Publications
These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.
Filter Total Items: 16733
Flight feather molt in Yellow-headed Blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) in North Dakota Flight feather molt in Yellow-headed Blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) in North Dakota
Yellow-headed Blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) in central North Dakota undergo prebasic molt or prejuvenile molt during late summer. Nestling Yellow-headed Blackbirds initiate a complete prejuvenile molt, grow their primary and secondary regimes in about 40 days, completing molt after they leave the nest by the first week in August. Remiges are not replaced during the...
Authors
Daniel J. Twedt, George M. Linz
Karst of the Mid-Atlantic region in Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia Karst of the Mid-Atlantic region in Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia
The Mid-Atlantic region hosts some of the most mature karst landscapes in North America, developed in highly deformed rocks within the Piedmont and Valley and Ridge physiographic provinces. This guide describes a three-day excursion to examine karst development in various carbonate rocks by following Interstate 70 west from Baltimore across the eastern Piedmont, across the Frederick...
Authors
Daniel H. Doctor, David J. Weary, David K. Brezinski, Randall C. Orndorff, Lawrence E. Spangler
Continuous monitoring of meteorological conditions and movement of a deep-seated, persistently moving rockslide along Interstate Route 79 near Pittsburgh Continuous monitoring of meteorological conditions and movement of a deep-seated, persistently moving rockslide along Interstate Route 79 near Pittsburgh
A large inventory of landslides exists for Allegheny County, Pa., and historical movement of manyof these has resulted in considerable damage to property, roads, and infrastructure. Along InterstateRoute 79, a subset of the landslide inventory includes deep-seated rockslides, two of which reactivatedduring construction of the highway in the late 1960s (Gray and others, 2011). Following...
Authors
Francis Ashland, Helen L. Delano
Cenozoic stratigraphy and structure of the Chesapeake Bay region Cenozoic stratigraphy and structure of the Chesapeake Bay region
The Salisbury embayment is a broad tectonic downwarp that is filled by generally seaward-thickening, wedge-shaped deposits of the central Atlantic Coastal Plain. Our two-day field trip will take us to the western side of this embayment from the Fall Zone in Washington, D.C., to some of the bluffs along Aquia Creek and the Potomac River in Virginia, and then to the Calvert Cliffs on the...
Authors
David S. Powars, Lucy E. Edwards, Susan M. Kidwell, J. Stephen Schindler
Bottom stress measurements on the inner shelf Bottom stress measurements on the inner shelf
Bottom stress shapes the mean circulation patterns, controls sediment transport, and influences benthic habitat in the coastal ocean. Accurate and precise measurements of bottom stress have proved elusive, in part because of the difficulty in separating the turbulent eddies that transport momentum from inviscid wave-induced motions. Direct covariance measurements from a pair of acoustic...
Authors
Christopher R. Sherwood, Malcolm Scully, John Trowbridge
Decision analysis to support development of the Glen Canyon Dam long-term experimental and management plan Decision analysis to support development of the Glen Canyon Dam long-term experimental and management plan
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, and Argonne National Laboratory, completed a decision analysis to use in the evaluation of alternatives in the Environmental Impact Statement concerning the long-term management of water releases from Glen Canyon Dam and associated management activities. Two primary decision analysis methods
Authors
Michael C. Runge, Kirk E. LaGory, Kendra Russell, Janet R. Balsom, R. Alan Butler, Coggins, Katrina A. Grantz, John Hayse, Ihor Hlohowskyj, Josh Korman, James E. May, Daniel J. O’Rourke, Leslie A. Poch, James R. Prairie, Jack C. VanKuiken, Robert A. Van Lonkhuyzen, David R. Varyu, Bruce T. Verhaaren, Thomas D. Veselka, Nicholas T. Williams, Kelsey K. Wuthrich, Charles B. Yackulic, Robert P. Billerbeck, Glen W. Knowles
Distributional patterns of arsenic concentrations in contaminant plumes offer clues to the source of arsenic in groundwater at landfills Distributional patterns of arsenic concentrations in contaminant plumes offer clues to the source of arsenic in groundwater at landfills
The distributional pattern of dissolved arsenic concentrations from landfill plumes can provide clues to the source of arsenic contamination. Under simple idealized conditions, arsenic concentrations along flow paths in aquifers proximal to a landfill will decrease under anthropogenic sources but potentially increase under in situ sources. This paper presents several conceptual...
Authors
Philip T. Harte
Geologic framework and evidence for neotectonism in the epicentral area of the 2011 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake Geologic framework and evidence for neotectonism in the epicentral area of the 2011 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake
The epicenters of the main shock and associated aftershocks of the 2011 moment magnitude, Mw 5.8 Mineral, Virginia (USA), earthquake, and the updip projection of the possible fault plane that triggered the quakes, are contained in the areas of 2 adjoining 7.5′ quadrangles in the central Virginia Piedmont. These quadrangles have therefore been the focus of concentrated geologic study in...
Authors
William C. Burton, Richard W. Harrison, David B. Spears, Nicholas H. Evans, Shannon A. Mahan
Pollen and spores of terrestrial plants Pollen and spores of terrestrial plants
Pollen and spores are valuable tools in reconstructing past sea level and climate because of their ubiquity, abundance, and durability as well as their reciprocity with source vegetation to environmental change (Cronin, 1999; Traverse, 2007; Willard and Bernhardt, 2011). Pollan is found in many sedimentary environments, from freshwater to saltwater, terrestrial to marine. It can be...
Authors
Christopher E. Bernhardt, Debra A. Willard
REE enrichment in granite-derived regolith deposits of the southeast United States: Prospective source rocks and accumulation processes REE enrichment in granite-derived regolith deposits of the southeast United States: Prospective source rocks and accumulation processes
The Southeastern United States contains numerous anorogenic, or A-type, granites, which constitute promising source rocks for REE-enriched ion adsorption clay deposits due to their inherently high concentrations of REE. These granites have undergone a long history of chemical weathering, resulting in thick granite-derived regoliths, akin to those of South China, which supply virtually...
Authors
Nora K. Foley, Robert A. Ayuso
Geomorphology, active tectonics, and landscape evolution in the Mid-Atlantic region Geomorphology, active tectonics, and landscape evolution in the Mid-Atlantic region
In 2014, the geomorphology community marked the 125th birthday of one of its most influential papers, “The Rivers and Valleys of Pennsylvania” by William Morris Davis. Inspired by Davis’s work, the Appalachian landscape rapidly became fertile ground for the development and testing of several grand landscape evolution paradigms, culminating with John Hack’s dynamic equilibrium in 1960. As...
Authors
Frank J. Pazzaglia, Mark W. Carter, Claudio Berti, Ronald C. Counts, Gregory S. Hancock, David Harbor, Richard W. Harrison, Matthew J. Heller, Shannon A. Mahan, Helen Malenda, Ryan McKeon, Michelle S. Nelson, Phillip Prince, Tammy M. Rittenour, James Spotilla, G. Richard Whittecar
The effects of harvest on waterfowl populations The effects of harvest on waterfowl populations
Change in the size of populations over space and time is, arguably, the motivation for much of pure and applied ecological research. The fundamental model for the dynamics of any population is straightforward: the net change in the abundance is the simple difference between the number of individuals entering the population and the number leaving the population, either or both of which...
Authors
Evan G. Cooch, Matthieu Guillemain, G Scott Boomer, Jean-Dominique Lebreton, James D. Nichols