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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The damability function: A probabilistic approach to regional landslide dam susceptibility analysis applied to the Oregon Coast Range, USA The damability function: A probabilistic approach to regional landslide dam susceptibility analysis applied to the Oregon Coast Range, USA
Landslides can dam rivers and require rapid response to mitigate catastrophic outburst floods. Here, we present a workflow to map landslide dam formation susceptibility at a regional scale. We define a probabilistic function that combines river valley width and landslide volume to efficiently determine the likelihood of a landslide dam or “damability”. We combine damability values with...
Authors
Paul M Morgan, Alex R. Grant, William Struble, Sean Richard LaHusen, Alison R. Duvall
Ground-motion characterization for the 2025 U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands Ground-motion characterization for the 2025 U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
We develop the ground-motion characterization (GMC) for the 2025 U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (NSHM-PRVI) for earthquakes in active crustal, subduction interface, and subduction intraslab regimes. Using ground-motion models (GMMs) from the Next-Generation Attenuation (NGA)-West2 and NGA-Subduction projects, the GMC is parameterized by...
Authors
Morgan P. Moschetti, Brad T. Aagaard, Kyle B. Withers, Kevin Ross Milner, Jason M. Altekruse, Julie A. Herrick, Peter M. Powers, Sanaz Rezaeian, Allison M. Shumway, William J. Stephenson
Characterizing changes in postfire debris-flow hazard as burned areas recover Characterizing changes in postfire debris-flow hazard as burned areas recover
Emergency assessments of postfire debris-flow hazards that are performed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provide estimates of debris-flow likelihood and rainfall triggering conditions that are used for evaluating and managing runoff-generated debris-flow hazards in recently burned areas throughout the western United States. Although the immediate postfire period, within roughly one...
Authors
Andrew Paul Graber, Matthew A. Thomas, Jason W. Kean, Jonathan Michael King, Jaime Kostelnik
Analyses of meteorological and hydrological records support Tribal members’ accounts of changing climate on the Fort Apache Reservation, east–central Arizona Analyses of meteorological and hydrological records support Tribal members’ accounts of changing climate on the Fort Apache Reservation, east–central Arizona
The Fort Apache Reservation in east–central Arizona, home to the White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation, Arizona, contains several climate zones because of the large variation in surface elevation within the reservation. This study was carried out in cooperation with the White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation, Arizona, to raise awareness of how the...
Authors
Jon P. Mason
Poor population recovery of Lake Washington Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in Pacific Northwestern USA may be associated with disease caused by Ceratonova shasta in an urban-influenced watershed Poor population recovery of Lake Washington Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in Pacific Northwestern USA may be associated with disease caused by Ceratonova shasta in an urban-influenced watershed
Understanding the effects of anthropogenic changes on fish disease is vital for supporting mitigative actions for fisheries population recovery. The Lake Washington watershed in the Pacific Northwestern United States is influenced by high urban development and climate change, compromising the sustainability of anadromous salmon. We investigated Ceratonova shasta, a myxozoan parasite, in...
Authors
Jan Lovy, Sophie Amanda Hall, Carl O. Ostberg, Justin Blaine Greer, Dorothy M. Chase, Genevieve M. Kent, Timothy J. Kuzan, Carla M. Conway
Rapid expansion of genotype D1.1 A(H5N1) influenza viruses in wild birds across North America during the 2024 migratory season Rapid expansion of genotype D1.1 A(H5N1) influenza viruses in wild birds across North America during the 2024 migratory season
In late 2021, high pathogenicity avian influenza A(H5N1) clade 2.3.4.4b viruses entered North America and reassorted rapidly with local avian influenza viruses. In September 2024, we detected a new reassortant later classified as genotype D1.1. Using active and passive avian influenza surveillance across Canada and the USA, we tracked the emergence and rapid spread of D1.1 viruses in...
