Publications
These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.
Filter Total Items: 16778
Historical insights, current challenges: Tracking marine biodiversity in an urban harbor ecosystem in the face of climate change Historical insights, current challenges: Tracking marine biodiversity in an urban harbor ecosystem in the face of climate change
The Boston Harbor Islands is the only coastal drumlin archipelago in the USA, featuring a distinctive and uncommon geological intertidal habitat known as mixed coarse substrate, which supports a range of coastal species and ecological processes. Recently designated as one of America’s 11 most endangered historic places due to climate change impacts, coastal adaptation and restoration...
Authors
Alysha B. Putnam, Sarah C. Endyke, Ally Rose Jones, Lucy A.D. Lockwood, Justin Taylor, Marc Albert, Michelle Staudinger
Shaping the coast: Accounting for the human wildcard in projections of future change Shaping the coast: Accounting for the human wildcard in projections of future change
Coastal change and evolution are the product of physical drivers (e.g., waves) tightly coupled with human behavior. As climate change impacts intensify, demand is increasing for information on where, when, and how coastal areas may change in the future. Although considerable research investments have been made in understanding the physical drivers and processes that modify and shape...
Authors
Erika E. Lentz, Gabrielle Wong-Parodi, Sara L. Zeigler, Renee C. Collini, Margaret L. Palmsten, Davina L. Passeri
Mixed contaminant exposure in tapwater and the potential implications for human-health in disadvantaged communities in California Mixed contaminant exposure in tapwater and the potential implications for human-health in disadvantaged communities in California
Water is an increasingly precious resource in California as years of drought, climate change, pollution, as well as an expanding population have all stressed the state's drinking water supplies. Currently, there are increasing concerns about whether regulated and unregulated contaminants in drinking water are linked to a variety of human-health outcomes particularly in socially...
Authors
Kelly L. Smalling, Kristin M. Romanok, Paul M. Bradley, Michelle L. Hladik, James L. Gray, Leslie K. Kanagy, R. Blaine McCleskey, Diana A. Stavreva, Annika K. Alexander-Ozinskas, Jesus Alonso, Wendy Avila, Sara E. Breitmeyer, Roberto Bustillo, Stephanie E. Gordon, Gordon L. Hager, Rena R. Jones, Dana W. Kolpin, Seth Newton, Peggy Reynolds, John Sloop, Andria Ventura, Julie Von Behren, Mary H. Ward, Gina M. Solomon
Editorial: From cold seeps to hydrothermal vents: Geology, chemistry, microbiology, and ecology in marine and coastal environments Editorial: From cold seeps to hydrothermal vents: Geology, chemistry, microbiology, and ecology in marine and coastal environments
This Research Topic compiles contemporary studies on cold seeps, hydrothermal vents, mud volcanoes, and related seafloor features that are associated with focused fluid emissions and the transfer of carbon, other chemical species, and sometimes heat from the geosphere to the ocean. Because these features sometimes tap fluids and gas originating kilometers below the seafloor, they provide...
Authors
Glen T. Snyder, Andrew R. Thurber, Stephanie Dupre, Marcelo Ketzer, Carolyn D. Ruppel
Boundary spanning increases knowledge and action on invasive species in a changing climate Boundary spanning increases knowledge and action on invasive species in a changing climate
Challenges associated with global change stressors on ecosystems have prompted calls to improve actionable science, including through boundary-spanning activities, which aim to build connections and communication between researchers and natural resource practitioners. By synthesizing and translating research and practitioner knowledge, boundary-spanning activities could support proactive...
Authors
Annette E. Evans, Eva M. Colberg, Jenica M. Allen, Evelyn M. Beaury, Carrie Jean Brown-Lima, Toni Lyn Morelli, Bethany A. Bradley
Fall 2024 Fall 2024
This issue highlights our long history of outreach on Cape Cod in an article and video. It also features a story about our crest-stage gage network in Vermont, which provisionally hit high-water records during flash floods this summer. Also, we discuss a USGS study that examined trends of extreme low-flows across multiple continents.
Authors
Katrina Rossos
Evaluation of the lakes and impoundments drought index for the Massachusetts Drought Management Plan Evaluation of the lakes and impoundments drought index for the Massachusetts Drought Management Plan
The condition of surface water storage in lakes and impoundments is used as an index of drought in the Massachusetts drought management plan. The U.S. Geological Survey visited 28 of these lakes and impoundments at 14 single and multiple waterbody systems to evaluate their appropriateness for characterizing drought. The data collection and computation methods at each system were then...
Authors
Travis L. Smith
Where there's a when there's a way. Shifting phenology & windows of opportunity for control Where there's a when there's a way. Shifting phenology & windows of opportunity for control
No abstract available.
Authors
Dan Buonaiuto, Audrey Barker Plotkin, Sarah Bois, Matthew Brincka, Eva Colberg, Brian Colleran, Toni Lyn Morelli
Estimating groundwater level records using MOVE.1 and computing monthly percentiles from estimated groundwater records in Massachusetts Estimating groundwater level records using MOVE.1 and computing monthly percentiles from estimated groundwater records in Massachusetts
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, performed record extensions on groundwater levels at select wells using the Maintenance of Variance Extension type 1 (MOVE.1) method. The groundwater levels estimated from these record extensions were used to compute monthly percentiles to improve future determinations of a...
Authors
Elizabeth A. Ahearn, Dee-Ann E. Crozier
Simulated mean monthly groundwater-transported nitrogen loads in watersheds on the north shore of Long Island Sound, 1993–2022 Simulated mean monthly groundwater-transported nitrogen loads in watersheds on the north shore of Long Island Sound, 1993–2022
Elevated nitrogen loads are pervasive in the Long Island Sound, an estuary that receives freshwater and nutrients from both surface-water and groundwater discharge. Surface-water nitrogen loads to the Long Island Sound are relatively well characterized, but less is known about groundwater-transported nitrogen loads. Prior work on the northern shore of Long Island Sound (Connecticut and...
Authors
Janet R. Barclay, Madeleine J. Holland, John R. Mullaney
Parasite abundance-occupancy relationships across biogeographic regions: Joint effects of niche breadth, host availability and climate Parasite abundance-occupancy relationships across biogeographic regions: Joint effects of niche breadth, host availability and climate
Changing biodiversity and environmental conditions may allow multi-host pathogens to spread among host species and affect prevalence. There are several widely acknowledged theories about mechanisms that may influence variation in pathogen prevalence, including the controversially debated dilution effect and abundance-occupancy relationship hypotheses. Here, we explore such abundance...
Authors
Konstans Wells, Jeffrey A Bell, Alan Fecchio, Sergei V. Drovetski, Spencer C Galen, Shannon Hackett, Holly L Lutz, Heather Skeen, Gary Voelker, Wanyoike Wamiti, Jason D Weckstein, Nicholas J. Clark
Ambient flow and transport in long-screened, sand-packed wells: Insights into cross contamination and wellbore flow Ambient flow and transport in long-screened, sand-packed wells: Insights into cross contamination and wellbore flow
The presence of long-screened wells with a surrounding sand pack can have a major effect on the redistribution of contaminants in groundwater, particularly when the wells are set in low-hydraulic conductivity aquifers. Such redistribution, or cross contamination, can occur through vertical flow and advective transport or by in-well mixing via multiple non-advective transport processes. A...
Authors
Philip Harte, Christopher Palumbo Ely, Nicholas F. Teague, Nicole C. Fenton, Anthony A. Brown