Unregulated private wells in the United States are susceptible to many groundwater contaminants. Ingestion of nitrate, the most common anthropogenic private well contaminant in the United States, can lead to the endogenous formation of N-nitroso-compounds, which are known human carcinogens. In this study, we expand upon previous efforts to model private well groundwater nitrate concentration in North Carolina by developing multiple machine learning models and testing against out-of-sample prediction. Our purpose was to develop exposure estimates in unmonitored areas for use in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS) cohort. Using approximately 22,000 private well nitrate measurements in North Carolina, we trained and tested continuous models including a censored maximum likelihood-based linear model, random forest, gradient boosted machine, support vector machine, neural networks, and kriging. Continuous nitrate models had low predictive performance (R2 < 0.33), so multiple random forest classification models were also trained and tested. The final classification approach predicted <1 mg/L, 1–5 mg/L, and ≥5 mg/L using a random forest model with 58 variables and maximizing the Cohen's kappa statistic. The final model had an overall accuracy of 0.75 and high specificity for the higher two categories and high sensitivity for the lowest category. The results will be used for the categorical prediction of private well nitrate for AHS cohort participants that reside in North Carolina.
The geologic history of the Southeastern United States of America is missing nearly 350-million-years of rocks, sediments, and fossils. This gap defines the Fall Line nonconformity where Upper Ordovician consolidated rocks are directly overlain by Upper Cretaceous unconsolidated sediments of the Atlantic Coastal Plain Province. Here we begin to fill in the missing geologic record by reporting the discovery of fossils of lower-to-middle Paleozoic tabulate corals (Syringophyllidae) in angular, quartz-rich, ferruginous sandstones that crop out in the Carolina Sandhills Physiographic Province that forms the updip margin of the Atlantic Coastal Plain Province near the Fall Line. These fossils of extinct tabulate corals are the first evidence that Paleozoic (Upper Ordovician–Lower Silurian) sandstones crop out amidst the mostly Mesozoic-to-Cenozoic deposits of the Atlantic Coastal Plain Province of the United States of America. This discovery of Paleozoic fossils and strata in a region in which they were previously entirely unknown offers a more complete insight into the geologic history of the Southern Appalachian Mountains Region, Carolina Sandhills and updip margin of the Atlantic Coastal Plain Province and extends the previously identified range of Syringophyllidae in North America.
","language":"English","publisher":"PLOS","doi":"10.1371/journal.pone.0224248","usgsCitation":"Landmeyer, J.E., Tourneur, F., Denayer, J., and Zapalski, M.K., 2019, Fossil tabulate corals reveal outcrops of Paleozoic sandstones in the Atlantic Coastal Plain Province, Southeastern USA: PLoS ONE, v. 14, no. 10, e0224248, 13 p., https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224248.","productDescription":"e0224248, 13 p.","ipdsId":"IP-111335","costCenters":[{"id":13634,"text":"South Atlantic Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":459372,"rank":0,"type":{"id":40,"text":"Open Access Publisher Index Page"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224248","text":"Publisher Index Page"},{"id":368724,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"South Carolina","county":"Chesterfield County","otherGeospatial":"Atlantic Coastal Plain Province","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -80.88134765625,\n 34.225429015241396\n ],\n [\n -79.91455078125,\n 34.225429015241396\n ],\n [\n -79.91455078125,\n 34.89494244739732\n ],\n [\n -80.88134765625,\n 34.89494244739732\n ],\n [\n -80.88134765625,\n 34.225429015241396\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","volume":"14","issue":"10","publishingServiceCenter":{"id":9,"text":"Reston PSC"},"noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationDate":"2019-10-24","publicationStatus":"PW","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Landmeyer, James E. 0000-0002-5640-3816","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5640-3816","contributorId":216137,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Landmeyer","given":"James","email":"","middleInitial":"E.","affiliations":[{"id":13634,"text":"South Atlantic Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":773520,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Tourneur, Francis","contributorId":219888,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Tourneur","given":"Francis","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":40085,"text":"Department of Sciences, University of Liège","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":773521,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Denayer, Julien","contributorId":219889,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Denayer","given":"Julien","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":40085,"text":"Department of Sciences, University of Liège","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":773522,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3},{"text":"Zapalski, Mikolaj K","contributorId":219890,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Zapalski","given":"Mikolaj","email":"","middleInitial":"K","affiliations":[{"id":40086,"text":"Department of Geology, University of Warsaw","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":773523,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":4}]}} ,{"id":70205517,"text":"sir20195104 - 2019 - Quantifying the eroded and deposited mass of mercury-contaminated sediment by using terrestrial laser scanning at the confluence of Humbug Creek and the South Yuba River, Nevada County, California, 2011–13","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2019-10-25T06:55:51","indexId":"sir20195104","displayToPublicDate":"2019-10-24T15:52:24","publicationYear":"2019","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":18,"text":"Report"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":5,"text":"USGS Numbered Series"},"seriesTitle":{"id":334,"text":"Scientific Investigations Report","code":"SIR","onlineIssn":"2328-0328","printIssn":"2328-031X","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":5}},"seriesNumber":"2019-5104","displayTitle":"Quantifying the Eroded and Deposited Mass of Mercury-Contaminated Sediment by Using Terrestrial Laser Scanning at the Confluence of Humbug Creek and the South Yuba River, Nevada County, California, 2011–13","title":"Quantifying the eroded and deposited mass of mercury-contaminated sediment by using terrestrial laser scanning at the confluence of Humbug Creek and the South Yuba River, Nevada County, California, 2011–13","docAbstract":"High-resolution, terrestrial laser scanning, also known as ground-based lidar (light detection and ranging), was used to quantify the volume of mercury-contaminated sediment eroded from an outcrop of historical placer-mining debris at the confluence of Humbug Creek and the South Yuba River in the Sierra Nevada foothills, about 17 kilometers northeast of Grass Valley, California, and delivered to a zone below an observed flood stage of the South Yuba River. Substantial quantities of mercury were used and lost to the environment from historical placer gold mining activities on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, California, and recent studies have documented continued persistence of mercury and methylmercury concentrations in water, sediment, fish, and predatory invertebrates in the Yuba River drainage basin in relation to suspected mercury sources. To identify areas that have high levels of mercury contamination as possible remediation targets in the Yuba River drainage basin and other areas in the Sierra Nevada, the U.S. Geological Survey worked in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management on this and other detailed studies. Malakoff Diggings, one of the largest hydraulic gold mines in the Sierra Nevada, is 3.5 kilometers north of the study site in the Humbug Creek subbasin.
