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Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

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At least 811 records · Page 45Linked to original sources
USGS1990

Earth sciences and emergency management

As understanding of California's earthquake risk had increased over the past decade, there has been a concurrent expansion of interactions between emergency management professionals and earth scientists. The effort have resulted not from a formal plan-though the U.S National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program has provided much of the support for scientific advances since 1977-but from interactions focused on specific projects. three examples stand out, perhaps suggesting how mutually beneficial exchanges can simultaneously enhance science and public safety.

Earthquakes & Volcanoes (USGS)↗
USGS2016

Federal collaboration in science for invasive mammal management in U.S. National Parks and Wildlife Refuges of the Pacific Islands

Some of the most isolated islands in the Pacific Ocean are home to US National Parks and Wildlife Refuges. These islands are known for flora and fauna that occur nowhere else, but also for invasive species and other factors which have resulted in the disproportionate extinction of native species. The control of invasive mammals is the single most expensive natural resource management activity essential for restoring ecological integrity to parks in the Hawaiian Islands, American Samoa, and the islands of Guam and Saipan. Science-based applications supporting management efforts have been shaped by longstanding collaborative federal research programs over the past four decades. Consequently, feral goats (Capra hircus) have been removed from >690 km2 in National Parks, and feral pigs (Sus scrofa) have been removed from >367 km2 of federal lands of Hawai‘i, bringing about the gradual recovery of forest ecosystems. The exclusion of other non-native ungulates and invasive mammals is now being undertaken with more sophisticated control techniques and fences. New fence designs are now capable of excluding feral cats (Felis catus) from large areas to protect endangered native waterfowl and nesting seabirds. Rodenticides which have been tested and registered for hand and aerial broadcast in Hawai‘i have been used to eradicate rats from small offshore islands to protect nesting seabirds and are now being applied to montane environments of larger islands to protect forest birds. Forward-looking infrared radar (FLIR) is also being applied to locate wild ungulates which were more recently introduced to some islands. All invasive mammals have been eradicated from some remote small islands, and it may soon be possible to manage areas on larger islands to be free of invasive mammals at least during seasonally important periods for native species.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2016

Application of decision science to resilience management in Jamaica Bay

This book highlights the growing interest in management interventions designed to enhance the resilience of the Jamaica Bay socio-ecological system. Effective management, whether the focus is on managing biological processes or human behavior or (most likely) both, requires decision makers to anticipate how the managed system will respond to interventions (i.e., via predictions or projections). In systems characterized by many interacting components and high uncertainty, making probabilistic predictions is often difficult and requires careful thinking not only about system dynamics, but also about how management objectives are specified and the analytic method used to select the preferred action(s). Developing a clear statement of the problem(s) and articulation of management objectives is often best achieved by including input from managers, scientists and other stakeholders affected by the decision through a process of joint problem framing (Marcot and others 2012; Keeney and others 1990). Using a deliberate, coherent and transparent framework for deciding among management alternatives to best meet these objectives then ensures a greater likelihood for successful intervention. Decision science provides the theoretical and practical basis for developing this framework and applying decision analysis methods for making complex decisions under uncertainty and risk.

Book chapter↗
USGS2016

Protecting national parks from air pollution effects: Making sausage from science and policy

The story of air pollution research, policy development, and management in national parks is a fascinating blend of cultural change, vision, interdisciplinary and interagency collaboration, and science-policy-management-stakeholder collaborations. Unable to ignore the loss of iconic vistas from regional haze and loss of fish from acid rain in the 1980s, the National Park Service (NPS) embraced an obligation to protect resources from threats originating outside park boundaries. Upholding the Organic Act requirement for parks to remain "unimpaired" for the enjoyment of future generations, and using the Clean Air Act statement that NPS has an “affirmative responsibility” to protect park resources, NPS has supported, and effectively used, research as a means to protect lands, waters, and vistas from a mostly unseen threat. Using visibility and atmospheric nitrogen deposition as examples, we will illustrate some success stories where NPS led the way to benefit not only parks, but the Nation.

