of interest to predict where and when landslides are likely to occur. Advances in machine learning techniques have spurred numerous studies aimed at estimating relative landslide propensity, but are limited to spatial (as opposed to temporal) prediction due to the sparsity of...
Authors
Max Sutton, Benjamin B. Mirus, George Hilley
Ductile and brittle Rio Grande Rift deformation in Oligocene granite records a two-stage rift history in southern Colorado Ductile and brittle Rio Grande Rift deformation in Oligocene granite records a two-stage rift history in southern Colorado
The timing and nature of early deformation in the Rio Grande Rift remains poorly constrained. We present evidence for the earliest structural signature of rift extension in the Sangre de Cristo Range, southern Colorado, based on new geologic mapping, structural analysis, rock magnetic data, and thermochronology. These analyses focus on the ~30.0 Ma granite of Chokecherry Canyon, which...
Authors
Samantha Malavarca, John Singleton, Mark R. Hudson, Gabrielle Ursin, Jeffrey M. Rahl, Martin Wong, Miriam Primus, Hunter Broeder
Key minerals in energy transmission Key minerals in energy transmission
The electrical grid relies on minerals with unique properties to transform, transmit, and convert electricity. Transmission needs are growing—to support the expansion of data centers and link diverse energy resources into the grid. This expansion will require greater quantities of minerals. Although some minerals are produced in the United States, the United States relies on imports for...
Authors
Eliza H. Malakoff
Listening for extinction: Range-wide occupancy highlights critical risks and priorities for northern spotted owls Listening for extinction: Range-wide occupancy highlights critical risks and priorities for northern spotted owls
The northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) continues to decline across its range, threatened by habitat disturbances and invasive barred owls (Strix varia). We conducted a range-wide spotted owl occupancy assessment using 2.1 million h of passive acoustic recordings from 4081 survey stations within 1027 randomly selected 5-km2 hexagons across six physiographic regions...
Authors
Damon B. Lesmeister, Julianna M.A. Jenkins, Raymond J. Davis, Natalie M. Rugg, Cara L. Appel, Larissa L. Bailey, Erin Bayne, Chestnut Tara, Leila S. Duchac, Katie M. Dugger, Taylor D. Ellis, Alan B. Franklin, Scott A. Gremel, Aaron Henderson, Edward Henson, J. Mark Higley, James E. Hines, Bruce A. Hollen, William L. Kendall, Taal Levi, Darryl I. MacKenzie, Christopher E. McCafferty, Thomas Munger, David Press, Caroline Provost, Suzanne Reffler, Zachary J. Ruff, James K. Swingle, Erica Tevini, Alaina D. Thomas, Matthew J. Weldy, Kirsten Wert, Angela White, Charles B. Yackulic
Comparative crop yield forecasting using satellite-derived biophysical and agro-climatic predictors in Sub-Saharan Africa Comparative crop yield forecasting using satellite-derived biophysical and agro-climatic predictors in Sub-Saharan Africa
Timely and accurate crop yield forecasting is central to food security early warning systems, particularly in climate-vulnerable regions. While operational forecasting frameworks commonly rely on precipitation and vegetation indices such as NDVI, their ability to provide actionable lead time remains limited. Here, we evaluate the added value of satellite-derived biophysical Essential...
Authors
Barnali Das, Shraddhanand Shukla, Frank Davenport, Greg Husak, Chris Funk, Karyn Tabor, James Rowland, Michael Budde, James Verdin
Morphodynamics of snow barchans at Concordia Station, Antarctica Morphodynamics of snow barchans at Concordia Station, Antarctica
Barchans are crescent-shaped dunes that form and migrate under unimodal wind regimes in areas of low sediment availability. While sand barchan morphodynamics has been extensively studied, snow barchans remain poorly documented. Here, using hourly time-series images taken near Concordia Station, Antarctica, we measure the sizes (lengths 0.3 m to 13 m, widths 0.4 m to 7.5 m) and migration...
Authors
Marine Poizat, Jeanne Alkalla, Ghislain Picard, Laurent Arnaud, Daniel J. Nowacki, Simon Filhol, Eric Lefebvre, Clément Narteau