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.
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Regional high-frequency monitoring revealed chloride concentrations in exceedance of ecological benchmarks in urban streams across the Delaware River Basin, USA Regional high-frequency monitoring revealed chloride concentrations in exceedance of ecological benchmarks in urban streams across the Delaware River Basin, USA
Rising chloride concentrations pose critical risks to freshwater stream ecosystems in temperate regions like the Delaware River Basin (DRB), USA, where winter deicer applications (i.e., road salt) are common. Increasing chloride concentrations have been documented in the region, but the extent to which chloride exceeds regulatory benchmarks remains unclear because detection of...
Authors
Rosemary M. Fanelli, Michelle Morency, Brandon J. Fleming, Joel Moore, Deanna Hardesty, Megan E. Shoda
The Benefits Knowledges Learning Framework: A tool for learning across diverse knowledge systems in ecosystem valuation The Benefits Knowledges Learning Framework: A tool for learning across diverse knowledge systems in ecosystem valuation
Sustainable and just environmental management depends on meaningful consideration of the plural values of nature, as they arise in association with diverse worldviews and understandings of well-being. To achieve value pluralism in decision-making, we must also attend to knowledge pluralism, in terms of recognizing the validity and decision relevance of a broader suite of knowledge forms...
Authors
Kristin R. Hoelting, Doreen E. Martinez, Lucas Bair, Rudy Schuster, Michael C. Gavin
Dispersal and survival of sea lamprey in Lake Erie and connected waterways Dispersal and survival of sea lamprey in Lake Erie and connected waterways
Invasive sea lamprey inhabiting the North American Laurentian Great Lakes are the target of the world’s longest running vertebrate invasive species control program. However, metapopulation dynamics comprising survival and dispersal during the sea lampreys’ lake-resident life stages are poorly understood. We applied acoustic telemetry and continuous-time multistate capture-recapture...
Authors
Sean Alois Lewandoski, Christopher Holbrook
Breaking down Palila decline: Assessing the role of drought and vegetation health in the population loss of an endangered Hawaiian honeycreeper Breaking down Palila decline: Assessing the role of drought and vegetation health in the population loss of an endangered Hawaiian honeycreeper
The Palila (Loxioides bailleui), the last member of the once speciose finch-billed Hawaiian honeycreeper clade (Drepanidinae) in the main Hawaiian Islands, faces critical conservation challenges as an endangered species. Understanding the drivers of its decline is essential for effective management. We used additive decomposition models to examine temporal trends in climatic variables...
Authors
Erica M. Gallerani, Richard J. Camp, Paul C. Banko, Austin Madson, Chunyu Dong, Lucas Fortini, Zhimin Ma, Thomas W. Gillespie
U.S. Geological Survey monitoring milestones—Chagrin River at Willoughby, OH (04209000) U.S. Geological Survey monitoring milestones—Chagrin River at Willoughby, OH (04209000)
The Chagrin River at Willoughby, OH (04209000), streamgage is the 1,000th U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgage to reach Centennial status. Centennial Streamgages are USGS streamgages that have been in operation for 100 years or more. Collecting water data since 1925, it celebrated its 100th birthday on August 1, 2025.
Authors
Claire Bunch
Wetland ecohydrology Wetland ecohydrology
Ecohydrology emphasizes the interactions between ecological and hydrological patterns and processes in wetlands. Given that wetlands are fundamentally defined by prolonged saturation or flooding of land, an ecohydrological perspective is implicit in wetland ecology. In this review, we provide examples of how variation in hydrologic processes in space and time influences wetland...
Authors
Mark D. Dixon, W. Carter Johnson, Beth Middleton
Sulfide stress tolerance as a controller of methane production in temperate wetlands Sulfide stress tolerance as a controller of methane production in temperate wetlands
Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions and contribute to the observed increase in atmospheric methane over the last 20 years. Methane production in wetlands is the final step of carbon decomposition performed by anaerobic archaea. Although hydrogen/carbon dioxide and acetate are the substrates most often attributed to methanogenesis, other substrates—such as methylated...
Authors
Emily Bechtold, Jared B. Ellenbogen, Danhui Xin, Marcia Pacheco, Brandy M. Toner, Yu-Ping Chin, William A. Arnold, Sheel Bansal, Michael J. Wilkins
Hiding in plain sight: Genomic characterization of a novel nackednavirus and evidence of diverse adomaviruses in a hyperpigmented lesion of a largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) Hiding in plain sight: Genomic characterization of a novel nackednavirus and evidence of diverse adomaviruses in a hyperpigmented lesion of a largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)
Largemouth bass (LMB; Micropterus nigricans) are popular both as a sportfish and an aquaculture species. At present, six described viruses are associated with LMB, of which two are typically considered in cases of LMB mortality events. Advances in discovery and diagnostic capabilities using next-generation sequencing have augmented surveillance efforts and subsequently led to the...
Authors
Clayton D. Raines, John Odenkirk, Michael Isel, Patricia Mazik, Morgan Alexandra Biggs, Luke Iwanowicz
A synthesis engine for constructing geologic maps of the United States A synthesis engine for constructing geologic maps of the United States
The geologic history of the United States is cataloged in thousands of geologic maps produced during many decades. However, the disparate nature of these individual maps makes it challenging to assess resources, research geologic histories, or characterize natural hazards holistically across the Nation. The U.S. House of Representatives 2020 appropriations bill for the U.S. Department of...
Authors
Samuel Johnstone, Joseph P. Colgan, Warren P. Roe
Streamflow extents and hydraulic characteristics of Meadow Valley Wash at Stuart Ranch, near Rox, Nevada Streamflow extents and hydraulic characteristics of Meadow Valley Wash at Stuart Ranch, near Rox, Nevada
The former Stuart Ranch, now managed by the Bureau of Land Management, is transected by Meadow Valley Wash, where 4,600 feet of perennial stream and adjacent riparian vegetation provide critical habitat for several wildlife and aquatic species protected under the Endangered Species Act. The stream has been altered by prior construction of irrigation diversions, gravel mining, and removal...
Authors
Laura A. Dye, Christopher M. Morris, Hampton K. Childres
A 21st Century butterfly net: Using eDNA to detect the imperiled Dakota skipper A 21st Century butterfly net: Using eDNA to detect the imperiled Dakota skipper
The development of environmental DNA (eDNA) methods for terrestrial arthropods could be transformative for the difficult task of assessing the status of species of conservation concern. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the efficacy of detecting the Dakota skipper (Hesperia dacotae) from its DNA left behind on inflorescences as a means of inferring species presence. We...
Authors
David S. Pilliod, Michaela Ray Grossklaus, Stacie A. Kageyama, Cale Nordmeyer, Jerry Reinisch, Erik Runquist, Stephen Frank Spear
New constraints on location and timing of the Great Lakes tectonic zone, central Upper Peninsula, Michigan, USA New constraints on location and timing of the Great Lakes tectonic zone, central Upper Peninsula, Michigan, USA
The Great Lakes tectonic zone (GLTZ) forms the boundary between the Wawa–Abitibi and Minnesota River Valley subprovinces within the Archean Superior Province. The GLTZ is concealed for all of its 1100 km length, except for a segment in the central Upper Peninsula of Michigan. There, it is exposed as a northwest-striking mylonite zone along a 11 km segment, extending to the onlap of...
Authors
Benjamin J. Drenth, Amanda Souders, William F. Cannon, Jay Michael Thompson