Science needs for determining the effects of climate change on harmful algal blooms in the southeastern United States
Tom D. Byl, Devin M. Moore, Champagne Cunningham, De’Etra Young
2025, Open-File Report 2025-1004
The Southeastern United States has many lakes, streams, and reservoirs that serve as important drinking water sources with recreational, agricultural, and ecological uses. However, harmful algal blooms (HABs) are becoming more common in these waters, causing health issues for humans and animals. HABs have been listed as a contaminant of...
Four-band image mosaic of the Colorado River Corridor downstream of Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona, derived from the May 2021 airborne image acquisition
Joel B. Sankey, Nathaniel D. Bransky, Lori M. Pigue, Keith A. Kohl, Thomas M. Gushue
2025, Data Report 1202
In May 2021, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center acquired airborne multispectral high-resolution data for the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, Arizona. The image data, which consist of four spectral bands (red, band 1; green, band 2; blue, band 3; and near infrared, band 4)...
Reconstruction of Holocene and Last Interglacial vegetation dynamics and wildfire activity in Southern Siberia
Jade Margerum, Julia Homann, Stuart Umbo, Gernot Nehrke, Thorsten Hoffmann, Anton Vaks, Aleksandr Kononov, Alexander Osintsev, Alena Maria Giesche, Andrew Mason, Franziska A. Lechleitner, Gideon M. Henderson, Ola Kwiecien, Sebastian F.M. Breitenbach
2025, Climate of the Past (21) 661-677
Wildfires are a rapidly increasing threat to boreal forests. While our understanding of the drivers behind wildfires and their environmental impact is growing, it is mostly limited to the observational period. Here we focus on the boreal forests of southern Siberia and exploit a U–Th-dated stalagmite from Botovskaya Cave, located...
Hydrogeologic investigation, framework, and conceptual flow model of the Antlers aquifer, southeastern Oklahoma, 1980–2022
Evin J. Fetkovich, Amy S. Morris, Isaac A. Dale, Chloe Codner, Ethan A. Kirby, Colin A. Baciocco, Ian M.J. Rogers, Derrick L. Wagner, Zachary D. Tomlinson, Eric G. Fiorentino
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5013
The 1973 Oklahoma Groundwater Law (Oklahoma Statute §82–1020.5) requires that the Oklahoma Water Resources Board conduct hydrologic investigations of the State’s groundwater basins to support a determination of the maximum annual yield for each groundwater basin. Every 20 years, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board is required to update the hydrologic...
Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources of Oman, 2023
Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Phuong A. Le, Andrea D. Cicero, Ronald M. Drake II, Sarah E. Gelman, Jane S. Hearon, Benjamin G. Johnson, Jenny H. Lagesse, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Kira K. Timm
2025, Fact Sheet 2024-3050
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean conventional resources of 1.2 billion barrels of oil and 6.4 trillion cubic feet of gas in Oman....
Specific conductance and water type as a proxy model for salinity and total dissolved solids measurements in the Upper Colorado River Basin
R. Blaine McCleskey, Charles A. Cravotta III, Matthew P. Miller, Tanner William Chapin, Fred D. Tillman, Gabrielle L. Keith
2025, Applied Geochemistry (184)
Salinity levels in streams and tributaries of the Colorado River Basin have been a major concern for the United States and Mexico for over 50 years as the water is used by millions of people for domestic and industrial purposes. Recently, the United States Geological Survey expanded stream monitoring networks...
Deterministic physics-based earthquake sequence simulators match empirical ground-motion models and enable extrapolation to data poor regimes: Application to multifault multimechanism ruptures
Bruce E. Shaw, Kevin Ross Milner, Christine A. Goulet
2025, Seismological Research Letters
We use the deterministic earthquake simulator RSQSim to generate complex sequences of ruptures on fault systems used for hazard assessment. We show that the source motions combined with a wave propagation code create surface ground motions that fall within the range of epistemic uncertainties for the Next Generation Attenuation‐West2 set...
United States Register of Introduced and Invasive Species
Annie Simpson, Mark T. Wiltermuth, Mireya Dorado
2025, Fact Sheet 2024-3037
The pervasive and insidious threat of invasive species costs the United States more than $120 billion, annually. An invasive species is an organism that is not native to a locality and causes (or is likely to cause) harm. An introduced species is one that is nonnative to a locality and...
