Temperature profile around a basaltic sill intruded into wet sediments
Leslie Baker, Andrew Bernard, William C. Rember, Moses P. Milazzo, Colin M. Dundas, Oleg Abramov, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi
2015, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (302) 81-86
The transfer of heat into wet sediments from magmatic intrusions or lava flows is not well constrained from field data. Such field constraints on numerical models of heat transfer could significantly improve our understanding of water–lava interactions. We use experimentally calibrated pollen darkening to measure the temperature profile around a...
Shear Wave Velocity and Site Amplification Factors for 25 Strong-Motion Instrument Stations Affected by the M5.8 Mineral, Virginia, Earthquake of August 23, 2011
Robert E. Kayen, Brad A. Carkin, Skye C. Corbett, Aliza Zangwill, Ivan Estevez, Lena Lai
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1099
Vertical one-dimensional shear wave velocity (Vs) profiles are presented for 25 strong-motion instrument sites along the Mid-Atlantic eastern seaboard, Piedmont region, and Appalachian region, which surround the epicenter of the M5.8 Mineral, Virginia, Earthquake of August 23, 2011. Testing was performed at sites in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, the...
Observational data on the effects of infection by the copepod Salmincola californiensis on the short- and long-term viability of juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) implanted with telemetry tags
John W. Beeman, Amy C. Hansen, Jamie M. Sprando
2015, Animal Biotelemetry (3) 1-7
Background Fish movements are often studied using radio or acoustic tags assuming the handling and tagging procedures have little effect on the behavior of the animal. Indeed, many studies provide guidelines for acceptable methods. However, these studies generally assume the fish are otherwise healthy but this may not...
Novel associations between contaminant body burdens and biomarkers of reproductive condition in male Common Carp along multiple gradients of contaminant exposure in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, USA
Reynaldo Patino, Matthew M. VanLandeghem, Steven L. Goodbred, Erik Orsak, Jill A. Jenkins, Kathy R. Echols, Michael R. Rosen, Leticia Torres
2015, General and Comparative Endocrinology (219) 112-124
Adult male Common Carp were sampled in 2007/08 over a full reproductive cycle at Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Sites sampled included a stream dominated by treated wastewater effluent, a lake basin receiving the streamflow, an upstream lake basin (reference), and a site below Hoover Dam. Individual body burdens for...
Reproductive traits of shovelnose sturgeon Scaphirhynchus platorynchus (Rafinesque, 1820) in the lower Platte River, Nebraska
M. J. Hamel, M.L. Rugg, M.A. Pegg, Reynaldo Patino, J.J. Hammen
2015, Journal of Applied Ichthyology (31) 592-602
We assessed reproductive status, fecundity, egg size, and spawning dynamics of shovelnose sturgeon Scaphirhynchus platorynchus in the lower Platte River. Shovelnose sturgeon were captured throughout each year during 2011 and 2012 using a multi-gear approach designed to collect a variety of fish of varying sizes and ages. Fish were collected monthly for...
Similarities and differences in 13C and 15N stable isotope ratios in two non-lethal tissue types from shovelnose sturgeon Scaphirhynchus platorynchus (Rafinesque, 1820)
R. J. DeVries, Harold L. Schramm Jr.
2015, Journal of Applied Ichthyology (31) 474-478
We tested the hypothesis that δ13C and δ15N signatures of pectoral spines would provide measures of δ13C and δ15N similar to those obtained from fin clips for adult shovelnose sturgeon Scaphirhynchus platorynchus. Thirty-two shovelnose sturgeon (fork length [FL] = 500–724 mm) were sampled from the lower Mississippi River, USA on 23 February 2013. Isotopic...
The Effect of modeled recharge distribution on simulated groundwater availability and capture
Fred D. Tillman, Donald R. Pool, Stanley A. Leake
2015, Groundwater (53) 378-388
Simulating groundwater flow in basin-fill aquifers of the semiarid southwestern United States commonly requires decisions about how to distribute aquifer recharge. Precipitation can recharge basin-fill aquifers by direct infiltration and transport through faults and fractures in the high-elevation areas, by flowing overland through high-elevation areas to infiltrate at basin-fill margins...
Genetic diversity is related to climatic variation and vulnerability in threatened bull trout
Ryan Kovach, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Alisa A. Wade, Brian K. Hand, Diane C. Whited, Patrick W. DeHaan, Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, Gordon Luikart
2015, Global Change Biology (21) 2510-2524
Understanding how climatic variation influences ecological and evolutionary processes is crucial for informed conservation decision-making. Nevertheless, few studies have measured how climatic variation influences genetic diversity within populations or how genetic diversity is distributed across space relative to future climatic stress. Here, we tested whether patterns of genetic diversity (allelic...
