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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Cruise summary—Samoa Basin abyssal mapping—Box coring leg, Pago Pago, Territory of American Samoa to Pago Pago, American Samoa, April 11– May 1, 2026 Cruise summary—Samoa Basin abyssal mapping—Box coring leg, Pago Pago, Territory of American Samoa to Pago Pago, American Samoa, April 11– May 1, 2026
Expedition Summary U.S. Geological Survey scientists led a box coring effort to the Samoa Basin to characterize minerals and the surrounding abyssal sediments and fauna. Thirty-eight box cores were deployed between April 13, 2026, and April 28, 2026. Thirty-six box cores recovered sufficient material to determine nodule density, and 35 recovered sufficient material for subcores to be...
Authors
Amy Gartman, Katlin Bowman Adamczyk, Jason A. Addison, Jill R. Bourque, Beth E. Caissie, Caroline Sarah Caron, Amanda W. Demopoulos, Jaycee Favela, Hope Lee Ianiri, Daniel Charles Powers, Nancy G. Prouty, Jane Anne Rudebusch, Isabelle M. Shapiro
Temperate lake heatwaves accelerate non-linearly as timing synchronizes across a diverse landscape Temperate lake heatwaves accelerate non-linearly as timing synchronizes across a diverse landscape
Temperate lakes are experiencing intensifying heatwaves, or prolonged periods of anomalously warm water, with potentially severe ecological consequences. Previous studies have predominantly used linear trend analyses to understand heatwave dynamics, potentially masking temporal acceleration patterns and shifts in variance. Here, we analyzed long-term, nonlinear trends in heatwave...
Authors
Christopher Jerod Sullivan, L. Zoe Almeida
Digging into soil: Effects of soil texture on RT-QuIC performance for environmental prion surveillance. Digging into soil: Effects of soil texture on RT-QuIC performance for environmental prion surveillance.
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by infectious prions affecting wild and captive cervids. Transmission occurs directly between hosts or indirectly through contact with prion-contaminated environments. Soils, particularly those rich in clay, are hypothesized to enhance prion stability, retention, and bioavailability. Accurate detection of prions is...
Authors
Stephanie J. Katircioglu, Heather N. Inzalaco, Allen Jeffrey Herbst, Daniel J. Storm, Stuart S. Lichtenberg, Rodrigo Morales, Reece McGinn, Daniel P. Walsh, Wendy Christine Turner
Mercury mobilization and export from the Greenland Ice Sheet using an ice-to-ocean approach Mercury mobilization and export from the Greenland Ice Sheet using an ice-to-ocean approach
The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is a poorly constrained source of mercury (Hg) to Arctic ecosystems. We measured Hg concentrations and stable isotopes along an ice-to-ocean continuum to identify controls on GrIS Hg export. Early-season permafrost melt and rainfall produced high filtered total mercury (fTHg, ~17 pM) and monomethylmercury (MMHg, ~2 pM). As subglacial drainage evolved...
Authors
Amina Nikol Youssef, Sarah E. Janssen, Carl Lamborg, Michael T. Tate, Marissa Despins, Eva L. Doting, Brett A. Poulin, David McCabe, Leah M. Hopf, Emma K. Ferrer, Abe Doroshow, Guillaume Lamarche-Gagnon, Ian Delaney, Marjolein Gevers, Jade Hatton, Iris Kubler-Dudgeon, Jack Geary Murphy, Amina T. Schartup, Marek Stibal, Johannes West, Jon R. Hawkings
First report of the flatworm Convolutriloba longifissura (Acoela) affecting a Caribbean coral species in a land-based nursery First report of the flatworm Convolutriloba longifissura (Acoela) affecting a Caribbean coral species in a land-based nursery
Flatworms are widespread in the marine realm, but only a few species parasitize corals. Several of these are considered pests in the aquarium trade, and the invasive potential of these species is a concern. In the Caribbean there are no records to date of flatworms naturally occurring in coral nurseries and/or parasitizing corals in the wild. Here we report, for the first time, a...
Authors
Aine C. Hawthorn, Andreina Rivera, Shamwari Anseeuw-Carrasco, Eric Leis, Maria L. Ceballos Villacampa, Ainhoa L. Zubillaga, Rebecca Garcia-Camps, Aldo Croquer
Holistic understanding of uncertainty for collaborative and proactive global change decision making Holistic understanding of uncertainty for collaborative and proactive global change decision making
Global change is accelerating and pushing the planet's ecosystems beyond the range of historical observations, creating increasing uncertainty in future system conditions. Despite general agreement that proactive environmental action is warranted, environmental decision conversations often end by identifying additional data needed to reduce uncertainty before taking novel action. Given...
