Apatite geo-thermochronology and geochemistry constrain Oligocene-Miocene growth and geodynamics of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau
Chao Guo, Zhiyong Zhang, Richard O. Lease, Marco Malusa, David Chew, Haijian Lu, Lin Wu, Dunfeng Xiang, Nan Wang, Bernhard Grasemann, Wenjiao Xiao
2025, Geophysical Research Letters (52)
Understanding the geodynamics of plateau evolution requires examining the spatial and temporal aspects of mountain building in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, which are still under debate. Here we integrate apatite geo-thermochronological and geochemical data from the Oligocene-Miocene succession of the Xunhua Basin to elucidate the evolution of the regional topography....
Application of transcriptomics concentration-response modeling for prioritization of contaminants detected in tributaries of the North American Great Lakes
Jenna Cavallin, Kendra Bush, Steven R. Corsi, Laura DeCicco, Kevin Flynn, Alex Kasparek, Monique Hazimi, Erin Maloney, Peter Schuman, Daniel Villeneuve
2025, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (44) 1310-1321
As part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, chemical monitoring and surveillance efforts have detected approximately 330 chemicals in surface water of Great Lakes tributaries. There were 140 chemicals for which no empirical toxicity data were available. The aim of this study was to generate transcriptomic points of departure (tPODs)...
Reevaluating the depositional model of the Cenomanian–Turonian Bridge Creek Limestone Member near Pueblo, Colorado, U.S.A.: Roles of changing sedimentation rate on the formation of limestone–marl bedding couplets
Zhiyang Li, Jason A. Flaum
2025, Journal of Sedimentary Research (95) 186-208
Although interbedded limestone–marl couplets in many hemipelagic and pelagic deposits have been commonly attributed to orbital-driven climate cycles, the driving mechanisms of these couplets remain largely controversial. This situation arises from the fact that detailed sedimentologic and petrographic facies characteristics of these fine-grained deposits have rarely been examined closely. In...
Developing a probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment framework for Pacific sources: USGS Powell Center meeting summary
Jason R. Patton, Stephanie L Ross, Marie C. Eble, Christodoulos Kyriakopoulos, Patrick J. Lynett, DmitriyJ. Nicolsky, Kenneth Ryan, Hong Kie Thio, Rick I. Wilson, Baoning Wu
2025, Environmental & Engineering Geoscience (31) 67-76
Multi-organizational principal investigators formed a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Powell Center Working Group (WG), Tsunami Source Standardization for Hazards Mitigation in the United States, to develop a comprehensive series of sources capable of generating tsunamis that could impact U.S. state and territory coastal areas using probabilistic tsunami hazard analysis (PTHA)....
Does habitat or climate change drive species range shifts?
Toni Lyn Morelli, Michael T. Hallworth, Timothy Duclos, Adam Ells, Steven D. Faccio, Jane R. Foster, Kent P. McFarland, Keith Nislow, Joel Ralston, Mary Ratnaswamy, William V. Deluca, Alexej P.K. Siren
2025, Ecography (2025)
A primary prediction of climate change ecology is that species will track their climate niche poleward and upslope. However, studies have shown species responding in surprising ways. In this study, we aim to understand the impact of global change on species ranges by considering both climate and habitat changes. Using...
Contrasting magnitude and timing of pulsed aqueous methylmercury bioaccumulation across a reservoir food web
James Willacker, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Austin K. Baldwin, Michael T. Tate, Brett A. Poulin, Jesse Naymik, David P. Krabbenhoft, Ralph Myers, James A. Chandler
2025, Environmental Science & Technology (59) 38884-3894
Water column hypoxia is a key process influencing methylmercury (MeHg) production and availability in waterbodies worldwide. During seasonal destratification, large, short-lived pulses of aqueous MeHg may be released into the subsequently mixed water column, but little is known about the fate of these pulses, particularly whether there are concomitant increases...