Chloride concentrations, loads, and yields in four watersheds along Interstate 95, southeastern Connecticut, 2008-11: factors that affect peak chloride concentrations during winter storms
Craig J. Brown, John R. Mullaney, Jonathan Morrison, Joseph W. Martin, Thomas J. Trombley
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5057
Chloride (Cl-) concentrations and loads and other water chemistry characteristics were assessed to evaluate potential effects of road-deicer applications on streamwater quality in four watersheds along Interstate 95 (I–95) in southeastern Connecticut from November 1, 2008, through September 30, 2011. Streamflow and water quality were studied in the Four Mile...
National assessment of shoreline change: a GIS compilation of vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the north coast of Alaska, U.S.-Canadian border to Icy Cape
Ann E. Gibbs, Karen A. Ohman, Bruce M. Richmond
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1030
The Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska is an area of strategic economic importance to the United States, is home to remote Native communities, and encompasses unique habitats of global significance. Coastal erosion along the Arctic coast is chronic, widespread, and may be accelerating, which threatens defense- and energy-related infrastructure,...
National assessment of shoreline change: historical change along the north coast of Alaska, U.S.-Canadian border to Icy Cape
Ann E. Gibbs, Bruce M. Richmond
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1048
Beach erosion is a persistent problem along most open-ocean shores of the United States. Along the Arctic coast of Alaska, coastal erosion is widespread, may be accelerating, and is threatening defense and energy-related infrastructure, coastal habitats, and Native communities. As coastal populations continue to expand and infrastructure and habitat are...
Trench logs, terrestrial lidar system imagery, and radiocarbon data from the kilometer-62 site on the Greenville Fault, southeastern Alameda County, California, 2014
James J. Lienkaemper, Stephen B. DeLong, Nikita N. Avdievitch, Alexandra J. Pickering, Thomas P. Guilderson
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1122
In 2014, we investigated an abrupt 8.5-meter (m), right-laterally deflected stream channel located near the Greenville Fault in southeastern Alameda County, California (-121.56224° E, 37.53430° N) that we discovered using 0.5-m resolution, 2011 aerial lidar imagery flown along the active fault trace. Prior to trenching we surveyed the site using...
Chemical mixtures and environmental effects: a pilot study to assess ecological exposure and effects in streams
Herbert T. Buxton, Timothy J. Reilly, Kathryn Kuivila, Dana W. Kolpin, Paul M. Bradley, Daniel L. Villeneuve, Marc A. Mills
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1113
Assessment and management of the risks of exposure to complex chemical mixtures in streams are priorities for human and environmental health organizations around the world. The current lack of information on the composition and variability of environmental mixtures and a limited understanding of their combined effects are fundamental obstacles to...
Tsunami recurrence in the eastern Alaska-Aleutian arc: A Holocene stratigraphic record from Chirikof Island, Alaska
Alan R. Nelson, Richard W. Briggs, Tina Dura, Simon E. Engelhart, Guy Gelfenbaum, Lee-Ann Bradley, S.L. Forman, Christopher H. Vane, K.A. Kelley
2015, Geosphere (11) 1203
Despite the role of the Alaska-Aleutian megathrust as the source of some of the largest earthquakes and tsunamis, the history of its pre–twentieth century tsunamis is largely unknown west of the rupture zone of the great (magnitude, M 9.2) 1964 earthquake. Stratigraphy in core transects at two boggy lowland sites...
Soil surface organic layers in Arctic Alaska: spatial distribution, rates of formation, and microclimatic effects
Carson Baughman, Daniel H. Mann, David L. Verbyla, Michael L. Kunz
2015, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (120) 1150-1164
Organic layers of living and dead vegetation cover the ground surface in many permafrost landscapes and play important roles in ecosystem processes. These soil surface organic layers (SSOLs) store large amounts of carbon and buffer the underlying permafrost and its contained carbon from changes in aboveground climate. Understanding the dynamics of SSOLs...
The distribution of selected elements and minerals in soil of the conterminous United States
Laurel G. Woodruff, William F. Cannon, David B. Smith, Federico Solano
2015, Journal of Geochemical Exploration (154) 49-60
In 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey initiated a low-density (1 site per 1600 km2, 4857 sites) geochemical and mineralogical survey of soil of the conterminous United States as part of the North American Soil Geochemical Landscapes Project. Three soil samples were collected, if possible, from each site; (1) a sample from...
Predicting redox conditions in groundwater at a regional scale
Anthony J. Tesoriero, Silvia Terziotti, Daniel B. Abrams
2015, Environmental Science & Technology (49) 9657-9664
Defining the oxic-suboxic interface is often critical for determining pathways for nitrate transport in groundwater and to streams at the local scale. Defining this interface on a regional scale is complicated by the spatial variability of reaction rates. The probability of oxic groundwater in the Chesapeake Bay watershed was predicted...
