Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.

Filter Total Items: 16759

Effects of Hydrocarbon Extraction on Landscapes of the Appalachian Basin Effects of Hydrocarbon Extraction on Landscapes of the Appalachian Basin

An important and sometimes overlooked aspect of contemporary natural gas exploration, development, and delivery activities is the geographic profile and spatial footprint that these activities have on the land surface. The function of many ecosystems and the goods and services they provide, in large part, are the result of their natural spatial arrangement on the landscape. Shale-gas...
Authors
Terry E. Slonecker, Lesley E. Milheim, Coral M. Roig-Silva, Siddiq S. Kalaly

A new method for discovering behavior patterns among animal movements A new method for discovering behavior patterns among animal movements

Advanced satellite tracking technologies enable biologists to track animal movements at fine spatial and temporal scales. The resultant data present opportunities and challenges for understanding animal behavioral mechanisms. In this paper, we develop a new method to elucidate animal movement patterns from tracking data. Here, we propose the notion of continuous behavior patterns as a...
Authors
Y. Wang, Ze Luo, John Y. Takekawa, Diann J. Prosser, Y. Xiong, S. Newman, X. Xiao, N. Batbayar, Kyle A. Spragens, S. Balachandran, B. Yan

Seasonal temperature and precipitation regulate brook trout young-of-the-year abundance and population dynamics Seasonal temperature and precipitation regulate brook trout young-of-the-year abundance and population dynamics

Abundance of the young‐of‐the‐year (YOY) fish can vary greatly among years and it may be driven by several key biological processes (i.e. adult spawning, egg survival and fry survival) that span several months. However, the relative influence of seasonal weather patterns on YOY abundance is poorly understood.We assessed the importance of seasonal air temperature (a surrogate for stream...
Authors
Yoichiro Kanno, Kasey C. Pregler, Nathaniel P. Hitt, Benjamin Letcher, Daniel Hocking, John E. B. Wofford

Flood-inundation maps for the Tippecanoe River at Winamac, Indiana Flood-inundation maps for the Tippecanoe River at Winamac, Indiana

Digital flood-inundation maps for a 6.2 mile reach of the Tippecanoe River at Winamac, Indiana (Ind.), were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science Web site at http://water.usgs.gov/osw/flood_inundation/, depict...
Authors
Chad D. Menke, Aubrey R. Bunch

Measurement of in situ sulfur isotopes by laser ablation multi-collector ICPMS: opening Pandora’s Box Measurement of in situ sulfur isotopes by laser ablation multi-collector ICPMS: opening Pandora’s Box

Laser ablation multi-collector ICPMS is a modern tool for in situ measurement of S isotopes. Advantages of the technique are speed of analysis and relatively minor matrix effects combined with spatial resolution sufficient for many applications. The main disadvantage is a more destructive sampling mechanism relative to the ion microprobe technique. Recent advances in instrumentation...
Authors
William I. Ridley, Michael J. Pribil, Alan E. Koenig, John F. Slack

Stream vulnerability to widespread and emergent stressors: a focus on unconventional oil and gas Stream vulnerability to widespread and emergent stressors: a focus on unconventional oil and gas

Multiple stressors threaten stream physical and biological quality, including elevated nutrients and other contaminants, riparian and in-stream habitat degradation and altered natural flow regime. Unconventional oil and gas (UOG) development is one emerging stressor that spans the U.S. UOG development could alter stream sedimentation, riparian extent and composition, in-stream flow, and...
Authors
Sally Entrekin, Kelly O. Maloney, Katherine E. Kapo, Annika W. Walters, Michelle A. Evans-White, Kenneth M. Klemow

Lead scrap use and trade patterns in the United States, 1995-2012 Lead scrap use and trade patterns in the United States, 1995-2012

Since 1995, domestic production of lead has increasingly shifted from primary mining and smelting to the recovery of lead-bearing scrap by the secondary lead industry, which accounted for 91 percent of U.S. lead production in 2012. Increasingly stringent environmental regulations for lead emissions in the United States have contributed to the closure of primary lead refineries and the
Authors
David R. Wilburn

Individual heterogeneity in growth and age at sexual maturity: A gamma process analysis of capture–mark–recapture data Individual heterogeneity in growth and age at sexual maturity: A gamma process analysis of capture–mark–recapture data

Knowledge of organisms’ growth rates and ages at sexual maturity is important for conservation efforts and a wide variety of studies in ecology and evolutionary biology. However, these life history parameters may be difficult to obtain from natural populations: individuals encountered may be of unknown age, information on age at sexual maturity may be uncertain and interval-censored, and...
Authors
William A. Link, Kyle Miller Hesed

Hydro-bio-geomechanical properties of hydrate-bearing sediments from Nankai Trough Hydro-bio-geomechanical properties of hydrate-bearing sediments from Nankai Trough

Natural hydrate-bearing sediments from the Nankai Trough, offshore Japan, were studied using the Pressure Core Characterization Tools (PCCTs) to obtain geomechanical, hydrological, electrical, and biological properties under in situ pressure, temperature, and restored effective stress conditions. Measurement results, combined with index-property data and analytical physics-based models...
Authors
J.C. Santamarina, Shifeng Dai, M. Terzariol, Jeonghwan Jang, William F. Waite, William J. Winters, J. Nagao, J. Yoneda, Y. Konno, T. Fujii, K. Suzuki

Metagenomic analysis of planktonic microbial consortia from a non-tidal urban-impacted segment of James River Metagenomic analysis of planktonic microbial consortia from a non-tidal urban-impacted segment of James River

Knowledge of the diversity and ecological function of the microbial consortia of James River in Virginia, USA, is essential to developing a more complete understanding of the ecology of this model river system. Metagenomic analysis of James River's planktonic microbial community was performed for the first time using an unamplified genomic library and a 16S rDNA amplicon library prepared...
Authors
Bonnie L. Brown, Rebecca V LePrell, Rima B Franklin, Maria C Rivera, Francine M Cabral, Hugh L Eaves, Vicki Gaqrdiakos, Kevin P Keegan, Tim L. King

Importance of the colmation layer in the transport and removal of cyanobacteria, viruses, and dissolved organic carbon during natural lake-bank filtration Importance of the colmation layer in the transport and removal of cyanobacteria, viruses, and dissolved organic carbon during natural lake-bank filtration

This study focused on the importance of the colmation layer in the removal of cyanobacteria, viruses, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) during natural bank filtration. Injection-and-recovery studies were performed at two shallow (0.5 m deep), sandy, near-shore sites at the southern end of Ashumet Pond, a waste-impacted, kettle pond on Cape Cod, MA, that is subject to periodic blooms of
Authors
Ronald W. Harvey, David W. Metge, Denis R. LeBlanc, Jennifer C. Underwood, George R. Aiken, Kenna D. Butler, Timothy D. McCobb, Jay Jasperse

Summary of the Ahankashan Area of Interest Summary of the Ahankashan Area of Interest

This report summarizes and interprets results of the work in the Ahankashan Area of Interest in northwestern Afghanistan and four study areas—the Ahankashan Prospect Area, Syahsang-Kushkak, Taghab-Soni, and Zakak-e ‘Olya—delineated for their potential undiscovered mineral occurrences with specific emphasis on porphyry copper and related occurrence types. The Area of Interest is underlain...
Authors
Lawrence J. Drew, David M. Sutphin, John C. Mars, Anya K. Bogdanow
Was this page helpful?