USGS Science⌕ Search

SEARCH · USGS Science

Results for “Scientific Data”

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

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 883 records · Page 49Linked to original sources
USGS2021

U.S. Geological Survey science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative—2018 annual report

The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) was established in 2007 as a collaborative interagency partnership to develop and implement science-based conservation actions. During the past 11 years, partners from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), State and Federal land management agencies, universities, and the public have collaborated to implement a long-term (more than 10 years) science-based program that assesses and enhances the quality and quantity of wildlife habitats in the southwest Wyoming region while facilitating responsible development. The USGS WLCI Science Team completes scientific research and develops tools that inform and support WLCI partner planning, decision making, and on-the-ground management actions. In fiscal year 2018, the USGS initiated 3 new projects and continued efforts on 21 ongoing science and web-development projects. The first new project was initiated to support Secretarial Order 3362 which calls on the USGS to assist Western States in mapping big-game migration corridors and developing new mapping tools. During 2018, the USGS hosted a workshop in Laramie, Wyoming, which included more than 70 State and Federal wildlife experts from Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Wyoming. Most of the mapping and migration tool curricula used in the workshop were derived from prior WLCI studies and mapping efforts of big-game migration movement in habitats undergoing large-scale energy development. The second new project was in response for WLCI partners to better understand sedimentation and hydrogeomorphic processes in a cold-desert headwater and the third new project was designed to improve our approach for people to access, manage, and analyze WLCI data and WLCI resource information. The USGS published 18 products (including peer-reviewed journal articles, USGS series publications, and data releases) and provided more than a dozen professional oral and poster presentations at scientific meetings and numerous informal presentations to WLCI partners at meetings and workshops. This report summarizes the objectives and status of each project and highlights the USGS 2018 accomplishments and products.

Wyoming↗
USGS1999

A global digital elevation model - GTOP030

GTOP030, the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) digital elevation model (DEM) of the Earth, provides the flrst global coverage of moderate resolution elevation data. The original GTOP30 data set, which was developed over a 3-year period through a collaborative effort led by the USGS, was completed in 1996 at the USGS EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The collaboration involved contributions of staffing, funding, or source data from cooperators including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the United Nations Environment Programme Global Resource Information Database (UNEP/GRID), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica Geografia e Informatica (INEGI) of Mexico, the Geographical Survey Institute (GSI) of Japan, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research of New Zealand, and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). In 1999, work was begun on an update to the GTOP030 data set. Additional data sources are being incorporated into GTOP030 with an enhanced and improved data set planned for release in 2000.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2020

Transmitter effects on growth and survival of Forster’s tern chicks

Radio‐telemetry is a commonly used scientific technique that allows researchers to collect detailed movement, habitat use, and survival data of animals; however, evidence indicates that using telemetry can affect behavior and survival. Using multiple breeding colonies and years, we investigated the effects of attached radio‐transmitters on growth and survival of Forster's tern ( Sterna forsteri ) chicks in San Francisco Bay, California, USA, 2010–2011. We tested these potential effects at isolated islands that allowed for high re‐capture rates (typically >85%) in radio‐marked and banded‐only chicks. Modeled Gompertz growth curves suggested that transmitters had a small negative effect on some of the asymptotic growth parameters of tern chicks; tarsus (−1.5 ± 0.7% [SE]), culmen (−1.7 ± 1.2%), and wing (−4.9 ± 2.0%) lengths were shorter for radio‐marked chicks compared to banded‐only chicks. In contrast, there was no difference in asymptotic mass between radio‐marked chicks and banded‐only chicks. Survival from hatching to fledging was lower for radio‐marked chicks than banded‐only chicks during 2010 (banded‐only = 0.313 ± 0.162 vs. radio‐marked = 0.250 ± 0.165) and 2011 (0.193 ± 0.030 vs. 0.123 ± 0.027). Most of the transmitter effect occurred within the first week after hatching, rather than in older chicks. Notably, the effect of transmitters on chick survival was primarily additive, indicating that the effect of transmitters on radio‐marked chicks was not influenced by other ecological covariates. Given the effect radio‐transmitters had on survival did not change across temporal or ecological gradients, transmitters can still be used to evaluate ecological factors affecting survival and timing of mortality and radio‐marked birds can be used to make inferences to the general population.