Designing sortable guilds for multispecies selective fish passage
David Benoit, Daniel Zielinski, Reid G Swanson, Donald Jackson, Robert L. McLaughlin, Theodore Castro-Santos, R. Andrew Goodwin, Thomas C. Pratt, Andrew M. Muir
2025, Fish and Fisheries
The importance of connectivity for freshwater organisms is widely recognised, yet in-stream barriers associated with population declines and increased risk of extinction remain globally ubiquitous. Despite their negative consequences, these barriers can protect aquatic communities by limiting the spread of invasive species, leading to conflicting management goals in some regions....
Biodiversity surveys of Wake Atoll—Featuring field guides for plants, arthropods, and herpetofauna
Stacie A. Hathaway, James D. Jacobi, Robert Peck, Adam R. Backlin, Cynthia J. Hitchcock, Robert N. Fisher
2025, Open-File Report 2023-1066
IntroductionThe U.S. Air Force (USAF) issued funds to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to update the biosecurity plan, create a current (2019) flora and fauna species identification index, and do container evaluations for the presence of potential invasives. The current (2019) biosecurity protocols used for prevention were evaluated, and new...
A model uncertainty quantification protocol for evaluating the value of observation data
Michael N. Fienen, Laura A. Schachter, Randall J. Hunt
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5007
The history-matching approach to parameter estimation with models enables a powerful offshoot analysis of data worth—using the uncertainty of a model forecast as a metric for the worth of data. Adding observation data will either have no impact on forecast uncertainty or will reduce it. Removing existing data will either...
Climate and dispersal ability limit future habitats for Gila monsters in the Mojave Desert
Steven J. Hromada, Jason L. Jones, Jocelyn B. Stalker, Dustin A. Wood, A.G. Vandergast, C. Richard Tracy, C.M. Gienger, Kenneth E. Nussear
2025, Ecology and Evolution (15)
Describing future habitat for sensitive species can be helpful in planning conservation efforts to ensure species persistence under new climatic conditions. The Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum) is an iconic lizard of the southwestern United States. The northernmost range of Gila monsters is the Mojave Desert, an area experiencing rapid human...
Ageing of organic materials at the surface of Mars: A Raman study aboard Perseverance
S. Bernard, O. Beyssac, J.A. Manrique, G. Lopez Reyes, A. Ollila, S. Le Mouelic, P.S.A. Beck, P. Pilleri, O. Forni, S. Julve-Gonzales, M. Veneranda, I. Reyes Rodriguez, J.M. Madariaga Mota, J. Aramenda, K. Castro, E. Clave, C. Royer, T. Fornaro, B. Bousquet, S.K. Sharma, J.R. Johnson, E. Cloutis, Travis S.J. Gabriel, P.Y. Meslin, O. Gasnault, A. Cousin, R.C. Wiens, S. Maurice
2025, Geochemical Perspectives Letters (34) 25-30
The Perseverance rover is exploring Jezero crater on Mars, one of its goals being to collect samples to be returned to Earth to search for organic remains of ancient Martian life. However, the organic content of these rocks has likely suffered from the radiation environment on the surface of Mars...
Evaluating the potential to quantify salmon habitat via UAS-based particle image velocimetry
Lee R. Harrison, Carl J. Legleiter, Brandon Overstreet, James White
2025, Water Resources Research (3)
Continuous, high-resolution data for characterizing freshwater habitat conditions can support successful management of endangered salmonids. Uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) make acquiring such fine-scale data along river channels more feasible, but workflows for quantifying reach-scale salmon habitats are lacking. We evaluated the potential for UAS-based mapping of hydraulic habitats using spectrally...
Dynamic baseflow storage estimates and the role of topography, geology and evapotranspiration on streamflow recession characteristics in the Neversink Reservoir Watershed, New York
Joshua R. Benton, Daniel H. Doctor
2025, Hydrological Processes (39)
Estimates of dynamic groundwater volumes supplying baseflow to streams are important for water availability projections during extended periods of drought. The primary goals of this study were to provide dynamic storage volume estimates, inferred from streamflow recession analysis, for baseflow regimes within seven gaged catchments within the Neversink Reservoir Watershed...
Comparison of hydrologic data and water budgets between 2003–08 and 2018–23 for the eastern part of the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer, south-central Oklahoma
Shana L. Mashburn, Evin J. Fetkovich, Hayden A. Lockmiller, Chloe Codner, Ethan Allen Kirby, Isaac A. Dale, Colin A. Baciocco
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5011
The Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer is divided spatially into three parts (eastern, central, and western). The largest groundwater withdrawals are from the eastern part of the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer, which provides water to approximately 39,000 people in Ada and Sulphur, Oklahoma, and surrounding areas. The Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer, including the eastern part, is designated...
