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: 16757

Risks posed by SARS‐CoV‐2 to North American bats during winter fieldwork Risks posed by SARS‐CoV‐2 to North American bats during winter fieldwork

The virus that causes COVID‐19 likely evolved in a mammalian host, possibly Old‐World bats, before adapting to humans, raising the question of whether reverse zoonotic transmission to bats is possible. Wildlife management agencies in North America are concerned that the activities they authorize could lead to transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 to bats from humans. A rapid risk assessment...
Authors
Jonathan D Cook, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Jeremy T. H. Coleman, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Michael C. Runge

Evaluation and application of the Purge Analyzer Tool (PAT) to determine in-well flow and purge criteria for sampling monitoring wells at the Stringfellow Superfund site in Jurupa Valley, California, in 2017 Evaluation and application of the Purge Analyzer Tool (PAT) to determine in-well flow and purge criteria for sampling monitoring wells at the Stringfellow Superfund site in Jurupa Valley, California, in 2017

The U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are developing analytical tools to assess the representativeness of groundwater samples from fractured-rock aquifers. As part of this effort, monitoring wells from the Stringfellow Superfund site in Jurupa Valley in Riverside County, California, approximately 50 miles east of Los Angeles, were field tested to collect...
Authors
Philip T. Harte, Tomas Perina, Kent Becher, Herb Levine, Daewon Rojas-Mickelson, Lesley Walther, Anthony A. Brown

Assessment of water quality and discharge in the Herring River, Wellfleet, Massachusetts, November 2015 to September 2017 Assessment of water quality and discharge in the Herring River, Wellfleet, Massachusetts, November 2015 to September 2017

The U.S. Geological Survey, Cape Cod National Seashore of the National Park Service, and Friends of Herring River cooperated from 2015 to 2017 to assess nutrient concentrations and fluxes across the ocean-estuary boundary at a dike on the Herring River in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. The purpose of this assessment was to characterize environmental conditions prior to a future removal of the...
Authors
Thomas G. Huntington, Alana B. Spaetzel, John A. Colman, Kevin D. Kroeger, Robert T. Bradley

Genetic structure of Maryland Brook Trout populations: Management implications for a threatened species Genetic structure of Maryland Brook Trout populations: Management implications for a threatened species

Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis have declined across their native range due to multiple anthropogenic factors, including landscape alteration and climate change. Although coldwater streams in Maryland (eastern United States) historically supported significant Brook Trout populations, only fragmented remnant populations remain, with the exception of the upper Savage River watershed in...
Authors
Raymond P. Morgan II, David C. Kazyak, Tim L. King, Barbara A. Lubinski, Matthew T. Sell, Alan A Heft, Jess W Jones

Assessing gas leakage potential into coal mines from shale gas well failures: Inference from field determination of strata permeability responses to longwall-induced deformations Assessing gas leakage potential into coal mines from shale gas well failures: Inference from field determination of strata permeability responses to longwall-induced deformations

This paper summarizes the changes in permeability at three boreholes located above an abutment pillar at a longwall coal mine in southwestern Pennsylvania. The motivation of this study was to better characterize the potential interaction between shale gas wells and the mine environment, through measurement of permeability changes in the coal mine overburden caused by mining-induced...
Authors
Eric Watkins, C. Ozgen Karacan, Vasu Gangrade, Steven Schatzel

Simulation of groundwater flow in the aquifer system of the Anacostia River and surrounding watersheds, Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia Simulation of groundwater flow in the aquifer system of the Anacostia River and surrounding watersheds, Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the District Department of Energy & Environment, Water Quality Division, is investigating the hydrogeology of the tidal Anacostia River watershed within Washington, D.C., with the goal of improving understanding of the groundwater-flow system and the interaction of groundwater and surface water in the watershed. To help meet this goal, a...
Authors
Jeff P. Raffensperger, Lois M. Voronin, Cheryl A. Dieter

