Exploring VIIRS continuity with MODIS in an expedited capability for monitoring drought-related vegetation conditions
Trenton D Benedict, Jesslyn F. Brown, Stephen P. Boyte, Daniel Howard, Brian Fuchs, Brian D. Wardlow, Tsegaye Tadesse, Kirk Evenson
2021, Remote Sensing (13)
Vegetation has been effectively monitored using remote sensing time-series vegetation index (VI) data for several decades. Drought monitoring has been a common application with algorithms tuned to capturing anomalous temporal and spatial vegetation patterns. Drought stress models, such as the Vegetation Drought Response Index (VegDRI), often use VIs like the...
Assessment of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) diet using DNA metabarcoding of feces
Nicholas S. Johnson, Sean A. Lewandoski, Christopher M. Merkes
2021, Ecological Indicators (125)
Sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) are invasive in the Laurentian Great Lakes, parasitize large-bodied fishes, and therefore are the focus of an international control program. However, damage caused by sea lamprey to modern day fish stocks remains uncertain because diet analysis of juvenile sea lamprey has been challenging; they feed on...
Geological constraints on the mechanisms of slow earthquakes
James D. Kirkpatrick, Ake Fagereng, David R. Shelly
2021, Nature Reviews Earth and Environment (2) 285-301
The recognition of slow earthquakes in geodetic and seismological data has transformed the understanding of how plate motions are accommodated at major plate boundaries. Slow earthquakes, which slip more slowly than regular earthquakes but faster than plate motion velocities, occur in a range of tectonic and metamorphic settings. They exhibit...
Genetic structure of Maryland Brook Trout populations: Management implications for a threatened species
Raymond P. Morgan II, David C. Kazyak, Tim L. King, Barbara A. Lubinski, Matthew T. Sell, Alan A Heft, Jess W Jones
2021, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (41) 1097-1119
Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis have declined across their native range due to multiple anthropogenic factors, including landscape alteration and climate change. Although coldwater streams in Maryland (eastern United States) historically supported significant Brook Trout populations, only fragmented remnant populations remain, with the exception of the upper Savage River...
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus)
Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Barry D. Parkin, Betty R. Euliss
2021, Professional Paper 1842-DD
Keys to Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus) management include providing open grasslands with sparse-to-moderate herbaceous and litter cover and a woody component and allowing occasional burning or moderate grazing. Lark Sparrows have been reported to use habitats with 10–63 centimeters (cm) average vegetation height, 10–54 percent grass cover, 9–25 percent forb...
Evaluating low flow patterns, drivers and trends in the Delaware River Basin
John C. Hammond, Brandon J. Fleming
2021, Journal of Hydrology (598)
In the humid, temperate Delaware River Basin (DRB) where water availability is generally reliable, summer low flows can cause competition between various human and ecological water uses. As temperatures continue to rise, population increases and development expands, it is critical to...
Earthquake magnitudes from dynamic strain
Andrew J. Barbour, John O. Langbein, Noha Sameh Ahmed Farghal
2021, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (111) 1325-1346
Dynamic strains have never played a role in determining local earthquake magnitudes, which are routinely set by displacement waveforms from seismic instrumentation (e.g., ML). We present a magnitude scale for local earthquakes based on broadband dynamic strain waveforms. This scale is derived from the peak...
Natural and anthropogenic geochemical tracers to investigate residence times and groundwater–surface-water interactions in an urban alluvial aquifer
Connor P. Newman, Suzanne S. Paschke, Gabrielle L. Keith
2021, Water (13)
A multi-component geochemical dataset was collected from groundwater and surface-water bodies associated with the urban Fountain Creek alluvial aquifer, Colorado, USA, to facilitate analysis of recharge sources, geochemical interactions, and groundwater-residence times. Results indicate that groundwater can be separated into three distinct geochemical zones based on location within the flow...
Assessment of a claimed ultra-low frequency electromagnetic (ULFEM) earthquake precursor
Can Wang, Lilianna Christman, Simon Klemperer, Jonathan M.G. Glen, Darcy McPhee, Chen Bin
2021, Geophysical Journal International (229) 2081-2095
The rate of occurrence of anomalous ultra-low frequency electromagnetic (ULFEM) pulses has been claimed to have increased days to weeks prior to the M5.4 2007 and M4.0 2010 Alum Rock earthquakes. We re-examine the previously reported ultra-low frequency (ULF: 0.01–10 Hz) magnetic data recorded at a QuakeFinder site located 9 km...
