Employing lidar to detail vegetation canopy architecture for prediction of aeolian transport
Joel B. Sankey, Darin J. Law, David D. Breshears, Seth M. Munson, Robert H. Webb
2013, Geophysical Research Letters (40) 1724-1728
The diverse and fundamental effects that aeolian processes have on the biosphere and geosphere are commonly generated by horizontal sediment transport at the land surface. However, predicting horizontal sediment transport depends on vegetation architecture, which is difficult to quantify in a rapid but accurate manner. We demonstrate an approach to...
Evidence of songbird intoxication from Rozol application at a black-tailed prairie dog colony
Nimish B. Vyas, Craig S. Hulse, Carol U. Meteyer, Clifford P. Rice
2013, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (4) 97-103
Concerns about avian poisonings from anticoagulant rodenticides have traditionally focused on secondary poisoning of raptors exposed by feeding on contaminated mammalian prey. However, ground foraging songbirds can be directly poisoned from operational applications of the anticoagulant rodenticide Rozol® (0.005% chlorophacinone, active ingredient) applied as a...
Demography and movement patterns of leopard sharks (Triakis semifasciata) aggregating near the head of a submarine canyon along the open coast of southern California, USA
D.C. Nosal, D.C. Cartamil, J.W. Long, M. Luhrmann, N.C. Wegner, J.B. Graham
2013, Environmental Biology of Fishes (96) 865-878
The demography, spatial distribution, and movement patterns of leopard sharks (Triakis semifasciata) aggregating near the head of a submarine canyon in La Jolla, California, USA, were investigated to resolve the causal explanations for this and similar shark aggregations. All sharks sampled from the aggregation site (n=140) were sexually mature and...
Greater sage-grouse winter habitat use on the eastern edge of their range
Christopher C. Swanson, Mark A. Rumble, Troy W. Grovenburg, Nicholas W. Kaczor, Robert W. Klaver, Katie M. Herman-Brunson, Jonathan A. Jenks, Kent C. Jensen
2013, Journal of Wildlife Management (77) 486-494
Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) at the western edge of the Dakotas occur in the transition zone between sagebrush and grassland communities. These mixed sagebrush (Artemisia sp.) and grasslands differ from those habitats that comprise the central portions of the sage-grouse range; yet, no information is available on winter habitat selection...
The geologic records of dust in the Quaternary
Daniel R. Muhs
2013, Aeolian Research (9) 3-48
Study of geologic records of dust composition, sources and deposition rates is important for understanding the role of dust in the overall planetary radiation balance, fertilization of organisms in the world’s oceans, nutrient additions to the terrestrial biosphere and soils, and for paleoclimatic reconstructions. Both glacial and non-glacial processes produce...
Hydrogeomorphology explains acidification-driven variation in aquatic biological communities in the Neversink Basin, USA
Adrian A. Harpold, Douglas A. Burns, M. Walter, Tammo S. Steenhuis
2013, Ecological Applications (23) 791-800
Describing the distribution of aquatic habitats and the health of biological communities can be costly and time-consuming; therefore, simple, inexpensive methods to scale observations of aquatic biota to watersheds that lack data would be useful. In this study, we explored the potential of a simple “hydrogeomorphic” model to predict the...
Reevaluation of lake trout and lake whitefish bioenergetics models
Charles P. Madenjian, Steve A. Pothoven, Yu-Chun Kao
2013, Journal of Great Lakes Research (39) 358-364
Using a corrected algorithm for balancing the energy budget, we reevaluated the Wisconsin bioenergetics model for lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in the laboratory and for lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) in the laboratory and in the field. For lake trout, results showed that the bioenergetics model slightly overestimated food consumption by...
Tracing groundwater with low-level detections of halogenated VOCs in a fractured carbonate-rock aquifer, Leetown Science Center, West Virginia, USA
Niel Plummer, Philip L. Sibrell, Gerolamo C. Casile, Eurybiades Busenberg, Andrew G. Hunt, Peter Schlosser
2013, Applied Geochemistry (33) 260-280
Measurements of low-level concentrations of halogenated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and estimates of groundwater age interpreted from 3H/3He and SF6 data have led to an improved understanding of groundwater flow, water sources, and transit times in a karstic, fractured, carbonate-rock aquifer at the Leetown Science Center (LSC), West Virginia. The...
