Increased flood exposure in the Pacific Northwest following earthquake-driven subsidence and sea-level rise
Tina Dura, William Chilton, David Small, Andra Garner, Andrea D. Hawkes, Diego Melgar, Simon E. Engelhart, Lydia M. Staisch, Robert C. Witter, Alan Nelson, Harvey Kelsey, Jonathan Allan, David S. Bruce, Jessica DePaolis, Mike Priddy, Richard W. Briggs, Robert Weiss, SeanPaul La Selle, Michael J. Willis, Benjamin P. Horton
2025, PNAS (122)
Climate-driven sea-level rise is increasing the frequency of coastal flooding worldwide, exacerbated locally by factors like land subsidence from groundwater and resource extraction. However, a process rarely considered in future sea-level rise scenarios is sudden (over minutes) land subsidence associated with great (>M8) earthquakes, which can exceed 1 m. Along...
Mapping predicted ecological states at landscape scales using remote sensing data and machine learning
Nathan J. Kleist, Christopher T. Domschke, Anna C. Knight, Travis W. Nauman, Michael C. Duniway, Sarah K. Carter
2025, Ecosphere (16)
Dryland ecosystems, covering 45% of the Earth's land and supporting over one-third of the global population, face significant threats from land degradation and ecological state change. Managing these ecosystems is complex, and science-based frameworks like Ecological Site Descriptions and state-and-transition models are essential tools for guiding decisions to support ecological...
Slow rupture, long rise times, and multi-fault geometry: The 2020 M6.4 southwestern Puerto Rico mainshock
Margarita M. Solares-Colón, Dara Elyse Goldberg, Diego Melgar, Elizabeth A. Vanacore, Valerie J. Sahakian, William L. Yeck, Francisco Hernández, Alberto Lopez-Venegas
2025, Geophysical Research Letters (52)
The M6.4 mainshock of the southwestern Puerto Rico seismic sequence on 7 January 2020, was one of the most impactful modern earthquakes in the northeastern Caribbean. Due to its offshore location and complex aftershock distribution, its source kinematics remain poorly constrained. This active sequence illuminated a complex set of previously unrecognized...
Advancing broadscale spatial evapotranspiration modelling by incorporating sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence measurements
Sicong Gao, Pamela L. Nagler, William Woodgate, Alfredo Huete, Tanya M. Doody
2025, Journal of Hydrology (660)
Evapotranspiration (ET) describes the sum of water transfer from the ground surface through soil evaporation and water loss from leaf stomata into the atmosphere − critical factors linking the global water and carbon cycles. Myriad ET models based on remote sensing data provide spatially continuous estimates of ET; however, leaf...
A psychologically wise intervention to inform relational organizing in the face of climate and ocean change
Jennifer L. Waldo, Thomas C. Swearingen, Megan Siobhan Jones
2025, npj Ocean Sustainability (4)
Widespread climate action is broadly recognized as necessary to reduce climate change impacts on oceans (“ocean change”), but threats to ocean ecosystems are commonly perceived as distant, irrelevant, and unchangeable. Communicating about ocean change, therefore, requires message framing strategies targeting evidence-based psychological precursors to behavior. In a pre-registered case study...
Machine learning provides reconnaissance-type estimates of carbon dioxide storage resources in oil and gas reservoirs
E. D. Attanasi, Philip A. Freeman, Timothy C. Coburn
2025, Frontiers in Enviornmental Science (13)
Oil and gas reservoirs represent suitable containers to sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) in a supercritical state because they are accessible, reservoir properties are known, and they previously contained stored buoyant fluids. However, planners must quantify the relative magnitude of the CO2 storage resource in these reservoirs to formulate a comprehensive strategy...
Bølling-Allerød productivity in the subarctic Pacific driven by seasonal upwelling
Kimberly A. deLong, Terrence Blackburn, Beth Elaine Caissie, Jason A. Addison, Zuzanna Stroynowski, Maria R. Sipala, Franco Marcantonio, Ana Christina Ravelo
2025, Geophysical Research Letters (52)
The Bølling-Allerød deglacial event is marked by high diatom productivity and opal deposition throughout the subarctic Pacific. This opal could either constitute a strengthened biological pump and thus carbon sequestration, or a weakened biological pump and release of marine-sequestered CO2 to the atmosphere. We quantify silicic acid supply at IODP Site...
Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 antibody detection methods for wild Cervidae
Joshua Hewitt, Grete Wilson-Henjum, Jeffrey C. Chandler, Aaron T. Phillips, Diego G. Diel, W. David Walter, Alec Baker, Jennifer Høy-Petersen, Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, Tadao Kishimoto, George Wittemyer, Jeremy Alder, Sara Hathaway, Kezia R. Manlove, Travis Gallo, Jennifer Mullinax, Carson Coriell, Matthew Payne, Meggan E. Craft, Tyler J. Garwood, Tiffany M. Wolf, Maria A. Diuk-Wasser, Meredith C. VanAcker, Laura Dudley Plimpton, Mark Q. Wilber, Daniel Grove, Justin Koseiwska, Lisa I. Muller, Kim M. Pepin
2025, Preventive Veterinary Medicine (241)
Wildlife surveillance programs often use serological data to monitor exposure to pathogens. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of a serological assay quantify the true positive and negative rates of the diagnostic assay, respectively. However, an assay’s accuracy can be affected by wild animals’ pathogen exposure history and quality of the sample...
