In this investigation, we used a combination of field- and laboratory-based approaches to assess if influenza A viruses (IAVs) shed by ducks could remain viable for extended periods in surface water within three wetland complexes of North America. In a field experiment, replicate filtered surface water samples inoculated with duck swabs were tested for IAVs upon collection and again after an overwintering period of approximately 6–7 months. Numerous IAVs were molecularly detected and isolated from these samples, including replicates maintained at wetland field sites in Alaska and Minnesota for 181–229 days. In a parallel laboratory experiment, we attempted to culture IAVs from filtered surface water samples inoculated with duck swabs from Minnesota each month during September 2018–April 2019 and found monthly declines in viral viability. In an experimental challenge study, we found that IAVs maintained in filtered surface water within wetlands of Alaska and Minnesota for 214 and 226 days, respectively, were infectious in a mallard model. Collectively, our results support surface waters of northern wetlands as a biologically important medium in which IAVs may be both transmitted and maintained, potentially serving as an environmental reservoir for infectious IAVs during the overwintering period of migratory birds.
We present results from 30 quantitative degassing experiments of pressure core sections collected during The University of Texas-Gulf of Mexico 2-1 (UT-GOM2-1) Hydrate Pressure Coring Expedition at Green Canyon Block 955 in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico as part of The University of Texas at Austin–US Department of Energy Deepwater Methane Hydrate Characterization and Scientific Assessment. The hydrate saturation (Sh), the volume fraction of the pore space occupied by hydrate, is 79% to 93% within sandy silt beds (centimeters to meters in thickness) between 413 and 442 m below seafloor in 2032 m water depth. Sandy silt intervals are characterized by high compressional wave velocity (Vp) (2515–3012 m s−1) and are interbedded with clayey silt sections that have lower Sh (2%–35%) and lower Vp (1684–2023 m s−1). Clayey silt intervals are composed of thin laminae of silts with high Sh within clay-rich intervals containing little to no hydrate. Degassing of single-lithofacies sections reveals higher-resolution variation in Sh than is possible to observe in well logs; however, the average Sh of 64% through the reservoir is similar to well log estimates. Gas recovered from the hydrates during these experiments is composed almost entirely of methane (99.99% CH4, <100 ppm C2H6 on average), with an isotopic composition (δ13C: −60.4‰ and −63.6‰ Vienna Peedee belemnite and δ2H: −178.2‰ and −179.0‰ Vienna standard mean ocean water) that suggests the methane is primarily from a microbial source. A subset of six degassing experiments performed using very small pressure decrements indicates that the salinity within these samples is close to the average seawater concentration, suggesting that hydrate either formed slowly or formed during a rapid event at least tens of thousands of years before present.
","language":"English","publisher":"American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Bulletin","doi":"10.1306/01062018280","usgsCitation":"Philips, S., Flemings, P., Holland, M., Schultheiss, P., Waite, W., Jang, J., Petrou, E., and Hammon, H., 2020, High concentration methane hydrate in a silt reservoir from the deep-water Gulf of Mexico: AAPG Bulletin, v. 104, no. 9, p. 1971-1995, https://doi.org/10.1306/01062018280.","productDescription":"25 p.","startPage":"1971","endPage":"1995","ipdsId":"IP-104475","costCenters":[{"id":678,"text":"Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":378271,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Texas, Louisiana","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -93.1201171875,\n 30.183121842195515\n ],\n [\n -95.361328125,\n 29.84064389983441\n ],\n [\n -95.185546875,\n 29.267232865200878\n ],\n [\n -91.5380859375,\n 29.305561325527698\n ],\n [\n -93.1201171875,\n 30.183121842195515\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","volume":"104","issue":"9","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Philips, Stephen","contributorId":239916,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Philips","given":"Stephen","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":48044,"text":"Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798128,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Flemings, Peter","contributorId":198205,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Flemings","given":"Peter","affiliations":[{"id":13127,"text":"Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas, Austin","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798129,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Holland, Melanie","contributorId":239904,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Holland","given":"Melanie","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":48040,"text":"Geotek Ltd","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798130,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3},{"text":"Schultheiss, Peter","contributorId":239913,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Schultheiss","given":"Peter","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":48040,"text":"Geotek Ltd","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798131,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":4},{"text":"Waite, William F. 0000-0002-9436-4109 wwaite@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9436-4109","contributorId":625,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Waite","given":"William F.","email":"wwaite@usgs.gov","affiliations":[{"id":186,"text":"Coastal and Marine Geology Program","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":678,"text":"Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":798132,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":5},{"text":"Jang, Junbong 0000-0001-5500-7558 jjang@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5500-7558","contributorId":189400,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Jang","given":"Junbong","email":"jjang@usgs.gov","affiliations":[{"id":678,"text":"Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":798133,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":6},{"text":"Petrou, Ethan","contributorId":239909,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Petrou","given":"Ethan","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":48038,"text":"Institute for Geophysics and Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798134,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":7},{"text":"Hammon, Helen","contributorId":239917,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Hammon","given":"Helen","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":48044,"text":"Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798135,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":8}]}} ,{"id":70213072,"text":"70213072 - 2020 - Pressure coring a Gulf of Mexico deep-water turbidite gas hydrate reservoir: Initial results from The University of Texas–Gulf of Mexico 2-1 (UT-GOM2-1) Hydrate Pressure Coring Expedition","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2020-09-09T12:59:51.010478","indexId":"70213072","displayToPublicDate":"2020-09-09T07:49:08","publicationYear":"2020","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":2,"text":"Article"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":10,"text":"Journal Article"},"seriesTitle":{"id":605,"text":"AAPG Bulletin","printIssn":"0149-1423","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":10}},"title":"Pressure coring a Gulf of Mexico deep-water turbidite gas hydrate reservoir: Initial results from The University of Texas–Gulf of Mexico 2-1 (UT-GOM2-1) Hydrate Pressure Coring Expedition","docAbstract":"The University of Texas Hydrate Pressure Coring Expedition (UT-GOM2-1) recovered cores at near in situ formation pressures from a gas hydrate reservoir composed of sandy silt and clayey silt beds in Green Canyon Block 955 in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico. The expedition results are synthesized and linked to other detailed analyses presented in this volume. Millimeter- to meter-scale beds of sandy silt and clayey silt are interbedded on the levee of a turbidite channel. The hydrate saturation (the volume fraction of the pore space occupied by hydrate) in the sandy silts ranges from 79% to 93%, and there is little to no hydrate in the clayey silt. Gas from the hydrates is composed of nearly pure methane (99.99%) with less than 400 ppm of ethane or heavier hydrocarbons. The δ13C values from the methane are depleted (−60‰ to −65‰ Vienna Peedee belemnite), and it is interpreted that the gases were largely generated by primary microbial methanogenesis but that low concentrations of propane or heavier hydrocarbons record at least trace thermogenic components. The in situ pore-water salinity is very close to that of seawater. This suggests that the excess salinity generated during hydrate formation diffused away because the hydrate formed slowly or because it formed long ago. Because the sandy silt deposits have high hydrate concentration and high intrinsic permeability, they may represent a class of reservoir that can be economically developed. Results from this expedition will inform a new generation of reservoir simulation models that will illuminate how these reservoirs might be best produced.