Organic geochemistry and petrology of Devonian shale in eastern Ohio: Implications for petroleum systems assessment Organic geochemistry and petrology of Devonian shale in eastern Ohio: Implications for petroleum systems assessment

Recent production of light sweet oil has prompted reevaluation of Devonian petroleum systems in the central Appalachian Basin. Upper Devonian Ohio Shale (lower Huron Member) and Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale organic-rich source rocks from eastern Ohio and nearby areas were examined using organic petrography and geochemical analysis of solvent extracts to test ideas related to organic...
Authors
Paul C. Hackley, Robert T. Ryder

Organic petrology and geochemistry of the Sunbury and Ohio Shales in eastern Kentucky and southeastern Ohio Organic petrology and geochemistry of the Sunbury and Ohio Shales in eastern Kentucky and southeastern Ohio

As part of a study to determine the origin of oil and gas in the Berea Sandstone in northeastern Kentucky and southeastern Ohio, 158 samples of organic-rich shale from the Upper Devonian Olentangy and Ohio Shales and the Lower Mississippian Sunbury Shale, collectively referred to as the “black shale,” were collected and analyzed from 12 cores. The samples were analyzed for total organic...
Authors
Cortland F. Eble, Paul C. Hackley, Thomas M. Parris, Stephen F. Greb

Oil–source correlation studies in the shallow Berea Sandstone petroleum system, eastern Kentucky Oil–source correlation studies in the shallow Berea Sandstone petroleum system, eastern Kentucky

Shallow production of sweet high-gravity oil from the Upper Devonian Berea Sandstone in northeastern Kentucky has caused the region to become the leading oil producer in the state. Potential nearby source rocks, namely, the overlying Mississippian Sunbury Shale and underlying Ohio Shale, are immature for commercial oil generation according to vitrinite reflectance and programmed...
Authors
Paul C. Hackley, T.M. Parris, C. F. Eble, S. F. Greb, D.C. Harris

Public and private tapwater: Comparative analysis of contaminant exposure and potential risk, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA Public and private tapwater: Comparative analysis of contaminant exposure and potential risk, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

Background Humans are primary drivers of environmental contamination worldwide, including in drinking-water resources. In the United States (US), federal and state agencies regulate and monitor public-supply drinking water while private-supply monitoring is rare; the current lack of directly comparable information on contaminant-mixture exposures and risks between private- and public...
Authors
Paul M. Bradley, Denis R. LeBlanc, Kristin M. Romanok, Kelly L. Smalling, Michael J. Focazio, Mary C. Cardon, Jimmy Clark, Justin M. Conley, Nicola Evans, Carrie E. Givens, James L. Gray, L. Earl Gray, Phillip C. Hartig, Christopher P. Higgins, Michelle L. Hladik, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Keith A. Loftin, R. Blaine McCleskey, Carrie A. McDonough, Elizabeth Medlock-Kakaley, Christopher P. Weis, Vickie S. Wilson

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in New Hampshire soils and biosolids Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in New Hampshire soils and biosolids

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, is undertaking a study on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in soils and biosolids. The study will characterize PFAS concentrations in shallow soil and selected biosolids throughout the State of New Hampshire, conduct laboratory experiments to improve understanding of how...
Authors
Andrea K. Tokranov, Kate Emma A. Schlosser, Jeffrey M. Marts, Anthony F. Drouin, Leah M. Santangelo, Sydney M. Welch

Mixed evidence for biotic homogenization of southern Appalachian fish communities Mixed evidence for biotic homogenization of southern Appalachian fish communities

Anthropogenic impacts on the landscape can drive biotic homogenization, whereby distinct biological communities become more similar to one another over time. Land-use change in the Southern Appalachian region is expected to result in homogenization of the highly diverse freshwater fish communities as in-stream habitat alterations favor widespread cosmopolitan species at the expense of...
Authors
Kelly N. Petersen, Mary Freeman, Joseph E. Kirsch, William O McLarney, Mark C Scott, Seth J. Wenger
Was this page helpful?