Prospectivity modeling of the NASA VIPER landing site at Mons Mouton near the Lunar South Pole
Joshua Aaron Coyan, Matthew Siegler, Jose Martinez Comacho, Ross A. Beyer, Mark Shirley
2025, Planetary Science Journal (6)
We use a high-resolution digital elevation model and a numerical thermal model to produce a variety of inputs for a water-ice prospectivity model for the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) landing site. These input data are maps of topography, surface slope, surface aspect, surface curvature, maximum temperature, depth to...
Broadband stochastic simulation of earthquake ground motions with multiple strong phases with an application to the 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Turkey (Türkiye), earthquake
S. M. Sajad Hussaini, Shaghayegh Karimzadeh, Sanaz Rezaeian, Paulo B. Lourenco
2025, Earthquake Spectra (41) 2399-2435
Stochastic ground motion simulation models are often less accurate at lower frequencies than at higher frequencies when fitting recorded data unless supplemented by a deterministic forward directivity velocity pulse model. Moreover, time-modulated stochastic models, which adjust ground motion amplitudes over time, typically use functions that fail to capture multiple strong-motion...
Daily survival rate and nest-site selection of Zone-tailed Hawks (Buteo albonotatus) in the Chihuahuan Desert ecoregion of Texas
Caroline Skidmore, Clint W. Boal, Ben R. Skipper, Russell Martin
2025, Journal of Raptor Research (59) 1-9
The Zone-tailed Hawk (Buteo albonotatus) is one of the least studied raptors in North America and lacks contemporary literature allowing informed management decisions for this species. Zone-tailed Hawks occupy rugged areas in the southwestern region of the United States and are listed as state threatened in Texas. Our objectives were...
Reproductive habitat mismatch influences chytrid infection dynamics in a tropical amphibian community
Neil A. Gilbert, Rayna C. Bell, Alessandro Catenazzi, Renato A. Martins, Shannon Buttimer, Wesley J. Neely, Carolina Lambertini, Veronica Saenz Calderon, Célio F.B. Haddad, C. Guilherme Becker, Graziella Vittoria DiRenzo
2025, Global Ecology and Conservation (60)
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been decimating amphibian populations globally; previous work indicates that infection risk increases with moisture and thermal mismatch from a host’s optimum. We hypothesized that, in addition to these abiotic influences, mismatch of hosts from their reproductive habitat heightens infection risk via exposure and/or susceptibility mechanisms. We evaluated...
Detection of landslide-generated tsunami by shipborne GNSS precise point positioning
Adam E. Manaster, Anne F Sheehan, Dara Elyse Goldberg, Katherine R. Barnhart, Ethan F. Roth
2025, Geophysical Research Letters (52)
Precise point positioning (PPP) of ships using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data reveals the precise movements of marine vessels. This method may quantify anomalies in sea surface height with implications for oceanographic monitoring, exploration, and tsunami warning. The GNSS PPP data from the R/V Sikuliaq, a research ship of the...
Genetic structure and diversity in wild populations of the Light-footed Ridgway’s Rail reflect 20 years of augmentation through captive breeding and release
Amy G. Vandergast, Julia G. Smith, Anna Mitelberg, Dustin A. Wood, Kimberley A. Sawyer, Courtney J. Conway
2025, Open-File Report 2025-1011
Captive breeding and release programs aimed at recovery of rare species can be informed by genetic data to help select high-diversity source populations, make pairing decisions to minimize inbreeding, and manage release strategies. We developed a set of 54 microsatellite loci to assess genetic structure and diversity across the United...
Satellite imagery can predict bird species occupancy and inform multispecies management in pine savannas
Cory R. Allred, Todd M. Schneider, Elizabeth Ann Hunter
2025, Ornithological Applications
Multispecies management can contribute to meeting growing challenges of preserving biodiversity, yet current game and threatened species management often focuses on individual species. Satellite imagery available at high spatial and temporal resolution provides a potential tool to overcome the challenge posed by multispecies management of linking patterns of habitat use...
U.S. Geological Survey 2024 Rocky Mountain Region Science Exchange—Showcasing cutting-edge science to adapt to extreme weather events and stakeholder needs
William J. Andrews, Timothy N. Titus, Lauren Ellissa Eng, Kristine L. Zellman, Patrick J. Anderson, Jeremy C Havens
2025, Fact Sheet 2025-3008
IntroductionThe Rocky Mountains and the Colorado River Basin in the Western United States are complex, interconnected systems that sustain a large variety of species, including tens of millions of humans. These regions face risks from drought, wildfires, invasive plant and animal species, and habitat reduction. Working with many stakeholders, scientists...