","language":"English","publisher":"American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Bulletin","doi":"10.1306/05212019052","usgsCitation":"Flemings, P., Phillips, S., Boswell, R., Collett, T., Cook, A., Dong, T., Frye, M., Goldberg, D., Guerin, G., Holland, M., Jang, J., Meazell, K., Morrison, J., O’Connell, J., Petrou, E., Pettigrew, T., Polito, P., Portnov, A., Santra, M., Schultheiss, P., Seol, Y., Shedd, W., Solomon, E.S., Thomas, C., Waite, W., and You, K., 2020, Pressure coring a Gulf of Mexico deep-water turbidite gas hydrate reservoir: Initial results from The University of Texas–Gulf of Mexico 2-1 (UT-GOM2-1) Hydrate Pressure Coring Expedition: AAPG Bulletin, v. 104, no. 9, p. 1847-1876, https://doi.org/10.1306/05212019052.","productDescription":"30 p.","startPage":"1847","endPage":"1876","ipdsId":"IP-105681","costCenters":[{"id":678,"text":"Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":378251,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Texas, Louisiana","otherGeospatial":"Gulf of Mexico","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -93.1201171875,\n 30.183121842195515\n ],\n [\n -95.361328125,\n 29.84064389983441\n ],\n [\n -95.185546875,\n 29.267232865200878\n ],\n [\n -91.5380859375,\n 29.305561325527698\n ],\n [\n -93.1201171875,\n 30.183121842195515\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","volume":"104","issue":"9","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Flemings, Peter","contributorId":198205,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Flemings","given":"Peter","affiliations":[{"id":13127,"text":"Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas, Austin","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798102,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Phillips, Stephen","contributorId":156280,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Phillips","given":"Stephen","affiliations":[{"id":20304,"text":"Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798103,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Boswell, Ray","contributorId":224746,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Boswell","given":"Ray","affiliations":[{"id":28000,"text":"National Energy Technology Laboratory, Pittsburgh, PA, USA","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798104,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3},{"text":"Collett, Timothy 0000-0002-7598-4708","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7598-4708","contributorId":220806,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Collett","given":"Timothy","affiliations":[{"id":164,"text":"Central Energy Resources Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":255,"text":"Energy Resources Program","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":798115,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":4},{"text":"Cook, Ann","contributorId":219218,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Cook","given":"Ann","affiliations":[{"id":39971,"text":"School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798105,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":5},{"text":"Dong, Tian","contributorId":239901,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Dong","given":"Tian","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":48038,"text":"Institute for Geophysics and Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798106,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":6},{"text":"Frye, Matthew","contributorId":197799,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Frye","given":"Matthew","email":"","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":798107,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":7},{"text":"Goldberg, David","contributorId":239903,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Goldberg","given":"David","affiliations":[{"id":28041,"text":"Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798109,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":8},{"text":"Guerin, Giles","contributorId":239902,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Guerin","given":"Giles","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":28041,"text":"Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798108,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":9},{"text":"Holland, Melanie","contributorId":239904,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Holland","given":"Melanie","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":48040,"text":"Geotek Ltd","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798110,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":10},{"text":"Jang, Junbong 0000-0001-5500-7558 jjang@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5500-7558","contributorId":189400,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Jang","given":"Junbong","email":"jjang@usgs.gov","affiliations":[{"id":678,"text":"Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":798111,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":11},{"text":"Meazell, Kevin","contributorId":239905,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Meazell","given":"Kevin","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":48038,"text":"Institute for Geophysics and Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798112,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":12},{"text":"Morrison, Jamie","contributorId":239906,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Morrison","given":"Jamie","affiliations":[{"id":48038,"text":"Institute for Geophysics and Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798113,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":13},{"text":"O’Connell, Joshua","contributorId":239907,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"O’Connell","given":"Joshua","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":48038,"text":"Institute for Geophysics and Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798114,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":14},{"text":"Petrou, Ethan","contributorId":239909,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Petrou","given":"Ethan","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":48038,"text":"Institute for Geophysics and Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798117,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":15},{"text":"Pettigrew, Tom","contributorId":239908,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Pettigrew","given":"Tom","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":48042,"text":"Pettigrew Engineering","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798116,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":16},{"text":"Polito, Peter","contributorId":239910,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Polito","given":"Peter","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":48038,"text":"Institute for Geophysics and Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798118,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":17},{"text":"Portnov, Alexey","contributorId":239911,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Portnov","given":"Alexey","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":48043,"text":"School of Earth Science, The Ohio State University)","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798119,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":18},{"text":"Santra, Manasj","contributorId":239912,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Santra","given":"Manasj","affiliations":[{"id":48038,"text":"Institute for Geophysics and Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798120,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":19},{"text":"Schultheiss, Peter","contributorId":239913,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Schultheiss","given":"Peter","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":48040,"text":"Geotek Ltd","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798121,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":20},{"text":"Seol, Yongkoo","contributorId":195139,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Seol","given":"Yongkoo","email":"","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":798122,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":21},{"text":"Shedd, William","contributorId":197798,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Shedd","given":"William","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":798123,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":22},{"text":"Solomon, Evan S.","contributorId":196046,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Solomon","given":"Evan","email":"","middleInitial":"S.","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":798124,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":23},{"text":"Thomas, Carla","contributorId":239914,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Thomas","given":"Carla","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":48038,"text":"Institute for Geophysics and Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798125,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":24},{"text":"Waite, William F. 0000-0002-9436-4109 wwaite@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9436-4109","contributorId":625,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Waite","given":"William F.","email":"wwaite@usgs.gov","affiliations":[{"id":678,"text":"Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":186,"text":"Coastal and Marine Geology Program","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":798126,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":25},{"text":"You, Kehua","contributorId":239915,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"You","given":"Kehua","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":48038,"text":"Institute for Geophysics and Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798127,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":26}]}} ,{"id":70215088,"text":"70215088 - 2020 - Littoral sediment from rivers: Patterns, rates and processes of river mouth morphodynamics","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2020-10-07T13:05:30.552744","indexId":"70215088","displayToPublicDate":"2020-09-09T07:46:31","publicationYear":"2020","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":2,"text":"Article"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":10,"text":"Journal Article"},"seriesTitle":{"id":5232,"text":"Frontiers in Earth Science","onlineIssn":"2296-6463","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":10}},"title":"Littoral sediment from rivers: Patterns, rates and processes of river mouth morphodynamics","docAbstract":"Rivers provide important sediment inputs to many littoral cells, thereby replenishing sand and gravel of beaches around the world. However, there is limited information about the patterns and processes of littoral-grade sediment transfer from rivers into coastal systems. Here I address these information gaps by examining topographic and bathymetric data of river mouths and constructing sediment budgets to characterize time-dependent patterns of onshore, offshore, and alongshore transport. Two river deltas, which differ in their morphology, were used in this study: the Elwha River, Washington, which builds a mixed sediment Gilbert-style delta, and the Santa Clara River, California, which builds a cross-shore dispersed sand delta from hyperpycnal flows. During and after sediment discharge events, both systems exhibited a similar evolution composed of three phases: (i) submarine delta growth during offshore transport of river sediment, (ii) onshore-dominated transport from the submarine delta to a subaerial river mouth berm, and (iii) longshore-dominated transport away from the river mouth following subaerial berm development. Although stage (ii) occurred within days to weeks for the systems studied and was associated with the greatest rates of net erosion and deposition, onshore transport of sediment from submarine deposit to the beach persisted for years following the river discharge event. These morphodynamics were similar to simple equilibrium profile concepts that were modified with an onshore-dominated cross-shore transport rule. Additionally, both study sites revealed that littoral-grade sediment was initially exported to depths beyond the active littoral cell (i.e., below the depth of closure) during the stage (i). Following several years of reworking by coastal processes, bathymetric surveys suggested that 14 and 46% of the original volume of littoral-grade sediment discharged by the Santa Clara and Elwha Rivers, respectively, continued to be below the depth of closure. Combined, this suggests that integration of river sediment into a littoral cell can be a multi-year process and that the full volume of littoral-grade sediment discharged by small rivers may not be integrated into littoral cells because of sand and gravel “losses” to the continental shelf.
The Glen Canyon Group Aquifer (GCGA) is the sole source of public water supply for the city of Moab, Utah, a domestic and international tourist destination. Population and tourism growth are likely to target the GCGA for future water resources, but our analysis indicates that additional withdrawals would likely be sourced from groundwater storage and not be sustained by recharge. A quantitative estimate of groundwater discharge from the GCGA is problematic because the downgradient aquifer boundary is the Colorado River, and groundwater discharge to the river is very small compared to the river flow. A water budget based on a conceptual model of GCGA discharging into an adjacent alluvial Valley-Fill Aquifer (VFA) was reported by Sumsion (1971) and numerous subsequent studies have repeated and utilized this water budget. The GCGA contains stable isotopes, tritium, 3He/4He ratios, dissolved solids, and sulfate concentrations that contrast with the VFA, indicating it is instead recharged by local streams rather than from the GCGA. Water-budget calculations, based on: (1) measured spring discharge and streamflow gains, (2) horizontal gradients in VFA groundwater age, and (3) GCGA outcrop area vadose-zone pore waters are all less than previously thought. Using a lumped parameter model and 14C groundwater ages, we estimate recharge to the deeper GCGA (DGCGA) to be 4.2 ± 2.3 × 106 m3/yr, which is approximately equal to the measured discharge from wells and springs.
The introductions of nonnative species can cause great change in the trophic dynamics of native species. Giant Gartersnakes, endemic predators in the Central Valley of California, are listed as threatened because of the conversion of their once vast wetland habitat to agriculture. Further contributing to this snake's changing ecology is the introduction of many nonnative prey species, resulting in a diet that is almost completely composed of nonnative species. In order to determine whether these snakes actively select their prey or simply consume what is abundant, we examined prey selection by adult Giant Gartersnakes in the context of what prey was available to each individual. Giant Gartersnakes selected a native anuran over nonnative anuran and fish species despite these nonnatives dominating the available species composition. These results contribute to understanding the mechanisms underlying Giant Gartersnake diets in the contemporary landscape and can lead to improved management of prey communities for Giant Gartersnakes and other native predators.