Terrestrial laser scanning was used to produce centimeter-scale, three-dimensional maps of the complex outcrop surface, which was composed of an upper erosional area (cliff and over-steepened slope) and a lower depositional area (colluvial slope). The outcrop could not be mapped non-destructively or in sufficient detail by traditional surveying techniques. The study site, which was approximately 70 meters long, 30 meters wide and 20 meters high, was surveyed four times in 2 years (December 15, 2011; October 25, 2012; January 4, 2013; and November 22, 2013) to determine volumetric differences in the upper erosional and lower depositional areas between surveys. Measured changes in volume for the upper erosional area and lower depositional area were multiplied by the corresponding sediment density so that a mass-balance relationship, between the eroded and deposited sediment during each period, could be used to estimate the amount of mercury-contaminated sediment that was transported to below the base of the colluvial slope, where it could be mobilized by the South Yuba River during a flood having a 5-to-10-year recurrence interval. On December 2, 2012, a flood of this estimated magnitude reached the base of the colluvial slope.
Between the first and second surveys (December 15, 2011–October 25, 2012), an estimated mass of 18±9.2 kilograms of sediment was transported from steeper slopes to the gently sloping river bank below the base of the colluvial slope. Between the second and third surveys (October 25, 2012–January 4, 2013), an atmospheric river caused heavy precipitation at the study site during late November and early December 2012. This short-duration, high-intensity rain resulted in a large amount of erosion and deposition at the study site and also caused high streamflow (flood stage) in the South Yuba River. From October 2012 to January 2013, 51±31 kilograms of sediment was transported to below the base of the colluvial slope, that is, below the high-water mark of December 2, 2012. Between the third and fourth surveys (January 4, 2013–November 22, 2013), an additional 10±26 kilograms of sediment was transported to below the base of the colluvial slope. During the 24 months of the study, the total mass of sediment delivered below the base of the colluvial slope and the high-water mark of December 2, 2012, was 79±66 kilograms.
In any given year there is a 10–20-percent chance (5-to-10-year recurrence interval) of a flood equal to or greater than that of the December 2, 2012, flood, which could transport mercury-contaminated sediment at the study site into the South Yuba River. Hydraulically modeled estimates of the South Yuba River stage during floods having a 50- and 100-year recurrence interval (2- and 1-percent annual exceedance probability, respectively) indicated that resulting river stages could be 2.2–3.0 meters above the base of the colluvial slope, or 2.2–3.0 meters above the high-water mark of December 2, 2012. Such high river stages would be likely to inundate the lower half of the colluvial slope and mobilize a substantial volume of mercury-contaminated sediment to downstream areas.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20195104","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management","usgsCitation":"Howle, J.F., Alpers, C.N., Kitchen, J., Bawden, G.W., and Bond, S., 2019, Quantifying the eroded and deposited mass of mercury-contaminated sediment by using terrestrial laser scanning at the confluence of Humbug Creek and the South Yuba River, Nevada County, California, 2011–13: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2019– 5104, 30 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20195104.\n","productDescription":"Report: viii, 30 p.; Data Release","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-078829","costCenters":[{"id":154,"text":"California Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":368585,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2019/5104/sir20195104.pdf","text":"Report","size":"6.5 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California Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
6000 J Street, Placer Hall
Sacramento, California 95819
Automated data-processing methods allow hydrologists to efficiently incorporate digital well-record datasets into the construction of hydrostratigraphic frameworks for groundwater-flow models. The method selected to construct the hydrostratigraphic framework can affect the extent of geologic heterogeneity that can be included in the model. The detail generated from a hydrostratigraphic framework can affect groundwater simulation results. The effects of detail on model accuracy, groundwater-flow simulations, and particle-tracking simulations are described in this study. This report compares differences in hydrostratigraphic frameworks and results of groundwater models using (1) a method that incorporates more hydrologic judgment at the expense of using limited lithologic data and (2) a method that is more automated and uses all available lithologic data. The study additionally evaluates the effect of model discretization and inclusion of more (or less) geologic detail on simulation results.
Two methods were used to create hydrostratigraphic frameworks of glacial deposits in the St. Joseph River Basin. One method, referred to as the subjective method, manually identifies stratigraphic boundaries using a sample of well logs from State databases and uses two-dimensional kriging to create three model layers of the study area. Indicator kriging is used to define aquifer extent in each layer. The second method, referred to as the objective method, uses three-dimensional kriging to automatically create a detailed heterogeneous model of the study area using all wells logs from the State database. The objective method increases detail in the vertical by greatly increasing the number of computer groundwater model layers from 3 to 30. In Elkhart County, Indiana, a previously published model represents the product of the subjective method, and a newly calibrated model of the same area represents the product of the objective method.