Book chapter↗
USGS2008

Preliminary review of adaptation options for climate-sensitive ecosystems and resources. A report by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research

Climate variables are key determinants of geographic distributions and biophysical characteristics of ecosystems, communities, and species. Climate change is therefore affecting many species attributes, ecological interactions, and ecosystem processes. Because changes in the climate system will continue into the future regardless of emissions mitigation, strategies for protecting climate-sensitive ecosystems through management will be increasingly important. While there will always be uncertainties associated with the future path of climate change, the response of ecosystems to climate impacts, and the effects of management, it is both possible and essential for adaptation to proceed using the best available science. This report provides a preliminary review of adaptation options for climate-sensitive ecosystems and resources in the United States. The term “adaptation” in this document refers to adjustments in human social systems (e.g., management) in response to climate stimuli and their effects. Since management always occurs in the context of desired ecosystem conditions or natural resource management goals, it is instructive to examine particular goals and processes used by different organizations to fulfill their objectives. Such an examination allows for discussion of specific adaptation options as well as potential barriers and opportunities for implementation. Using this approach, this report presents a series of chapters on the following selected management systems: National Forests, National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, Wild and Scenic Rivers, National Estuaries, and Marine Protected Areas. For these chapters, the authors draw on the literature, their own expert opinion, and expert workshops composed of resource management scientists and representatives of managing agencies. The information drawn from across these chapters is then analyzed to develop the key synthetic messages presented below.

Synthesis and Assessment Product↗
USGS2017

USGS Integration of New Science and Technology, Appendix A

This product summarizes the USGS plans for integration of new science and technology into Asian Carp control efforts for 2017. This includes the 1) implementation and evaluation of new tactics and behavioral information for monitoring, surveillance, control and containment; 2) understanding behavior and reproduction of Asian carp in established and emerging populations to inform deterrent deployment, rapid response, and removal efforts; and 3) development and evaluation of databases, decision support tools and performance measures.

Report↗
USGS2009

Advanced Tools for River Science: EAARL and MD_SWMS: Chapter 3

Disruption of flow regimes and sediment supplies, induced by anthropogenic or climatic factors, can produce dramatic alterations in river form, vegetation patterns, and associated habitat conditions. To improve habitat in these fluvial systems, resource managers may choose from a variety of treatments including flow and/or sediment prescriptions, vegetation management, or engineered approaches. Monitoring protocols developed to assess the morphologic response of these treatments require techniques that can measure topographic changes above and below the water surface efficiently, accurately, and in a standardized, cost-effective manner. Similarly, modeling of flow, sediment transport, habitat, and channel evolution requires characterization of river morphology for model input and verification. Recent developments by the U.S. Geological Survey with regard to both remotely sensed methods (the Experimental Advanced Airborne Research LiDAR; EAARL) and computational modeling software (the Multi-Dimensional Surface-Water Modeling System; MD_SWMS) have produced advanced tools for spatially explicit monitoring and modeling in aquatic environments. In this paper, we present a pilot study conducted along the Platte River, Nebraska, that demonstrates the combined use of these river science tools.

