A site prioritization tool for invasive species management: Integrating diverse spatial data to improve decision making
Janet S. Prevéy, Cameron J. Reimer, Peder S. Engelstad, Pairsa N. Belamaric, Terri Hogan, Jillian M. LaRoe, Colter J. Mumford, Jennifer L. Sieracki, Catherine S. Jarnevich
2026, Ecological Informatics (95)
Resource managers are tasked with protecting natural areas from invasive species with limited resources. Further, invasive management goals can vary greatly based on different management priorities specific to management agencies or taxa of interest. The site prioritization tool for invasive species management addresses these challenges by creating...
Non-native invasive beetle alters structure of a riparian bird community in a biodiversity hotspot
Barbara E. Kus, Julie L. Yee, Shannon M. Mendia
2026, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (14)
A serious emerging threat to southern California riparian ecosystems is the invasive shot hole borer (Euwallacea spp.; SHB), a non-native beetle that cultivates a pathogenic fungus that kills trees of 66 reproductive host species. We examined the response of the bird community at the Tijuana River, California, to a massive SHB...
Standardized method for logging drill core at the Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho
Haley M. Dietz
2026, Techniques and Methods 5-E1
The U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Lithologic Core Storage Library (CSL) at the Idaho National Laboratory stores more than 120,000 feet of drill core that is accessible to the public for research and sampling. To effectively convey the physical and descriptive properties of the drill core, USGS staff at the Idaho...
Modeling future groundwater depletion to evaluate sustainability goals set under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in the critically overdrafted basins of the Central Valley, California, USA (2020–2070)
Logan Platt, Mathew Weingarten, Claudia C. Faunt, Jonathan A. Traum, Scott Boyce
2026, Water Resources Research (62)
In 2014, California's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) mandated local agencies to devise and implement groundwater sustainability plans to address critically overdrafted conditions throughout the state's aquifers. However, the feasibility of these agencies' sustainability goals has not previously been assessed through a regional-scale, integrative lens. Here, we develop and analyze...
Assessment of groundwater quantity and quality contributions to Lake Huron
Bridget B. Kaemming, Chanse M. Ford, Sherry L. Martin
2026, Scientific Investigations Report 2026-5136
Lake Huron, one of the five Great Lakes, borders the United States and Canada, with Michigan as the only U.S. State on its shoreline. Like other freshwater lakes, it faces water-quality challenges from nutrients and chemicals applied across its drainage basin. Although past studies focused on surface-water sources, groundwater contributions...
Thematic accuracy assessment of the National Land Cover Database (NLCD2021) for the conterminous United States
James Wickham, Stephen V. Stehman, Daniel G. Sorenson, Leila Gass, Jon Dewitz, Johnathan Vasa Kilaru
2026, GIScience & Remote Sensing (63)
The MultiResolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) consortium’s National Land Cover Database (NLCD) was established as an operational, stakeholder-oriented land cover monitoring program with the release of the NLCD2001 database. Both land cover and land cover change data became available with the release of NLCD2006. Here, we report the land cover and...
Quantitative mineral resource assessment of lithium pegmatite deposits in the northern Appalachian orogen, USA
Niki E. Wintzer, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Jacob Evan Poletti, Dalton M. McCaffrey, Stanley Paul Mordensky, Erik Roger Tharalson, Collin Cronkite-Ratcliff
2026, Natural Resources Research
Lithium demand is projected to increase more than 48 times by 2040 due to electric vehicle production and other energy storage needs. Most lithium production is outside of the USA, thereby increasing supply chain vulnerability. The combined end use importance and heightened supply risk of lithium make this lightest metallic...
A Bayesian hierarchical modeling approach for species diversity in ecology
Song S. Qian, Mark Richard Dufour, Sabrina Jaffe, Corbin David Hilling, William D. Hintz
2026, Ecological Informatics (95)
Species diversity is the foundation of many ecological disciplines. This metric is often approximated using species richness and evenness, even though actual richness likely exceeds observations due to imperfect sampling methods. Estimating the “true” species richness, which includes identifying the number of missing species, has intrigued ecologists for decades. We...
A practical decision tool for marine bird mortality assessments
Johanna Harvey, Andrew M. Ramey, Stephanie Avery-Gomm, Gregory J. Robertson, Marc D. Romano, Jennifer M Mullinax, Megan L Boldenow, Philip W. Atkinson, Diann Prosser
2026, Ornithological Applications
Given the rise in anthropogenic, environmental, and disease events contributing to marine bird mortality, there is a critical need to improve the rigor of mortality assessments. Deficits in data collection and mortality estimation can hinder a manager’s ability to document the scale of events and assess population level impacts. Therefore,...
