Publications
Listed here are publications, reports and articles by the Land Change Science Program in the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area.
Filter Total Items: 1284
Regional variations in sea ice and primary productivity in the Bering Sea during Marine Isotope Stage 11 Regional variations in sea ice and primary productivity in the Bering Sea during Marine Isotope Stage 11
Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11 (424-374 ka) has long been an analog for Holocene climate, because it is the most recent interglacial period with similar orbital conditions. However, there is significant global and regional variability in the climate response to MIS 11 warmth. Here, we review sediment core records from across the Bering Sea to investigate changes in paleoceanographic...
Authors
Natalie S. Thompson, Beth E. Caissie
Colocating artificial intelligence data centers with energy infrastructure on Federal public lands—A science synthesis and spatial analysis to inform decision making Colocating artificial intelligence data centers with energy infrastructure on Federal public lands—A science synthesis and spatial analysis to inform decision making
Executive Summary Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming industries and economies, creating an urgent need to strategically plan for the energy and infrastructure required to support increasing AI use. U.S. Federal agencies and bureaus have been directed to explore ways to accelerate permitting, development, and deployment of energy resources and AI technologies, including...
Authors
Sarah E. Whipple, Katherine A. Kurth, Catherine A. Nikiel, Andy J. Maguire, Jay R. Alder, Julian. J.T. Reyes, Julian A. Scott, Sarah K. Carter
Modification of rod surface elevation tables for monitoring extreme elevation shifts in wetlands Modification of rod surface elevation tables for monitoring extreme elevation shifts in wetlands
Rod surface elevation tables (RSETs) are effective tools for measuring changes in ground surface height, but these are not designed to withstand large changes in height (e.g., ±50 cm). After extreme changes in elevation due to erosion or accretion, RSET sites may be deemed unusable; however, this equipment usually can function indefinitely with in-situ modifications. Here, we provide a
Authors
Ting Lei, John L. David, Beth A. Middleton
The influence of tree canopy cover data choices on urban ecosystem accounting The influence of tree canopy cover data choices on urban ecosystem accounting
Because urban landscapes are heterogeneous, the methods and spatial resolution used to depict the land surface greatly influence the representation of urban features. Land cover products such as tree canopy cover (TCC) are particularly sensitive to the methodology and resolution used in their creation. Differences in TCC mapping have implications on the outcomes of ecosystem service (ES)...
Authors
Levi Sweet-Breu, Gregory Cermak, Lucila Marie Corro, Peter Christian Ibsen, Mehdi Heris, Raimundo Atal, Ryan McManamay, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Kenneth Bagstad
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
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
A cross-site comparison of ecosystem- and plot-scale methane fluxes across multiple sites A cross-site comparison of ecosystem- and plot-scale methane fluxes across multiple sites
Wetland and upland ecosystems play significant but opposing roles in the global methane (CH4) budget, acting as natural sources and sinks, respectively. Two of the most common approaches for measuring CH4 fluxes (FCH4) are chambers, which measure fluxes at fine spatial scales (ca. 1 m2), and eddy covariance (EC) towers, which integrate fluxes across larger footprints (ca. 100–10 000 m2)...
Authors
Tiia Määttä, Ankur R. Desai, Masahito Ueyama, Rodrigo Vargas, Eric J. Ward, Zhen Zhang, Gil Bohrer, Kyle Delwiche, Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, Järvi Järveoja, Sara H. Knox, Lulie Melling, Mat B. Nilsson, Matthias Peichl, Angela Che Tang, Eeva-Stiina Tuittila, Jinsong Wang, Sheel Bansal, Sarah Feron, Manuel Helbig, Aino Korrensalo, Karen W. Krauss, Gavin McNicol, Shuli Niu, Zutao Ouyang, Kathleen Savage, Oliver Sonnentag, Robert Jackson, Avni Malhotra
Weathering the ride: Associations of heat, smoke, precipitation, and ozone with bus ridership in Colorado Weathering the ride: Associations of heat, smoke, precipitation, and ozone with bus ridership in Colorado
Weather and climate variability increasingly shape urban travel behavior, yet the short-term temporal dynamics and contextual modifiers of weather-transit relationships remain poorly understood. We analyzed system-wide hourly bus ridership in the Denver metropolitan area from June 2022 through September 2023 using fixed-effects negative binomial distributed lag nonlinear models with lags...
Authors
Priyanka deSouza, Elizabeth A. Dzwonczyk, Peter Christian Ibsen, Adam M. Lippert, Carl Green, T.C. Chakraborty, Melissa R. McHale, Peter Anthamatten, Ebru Altintas, Carrie Makarewicz
Scalable urban tree canopy modelling for Canadian cities Scalable urban tree canopy modelling for Canadian cities
Urban tree cover (UTC) is a key indicator for monitoring climate adaptation, guiding policy goals, and designing equitable cities. However, consistent UTC estimates remain limited. This study proposes a transferable UTC modelling framework using global open-source data to map fractional UTC. The method involves satellite spectral products and high-resolution canopy height data to build...
Authors
Bayan Shaeri, Yuhao Lu, Alexander J. Martin, Lukas Olson, Raphael Ayambire, Txomin Hermosilla, Lucila Marie Corro, Jay Diffendorfer, Peter Christian Ibsen
Leveraging socioeconomic flows to inform shared, migratory species conservation Leveraging socioeconomic flows to inform shared, migratory species conservation
Migratory species, and the many cultural and economic values they provide, are declining worldwide. Previous research has quantified ecosystem service flows for single migratory species to provide valuable information on the dynamics of socio-ecological systems to inform cross-jurisdictional management. There are efficiencies in implementation to be gained from considering the dynamics...
Authors
Darius J. Semmens, Jay E. Diffendorfer, James A. Dubovsky, B.J. Mattsson, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Aaron Lien, Jonathan J. Derbridge, Jendrik Windt, Cooper Gottfried, Charles C. Chester
Loss and transformation of coastal wetlands due to global change in the conterminous United States: Past, present, and future Loss and transformation of coastal wetlands due to global change in the conterminous United States: Past, present, and future
Coastal wetlands are being transformed by global change, impacting the ecological and societal benefits provided by these ecosystems. Synthesizing knowledge of historical and expected future transformations in coastal wetlands can help inform forward-looking planning and stewardship efforts. Here, we review anticipated future ecological transformations in coastal wetlands of the...
Authors
Michael J. Osland, Bogdan Chivoiu, Kevin J. Buffington, Kristin B. Byrd, Joel A. Carr, Judith Z. Drexler, Nicholas M. Enwright, Neil K. Ganju, James B. Grace, Eric E. Grossman, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Kurt P. Kowalski, Ken W. Krauss, Jessica R. Lacy, Gregory B. Noe, Davina L. Passeri, Stephanie Romanach, Christopher F. Smith, Camille L. Stagg, Karen M. Thorne, Janet R. Keough
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, California Water Science Center, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Great Lakes Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Wetland and Aquatic Research Center , Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
Temperate wetlands lose climate-cooling capacity under warming Temperate wetlands lose climate-cooling capacity under warming
Temperate inland wetlands have long been viewed as climate regulators, with sustained CO₂ sequestration offsetting continuous CH₄ emissions over centennial–millennial timescales. However, the net climatic effect of these opposing fluxes remains uncertain under anthropogenic warming as they differ in both magnitude and atmospheric lifetime. We combine 19,000 CH₄ chamber measurements from...
Authors
Shizhou Ma, Irena F. Creed, Pascal Badiou, Sheel Bansal, Zhen Zhang