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Village of East Hampton, New York, conducted a 1-year study from August 2017 to August 2018 to provide data necessary to improve understanding of the sources of nutrients and pathogens to Hook Pond watershed to allow for possible mitigation or reduction of loads. Chronic eutrophication and recent concern over harmful cyanobacteria in Hook Pond are the result of past and present land uses and a changing climate that have prompted the Village of East Hampton and local businesses to study and remediate factors contributing to the persistent loading of nutrients, organic contaminants, and pathogens. This assessment of Hook Pond, Hook Pond Dreen, and shallow groundwater provides the most comprehensive set of water-quality data to date. Interpretations presented in this study and the data on which they are based can be used to support management decisions, inform and contribute to modeling, and serve as a baseline for future assessments.
Results from continuous monitoring of water temperature, specific conductance, and elevation at Hook Pond site 10 (Maidstone Club golf cart bridge), as well as ancillary weather and tidal data from nearby stations, were used to help explain seasonal and storm-related concentration variation of nitrogen, phosphorus, wastewater-indicator compounds, and pathogens. Data collected were also compared to existing historical data. Physicochemical constituents measured on a routine basis throughout the pond and along the tributary showed the spatial variability in water temperature, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, and chlorophyll a and phycocyanin fluorescence. A lakebed survey was compiled based on the year-round sampling throughout the pond for future comparisons. Water-quality data from shallow groundwater at points around Hook Pond and adjacent to Hook Pond Dreen were interpreted and quantified to estimate relative contributions and species of nutrients, wastewater-indicator compounds, and microbial source tracking (MST) markers to base flow. To supplement the continuous water-surface elevation data, a single set of discharge measurements was collected under normal (nonstorm) conditions to better understand the relative contributions and dilution of surface waters by contaminated groundwater.
The nutrient and physicochemical data from this study can be used in conjunction with current and future models and decision support tools to guide planned and ongoing restoration efforts, such as dredging to reduce sediment accumulation, opening a pathway to the ocean (which would change the salinity and flow dynamics of the pond and adjacent groundwater), and addressing growing concerns over cyanobacterial blooms, while serving as a baseline for measuring changes resulting from sea-level rise, climate change, and changes in nutrient loading. The microbial source tracking and indicator bacteria results can help direct efforts to reduce runoff and direct contributions of fecal contamination from dogs and waterfowl along Hook Pond Dreen. The results can also be used to assess the current state of wastewater infrastructure surrounding and contributing to Hook Pond Dreen, based on detection of human markers throughout the year and with both Bacteroides and coliphage methods.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20205071","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Village of East Hampton","usgsCitation":"Fisher, S.C., McCarthy, B.A., Kephart, C.M., and Griffin, D.W., 2020, Assessment of water quality and fecal contamination sources at Hook Pond, East Hampton, New York: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2020–5071, 58 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20205071.","productDescription":"Report: viii, 58 p.; Dataset","numberOfPages":"58","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-103528","costCenters":[{"id":474,"text":"New York Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":378179,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2020/5071/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":378180,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2020/5071/sir20205071.pdf","text":"Report","size":"3.74 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIR 2020-5071"},{"id":378181,"rank":3,"type":{"id":28,"text":"Dataset"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F7P55KJN","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"},"linkHelpText":"- U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System database"}],"country":"United States","state":"New York","otherGeospatial":"Hook Pond","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -72.20489501953125,\n 40.94360177170972\n ],\n [\n -72.17124938964844,\n 40.94360177170972\n ],\n [\n -72.17124938964844,\n 40.95656702665609\n ],\n [\n -72.20489501953125,\n 40.95656702665609\n ],\n [\n -72.20489501953125,\n 40.94360177170972\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, New York Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
425 Jordan Road
Troy, NY 12180–8349
Groundwater provides nearly half of the Nation’s drinking water. As the Nation’s population grows, the importance of (and need for) high-quality drinking-water supplies increases. As part of a national-scale effort to assess groundwater quality in principal aquifers (PAs) that supply most of the groundwater used for public supply, the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project staff sampled six principal aquifers in the western United States between 2013 and 2017: (1) the Basin and Range carbonate-rock aquifers, (2) Basin and Range basin-fill aquifers, (3) Rio Grande aquifer system, (4) High Plains aquifer, (5) Colorado Plateaus aquifers, and (6) Columbia Plateau basaltic-rock aquifers. These six PAs supply a large part of the Nation’s drinking water and cover a large geographic extent of the western conterminous United States. Groundwater samples were analyzed for a large suite of water-quality constituents including major ions, nutrients, trace elements, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), pesticide compounds, radioactive constituents, age tracers, and, in selected PAs, perchlorate. Two types of assessments were made: (1) a status assessment that describes the quality of the groundwater resource at time of collection and (2) an understanding assessment that evaluates relations between groundwater quality and potential explanatory factors that represent characteristics of the aquifer system. The assessments characterize untreated groundwater quality, which might be different than the quality of drinking water delivered to consumers. The assessments are based on water-quality data collected from 352 wells and 6 springs using an equal-area grid sampling design. This sampling approach allows for the estimation of the proportion of high, moderate, or low concentrations relative to federal water-quality benchmarks of selected constituents in the area of each PA. Results were compared to established benchmarks for drinking-water quality to provide context for evaluating the quality of untreated groundwater: Federal regulatory benchmarks for protecting human health, non-regulatory human-health benchmarks, and non-regulatory benchmarks for nuisance chemicals. Not all constituents that were analyzed have benchmarks and thus were not considered for assessments. Concentrations are characterized as high if they are greater than their benchmark. Concentrations are considered moderate if they are greater than one-half their benchmark (for inorganic constituents), or greater than one-tenth their benchmark (for organic constituents). Concentrations are considered low if they are less than moderate or the constituent was not detected.
Status assessment results indicated that inorganic constituents more commonly occurred at high and moderate concentrations in the six PAs than organic constituents, and organic constituents predominately occurred at low concentrations. Inorganic constituents that exceeded health-based benchmarks (high concentrations) were present in all six PAs; aquifer-scale proportion were 30 percent in the Rio Grande aquifer system, 22 percent in the Basin and Range basin-fill aquifers, 20 percent in the Basin and Range carbonate-rock aquifers, 19 percent in the High Plains aquifer, 16 percent in the Colorado Plateaus aquifers, and 8 percent in the Columbia Plateau basaltic-rock aquifers. Arsenic, fluoride, manganese, and total dissolved solids were the constituents most commonly present at high concentrations. Organic constituents with human-health benchmarks (pesticide compounds and VOCs) did not occur at high concentrations and moderate concentrations were infrequent; aquifer-scale proportions ranged from 0 to 5 percent. Detections of organic compounds at low concentrations, however, occurred in all six PAs, with detection frequencies ranging from 10 to 26 percent for pesticide compounds and from 10 to 46 percent for VOCs. Specific organic constituents with detection frequencies greater than 10 percent were four herbicides (atrazine, didealkylatrazine, bromoform, and propazine), one insecticide (propoxur), and two VOCs (the trihalomethanes chloroform and bromodichloromethane). Where collected—in the Rio Grande aquifer system and High Plains aquifer—perchlorate did not occur at high concentrations; moderate aquifer-scale proportions were 3 and 11 percent, respectively.
