Multi-scale geophysical mapping of the brine and bedrock surfaces along the Dolores River, Paradox Valley, Colorado, December 2023
Neil Terry, M. Alisa Mast, Andrea L. Creighton, Joel William Homan, Connor P. Newman, Suzanne S. Paschke
2025, Near Surface Geophysics
Total dissolved solids derived from salt dome–sourced brine in the underlying alluvial aquifer substantially increase with distance in the reach of the Dolores River that passes through Paradox Valley in southwestern Colorado. The area has been the site of salinity control operations since the 1990s to reduce salt loading to...
Using gridded seismicity to forecast the long-term spatial distribution of earthquakes for the 2025 Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands National Seismic Hazard Model
Andrea L. Llenos, Andrew J. Michael, Kirstie Lafon Haynie, Allison Shumway, Julie A. Herrick
2025, Seismological Research Letters
Gridded (or background) seismicity models are a critical component of probabilistic seismic hazard assessments, accounting for off‐fault and smaller‐magnitude earthquakes. They are typically developed by declustering and spatially smoothing an earthquake catalog to estimate a long‐term seismicity rate that can be used to forecast future earthquakes. Here, we present new...
A time-space model of graphite mineral systems
George N.D. Case
2025, Mineralium Deposita
Increasing demand for graphite in energy storage systems warrants review of graphite ore genesis in a mineral systems framework. Orogenic graphite encompasses the metamorphic and orogenic mineral systems that produce flake graphite and hydrothermal vein (lump and chip) graphite deposits, respectively. A common feature of orogenic graphite deposits is an...
Offsetting the noise: A framework for applying phenological offset corrections in remotely sensed burn severity assessments
Casey Elizabeth Menick, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Joshua J. Picotte, Alicia L. Reiner, Robert A. Chastain
2025, International Journal of Wildland Fire (34)
BackgroundPhenological correction of pre- and post-fire imagery is used to improve remotely sensed burn severity evaluations. Unburned offset values standardize greenness between image pairs; however, efficacy across diverse scenarios remains underexplored.AimsWe evaluated the impact of phenological offset correction methods to support analyst decision-making across fire-prone environments.MethodsWe generated...
Similar population dynamics before and after a chytridiomycosis outbreak in a tropical riparian amphibian species
Graziella Vittoria DiRenzo, Rebecca M. McCaffery, Ana V. Longo, Kelly R. Zamudio, Karen R. Lips
2025, Ecosphere (16)
Emerging infectious diseases can cause rapid, widespread host mortality, and the lack of demographic data before and after pathogen emergence complicates understanding mechanisms of host persistence. This challenge is further compounded by environmental conditions that influence host behavior, while driving pathogen growth and virulence. These interactions create complex disease outcomes...
Invasive wild pig movement and space use in a mixed-use forest landscape, South Carolina
Erin K. Buchholtz, Andrew Jamison, Greg Yarrow
2025, Stacks Journal (2025)
Invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa) pose considerable ecological and economic challenges across their introduced range, and understanding their spatial ecology is critical for management. This research and accompanying dataset represents adult wild pig movement in South Carolina, United States based on 16 individuals collared in 2023-2024. Using hourly GPS collar...
Gas chemistry and isotope data for volcano monitoring at the Lassen Volcanic Center, Lassen Volcanic National Park
Deborah Bergfeld, Jennifer L. Lewicki, Sara Peek, Andrew Hunt
2025, Open-File Report 2025-1056
This report presents chemical and isotopic compositions of volcanic gases collected from thermal areas within Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California from 1974 through 2019. As the southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range and designated a very-high-threat volcano by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Lassen Volcanic Center (LVC) requires...
Viral outbreak dynamics and evolution in wildlife at the interface with humans
Rachael Marie Giglio, Aaron Westmoreland, Mark Q. Wilber, Grete WIlson-Henjum, Aung Nyein Chan, Billy Gardner, Wantida Horpiencharoen, Roderick B. Gagne, Avery M. Corondi, Alec Baker, Matthew A. Combs, Jefferey Chandler, Kezia R. Manlove, Kim M. Pepin, W. David Walter
2025, Biology Letters (21)
In this study, we used a multi-faceted approach to understand patterns of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission and persistence in a wild white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) population. Serology data indicated transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and persistence during the seven-month sampling period. Traditional disease modelling based...