An automated calibration procedure was used with the objective model (derived from the objective method) for Elkhart County. The two most-sensitive parameters for the Elkhart County objective model are horizontal hydraulic conductivity of the sand and the combined sand and gravel/gravel deposits. Vertical hydraulic conductivity of the fine-grained and intermediate-sized deposits could not be estimated, possibly indicating major flow paths are along a continuously connected series of sand and gravel deposits and not through a confining layer.
The statistics measuring model calibration accuracy for the objective model were slightly better than statistics for the subjective model (model derived from the subjective method) of Elkhart County, but the hydraulic conductivities and flow rates for the two models were different. The mean absolute errors between simulated and measured groundwater levels are 2.04 and 2.16 feet for the objective and subjective models, respectively. Simulated seepage losses from and groundwater discharges to measured stream reaches in the objective model were evenly balanced in terms of over and under simulations of measured values; the subjective model tended to overpredict measured groundwater discharge to streams. The overprediction may be related to the 58 percent greater total inflow and outflow through the subjective model. The greater flow rate through the subjective model results from higher horizontal hydraulic conductivities in the subjective model than in the objective model. Horizontal hydraulic conductivity ranged from 23.9 to 111 feet per day in the objective model and generally ranged from 170 to 370 feet per day in the subjective model. The improvement in calibration statistics for the objective model relative to the subjective model may be from increased detail in how the objective model represents the distribution of fine- and coarse-grained deposits. The improvement also could be associated with the difference in methods used to represent the continuity of the confining unit.
The effect of differences in horizontal hydraulic conductivity distributions between the two models for Elkhart County is evident in the groundwater-flow paths simulated by the objective and subjective models. At a withdrawal well location, the flow lines produced by the objective model indicate a wider contributing area than that for the subjective model. The discontinuous confining unit represented in the objective model provided the opportunity for groundwater flow to split into an upper and lower path. The split in flow simulated by the objective model at one location was independently supported by bromide concentrations in groundwater; the subjective model did not duplicate the split in flow.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20195088","collaboration":"U.S. Geological Survey Groundwater Resources Program","usgsCitation":"Arihood, L.D., Lampe, D.C., Bayless, E.R., and Brown, S.E., 2019, Comparison of groundwater-model construction methods, representations of glacial geology, model designs, and groundwater-model flow simulations within Elkhart County, Indiana: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2019–5088, 44 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20195088.","productDescription":"Report: ix, 44 p.; Data Release","numberOfPages":"58","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-065522 ","costCenters":[{"id":35860,"text":"Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":368474,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2019/5088/sir20195088.pdf","text":"Report","size":"4.28 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIR 2019–5088"},{"id":368475,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F7QN65RW","text":"USGS data release ","description":"USGS Data Release","linkHelpText":"MODFLOW-2000 model used to illustrate the differences in flow paths and travel times when three-dimensional kriging is used to estimate the hydraulic conductivity distribution as compared to manual determinations of hydraulic conductivity distribution"},{"id":368473,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2019/5088/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Indiana","county":"Elkhart County","geographicExtents":"{\"type\":\"FeatureCollection\",\"features\":[{\"type\":\"Feature\",\"geometry\":{\"type\":\"Polygon\",\"coordinates\":[[[-85.7874,41.7615],[-85.7591,41.7613],[-85.6606,41.7608],[-85.6589,41.699],[-85.6575,41.6122],[-85.6554,41.5251],[-85.6542,41.4733],[-85.6552,41.4384],[-85.7704,41.4377],[-85.8874,41.4379],[-86.0008,41.4375],[-86.059,41.4367],[-86.0594,41.4644],[-86.0593,41.474],[-86.0593,41.479],[-86.0592,41.4935],[-86.0598,41.4999],[-86.0624,41.7619],[-85.932,41.7623],[-85.7874,41.7615]]]},\"properties\":{\"name\":\"Elkhart\",\"state\":\"IN\"}}]}","contact":"Director, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
5957 Lakeside Boulevard
Indianapolis, IN 46278-1996
The Adirondack Park in New York State contains a unique and limited distribution of boreal ecosystem types, providing habitat for a number of birds at the southern edge of their range. Species are projected to shift poleward in a warming climate, and the limited boreal forest of the Adirondacks is expected to undergo significant change in response to rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns. Here we expand upon a previous analysis to examine changes in occupancy patterns for eight species of boreal birds over a decade (2007–2016), and we assess the relative contribution of climate and non-climate drivers in determining colonization and extinction rates. Our analysis identifies patterns of declining occupancy for six of eight species, including some declines which appear to have become more pronounced since a prior analysis. Although non-climate drivers such as wetland area, connectivity, and human footprint continue to influence colonization and extinction rates, we find that for most species, occupancy patterns are best described by climate drivers. We modeled both average and annual temperature and precipitation characteristics and find stronger support for species’ responses to average climate conditions, rather than interannual climate variability. In general, boreal birds appear most likely to colonize sites that have lower levels of precipitation and a high degree of connectivity, and they tend to persist in sites that are warmer in the breeding season and have low and less variable precipitation in the winter. It is likely that these responses reflect interactions between broader habitat conditions and temperature and precipitation variables. Indirect climate influences as mediated through altered species interactions may also be important in this context. Given climate change predictions for both temperature and precipitation, it is likely that habitat structural changes over the long term may alter these relationships in the future.