An early detection rapid response case study of the Black and White Tegu (Salvator merianae) and implications for a broader framework
Mark Robert Sandfoss, Amanda Marie Kissel, Lisa Marie McBride, Matthew Fox Metcalf, Sarah Rae Sherburne, Travis R. Mangione, Matthew McCollister, Amy A. Yackel Adams
2025, Management of Biological Invasions (16) 581-591
Documentation of successful early detection rapid response (EDRR) efforts is lacking from the scientific literature but is needed to inform invasive species response protocols. The Black and White tegu (Salvator merianae) has become established in several Florida counties and its spread is of significant conservation concern. It is of high...
Multispectral red-edge indices accurately estimate nitrogen content in winter cereal cover crops
Alison Thieme, Jyoti Jennewein, W. Dean Hively, Brian T. Lamb, Alicia Whitcraft, S.B. Mirsky, S.C. Reberg-Horton, C. Justice
2025, Agronomy Journal (117)
Winter cover crops reduce erosion and nutrient runoff from agricultural systems. Although cereal cover crops can decrease field nitrate leaching by 50%–95%, the magnitude of this reduction varies within and between fields, making it challenging to monitor the impact of cover crops on nitrate leaching at large spatial extents. Satellite...
Macroseismology
Susan E. Hough
Austin J. Elliott, Christoph Gruetzner, editor(s)
2025, Book chapter, Understanding past earthquakes
In this chapter I discuss the use of so-called macroseismic data, i.e., reports of damage and other effects of shaking on humans and the built environment, to improve the characterization of earthquakes and the ground motions they produce. Macroseismic data are critical not only to investigate earthquakes that occurred before...
Paleoseismology and paleogeodesy using coral microatolls
Belle E. Philibosian
Austin J. Elliott, Christoph Gruetzner, editor(s)
2025, Book chapter, Understanding past earthquakes
Establishing the rupture extent and slip distribution of individual paleo-earthquakes is vital for assessing fault behavior including the persistence of rupture segmentation, recurrence patterns, and similarity of successive events, key issues in both fault mechanics and hazard assessment. Techniques with high temporal and geodetic precision as well as a wide...
A high efficiency method for the extraction and quantitative analysis of 45 PFAS in whole fish
Sarah Balgooyen, Madelynn Scott, Brett R. Blackwell, Erin L. Pulster, Michael B. Mahon, Ryan F. Lepak, Will Backe
2025, Environmental Science & Technology (59) 3759-3770
This study describes and validates a new method for extracting perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from whole-body fish tissue, demonstrates that freeze-dry preservation of tissue conserves bioaccumulative PFAS, and details a method demonstration on Lake Michigan fish. While fish filets are more commonly analyzed for their significance to human health,...
Exploration for blind geothermal systems in the eastern Great Basin of Utah: An update on the “Lund North” INGENIOUS detailed study site
Christian L. Hardwick, Eugene Szymanski, Nicole R. Hart-Wagoner, S. Ashton, N. Christensen, Tait E. Earney, James E. Faulds, Jonathan M.G. Glen, A.I. Hiscock, Stefan Kirby, T. Knudsen, S. Kobe, Cary R. Lindsey, Benjamin Lyter Morbeck, Jared R. Peacock, Grant Harold Rea-Downing, William D. Schermerhorn, K. Smith
2025, Conference Paper, Proceedings, 50th workshop on geothermal reservoir engineering
Existing geothermal production in Utah is commonly collocated with surficial expressions of geothermal heat including active hot springs and hot spring deposits. However, geothermal potential across the Great Basin region is thought to be much higher for hidden or blind geothermal systems. Accordingly, exploration techniques that can locate geothermal resources...
Molluscan isotope sclerochronology in marine palaeoclimatology: Taxa, technique and timespan issues
Andrew Johnson, Bernd Schone, Sierra V. Petersen, Niels de Winter, Harry J. Dowsett, Jean-Francois Cudennec, Elizabeth Harper, Ian Winkelstern
2025, Quaternary Science Reviews (350)
Study of the accretionary biomineralised hardparts of organisms (sclerochronology) can make a useful contribution to palaeoclimatology. Ontogenetic sequences of isotopic data (δ18O and Δ47 values) from the shells of marine molluscs are a source of information on seasonal sea-surface temperatures that can be used for detailed and rigorous evaluation of the...