Measuring and interpreting multilayer aquifer-system compactions for a sustainable groundwater-system development
Wei-Chia Hung, Cheinway Hwang, Michelle Sneed, Yi-An Chen, Chi-Hua Chu, Shao-Hung Lin
2021, Water Resources Research (57)
Ever decreasing water resources and climate change have driven the increasing use of groundwater causing land subsidence in many countries. Geodetic sensors such as InSAR, GPS and leveling can detect surface deformation but cannot measure subsurface deformation. A single‐well, single‐depth extensometer can be used to measure subsurface deformation, but it...
Earth Resources Observation and Science Center hosting services
U.S. Geological Survey
2021, Fact Sheet 2021-3018
The Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center has a long history of leveraging technology in support of Earth science and business applications including data management, processing, and virtualization and complex solutions to visualize and distribute data. It is the aim of EROS to offer operational excellence and service as...
The basin characterization model—A regional water balance software package
Lorraine E. Flint, Alan L. Flint, Michelle A. Stern
2021, Techniques and Methods 6-H1
This report documents the computer software package, Basin Characterization Model, version 8 (BCMv8)—a monthly, gridded, regional water-balance model—and provides detailed operational instructions and example applications. After several years of many applications and uses of a previous version, CA-BCM, published in 2014, the BCMv8 was refined to improve the accuracy of...
Distribution, abundance, and genomic diversity of the endangered antioch dunes evening primrose (Oenothera deltoides subsp. howellii) surveyed in 2019
Karen M. Thorne, Amy G. Vandergast, editor(s)
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1017
Sand dune ecosystems are highly dynamic landforms found along coastlines and riverine deltas where a supply of sand-sized material is available to be delivered by aquatic and wind environments. These unique ecosystems provide habitat for a variety of endemic and rare plant and animal species. Sand dunes have been affected...
Ashmole's hypothesis and the latitudinal gradient in clutch size
Carl G. Lundblad, Courtney J. Conway
2021, Biological Reviews (96) 1349-1366
One enduring priority for ecologists has been to understand the cause(s) of variation in reproductive effort among species and localities. Avian clutch size generally increases with increasing latitude, both within and across species, but the mechanism(s) driving that pattern continue to generate hypotheses and debate. In 1961, a Ph.D. student...
Mapping climate change vulnerability of aquatic-riparian ecosystems using decision-relevant indicators
John Delaney, Kristen L. Bouska, Josh D. Eash, Patricia J. Heglund, Andrew A Allstadt
2021, Ecological Indicators (125)
Climate change has and is projected to continue to alter historical regimes of temperature, precipitation, and hydrology. To assess the vulnerability of climate change from a land management perspective and spatially identify where the most extreme changes are anticipated to occur,...
Groundwater, surface-water, and water-chemistry data, Black Mesa area, northeastern Arizona—2016–2018
Jon P. Mason
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1124
The Navajo (N) aquifer is the primary source of groundwater in the 5,400-square-mile Black Mesa area in northeastern Arizona. Availability of water is an important issue in the Black Mesa area because of continued water requirements for industrial and municipal use by a growing population and because of its arid...
Synoptic analysis of a decade of daily measurements of SO2 emission in the troposphere from volcanoes of the global ground-based Network for Observation of Volcanic and Atmospheric Change
Santiago Arellano, Bo Galle, Fredy Apaza, Geoffroy Avard, Charlotte Barrington, Nicole Bobrowski, Claudia Bucarey, Viviana Burbano, Mike Burton, Zoraida Chacon, Gustavo Chigna, Christian Joseph Clarito, Vladimir Conde, Fidel Costa, Maarten de Moor, Hugo Delgado-Granados, Andrea Di Muro, D. Fernandez, Gustavo Garzon, Hendra Gunawan, Nia Haerani, Thor Hansteen, Silvana Hidalgo, Salvatore Inguaggiato, Mattias Johansson, Christoph Kern, Manne Kihlman, Philippe Kowalski, Pablo Masias, Francisco Montalvo, Joakim Moller, Ulrich Platt, Claudia Rivera, Armando Saballos, Giuseppe Salerno, Benoit Taisne, Freddy Vasconez, Gabriela Velazquez, Fabio Vita, Mathieu M. Yalire
2021, Earth System Science Data (13) 1167-1188
Volcanic plumes are common and far-reaching manifestations of volcanic activity during and between eruptions. Observations of the rate of emission and composition of volcanic plumes are essential to recognize and, in some cases, predict the state of volcanic activity. Measurements of the size and location of the plumes are...