The understanding assessment included statistical tests to evaluate relations between constituent concentrations and potential explanatory factors to identify natural and human factors that affect groundwater quality. Potential explanatory factors included depth to bottom of well perforation, groundwater age category, land use, aquifer lithology, hydrologic conditions, and geochemical conditions. Higher concentrations of trace elements, radioactive constituents, and constituents with non-health-based benchmarks generally were associated with unconsolidated sand and gravel aquifer lithologies, premodern groundwater age, greater aridity, and more alkaline pH. Organic constituents with detection frequencies greater than 10 percent generally were associated with urban land use, shallower well depths, and higher total dissolved solids concentrations. The results for the six western PAs provide important insights into the quality of groundwater that is used for drinking water in the western United States, as well as natural and human factors that affect groundwater quality in this region.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20205078","collaboration":"National Water Quality Program","usgsCitation":"Rosecrans, C.Z., and Musgrove, M., 2020, Water Quality of groundwater used for public supply in principal aquifers of the western United States: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2020–5078, 142 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20205078.","productDescription":"Report: x, 142 p.; 5 Data Releases","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-097925","costCenters":[{"id":154,"text":"California Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":378206,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2020/5078/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":378207,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2020/5078/sir20205078.pdf","text":"Report","size":"29.6 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIR 2020-5078"},{"id":378208,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F7HQ3X18","text":"USGS data release","description":"USGS Data Release","linkHelpText":"Groundwater quality data from the National Water Quality Assessment Project, May 2012 through December 2013"},{"id":378209,"rank":4,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F7W0942N","text":"USGS data release","description":"USGS Data Release","linkHelpText":"Datasets from groundwater-quality data from the National Water-Quality Assessment Project, January through December 2014 and select quality-control data from May 2012 through December 2014"},{"id":378210,"rank":5,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F7XK8DHK","text":"USGS data release","description":"USGS Data Release","linkHelpText":"Datasets from groundwater-quality and select quality-control data from the National Water-Quality Assessment Project, January through December 2015 and previously unpublished data from 2013 to 2014"},{"id":378211,"rank":6,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P9W4RR74","text":"USGS data release","description":"USGS Data Release","linkHelpText":"Datasets from groundwater-quality and select quality-control data from the National Water-Quality Assessment Project, January through December 2016, and previously unpublished data from 2013 to 2015"},{"id":378212,"rank":7,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P916H748","text":"USGS data release","description":"USGS Data Release","linkHelpText":"Data for groundwater-quality and select quality-control data for the Colorado Plateaus Principal Aquifer"}],"country":"United States","state":"Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -126.2548828125,\n 27.605670826465445\n ],\n [\n -96.0205078125,\n 27.605670826465445\n ],\n [\n -96.0205078125,\n 49.296471602658066\n ],\n [\n -126.2548828125,\n 49.296471602658066\n ],\n [\n -126.2548828125,\n 27.605670826465445\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, California Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
6000 J Street, Placer Hall
Sacramento, California 95819
Rocky reefs provide important spawning and refuge habitats for lithophilic spawning fishes. However, many reefs have been lost or severely degraded through anthropogenic effects like dredging, channelization, or sedimentation. Constructed reefs have been used to mitigate these effects in some systems, but these reefs are also subject to degradation which may warrant custodial maintenance. Monitoring and maintenance of natural or constructed spawning reefs are not common practices; therefore, few methodologies have been created to test the effectiveness of such tools. We conducted a literature review to assess available information on maintenance of rocky spawning habitats used by lithophilic fishes. We identified 54 rocky spawning habitat maintenance projects, most of which aimed to improve fish spawning habitats through the addition of spawning substrate (n = 33) or cleaning of substrate (n = 23). In comparison to shallow riverine studies focused on salmonids, we found little information on deep-water reefs, marine reefs, or other fish species. We discuss the possible application of potential spawning habitat cleaning methods from other disciplines (e.g., treasure hunting; archeology) that may provide effective means of reef maintenance that can be used by restoration practitioners.
","language":"English","publisher":"MDPI","doi":"10.3390/w12092501","usgsCitation":"Baetz, A., Tucker, T., DeBruyne, R., Gatch, A., Hook, T., Fischer, J., and Roseman, E., 2020, Review of methods to repair and maintain lithophilic fish spawning habitat: Water, v. 12, 2501, 37 p., https://doi.org/10.3390/w12092501.","productDescription":"2501, 37 p.","ipdsId":"IP-121247","costCenters":[{"id":324,"text":"Great Lakes Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":455380,"rank":0,"type":{"id":40,"text":"Open Access Publisher Index Page"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.3390/w12092501","text":"Publisher Index Page"},{"id":378359,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"}],"volume":"12","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationDate":"2020-09-08","publicationStatus":"PW","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Baetz, Audrey 0000-0003-4474-5656","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4474-5656","contributorId":240597,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Baetz","given":"Audrey","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":48110,"text":"Nichols State University","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798526,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Tucker, Taaja 0000-0003-1534-4677","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1534-4677","contributorId":217908,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Tucker","given":"Taaja","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":324,"text":"Great Lakes Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":798527,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"DeBruyne, Robin 0000-0002-9232-7937","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9232-7937","contributorId":240598,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"DeBruyne","given":"Robin","affiliations":[{"id":48111,"text":"Univ. Toledo","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798528,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3},{"text":"Gatch, Alex","contributorId":222574,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Gatch","given":"Alex","affiliations":[{"id":13186,"text":"Purdue University","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798529,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":4},{"text":"Hook, T.","contributorId":222576,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Hook","given":"T.","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":13186,"text":"Purdue University","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798530,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":5},{"text":"Fischer, J. 0000-0001-7226-6500","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7226-6500","contributorId":240599,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Fischer","given":"J.","affiliations":[{"id":36188,"text":"U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798531,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":6},{"text":"Roseman, Edward F. 0000-0002-5315-9838","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5315-9838","contributorId":217909,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Roseman","given":"Edward F.","affiliations":[{"id":324,"text":"Great Lakes Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":798532,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":7}]}} ,{"id":70213186,"text":"70213186 - 2020 - Climate change Is likely to alter future wolf - moose - forest interactions at Isle Royale National Park, United States","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2020-09-14T14:26:34.285054","indexId":"70213186","displayToPublicDate":"2020-09-08T09:17:52","publicationYear":"2020","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":2,"text":"Article"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":10,"text":"Journal Article"},"seriesTitle":{"id":3910,"text":"Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution","onlineIssn":"2296-701X","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":10}},"title":"Climate change Is likely to alter future wolf - moose - forest interactions at Isle Royale National Park, United States","docAbstract":"We evaluated how climate change and variable rates of moose browsing intensity, as they relate to wolf predation, might affect the forests of Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, United States by conducting a modeling experiment. The experiment consisted of contrasting three different scenarios of wolf management and with a static (current conditions) and changing climate (high emissions). Our results indicate that the interactive effects of wolf predation and climate change are likely to be temporally variable and dependent on biogeographic and forest successional processes. During the first 50 years of 120-year simulations, when the effects of climate change were less impactful, higher simulated rates of predation by wolves reduced moose population densities, resulting in greater forest biomass and higher carrying capacities for moose. However, over the longer term, early successional and highly palatable aspen and birch forests transitioned to late successional spruce and fir forests, regardless of climate or predation intensity. After 50 years, the effects of climate change and predation were driven by effects on balsam fir, a late successional conifer species that is fed on by moose. High-intensity predation of moose allowed balsam fir to persist over the long term but only under the static climate scenario. The climate change scenario caused a reduction in balsam fir and the other boreal species that moose currently feed on, and the few temperate species found on this isolated island were unable to compensate for such reductions, causing strong declines in total forest biomass. The direct effects of moose population management via reintroduction of wolves may become increasingly ineffective as the climate continues to warm because the productivity of boreal plant species may not be sufficient to support a moose population, and the isolation of the island from mainland temperate tree species may reduce the likelihood of compensatory species migrations.
","language":"English","publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","doi":"10.3389/fevo.2020.543915","usgsCitation":"De Jager, N.R., Rohweder, J.J., and Duveneck, M.J., 2020, Climate change Is likely to alter future wolf - moose - forest interactions at Isle Royale National Park, United States: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, v. 8, 543915, 15 p., https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.543915.","productDescription":"543915, 15 p.","ipdsId":"IP-115964","costCenters":[{"id":606,"text":"Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":455383,"rank":1,"type":{"id":40,"text":"Open Access Publisher Index Page"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.543915","text":"Publisher Index Page"},{"id":436795,"rank":0,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P98DKUIP","text":"USGS data release","linkHelpText":"Initial Forest Communities of Isle Royale National Park"},{"id":378356,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Michigan","otherGeospatial":"Isle Royale","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -88.40423583984375,\n 48.20087966673985\n ],\n [\n -88.69674682617188,\n 48.14134883691423\n ],\n [\n -89.29275512695312,\n 47.89148526708789\n ],\n [\n -89.23782348632812,\n 47.82883013320963\n ],\n [\n -89.14718627929686,\n 47.8094654494779\n ],\n [\n -88.88076782226562,\n 47.89332691887659\n ],\n [\n -88.57589721679688,\n 48.04779189160941\n ],\n [\n -88.40423583984375,\n 48.20087966673985\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","volume":"8","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationDate":"2020-09-08","publicationStatus":"PW","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"De Jager, Nathan R. 0000-0002-6649-4125 ndejager@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6649-4125","contributorId":3717,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"De Jager","given":"Nathan","email":"ndejager@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"R.","affiliations":[{"id":606,"text":"Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":798538,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Rohweder, Jason J. 0000-0001-5131-9773 jrohweder@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5131-9773","contributorId":150539,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Rohweder","given":"Jason","email":"jrohweder@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"J.","affiliations":[{"id":606,"text":"Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":798539,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Duveneck, Matthew J.","contributorId":236949,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Duveneck","given":"Matthew","email":"","middleInitial":"J.","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":798540,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3}]}} ,{"id":70213156,"text":"70213156 - 2020 - High sensitivity of Bering Sea winter sea ice to winter insolation and carbon dioxide over the last 5,500 years","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2020-09-10T13:54:38.636158","indexId":"70213156","displayToPublicDate":"2020-09-08T08:51:05","publicationYear":"2020","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":2,"text":"Article"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":10,"text":"Journal Article"},"seriesTitle":{"id":5010,"text":"Science Advances","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":10}},"title":"High sensitivity of Bering Sea winter sea ice to winter insolation and carbon dioxide over the last 5,500 years","docAbstract":"Anomalously low winter sea ice extent and early retreat in CE 2018 and 2019 challenge previous notions that winter sea ice in the Bering Sea has been stable over the instrumental record, although long-term records remain limited. Here, we use a record of peat cellulose oxygen isotopes from St. Matthew Island along with isotope-enabled general circulation model (IsoGSM) simulations to generate a 5500-year record of Bering Sea winter sea ice extent. Results show that over the last 5500 years, sea ice in the Bering Sea decreased in response to increasing winter insolation and atmospheric CO2, suggesting that the North Pacific is highly sensitive to small changes in radiative forcing. We find that CE 2018 sea ice conditions were the lowest of the last 5500 years, and results suggest that sea ice loss may lag changes in CO2 concentrations by several decades.