USGS—An Unparalleled Scientific Asset
Shonte Jenkins, Emily Pindilli, David Applegate, Rachel E. Reagan
2025, General Information Product 263
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) delivers information critical to powering our economy, managing our natural resources, and keeping Americans safe and healthy.1Mapping the Nation$21B Geologic maps save users an estimated 15% in annual costs: a value of between $14B and $21B.$25.6B is the annual value to users of key Earth observation platforms...
Harmonization of a water withdrawal dataset for the conterminous United States
Carol L. Luukkonen, Ayman H. Alzraiee, Deidre M. Herbert, Richard G. Niswonger, Joshua Larsen, Cheryl A. Buchwald, Natalie Houston, Cheryl A. Dieter, Lisa D. Miller, Jana S. Stewart
2025, JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association (61)
The U.S. Geological Survey is developing nationally consistent water-use modeling approaches to replace previous methods relying on locally specific reported and estimated data. These national assessments require datasets that incorporate water withdrawal variability across the United States and over long periods. However, source data often have unclear definitions, missing or...
Rice cultivation supports growth and survival of a threatened semi-aquatic reptile
Jonathan P. Rose, Allison M. Nguyen, Anna Jordan, Daniel Antonio Macias, Elliot James Schoenig, Giancarlo Ray Napolitano, Richard Kim, Julia S.M. Ersan, Alexandria M. Fulton, Brian Halstead
2025, Ecological Applications (35)
Integration of agroecosystems and other working landscapes with protected lands and waters is critical to the conservation of Earth's biodiversity. Rice agroecosystems support many species by providing aquatic habitat where natural wetlands have been altered or drained. In regions with long dry seasons, rice fields and associated irrigation canals provide...
Causal analysis of fire regime drivers in California
Jon Keeley, Alexandra D. Syphard
2025, International Journal of Wildland Fire (34)
BackgroundUnderstanding the relative contribution of climate and human factors to wildfires is critical for managing risk across California’s diverse ecosystems, in the United States (US).AimsWe propose a model that distinguishes between proximate and ultimate drivers of fire regimes and apply it to a century of fire and climate...
Geochemical and hydrological investigations of historical data collected at the Lee Acres Landfill and Giant Bloomfield Refinery, New Mexico, 1985–2020
Erin L. Gray, Christina L. Ferguson
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5091
The Lee Acres Landfill and Giant Bloomfield Refinery are adjacent properties near the City of Farmington, New Mexico, each having undergone monitoring and remediation related to historical site activities. At the landfill, site cleanup has included the installation of a capillary barrier over former liquid waste lagoons and periodic monitoring...
Biologging to identify nesting and non-nesting emergences for four species of imperiled sea turtles
Kristen Hart, Connor F. White, Donna J. Shaver, Margaret Lamont, Michael Cherkiss, Andrew G. Crowder, Nicholas M. Whitney
2025, Frontiers in Marine Science (12)
Quantifying sea turtle nesting behavior is essential for recovery planning and evaluating management actions. Traditional monitoring approaches, based on nest counts from beach surveys, can misclassify non-nesting emergences, obscure true fecundity, and underestimate clutch frequency, metrics that directly influence population models and regulatory decisions. Here, we demonstrate...
Exploring atmospheric deposition chemistry data across the United States
Ryan C. McCammon, Noel A. Deyette, Gregory A. Wetherbee
2025, Fact Sheet 2025-3041
The National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) collects atmospheric data to monitor air pollution effects on the quality of United States water supplies and ecosystems. The NADP requires consistent data collection at fixed locations and is governed by a committee with participation by many Federal and State agencies, universities, Tribes, and private companies. NADP conducts a spring...
A summary of grizzly bear distribution in the lower-48 US states in 2024
Cecily M. Costello, Justin A. Dellinger, Jennifer K. Fortin-Noreus, Mark Haroldson, Bryn Karabensh, Wayne F. Kasworm, Lori L. Roberts, Justin E. Teisberg, Frank T. van Manen, Tyler J. Vent
2025, Report
Understanding the distribution of grizzly bear populations in the lower-48 states, is important for their conservation and management, and for public safety. Previously, our research teams working in grizzly bear ecosystems in the lower-48 states used varying methods to estimate distribution of grizzly bear populations. In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem...