Report↗
USGS2011

Effects of acid deposition on ecosystems: Advances in the state of the science

Chapter 2 focused on the environmental results of the ARP, presenting data from national monitoring networks on SO2 and NOx emissions, air quality, atmospheric deposition, surface water chemistry, and visibility. This chapter expands on this information by examining the most recent research into how ecosystems respond to acid deposition, especially the processes that control the recovery of ecosystems as acid deposition decreases. In Chapter 2, two general trends were discussed regarding the current recovery status of affected ecosystems: (1) these ecosystems are trending generally towards recovery, but improvements in ecosystem condition shown by surface water chemistry monitoring data thus far have been less than the improvements in deposition; and (2) ecosystem impacts and trends vary widely by geographic region, but the evidence of improvement is strongest and most evident in the Northeast. These trends are not uniform across the United States, however, and in some regions (e.g., central Appalachian Mountain region), trends in improved water quality are generally not evident. Despite the strong link in many areas between reduced emissions and reduced acidity of atmospheric deposition, the link is less clear between reduced acidity and recovery of the biological communities that live in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems that have experienced deleterious effects from acid deposition. The recovery of these communities is proceeding at a slower pace than, for example, the improvements in stream and lake ANC would indicate. The goal of this chapter is to synthesize the science in a weightof-evidence manner to provide policy makers with tangible evidence and likely causative factors regarding ecosystem status and recovery patterns to date. This chapter serves as an update to the 2005 NAPAP RTC (NSTC, 2005), with an emphasis on scientific studies and monitoring since 2003, which was the last year for consideration of research results in the 2005 report. Several issues pertinent to ecosystem response to emission controls and acid deposition are receiving increasing attention in the scientific literature and will be discussed in this chapter, including the (1) observed delay in ecosystem recovery in the eastern United States, even with decreases in emissions and deposition over the past 30 years; (2) emerging ecosystem impacts of nitrogen deposition in the western United States; (3) the application of critical deposition loads as a tool for scientists to better inform air quality policies; (4) the role of changes in climate and the carbon cycle as factors that affect the response of ecosystems to acid deposition; and (5) the interaction of multiple pollutants in ecosystems. Throughout this chapter, the value of long-term environmental monitoring data in informing air quality policy will be highlighted, including the limitations of assessing the current status of some ecosystem indicators for which continuous, long-term data are lacking.

Report↗
USGS2006

Textural analysis of marine sediments at the USGS Woods Hole Science Center; methodology and data on DVD

Marine sediments off the eastern United States vary markedly in texture (i.e., the size, shape, composition, and arrangement of their grains) due to a complex geologic history. For descriptive purposes, however, it is typically most useful to classify these sediments according to their grain-size distributions. In 1962, the U.S. Geological Survey began a program to study the marine geology of the continental margin off the Atlantic coast of the United States. As part of this program and numerous subsequent projects, thousands of sediment grab samples and cores were collected and analyzed for grain size at the Woods Hole Science Center. USGS Open-File Report 2005-1001 (Poppe et al., 2005), available on DVD and online, describes the field methods used to collect marine sediment samples as well as the laboratory methods used to determine and characterize grain-size distributions, and presents these data in several formats that can be readily employed by interested parties. The report is divided into three sections. The first section discusses procedures and contains pictures of the equipment, analytical flow diagrams, video clips with voice commentary, classification schemes, useful forms and compiled and uncompiled versions of the data-acquisition and data-processing software with documentation. The second section contains the grain-size data for more than 23,000 analyses in two “flat-file” formats, a data dictionary, and color-coded browse maps. The third section provides a GIS data catalog of the available point, interpretive, and baseline data layers, with FGDC-compliant metadata to help users visualize the textural information in a geographic context.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2016

Management-driven science synthesis: An evaluation of Everglades restoration trajectories

The Synthesis of Everglades Restoration andEcosystem Services (SERES) Project was funded in 2010 by the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) through the Critical Ecosystem Studies Initiative (CESI) and established to synthesize the ever-growing body of Everglades scientific information with the goal of addressing topics that have hampered restoration since the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) was passed in 2000. A distinguishing characteristic of this synthesis effort was that the target end-user was a management/ decision-maker audience. Specifically, the aim was to address the questions of the water managers and other decision leaders in a way that would illuminate and inform but not constrain or specify decisions. Since its inception, the SERES Project has been managed by the Everglades Foundation; however, a core group of scientifc experts from agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector have contributed to the project (see list on page 4). We began the project by interviewing key officials, including resource managers, decision-makers, and heads of agencies and environmental organizations. The objective of these interviews was to establish the Key Science Management Questions that needed to be addressed in order to advance restoration of the Everglades. The resulting questions led to the organization of project teams focused on Hydrology, Water Quality, Soils, Trophic Dynamics, and Landscape Pattern. In order to establish the technical basis for the project, we conducted in depth reviews of the recent scientifc literature, evaluation tools and models, and available data in each of these core areas. Finally, we developed a suite of restoration options that would aid us in addressing the Key Questions and evaluated their relative performance from hydrological, ecological, and economic perspectives. General fndings of the SERES Project are described in subsequent sections, and technical reviews and results of analyses supporting this document are available in reports on the project website.