","language":"English","publisher":"Public Library of Science","doi":"10.1371/journal.pone.0224308","usgsCitation":"Glennon, M., Langdon, S., Rubenstein, M.A., and Cross, M.S., 2019, Relative contribution of climate and non-climate drivers in determining dynamic rates ofboreal birds at the edge of their range: PLoS ONE, v. 14, no. 10, e0224308, 19 p., https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224308.","productDescription":"e0224308, 19 p.","ipdsId":"IP-106475","costCenters":[{"id":36940,"text":"National Climate Adaptation Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":459378,"rank":0,"type":{"id":40,"text":"Open Access Publisher Index Page"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224308","text":"Publisher Index Page"},{"id":379989,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"New York","otherGeospatial":"Adirondack Park","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -75.223388671875,\n 42.924251753870685\n ],\n [\n -73.201904296875,\n 42.924251753870685\n ],\n [\n -73.201904296875,\n 44.941473354802504\n ],\n [\n -75.223388671875,\n 44.941473354802504\n ],\n [\n -75.223388671875,\n 42.924251753870685\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","volume":"14","issue":"10","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationDate":"2019-10-24","publicationStatus":"PW","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Glennon, Michale 0000-0002-7298-0728","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7298-0728","contributorId":218721,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Glennon","given":"Michale","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":39895,"text":"Paul Smith's College","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":803567,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Langdon, Stephen 0000-0003-0490-021X","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0490-021X","contributorId":218722,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Langdon","given":"Stephen","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":13272,"text":"Wildlife Conservation Society","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":803568,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Rubenstein, Madeleine A. 0000-0001-8569-781X mrubenstein@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8569-781X","contributorId":203206,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Rubenstein","given":"Madeleine","email":"mrubenstein@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"A.","affiliations":[{"id":411,"text":"National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":803569,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3},{"text":"Cross, Molly S. 0000-0002-4238-9208","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4238-9208","contributorId":149216,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Cross","given":"Molly","middleInitial":"S.","affiliations":[{"id":17674,"text":"Wildlife Conservation Society, Bozeman, MT","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":803570,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":4}]}} ,{"id":70206287,"text":"70206287 - 2019 - Climatic controls on the distribution of foundation plant species in coastal wetlands of the conterminous United States: Knowledge gaps and emerging research needs","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2019-12-03T09:58:55","indexId":"70206287","displayToPublicDate":"2019-10-24T13:14:59","publicationYear":"2019","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":2,"text":"Article"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":10,"text":"Journal Article"},"seriesTitle":{"id":1584,"text":"Estuaries and Coasts","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":10}},"title":"Climatic controls on the distribution of foundation plant species in coastal wetlands of the conterminous United States: Knowledge gaps and emerging research needs","docAbstract":"Foundation plant species play a critical role in coastal wetlands, often modifying abiotic conditions that are too stressful for most organisms and providing the primary habitat features that support entire ecological communities. Here, we consider the influence of climatic drivers on the distribution of foundation plant species within coastal wetlands of the conterminous USA. Using region-level syntheses, we identified 24 dominant foundation plant species within 12 biogeographic regions, and we categorized species and biogeographic regions into four groups: graminoids, mangroves, succulents, and unvegetated. Literature searches were used to characterize the level of research directed at each of the 24 species. Most coastal wetlands research has been focused on a subset of foundation species, with about 45% of publications directed at just one grass species—Spartina alterniflora. An additional 14 and 8% have been directed, respectively, at two mangrove species—Rhizophora mangle and Avicennia germinans. At the national scale, winter temperature extremes govern the distribution of mangrove forests relative to salt marsh graminoids, and arid conditions can produce hypersaline conditions that increase the dominance of succulent plants, algal mats, and unvegetated tidal flats (i.e., salt flats, salt pans) relative to graminoid and mangrove plants. Collectively, our analyses illustrate the diversity of foundation plant species in the conterminous USA and begin to elucidate the influence of climatic drivers on their distribution. However, our results also highlight critical knowledge gaps and identify emerging research needs for assessing climate change impacts. Given the importance of plant-mediated processes in coastal wetland ecosystems, there is a pressing need in many biogeographic regions for additional species- and functional group-specific research that can be used to better anticipate coastal wetland responses to rising sea levels and changing temperature and precipitation regimes.","language":"English","publisher":"Springer","doi":"10.1007/s12237-019-00640-z","usgsCitation":"Osland, M., Grace, J., Guntenspergen, G., Thorne, K., Carr, J., and Feher, L., 2019, Climatic controls on the distribution of foundation plant species in coastal wetlands of the conterminous United States: Knowledge gaps and emerging research needs: Estuaries and Coasts, v. 42, no. 8, p. 1991-2003, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-019-00640-z.","productDescription":"13 p.","startPage":"1991","endPage":"2003","ipdsId":"IP-104790","costCenters":[{"id":531,"text":"Patuxent Wildlife Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":17705,"text":"Wetland and Aquatic Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":368711,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"}],"volume":"42","issue":"8","publishingServiceCenter":{"id":5,"text":"Lafayette PSC"},"noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationDate":"2019-10-24","publicationStatus":"PW","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Osland, Michael 0000-0001-9902-8692","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9902-8692","contributorId":220094,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Osland","given":"Michael","affiliations":[{"id":17705,"text":"Wetland and Aquatic Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":774083,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Grace, James B. 0000-0001-6374-4726","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6374-4726","contributorId":220095,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Grace","given":"James B.","affiliations":[{"id":17705,"text":"Wetland and Aquatic Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":774084,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Guntenspergen, Glenn 0000-0002-8593-0244 