Water-budget analysis of the Medina and Diversion Lake system, with estimated recharge to the Edwards aquifer and the upper zone of the Trinity aquifer, Bandera, Bexar, and Medina Counties, Texas, 1955–2022
Richard N. Slattery, Namjeong Choi, Allan K. Clark
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5112
The U.S. Geological Survey—in cooperation with the San Antonio Water System and the Edwards Aquifer Authority—used data collected during four different periods (March 1955–August 1964, October 1995–September 1996, March 2001–June 2002, and March 2017–October 2022) as part of a new study to refine previously derived relations between the altitude of the water surface of Medina Lake and recharge...
Terrestrial mammal diversity at Hansen Dam (Los Angeles, California, USA): Flood control area acts as habitat in a human-dominated landscape
Auxenia G. Privett-Mendoza, Stella Oganesyan, Robert N. Fisher, Cynthia Joan Hitchcock, Denise Clark, Amanda J. Zellmer
2025, Check List: The Journal of Biodiversity Data (21) 198-215
Urban expansion is a prominent threat to biodiversity, particularly for terrestrial mammals, which are significantly impacted by disruptions in habitat connectivity and loss. It can also lead to increased human‑wildlife conflicts that contribute to species decline. Urban public works projects, such as flood control areas, may coincidentally preserve significant habitat,...
Geologic map of the Buckner 7.5-Minute quadrangle, Louisa County, Virginia
Mark W. Carter, David B. Spears, Virginia M. Latane, E. Allen Crider Jr., Benjamin R. Weinmann, Holly Mangum, Ryan J. McAleer, J. Wright Horton, Jr., Anjana K. Shah, Sean P. Regan
2025, Scientific Investigations Map 3533
The Buckner 7.5-minute quadrangle straddles three terrane boundaries in the Piedmont Physiographic Province in central Virginia: the Chopawamsic terrane, the Elk Hill Complex, and the Goochland terrane. In much of the map area, the Elk Hill Complex separates the Chopawamsic and Goochland terranes. Rocks of the Chopawamsic terrane include Ordovician...
Statewide cumulative human health risk assessment of inorganics-contaminated groundwater wells, Montana, USA
Margaret J. Eggers, W. Adam Sigler, Nicklas Kiekover, Paul M. Bradley, Kelly Smalling, Albert E. Parker, Robert K.D. Peterson, John LaFave
2025, Environmental Pollution (369)
Across the United States, rural residents rely on unregulated and generally unmonitored private wells for drinking water, which may pose serious health risks due to unrecognized contaminants. We assessed the nature, degree, and spatial distribution of cumulative health risks from inorganic contaminants in groundwater. Our analysis included nearly 84,000 data...
A new groundwater energy transport model for the MODFLOW hydrologic simulator
Eric D. Morway, Alden M. Provost, Christian D. Langevin, Joseph D. Hughes, Martijn J. Russcher, Chieh-Ying Chen, Yu-Feng Lin
2025, Groundwater (63) 409-421
Heat transport in the subsurface is an important aspect of research related to the effects of a warming climate on ecological services (i.e., cold-water refugia); the development of geothermal resources for energy banking schemes (i.e., aquifer thermal energy storage [ATES]); and the effects of temperature on other aspects of groundwater...
Remote single-station seismic monitoring of the July–October 2022 earthquake swarm at Tau volcano, American Samoa
Clara Yoon, Robert Skoumal, Andrew J. Michael, A.D. Jolly, Andria P. Ellis, Drew T. Downs, Peter Dotray, Natalia I. Deligne, Jefferson Chang, Ninfa Lucia Bennington, Aaron Wech, Matthew M. Haney, Alicia J. Hotovec-Ellis, Elinor Lutu-McMoore, Marcus Langkilde
2025, The Seismic Record (5) 83-96
From July to October 2022, a non-eruptive volcanic earthquake swarm occurred within ~15 km of Taʻū Island, located in eastern American Samoa. Felt reports from local residents were the only available information about the swarm when it started, as American Samoa lacked a seismic monitoring network. We developed a...
