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.
Science Quality and Integrity
Science Quality and Integrity
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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.
Filter Total Items: 176904
Successes and opportunities for solutions-oriented conservation research: Lessons learned from avian science Successes and opportunities for solutions-oriented conservation research: Lessons learned from avian science
Conservation science struggles with an ongoing divide between research and action. Given its history of broad public engagement and multi-scale management coordination, avian conservation typifies many of the challenges, successes, and opportunities across the broader field of conservation and is rich with examples that may guide solutions-oriented conservation science. In semi...
Authors
Rachel T. Buxton, Miguel F. Jimenez, Aalia I. Khan, Tori D. Bakley, Lisha L. Berzins, Barbara Frei, Elizabeth A. Gow, Autumn-Lynn Harrison, Osvel Hinojosa-Huerta, Andrea R. Norris, Brendon Samuels, Douglas C. Tozer, Eric M. Wood, Theodore J. Zenzal, Paul A. Smith, Catherine Jardine, Mark S. Woodrey, Bradley P. Wilkinson, Angeles Raymundo, Bryan B. Lenz
Corundum discovered by SuperCam and the Perseverance rover at Jezero crater, Mars Corundum discovered by SuperCam and the Perseverance rover at Jezero crater, Mars
Mars is primarily composed of mafic mineral assemblages and their alteration products, but small, scattered rocks strewn across the landscape offer clues to greater petrological diversity. While traversing the Jezero crater rim, the Perseverance rover encountered several plagioclase-rich light-toned float rocks. SuperCam identified the distinctive signature of corundum (α-Al2O3) in these...
Authors
A.M. Ollila, O. Beyssac, A. Fau, O. Forni, E. Clave, P.S.A. Beck, C. C. Bedford, V. Payre, E. Dehouck, S.A. Connell, J.A. Manrique, P. Pilleri, O. Gasnault, G.M. Martinez, A. Udry, S. Bernard, P. Gasda, T. Acosta-Maeda, R.B. Anderson, Travis S.J. Gabriel, F. Calef, J.F. Bell, J. N. Maki, S. Schroder, C. Quantin-Nataf, J.R. Johnson, B. Chide, K. Rammelkamp, F. Poulet, C. Royer, M. Rock, N.L. Lanza, S.K. Sharma, G. Lopez-Ryeys, T. Fouchet, J. Comellas, A. Zastrow, E. Coutis, R.C. Wiens, A. Cousin, S. Maurice, S. M. Clegg, P. Bernardi, T. Nelson
Digitizer Suite: The Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory Digitizer Testing Suite Digitizer Suite: The Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory Digitizer Testing Suite
Laboratory testing of digitizers and seismometers helps ensure that prior to deployment the instrumentation can produce high quality data and is operating within specifications. In this work we detail the software package called: the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory (ASL) Digitizer Test Suite. This Java software package provides several algorithms to verify various performance...
Authors
Patrick Bastien, Corey I. Beutel, Andrew Holcomb, James Holland, Aaron Kearns, Edward Kromer, Mairi Maclean Litherland, Ian Dru Podmore, Adam T. Ringler
Recycling radiogenic osmium by crustal foundering in subduction zones: Evidence from pyroxenite xenoliths in the north Andean arc Recycling radiogenic osmium by crustal foundering in subduction zones: Evidence from pyroxenite xenoliths in the north Andean arc
Removal of mafic-ultramafic lower crust (e.g., via delamination) is fundamental to making andesitic continental crust, yet direct evidence of this process remains elusive. A unique suite of garnet clinopyroxenite and hornblendite (arclogite) xenoliths from the northern volcanic zone of the Andes, erupted to the surface in the mid-Pleistocene, have bulk-rock geochemistry and osmium (Os)...
Authors
Lisa J. Zieman, Alan D. Rooney, Natalia Pardo, Elias Bloch, Kouki Kitajima, John W. Valley, Mauricio Ibañez-Mejia
Navigating uncertainty and competing objectives: Spring chinook salmon recovery in the upper Willamette river Navigating uncertainty and competing objectives: Spring chinook salmon recovery in the upper Willamette river
Globally, anadromous fish populations are threatened with extinction due to multiple factors, including river impoundments that block migration, widespread alteration of physical habitat, temperature, and flow regimes, commercial and recreational harvest, changes in biological communities, and long-term climate trends. In this synthesis, we describe how physical and biological factors...