Authors
Walter N. Harrington, Anthony Signore, Lisa Kercher, Jolene A. Giacinti, Ahmed Kandeil, Christina A. Ahlstrom, Sarah N. Bevins, Beate Crossley, Tom P. Fabrizio, Trushar Jeevan, Julianna B. Lenoch, Jacqueline M. Nolting, Daniel Rejmanek, David E. Stallknecht, Trent Bollinger, Evan J. Buck, Deborah Carter, Bradley S. Cohen, Krista E. Dilione, Jamie C. Feddersen, John Franks, Dayna Goldsmith, Cory J. Highway, Chelsea Himsworth, Lydia P. Holmes, Claire M. Jardine, Mohammad Jawad Jahid, Paul K. Link, Lance Miller, Nicole M. Nemeth, Madison Owsiany, Margo J. Pybus, Laura C. Scott, Christopher Sharp, Lauren Smith, Nathan J. Steelman, Brian Stevens, Yohannes Berhane, Mia K. Torchetti, Andrew M. Ramey, Rebecca L. Poulson, Richard J. Webby
Cenozoic distributed volcanism of the Arabia Plate—A review Cenozoic distributed volcanism of the Arabia Plate—A review
Cenozoic volcanic rocks of the Arabia Plate cover about 140,000 square kilometers across a distance of about 3,000 kilometers from southern Yemen to southeastern Turkey. The majority of volcanic products are alkali basalts that erupted in restricted areas, commonly over periods of a million or more years, building mafic lava fields, each known in Arabic as a “harrat.” Harrat volcanism...
Authors
Thomas W. Sisson, Andrew T. Calvert
Hydrological control on soil redox condition and carbon loss of coastal wetland under sea-kevel rise Hydrological control on soil redox condition and carbon loss of coastal wetland under sea-kevel rise
Coastal wetlands are critical carbon sinks with their biogeochemical and ecological functioning shaped by dynamic hydrological conditions that are increasingly influenced by climate change. A key unresolved question is how hydrologic flow, vegetation response, and rising sea levels interact to regulate soil redox condition and carbon loss in coastal wetlands. Using a field-tested...
Authors
Kewei Chen, Fengming Yuan, Peter E. Thornton, Teri O'Meara, Eric J. Ward, Shannon Jones, Bailey Murphy, Melinda Martinez, Sergio Merino, Benjamin N. Sulman
Why are ornithological studies so focused on the breeding stage? A test of hypotheses Why are ornithological studies so focused on the breeding stage? A test of hypotheses
Unequal representation of focal research areas can arise during the initial stages of project development when investigators make decisions about what, when, and where to study. Regarding when research is conducted, publications on vertebrates are strongly skewed toward breeding-stage studies, leaving sizeable gaps in our knowledge pertaining to behavior and demography in nonbreeding...
Authors
Erin R. Stewart, Courtney J. Conway
Overstorey mortality promotes juvenile piñon pine growth during favourable weather at cooler, wetter sites Overstorey mortality promotes juvenile piñon pine growth during favourable weather at cooler, wetter sites
Hotter droughts have resulted in widespread tree die-off events globally, frequently leading to regeneration failure. Dry forest recovery often depends on the growth and survival of extant juvenile trees. However, it is unclear how microenvironmental changes following overstorey tree die-off affect juvenile trees, particularly in dryland systems where tree recruitment is typically...
Authors
Hill Edward, Troy W. Ocheltree, John B. Bradford, Alexandra K. Urza, Miranda D. Redmond
The global proliferation of aquatic, benthic Microcoleus: Taxonomy, distribution, toxin production, ecology, and future directions The global proliferation of aquatic, benthic Microcoleus: Taxonomy, distribution, toxin production, ecology, and future directions
There have been sporadic reports of aquatic, benthic Microcoleus proliferations in freshwater rivers, lakes, and reservoirs for four decades, with reports increasing in frequency over the last twenty years, suggesting a possible rise in their global distribution, frequency, and intensity. Microcoleus can produce anatoxins which are neurotoxic, and ingestion of toxic mats has caused...
Authors
Laura T. Kelly, Daniel G Beach, Joanna R. Blaszczak, Keith Bouma-Gregson, Sydney M. Brown, Haowu Cheng, Janette L. Davidson, Jutta Fastner, Marcus Francis, Andrea Garcia Jimenez, Laurel Genzoli, Ramesh Goel, Diego Gonzalez, Kim M. Handley, Sabine Hilt, Jean-Francois Humbert, Rob Jamieson, Lindsay Johnston, Pilar Junier, Janice Lawrence, Pearse McCarron, Sven Meissner, Jacob Mormando, Jonathan Puddick, Catherine Quiblier, Nagasaijanani Rajpirathap, Charlotte Schampera, Andy Selwood, Karen Shearer, Abeer Sohrab, Rosalina Stancheva, Cecilio Valadez-Cano, Jordan M. Zebrecky, Susanna A. Wood
Mount Rainier volcanic hazard information Mount Rainier volcanic hazard information
Authors
Holly F. Weiss-Racine, Joseph A. Bard, Jessica L. Ball, Carolyn L. Mastin