Groundwater salinity: Applying the specific conductance and water type proxy
R. Blaine McCleskey, Charles A. Cravotta III, Katherine J. Knierim, Paul E. Stackelberg, Courtney D. Killian
2025, Groundwater
Groundwater is increasingly needed for water supplies but may have limited utility in some locations because of its salinity. Salinity, often expressed as total dissolved solid (TDS), is frequently estimated using specific conductance (SC) measurements. However, the commonly used proxy (0.65 multiplied by SC to indicate TDS,...
Toward co-designed Earth System Models: Reflecting end-user priorities in local applications from a modeler's perspective
Yifan Cheng, Nicole M. Herman-Mercer, Andrew J. Newman, Keith Musselman, Cleo Woelfle-Hazard, Dylan Blaskey, Cassandra M. Brooks, Tvetene Carlson, Joshua C. Koch, Monica Morrison, Edda A. Mutter, Daniel Sarna-Wojcicki, Peyton Thomas, Jenessa Tlen, Ryan C. Toohey
2025, AGU Advances (6)
Earth System Models (ESM) are crucial for quantifying climate impacts across Earth's interconnected systems and supporting science-based adaptation and mitigation. However, not including end-users, especially decision-makers representing communities vulnerable to climate change, can limit model utility, increase epistemic risks, and lead to information misuse in decision-making. While the...
Power source, data retrieval method, and attachment type affect success of dorsally mounted tracking tag deployments in 37 species of shorebirds
Emily L. Weiser, Richard Lanctot, Daniel R. Ruthrauff, Sarah T. Saalfeld, Lee Tibbitts, José Abad-Gómez, Joaquin Aldabe, Juliana Bose de Almeida, José A. Alves, Guy Anderson, Phil F. Battley, Heinrich Belting, Joël Bêty, Kristin Bianchini, Mary Anne Bishop, Roeland A. Bom, Katharine Bowgen, Glen S. Brown, Stephen C. Brown, Leandro Bugoni, Niall Burton, David R. Bybee, Camilo Carneiro, Gabriel Castresana, Ying-Chi Chan, Chi-Yeung Choi, Katherine Christie, Nigel A. Clark, Jesse R. Conklin, Medardo Cruz-López, Stephen J. Dinsmore, Steve Dodd, David C. Douglas, Luke Eberhart-Hertel, Willow B. English, Harry Ewing, Fernando A. Faria, Samantha E. Franks, Richard A. Fuller, Robert E. Gill Jr., Marie-Andrée Giroux, Cheri L Gratto-Trevor, David Green, Rhys E. Green, Ros Green, Tómas Gunnarsson, Jorge S. Gutiérrez, Autumn-Lynn Harrison, C. Alex Hartman, Chris J. Hassell, Sarah Hoepfner, Jos C. E. W. Hooijmeijer, James Johnson, Oscar W. Johnson, Bart Kempenaers, Marcel Klaassen, Eva Kok, Johannes Krietsch, Clemens Küpper, Andy Kwarteng, Eunbi Kwon, Jean-Francois Lamarre, Christopher Latty, Nicolas Lecomte, A.H. Loonstra, Zhijun Ma, Lucas Mander, Christopher Marlow, Peter P. Marra, Jose A. Masero, Laura Anne McDuffie, Rebecca L McGuire, Johannes Melter, David S. Melville, Verónica Méndez, Tyler Michels, Christy Morrissey, Tong Mu, David Newstead, Gary W. Page, Allison K. Pierce, Theunis Piersma, Márcio Repenning, Brian H. Robinson, Afonso Rocha, Danny I. Rogers, Amy L. Scarpignato, Shiloh Schulte, Emily Scragg, Nathan R. Senner, Paul Smith, Audrey R. Taylor, Rachel C. Taylor, Böðvar Þórisson, Mihai Valcu, Mo A. Verhoeven, Lena Ware, Nils Warnock, Michael Weber, Lucy J. Wright, Michael B. Wunder
2025, Journal of Avian Biology (2025)
Animal-borne trackers are commonly used to study bird movements, including in long-distance migrants such as shorebirds. Selecting a tracker and attachment method can be daunting, and methodological advancements often have been made by trial and error and conveyed by word of mouth. We synthesized tracking outcomes across...