Globally, peatlands play an important role in the carbon (C) cycle. High water level is a key factor in maintaining C storage in peatlands, but water levels are vulnerable to climate change and anthropogenic disturbance. This review examines literature related to the effects of water level alteration on C cycling in peatlands to summarize new ideas and uncertainties emerging in this field. Peatland ecosystems maintain their function by altering plant community structure to adapt to changing water levels. Regarding primary production, woody plants are more productive in unflooded, well-aerated conditions, while Sphagnum mosses are more productive in wetter conditions. The responses of sedges to water level alteration are species-specific. While peat decomposition is faster in unflooded, well aerated conditions, increased plant production may counteract the C loss induced by increased ecosystem respiration (ER) for a period of time. In contrast, rising water table maintains anaerobic conditions and enhances the role of the peatland as a C sink. Nevertheless, changes in DOC flux during water level fluctuation is complicated and depends on the interactions of flooding with environment. Notably, vegetation also plays a role in C flux but particular species vary in their ability to sequester and transport C. Bog ecosystems have a greater resilience to water level alteration than fens, due to differences in biogeochemical responses to hydrology. The full understanding of the role of peatlands in global C cycling deserves much more study due to uncertainties of vegetation feedbacks, peat–water interactions, microbial mediation of vegetation, wildfire, and functional responses after hydrologic restoration.
","language":"English","publisher":"Taylor & Francis","doi":"10.1080/20964129.2020.1806113","usgsCitation":"Zhong, Y., Ming, J., and Middleton, B., 2020, Effects of water level alteration on carbon cycling in peatlands: Ecosystem Health and Sustainability, v. 6, no. 1, 1806113, 29 p., https://doi.org/10.1080/20964129.2020.1806113.","productDescription":"1806113, 29 p.","ipdsId":"IP-109966","costCenters":[{"id":17705,"text":"Wetland and Aquatic Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":455385,"rank":0,"type":{"id":40,"text":"Open Access Publisher Index Page"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20964129.2020.1806113","text":"Publisher Index Page"},{"id":378449,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"}],"volume":"6","issue":"1","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationDate":"2020-09-08","publicationStatus":"PW","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Zhong, Yehui","contributorId":240734,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Zhong","given":"Yehui","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":48133,"text":"Chinese Academy of Science (Beijing University)","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798866,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Ming, Jiang","contributorId":240735,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Ming","given":"Jiang","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":48136,"text":"Chinese Academy of Science","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798867,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Middleton, Beth 0000-0002-1220-2326","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1220-2326","contributorId":206609,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Middleton","given":"Beth","affiliations":[{"id":17705,"text":"Wetland and Aquatic Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":798868,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3}]}} ,{"id":70215572,"text":"70215572 - 2020 - Endocrine disrupting activities and geochemistry of water resources associated with unconventional oil and gas activity","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2020-10-23T13:24:36.594397","indexId":"70215572","displayToPublicDate":"2020-09-08T08:20:13","publicationYear":"2020","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":2,"text":"Article"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":10,"text":"Journal Article"},"seriesTitle":{"id":3352,"text":"Science of the Total Environment","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":10}},"title":"Endocrine disrupting activities and geochemistry of water resources associated with unconventional oil and gas activity","docAbstract":"The rise of hydraulic fracturing and unconventional oil and gas (UOG) exploration in the United States has increased public concerns for water contamination induced from hydraulic fracturing fluids and associated wastewater spills. Herein, we collected surface and groundwater samples across Garfield County, Colorado, a drilling-dense region, and measured endocrine bioactivities, geochemical tracers of UOG wastewater, UOG-related organic contaminants in surface water, and evaluated UOG drilling production (weighted well scores, nearby well count, reported spills) surrounding sites. Elevated antagonist activities for the estrogen, androgen, progesterone, and glucocorticoid receptors were detected in surface water and associated with nearby shale gas well counts and density. The elevated endocrine activities were observed in surface water associated with medium and high UOG production (weighted UOG well score-based groups). These bioactivities were generally not associated with reported spills nearby, and often did not exhibit geochemical profiles associated with UOG wastewater from this region. Our results suggest the potential for releases of low-saline hydraulic fracturing fluids or chemicals used in other aspects of UOG production, similar to the chemistry of the local water, and dissimilar from defined spills of post-injection wastewater. Notably, water collected from certain medium and high UOG production sites exhibited bioactivities well above the levels known to impact the health of aquatic organisms, suggesting that further research to assess potential endocrine activities of UOG operations is warranted.
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) rely on annual sea ice as their primary habitat for hunting marine mammal prey. Given their long lifespan, wide geographic distribution, and position at the top of the Arctic marine food web, the diet composition of polar bears can provide insights into temporal and spatial ecosystem dynamics related to climate-mediated sea ice loss. Polar bears with the greatest ecological constraints on diet composition may be most vulnerable to climate-related changes in ice conditions and prey availability. We used quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) to estimate the diets of polar bears (n = 419) in two western Canadian Arctic subpopulations (Northern Beaufort Sea and Southern Beaufort Sea) from 1999 to 2015. Polar bear diets were dominated by ringed seal (Pusa hispida), with interannual, seasonal, age- and sex-specific variation. Foraging area and sea ice conditions also affected polar bear diet composition. Most variation in bear diet was explained by longitude, reflecting spatial variation in prey availability. Sea ice conditions (extent, thickness, and seasonal duration) declined throughout the study period, and date of sea ice break-up in the preceding spring was positively correlated with female body condition and consumption of beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas), suggesting that bears foraged on beluga whales during entrapment events. Female body condition was positively correlated with ringed seal consumption, and negatively correlated with bearded seal consumption. This study provides insights into the complex relationships between declining sea ice habitat and the diet composition and foraging success of a wide-ranging apex predator.
