Resolution sensitivities for subgrid modeling of coastal flooding
Johnathan Lucas Woodruff, Joel C. Dietrich, Damrongsak Wirasaet, Andrew B. Kennedy, Diogo Bolster, Richard A. Luettich
2025, Coastal Engineering (201)
Flooding due to storm surge can propagate through coastal regions to threaten the built and natural environments. This propagation is controlled by geographic features of varying scales, from the largest oceans to the smallest marsh channels and sandy dunes. Numerical models to predict coastal flooding have been improved via the...
Critical minerals in orogenic (gold) and Coeur d’Alene-type mineral systems of the United States
Ryan D. Taylor, Albert H. Hofstra
2025, Data Report 1198
Orogenic and Coeur d’Alene-type mineral systems are produced by metamorphic devolatilization of thick volcanic or siliciclastic sedimentary rock sequences and the focused flow of hydrothermal fluids upwards along crustal-scale faults. Most orogenic systems are found along the Cordilleran orogen, stretching from California northwards into Alaska, whereas most Coeur d’Alene-type systems...
Integrated distribution modeling resolves asynchrony between bat population impacts and occupancy trends through latent abundance
Bradley James Udell, Christian Stratton, Kathryn Irvine, Bethany R. Straw, Jonathan D. Reichard, Sarah M. Gaulke, Jeremy. T.H. Coleman, Frank C Tousley, Andrea Nichole Schuhmann, Rich D. Inman, Melinda Turner, Sarah Nystrom, Brian E. Reichert
2025, Communications Biology (8)
Monitoring populations is challenging for cryptic species with seasonal life cycles, where data from multiple field techniques are commonly collected and analyzed as multiple lines of evidence. Data integration can provide comprehensive inferences while improving accuracy, precision, and scope but faces challenges in modeling misaligned resolutions and observational uncertainties. We...
Foundational uncertainties in terminal Ediacaran chronostratigraphy revealed by high-precision zircon U-Pb geochronology of the Nama Group, Namibia
Fred T. Bowyer, Fabio Messori, Rachel Wood, Ulf Linnemann, Esther Rojo-Perez, Mandy Zieger-Hofmann, Johannes Zieger, Junias Ndeunyema, Martin Shipanga, Bontle Mataboge, Dan Condon, Catherine V. Rose, Collen-Issia Uahengo, Sean Patrick Gaynor, Inigo A. Müller, Gerd Geyer, Torsten W. Vennemann, Joshua H.F.L. Davies, Maria Ovtcharova
2025, Earth-Science Reviews (268)
The Nama Group of southern Namibia and northwestern South Africa hosts the best-dated mixed carbonate-siliciclastic foreland basin succession of the terminal Ediacaran [ca. 551 million years (Ma) ago to <538 Ma] and is key for resolving the chronology of early metazoan evolution. Numerous silicified volcanic tuff interbeds are present,...
Tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) demographics and metal(loid) concentrations in egg contents from the Kootenai River basin, Montana nest box colonies
Brian C. Balmer, Joseph P. Skorupa, Katherine B. Adams, Bridger M. Creel, Gregory C. Hoffman, Megan A. Fylling, Stephanie Le, Jacob M. Martin, W. Scott McBride, Jacob T. Williams, Travis S. Schmidt
2025, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (197)
Selenium (Se) levels in water have been increasing in Lake Koocanusa and the Kootenai River below Libby Dam in Montana due to coal mining in the drainage basin of the Elk River, British Columbia. Aquatic monitoring of Se is ongoing to assess potential effects; however, exposure to terrestrial, aquatic-dependent wildlife...
Wildfire risk information sources and the acceptability of fuels treatments near select WUI communities in the Western United States
Kelly Wallace, Hannah Brenkert-Smith, Patricia A. Champ, James R. Meldrum, Grant Webster, Christine Taniguchi, Julia B. Goolsby, Colleen Donovan, Carolyn Wagner, Christopher M. Barth, Josh Kuehn, Suzanne Wittenbrink
2025, Journal of Forest Policy and Economics (176)
Fuels treatments intended to reduce fuel loads and improve forest health on public lands offer one way to reduce wildfire hazards in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), where the natural and built environments meet. However, for fuels treatment implementation to be successful, it must comply with regulatory and scientific standards and...
Spatial patterns and temporal trends in water quality in Idaho’s lower Boise River and its tributaries, 1994–2023
Austin K. Baldwin, Tyler V. King
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5033
The lower Boise River in southwestern Idaho is a vital cultural, economic, and ecological resource, but some of its beneficial uses are impaired by excess algae, sediment, nutrients, and bacteria. In response, a variety of water quality improvement projects and regulations have been implemented in recent decades. A recent study...