Methods for peak-flow frequency analysis for streamgages in or near Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming
Seth A. Siefken, Tara Williams-Sether, Nancy A. Barth, Katherine J. Chase, Mark A. Cedar Face
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5019
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, North Dakota Department of Water Resources, South Dakota Department of Transportation, and the Wyoming Water Development Office, has developed standard methods of peak-flow frequency analysis for studies in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming....
The abandoned mine inventory of the United States—A brief summary
Jeffrey L. Mauk, Nick A. Karl, Justin S. Pierson, Carma A. San Juan
2025, Fact Sheet 2025-3003
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 required the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to inventory abandoned hard-rock mines in the United States. The Department of the Interior’s Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance asked the U.S. Geological Survey’s Mineral Deposit Database project (USMIN) to use...
Geologic framework and Holocene sand thickness offshore of Seven Mile Island, New Jersey
Emily A. Wei, Jennifer L. Miselis, Noreen A. Buster, Arnell S. Forde
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5131
The U.S. Geological Survey assessed the Quaternary evolution of Seven Mile Island, New Jersey, to quantify coastal sediment availability, which is crucial for establishing sediment budgets, understanding sediment dispersal, and managing coastlines. This report presents preliminary interpretations of seismic profiles, maps of Holocene sand thickness from the shoreline to 2...
Analysis of aquifer framework and properties, Alvahs Lane well field, Cutchogue, New York
Paul E. Misut
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5128
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Suffolk County Water Authority, evaluated the aquifer transmissivity and storage properties at the Alvahs Lane well field north of the village of Cutchogue, New York. This analysis of aquifer properties provides the Suffolk County Water Authority with hydrogeologic information needed to develop...
Base-flow sampling to enhance understanding of the groundwater flow component of nitrogen loading in small watersheds draining into Long Island Sound
Kaitlin L. Laabs, Janet R. Barclay, John R. Mullaney
2025, Data Report 1206
Excessive nitrogen discharge is a major concern for the Long Island Sound. Programs have been implemented to reduce point sources of nitrogen to the sound, but little is known about the nonpoint sources. This study aims to better understand the current groundwater contributions of nitrogen from nonpoint sources in the...
Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in upper Paleozoic reservoirs of the Wind River Basin, Bighorn Basin, and Powder River Basin Provinces, 2024
Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Phuong A. Le, Andrea D. Cicero, Ronald M. Drake II, Sarah E. Gelman, Jane S. Hearon, Benjamin G. Johnson, Jenny H. Lagesse, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Kira K. Timm
2025, Fact Sheet 2024-3049
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean conventional resources of 47 million barrels of oil and 876 billion cubic feet of gas in upper Paleozoic reservoirs of the Wind River Basin, Bighorn Basin, and Powder River Basin Provinces....
Hydrologic mechanisms for 2022 Yellowstone River flood and comparisons to recent historic floods
Jeremy Giovando, Wyatt Reis, Wei Zhang, Nancy A. Barth
2025, Hydrological Processes (39)
In June 2022, a historic flood event occurred in the headwaters of the Yellowstone River Basin. The flood resulted in millions of dollars in damages and substantial interruptions to Yellowstone National Park. The 2022 flood event was substantially higher in magnitude than other high-peak flow events over the last 30 years....
Overwinter survival of an estuarine resident fish (Fundulus heteroclitus) in North Carolina salt marsh creeks
P.J. Rudershausen, Matthew J. O'Donnell
2025, Journal of Fish of Biology
The mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus is a trophically important fish inhabiting Atlantic coastal salt marshes, with few in situ estimates of overwinter survival throughout the species range. We estimated overwinter apparent survival rates of F. heteroclitus at the approximate mid-latitudinal species range [coastal North Carolina (USA)] in four tidal creeks that experience variable winter water...
Exposure of wild mammals inhabiting Alaska to influenza A(H5N1) virus
Andrew M. Ramey, Kimberlee B. Beckmen, David T. Saafeld, Kerry Nicholson, Buck A. Mangipane, Laura Celeste Scott, David E. Stallknecht, Rebecca L. Poulson
2025, Emerging Infectious Diseases
Serum samples from wild mammals inhabiting Alaska, USA, showed that 4 species, including Ursus arctos bears and Vulpes vulpes foxes, were exposed to influenza A(H5N1) viruses. Results indicated some mammals in Alaska survived H5N1 virus infection. Surveillance efforts may be improved by incorporating information on susceptibility and detectable immune responses among wild mammals....