Assessing impacts of roads: application of a standard assessment protocol
Michael C. Duniway, Jeffrey E. Herrick
2013, Rangeland Ecology and Management (66) 364-375
Adaptive management of road networks depends on timely data that accurately reflect the impacts those systems are having on ecosystem processes and associated services. In the absence of reliable data, land managers are left with little more than observations and perceptions to support management decisions of road-associated disturbances. Roads can...
Prioritization of constituents for national- and regional-scale ambient monitoring of water and sediment in the United States
Lisa D. Olsen, Joshua F. Valder, Janet M. Carter, John S. Zogorski
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5218
A total of 2,541 constituents were evaluated and prioritized for national- and regional-scale ambient monitoring of water and sediment in the United States. This prioritization was done by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in preparation for the upcoming third decade (Cycle 3; 2013–23) of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program....
Whole rock geochemistry and grain-size analyses from sediment and rock near Tuba City Open Dump, Tuba City, Arizona
Raymond H. Johnson, Valerie K. Stucker, Robert Horton, James K. Otton
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1118
This report releases new information on grain-size distribution and whole rock geochemistry from samples collected in 2008 in and around Tuba City Open Dump, Tuba City, Arizona....
Microbial production of natural gas from coal and organic-rich shale
William Orem
2013, Fact Sheet 2012-3109
Natural gas is an important component of the energy mix in the United States, producing greater energy yield per unit weight and less pollution compared to coal and oil. Most of the world’s natural gas resource is thermogenic, produced in the geologic environment over time by high temperature and pressure...
High-resolution satellite and airborne thermal infrared imaging of precursory unrest and 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska
Rick L. Wessels, R. Greg Vaughan, Matthew R. Patrick, Michelle L. Coombs
2013, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (259) 248-269
A combination of satellite and airborne high-resolution visible and thermal infrared (TIR) image data detected and measured changes at Redoubt Volcano during the 2008–2009 unrest and eruption. The TIR sensors detected persistent elevated temperatures at summit ice-melt holes as seismicity and gas emissions increased in late 2008 to March 2009....
Ground motions recorded in Rome during the April 2009 L’Aquila seismic sequence: site response and comparison with ground‐motion predictions based on a global dataset
Arrigo Caserta, David Boore, Antonio Rovelli, Aladino Govoni, Fabrizio Marra, Gieseppe Della Monica, Enzo Boschi
2013, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (103) 1860-1874
The mainshock and moderate‐magnitude aftershocks of the 6 April 2009 M 6.3 L’Aquila seismic sequence, about 90 km northeast of Rome, provided the first earthquake ground‐motion recordings in the urban area of Rome. Before those recordings were obtained, the assessments of the seismic hazard in Rome were based on intensity observations and theoretical...
Desert fires fueled by native annual forbs: effects of fire on communities of plants and birds in the lower Sonoran Desert of Arizona
Todd C. Esque, Robert H. Webb, Cynthia S.A. Wallace, Charles van Riper III, Chris McCreedy, Lindsay A. Smythe
2013, Southwestern Naturalist (58) 223-233
In 2005, fire ignited by humans swept from Yuma Proving Grounds into Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona, burning ca. 9,255 ha of Wilderness Area. Fuels were predominantly the native forb Plantago ovata. Large fires at low elevations were rare in the 19th and 20th centuries, and fires fueled by native vegetation...
Gradients of microhabitat and crappie (Pomoxis spp.) distributions in reservoir coves
Levi J. Kaczka, Leandro E. Miranda
2013, Journal of Freshwater Ecology (28) 561-572
Embayments are among the most widespread littoral habitats found in Mississippi flood-control reservoirs. These macrohabitats represent commonly used nursery zones for age-0 crappies, Pomoxis spp., despite barren and eroded shorelines formed over 60–70 years of annual water level fluctuations. We tested if embayments displayed microhabitat gradients linked to the effect of water level...
Quantifiable long-term monitoring on parks and nature preserves
Scott Beck, Christopher Moorman, Christopher S. DePerno, Theodore R. Simons
2013, Southeastern Naturalist (12) 339-352
Herpetofauna have declined globally, and monitoring is a useful approach to document local and long-term changes. However, monitoring efforts often fail to account for detectability or follow standardized protocols. We performed a case study at Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve in Cary, NC to model occupancy of focal species and demonstrate...