California↗
USGS2018

Exploring drivers of regional water-quality change using differential spatially referenced regression – A pilot study in the Chesapeake Bay watershed

An understanding of riverine water-quality dynamics in regional mixed-land use watersheds is the foundation for advances in landscape biogeochemistry and informed land management. A differential implementation of the statistical/process-based model SPAtially Referenced Regressions on Watershed attributes (SPARROW; Smith et al., https://doi.org/10.1029/97wr02171 ) is proposed to empirically relate a regional pattern of changes in flow-normalized constituent flux, over a multiyear period, to contemporaneous changes in spatially referenced explanatory variables. In a pilot application, the differential model, called Spatiotemporal Watershed Accumulation of Net effects (SWAN), is used to explore factors influencing changes in flow-normalized flux of total nitrogen over the period 1990–2010 at 43 sites in the nontidal Chesapeake Bay watershed. A seven-parameter model explains 80% of the transformed variability in independently estimated flux changes, indicating that storage effects having characteristic time scales greater than 20 years had a small influence, relative to changes in inputs, on regional water-quality response. Results suggest that 1990–2010 changes in total-nitrogen flux are largely the outcome of increased nonpoint-source pollution associated with urban and suburban development, modulated to the point of negation by terrestrial losses stemming from widespread increases in air temperature and precipitation. The loss mechanism is qualitatively consistent with denitrification; however, increases in aboveground biomass, agricultural nitrogen exports, or hydrologic flushing are also plausible contributors. Although qualified by a small sample size and constraints on explanatory data availability, the pilot suggests that SWAN is a promising approach for broadening scientific understanding of factors driving regional water-quality change and for supporting evidence-based land-management decisions.

Chesapeake Bay watershed↗
USGS2015

Conservation paleobiology: Leveraging knowledge of the past to inform conservation and restoration

Humans now play a major role in altering Earth and its biota. Finding ways to ameliorate human impacts on biodiversity and to sustain and restore the ecosystem services on which we depend is a grand scientific and societal challenge. Conservation paleobiology is an emerging discipline that uses geohistorical data to meet these challenges by developing and testing models of how biota respond to environmental stressors. Here we ( a ) describe how the discipline has already provided insights about biotic responses to key environmental stressors, ( b ) outline research aimed at disentangling the effects of multiple stressors, ( c ) provide examples of deliverables for managers and policy makers, and ( d ) identify methodological advances in geohistorical analysis that will foster the next major breakthroughs in conservation outcomes. We highlight cases for which exclusive reliance on observations of living biota may lead researchers to erroneous conclusions about the nature and magnitude of biotic change, vulnerability, and resilience.

Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences↗
USGS2022

Physics-guided recurrent neural networks for predicting lake water temperature

This chapter presents a physics-guided recurrent neural network model (PGRNN) for predicting water temperature in lake systems. Standard machine learning (ML) methods, especially deep learning models, often require a large amount of labeled training samples, which are often not available in scientific problems due to the substantial human labor and material costs associated with data collection. ML models have found tremendous success in several commercial applications, e.g., computer vision and natural language processing. The chapter presents PGRNN as a general framework for modeling physical processes in engineering and environmental systems. The proposed PGRNN explicitly incorporates physical laws such as energy conservation or mass conservation. In particular, researchers started pursing this direction by using residual modeling, where an ML model is learned to predict the errors, or residuals, made by a physics-based model. Advanced ML models, especially deep learning models, often require a large amount of training data for tuning model parameters.

