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The fringing coral reef off Olowalu, Maui, Hawaii, has been identified as a local conservation priority site. In 2007, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) produced a benthic habitat map of the Hawaiian Islands that was used as a foundation for this study. To support place-based management of the...

Executive Summary This report documents the system characterization of the Indian Space Research Organisation Resourcesat-2A Linear Imaging Self Scanning-4 (LISS–4) sensor. It is part of a series of system characterization reports produced by the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Cal/Val Center of Excellence. These reports describe the methodology...

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...

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...

Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis (eastern black rails; Gmelin, 1789) are facing increasing risk from flooding in coastal breeding habitats because of rising sea levels combined with standard high tide flooding. In this report, we examine regional differences in relative rates of sea level rise, days in the breeding season above historical...

This report addresses system characterization of the Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program hyperspectral sensor by the DLR (German Aerospace Center, ground segment project management), GFZ (Deutsches Geoforschungszentrum, science lead) and is part of a series of system characterization reports produced and delivered by the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation...

Executive Summary The U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) Center of Excellence (ECCOE) focuses on improving the accuracy, precision, calibration, and product quality of remote-sensing data, leveraging years of multiscale optical system geometric and radiometric calibration and characterization experience. The ECCOE Landsat Cal/Val Team continually...

Executive SummaryThe conference report accompanying the fiscal year (FY) 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Public Law 117–103) for the U.S. Department of the Interior and related agencies directed the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to “work with the State of Alaska to develop an implementation plan to be completed within two years...

Like numerous other North American grassland bird species, Rhynchophanes mccownii (thick-billed longspur) has experienced severe population declines in the last 50 years. Little is known about population-limiting factors, and knowledge gaps limit conservation efforts on the species; however, before research studies aimed at improving conservation and management actions can be...

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, deepened the St. Johns River channel in Jacksonville, Florida, to accommodate larger, fully loaded cargo vessels. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, monitored stage, discharge, and (or) water temperature and salinity at 26 continuous...

Over the past few decades, Ictalurus furcatus (Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1840; blue catfish) have become a formidable invasive species in tidal tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and Delaware. Knowledge of their reproductive behaviors can support managers in the determination of ideal timing and implementation of mitigation...

Executive SummaryThe purpose of this report is to provide the Marine Corps with an annual summary of the distribution, abundance, and breeding activity of the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus; flycatcher) at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (MCBCP or “Base”). Surveys for the flycatcher were completed on Base...

Emerging diseases of wildlife origin are increasingly transboundary (they spread rapidly across geographic regions and across continents). In recent years, examples include the rapid spread of African swine fever across Europe and Asia with negative effects on food security, and the near global spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza which...

Reintroductions are used worldwide to increase the viability of species and restore native ecological communities. The success of reintroductions is usually judged by the establishment of self-sustaining populations, restoration of naturally occurring ecological communities, and the species resuming its ecological function. Recovery for the endangered San Francisco gartersnake (SFGS,...

Executive SummaryThe Hiram M. Chittenden (Ballard) Locks and Lake Washington Ship Canal connect freshwater Lake Washington and saline Shilshole Bay of Puget Sound in Seattle, Washington. The locks and canal allow for ships to traverse this reach. Anadromous salmonids also migrate through, transitioning between saline and freshwater environments, and making...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted hydrogeologic investigations, reviewed existing data, and developed a preliminary conceptual model of the groundwater system as part of technical support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the North Penn Area 1 Superfund Site (hereafter, the NP1 Site) located within the Borough of...

The U.S. Geological Survey investigated land cover at subannual time steps within six wetland areas in Dixie Valley, Churchill County, Nevada, from October 2015 to January 2022. As requested by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, we used aerial photography and satellite remote sensing data to map surface water and...

High resolution topobathymetric field surveys were conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in collaboration with Northeastern University and in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and The Nature Conservancy in a selected shoreline along Gandys Beach, New Jersey, from January to April 2018. These data are a critical...

Executive Summary The U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) Center of Excellence (ECCOE) focuses on improving the accuracy, precision, calibration, and product quality of remote-sensing data, leveraging years of multiscale optical system geometric and radiometric calibration and characterization experience. The ECCOE Landsat Cal/Val Team continually...

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District, studied historical streamflow in a reach of the East River, Colorado, to gain a preliminary understanding of return flow dynamics. Return flow is agricultural irrigation water that is not consumed by evapotranspiration and instead reaches streams...

Executive Summary This report addresses system characterization of the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) sensor, an imaging spectrometer developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This report is part of a series of system characterization reports produced and delivered by the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and...

Conducting detailed investigations of large landslides is difficult, especially in the subsurface, largely due to environmental factors such as steep slopes, difficult access, and numerous objective hazards. These factors have made it challenging to accurately estimate the depth to the failure surface of the Barry Arm landslide, a large (roughly...

An acoustic telemetry study was conducted during August 2023–February 2024 to evaluate outmigration behavior and survival of juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Middle Fork Willamette River, Oregon, during an experimental operation that was designed to facilitate downstream passage through two reservoirs and two dams. The experimental operation consisted...

Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) geoform, substrate, and biotic component geographic information system (GIS) products were developed for the California State Waters of northern California in the region offshore of Humboldt Bay. The study was motivated by interest in development of offshore wind-energy capacity and infrastructure in Federal...

Executive SummaryThe purpose of this report is to provide the Marine Corps with an annual summary of abundance, breeding activity, demography, and habitat use of endangered Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus) at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California (MCBCP or Base). Surveys for the Least Bell's Vireo were completed...