Experimental evaluation of four ground-motion scaling methods for dynamic response-history analysis of nonlinear structures
Andrew P. O’Donnell, Yahya C. Kurama, Erol Kalkan, Alexandros A. Taflanidis
2017, Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering (15) 1899-1924
This paper experimentally evaluates four methods to scale earthquake ground-motions within an ensemble of records to minimize the statistical dispersion and maximize the accuracy in the dynamic peak roof drift demand and peak inter-story drift demand estimates from response-history analyses of nonlinear building structures. The scaling methods that are investigated...
Landscape-scale quantification of fire-induced change in canopy cover following mountain pine beetle outbreak and timber harvest
T. Ryan McCarley, Crystal A. Kolden, Nicole M. Vaillant, Andrew T. Hudak, Alistair Smith, Jason R. Kreitler
2017, Forest Ecology and Management (391) 164-175
Across the western United States, the three primary drivers of tree mortality and carbon balance are bark beetles, timber harvest, and wildfire. While these agents of forest change frequently overlap, uncertainty remains regarding their interactions and influence on specific subsequent fire effects such as change in canopy cover. Acquisition of...
Guidelines for preparation of State water-use estimates for 2015
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1029
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has estimated the use of water in the United States at 5-year intervals since 1950. This report describes the water-use categories and data elements used for the national water-use compilation conducted as part of the USGS National Water-Use Science Project. The report identifies sources of...
Do we need demographic data to forecast plant population dynamics?
Andrew T. Tredennick, Mevin Hooten, Peter B. Adler
2017, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (8) 541-551
Rapid environmental change has generated growing interest in forecasts of future population trajectories. Traditional population models built with detailed demographic observations from one study site can address the impacts of environmental change at particular locations, but are difficult to scale up to the landscape and regional scales...
Divergence and gene flow in the globally distributed blue-winged ducks
Joel Nelson, Robert E. Wilson, Kevin G. McCracken, Graeme Cumming, Leo Joseph, Patrick-Jean Guay, Jeffrey Peters
2017, Journal of Avian Biology (48) 640-649
The ability to disperse over long distances can result in a high propensity for colonizing new geographic regions, including uninhabited continents, and lead to lineage diversification via allopatric speciation. However, high vagility can also result in gene flow between otherwise allopatric populations, and in some cases, parapatric or divergence-with-gene-flow models...
Low stress drops observed for aftershocks of the 2011 Mw 5.7 Prague, Oklahoma, earthquake
Danielle F. Sumy, Corrie J. Neighbors, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Katie M. Keranen
2017, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (122) 3813-3834
In November 2011, three Mw ≥ 4.8 earthquakes and thousands of aftershocks occurred along the structurally complex Wilzetta fault system near Prague, Oklahoma. Previous studies suggest that wastewater injection induced a Mw 4.8 foreshock, which subsequently triggered a Mw 5.7 mainshock. We examine source properties of aftershocks with a standard Brune-type spectral model and jointly solve for...
Temporal variability of foliar nutrients: responses to nitrogen deposition and prescribed fire in a temperate steppe
Xiao-Tao Lu, Sasha C. Reed, Shuang-Li Hou, Yan-Yu Hu, Hai-Wei Wei, Fu-Mei Lu, Qiang Cui, Xing Guo Han
2017, Biogeochemistry (133) 295-305
Plant nutrient concentrations and stoichiometry drive fundamental ecosystem processes, with important implications for primary production, diversity, and ecosystem sustainability. While a range of evidence exists regarding how plant nutrients vary across spatial scales, our understanding of their temporal variation remains less well understood. Nevertheless, we know nutrients regulate plant function...
Disturbance of a rare seabird by ship-based tourism in a marine protected area
Timothy K. Marcella, Scott M. Gende, Daniel D. Roby, Arthur Allignol
2017, PLoS ONE (12) 1-23
Managers of marine protected areas (MPAs) must often seek ways to allow for visitation while minimizing impacts to the resources they are intended to protect. Using shipboard observers, we quantified the “zone of disturbance” for Kittlitz’s and marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus brevirostris and B. marmoratus) exposed to large cruise ships...
Neutron scattering measurements of carbon dioxide adsorption in pores within the Marcellus Shale: Implications for sequestration
Konstantinos L. Stefanopoulos, Tristan G. A. Youngs, Richard Sakurovs, Leslie F. Ruppert, Jitendra Bahadur, Yuri B. Melnichenko
2017, Environmental Science & Technology (51) 6515-6521
Shale is an increasingly viable source of natural gas and a potential candidate for geologic CO2sequestration. Understanding the gas adsorption behavior on shale is necessary for the design of optimal gas recovery and sequestration projects. In the present study neutron diffraction and small-angle neutron scattering measurements of adsorbed CO2 in Marcellus...