Book chapter↗
USGS2017

Tell me a story! A plea for more compelling conference presentations

Effective communication with other scientists is an essential component of the scientific process, underlying success in publishing papers, building collaborations, securing grants and jobs, and stimulating further research. Oral presentations at professional meetings provide an opportunity to share research findings with a relatively broad scientific audience. However, many scientists give talks that are crowded with methods and data, accompanied by poor visuals, and, most unfortunately, lacking in narrative arc. Here, I provide strategies for distilling research findings into a short-format talk, capturing the audience's attention, and delivering a compelling and visually engaging story. I argue that the material should be designed to interest a wide range of meeting attendees, not just experts in a narrow field. I also advocate principles of good storytelling, with the aim of leading the audience through a compelling journey of discovery that concludes with a memorable takeaway message.

The Condor: Ornithological Applications↗
USGS2006

Introduction to the special issue on the 2004 Parkfield earthquake and the Parkfield earthquake prediction experiment

The 28 September 2004 M 6.0 Parkfield earthquake, a long-anticipated event on the San Andreas fault, is the world's best recorded earthquake to date, with state-of-the-art data obtained from geologic, geodetic, seismic, magnetic, and electrical field networks. This has allowed the preearthquake and postearthquake states of the San Andreas fault in this region to be analyzed in detail. Analyses of these data provide views into the San Andreas fault that show a complex geologic history, fault geometry, rheology, and response of the nearby region to the earthquake-induced ground movement. Although aspects of San Andreas fault zone behavior in the Parkfield region can be modeled simply over geological time frames, the Parkfield Earthquake Prediction Experiment and the 2004 Parkfield earthquake indicate that predicting the fine details of future earthquakes is still a challenge. Instead of a deterministic approach, forecasting future damaging behavior, such as that caused by strong ground motions, will likely continue to require probabilistic methods. However, the Parkfield Earthquake Prediction Experiment and the 2004 Parkfield earthquake have provided ample data to understand most of what did occur in 2004, culminating in significant scientific advances.

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America↗
USGS2024

Are field observations of surface rupture useful? An example from the 2023 Mw 7.8 Pazarcık, Turkey (Türkiye), earthquake

Field investigations have long been an important component of the scientific response to surface‐faulting earthquakes. However, in light of advances in remote data and models, the question arises whether field‐based observations of surface rupture remain useful for understanding rupture processes and seismic hazards. We approach this question using a field‐based study of the central 2023 M w 7.8 Pazarcık, Turkey (Türkiye), earthquake rupture, at the intersection of the east Anatolian fault (EAF) and Narlı fault. Our field observations include the surface rupture expression and extent of the central EAF and northernmost Narlı fault in generally forested and steep terrain and 68 measurements of left‐lateral surface displacement. These data improve our understanding of the Pazarcık rupture complexity, resolve the surface geometry of the Narlı fault–EAF connection, and exhibit a clear (>2 m) change in surface displacement across this intersection zone that confirms remote‐based coseismic slip models. Our study shows that focusing field efforts in areas of obscured or low‐resolution remote data can yield essential data for refining rupture extent, documenting perishable on‐fault displacement, and improving postearthquake situational awareness. A comparison of similarly large‐magnitude continental surface‐rupturing earthquakes indicates that displacement uncertainties relate to a complex set of factors, including measurement methods, rupture complexity, and displacement magnitude. Our study validates the need for postearthquake field observations, which, when driven by clear motivating questions and knowledge of methodological strengths and limitations, provide high‐resolution rupture data that complement remote‐based models.

