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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.

Filter Total Items: 175531

Combining process-based and data-driven approaches to forecast beach and dune change Combining process-based and data-driven approaches to forecast beach and dune change

Producing accurate hindcasts and forecasts with coupled models is challenging due to complex parameterizations that are difficult to ground in observational data. We present a calibration workflow that utilizes a series of machine learning algorithms paired with Windsurf, a coupled beach-dune model (Aeolis, the Coastal Dune Model, and XBeach), to produce hindcasts and forecasts of...
Authors
Michael Itzkin, Laura J. Moore, Peter Ruggiero, Paige A. Hovenga, Sally D. Hacker

Hot spots and hot moments in the Critical Zone: Identification of and incorporation into reactive transport models Hot spots and hot moments in the Critical Zone: Identification of and incorporation into reactive transport models

Biogeochemical processes are often spatially discrete (hot spots) and temporally isolated (hot moments) due to variability in controlling factors like hydrologic fluxes, lithological characteristics, bio-geomorphic features, and external forcing. Although these hot spots and hot moments (HSHMs) account for a high percentage of carbon, nitrogen and nutrient cycling within the Critical...
Authors
Bhavna Arora, Martin A. Briggs, Jay P. Zarnetske, James Stegen, Jesus Gomez-Velez, D. Dwivedi

Velocity modeling of supercritical pore fluids through porous media under reservoir conditions with applications for petroleum secondary migration and carbon sequestration plumes Velocity modeling of supercritical pore fluids through porous media under reservoir conditions with applications for petroleum secondary migration and carbon sequestration plumes

Computational methods to characterize secondary migration in porous media traditionally rely on fluid transport equations with assumptions of time invariance, such as flowpath modeling of buoyancy vectors, statistical percolation algorithms, capillary pressure curves, or a form of Darcy’s Law which presumes instantaneous fluid transport. However, in petroleum systems modeling, the...
Authors
Lauri A. Burke

Revealing active Mars with HiRISE digital terrain models Revealing active Mars with HiRISE digital terrain models

Many discoveries of active surface processes on Mars have been made due to the availability of repeat high-resolution images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. HiRISE stereo images are used to make digital terrain models (DTMs) and orthorectified images (orthoimages). HiRISE DTMs and orthoimage time series have been...
Authors
Sarah S. Sutton, Matthew Chojnacki, Alfred S. McEwen, Randolph L. Kirk, Colin M. Dundas, Ethan I Schaefer, Susan J. Conway, Serina Diniega, Ganna Portyankina, Margaret E. Landis, Nicole F Baugh, Rodney Heyd, Shane Byrne, Livio L. Tornabene, Lujendra Ojha, Christopher W. Hamilton

Decadal trends of mercury cycling and bioaccumulation within Everglades National Park Decadal trends of mercury cycling and bioaccumulation within Everglades National Park

Mercury (Hg) contamination has been a persistent concern in the Florida Everglades for over three decades due to elevated atmospheric deposition and the system's propensity for methylation and rapid bioaccumulation. Given declines in atmospheric Hg concentrations in the conterminous United States and efforts to mitigate nutrient release to the greater Everglades ecosystem, it was vital...
Authors
Sarah E. Janssen, Michael T. Tate, Brett Poulin, David P. Krabbenhoft, John F DeWild, Jacob M. Ogorek, Matthew S. Varonka, William H. Orem, Jeffrey D Kline

Lithospheric conductors reveal source regions of convergent margin mineral systems Lithospheric conductors reveal source regions of convergent margin mineral systems

The clean energy transition will require a vast increase in metal supply, yet new mineral deposit discoveries are declining, due in part to challenges associated with exploring under sedimentary and volcanic cover. Recently, several case studies have demonstrated links between lithospheric electrical conductors imaged using magnetotelluric (MT) data and mineral deposits, notably Iron...
Authors
Alison Kirkby, Karol Czarnota, David L. Huston, David C. Champion, Michael P. Doublier, Paul A. Bedrosian, Jinming Duan, Graham Heinson

Global cycling and climate effects of aeolian dust controlled by biological soil crusts Global cycling and climate effects of aeolian dust controlled by biological soil crusts

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) cover ~12% of the global land surface. They are formed by an intimate association between soil particles, photoautotrophic and heterotrophic organisms, and they effectively stabilize the soil surface of drylands. Quantitative information on the impact of biocrusts on the global cycling and climate effects of aeolian dust, however, is not available. Here...
Authors
Rodriguez-Caballero, T Stanelle, S Egerer, Yang Cheng, H. E. Suess, Y Canton, Jayne Belnap, M O Andreae, I Tegen, C Reick, Ulrich Poschl, B. Weber

Effective conservation of desert riverscapes requires protection and restoration of in-stream flows with rehabilitation approaches tailored to water availability Effective conservation of desert riverscapes requires protection and restoration of in-stream flows with rehabilitation approaches tailored to water availability

Desert riverscape rehabilitation practitioners must contend with compounding effects of increasing human water demand, persistent drought, non-native species establishment, and climate change, which further stress desert riverine ecosystems such as rivers in the Colorado River basin, United States. Herein, we provide our perspective on the importance of natural flows, large floods in...
Authors
Casey A. Pennock, Phaedra E. Budy, William W. Macfarlane

A collaborative agenda for archaeology and fire science A collaborative agenda for archaeology and fire science

Humans have influenced global fire activity for millennia and will continue to do so into the future. Given the long-term interaction between humans and fire, we propose a collaborative research agenda linking archaeology and fire science that emphasizes the socioecological histories and consequences of anthropogenic fire in the development of fire management strategies today.
Authors
Grant J. Snitker, Christopher Roos, Allen Sullivan, S. Yoshi Maezumi, Douglas Bird, Michael Coughlan, Kelly Derr, Linn Gassaway, Anna Klimaszewski-Patterson, Rachel A. Loehman

Assessing private well contamination in Grant, Iowa, and Lafayette Counties, Wisconsin: The southwest Wisconsin groundwater and geology study Assessing private well contamination in Grant, Iowa, and Lafayette Counties, Wisconsin: The southwest Wisconsin groundwater and geology study

Rural residents of Grant, Iowa, and Lafayette Counties in Wisconsin rely on private wells for their water. Contaminants like nitrate and bacteria from septic systems, fertilizer, and manure can contaminate the groundwater that residents use. Groundwater is vulnerable to contamination where the soil layer is thin and the bedrock is fractured, which is the case for much of the study region...
Authors
Joel P. Stokdyk, Mark A. Borchardt, Aaron D. Firnstahl, Ken Bradbury, Moe Muldoon, Burney A Kieke

Friction in clay-bearing faults increases with the ionic radius of interlayer cations Friction in clay-bearing faults increases with the ionic radius of interlayer cations

Smectite can dramatically reduce the strength of crustal faults and may cause creep on natural faults without great earthquakes; however, the frictional mechanism remains unexplained. Here, our shear experiments reveal systematic increase in shear strength with the increase of the ionic radius of interlayer cations among lithium-, sodium-, potassium-, rubidium-, and cesium...
Authors
Hiroshi Sakuma, David A. Lockner, John Solum, Nick Davatzes
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