Hydrogeology, groundwater salinity distributions, and assessment of the effect of oil-production activities on groundwater in the Midway Valley area, western Kern County, San Joaquin Valley, California
Janice M. Gillespie, Riley Gannon, Lyndsay B. Ball, John G. Warden, Rhett R. Everett, Michael J. Stephens
2026, PLOS Water (5)
This study seeks to determine the effects of oil field produced water disposal operations and well mechanical integrity issues on groundwater quality in oil fields in the southwest San Joaquin Valley, California. Whereas previous studies used groundwater wells to study shallow aquifers outside the oil fields, this study demonstrates that...
Historical ice jams and associated environmental conditions on Osoyoos Lake
Nicholas A. Sutfin, Stephen J. Breen
2026, Scientific Investigations Report 2026-5003
Ice jams occur regularly at the southern outlet of Osoyoos Lake, which spans the border between the State of Washington and British Columbia, Canada. In recent winters, ice jams caused (1) decreases in downstream discharge that may adversely affect salmon spawning habitat and (2) short-duration lake-level rise that can interfere...
Comparative assessment of STIC sensors, streamflow and rain gauges for quantifying river connectivity in intermittent systems
Cienna R. Cooper, Jane S. Rogosch, Nathan G. Smith, Clinton R. Robertson, Wade M. Wilson
2026, Water Biology and Security
In intermittent stream systems, including those occurring in Texas, USA, the severity of low-flow conditions, duration of seasonal disconnection, and frequency of no-flow events have been amplified by drought. Documentation of these no-flow events is necessary to evaluate ecosystem health. However, many intermittent reaches remain un-gauged given that perennial river...
Logical data model for hydrographic data based on HY_Features concepts
David L. Blodgett, editor(s)
2026, OCG Public Engineering Report 25-045
This report describes background and design of the “hydrofabric data model” which defines logic for implementation of data schemas and software that deals with hydrologic geospatial data. As a “logical” data model, the hydrofabric data model specifies details necessary to support compatibility of data and software that satisfy diverse needs...
Characterizing changes in postfire debris-flow hazard as burned areas recover
Andrew Paul Graber, Matthew A. Thomas, Jason W. Kean, Jonathan Michael King, Jaime Kostelnik
2026, Geosphere
Emergency assessments of postfire debris-flow hazards that are performed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provide estimates of debris-flow likelihood and rainfall triggering conditions that are used for evaluating and managing runoff-generated debris-flow hazards in recently burned areas throughout the western United States. Although the immediate postfire period, within roughly...
Analyses of meteorological and hydrological records support Tribal members’ accounts of changing climate on the Fort Apache Reservation, east–central Arizona
Jon P. Mason
2026, Scientific Investigations Report 2026-5140
The Fort Apache Reservation in east–central Arizona, home to the White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation, Arizona, contains several climate zones because of the large variation in surface elevation within the reservation. This study was carried out in cooperation with the White Mountain Apache Tribe of the...
The global proliferation of aquatic, benthic Microcoleus: Taxonomy, distribution, toxin production, ecology, and future directions
Laura T. Kelly, Daniel G Beach, Joanna R. Blaszczak, Keith Bouma-Gregson, Sydney M. Brown, Haowu Cheng, Janette L. Davidson, Jutta Fastner, Marcus Francis, Andrea Garcia Jimenez, Laurel Genzoli, Ramesh Goel, Diego Gonzalez, Kim M. Handley, Sabine Hilt, Jean-Francois Humbert, Rob Jamieson, Lindsay Johnston, Pilar Junier, Janice Lawrence, Pearse McCarron, Sven Meissner, Jacob Mormando, Jonathan Puddick, Catherine Quiblier, Nagasaijanani Rajpirathap, Charlotte Schampera, Andy Selwood, Karen Shearer, Abeer Sohrab, Rosalina Stancheva, Cecilio Valadez-Cano, Jordan M. Zebrecky, Susanna A. Wood
2026, Water Research (294)
There have been sporadic reports of aquatic, benthic Microcoleus proliferations in freshwater rivers, lakes, and reservoirs for four decades, with reports increasing in frequency over the last twenty years, suggesting a possible rise in their global distribution, frequency, and intensity. Microcoleus can produce anatoxins which are neurotoxic, and ingestion of toxic...