Pazarcık↗
USGS2018

Climate Assessments and Scenario Planning (CLASP)

The NE CASC boasts an interdisciplinary array of scientists, from ecologists to biologists, hydrologists to climatologists, each contributing new, original academic research to advance our understanding of the impacts of climate change on wildlife and other natural resources in the Northeast. Needed was an outreach specialist who would interface directly with the management agencies who benefited from this research to aid the integration of this research into their management planning as part of adapting to climate change. A climatologist was preferred to address queries about climate modeling, climate change uncertainties, and other areas of climate science outside the expertise of NE CASC ecologists, biologists, and hydrologists. This person’s activities would include responding to inquiries, presenting climate science concepts at management workshops, gathering managers’ climate science needs, contributing to the climate portion of synthesis reports and other resources for managers, and collaborating with ecologists on interdisciplinary studies of climate change by providing climate data and guidance on interpretation. The objective was to relay and interpret the scientific findings most relevant to managers’ resources of concern and management activities around those resources to guide adjustments to their activities toward better protecting their resources of concern. As an outcome, managers often relied on synthesized climate science to be able to consider how climate trends affect their work, especially those thinking about climate change for the first time in the context of their work. This lays the groundwork for more detailed management-driven science delivery that can aid eventual implementation. Management groups reached by this project include land managers with the National Park Service, state fish and game departments and DNRs, and tribal environmental coordinators.

Report↗
USGS2001

Water quality in the Yukon River basin

The Yukon River Basin, which encompasses 330,000 square miles in northwestern Canada and central Alaska (Fig. 1), is one of the largest and most diverse ecosystems in North America. The Yukon River is also fundamental to the ecosystems of the eastern Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea, providing most of the freshwater runoff, sediments, and dissolved solutes. Despite its remoteness and perceived invulnerability, the Yukon River Basin is changing. For example, records of air temperature during 1961-1990 indicate a warming trend of about 0.75 deg C per decade at latitudes where the Yukon River is located. Increases in temperature will have wide-ranging effects on permafrost distribution, glacial runoff and the movement of carbon and nutrients within and from the basin. In addition, Alaska has many natural resources such as timber, minerals, gas, and oil that may be developed in future years. As a consequence of these changes, several issues of scientific and cultural concern have come to the forefront. At present, water quality data for the Yukon River Basin are very limited. This fact sheet describes a program to provide the data that are needed to address these issues.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2018

Unmanned aerial systems capabilities of the U.S. Geological Survey Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Unmanned aerial system (UAS) technology provides a rapid and low-cost solution for mapping coastal environments and assessing short- and long-term changes. The interdisciplinary nature of the data collected and the breadth of applications make UAS technology applicable to multiple scientific investigations. The Aerial Imaging and Mapping (AIM) group at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center provides UAS services to scientists to advance the science mission of the Coastal-Marine Hazards and Resources Program. Scientists at the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center use UASs to acquire imagery of coastal and wetland environments, which is then used to produce detailed topographic and visual reflectance datasets. UAS technology supports the work of geologists, engineers, physical scientists, geographers, and geochemists who study coastal erosion, sediment transport, storm impacts, habitats, biomass, and marsh stability.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2011

Science supporting Gulf of Mexico oil-spill response, mitigation, and restoration activities-Assessment, monitoring, mapping, and coordination

The St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) investigates physical processes related to coastal and marine environments and societal implications related to natural hazards, resource sustainability, and environmental change. Immediately after the Deepwater Horizon event, the USGS began responding to data requests, directing response personnel, and providing coastal and shelf geophysical data to coastal-resource managers. The USGS provided oil-spill responders with up-to-date coastal bathymetry, geologic data, and maps characterizing vulnerability and levels of risk from potential spill impacts in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Baseline conditions prior to any spill impacts were documented through programs that included shoreline sampling and sediment coring from east Texas to the east coast of Florida and aerial photography of many environmentally sensitive Gulf coastal areas. The USGS responded to numerous verbal and written data requests from Federal, State, and local partners and academic institutions with USGS scientific staff participating in the Coast Guard Unified Commands (UC) and Operational Science Advisory Teams (OSAT). The USGS conducted technical review of reports and plans for many response activities. Oil-spill responders, managers, and personnel on the ground, including partners such as the National Park Service, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Chandeleur Islands Refuge, and State agencies, continue to rely on USGS products.