Statistical approaches for modeling correlated grade and tonnage distributions and applications for mineral resource assessments
Joshua Mark Rosera, Graham W. Lederer, John Schuenemeyer
2025, Applied Computing and Geosciences (26)
Correlations between grade and tonnage exist in mineral resource data compiled from published reports, but they are not always addressed during quantitative assessment of undiscovered mineral resources. Failure to account for correlated grade and tonnage distributions can result in geologically...
Wet antecedent soil moisture increases atmospheric river streamflow magnitudes non-linearly
Mariana J. Webb, Christine M. Albano, Adrian A. Harpold, Daniel M. Wagner, Anna M. Wilson
2025, Journal of Hydrometeorology (26) 741-758
Atmospheric rivers (ARs) drive most riverine floods on the United States (U.S.) West Coast. However, estimating flood risk based solely on AR intensity and duration is challenging because precipitation phase, antecedent conditions, and physical watershed characteristics (e.g., slope and soil depth) can influence the magnitude of floods. Here, we analyze...
Automated snow cover detection on mountain glaciers usingspaceborne imagery and machine learning
Rainey Aberle, Ellyn Enderlin, Shad O'Neel, Caitlyn Florentine, Louis C. Sass, Adam Dickson, Hans-Peter Marshall, Alejandro Flores
2025, The Cryosphere (19) 1675-1693
Tracking the extent of seasonal snow on glaciers over time is critical for assessing glacier vulnerability and the response of glacierized watersheds to climate change. Existing snow cover products do not reliably distinguish seasonal snow from glacier ice and firn, preventing their use for glacier snow cover detection. Despite previous...
Linking age and social status of cooperative breeders to vulnerability throughout the harvest season
Peter F. Rebholz, Sarah B. Bassing, Lisette P. Waits, David Edward Ausband
2025, Journal of Wildlife Management (89)
Individual behaviors are influenced by environmental, genetic, and demographic factors. Some animals choose to live in groups and cooperatively breed, and their behaviors can change depending on dynamic factors such as group size and composition that affect group persistence. In Idaho, USA, gray wolves (Canis lupus) are harvested annually, providing...
Characteristics of volcanic ash reveal changes in fragmentation and eruption dynamics at Poás volcano, Costa Rica, 2016–2019
Monserrat Cascante, Thomas Giachetti, Heather M. Wright, Alexa R. Van Eaton, Geoffroy Avard
2025, Bulletin of Volcanology (87)
Determining whether fresh magma has reached the surface during a volcanic eruption can provide important information for forecasts of future activity, especially in the early stages of an eruption. However, identifying fresh, juvenile pyroclasts in tephra fall deposits can be challenging and inconclusive. We studied the products of explosions at...
A review of post-wildfire adaptations of surface-water-quality models: Synthesis, gaps, and opportunities
Zachary M. Shephard, Trevor Fuess Partridge, Sheila F. Murphy, Michelle A. Walvoord, Brian A. Ebel
2025, Science of the Total Environment (979)
As wildfires increasingly affect water-supply watersheds, the demand for models to predict water-quality responses is increasing. This work reviews and synthesizes existing post-wildfire applications of water-quality models in the context of geographic and ecohydrological distribution, hydrologic and water-quality response process representation, model parameterization, model and input data scales, model calibration...
HarvestStat Africa – Harmonized subnational crop statistics for sub-Saharan Africa
Donghoon Lee, Weston Anderson, Xuan Chen, Frank Davenport, Shraddhanand Shukla, Ritvik Sahajpal, Michael Budde, James Rowland, James Verdin, Liangzhi You, Matthieu Ahouangbenon, Kyle Frankel Davis, Endalkachew Kebede, Steffen Ehrmann, Christina Justice, Carsten Meyer
2025, Scientific Data - Nature (12)
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) faces severe agricultural data scarcity amidst high food insecurity and a large agricultural yield gap, making crop production data crucial for understanding and enhancing food systems. To address this gap, HarvestStat Africa presents the largest compilation of open-access subnational crop statistics and time-series across SSA. Based on...
System characterization report on Resourcesat-2A Linear Imaging Self Scanning-3 sensor
Seonkyung Park, Mahesh Shrestha, Minsu Kim, Aparajithan Sampath, Jeffrey Clauson
2025, Open-File Report 2021-1030-T
Executive Summary This report addresses system characterization of the Indian Space Research Organisation Resourcesat-2A Linear Imaging Self Scanning-3 sensor and is part of a series of system characterization reports produced and delivered by the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Cal/Val Center of Excellence since 2021. These reports present...
The relationship between body condition, body composition, and growth in amphibians
Ross K. Hinderer, Blake R. Hossack, Lisa A. Eby
2025, PLoS ONE (20)
Body condition of animals is often assumed to reflect advantages in survival or reproduction, but body condition indices may not reflect body composition, or condition may be unrelated to fitness-associated traits. The relationship between body condition indices and composition has rarely been quantified in amphibians, and body condition has not...