Florida↗
USGS2019

Employing an ecosystem services framework to deliver decision ready science

Public land managers have limited information to allow for the integration and balancing of multiple objectives in land management decisions including the social (cultural and health), economic (monetary and nonmonetary), and environmental aspects. In this article, we document an approach to consider the many facets of decision making by incorporating them into a decision context using an ecosystem services framework. This analysis is based on a multi-partner project led by the US Geological Survey and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to provide land management decision support for the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. It is an integrated ecologic-economic analysis of baseline (current) and potential future quantities, qualities, and values of selected ecosystem services from the Refuge. Alternative management scenarios are modeled to consider the impact of specific management actions or natural disturbances on priority ecosystem services. We examine the benefits and challenges of using this framework. Key lessons learned from this effort include the mismatch in timing between physical and social science; the challenge of integrating methods from multiple disciplines; the importance of frequent communication to overcome siloed research; and the utility of an integrating framework for ecosystem services and supporting tools such as the dynamic ecosystem model.

Advances in Ecological Research↗
USGS2020

Hydrologic modeling for flow-ecology science in the Southeastern United States and Puerto Rico

An understanding of the applicability and utility of hydrologic models is critical to support the effective management of water resources throughout the Southeastern United States (SEUS) and Puerto Rico (PR). Hydrologic models have the capacity to provide an estimate of the quantity of available water at ungauged locations (i.e., areas of the country where a U.S. Geological Survey [USGS] continuous record gauge is not installed) and provide the baseline flow information necessary to develop the linkages between water availability and characteristics of streamflow that support ecological communities (i.e., support the development of flow-ecology response models). This report inventories and then directly examines and compares a subset of hydrologic models used to estimate streamflow at a number of gauged basins across the SEUS and PR. This effort was designed to evaluate, quantify, and compare the magnitude of error and to investigate the potential causes of error associated with predicted streamflows from seven hydrologic models of varying complexity and calibration strategy. This was accomplished by computing and then comparing classical hydrologic model fit statistics (e.g., mean bias, coefficient of determination [R2], root mean squared error [RMSE], Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency [NSE]) and understanding the bias in the prediction in these and a subset of ecologically relevant flow metrics (ERFMs). Additionally, streamflow predictions from a larger regional-scale hydrologic model were compared to those of several fine-scale hydrologic models under a range of hypothetical climate change scenarios to determine the range of predicted streamflow responses to fixed climate perturbations. A pilot study was conducted using predicted streamflow and boosted regression trees to develop a set of predictive flow-ecology response models to assess the potential change in fish species richness in the North Carolina Piedmont under several scenarios of water availability change. This report is intended to provide a general assessment of all the tools and techniques available to support hydrologic modeling for flow-ecology science in the SEUS and PR. It is our hope that the approach used herein to understand differences in streamflow predictions among a subset of hydrologic models that have been applied in the SEUS for developing flow-ecology response models will provide water resource managers and stakeholders with an informed pathway for developing the capacity to link streamflow and ecological response and an understanding of some of the limitations associated with these type of modeling efforts.