","language":"English","publisher":"Springer","doi":"10.1007/s00442-020-04747-0","usgsCitation":"Florko, K.R., Thiemann, G.W., and Bromaghin, J.F., 2020, Drivers and consequences of apex predator diet composition in the Canadian Beaufort Sea: Oecologia, v. 194, p. 51-63, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-020-04747-0.","productDescription":"13 p.","startPage":"51","endPage":"63","ipdsId":"IP-098462","costCenters":[{"id":116,"text":"Alaska Science Center Biology MFEB","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":467277,"rank":0,"type":{"id":41,"text":"Open Access External Repository Page"},"url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10315/38833","text":"External Repository"},{"id":378253,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"}],"country":"Canada","state":"Northwest Territories, Yukon","otherGeospatial":"Beaufort Sea","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -140.537109375,\n 68.52823492039876\n ],\n [\n -112.67578124999999,\n 68.52823492039876\n ],\n [\n -112.67578124999999,\n 74.33110825221166\n ],\n [\n -140.537109375,\n 74.33110825221166\n ],\n [\n -140.537109375,\n 68.52823492039876\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","volume":"194","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationDate":"2020-09-08","publicationStatus":"PW","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Florko, Katie R. N.","contributorId":239941,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Florko","given":"Katie","email":"","middleInitial":"R. N.","affiliations":[{"id":48064,"text":"Department of Biology, York University","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798174,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Thiemann, Gregory W.","contributorId":83023,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Thiemann","given":"Gregory","email":"","middleInitial":"W.","affiliations":[{"id":27291,"text":"York University, Toronto, ON","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798175,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Bromaghin, Jeffrey F. 0000-0002-7209-9500 jbromaghin@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7209-9500","contributorId":139899,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Bromaghin","given":"Jeffrey","email":"jbromaghin@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"F.","affiliations":[{"id":114,"text":"Alaska Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":116,"text":"Alaska Science Center Biology MFEB","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":798176,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3}]}} ,{"id":70220462,"text":"70220462 - 2020 - Sacramento pikeminnow migration record","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2021-05-14T12:13:12.746467","indexId":"70220462","displayToPublicDate":"2020-09-08T07:04:05","publicationYear":"2020","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":2,"text":"Article"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":10,"text":"Journal Article"},"seriesTitle":{"id":2287,"text":"Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":10}},"title":"Sacramento pikeminnow migration record","docAbstract":"Sacramento Pikeminnow Ptychocheilus grandis is a potamodromous species endemic to mid- and low-elevation streams and rivers of Central and Northern California. Adults are known to undertake substantial migrations, typically associated with spawning, though few data exist on the extent of these migrations. Six Sacramento Pikeminnow implanted with passive integrated transponder tags in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta were detected in Cottonwood and Mill creeks, tributaries to the Sacramento River in Northern California, between April 2018 and late February 2020. Total travel distances ranged from 354 to 432 km, the maximum of which exceeds the previously known record by at least 30 km. These observations add to a limited body of knowledge regarding the natural history of Sacramento Pikeminnow and highlight the importance of the river–estuary continuum as essential for this migratory species.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","doi":"10.3996/JFWM-20-038","usgsCitation":"Valentine, D.A., Young, M.J., and Feyrer, F.V., 2020, Sacramento pikeminnow migration record: Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management, v. 11, no. 22, p. 588-592, https://doi.org/10.3996/JFWM-20-038.","productDescription":"5 p","startPage":"588","endPage":"592","ipdsId":"IP-119448","costCenters":[{"id":154,"text":"California Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":455388,"rank":0,"type":{"id":40,"text":"Open Access Publisher Index Page"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.3996/jfwm-20-038","text":"Publisher Index Page"},{"id":385630,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"California","city":"Sacramento","otherGeospatial":"Sacramento River","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -121.76696777343749,\n 38.32226566803644\n ],\n [\n -121.39068603515625,\n 38.32226566803644\n ],\n [\n -121.39068603515625,\n 39.52522954427751\n ],\n [\n -121.76696777343749,\n 39.52522954427751\n ],\n [\n -121.76696777343749,\n 38.32226566803644\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","volume":"11","issue":"22","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationDate":"2020-09-08","publicationStatus":"PW","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Valentine, Dennis A.","contributorId":258067,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Valentine","given":"Dennis","email":"","middleInitial":"A.","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":815642,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Young, Matthew J. 0000-0001-9306-6866 mjyoung@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9306-6866","contributorId":206255,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Young","given":"Matthew","email":"mjyoung@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"J.","affiliations":[{"id":154,"text":"California Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":815597,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Feyrer, Frederick V. 0000-0003-1253-2349 ffeyrer@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1253-2349","contributorId":178379,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Feyrer","given":"Frederick","email":"ffeyrer@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"V.","affiliations":[{"id":154,"text":"California Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":815598,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3}]}} ,{"id":70213083,"text":"70213083 - 2020 - SurfRCaT: A tool for remote calibration of pre-existing coastal cameras to enable their use as quantitative coastal monitoring tools","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2020-09-09T15:11:21.141106","indexId":"70213083","displayToPublicDate":"2020-09-07T10:06:53","publicationYear":"2020","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":2,"text":"Article"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":10,"text":"Journal Article"},"seriesTitle":{"id":5923,"text":"SoftwareX","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":10}},"title":"SurfRCaT: A tool for remote calibration of pre-existing coastal cameras to enable their use as quantitative coastal monitoring tools","docAbstract":"The Surf-camera Remote Calibration Tool (SurfRCaT) is a Python-based software application to calibrate and rectify images from pre-existing video cameras that are operating at coastal sites in the United States. The software enables remote camera calibration and subsequent image rectification by facilitating the remote-extraction of ground control points using airborne lidar observations, and guides the user through the entire process. No programming or code interaction are necessary to use the software. Calibration parameters and subsequent rectified image products derived from the software are saved locally. Users can apply SurfRCaT to any camera imagery that has stationary structures within the camera’s field of view. Given current recreational camera infrastructure, SurfRCaT could increase the number of potential quantitative coastal video monitoring stations in the United States by an order of magnitude.
","language":"English","publisher":"Elsevier","doi":"10.1016/j.softx.2020.100584","usgsCitation":"Conlin, M.P., Adams, P.N., Wilkinson, B., Dusek, G., Palmsten, M.L., and Brown, J., 2020, SurfRCaT: A tool for remote calibration of pre-existing coastal cameras to enable their use as quantitative coastal monitoring tools: SoftwareX, v. 12, 100584, 6 p., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.softx.2020.100584.","productDescription":"100584, 6 p.","ipdsId":"IP-119399","costCenters":[{"id":574,"text":"St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":455392,"rank":0,"type":{"id":40,"text":"Open Access Publisher Index Page"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.softx.2020.100584","text":"Publisher Index Page"},{"id":378266,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"}],"volume":"12","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Conlin, Matthew P.","contributorId":239947,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Conlin","given":"Matthew","email":"","middleInitial":"P.","affiliations":[{"id":36221,"text":"University of Florida","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798184,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Adams, Peter N","contributorId":239950,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Adams","given":"Peter","email":"","middleInitial":"N","affiliations":[{"id":36221,"text":"University of Florida","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798185,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Wilkinson, Benjamin","contributorId":239953,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Wilkinson","given":"Benjamin","affiliations":[{"id":36221,"text":"University of Florida","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798186,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3},{"text":"Dusek, Gregory","contributorId":239954,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Dusek","given":"Gregory","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":48070,"text":"NOS NOAA","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":798187,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":4},{"text":"Palmsten, Margaret L. 0000-0002-6424-2338","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6424-2338","contributorId":239955,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Palmsten","given":"Margaret","email":"","middleInitial":"L.","affiliations":[{"id":574,"text":"St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":798188,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":5},{"text":"Brown, Jenna A. 0000-0003-3137-7073","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3137-7073","contributorId":208564,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Brown","given":"Jenna A.","affiliations":[{"id":574,"text":"St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":798189,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":6}]}} ,{"id":70214487,"text":"70214487 - 2020 - Fates and fingerprints of sulfur and carbon following wildfire in economically important croplands of California, U.S.","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2020-09-28T13:44:58.985652","indexId":"70214487","displayToPublicDate":"2020-09-07T08:42:25","publicationYear":"2020","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":2,"text":"Article"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":10,"text":"Journal Article"},"seriesTitle":{"id":3352,"text":"Science of the Total Environment","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":10}},"title":"Fates and fingerprints of sulfur and carbon following wildfire in economically important croplands of California, U.S.","docAbstract":"Sulfur (S) is widely used in agriculture, yet little is known about its fates within upland watersheds, particularly in combination with disturbances like wildfire. Our study examined the effects of land use and wildfire on the biogeochemical “fingerprints,” or the quantity and chemical composition, of S and carbon (C). We conducted our research within the Napa River Watershed, California, U.S., where high S applications to vineyards are common, and ~ 20% of the watershed burned in October 2017, introducing a disturbance now common across the warmer, drier Western U.S. We used a laboratory rainfall experiment to compare unburned and low severity burned vineyard and grassland soils. We then sampled streams draining sub-catchments with differing land use and degrees of burn and burn severity to understand combined effects at broader spatial scales. Before the laboratory experiment, vineyard soils had 2–3.5 times more S than grassland soils, while burned soils—regardless of land use—had 1.5–2 times more C than unburned soils. During the laboratory experiment, vineyard soil leachates had 16–20 times more S than grassland leachates, whereas leachate C was more variable across land use and burn soil types. Unburned and burned vineyard soils leached S with δ34S values enriched 6–15‰ relative to grassland soils, likely due to microbial S processes within vineyard soils. Streams draining vineyards also had the fingerprint of agricultural S, with ~2–5 fold higher S concentrations and ~ 10‰ enriched δ34S-SO42− values relative to streams draining non-agricultural areas. However, streams draining a higher fraction of burned non-agricultural areas also had enriched δ34S values relative to unburned non-agricultural areas, which we attribute to loss of 32S during combustion. Our findings illustrate the interacting effects of wildfire and land use on watershed S and C cycling—a new consideration under a changing climate, with significant implications for ecosystem function and human health.
An international project developed, quality-tested, and measured isotope–delta values of 10 new food matrix reference materials (RMs) for hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur stable isotope-ratio measurements to support food authenticity testing and food provenance verification. These new RMs, USGS82 to USGS91, will enable users to normalize measurements of samples to isotope–delta scales. The RMs include (i) two honeys from Canada and tropical Vietnam, (ii) two flours from C3 (rice) and C4 (millet) plants, (iii) four vegetable oils from C3 (olive, peanut) and C4 (corn) plants, and (iv) two collagen powders from marine fish and terrestrial mammal origins. An errors-in-variables regression model included the uncertainty associated with the measured and assigned values of the RMs, and it was applied centrally to normalize results and obtain consensus values and measurement uncertainties. Utilization of these new RMs should facilitate mutual compatibility of stable isotope data if accepted normalization procedures are applied and documented.
