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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Sundial: A method for inferring image acquisition time from shadow orientation Sundial: A method for inferring image acquisition time from shadow orientation
Aerial photography and satellite imagery can be used to characterize landscape change over time and help to understand how these changes are related to climate and hydrology. Publicly available optical imagery from sources such as the United States National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP) is particularly valuable in this context due to its high temporal and spatial resolution...
Authors
Inhyeok Bae, Carl J. Legleiter, Elowyn Yager
Scenario projections of COVID-19 burden in the US, 2024-2025 Scenario projections of COVID-19 burden in the US, 2024-2025
Importance COVID-19 remains a disease with high burden in the US, prompting continued debate about optimal targets for annual vaccination. Objective To project COVID-19 burden in the US for April 2024 to April 2025 under 6 scenarios of immune escape (20% and 50% per year) and levels of vaccine recommendation (no recommendation, vaccination for individuals at high risk only, vaccination...
Authors
Sara L Loo, Sung-mok Jung, Lucie Contamin, Emily Howerton, Samantha Bents, Harry Hochheiser, Michael Runge, Claire P. Smith, Erica Carcelén, Katie Yan, Joseph C. Lemaitre, Emily Przykucki, Clif McKee, Koji Sato, Allison Hill, Matteo Chinazzi, Jessica T. Davis, Clara Bay, Alessandro Vespignani, Shi Chen, Rajib Paul, Daniel Janies, Jean-Claude Thill, Sean Moore, T. Alex Perkins, Ajitesh Srivastava, Majd Al Aawar, Kaiming Bi, Shraddha Ramdas Bandekar, Anass Bouchnita, Spencer Fox, Lauren Ancel Meyers, Przemyslaw Porebski, Srinivasan Venkatramanan, Bryan Lewis, Jiangzhuo Chen, Madhav Marathe, Michal Ben-Nun, James Turtle, Pete Riley, Katriona Shea, Cécile Viboud, Justin Lessler, Shaun Truelove
Evaluating freshwater mussel sampling methodologies using a simulation model Evaluating freshwater mussel sampling methodologies using a simulation model
Field surveys form the basis of many research efforts and are the foundation for estimates of population size and density that inform conservation and management practices for imperiled species. As a result, evaluating the performance of different survey methods across a range of conditions that may be encountered in the field can increase understanding of the time and effort that may be...
Authors
Iris R. Foxfoot, Kiara C. Cushway, Astrid N. Schwalb, David R. Smith, Todd M. Swannack
Native crayfish shows high desiccation tolerance and potential to outcompete invader Native crayfish shows high desiccation tolerance and potential to outcompete invader
Biological invasions threaten global biodiversity, with aquatic systems being particularly susceptible. Invasive crayfish drive native crayfish imperilment in North America and worldwide. Despite the probable increase in extreme hydrological events, the synergistic effects from invasive species and drought on crayfish are understudied. The invasion of Faxonius neglectus chaenodactylus in...
Authors
Leah M. Bayer, Daniel D. Magoulick
Reservoir operational strategies for sustainable sand management in the Colorado River Reservoir operational strategies for sustainable sand management in the Colorado River
Climate change and increasing societal demands for water pose challenges for the management of dam-regulated rivers. Management decisions impact the environment of these rivers, creating the need to balance societal needs with environmental conservation. Here we present a modeling framework that optimizes resource benefits within imposed water use goals for the Colorado River in Grand...
Authors
Gerard Lewis Salter, David J. Topping, Jianghao Wang, John C. Schmidt, Charles Yackulic, Lucas Bair, Erich R. Mueller, Paul E. Grams
Effects of dietary selenium on the amphipod Hyalella azteca and the midge Chironomus dilutus Effects of dietary selenium on the amphipod Hyalella azteca and the midge Chironomus dilutus
Chronic selenium (Se) water quality criteria are based primarily on dietary organoselenium exposure and subsequent reproductive effects in fish. Available chronic Se toxicity data suggests that invertebrates are less sensitive than fish, but chronic invertebrate studies are limited. We evaluated yeast-based diets for chronic toxicity studies with Hyalella azteca and Chironomus dilutus...