Simulation of groundwater flow in Wake County, North Carolina, 2000 through 2070
Dominick J. Antolino, Gerard J. Gonthier, Georgina M. Sanchez
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5087
In 2019, the U.S. Geological Survey and Wake County Environmental Services began a collaborative study to evaluate groundwater resources and long-term groundwater availability in the county’s fractured-rock groundwater system. Wake County, in central North Carolina, is experiencing rapid population growth, associated land development, and changing water use. Hydrogeologic data including...
Projecting management-relevant change of undeveloped coastal barriers with the Mesoscale Explicit Ecogeomorphic Barrier model (MEEB) v1.0
Ian Robert Reeves, Andrew D. Ashton, Erika E. Lentz, Christopher R. Sherwood, Davina Passeri, Sara Zeigler
2025, Geoscientific Model Development (18) 9319-9348
Models of coastal barrier geomorphic and ecologic change are valuable tools for understanding and predicting when, where, and how barriers evolve and transition between ecogeomorphic states. Few existing models of barrier systems are designed to operate over spatiotemporal scales congruous with effective management practices (i.e., decades/kilometers, referred to herein as...
Review and synthesis of the applications of machine learning to coalbed methane recovery
E. D. Attanasi, Timothy Coburn, Philip A. Freeman
Marko Maucec, Jeffrey M. Yarus, Timothy C. Coburn, Michael Pyrcz, editor(s)
2025, Book chapter, Applied spatiotemporal data analytics and machine learning
Over the last 30 years, a substantial literature has evolved on the use of machine learning (ML) to assess, predict, and improve the efficiency of coalbed methane (CBM) recovery. In the United States, the production of CBM declined as shale gas production matured, but CBM continues to...
STREAMS guidelines: Standards for technical reporting in environmental and host-associated microbiome studies
Julia Kelliher, Chloe Mirzayi, Sarah R. Bordenstein, Aaron Oliver, Christina A. Kellogg, Eneida L. Hatcher, Maureen Berg, Petr Baldrian, Mashael Aljumaah, Cassandra Maria Miller, Christopher Mungall, Vlastimil Novak, Alexis Palucki, Ethan Smith, Nazifa Tabassum, Gregory Bonito, J. Rodney Brister, Patrick S. Chain, Jose Pablo Dundore-Arias, Joanne B. Emerson, Vanessa Moreira Fernandes, Roberto Flores, Antonio Gonzalez, Zoe A. Hansen, Scott A. Jackson, Ahmed M. Moustafa, Trent R. Northen, Nonia Pariente, Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Sydne Record, Linta Reji, Anna-Louise Reysenbach, Virginia I. Rich, Lorna Richardson, Simon Roux, Lynn M. Schriml, Reed S. Shabman, Maria A. Sierra, Matthew B. Sullivan, Punithavathi Sundaramurthy, Katherine M. Thibault, Luke R. Thompson, Scott W. Tighe, Ethell Vereen, STREAMS Consortium, Emiley A. Eloe-Fadrosh
2025, Nature Microbiology (10) 3059-3068
The interdisciplinary nature of microbiome research, coupled with the generation of complex multi-omics data, makes knowledge sharing challenging. The Strengthening the Organization and Reporting of Microbiome Studies (STORMS) guidelines provide a checklist for the reporting of study information, experimental design and analytical methods within a scientific manuscript on human microbiome...
Evaluating Three-Dimensional Elevation Program lidar consistency and accuracy at scale using cloud-native, open-source methods
Aparajithan Sampath, Jeffrey Irwin, Jason M. Stoker
2025, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing (91) 777-785
The U.S. Geological Survey three-dimensional elevation program (3DEP) has significantly expanded national lidar coverage, necessitating scalable, reproducible methods for assessing data quality across diverse terrains and acquisition conditions. This study introduces a cloud-native, open-source workflow designed to evaluate the geometric accuracy and consistency of 3DEP lidar data sets at a...
The continued decline of the Palila (Loxioides bailleui) on Mauna Kea, Island of Hawaiʻi
Noah Hunt, Chauncey K. Asing, Lindsey Nietmann, Paul C. Banko, Richard J. Camp
2025, Avian Conservation and Ecology (20)
Palila (Loxioides bailleui) are critically endangered Hawaiian honeycreepers specializing on māmane (Sophora chrysophylla) seeds and restricted to Mauna Kea volcano on the Island of Hawaiʻi. Recently, the population was estimated to decline by 89% between 1998 and 2021, despite decades of ungulate removal, fence construction, māmane regeneration, fire suppression, and...