Automatic mapping of the base of aquifer — A case study from Morrill, Nebraska
Mats Lundh Gulbrandsen, Lyndsay B. Ball, Burke J. Minsley, Thomas Mejer Hansen
2017, Interpretation (5) T231-T241
When a geologist sets up a geologic model, various types of disparate information may be available, such as exposures, boreholes, and (or) geophysical data. In recent years, the amount of geophysical data available has been increasing, a trend that is only expected to continue. It is nontrivial (and often, in...
PRISM Software: Processing and Review Interface for Strong‐Motion Data
Jeanne M. Jones, Erol Kalkan, Christopher D. Stephens, Peter Ng
2017, Seismological Research Letters (88) 851-866
A continually increasing number of high‐quality digital strong‐motion records from stations of the National Strong Motion Project (NSMP) of the U.S. Geological Survey, as well as data from regional seismic networks within the United States, calls for automated processing of strong‐motion records with human review limited to selected significant or...
A dynamic spatio-temporal model for spatial data
Trevor J. Hefley, Mevin Hooten, Ephraim M. Hanks, Robin Russell, Daniel P. Walsh
2017, Spatial Statistics (20) 206-220
Analyzing spatial data often requires modeling dependencies created by a dynamic spatio-temporal data generating process. In many applications, a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) is used with a random effect to account for spatial dependence and to provide optimal spatial predictions. Location-specific covariates are often included as fixed effects in...
The history of mercury pollution near the Spolana chlor-alkali plant (Neratovice, Czech Republic) as recorded by Scots pine tree rings and other bioindicators
Tomáš Navrátil, Martin Simecek, James B. Shanley, Jan Rohovec, Maria Hojdova, Jakub Houska
2017, Science of the Total Environment (586) 1192
We assessed > 100 years of mercury (Hg) pollution recorded in the tree rings of Scots Pine near a Czech chlor-alkali plant operating since 1941. Hg concentrations in tree rings increased with the launching of plant operations and decreased when Hg emissions decreased in 1975 due to an upgrade in production technology....
Matching watershed and otolith chemistry to establish natal origin of an endangered desert lake sucker
Deanna D. Strohm, Phaedra E. Budy, Todd A. Crowl
2017, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (146) 732-743
Stream habitat restoration and supplemental stocking of hatchery-reared fish have increasingly become key components of recovery plans for imperiled freshwater fish; however, determining when to discontinue stocking efforts, prioritizing restoration areas, and evaluating restoration success present a conservation challenge. In this study, we demonstrate that otolith microchemistry is an effective...
Fall and winter survival of brook trout and brown trout in a north-central Pennsylvania watershed
John A. Sweka, Lori A. Davis, Tyler Wagner
2017, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (146) 744-752
Stream-dwelling salmonids that spawn in the fall generally experience their lowest survival during the fall and winter due to behavioral changes associated with spawning and energetic deficiencies during this time of year. We used data from Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis and Brown Trout Salmo trutta implanted with radio transmitters in...
Effect of substrate size on sympatric sand darter benthic habitat preferences
Patricia A. Thompson, Stuart A. Welsh, Austin A. Rizzo, Dustin M. Smith
2017, Journal of Freshwater Ecology (32) 455-465
The western sand darter, Ammocrypta clara, and the eastern sand darter, A. pellucida, are sand-dwelling fishes that have undergone range-wide population declines, presumably owing to habitat loss. Habitat use studies have been conducted for the eastern sand darter, but literature on the western sand darter remains sparse. To evaluate substrate...
Global Positioning System data collection, processing, and analysis conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program
Jessica R. Murray, Jerry L. Svarc
2017, Seismological Research Letters (88) 916-925
The U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Science Center collects and processes Global Positioning System (GPS) data throughout the western United States to measure crustal deformation related to earthquakes and tectonic processes as part of a long‐term program of research and monitoring. Here, we outline data collection procedures and present the GPS...
Cascadia subduction tremor muted by crustal faults
Ray E. Wells, Richard J. Blakely, Aaron G. Wech, Patricia A. McCrory, Andrew Michael
2017, Geology (45) 515-518
Deep, episodic slow slip on the Cascadia subduction megathrust of western North America is accompanied by low-frequency tremor in a zone of high fluid pressure between 30 and 40 km depth. Tremor density (tremor epicenters per square kilometer) varies along strike, and lower tremor density statistically correlates with upper plate...
Reconstructing a herbivore’s diet using a novel rbcL DNA mini-barcode for plants
David L. Erickson, Elizabeth Reed, Padmini Ramachandran, Norman Bourg, William J. McShea, Andrea Ottesen
2017, AoB PLANTS (9) 1-17
Next Generation Sequencing and the application of metagenomic analyses can be used to answer questions about animal diet choice and study the consequences of selective foraging by herbivores. The quantification of herbivore diet choice with respect to native versus exotic plant species is particularly relevant given concerns of invasive species...
