Surface-water radon-222 distribution along the west-central Florida shelf
Christopher G. Smith, L. L. Robbins
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1212
In February 2009 and August 2009, the spatial distribution of radon-222 in surface water was mapped along the west-central Florida shelf as collaboration between the Response of Florida Shelf Ecosystems to Climate Change project and a U.S. Geological Survey Mendenhall Research Fellowship project. This report summarizes the surface distribution of...
Remaining recoverable petroleum in giant oil fields of the Los Angeles Basin, southern California
Donald L. Gautier, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Troy A. Cook, Ronald R. Charpentier, Timothy R. Klett
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3120
Using a probabilistic geology-based methodology, a team of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists recently assessed the remaining recoverable oil in 10 oil fields of the Los Angeles Basin in southern California. The results of the assessment suggest that between 1.4 and 5.6 billion barrels of additional oil could be recovered...
Mapping plant species ranges in the Hawaiian Islands: developing a methodology and associated GIS layers
Jonathan P. Price, James D. Jacobi, Samuel M. Gon III, Dwight Matsuwaki, Loyal Mehrhoff, Warren Wagner, Matthew Lucas, Barbara Rowe
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1192
This report documents a methodology for projecting the geographic ranges of plant species in the Hawaiian Islands. The methodology consists primarily of the creation of several geographic information system (GIS) data layers depicting attributes related to the geographic ranges of plant species. The most important spatial-data layer generated here is...
Inoculation of bats with European Geomyces destructans supports the novel pathogen hypothesis for the origin of white-nose syndrome
Lisa Warnecke, James M. Turner, Trent K. Bollinger, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Vikram Misra, Paul M. Cryan, Gudrun Wibbelt, David S. Blehert, Craig K. R. Willis
2012, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (109) 6999-7003
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emerging disease of hibernating bats associated with cutaneous infection by the fungus Geomyces destructans (Gd), and responsible for devastating declines of bat populations in eastern North America. Affected bats appear emaciated and one hypothesis is that they spend too much time out of torpor during hibernation, depleting...
Health assessment of captive and wild-caught West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus)
M. Andrew Stamper, Robert K. Bonde
Ellen Hines, John E. Reynolds III, Lemnuel Aragones, Antonio Mignucci-Giannoni, Miriam Marmontel, editor(s)
2012, Book chapter, Sirenian conservation: Isues and strategies in developing countries
Spring snow goose hunting influences body composition of waterfowl staging in Nebraska
Aaron T. Pearse, Gary L. Krapu, Robert R. Cox Jr.
2012, Journal of Wildlife Management (76) 1393-1400
A spring hunt was instituted in North America to reduce abundance of snow geese (Chen caerulescens) by increasing mortality of adults directly, yet disturbance from hunting activities can indirectly influence body condition and ultimately, reproductive success. We estimated effects of hunting disturbance by comparing body composition of snow geese and...
Puerto Rico and Florida manatees represent genetically distinct groups
Margaret E. Hunter, Antonio A. Mignucci-Giannoni, Kimberly Pause Tucker, Tim L. King, Robert K. Bonde, Brian A. Gray, Peter M. McGuire
2012, Conservation Genetics (13) 1623-1635
The West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) populations in Florida (T. m. latirostris) and Puerto Rico (T. m. manatus) are considered distinct subspecies and are listed together as endangered under the United States Endangered Species Act. Sustained management and conservation efforts for the Florida subspecies have led to the suggested reclassification...
Generation of a U.S. national urban land use product
James A. Falcone, Collin G. Homer
2012, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing (78) 1057-1068
Characterization of urban land uses is essential for many applications. However, differentiating among thematically-detailed urban land uses (residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, recreational, etc.) over broad areas is challenging, in part because image-based solutions are not ideal for establishing the contextual basis for identifying economic function and use. At present no...
