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Publications

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

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Using a time-of-travel sampling approach to quantify per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) stream loading and source inputs in a mixed-source, urban catchment Using a time-of-travel sampling approach to quantify per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) stream loading and source inputs in a mixed-source, urban catchment

Understanding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) mass distribution in surface and groundwater systems can support source prioritization, load reduction, and water management. Thirteen sites within an urban catchment were sampled utilizing a time-of-travel sampling approach to minimize the influence of subdaily fluctuations in mass from PFAS point sources and to quantify PFAS and...
Authors
Emily E. Woodward, Lisa A. Senior, Jacob Fleck, Larry B. Barber, Angela Hansen, Joseph W. Duris

Informative priors can account for location uncertainty in stop-level analyses of the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), allowing fine-scale ecological analyses Informative priors can account for location uncertainty in stop-level analyses of the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), allowing fine-scale ecological analyses

Ecological inferences are often based on the locations at which species are present, but many species records have substantial uncertainty in spatial metadata, limiting their utility for fine-scale analyses. This is especially prevalent in historical records such as museum specimens, and in some citizen-science data. For example, the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) has 55+...
Authors
Ryan C. Burner, Alan Kirschbaum, J. A. Hostetler, David Ziolkowski, Nicholas M. Anich, Daniel Turek, Eli D. Striegel, Neal D. Niemuth

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water in Southeast Los Angeles: Industrial legacy and environmental justice Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water in Southeast Los Angeles: Industrial legacy and environmental justice

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent chemicals of increasing concern to human health. PFAS contamination in water systems has been linked to a variety of sources including hydrocarbon fire suppression activities, industrial and military land uses, agricultural applications of biosolids, and consumer products. To assess PFAS in California tap water, we collected 60...
Authors
Julie Von Behren, Peggy Reynolds, Paul M. Bradley, James L. Gray, Dana W. Kolpin, Kristin M. Romanok, Kelly L. Smalling, Catherine Carpenter, Wendy Avila, Paul B. English, Rena R. Jones, Gina Solomon

Terrebonne Basin northern Gulf of Mexico, 30 July-28 September 2023 Terrebonne Basin northern Gulf of Mexico, 30 July-28 September 2023

In the summer and fall of 2023, the Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Hydrate Coring Expedition (UT-GOM2-2) drilled, cored, made downhole measurements, and analyzed samples from the seafloor to the base of the gas hydrate stability zone in one location (Site H, WR313) in the Terrebonne basin, deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Analyses of data and samples from the expedition will inform biological...
Authors
Peter B. Flemings, Carla Thomas, Stephen C. Phillips, Timothy Collett, Ann E. Cook, Evan S. Solomon, Frederick S. Colwell, Joel E. Johnson, David Awwiller, Irita Aylward, Athma Bhandari, Donald Brooks, Alejandro Cardona, Michael Casso, Rachel Coyte, Tom Darrah, Marcy Davis, Brandon Dugan, Dan Duncan, John T. Germaine, Melanie Holland, Jesse Houghton, N. Tanner Mills, Michael Mimitz, Daniel Minarich, Yuki Morono, Zachary Murphy, Joshua O’Connell, Ethan Petrou, Tom Pettigrew, John Pohlman, Alexey Portnov, Marcie Purkey Phillips, Thomas Redd, Derek E. Sawyer, Peter Schultheiss, Kelly Shannon, Camille Sullivan, Cathal Small, Kayla Tozier, Man-Yin Tsang, Camila Van Der Maal, William F. Waite, Taylor Walton

Water-quality monitoring strategy for Mount Hope Bay and the Taunton River Estuary, southeastern Massachusetts Water-quality monitoring strategy for Mount Hope Bay and the Taunton River Estuary, southeastern Massachusetts

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), began a study in 2018 to develop a water-quality monitoring strategy (WQMS) for Mount Hope Bay and the Taunton River Estuary in southeastern Massachusetts. MassDEP is interested in water-quality data in Mount Hope Bay and the Taunton River Estuary to characterize current...
Authors
David S. Armstrong