glenn_guntenspergen@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8593-0244","contributorId":220096,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Guntenspergen","given":"Glenn","email":"glenn_guntenspergen@usgs.gov","affiliations":[{"id":531,"text":"Patuxent Wildlife Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":774085,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3},{"text":"Thorne, Karen","contributorId":220097,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Thorne","given":"Karen","affiliations":[{"id":651,"text":"Western Ecological Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":774086,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":4},{"text":"Carr, Joel 0000-0002-9164-4156 jcarr@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9164-4156","contributorId":220098,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Carr","given":"Joel","email":"jcarr@usgs.gov","affiliations":[{"id":531,"text":"Patuxent Wildlife Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":774087,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":5},{"text":"Feher, Laura 0000-0002-5983-6190","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5983-6190","contributorId":220099,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Feher","given":"Laura","affiliations":[{"id":17705,"text":"Wetland and Aquatic Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":774088,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":6}]}} ,{"id":70206528,"text":"70206528 - 2019 - Dissolved organic carbon turnover in permafrost-influenced watersheds of interior Alaska: Molecular insights and the priming effect","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2019-11-08T10:50:26","indexId":"70206528","displayToPublicDate":"2019-10-24T10:45:52","publicationYear":"2019","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":"Dissolved organic carbon turnover in permafrost-influenced watersheds of interior Alaska: Molecular insights and the priming effect","docAbstract":"Increased permafrost thaw due to climate change in northern high-latitudes has prompted concern over impacts on soil and stream biogeochemistry that affect the fate of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Few studies to-date have examined the link between molecular composition and biolability of dissolved organic matter (DOM) mobilized from different soil horizons despite its importance in understanding carbon turnover in aquatic systems. Additionally, the effect of mixed DOM sources on microbial metabolism (e.g., priming) is not well understood. No studies to-date have addressed potential priming effects in northern high-latitude or permafrost-influenced aquatic ecosystems, yet these ecosystems may be hot spots of priming where biolabile, ancient permafrost DOC mixes with relatively stable, modern stream DOC. To assess biodegradability and priming of DOC in permafrost-influenced streams, we conducted 28 day bioincubation experiments utilizing a suite of stream samples and leachates of fresh vegetation and different soil horizons, including permafrost, from Interior Alaska. The molecular composition of unamended DOM samples at initial and final time points was determined by ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry. Initial molecular composition was correlated to DOC biodegradability, particularly the contribution of energy-rich aliphatic compounds, and stream microbial communities utilized 50–56% of aliphatics in permafrost-derived DOM within 28 days. Biodegradability of DOC followed a continuum from relatively stable stream DOC to relatively biolabile DOC derived from permafrost, active layer organic soil, and vegetation leachates. Microbial utilization of DOC was ∼3–11% for stream bioincubations and ranged from 9% (active layer mineral soil-derived) to 66% (vegetation-derived) for leachate bioincubations. To investigate the presence or absence of a priming effect, bioincubation experiments included treatments amended with 1% relative carbon concentrations of simple, biolabile organic carbon substrates (i.e., primers). The amount of DOC consumed in primed treatments was not significantly different from the control in any of the bioincubation experiments after 28 days, making it apparent that the addition of biolabile permafrost-derived DOC to aquatic ecosystems will likely not enhance the biodegradation of relatively modern, stable DOC sources. Thus, future projections of carbon turnover in northern high-latitude region streams may not have to account for a priming effect.
","language":"English","publisher":"Frontiers Media","doi":"10.3389/feart.2019.00275","usgsCitation":"Textor, S.R., Wickland, K.P., Podgorski, D.C., Johnston, S.E., and Spencer, R., 2019, Dissolved organic carbon turnover in permafrost-influenced watersheds of interior Alaska: Molecular insights and the priming effect: Frontiers in Earth Science, v. 7, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2019.00275.","productDescription":"275, 17 p.","startPage":"17 pp","ipdsId":"IP-113156","costCenters":[{"id":37277,"text":"WMA - Earth System Processes Division","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":459381,"rank":0,"type":{"id":40,"text":"Open Access Publisher Index Page"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2019.00275","text":"Publisher Index Page"},{"id":369090,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Alaska","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -152.786865234375,\n 64.55316108653571\n ],\n [\n -148.798828125,\n 64.55316108653571\n ],\n [\n -148.798828125,\n 66.07600210896848\n ],\n [\n -152.786865234375,\n 66.07600210896848\n ],\n [\n -152.786865234375,\n 64.55316108653571\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","volume":"7","publishingServiceCenter":{"id":14,"text":"Menlo Park PSC"},"noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationDate":"2019-10-24","publicationStatus":"PW","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Textor, Sadie R.","contributorId":220386,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Textor","given":"Sadie","email":"","middleInitial":"R.","affiliations":[{"id":7092,"text":"Florida State University","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":774882,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Wickland, Kimberly P. 0000-0002-6400-0590 kpwick@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6400-0590","contributorId":1835,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Wickland","given":"Kimberly","email":"kpwick@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"P.","affiliations":[{"id":37277,"text":"WMA - Earth System Processes Division","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":36183,"text":"Hydro-Ecological Interactions Branch","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":5044,"text":"National Research Program - Central Branch","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":774881,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Podgorski, David C.","contributorId":178153,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Podgorski","given":"David","email":"","middleInitial":"C.","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":774883,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3},{"text":"Johnston, Sarah Ellen","contributorId":213256,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Johnston","given":"Sarah","email":"","middleInitial":"Ellen","affiliations":[{"id":7092,"text":"Florida State University","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":774884,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":4},{"text":"Spencer, Robert G.M.","contributorId":173304,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Spencer","given":"Robert G.M.","affiliations":[{"id":16705,"text":"Woods Hole Research