Assessment of natural gas pipeline construction on stream temperature and turbidity in southwestern Virginia, 2017–25
Brendan M. Foster, Carly Marcella Maas, Alejandra Logan Flota
2026, Scientific Investigations Report 2026-5011
Despite the extensive natural gas pipeline network in the United States that intersects streams and other sensitive habitats, few case studies use a comparative upstream-to-downstream approach to evaluate potential short- and long-term effects of pipeline stream crossings from pre-construction through post-restoration. In 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with...
Proceedings of the Floodplain Vegetation Monitoring Workshop for the Long Term Resource Monitoring Element of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program, January 7–8, 2025, Moline, Illinois
Shelby A. Weiss, Matthew L. Trumper, Nathan R. De Jager, Lyle J. Guyon, Molly Van Appledorn
2026, Open-File Report 2026-1001
Preface In anticipation for increased funding made possible by the Water Resources Development Act of 2020, the Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program identified a need to conduct river-wide assessments of floodplain vegetation. In January 2025, we assembled a group of subject matter experts to perform the following tasks:Review Upper Mississippi...
Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory strategic vision
Adam T. Ringler, David C. Wilson, Robert Anthony, Corey I. Beutel, Andrew Holcomb, Charles R. Hutt, Tom Telesha
2026, Circular 1563
This circular presents a strategic outlook for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory (ASL) for the next 10 years (2026–36). The ASL is a USGS field office in the Geological Hazards Science Center that operates portions of the Advanced National Seismic System and the Global Seismographic Network and...
Opportunities and challenges in using Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking (SPATT) samplers for monitoring cyanotoxins in freshwater and estuarine environments
Andrea Cecile Jaegge, Keith Bouma-Gregson, Thomas D. Byl, Kurt D. Carpenter, Victoria Christensen, Rebecca M. Gorney, Jennifer L. Graham, Heather A. Heckathorn, Hayley T. Olds, Pamela A. Reilly, Joshua J. Rosen, Michael D.W. Stouder
2026, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5093
Cyanobacterial toxins (cyanotoxins) represent a substantial threat to drinking water supplies and safe recreational uses of freshwater resources in watersheds worldwide. Monitoring cyanotoxins can be difficult because toxin events are variable in both space and time, are not always persistent, can be moved easily by wind and currents, and may...
The Sedimentary Geochemistry and Paleoenvironments Project Phase 2 data release: An open data resource for the study of Earth's environmental history
Una Farrell, Hunter Olson, Maya Thompson, Michelle L. Abshire, Oyeleye Adeboye, Anne-Sofie Ahm, Lewis Alcott, Thomas Algeo, Ross Anderson, Arif Ansari, Lucas Bastos, Kohen Bauer, Brian Beaty, Justin E. Birdwell, Fred Bowyer, Jochen J. Brocks, Tessa Brunoir, James F. Busch, Donald Canfield, Fabrício Caxito, Chao-Chin Chang, Meng Cheng, Jean Clemente, David Cordie, Peter W. Crockford, Huan Cui, Celeste Cunningham, Tais Dahl, Janaina Rodrigues de Paula, Carol Dehler, Lucas Del Mouro, Keith Dewing, Dermeval Aparecido do Carmo, Stephen Dornbos, Nadja Drabon, Julie A. Dumoulin, Omabehere Ejeh, Emily Ellefson, Maya Elrick, Joseph Emmings, Bokanda Eric, Hao Fang, Gabriella Fazio, Henrique Fernandes, Katherine L. French, Robert R. Gaines, Richard Gaschnig, Timothy M. Gibson, Geoffrey J. Gilleaudeau, Karin Goldberg, Zheng Gong, Amy Hagen, Galen P. Halverson, Kalev G. Hantsoo, Emma R. Haxen, Miles A. Henderson, João-Pedro Hippertt, Malcolm S. W. Hodgskiss, Paul Hoffman, Edward Huang, Benjamin Johnson, Pavel B. Kabanov, Junyao Kang, C. Brenhin Keller, Brian Kendall, Julien Kimmig, Sara Kimmig, Michael A. Kipp, Andrew H. Knoll, Timmu Kreitsmann, Anurag Kulkarni, Alexandra Kunert, Marcus Kunzmann, Jiankang Lai, Richard O. Lease, Chao Li, Sen Li, Alex Lipp, Yang Liu, David Loydell, Xinze Lu, Katie Maloney, Kaarel Mänd, Alexie E. G. Millikin, N. Tanner Mills, Kento Motomura, Chiza