Advancing coastal ocean modelling, analysis, and prediction for the US Integrated Ocean Observing System
John L. Wilkin, Leslie Rosenfeld, Arthur Allen, Rebecca Baltes, Antonio Baptista, Ruoying He, Patrick Hogan, Alexander Kurapov, Avichal Mehra, Josie Quintrell, David Schwab, Richard P. Signell, Jane Smith
2017, Journal of Operational Oceanography (10) 115-126
This paper outlines strategies that would advance coastal ocean modelling, analysis and prediction as a complement to the observing and data management activities of the coastal components of the US Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®) and the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). The views presented are the consensus of a...
Freshwater mussels (Unionidae): Central and West Texas Final Report
Charles R. Randklev, Nathan Johnson, T. J. Miller, J.M. Morton, J. Dudding, K. Skow, B. Boseman, M. Hart, E.T. Tsakiris, K. Inoue, R.R. Lopez
2017, Report, Texas A&M Institute of Renewable Natural Resources
The goal of this study was two-fold: (1) assess the taxonomic identity and phylogenetic placement of Quadrula aurea (Golden Orb) [Federal Candidate], Quadrula houstonensis (Smooth Pimpleback) [Federal Candidate], and Quadrula petrina (Texas Pimpleback) [Federal Candidate] through mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequencing; and (2) provided additional information on the distribution and abundance for mussel species...
Comparative precision of age estimates from two southern reservoir populations of paddlefish [Polyodon spathula (Walbaum, 1792)]
James M. Long, Ashley Nealis
2017, Journal of Applied Ichthyology (33) 819-820
The aim of the study was to determine whether location and sex affected the age precision estimates between two southern, reservoir populations of paddlefish [Polyodon spathula (Walbaum, 1792)]. From 589 paddlefish collected in Grand Lake and Keystone Lake, Oklahoma in 2011, ages from dentaries were estimated using three independent readers and...
Different historical fire–climate patterns in California
Jon E. Keeley, Alexandra D. Syphard
2017, International Journal of Wildland Fire (26) 253-268
The relationship between annual variation in area burned and seasonal temperatures and precipitation was investigated for the major climate divisions in California. Historical analyses showed marked differences in fires on montane and foothill landscapes. Based on roughly a century of data, there are five important lessons on fire–climate relationships in...
Ecological regime shift drives declining growth rates of sea turtles throughout the West Atlantic
Karen A. Bjorndal, Alan B. Bolten, Milani Chaloupka, Vincent S. Saba, Claudio Bellini, Maria A.G. Marcovaldi, Armando J.B. Santos, Luis Felipe Wurdig Bortolon, Anne B. Meylan, Peter A. Meylan, Jennifer Gray, Robert Hardy, Beth Brost, Michael Bresette, Jonathan C. Gorham, Stephen Connett, Barbara Van Sciver Crouchley, Mike Dawson, Deborah Hayes, Carlos E. Diez, Robert P. van Dam, Sue Willis, Mabel Nava, Kristen M. Hart, Michael S. Cherkiss, Andrew Crowder, Clayton Pollock, Zandy Hillis-Starr, Fernando A. Munoz Teneria, Roberto Herrera-Pavon, Vanessa Labrada-Martagon, Armando Lorences, Ana Negrete-Philippe, Margaret M. Lamont, Allen M. Foley, Rhonda Bailey, Raymond R. Carthy, Russell Scarpino, Erin McMichael, Jane A. Provancha, Annabelle Brooks, Adriana Jardim, Milagros Lopez-Mendilaharsu, Daniel Gonzalez-Paredes, Andres Estrades, Alejandro Fallabrino, Gustavo Martinez-Souza, Gabriela M. Velez-Rubio, Ralf H. Boulon Jr., Jaime Collazo, Robert Wershoven, Vicente Guzman Hernandez, Thomas B. Stringell, Amdeep Sanghera, Peter B. Richardson, Annette C. Broderick, Quinton Phillips, Marta C. Calosso, John A.B. Claydon, Tasha L. Metz, Amanda L. Gordon, Andre M. Landry Jr., Donna J. Shaver, Janice Blumenthal, Lucy Collyer, Brendan J. Godley, Andrew McGowan, Matthew J. Witt, Cathi L. Campbell, Cynthia J. Lagueux, Thomas L. Bethel, Lory Kenyon
2017, Global Change Biology (23) 4556-4568
Somatic growth is an integrated, individual-based response to environmental conditions, especially in ectotherms. Growth dynamics of large, mobile animals are particularly useful as bio-indicators of environmental change at regional scales. We assembled growth rate data from throughout the West Atlantic for green turtles, Chelonia mydas, which are long-lived, highly migratory,...
High sensitivity of gross primary production in the Rocky Mountains to summer rain
M. Berkelhammer, I.C. Stefanescu, J. Joiner, Lesleigh Anderson
2017, Geophysical Research Letters (44) 3643-3652
In the catchments of the Rocky Mountains, peak snowpack is declining in response to warmer spring temperatures. To understand how this will influence terrestrial gross primary production (GPP), we compared precipitation data across the intermountain west with satellite retrievals of solar-induced fluorescence (SIF), a proxy for GPP. Annual precipitation patterns...