Hydraulic fracturing water use variability in the United States and potential environmental implications
Tanya J. Gallegos, Brian A. Varela, Seth S. Haines, Mark A. Engle
2015, Water Resources Research (51) 5839-5845
Until now, up-to-date, comprehensive, spatial, national-scale data on hydraulic fracturing water volumes have been lacking. Water volumes used (injected) to hydraulically fracture over 263,859 oil and gas wells drilled between 2000 and 2014 were compiled and used to create the first U.S. map of hydraulic fracturing water use. Although median...
Building a multi-scaled geospatial temporal ecology database from disparate data sources: Fostering open science through data reuse
Patricia A. Soranno, E.G. Bissell, Kendra S. Cheruvelil, Samuel T. Christel, Sarah M. Collins, C. Emi Fergus, Christopher T. Filstrup, Jean-Francois Lapierre, Noah R. Lotting, Samantha K. Oliver, Caren E. Scott, Nicole J. Smith, Scott Stopyak, Shuai Yuan, Mary Tate Bremigan, John A. Downing, Corinna Gries, Emily N. Henry, Nick K. Skaff, Emily H. Stanley, Craig A. Stow, Pang-Ning Tan, Tyler Wagner, Katherine E. Webster
2015, GigaScience (4)
Although there are considerable site-based data for individual or groups of ecosystems, these datasets are widely scattered, have different data formats and conventions, and often have limited accessibility. At the broader scale, national datasets exist for a large number of geospatial features of land, water, and air that are needed...
NACSN, note 67--Application for revision of Articles 36 and 37, Lithodemic units of the North American stratigraphic code
Robert M. Easton, Lucy E. Edwards, Randall C. Orndorff, Manuel Duguet, Ismael Ferrusquia-Villafranca
2015, Stratigraphy (12) 39-45
Currently the North American Stratigraphic Code, (NACSN 2005, Article 37) sets restrictions on the use of the term “complex” for lithodemic units. With exceptions for “volcanic complex” and “structural complex,” a complex must consist of more than one genetic class of rock (i.e., sedimentary, igneous or metamorphic). Thus, the use...
Linking degradation status with ecosystem vulnerability to environmental change
David G. Angeler, Didier L. Baho, Craig R. Allen, Richard K. Johnson
2015, Oecologia (178) 899-913
Environmental change can cause regime shifts in ecosystems, potentially threatening ecosystem services. It is unclear if the degradation status of ecosystems correlates with their vulnerability to environmental change, and thus the risk of future regime shifts. We assessed resilience in acidified (degraded) and circumneutral (undegraded) lakes with long-term data (1988–2012),...
Evaluating the relationship between biomass, percent groundcover and remote sensing indices across six winter cover crop fields in Maryland, United States
Kusuma Prabhakara, W. Dean Hively, Greg W. McCarty
2015, International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation (39) 88-102
Winter cover crops are an essential part of managing nutrient and sediment losses from agricultural lands. Cover crops lessen sedimentation by reducing erosion, and the accumulation of nitrogen in aboveground biomass results in reduced nutrient runoff. Winter cover crops are planted in the fall and are usually terminated in early...
Diverting lava flows in the lab
Hannah R. Dietterich, Katharine V. Cashman, Alison C. Rust, Einat Lev
2015, Nature Geoscience (8) 494-496
Recent volcanic eruptions in Hawai'i, Iceland and Cape Verde highlight the challenges of mitigating hazards when lava flows threaten infrastructure. Diversion barriers are the most common form of intervention, but historical attempts to divert lava flows have met with mixed success and there has been little systematic analysis of optimal barrier...
Point spread functions for earthquake source imaging: An interpretation based on seismic interferometry
Hisashi Nakahara, Matthew M. Haney
2015, Geophysical Journal International (202) 54-61
Recently, various methods have been proposed and applied for earthquake source imaging, and theoretical relationships among the methods have been studied. In this study, we make a follow-up theoretical study to better understand the meanings of earthquake source imaging. For imaging problems, the point spread function (PSF) is used to...
Variables associated with detection probability, detection latency, and behavioral responses of Golden-winged Warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera)
Kyle R. Aldinger, Petra B. Wood
2015, The Condor (117) 364-375
Detection probability during point counts and its associated variables are important considerations for bird population monitoring and have implications for conservation planning by influencing population estimates. During 2008–2009, we evaluated variables hypothesized to be associated with detection probability, detection latency, and behavioral responses of male Golden-winged Warblers in pastures in...