Center","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":774885,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":5}]}} ,{"id":70227944,"text":"70227944 - 2019 - Confluences function as ecological hotspots: Geomorphic and regional drivers can help identify patterns of fish distribution within a seascape","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2022-02-02T16:42:30.992918","indexId":"70227944","displayToPublicDate":"2019-10-24T10:36:27","publicationYear":"2019","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":2,"text":"Article"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":10,"text":"Journal Article"},"seriesTitle":{"id":2663,"text":"Marine Ecology Progress Series","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":10}},"title":"Confluences function as ecological hotspots: Geomorphic and regional drivers can help identify patterns of fish distribution within a seascape","docAbstract":"Quantifying heterogeneity in animal distributions through space and time is a precursor to addressing many important research and management issues. Obtaining these distributional data is especially difficult for mobile organisms that use broader geographic extents. Here, we asked if the merger between 2 research directions—(1) quantifying spatial linkages between fish and geomorphic features (e.g. confluences) and (2) analyzing larger-scale, multi-metric organismal patterns—can provide a broader geographic context for ecological issues that depend on understanding dynamic fish distribution. To address these objectives, we collected data from 59 tagged striped bass Morone saxatilis that were detected by a 26 acoustic receiver array deployed within Plum Island Estuary, MA, USA. We examined these telemetry data using generalized linear mixed models and chi-squared, cluster, and network analyses. Geomorphic site types informed the estuary-wide distribution of striped bass in that tagged fish spent the most time at confluence junctions; however, they did not spend the same amount of time at all junctions. Relative to integrating multiple metrics, number of tagged fish, residence time, and number of movements were not the same across all receivers. When all 3 metrics were considered together, 4 distinct clusters of distributional patterns emerged. Network analyses connected geomorphology and multi-metric seascape patterns. Confluence junctions in the Rowley and Middle regions were the most connected (high centrality) and most used sites (high residence time). Although confluence junctions function as ecological hotspots, researchers and managers will benefit from interpreting geomorphology within a larger geographic context.
","language":"English","publisher":"Inter-Research Science Publisher","doi":"10.3354/meps13088","usgsCitation":"Taylor, R., Mather, M.E., Smith, J., and Gerber, K., 2019, Confluences function as ecological hotspots: Geomorphic and regional drivers can help identify patterns of fish distribution within a seascape: Marine Ecology Progress Series, v. 629, p. 133-148, https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13088.","productDescription":"16 p.","startPage":"133","endPage":"148","ipdsId":"IP-095357","costCenters":[{"id":200,"text":"Coop Res Unit Seattle","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":467315,"rank":0,"type":{"id":41,"text":"Open Access External Repository Page"},"url":"https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/65379","text":"External Repository"},{"id":395278,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Massachusetts","otherGeospatial":"Plum Island Estuary","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -70.87520599365234,\n 42.69934284303157\n ],\n [\n -70.77220916748047,\n 42.69934284303157\n ],\n [\n -70.77220916748047,\n 42.8\n ],\n [\n -70.87520599365234,\n 42.8\n ],\n [\n -70.87520599365234,\n 42.69934284303157\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","volume":"629","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Taylor, Ryland","contributorId":273166,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Taylor","given":"Ryland","affiliations":[{"id":48533,"text":"ksu","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":832649,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Mather, Martha E. 0000-0003-3027-0215 mather@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3027-0215","contributorId":2580,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Mather","given":"Martha","email":"mather@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"E.","affiliations":[{"id":198,"text":"Coop Res Unit Atlanta","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":200,"text":"Coop Res Unit Seattle","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":832648,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Smith, Joseph","contributorId":273167,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Smith","given":"Joseph","affiliations":[{"id":36803,"text":"NOAA","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":832650,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3},{"text":"Gerber, Kayla","contributorId":273168,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Gerber","given":"Kayla","affiliations":[{"id":56437,"text":"KY wr","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":832651,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":4}]}} ,{"id":70204737,"text":"sir20195073 - 2019 - Sediment classification and the characterization, identification, and mapping of geologic substrates for the glaciated Gulf of Maine seabed and other terrains, providing a physical framework for ecological research and seabed management","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2019-10-24T11:23:12","indexId":"sir20195073","displayToPublicDate":"2019-10-24T10:15:00","publicationYear":"2019","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":18,"text":"Report"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":5,"text":"USGS Numbered Series"},"seriesTitle":{"id":334,"text":"Scientific Investigations Report","code":"SIR","onlineIssn":"2328-0328","printIssn":"2328-031X","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":5}},"seriesNumber":"2019-5073","displayTitle":"Sediment Classification and the Characterization, Identification, and Mapping of Geologic Substrates for the Glaciated Gulf of Maine Seabed and Other Terrains, Providing a Physical Framework for Ecological Research and Seabed Management","title":"Sediment classification and the characterization, identification, and mapping of geologic substrates for the glaciated Gulf of Maine seabed and other terrains, providing a physical framework for ecological research and seabed management","docAbstract":"A geologic substrate is a surface (or volume) of sediment or rock where physical, chemical, and biological processes occur, such as the movement and deposition of sediment, the formation of bedforms, and the attachment, burrowing, feeding, reproduction, and sheltering of organisms. Seabed mapping surveys in the Stellwagen Bank region off Boston, Massachusetts, from 1993 to 2004 have led to the development of a methodology for characterizing, identifying, and mapping geologic substrates. The resulting high-resolution interpretive maps (1:25,000) show the distribution of substrates in a glaciated terrain of banks and basins in water depths of 30 to 185 meters. Data sources used to characterize substrates are multibeam sonar bathymetric and backscatter imagery to document seabed topography and patterns of sediment and rock distribution, grain-size analyses of sediment samples to determine substrate composition, and video and photographic imagery of the seabed to aid in the interpretation of multibeam sonar imagery and to provide information on substrate layering and mobility, seabed structures, and sediments and nonsediment materials that cannot be physically sampled.