Authors
Nicole K. Ward, Aaron D. Shultz, Amanda L. Sesser, Michael W. Price, Dawn R. Magness, Abigail J. Lynch, Jonathan F. Hansen, Kelly G. Guilbeau
Background and geologic model for the 2024 U.S. Geological Survey assessment of undiscovered conventional petroleum resources in the Norphlet Formation, U.S. Gulf Coast Background and geologic model for the 2024 U.S. Geological Survey assessment of undiscovered conventional petroleum resources in the Norphlet Formation, U.S. Gulf Coast
The Upper Jurassic Norphlet Formation is a stratigraphic unit located in the subsurface of the United States Gulf coastal plain and offshore Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico). The Norphlet consists of clastic sediments derived from the southern Appalachian highlands, and was deposited in a continental dryland setting on the margins of the early Gulf of America rift basin. The formation...
Authors
John W. Counts
Postglacial ecosystem development of a hydrothermal landscape in Yellowstone National Park Postglacial ecosystem development of a hydrothermal landscape in Yellowstone National Park
The Yellowstone geo-ecosystem has been the subject of much research, but the ecological history of the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field and its iconic geyser basins is less known. In this investigation, paleoenvironmental analyses of sediment cores from lakes in Lower Geyser Basin were compared with regional records and paleoclimate model simulations to reconstruct the vegetation...
Authors
Cathy Whitlock, Christopher M. Schiller, Steven W. Hostetler, Shaul Hurwitz, Mio Alt, Sabrina R. Brown, Lauren N. Harrison, Jay R. Alder, Kailey Busch, Jake Shelly, David B. McWethy
Tectonic controls on volcanism and associated hydrothermal activity in a sediment-dominated mid-ocean ridge; Escanaba Trough Tectonic controls on volcanism and associated hydrothermal activity in a sediment-dominated mid-ocean ridge; Escanaba Trough
Mid-ocean ridges, the Earth's most extensive volcanic system, exhibit unique characteristics in sediment-dominant environments. Thick sediment cover insulates the crust and channels fluid along pathways that can lead to the formation of distinct crustal alteration patterns, exceptionally large mineral deposits, and specialized chemosynthetic ecosystems. This study presents an...
Authors
Chris Galley, John Jamieson, Amy Gartman, Isobel Yeo, Masako Tominaga, Maurice Tivey, Carlos Braga, Laura Moore, Sharon Walker
Adaptation and response in drylands: A dryland research agenda and campaign strategy Adaptation and response in drylands: A dryland research agenda and campaign strategy
Dryland ecosystems cover 41% of Earth's land surfaces, account for 44% of cultivated lands and 60% of food sources, and make large contributions to the global water and carbon cycles. However, these ecosystems are experiencing unprecedented extremes including heatwaves, floods, and droughts as well as hotter temperatures and often declining water resource availability. These ecosystems...
Authors
Andrew F. Feldman, Sasha C. Reed, Konrad Wessels, Dennis S. Ojima, David J.P. Moore, William K. Smith, Niall P. Hanan, Cibele Amaral, Flurin Babst, Joel A. Biederman, Marcy Litvak, Natasha MacBean, Benjamin Poulter, Russell L. Scott, Alicja Babst-Kostecka, Julia K. Green, Raymond F. Kokaly, Ryan Pavlick, Robert Swap, Shawn P. Serbin, Compton J. Tucker, Lixin Wang, Jennifer D. Watts, Alejandro Flores, James Rattling Leaf Sr., Sativa Cruz, Nikki Tulley, Robert A. Washington-Allen, Karen Prentice, Emily Kachergis, Julian Reyes, Jasmine Ryan, Michael D. SanClements, Henry W. Loescher, Allison K. Leidner, Tyson Swetnam
Beaver dam analogs as nature-based solutions to mitigate snowpack loss in northern New Mexico Beaver dam analogs as nature-based solutions to mitigate snowpack loss in northern New Mexico
Reductions in snow have left many streams in northern New Mexico dry or with very low flows during the summer. Base flow, defined as the contribution of groundwater to streamflow, can sustain streamflow during the summer and during drought conditions. Beaver dam analogs can be used to “slow the flow,” or increase the infiltration of rain-based runoff to replenish shallow groundwater...
Authors
David Moeser, Benjamin Linhoff, Justin Nichols, Jake Kurzweil
Triple oxygen isotope compositions of isotopic reference waters: Implications for VSMOW-Scale and VSMOW-SLAP-Scale Δ′¹⁷O calibration Triple oxygen isotope compositions of isotopic reference waters: Implications for VSMOW-Scale and VSMOW-SLAP-Scale Δ′¹⁷O calibration
Triple oxygen isotope ratios of waters are commonly reported on the VSMOW–SLAP scale, whereas comparison with theoretical calculations and assessment of instrumental scale distortion require accurate constraints on the measured isotopic compositions of the primary isotopic reference materials (iRMs) themselves. In particular, the measured δ17OVSMOW and Δ′17OVSMOW values for SLAP and its...
Authors
Ryoji Tanaka, Andreas Pack, Tyler B. Coplen