Managing climate-change refugia to prevent extinctions Managing climate-change refugia to prevent extinctions

Earth is facing simultaneous biodiversity and climate crises. Climate-change refugia – areas that are relatively buffered from climate change – can help address both of these problems by maintaining biodiversity components when the surrounding landscape no longer can. However, this capacity to support biodiversity is often vulnerable to severe climate change and other stressors. Thus...
Authors
Gunnar Keppel, Diana Stralberg, Toni Lyn Morelli, Zoltán Bátori

Insights on gas hydrate formation and growth within an interbedded sand reservoir from well logging at the Qiongdongnan Basin, South China Sea Insights on gas hydrate formation and growth within an interbedded sand reservoir from well logging at the Qiongdongnan Basin, South China Sea

Although variable well log resolution and its control on saturation estimation has been studied, it has not been directly applied to a specific location to explore the nature of gas hydrate within a sand reservoir. We applied in-situ measurements of resistivities, neutron porosity, and gamma ray at two sites in the Qiongdongnan Basin, South China Sea (QDN-W05–2021 and QDN-W08–2021) to...
Authors
Dongju Kang, Zijian Zhang, Jing’an Lu, Stephen C. Phillips, Jinqiang Liang, Wei Deng, Chao Zhong, Dajiang Meng

Estimated reductions in phosphorus loads from removal of leaf litter in the Lake Champlain drainage area, Vermont Estimated reductions in phosphorus loads from removal of leaf litter in the Lake Champlain drainage area, Vermont

Excess nutrient loading and other factors are driving eutrophication and other negative effects on water-quality conditions in Lake Champlain and other receiving waters in Vermont. Two common best management practices were evaluated to determine how these practices can be optimized by targeting maintenance and operation to align better with seasonally driven needs, specifically to help
Authors
Jason R. Sorenson, James M. Pease, Jeremy K. Foote, Ann T. Chalmers, David H. Ainley, Clayton J. Williams

Forest cover lessens hurricane impacts on peak streamflow Forest cover lessens hurricane impacts on peak streamflow

Cyclonic storms (i.e., hurricanes) are powerful disturbance events that often cause widespread forest damage. Storm-related canopy damage reduces rainfall interception and evapotranspiration, but impacts on streamflow regimes are poorly understood. We quantify streamflow changes in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria in September 2017, and evaluate whether forest cover and storm...
Authors
Jazlynn S. Hall, Martha A. Scholl, James B. Shanley, Serena Matt, Maria Uriarte

A scaling relationship for the width of secondary deformation around strike-slip faults A scaling relationship for the width of secondary deformation around strike-slip faults

Simple mechanical arguments suggest that slip along interlocked, rough faults, damages surrounding rocks. The same arguments require that the scale of secondary damage is proportional to the size of geometric irregularities along the main fault. This relationship could apply at all scales, but has, so far, been difficult to observe at the 10s to 100 s of km scales of large, natural...
Authors
R.G. Perrin, Nathaniel C. Miller, R.M. Lauer, Daniel S. Brothers

Threshold changes in winter temperature and precipitation drive threshold responses across nine global climate zones and associated biomes Threshold changes in winter temperature and precipitation drive threshold responses across nine global climate zones and associated biomes

Globally, winter temperatures are rising, and snowpack is shrinking or disappearing entirely. Despite previous research and published literature reviews, it remains unknown whether biomes across the globe will cross important thresholds in winter temperature and precipitation that will lead to significant ecological changes. Here, we combine the widely used Köppen–Geiger climate...
Authors
Alexandra R. Contosta, Kyle A. Arndt, Helen M. Baulch, Nora J. Casson, Adrian Harpold, Toni Lyn Morelli, Alexej P.K. Siren, Pamela H. Templer
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