Sediment composition is a major property of many seabed substrates. Sediment grains belong to a continuum of grain-diameter sizes previously classified into grades (for example, fine sand, medium sand) and into aggregates (mud, sand, gravel). The definition of grade and aggregate boundaries in a classification is arbitrary, and a useful classification is limited to as few classes as are needed to effectively organize and apply information. For the purpose of mapping substrates, sediment grades and aggregates were simplified and re-classified into eight composite grades based on grain-size content, mode of transport, and ecological role. Five composite grades are identified using grain-size analysis and three are identified using video and photographic imagery of the seabed.
Naturally occurring sediments contain various amounts of the aggregates mud, sand, and gravel. The separation of naturally occurring sediments into sediment classes, based on grain-size analysis, requires that limits be set on the amount of mud, sand, and gravel each class contains. Fifteen previously identified basic sediment classes provided interpretive information on sediment transport by emphasizing gravel content (a low 0.01-weight-percent threshold) and on winnowing processes based on the sand-to-mud ratio. The present study recognizes 20 basic sediment classes that are combinations of aggregates in which the lower limits for recognition of mud and sand are 10 weight percent and of gravel, 25 weight percent. These sediment classes can be made more specific by listing their content of the composite grades fine-grained sand (3 and 4 phi), which is transported in suspension, and coarse-grained sand (0, 1, and 2 phi), which is transported as bedload. Additional sediment classes and nonsediment classes that cannot be sampled are recognized on the basis of visual analysis of seabed video and photographic imagery and include pebble, cobble, and boulder gravel, rock outcrops, and shell beds, among others.
Substrates are not classified because their properties are too varied for a classification to be concise and useful. Rather, substrates are characterized and identified by sediment grain-size composition (the sediment class); the distribution, in millimeters, of grain diameters in the sediment; the presence of nonsediments (for example, rock outcrops); substrate mobility based on the presence of sediment ripples; substrate layering (for example, a partial veneer of sand on gravel); and seabed structures. These properties have interpretive value by providing information about sedimentary processes acting on a substrate and about its ecological function. A geologic substrate, when it is associated with one or more species, is an important element of a habitat.
This methodology was developed to map a glaciated terrain characterized by geologic substrates that typify a wide range of erosional and depositional sedimentary environments, and it likely will be useful for mapping substrates in other terrains. Substrate maps provide the physical framework required for identifying sediment transport processes, validating sediment transport models, studying the ecology of species and communities, and managing marine resources and seabed usage.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20195073","usgsCitation":"Valentine, P.C., 2019, Sediment classification and the characterization, identification, and mapping of geologic substrates for the glaciated Gulf of Maine seabed and other terrains, providing a physical framework for ecological research and seabed management: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2019–5073, 37 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20195073.","productDescription":"vii, 37 p.","numberOfPages":"50","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-102650","costCenters":[{"id":678,"text":"Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":368354,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2019/5073/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":368358,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2019/5073/sir20195073.pdf","text":"Report","size":"2.50 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIR 2019-5073"}],"country":"United States","state":"Massachusetts","otherGeospatial":"Atlantic Ocean, Stellwagen Basin","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -70.2301025390625,\n 42.809506838324204\n ],\n [\n -70.5157470703125,\n 42.65214190481525\n ],\n [\n -70.61737060546875,\n 42.56117285531808\n ],\n [\n -70.4718017578125,\n 42.114523952464246\n ],\n [\n -70.015869140625,\n 42.05133213230167\n ],\n [\n -70.2301025390625,\n 42.809506838324204\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
384 Woods Hole Road
Quissett Campus
Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
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Large‐scale river restoration programs have emerged recently as a tool for improving spawning habitat for native salmonids in highly altered river ecosystems. Few studies have quantified the extent to which restored habitat is utilized by salmonids, which habitat features influence redd site selection, or the persistence of restored habitat over time. We investigated fall‐run Chinook salmon spawning site utilization and measured and modeled corresponding habitat characteristics in two restored reaches: a reach of channel and floodplain enhancement completed in 2013 and a reconfigured channel and floodplain constructed in 2002. Redd surveys demonstrated that both restoration projects supported a high density of salmon redds, 3 and 14 years following restoration. Salmon redds were constructed in coarse gravel substrates located in areas of high sediment mobility, as determined by measurements of gravel friction angles and a grain entrainment model. Salmon redds were located near transitions between pool‐riffle bedforms in regions of high predicted hyporheic flows. Habitat quality (quantified as a function of stream hydraulics) and hyporheic flow were both strong predictors of redd occurrence, though the relative roles of these variables differed between sites. Our findings indicate that physical controls on redd site selection in restored channels were similar to those reported for natural channels elsewhere. Our results further highlight that in addition to traditional habitat criteria (e.g., water depth, velocity, and substrate size), quantifying sediment texture and mobility, as well as intragravel flow, provides a more complete understanding of the ecological benefits provided by river restoration projects.