Authors
John M. Besser, Danielle M. Cleveland, David D. Harper, Rebecca A. Dorman, Aida Farag
Habitat features influencing waterbird use of managed wetlands enrolled in a public-private partnership for land conservation: The California Waterfowl Habitat Program Habitat features influencing waterbird use of managed wetlands enrolled in a public-private partnership for land conservation: The California Waterfowl Habitat Program
Draining, water diversion, and development have greatly reduced the availability of freshwater wetland habitat around the world, and many remaining wetlands are on private lands. Public–private partnership programs can be an important means for promoting habitat conservation and management on private lands. We investigated bird use of 117 wetlands enrolled in the California Waterfowl...
Authors
C. Alex Hartman, Joshua T. Ackerman, Sarah H. Peterson, Brady Lynn Fettig, Mark P. Herzog
Interrogating process deficiencies in large-scale hydrologic models with interpretable machine learning Interrogating process deficiencies in large-scale hydrologic models with interpretable machine learning
Large-scale hydrologic models are increasingly being developed for operational use in the forecasting and planning of water resources. However, the predictive strength of such models depends on how well they resolve various functions of catchment hydrology, which are influenced by gradients in climate, topography, soils, and land use. Most assessments of hydrologic model uncertainty have...
Authors
Admin Husic, John Christopher Hammond, Adam N. Price, Joshua Roundy
A glimpse into the future of tectonic tremor monitoring A glimpse into the future of tectonic tremor monitoring
Tectonic tremor is a weak, long-duration seismic signal often observed in subduction zones and on some other plate-bounding faults. Because of tremor's characteristically low amplitude (and low signal-to-noise) and lack of clear phase arrivals, detecting and locating tremor usually requires techniques distinct from those applied to typical earthquakes. Major advances in detection and...
Authors
David R. Shelly
Reduced Atlantic reef growth past 2 °C warming amplifies sea-level impacts Reduced Atlantic reef growth past 2 °C warming amplifies sea-level impacts
Coral reefs form complex physical structures that can help to mitigate coastal flooding risk1,2. This function will be reduced by sea-level rise (SLR) and impaired reef growth caused by climate change and local anthropogenic stressors3. Water depths above reef surfaces are projected to increase as a result, but the magnitudes and timescales of this increase are poorly constrained, which...
Authors
Chris T. Perry, Didier de Bakker, Alice Webb, Steeve Comeau, Ben Harvey, Chris Cornwall, Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip, Esmerelda Perez-Cervantes, John T Morris, Ian C. Enochs, Lauren Toth, Aaron O'Dea, Erin M. Dillon, Erik H, Meesters, William F. Precht
Sources of water and salts for the Zuni Salt Lake in west-central New Mexico Sources of water and salts for the Zuni Salt Lake in west-central New Mexico
The Zuni Salt Lake is located in a maar in west-central New Mexico and contains hypersaline water that has long been used by Native Americans for religious purposes and the collection of salt. There have been several investigations suggesting different sources for the water and salt to the lake. Springs, seeps, and ephemeral streamflow have all been observed to contribute freshwater to...
Authors
Andrew J. Robertson, Jeff D. Pepin, Erin L. Gray, Jake W. Collison, Jeb E. Brown, Andre Ritchie, Grady Ball
Energetic value of Arctic forage-sized fish with implications for a nearshore seabird predator Energetic value of Arctic forage-sized fish with implications for a nearshore seabird predator
Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida, also called polar cod) are considered the single most important Arctic forage fish due to their high abundance and nutritional quality. Because Arctic cod are strongly ice associated and prefer colder waters, their frequency in coastal waters has declined with warming, decreasing availability to nearshore predators. To consider the nutritional quality of...
Authors
Ashley E. Stanek, Brian D. Uher-Koch, Kenneth H. Dunton, Vanessa R. von Biela