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Caro↗
USGS2020

Final project memorandum: Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center Project

Low-lying public lands along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast are vulnerable to sea-level rise. Coastal planners and resource managers in the region have requested customized information that can be used to concisely communicate local sea-level rise scenarios and identify potential impacts to the missions of management agencies. In this project, researchers worked with the Northern Gulf of Mexico Sentinel Site Cooperative to develop information sheets outlining potential sea-level rise scenarios for the region through 2100 including their potential impact on the missions of federally-managed lands. Researchers drew from existing information on regional and global sea-level rise scenarios to develop customized information sheets for 54 federally-managed lands in the region (e.g., National Wildlife Refuges, National Park Service lands, National Estuarine Research Reserves) (Chivoiu et al. 2020). This project was developed in response to a request for customized sea-level rise scenario products from partners at the Northern Gulf of Mexico Sentinel Site Cooperative and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Gulf Restoration Program. The results of this project support the conservation stewardship missions of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service by providing science to inform management of their lands along the Gulf of Mexico.

Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas↗
USGS2020

Preparing for geophysical science on the surface of the moon enabled by Artemis

Geophysical methods have been extremely successful in identifying resources on Earth as they provide a means of characterizing and mapping the sub-surface using data gathered on and above the target structures. Geophysics on the Moon will be an important tool for identifying key targets for geological prospecting, scientific sampling, assessing hazards and risks to crew and infrastructure, and determining the near subsurface and deeper workings of the lunar interior. Artemis will require 21st century geophysics instruments to advance lunar science and exploration, similar to how Apollo gathered geophysical data that is still leading to scientific discoveries 50 years later.

Report↗
USGS2021

Knowledge synthesis of Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow science

This report represents a literature review of science conducted on the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow ( Ammospiza maritima mirabilis , hereafter “CSSS” or “spar-row”). This information can be used as a foundation for the upcoming Species Status Assessment and for updating the CSSS Recovery Plan. This report focuses on areas of interest relative to CSSS management such as habitat, hydrology, fire, and population estimates. We include peer-reviewed scientific literature, synthesis reports, and some field reports. Many field reports to funding agencies and other documents exist beyond what is reviewed here; however, we include the most relevant documents relative to the focus of CSSS management. All documents reviewed are listed in the References section.

Florida↗
USGS2023

State of the science and decision support for measuring suspended sediment with acoustic instrumentation

Acoustic instrumentation can be used to provide time-series and discrete estimates of suspended-sediment concentration, load, and sediment particle sizes in fluvial systems, which are essential for creating informed solutions to many sediment-related environmental, engineering, and land management concerns. Historically, scientists have developed relations between suspended sediment characteristics and other parameters, most commonly streamflow, to estimate sediment information when physical sediment samples cannot be collected. Approaches using streamflow can have substantial accuracy limitations because of hysteresis effects, giving rise to the use of more direct surrogate approaches such as acoustic methods. Interagency efforts in recent years have advanced the testing, methods development, operational guidelines, and training on acoustic methods for measuring suspended sediment. Scientists interested in using these methods are faced with many decisions on the type of application and deployment: horizontal profiling, vertical profiling, or point acoustic instruments; single or multifrequency instruments; continuous or discrete sediment measurements; and fixed or mobile instrument deployments. To promote cost-effective, accurate, and high-resolution fluvial sediment data for the Nation, the interagency Sediment Acoustic Leadership Team (SALT) develops technical guidance and training for using acoustic instruments to measure aquatic sediment. Even though acoustic instrumentation has been used successfully to measure suspended-sediment characteristics throughout the world, some deployments have been unsuccessful because of limited technical guidance and selection of an inappropriate method. To guide decisions on method selection, the SALT has compiled the state of the science for the main types of acoustics-based suspended-sediment measurement methods in development, testing, and use, and has created a flowchart to guide method selection.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2024

Climate science and adaptation planning support for State Wildlife Action Plans in the North Central region

Final report for an NC CASC project to identify needs and provide support for states in the North Central region and Idaho to integrate climate science and adaptation into their State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs). Our objectives were to: 1) engage with state wildlife agencies in the North Central region to identify their needs for climate-informed planning support and 2) collaboratively develop products that will help them better integrate climate adaptation strategies into SWAPs.

Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, ↗