Restoration of Gavia immer (common loon) in Minnesota—2024 annual report
William S. Beatty, Kelly Amoth, Luke J. Fara, Brian R. Gray, Kristin Hall, Steven C. Houdek, Jayden Jech, Kevin P. Kenow, Mike J. Wellik, Steven Yang
2025, Open-File Report 2025-1029
In cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Geological Survey monitored 98 common loon (Gavia immer) focal territories and an additional 37 nonfocal territories in 2024 across 53 study lakes in Minnesota. Focal territories were those territories from which study inferences will be made, whereas nonfocal territories...
Hydrogeologic mapping and three-dimensional geologic modeling of glacial deposits in a multicounty area of southeastern Michigan, northeastern Indiana, and northwestern Ohio
Alexander D. Riddle, Leslie D. Arihood, Shawn Naylor, David C. Lampe
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5008
The glacial deposits underlying southeastern Michigan, northeastern Indiana, and northwestern Ohio are a substantial source of water to communities, agriculture, and industry in the region. Previous efforts to characterize aquifer materials in the area cited a need for additional information about the underlying hydrogeologic characteristics and related groundwater availability as...
Simulation of the impacts of projected climate change on groundwater resources in the urban, semiarid Yucaipa Valley watershed, southern California using an integrated hydrologic model
Derek W. Ryter, Ayman H. Alzraiee, Richard G. Niswonger
2025, Journal of Hydrology, Regional Studies (60)
Managing water resources in semiarid watersheds is challenging due to limited supply and uncertain future climate conditions. This paper examines the impact of future climate changes on an urban watershed in southern California using an integrated hydrologic model. GSFLOW modeling software is used to simulate the nonlinear relationships between climate...
Estimating the magnitude and frequency of floods at ungaged locations on streams in Tennessee through the 2013 water year
David Ladd, Paul A. Ensminger
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5130
To improve estimates of the frequency of annual peak flows for ungaged locations on non-urban, unregulated streams in Tennessee, generalized least-squares multiple linear-regression techniques were used to relate annual peak flows from streamgages operated by the U.S. Geological Survey to physical, climatic, and land-use characteristics of their drainage basins. Geospatial...
Distribution, abundance, and breeding activities of Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus) at select locations on the San Luis Rey River, San Diego County, California—2024 data summary
Scarlett L. Howell, Barbara E. Kus
2025, Data Report 1212
We surveyed for Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus; flycatcher) at select locations along the San Luis Rey River, including along the middle San Luis Rey River near Bonsall and the upper San Luis Rey River near Santa Ysabel, California, in 2024. Surveys were completed at six locations: two along...
The 3D Elevation Program—Supporting Connecticut's economy
Laura Harrington, Dan Walters
2025, Fact Sheet 2025-3030
Introduction Connecticut has a diverse, largely forested landscape characterized by hills and low mountains in the Western Upland, hills in the Eastern Upland, ridges and broad valleys in the Central Lowland, and many beaches and harbors along the coast of Long Island Sound. Connecticut is manufacturing and service focused, ranking almost...
Combining acoustic telemetry and side-scan sonar to estimate abundance of endangered shortnose sturgeon in the Hudson River, New York
Amanda Higgs, Shannon L. White, John Madsen, David C. Kazyak, Dewayne Fox, Richard Pendleton, Adam Bonemery, Tomasz Smolinski, Amanda Simmonds, Patrick Sullivan
2025, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (82) 1-12
For endangered shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum), the ability to estimate and monitor population size is critical for tracking species’ recovery. Yet, contemporary abundance estimates have not been completed for many shortnose sturgeon populations, largely owing to the difficulty in using traditional abundance estimators for sturgeons. Here, we estimate the adult...
Leisure boat harbours, hidden alien species, and pollution: A case study of Hinsholmskilen harbour (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Irina Polovodova Asteman, Emilie Jaffre, Agata Olejnik, Maria Holzmann, Mary McGann, Kjell Nordberg, Jean-Charles Pavard, Delia Rosel, Magali Schweizer
2025, Journal of Micropalaeontology (44) 119-143
Small leisure boat harbours have important aesthetic and recreational values in any country with a coastline. In Sweden, there are about 860 000 leisure boats, which is one of the world's highest numbers in relation to the country's population. However, small boat harbours also present a wide range of environmental problems,...
Factors associated with survival, recovery, and movements in the western Gulf Coast population of mottled ducks
Christopher P. Malachowski, William L. Kendall, Daniel P. Collins, Kevin J. Kraai, Jason Olszak, Larry Reynolds
2025, Journal of Wildlife Management (89)
The mottled duck (Anas fulvigula) is nonmigratory and a priority species for regional conservation and management because of its limited range and declining population trajectory in the western Gulf Coast (WGC) of Louisiana and Texas, USA. We developed multistate dead-recovery models for banding and recovery data (1997–2020) to evaluate potential...