Authors
Claire E. Couch, J. Rose Wallick, James T. Peterson, Bailey August Morgan, Matthew L. Keefer, Christopher C. Caudill, Kathleen G. O’Malley, Christina Amy Murphy, James S. White, Jake R. Kelley, Dalton J. Hance, Gabriel S. Hansen, Tobias J. Kock
An alternative approach to studying humpback whale song changes over time using occupancy models An alternative approach to studying humpback whale song changes over time using occupancy models
Humpback whales produce complex, structured songs that vary among individuals, populations, and through time. This study presents a novel method of studying changes in humpback whale song elements through time while accounting for detection probability.
Authors
Franny Oppenheimer, Therese M. Donovan, James E. Hines, Kristin Rasmussen, Laura J. May-Collado
Where will the cat cross the road? Comparing camera and GPS-based models for identifying wildlife corridors Where will the cat cross the road? Comparing camera and GPS-based models for identifying wildlife corridors
Designing effective wildlife corridors is a critical conservation challenge in fragmented landscapes. GPS-based step selection functions strongly predict dispersal corridors and connectivity, but GPS collaring can be expensive and invasive. Camera-based occupancy models are widely used for connectivity analyses but may involve trade-offs in data resolution. Despite widespread use of both
Authors
Read Barbee, L. Mark Elbroch, Kimberly A. Sager-Fradkin, Kristen Phillips, Dylan L. Bergman, Bethany Ackerman, Shannon L. Murphie, Andrew Stratton, Caitlin Kupar, Cassandra Sullivan, Glen Kalisz, Sarah Nelson Sells, Mark Hebblewhite, Hugh S. Robinson
Water-withdrawal and groundwater-level fluctuations, physical and infiltration characteristics of Ohio River sediment, and isotope-based estimates of water sources relative to a riverbank filtration system in an alluvial aquifer, Louisville, Kentucky, 200 Water-withdrawal and groundwater-level fluctuations, physical and infiltration characteristics of Ohio River sediment, and isotope-based estimates of water sources relative to a riverbank filtration system in an alluvial aquifer, Louisville, Kentucky, 200
The U.S. Geological Survey and the Louisville Water Company, from 2000 to 2020, cooperatively investigated physical and hydrologic conditions in the Ohio River alluvial aquifer and adjacent riverbed sediments in the northeast part of Louisville, Kentucky, to increase knowledge of processes affecting water sources to collector wells during operation of a riverbank filtration system (RBF)...
Authors
Paul M. Buszka, Catherine A. Fargen, David C. Lampe, Michael D. Unthank, Justin A. Boldt, Meghan E. Hian
Development of a hydrologic flow model of the Zuñi Salt Lake and surrounding areas, west-central New Mexico Development of a hydrologic flow model of the Zuñi Salt Lake and surrounding areas, west-central New Mexico
The terminal Zuñi Salt Lake is 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. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico, and Bureau of Reclamation, developed the Zuñi Salt Lake hydrologic flow model to...
Authors
Grady P. Ball, Andre B. Ritchie, Andrew J. Robertson
Simulation-based scenario ShakeMaps for large magnitude (MW6.5+) crustal earthquakes on the Seattle, Tacoma, and southern Whidbey Island faults, Washington, USA Simulation-based scenario ShakeMaps for large magnitude (MW6.5+) crustal earthquakes on the Seattle, Tacoma, and southern Whidbey Island faults, Washington, USA
Scenario ground‐motion maps based on empirical ground‐motion models (GMMs) provide a rapid and generally reliable means of estimating the amplitude and distribution of earthquake shaking. However, because GMMs are designed for broad applicability, they often rely on simplified representations of Earth structure, which can limit their accuracy in regions with complex source, path, and...
Authors
Ian P. Stone, Erin A. Wirth, Alex R. Grant, Julia Grossman, Arthur D. Frankel
3D Elevation Program—Nebraska 3D Elevation Program—Nebraska
Using 3D Elevation Program data, a modern illustration of each State's landscape showcases its elevation differences in vivid detail. Each State has been consistently adjusted and colorized according to its highest and lowest elevations, accentuating differences even in States with low relief. To further emphasize landforms, shaded relief has been added on top of the elevation colors.
Authors
Alexander B. Jonesi, Cindy A. Thatcher, Jason M. Stoker
3D Elevation Program—Nevada 3D Elevation Program—Nevada
Using 3D Elevation Program data, a modern illustration of each State's landscape showcases its elevation differences in vivid detail. Each State has been consistently adjusted and colorized according to its highest and lowest elevations, accentuating differences even in States with low relief. To further emphasize landforms, shaded relief has been added on top of the elevation colors.
Authors
Alexander B. Jonesi, Cindy A. Thatcher, Jason M. Stoker