Constraining the location of the Archean--Proterozoic suture in the Great Basin based on magnetotelluric soundings
Brian D. Rodriguez, Jay A. Sampson
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1117
It is important to understand whether major mining districts in north-central Nevada are underlain by Archean crust, known to contain major orogenic gold deposits, or, alternatively, by accreted crust of the Paleoproterozoic Mojave province. Determining the location and orientation of the Archean-Proterozoic suture zone between the Archean crust and Mojave...
Sample design effects in landscape genetics
Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Bradley C. Fedy, Erin L. Landguth
2012, Conservation Genetics
An important research gap in landscape genetics is the impact of different field sampling designs on the ability to detect the effects of landscape pattern on gene flow. We evaluated how five different sampling regimes (random, linear, systematic, cluster, and single study site) affected the probability of correctly identifying the...
Geophysical studies in the vicinity of Blue Mountain and Pumpernickel Valley near Winnemucca, north-central Nevada
David A. Ponce
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1207
From May 2008 to September 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected data from more than 660 gravity stations, 100 line-km of truck-towed magnetometer traverses, and 260 physical-property sites in the vicinity of Blue Mountain and Pumpernickel Valley, northern Nevada (fig. 1). Gravity, magnetic, and physical-property data were collected to...
Bathymetric controls on sediment transport in the Hudson River estuary: Lateral asymmetry and frontal trapping
David K. Ralston, W. Rockwell Geyer, John C. Warner
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research (117)
Analyses of field observations and numerical model results have identified that sediment transport in the Hudson River estuary is laterally segregated between channel and shoals, features frontal trapping at multiple locations along the estuary, and varies significantly over the spring-neap tidal cycle. Lateral gradients in depth, and therefore baroclinic pressure...
A risk-based approach to evaluating wildlife demographics for management in a changing climate: A case study of the Lewis's Woodpecker
Erin Towler, Victoria A. Saab, Richard S. Sojda, Katherine Dickinson, Cindy L. Bruyere, Karen R. Newlon
2012, Environmental Management (50) 1152-1163
Given the projected threat that climate change poses to biodiversity, the need for proactive response efforts is clear. However, integrating uncertain climate change information into conservation planning is challenging, and more explicit guidance is needed. To this end, this article provides a specific example of how a risk-based approach can...
Reoccupation of floodplains by rivers and its relation to the age structure of floodplain vegetation
Christopher P. Konrad
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research
River channel dynamics over many decades provide a physical control on the age structure of floodplain vegetation as a river occupies and abandons locations. Floodplain reoccupation by a river, in particular, determines the interval of time during which vegetation can establish and mature. A general framework for analyzing floodplain reoccupation...
Archive of single-beam bathymetry data collected during USGS cruise 07CCT01 nearshore of Fort Massachusetts and within Camille Cut, West and East Ship Islands, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi, July 2007
Nancy T. DeWitt, James G. Flocks, B.J. Reynolds, Mark Hansen
2012, Data Series 722
The Gulf Islands National Seashore (GUIS) is composed of a series of barrier islands along the Mississippi - Alabama coastline. Historically these islands have undergone long-term shoreline change. The devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 prompted questions about the stability of the barrier islands and their potential response to future...
Decision-support systems for natural-hazards and land-management issues
Laura Dinitz, William Forney, Kristin Byrd
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3001
Scientists at the USGS Western Geographic Science Center are developing decision-support systems (DSSs) for natural-hazards and land-management issues. DSSs are interactive computer-based tools that use data and models to help identify and solve problems. These systems can provide crucial support to policymakers, planners, and communities for making better decisions about...
South Fork Shenandoah River habitat-flow modeling to determine ecological and recreational characteristics during low-flow periods
Jennifer L. Krstolic, R. Clay Ramey
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5081
The ecological habitat requirements of aquatic organisms and recreational streamflow requirements of the South Fork Shenandoah River were investigated by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Central Shenandoah Valley Planning District Commission, the Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission, and Virginia Commonwealth University. Physical habitat simulation modeling was conducted...