Improved understanding of the budget and retention of sediment in river deltas is becoming increasingly important to mitigate and plan for impacts expected with sea level rise. In this study, analyses of historical bathymetric change, sediment core stratigraphy, and modeling are used to evaluate the sediment budget and environmental response of the largest river delta in the U.S. Pacific Northwest to western land-use change beginning in ~1850. An estimated 142±28 M m3 of sediment accumulated offshore of the emergent Skagit River delta in Washington State between 1890 and 2014 and ~68% of which was found in sand deposits. The fraction of sediment retained in sand reservoirs represents 83% of the expected fluvial sand delivery over this time suggesting their potential utility to evaluate the relative contribution of different land uses to sediment runoff through time. A significantly higher ratio of sand retention to delivery during the period 1890–1939 coincided with extensive watershed denudation (clear-cut logging) and channel dredging, relative to the period 1940–2014, which was characterized by improved forest practices and sediment management to protect endangered species but also more extensive river channelization. Retention in the delta foreset of 78% of the sand delivered by the river between 1890 and 1939 was associated with extensive sediment bypassing and delta progradation that is shown to be 5–10x higher than rates over the Holocene. Comparable offshore sand retention over time and higher nearshore retention subsequent to 1940 after normalizing for the assumed reduction in sediment runoff with improved forest practices, suggests that channelization has continued to influence sediment export at a magnitude equivalent to the effects of early logging. Adverse impacts of the bypassing sediment regime to natural hazards risk and ecosystem management concerns are discussed, including the role of the lost sediment as a resource to mitigate subsiding coastal lands vulnerable to flood impacts. The sediment budget and coastal change analyses provide a framework for evaluating opportunities to achieve greater resilience across several sectors of coastal land use important in low-lying deltas worldwide.
Multi-element analyses determine the content of 17 trace elements (Al, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Sr, Cd, Cs, Ba, Pb, U) and 14 rare earth elements (La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Yb, Lu, Y) in whey samples from cow and goat milk by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma-sector field mass spectrometry. A total of 261 milk whey samples were collected from four locations in the Veneto region of northeastern (NE) Italy. These samples contain a wide range concentration of 17 trace elements (0.06–1530 μg kg−1) and 14 rare earth elements (0.16–28.2 ng kg−1) in whey samples, but do not reach toxic concentrations. Elemental fingerprinting of trace and rare earth elements in cow and goat milk whey provide information on the dairy quality and, as they reflect the local environmental conditions, result in an excellent indicator of their geographical origin.
Effective water resource management requires practical, data‐driven determination of instream flow needs. Newly developed, high‐resolution flow models and aquatic species databases provide enormous opportunity, but the volume of data can prove challenging to manage without automated tools. The objective of this study was to develop a framework of analytical methods and best practices to reduce costs of entry into flow–ecology analysis by integrating widely available hydrologic and ecological datasets. Ecological limit functions (ELFs) describing the relation between maximum species richness and stream size characteristics (streamflow or drainage area) were developed. Species richness is expected to increase with streamflow through a watershed up to a point where it either plateaus or transitions to a decreasing trend in larger streams. Our results show that identifying the location of this \"breakpoint\" is critical for producing optimal ELF model fit. We found that richness breakpoints can be estimated using automated low‐supervision methods, with high‐supervision providing negligible improvement in detection accuracy. Model fit (and predictive capability) was found to be superior in smaller hydrologic units. The ELF model (\"elfgen\" R package available on GitHub: https://github.com/HARPgroup/elfgen) can be used to generate ELFs using built‐in datasets for the conterminous United States, or applied anywhere else streamflow and biodiversity data inputs are available.
Emergent wetlands have declined in North America and, in response, many wetland-dependent animals have declined in abundance. For example, many species of secretive marsh birds in North America have declined during the last century. However, estimates of population decline and efforts to assess the effects of management actions are hampered because marsh birds are difficult to detect using conventional survey techniques. Call-broadcast surveys can improve detection probability of marsh birds; however, the effectiveness of call-broadcast varies regionally for some marsh birds, which might reflect differential responsiveness to call dialects. Here, we evaluated differential responses by least bitterns (Ixobrychus exilis) and clapper rails (Rallus crepitans) to different call dialects by using 679 paired call-broadcast surveys in Florida and South Carolina. We detected similar numbers of least bitterns and clapper rails responding to the different call dialects, except in Florida, where least bitterns responded more frequently to a more-distant (Louisiana) dialect than a more-local (Florida) dialect. Our results suggest that, at least for clapper rails and least bitterns, it may not be necessary to incorporate regional call dialects into standardized surveys. However, additional research is needed in more regions of North America and with other species.
Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) are challenging to detect as a result of the species cryptic behavior and coloration, relatively low densities in complex habitats, and affinity for cold, high clarity, low conductivity waters. Bull trout are also closely associated with the stream bed, frequently conceal in substrate, and this concealment behavior is poorly understood. Consequently, population assessments are problematic and biologists and managers often lack quantitative information to accurately describe bull trout distributions, estimate abundance, and assess status and trends; particularly for stream-dwelling populations. During controlled laboratory trials, we recorded concealment, resting, and swimming behavior of juvenile wild bull trout in response to: (1) constant and fluctuating water temperature, (2) presence or absence of light, and (3) substrate size. Light level had the strongest influence on wild fish concealment and more fish concealed as light levels increased from darkness to daylight. Wild fish were 14.5 times less likely to conceal in constant darkness and 4.1 times more likely to conceal in 12 h light x 12 h darkness compared to constant light. Wild fish were 6.2 times less likely to conceal in small (26–51 mm) substrate compared to larger (52–102 mm) substrate. As water temperature increased, fewer wild fish concealed. Knowledge of wild bull trout concealment will improve field sampling protocols and increase detection efficiencies. These data also enhance knowledge of bull trout niche requirements which illuminates ecological differences among species and informs conservation and restoration efforts.
","language":"English","doi":"10.1371/journal.pone.0237716","usgsCitation":"Russell F. Thurow, Peterson, J., Chandler, G.L., Moffitt, C.M., and Bjornn, T.C., 2020, Concealment of juvenile bull trout in response to temperature, light, and substrate: Implications for detection: PLoS ONE, v. 15, no. 9, e0237716, 17 p., https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237716.","productDescription":"e0237716, 17 p.","ipdsId":"IP-099310","costCenters":[{"id":200,"text":"Coop Res Unit Seattle","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":455408,"rank":0,"type":{"id":40,"text":"Open Access Publisher Index Page"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237716","text":"Publisher Index Page"},{"id":395306,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"}],"volume":"15","issue":"9","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationDate":"2020-09-04","publicationStatus":"PW","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Russell F. Thurow","contributorId":273112,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Russell F. Thurow","affiliations":[{"id":56194,"text":"fs","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":832584,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Peterson, James T. 0000-0002-7709-8590 james_peterson@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7709-8590","contributorId":2111,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Peterson","given":"James","email":"james_peterson@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"T.","affiliations":[{"id":200,"text":"Coop Res Unit Seattle","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":832583,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Chandler, Gwynne L.","contributorId":273115,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Chandler","given":"Gwynne","email":"","middleInitial":"L.","affiliations":[{"id":56194,"text":"fs","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":832587,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3},{"text":"Moffitt, Christine M.","contributorId":273113,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Moffitt","given":"Christine","email":"","middleInitial":"M.","affiliations":[{"id":39599,"text":"ui","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":832585,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":4},{"text":"Bjornn, Theodore C.","contributorId":273114,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Bjornn","given":"Theodore","email":"","middleInitial":"C.","affiliations":[{"id":39599,"text":"ui","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":832586,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":5}]}} ,{"id":70214121,"text":"70214121 - 2020 - Utilization of multiple microbial tools to evaluate efficacy of restoration strategies to improve recreational water quality at a Lake Michigan Beach (Racine, WI)","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2020-10-29T14:53:05.4625","indexId":"70214121","displayToPublicDate":"2020-09-04T09:51:23","publicationYear":"2020","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":2,"text":"Article"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":10,"text":"Journal Article"},"seriesTitle":{"id":2390,"text":"Journal of Microbiological Methods","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":10}},"title":"Utilization of multiple microbial tools to evaluate efficacy of restoration strategies to improve recreational water quality at a Lake Michigan Beach (Racine, WI)","docAbstract":"Hydro-meteorological conditions facilitate transport of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) to the nearshore environment, affecting recreational water quality. North Beach (Racine, Wisconsin, United States), is an exemplar public beach site along Lake Michigan, where precipitation-mediated surface runoff, wave encroachment, stormwater and tributary outflow were demonstrated to contribute to beach advisories. Multiple restoration actions, including installation of a stormwater retention wetland, were successfully deployed to improve recreational water quality. Implementation of molecular methods (e.g. human microbial source tracking markers and Escherichia coli (E. coli) qPCR) assisted in identifying potential pollution sources and improving public health response time. However, periodic water quality failures still occur. As local beach managers reassess restoration measures in response to climatic changes, use of expanded microbial methods (including bacterial community profiling) may contribute to a better understanding of these dynamic environments. In this 2-year study (2015 and 2019), nearshore/offshore Lake Michigan, stormwater, and tributary samples were collected to determine if, 1) the constructed wetland (~50 m from the shoreline) continued to provide stormwater separation/retention and 2) mixing between onshore sources, Root River and Lake Michigan, was increasing due to rising precipitation/lake levels. Monthly rainfall totals were 1.5× higher in 2019 than 2015, coinciding with a 0.63 m lake-level rise. The prevalence of more intense, onshore winds also increased, facilitating interaction between potential reservoirs of FIB with nearshore water through wind driven waves and lake intrusion, e.g. beach sands and the adjacent Root River. While a strong relationship existed between wet weather wetland and North Beach nearshore E. coli concentrations (all sites), bacterial communities were strikingly different. Conversely, bacterial community overlap existed between the Root River mouth and nearshore/offshore sites. These results suggest the constructed wetland can accommodate the climate-related changes observed in this study. Future restoration activities could be directed towards upstream tributary sources in order to minimize microbial contaminants entering Lake Michigan.