Harnessing geospatial artificial intelligence and deep learning for landslide inventory mapping: Advances, challenges, and emerging directions
Xiao Chen, Wenwen Li, Chia-Yu Hsu, Samantha T. Arundel, Bretwood Higman
2025, Remote Sensing (17)
Recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning enable more accurate, scalable, and automated mapping. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the applications of AI, particularly deep learning, in landslide inventory mapping. In addition to examining commonly used data sources and model architectures, we explore...
Effects of restoration thinning on live tree carbon in northern secondary coastal redwood forests
Phillip J. van Mantgem, Micah C. Wright, Jason Teraoka
2025, Forest Ecology and Management (591)
At Redwood National and State parks restoration efforts are underway to promote the recovery of forests following a history of intense logging. Unmanaged secondary forests at the parks have high stem density with slow stand development. Restoration thinning treatments of these stands are designed to promote the representation of redwood...
Modeling individual-level and population-level nest success of California Condors from movement data
Andrea Blackburn, Joseph Michael Eisaguirre, Joseph C. Brandt, Arianna Punzalan, Laura Mcmahon, Molly Astell, Nadya E. Seal Faith, David J. Meyer, Estelle A. Sandhaus
2025, Journal of Raptor Research (59)
The California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) is a critically endangered species with populations that are not currently self-sustaining. Although understanding nest success is key to understanding trends in their populations, field monitoring of condor nests has become increasingly challenging as the number of nesting condors has increased and their range has...
Using high-resolution geospatial imagery and data to document the evolution of the Wilderness Breach that was created by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 at Fire Island National Seashore, New York
Gary B. Fisher
2025, Open-File Report 2025-1020
The U.S. Geological Survey’s National Civil Applications Center obtained remote sensing data and imagery collected from 1939 through 2023 to monitor changes at Fire Island National Seashore, New York. On October 29, 2012, an inlet was created during Hurricane Sandy on Fire Island that remained open for 10 years. This...
Effects of nonmotorized recreation on ungulates in the western United States—A science synthesis to inform National Environmental Policy Act analyses
Samuel E. Jordan, Taylor R. Ganz, Tait K. Rutherford, Matthew J. Blocker, Christopher T. Domschke, Frederick L. Klasner, Elroy H. Masters, Tye A. Morgan, Daryl R. Ratajczak, Elisabeth C. Teige, Sarah K. Carter
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5014
The U.S. Geological Survey is working with Federal land management agencies to develop a series of science syntheses to support National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analyses. This report synthesizes science information about the potential effects of nonmotorized recreation on ungulates in the western United States. We conducted a structured literature...
Quality assessment of past spawning mark estimations from a long-term survey in the Connecticut River watershed
Jacqueline B. Stephens, Adrian Jordaan, David Perkins, Kenneth Sprankle, Allison H. Roy
2025, Cooperator Science Series CSS-168-2025
The calcified structures of fishes provide insight into their periodic growth rates and can be combined with other biological variables to identify metrics such as size or age at maturity and mortality rates. Collecting this information on growth and life history can help evaluate the success of conservation efforts and...
Monitoring visitor activity and informal trail disturbance in Yosemite Valley meadows to assess temporal changes in use and impacts
Sheri A. Shiflett, Jeffery S. Jenkins, Rachel F. Mattos, Kai Thiry, Peter Christian Ibsen, Melissa Booher, Angela Tricomi, Nicole D Athearn
2025, Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism (50)
Montane meadows provide vital habitat that supports ecosystems, regulate hydrological processes, and offer valuable recreational opportunities. Meadows account for 3 % of Yosemite National Park's area, including Yosemite Valley, and are particularly susceptible to human impacts such as formation of informal trails. We collected observational data on visitor activity and quantified...
Flood-inundation maps for 14.8 miles of Little and Big Papillion Creeks in Omaha, Nebraska, 2023
Kellan R. Strauch, Bradley R. Hoefer
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5032
Digital flood-inundation map libraries for two reaches that constitute 14.8 miles of Little and Big Papillion Creeks in Omaha, Nebraska, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resource District. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping...
Negative growth in body mass of trout and salmon in a small stream network
Benjamin H. Letcher, Keith Nislow, Matthew O’Donnell, Michael J. Hayden, Todd Dubreuil
2025, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (82) 1-14
In species inhabiting stressful environments, some individuals experience negative growth in body mass during their lives, potentially influencing survival, reproduction, populations, and ecosystems. Using data from a long-term (1997–2015) study of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), brown trout (Salmo trutta), and juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in Massachusetts, USA, we analyzed...