Geomyces destructans -- White-nose syndrome in hibernating bats
Carol U. Meteyer, Gudrun Wibbelt
Dolores Gavier-Widen, J. Paul Duff, Anna Meredith, editor(s)
2012, Book chapter, Infectious diseases of wild mammals and birds in Europe
No abstract available....
Coupling at Mauna Loa and Kīlauea by stress transfer in an asthenospheric melt layer
Helge M. Gonnermann, James H. Foster, Michael Poland, Cecily J. Wolfe, Benjamin A. Brooks, Asta Miklius
2012, Nature Geoscience (5) 826-829
The eruptive activity at the neighbouring Hawaiian volcanoes, Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, is thought to be linked despite both having separate lithospheric magmatic plumbing systems. Over the past century, activity at the two volcanoes has been anti-correlated, which could reflect a competition for the same magma supply. Yet, during the...
Summer temperature metrics for predicting brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) distribution in streams
Donna L. Parrish, Ryan S. Butryn, Donna M. Rizzo
2012, Hydrobiologia (703) 47-57
We developed a methodology to predict brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) distribution using summer temperature metrics as predictor variables. Our analysis used long-term fish and hourly water temperature data from the Dog River, Vermont (USA). Commonly used metrics (e.g., mean, maximum, maximum 7-day maximum) tend to smooth the data...
The 11 April 2012 east Indian Ocean earthquake triggered large aftershocks worldwide
Fred F. Pollitz, Ross S. Stein, Volkan Sevilgen, Roland Burgmann
2012, Nature (490) 250-253
Large earthquakes trigger very small earthquakes globally during passage of the seismic waves and during the following several hours to days1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, but so far remote aftershocks of moment magnitude M≥5.5 have not been identified11, with the lone exception of an M=6.9...
Sandstone copper assessment of the Chu-Sarysu Basin, Central Kazakhstan: Chapter E in Global mineral resource assessment
Stephen E. Box, Boris Syusyura, Timothy S. Hayes, Cliff D. Taylor, Michael L. Zientek, Murray W. Hitzman, Reimar Seltmann, Vladimir Chechetkin, Alla Dolgopolova, Pamela M. Cossette, John C. Wallis
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5090-E
Mineral resource assessments represent a synthesis of available information to estimate the location, quality, and quantity of undiscovered mineral resources in the upper part of the Earth’s crust. This report presents a probabilistic mineral resource assessment of undiscovered sandstone copper deposits within the late Paleozoic Chu-Sarysu Basin in central Kazakhstan...
Preliminary assessment of channel stability and bed-material transport in the Tillamook Bay tributaries and Nehalem River basin, northwestern Oregon
Krista L. Jones, Mackenzie K. Keith, Jim E. O'Connor, Joseph F. Mangano, J. Rose Wallick
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1187
This report summarizes a preliminary study of bed-material transport, vertical and lateral channel changes, and existing datasets for the Tillamook (drainage area 156 square kilometers [km2]), Trask (451 km2), Wilson (500 km2), Kilchis (169 km2), Miami (94 km2), and Nehalem (2,207 km2) Rivers along the northwestern Oregon coast. This study,...
Mercury in waters, soils, and sediments of the New Jersey Coastal Plain: A comparison of regional distribution and mobility with the mercury contamination at the William J. Hughes Technical Center, Atlantic County, New Jersey
Julia L. Barringer, Zoltan Szabo, Pamela A. Reilly
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5115
Mercury in soils, surface water, and groundwater at the William J. Hughes Technical Center , Atlantic County, New Jersey, has been found at levels that exceed established background concentrations in Coastal Plain waters, and, in some cases, New Jersey State standards for mercury in various media. As of 2012, it...
Ecology for conserving our sirenians
Robert K. Bonde
2012, Ecology (93) 2127-2128
Review of: Ecology and conservation of the sirenia: dugongs and manatees. Helene Marsh, Thomas J. O'Shea and John E. Reynolds III. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2012, 521 pp, ISBN 978-0-521-88828-8, US$135 and 978-0-521-71643-7, US$65....