General Information Product↗
USGS2002

Southwest Washington coastal erosion workshop report 2000

This report is a compilation of abstracts that correspond to oral presentations and posters presented at the fifth principal investigators workshop of the Southwest Washington Coastal Erosion Study. The workshop was held November 15 - 17, 2000 at the Department of Ecology headquarters building in Olympia, WA. For the fourth consecutive year in November, the workshop convened the entire multi-disciplinary group of scientists and engineers working on the Study or on related projects within the Columbia River littoral cell (CRLC) (Figures 1 and 2). The workshop participants are listed in the List of Attendees section towards the end of this report. The purpose of this workshop was to bring all Study investigators and associated engineers and scientists together to discuss recent work, ongoing tasks, and future research plans in the CRLC. Investigators were asked to present recent data, preliminary interpretations, and research results to invoke discussion and correlation with parallel scientific efforts. The abstracts compiled in this report represent a wealth of information on the CRLC, but because much of the work is in progress, the reader is advised that the information provided herein is preliminary and subject to change.

Oregon;Washington↗
USGS2003

Arsenic in New England: Mineralogical and geochemical studies of sources and enrichment pathways

Detailed mineralogical, geochemical and radiogenic isotopic studies of iron-sulfide and secondary iron oxy-hydroxide minerals in natural bedrock in coastal Maine and New Hampshire test the link between arsenic-rich sulfide minerals in bedrock and secondary oxy-hydroxide minerals. Samples were selected from over 70 bedrock localities, including 22 within the regionally extensive and sulfide-mineral-rich Penobscot Formation and 10 associated with mineral deposits from coastal New Hampshire and Maine, and coupled with data from drill core collected at several sites including areas where well waters contain anomalous As abundances (e.g., Northport, ME). The data were used to establish a diversity of primary and secondary mineralogical hosts for arsenic in bedrock of this part of New England. The studies show that bedrock mineralogy is critical to contributing arsenic to groundwater and suggest a number of mineralogical pathways for arsenic that define weathering processes. The studies show that lead isotopic compositions of the sulfides and iron oxy-hydroxides overlap and establish a genetic link between the sulfides and secondary minerals. The data and interpretive results were presented at Arsenic in New England -- A multidisciplinary Scientific Conference, Manchester, New Hampshire, May 29-31, 2002, sponsored by the New Hampshire Consortium on Arsenic, are available in abstract and poster (full size = 84 by 36 inch sheet) formats.

Maine, New Hampshire↗
USGS1984

Literature review and need for additional study of surface-water quality in the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area, Ohio

The Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area encompasses about 24 miles of the middle reach of the Cuyahoga River and parts of four major tributaries -- Furnace Run, Brandywine Creek, Chippewa Creek, and TInkers Creek. Water quality in this reach does not meet Ohio water-quality standards for dissolved oxygen, fecal bacteria, ammonia, and lead. Point sources of effluent contribute contaminants. On the basis of a review of scientific and technical literature, National Park Service management goals, and water-quality data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, three subject areas for future study are suggested: (1) The dissolved oxygen regime, (2) chemical quality of base flow, and (3) quality of storm-water runoff.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2001

U.S. Geological Survey Activities Related to American Indians and Alaska Natives Fiscal Year 2001