N. Mwinde, Lyle Nelson, Nora M. Nieminski, Brennan O'Connell, Edel Mary O'Sullivan, Juliana Okubo, Jaden Olah, Frantz Ossa Ossa, Chadlin Ostrander, Kärt Paiste, Camille A. Partin, Egberto Pereira, Shanan Peters, Tiffany L. Playter, Susannah M. Porter, Simon W. Poulton, Sara B. Pruss, Zhen Qiu, Daven Quinn, Mariano Remirez, Sebastian Richiano, Sylvain Richoz, Kathryn Rico, Samantha R. Ritzer, Zachary Roney, Alan D. Rooney, William C. Rose, Elias Rugen, Swapan K. Sahoo, Shane D. Schoepfer, Judith A. Sclafani, Nathan D. Sheldon, Yanan Shen, Graham Shields, Pulkit Singh, Arvind Singh, Sarah P. Slotznick, Emily Smith, Haijun Song, Sam Spinks, Richard G. Stockey, Justin Strauss, Eva Stüeken, Zongyuan Sun, Dongjie Tang, Lidya Tarhan, Danielle Thomson, Nicholas Tosca, Rosalie Tostevin, Chenyi Tu, Maoli Vizcaíno, Yuxuan Wang, Changle Wang, Xiaomei Wang, Lucas Warren, Lucy Webb, Philip R. Wilby, Christina R. Woltz, Rachel Wood, Yuyang Wu, Xiuqing Yang, Inessa A. Yurchenko, Junpeng Zhang, Jessica Whiteside, Benjamin C. Gill, Akshay Mehra, Kimberly V. Lau, Noah J. Planavsky, David T. Johnston, Erik A Sperling
2026, Chemical Geology (712)
Geochemical data from sedimentary rocks are the primary source of information regarding Earth's surface evolution through time, including its air and water envelopes and interactions with life and deep Earth processes. The Sedimentary Geochemistry and Paleoenvironments Project (SGP) is a scientific consortium centered around open data and community-driven development of...
Two-stage approach to automatic detection with machine learning for improved surveillance of the invasive Cuban treefrog
Kaitlin Huber, J. Hardin Waddle, Brad M. Glorioso, Therese M. Donovan
2026, Ecological Informatics (95)
The Cuban treefrog (Osteopilus septentrionalis), as an invasive species in the southern United States, presents a need for effective surveillance. Automated detection expedites processing of audio data for large-scale surveillance and monitoring programs. However, current available methods commonly used for anuran species have not been sufficient to...
Initial condition uncertainty exerts a large and persistent influence on model simulations of ecosystem carbon dynamics in California
Paul C. Selmants, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Colin J. Daniel
2026, Environmental Research: Ecology (5)
Uncertainties in terrestrial ecosystem models limit their predictive power. Efforts to reduce projection error have rarely focused on constraining uncertainty in the initial state of the ecosystem, however, despite evidence that matching model initial conditions to real-world observations reduces overall model bias. Here we use an integrated...
The Climate Hazards Center Infrared Precipitation with Stations, version 3
Chris Funk, Pete Peterson, Laura Harrison, Robert Saldivar, Martin Landsfeld, Diego Pedreros, Shraddhanand Shukla, Andreas H. Fink, Frank Davenport, Seth H. Peterson, William Turner, Austin Sonnier, Michael Budde, Karyn Tabor, James Verdin, Disha Hauzaree, Mohamed Naim, Daniella Alaso, Gregory Husak
2026, Scientific Data (13)
The Climate Hazards Center Infrared Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS) data stream combines: (1) a high-resolution climatology, (2) thermal infrared (TIR) geostationary satellite observations, and (3) station observations. In the past, CHIRPS version 2 (CHIRPS2) has proven to be valuable for drought monitoring, hydrologic modeling, scientific studies and agricultural decision making....
Occurrence of cyanobacteria and associated cyanotoxins in the Raritan Basin Water Supply Complex, New Jersey, August 2020 to August 2021
Rebecca M. Gorney, Heather A. Heckathorn, Kyle R. Clonan, Pamela A. Reilly, Kathryn Cahalane, Bradley W. Bjorklund
2026, Scientific Investigations Report 2026-5128
Harmful algal blooms, particularly cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs), have emerged as a substantial global concern because of their detrimental effects on water quality and aquatic ecosystem health. CyanoHABs can produce cyanotoxins, which pose serious health risks to humans and wildlife, such as liver failure and respiratory distress. This is...