","language":"English","publisher":"Elsevier","doi":"10.1016/j.mimet.2020.106049","usgsCitation":"Kinzelman, J., Byappanahalli, M., Nevers, M., Shively, D., Kurdas, S., and Nakatsu, C.H., 2020, Utilization of multiple microbial tools to evaluate efficacy of restoration strategies to improve recreational water quality at a Lake Michigan Beach (Racine, WI): Journal of Microbiological Methods, v. 178, 106049, 12 p., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mimet.2020.106049.","productDescription":"106049, 12 p.","ipdsId":"IP-118690","costCenters":[{"id":324,"text":"Great Lakes Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":455414,"rank":0,"type":{"id":40,"text":"Open Access Publisher Index Page"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mimet.2020.106049","text":"Publisher Index Page"},{"id":378693,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Wisconsin","city":"Racine","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -87.83397674560547,\n 42.70312746128158\n ],\n [\n -87.76840209960938,\n 42.70312746128158\n ],\n [\n -87.76840209960938,\n 42.74524729560673\n ],\n [\n -87.83397674560547,\n 42.74524729560673\n ],\n [\n -87.83397674560547,\n 42.70312746128158\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","volume":"178","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Kinzelman, Julie","contributorId":207713,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Kinzelman","given":"Julie","affiliations":[{"id":37612,"text":"City of Racine Health Department","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":799508,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Byappanahalli, Muruleedhara 0000-0001-5376-597X byappan@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5376-597X","contributorId":147923,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Byappanahalli","given":"Muruleedhara","email":"byappan@usgs.gov","affiliations":[{"id":324,"text":"Great Lakes Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":799509,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Nevers, Meredith B. 0000-0001-6963-6734","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6963-6734","contributorId":201531,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Nevers","given":"Meredith B.","affiliations":[{"id":324,"text":"Great Lakes Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":799510,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3},{"text":"Shively, Dawn 0000-0002-6119-924X dshively@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6119-924X","contributorId":201533,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Shively","given":"Dawn","email":"dshively@usgs.gov","affiliations":[{"id":324,"text":"Great Lakes Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":799511,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":4},{"text":"Kurdas, Stephan","contributorId":241089,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Kurdas","given":"Stephan","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":48200,"text":"City of Racine, Public Health Department Laboratory","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":799512,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":5},{"text":"Nakatsu, Cindy H 0000-0003-0663-180X","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0663-180X","contributorId":215593,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Nakatsu","given":"Cindy","email":"","middleInitial":"H","affiliations":[{"id":13186,"text":"Purdue University","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":799513,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":6}]}} ,{"id":70261935,"text":"70261935 - 2020 - Effect of fluvial discharges and remote non-tidal residuals on compound flood forecasting in San Francisco Bay","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2025-01-06T15:08:00.207928","indexId":"70261935","displayToPublicDate":"2020-09-04T00:00:00","publicationYear":"2020","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":2,"text":"Article"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":10,"text":"Journal Article"},"seriesTitle":{"id":3709,"text":"Water","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":10}},"title":"Effect of fluvial discharges and remote non-tidal residuals on compound flood forecasting in San Francisco Bay","docAbstract":"Accurate and timely flood forecasts are critical for making emergency-response decisions regarding public safety, infrastructure operations, and resource allocation. One of the main challenges for coastal flood forecasting systems is a lack of reliable forecast data of large-scale oceanic and watershed processes and the combined effects of multiple hazards, such as compound flooding at river mouths. Offshore water level anomalies, known as remote Non-Tidal Residuals (NTRs), are caused by processes such as downwelling, offshore wind setup, and also driven by ocean-basin salinity and temperature changes, common along the west coast during El Niño events. Similarly, fluvial discharges can contribute to extreme water levels in the coastal area, while they are dominated by large-scale watershed hydraulics. However, with the recent emergence of reliable large-scale forecast systems, coastal models now import the essential input data to forecast extreme water levels in the nearshore. Accordingly, we have developed Hydro-CoSMoS, a new coastal forecast model based on the USGS Coastal Storm Modeling System (CoSMoS) powered by the Delft3D San Francisco Bay and Delta community model. In this work, we studied the role of fluvial discharges and remote NTRs on extreme water levels during a February 2019 storm by using Hydro-CoSMoS in hindcast mode. We simulated the storm with and without real-time fluvial discharge data to study their effect on coastal water levels and flooding extent, and highlight the importance of watershed forecast systems such as NOAA’s National Water Model (NWM). We also studied the effect of remote NTRs on coastal water levels in San Francisco Bay during the 2019 February storm by utilizing the data from a global ocean model (HYCOM). Our results showed that accurate forecasts of remote NTRs and fluvial discharges can play a significant role in predicting extreme water levels in San Francisco Bay. This pilot application in San Francisco Bay can serve as a basis for integrated coastal flood modeling systems in complex coastal settings worldwide.
","language":"English","publisher":"MDPI","doi":"10.3390/w12092481","usgsCitation":"Tehranirad, B., Herdman, L.M., Nederhoff, K., Erikson, L.H., Cifelli, R., Pratt, G., Leon, M., and Barnard, P.L., 2020, Effect of fluvial discharges and remote non-tidal residuals on compound flood forecasting in San Francisco Bay: Water, v. 12, no. 9, 2481, 15 p., https://doi.org/10.3390/w12092481.","productDescription":"2481, 15 p.","ipdsId":"IP-120224","costCenters":[{"id":520,"text":"Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":467278,"rank":0,"type":{"id":40,"text":"Open Access Publisher Index Page"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.3390/w12092481","text":"Publisher Index Page"},{"id":465668,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"California","otherGeospatial":"San Francisco Bay","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -122.88353317906419,\n 38.09730105803703\n ],\n [\n -122.88353317906419,\n 37.39198937844094\n ],\n [\n -121.86759792175883,\n 37.39198937844094\n ],\n [\n -121.86759792175883,\n 38.09730105803703\n ],\n [\n -122.88353317906419,\n 38.09730105803703\n ]\n ]\n ],\n \"type\": \"Polygon\"\n }\n }\n ]\n}","volume":"12","issue":"9","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationDate":"2020-09-04","publicationStatus":"PW","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Tehranirad, Babak 0000-0002-1634-9165","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1634-9165","contributorId":299107,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Tehranirad","given":"Babak","affiliations":[{"id":64774,"text":"contracted to USGS PCMSC","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":922342,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Herdman, Liv M. 0000-0002-5444-6441 lherdman@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5444-6441","contributorId":149964,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Herdman","given":"Liv","email":"lherdman@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"M.","affiliations":[{"id":520,"text":"Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":474,"text":"New York Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":922343,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Nederhoff, Kees 0000-0003-0552-3428","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0552-3428","contributorId":334091,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Nederhoff","given":"Kees","affiliations":[{"id":39963,"text":"Deltares-USA","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":true,"id":922344,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3},{"text":"Erikson, Li H. 0000-0002-8607-7695 lerikson@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8607-7695","contributorId":149963,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Erikson","given":"Li","email":"lerikson@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"H.","affiliations":[{"id":520,"text":"Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":922345,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":4},{"text":"Cifelli, Rob","contributorId":211532,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Cifelli","given":"Rob","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":38261,"text":"NOAA/ESRL/Physical Sciences Division","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":922346,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":5},{"text":"Pratt, Greg","contributorId":268885,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Pratt","given":"Greg","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":55709,"text":"NOAA Global Systems Laboratory","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":922347,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":6},{"text":"Leon, Michael","contributorId":347739,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Leon","given":"Michael","affiliations":[{"id":36803,"text":"NOAA","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":922348,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":7},{"text":"Barnard, Patrick L. 0000-0003-1414-6476 pbarnard@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1414-6476","contributorId":140982,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Barnard","given":"Patrick","email":"pbarnard@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"L.","affiliations":[{"id":520,"text":"Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":922349,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":8}]}} ]}