Establishing historical baselines of arthropod assemblages using rodent paleomiddens
Joseph Braasch, Julio L. Betancourt, Olivier Dezerald, Udari Peiris, Maura Tapia-Rozas, Cristian Villagra, Claudio L. Latorre, Angelica L. Gonzalez
2025, Global Ecology and Biogeography (34)
AimArthropods are under-represented in paleoecological studies but are critical agents in ecological processes. Despite rigorous documentation of diverse arthropod assemblages from ancient rodent (or paleo) middens worldwide, their use for studying ancient arthropod diversity has stalled in recent decades. Here, we review published studies to identify how paleomidden arthropods can...
Groundwater age estimates for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer based on tracer data collected during 2018–20
Michael C. Gratzer, John E. Solder, Katherine J. Knierim, James A. Kingsbury, Andrew M. O’Reilly, Gregg R. Davidson
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5127
This study characterized groundwater age across the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer (MRVA). Groundwater samples from 69 MRVA wells and 19 wells in Tertiary units of the Mississippi embayment aquifer system (MEAS) were analyzed for sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), tritium (3H), helium (He), and (or) carbon-14 of dissolved inorganic carbon (14C)....
Spatial close-kin mark-recapture models applied to terrestrial species with continuous natal dispersal
Anthony Seveque, Robert Charles Lonsinger, Lisette P. Waits, Dana J. Morin
2025, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (16) 733-743
Close-kin mark–recapture (CKMR) methods use information on genetic relatedness among individuals to estimate demographic parameters. An individual's genotype can be considered a ‘recapture’ of each of its parent's genotype, and the frequency of kin-pair matches detected in a population sample can directly inform estimates of abundance. CKMR inference procedures...
What is eDNA method standardization and why do we need it?
Susanna Theroux, Adam Sepulveda, Cathryn L. Abbott, Zachary Gold, Alison W. Watts, Margaret Hunter, Katy E. Klymus, Shana L. Hirsch, Joseph M. Craine, Devin Nicole Jones-Slobodian, Rachel J. Brown, Joshua A. Steele, Miwa Takahashi, Rachel T. Noble, John A. Darling
2025, Metabarcoding and Metagenomics (9)
The rapid advancement of environmental DNA (eDNA) science in the past two decades has inspired a concomitant growth in the development of eDNA sampling and analytical methods. However, these methods are often developed by individual laboratories or institutions, which can isolate protocols within programmes, agencies or...
The communication of volcano information in New Zealand - A narrative review
Manomita Das, Julia S. Becker, Emma Hudson Doyle, Danielle Charlton, Mary Ann T. Clive, Janine Krippner, Lauren Vinnell, Craig A. Miller, Carol Stewart, Hollei Gabrielsen, Sally H. Potter, Graham Leonard, David M. Johnston, Kelvin Tapuke, Nico Fournier, Sara K. McBride
2025, New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics (68) 591-608
Communication of volcano information is critical for effective volcanic risk management. A variety of information is communicated to inform decisions and guide actions for planning, preparedness, and response. Such information needs to be reliable, and fit-for-purpose across different stages of volcanic activity (quiescence, unrest, short or long-term eruptive stages, and...
Local, regional, and distal recordings of seismic unrest at Tau Island volcano, American Samoa
Aaron Wech, Matthew M. Haney, Jefferson Chang, A.D. Jolly, Clara Yoon, Robert J. Skoumal
2025, Bulletin of Volcanology (87)
A seismic swarm near Taʻū Island, a volcanic island in eastern American Samoa, occurred from July to October 2022. The earliest unrest was noted as felt shaking reports in late July, and instrumentation varied in the beginning of the sequence as the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hawaiian Volcano Observatory responded...