Macrogenetic studies must not ignore limitations of genetic markers and scale
Ivan Paz-Vinas, Evelyn L. Jensen, Laura D. Bertola, Martin F. Breed, Brian K. Hand, Margaret Hunter, Francine Kershaw, Deborah M. Leigh, Gordon Luikart, Joachim Mergeay, Joshua M. Miller, Charles B. van Rees, Gernot Segelbacher, Sean M. Hoban
2021, Ecology Letters (24) 1282-1284
Millette et al. (Ecology Letters, 2020, 23:55–67) reported no consistent worldwide anthropogenic effects on animal genetic diversity using repurposed mitochondrial DNA sequences. We reexamine data from this study, describe genetic marker and scale limitations which might lead to misinterpretations with conservation implications, and provide advice to improve...
Scalability and performance tradeoffs in quantifying relationships between elevation and tidal wetland plant communities
James R. Holmquist, Lisa Schile-Beers, Kevin Buffington, Meng Lu, Thomas J Mozdzer, Jefferson Riera, Donald E. Weller, Meghan Williams, J Patrick Megonigal
2021, Marine Progress Series (666) 57-72
Elevation is a major driver of plant ecology and sediment dynamics in tidal wetlands, so accurate and precise spatial data are essential for assessing wetland vulnerability to sea-level rise and making forecasts. We performed survey-grade elevation and vegetation surveys of the Global Change Research Wetland, a brackish microtidal wetland...
A roadmap for sampling and scaling biological nitrogen fixation in terrestrial ecosystems
Fiona M. Soper, Benton Taylor, Joy Winbourne, Michelle Wong, Katherine A Dynarski, Carla R. G. Reis, Mark Peoples, Cory Cleveland, Sasha C. Reed, Duncan Menge, Steven Perakis
2021, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (12) 1122-1137
Accurately quantifying rates and patterns of biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) in terrestrial ecosystems is essential to characterize ecological and biogeochemical interactions, identify mechanistic controls, improve BNF representation in conceptual and numerical modelling, and forecast nitrogen limitation constraints on future carbon (C) cycling.While many resources address the technical advantages and...
Fire frequency impacts soil properties and processes in sagebrush steppe ecosystems of the Columbia Basin
Leslie Nichols, Douglas J. Shinneman, Susan McIlroy, Marie-Anne de Graaff
2021, Applied Soil Ecology (165)
Increased fire frequency in semi-arid ecosystems can alter biochemical soil properties and soil processes that underpin ecosystem structure and functioning, thus threatening native plant communities and the species that rely on them. However, there is much uncertainty about the magnitude of change as soils are exposed to more fires, because...
SFRmaker and Linesink-Maker: Rapid construction of streamflow routing networks from hydrography data
Andrew T. Leaf, Michael N. Fienen, Howard W. Reeves
2021, Groundwater (59) 761-771
Groundwater models have evolved to encompass more aspects of the water cycle, but the incorporation of realistic boundary conditions representing surface water remains time-consuming and error-prone. We present two Python packages that robustly automate this process using readily available hydrography data as the primary input. SFRmaker...
Progress towards integrating an understanding of chemical ecology into sea lamprey control
Skye D. Fissette, Tyler John Buchinger, C. Michael Wagner, Nicholas S. Johnson, Anne M Scott, Weiming Li
2021, Journal of Great Lakes Research (47) S660-S672
The sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus, is a destructive invader in the Laurentian Great Lakes that relies on several complex chemical cues to complete their life cycle. The central roles of chemical cues in sea lamprey reproduction provide opportunities to leverage knowledge of sea lamprey chemical ecology when developing alternative or supplemental strategies for...
Coflowering invasive plants and a congener have neutral effects on fitness components of a rare endemic plant
Diane L. Larson, Jennifer L Larson, Amy Symstad, Deborah A. Buhl, Zachary M. Portman
2021, Ecology and Evolution (11) 4750-4762
Network analyses rarely include fitness components, such as germination, to tie invasive plants to population-level effects on the natives. We address this limitation in a previously studied network of flower visitors around a suite of native and invasive plants that includes an endemic plant at Badlands...
Post-fire management targeting invasive annual grasses may have inadvertently released the exotic perennial forb Chondrilla juncea and suppressed its biocontrol agent
Brynne E. Lazarus, Matthew J. Germino
2021, Biological Invasions (23) 1915-1932
Top-down and bottom-up factors affecting invasive populations are rarely considered simultaneously, yet their interactive responses to disturbances and management interventions can be essential to understanding invasion patterns. We evaluated post-fire responses of the exotic perennial forb Chondrilla juncea (rush skeletonweed) and its biocontrol agents to landscape factors and a post-fire combined herbicide...