Policy makers, individuals from government agencies, and natural resource managers face increasing demands to manage coastal areas in a way that meets economic, social, and ecological needs as sea levels rise. Scientific knowledge of how coastal processes drive beach and barrier island changes and how those changes affect habitat use can support decision makers as they balance sometimes conflicting human and ecological needs. However, uncertainties in the knowledge of the cumulative results of coastal processes make it challenging to forecast specific changes for a particular location and time. The U.S. Geological Survey is developing tools for identifying and forecasting barrier island characteristics as well as suitable coastal habitats for species of concern (such as piping plovers, Charadrius melodus) given ongoing sea-level rise. As part of this effort, we use three Bayesian networks to calculate probabilities of shoreline change rates, changes in barrier island biogeomorphic characteristics, and piping plover habitat availability, which together forecast the effects of different sea-level-rise rates and storm regimes. This report details the methodology used to derive geospatial biogeomorphic datasets that are used as inputs for two of these Bayesian networks, which forecast barrier island geomorphology and piping plover habitat availability at sites along the U.S. Atlantic coast (Maine to North Carolina). Further information about the project, including specific study sites, can be found at https://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/project-pages/beach-dependent-shorebirds/.
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U.S. Geological Survey
384 Woods Hole Road
Quissett Campus
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At a “clean air” trade winds site in northeastern Puerto Rico, we found an apparent paradox: atmospheric total mercury (THg) deposition was highest of any site in the USA Mercury Deposition Network, but assimilation into the local food web was quite low. Avian blood THg concentrations (n = 31, from eight species in five foraging guilds) ranged widely from 0.2 to 32 ng g−1 (median of 4.3 ng g−1). Within this population, THg was significantly greater at a low-elevation site near a wetland compared to an upland montane site, even when the comparison was limited to a single species. Overall, however, THg concentrations were approximately an order of magnitude lower than comparable populations in the continental U.S. In surface soil and sediment, potential rates of demethylation were 3 to 9-fold greater than those for Hg(II)-methylation (based on six radiotracer amendment incubations), but rates of change of ambient MeHg pools showed a slight net positive Hg(II)-methylation. Thus, the resolution of the paradox is that MeHg degradation approximately keeps pace with MeHg production in this landscape. Further, any net production of MeHg is subject to frequent flushing by high rainfall on chronically wet soils. The interplay of these microbial processes and hydrology appears to shield the local food web from adverse effects of high atmospheric mercury loading. This scenario may play out in other humid tropical ecosystems as well, but it is difficult to evaluate because coordinated studies of Hg deposition, methylation, and trophic uptake have not been conducted at other tropical sites.
","language":"English","publisher":"Springer","doi":"10.1007/s10646-019-02108-z","usgsCitation":"Shanley, J.B., Marvin-DiPasquale, M.C., Lane, O.P., Arendt, W.J., Hall, S.J., and McDowell, W.H., 2019, Resolving a paradox—high mercury deposition, but low bioaccumulation in northeastern Puerto Rico: Ecotoxicology, v. 29, p. 1207-1220, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-019-02108-z.","productDescription":"16 p.","startPage":"1207","endPage":"1220","ipdsId":"IP-103791","costCenters":[{"id":466,"text":"New England Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":467316,"rank":0,"type":{"id":41,"text":"Open Access External Repository Page"},"url":"https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/eeob_ag_pubs/374","text":"External Repository"},{"id":380082,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Puerto Rico","otherGeospatial":"Northwest","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -65.86578369140625,\n 18.18630186678183\n ],\n [\n -65.59799194335938,\n 18.18630186678183\n ],\n [\n -65.59799194335938,\n 18.41447273166262\n ],\n [\n -65.86578369140625,\n 18.41447273166262\n ],\n [\n -65.86578369140625,\n 18.18630186678183\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","volume":"29","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationDate":"2019-10-23","publicationStatus":"PW","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Shanley, James B. 0000-0002-4234-3437 jshanley@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4234-3437","contributorId":1953,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Shanley","given":"James","email":"jshanley@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"B.","affiliations":[{"id":405,"text":"NH/VT office of New England Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":466,"text":"New England Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":803795,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Marvin-DiPasquale, Mark C. 0000-0002-8186-9167 mmarvin@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8186-9167","contributorId":1485,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Marvin-DiPasquale","given":"Mark","email":"mmarvin@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"C.","affiliations":[{"id":438,"text":"National Research Program - Western Branch","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":37277,"text":"WMA - Earth System Processes Division","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":803796,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Lane, Oksana P.","contributorId":139997,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Lane","given":"Oksana","email":"","middleInitial":"P.","affiliations":[{"id":6928,"text":"BioDiversity Research Institute, Gorham, ME 04038","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":803797,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3},{"text":"Arendt, Wayne J.","contributorId":176182,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Arendt","given":"Wayne","email":"","middleInitial":"J.","affiliations":[],"preferred":false,"id":803798,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":4},{"text":"Hall, Steven J. 0000-0002-7841-2019","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7841-2019","contributorId":244336,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Hall","given":"Steven","email":"","middleInitial":"J.","affiliations":[{"id":6911,"text":"Iowa State University","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":803799,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":5},{"text":"McDowell, William H.","contributorId":198684,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"McDowell","given":"William","email":"","middleInitial":"H.","affiliations":[{"id":18105,"text":"University of New Hampshire, Durham","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":803800,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":6}]}} ,{"id":70215567,"text":"70215567 - 2019 - Solute transport and transformation in an intermittent, headwater mountain stream with diurnal discharge fluctuations","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2020-10-23T13:52:31.396817","indexId":"70215567","displayToPublicDate":"2019-10-23T08:46:57","publicationYear":"2019","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":2,"text":"Article"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":10,"text":"Journal Article"},"seriesTitle":{"id":3709,"text":"Water","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":10}},"title":"Solute transport and transformation in an intermittent, headwater mountain stream with diurnal discharge fluctuations","docAbstract":"Investigation of ground failure triggered by the 2018