Information is a resource that can help Native American governments and their people. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) makes available technical expertise, reports, and other impartial information sources that can benefit Native Americans interested in subsistence issues, water, land use, and the health of many parts of the environment. The USGS works in cooperation with American Indian and Alaska Native governments, conducting research on water and mineral resources, animals and plants of environmental, economic, or subsistence importance, natural hazards, and geologic resources. Digital data on cartography, mineral resources, stream flow, biota, and other topics are available to American Indian and Alaska Native individuals and institutions. The USGS recognizes the need to learn from and share knowledge with Native peoples. This report describes most of the activities that the USGS conducted with American Indian and Alaska Native governments, educational institutions, and individuals during Federal fiscal year 2001. Some of these USGS activities were carried out in concert with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Others were conducted by Tribes and the USGS. In 2001, the USGS began examining its activities related to American Indians and Alaska Natives to determine how it can better serve these customers within its mandates. A growing number of Tribal governments, educational institutions, and other Tribal organizations have begun using geographic information systems and other digital technologies in recent years. As Tribes become more interested in and more adept at managing digital information, they are seeking relevant data from the USGS more frequently. Using digital technologies provides Tribal governments with additional means of managing lands and resources for the benefit of current and future generations. The USGS recognizes the need to make its information available to Tribal governments, and to work with those governments and other institutions to advance data management capabilities. The USGS is responding to this need by increasing the transfer of scientific information to American Indian and Alaska Native governments and by training employees of those governments to conduct and improve scientific studies. The USGS is also encouraging American Indians and Alaska Natives to pursue careers in science, and seeking ways to hire Indian and Native students. By identifying, improving, and disseminating information about available hiring mechanisms, the USGS is working to make hiring such students easier, and therefore more likely, for USGS managers. The U.S. Geological Survey is the Federal science bureau within the Department of the Interior (DoI). The USGS is non-regulatory and is not a significant manager of Federal or Trust lands or assets. However, there are two types of USGS activities that do involve American Indians, Alaska Natives, and their lands. The first type of activity is the course of formal studies, conducted through existing USGS programs, that involves collection of specific types of data as well as investigative and research projects. These projects typically last 2 or 3 years, although a few are parts of longer-term activities. Some projects are funded through cooperative agreements, from monies provided to the USGS by individual Tribal governments or by the BIA. The USGS provides matching funds for cooperative projects. These formal projects may also receive funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Indian Health Service (part of the Department of Health and Human Services), or other Federal agencies. The USGS routinely works with its sister bureaus in the Department of the Interior to provide the scientific information and expertise needed to meet the Department's science priorities. Within this context, the USGS and the BIA are cooperating to use USGS information resources to benefit American Indian and Alaska Native peoples and their lands. The second type of USGS activity is less formal, based on initiatives designed and conducted by USGS employees. Frequently involving educational activities, these endeavors are prompted by employee interests, often as collateral issues, that result from one or more USGS employees identifying and responding to an observed need. In these activities, USGS employees help fulfill a mission of the USGS-to make science relevant-while helping their fellow citizens. USGS employees have also taken the initiative in assisting American Indians and Alaska Natives through participation in several organizations that were created to foster awareness of science among Native peoples and to help build support and communication networks. One such group is the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES). This group sponsors an annual national meeting in which USGS employees participate. USGS employees join this organization on a voluntary basis, bringing the benefits of this expanded network to the USGS, as many employees do with other professional organizations. Each part of the USGS has identified an American Indian/Alaska Native liaison. Furthermore, the USGS has instituted a regional organizational structure, with Western, Central, and Eastern Regions. The regions work in concert with specific scientific disciplines to conduct the scientific mission of the USGS. The regional structure is intended to bring us closer to our customers; we hope that Native Americans and Alaska Natives will use the contacts listed at the end of this report.

Report↗
USGS2007

Coastal processes study at Ocean Beach, San Francisco, CA: Summary of data collection 2004-2006

Ocean Beach in San Francisco, California, contains a persistent erosional section in the shadow of the San Francisco ebb tidal delta and south of Sloat Boulevard that threatens valuable public infrastructure as well as the safe recreational use of the beach. Coastal managers have been discussing potential mediation measures for over a decade, with little scientific research available to aid in decision making. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) initiated the Ocean Beach Coastal Processes Study in April 2004 to provide the scientific knowledge necessary for coastal managers to make informed management decisions. This study integrates a wide range of field data collection and numerical modeling techniques to document nearshore sediment transport processes at the mouth of San Francisco Bay, with emphasis on how these processes relate to erosion at Ocean Beach. The Ocean Beach Coastal Processes Study is the first comprehensive study of coastal processes at the mouth of San Francisco Bay.

California↗