Evaluation of thermal antinociceptive effects after intramuscular administration of hydromorphone hydrochloride to American kestrels (Falco sparverius)
David Sanchez-Migallon Guzman, Tracy L. Drazenovich, Glenn H. Olsen, Neil H. Willits, Joanne R. Paul-Murphy
2013, American Journal of Veterinary Research (74) 817-822
Objective—To evaluate the antinociceptive and sedative effects and duration of action of hydromorphone hydrochloride after IM administration to American kestrels (Falco sparverius). Animals—11 healthy 2-year-old American kestrels. Procedures—Hydromorphone (0.1, 0.3, and 0.6 mg/kg) and an equivalent volume of saline (0.9% NaCl) solution (control treatment) were administered IM to kestrels in a...
Evaluation of Redoubt Volcano's sulfur dioxide emissions by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument
Taryn Lopez, Simon A. Carn, Cynthia A. Werner, David Fee, Peter J. Kelly, Michael P. Doukas, Melissa Pfeffer, Peter Webley, Catherine F. Cahill, David J. Schneider
2013, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (259) 290-307
The 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska, provided a rare opportunity to compare satellite measurements of sulfur dioxide (SO2) by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) with airborne SO2 measurements by the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO). Herein we: (1) compare OMI and airborne SO2 column density values for Redoubt's tropospheric plume, (2) calculate...
Controls on dissolved organic carbon quantity and chemical character in temperate rivers of North America
Kevin W. Hanley, Wilfred M. Wollheim, Joseph Salisbury, Thomas G. Huntington, George R. Aiken
2013, Global Biogeochemical Cycles (27) 492-504
Understanding the processes controlling the transfer and chemical composition of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in freshwater systems is crucial to understanding the carbon cycle and the effects of DOC on water quality. Previous studies have identified watershed-scale controls on bulk DOC flux and concentration among small basins but fewer studies...
Application of stable isotope ratio analysis for biodegradation monitoring in groundwater
Paul B. Hatzinger, J.K. Bohlke, Neil C. Sturchio
2013, Current Opinion in Biotechnology (24) 542-549
Stable isotope ratio analysis is increasingly being applied as a tool to detect, understand, and quantify biodegradation of organic and inorganic contaminants in groundwater. An important feature of this approach is that it allows degradative losses of contaminants to be distinguished from those caused by non-destructive processes such as dilution,...
Bokan Mountain peralkaline granitic complex, Alexander terrane (southeastern Alaska): evidence for Early Jurassic rifting prior to accretion with North America
Jaroslav Dostal, Susan M. Karl, J. Duncan Keppie, Daniel J. Kontak, J. Gregory Shellnutt
2013, Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (50) 678-691
The circular Bokan Mountain complex (BMC) on southern Prince of Wales Island, southernmost Alaska, is a Jurassic peralkaline granitic intrusion about 3 km in diameter that crosscuts igneous and metasedimentary rocks of the Alexander terrane. The BMC hosts significant rare metal (rare earth elements, Y, U, Th, Zr, and Nb)...
Inorganic carbon loading as a primary driver of dissolved carbon dioxide concentrations in the lakes and reservoirs of the contiguous United States
Cory P. McDonald, Edward G. Stets, Robert G. Striegl, David Butman
2013, Global Biogeochemical Cycles (27) 285-295
Accurate quantification of CO2 flux across the air-water interface and identification of the mechanisms driving CO2 concentrations in lakes and reservoirs is critical to integrating aquatic systems into large-scale carbon budgets, and to predicting the response of these systems to changes in climate or terrestrial carbon cycling. Large-scale estimates of the role...
Airborne filter pack measurements of S and Cl in the plume of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska February–May 2009
Melissa Pfeffer, Michael P. Doukas, Cynthia A. Werner, William C. Evans
2013, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (259) 285-289
Filter pack data from six airborne campaigns at Redoubt Volcano, Alaska are reported here. These measurements provide a rare constraint on Cl output from an andesitic eruption at high emission rate (> 104 t d− 1 SO2). Four S/Cl ratios measured during a period of lava dome growth indicate a depth of last magma...
Volcano–ice interactions precursory to the 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska
Heather A. Bleick, Michelle L. Coombs, Peter F. Cervelli, Katharine F. Bull, Rick Wessels
2013, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (259) 373-388
In late summer of 2008, after nearly 20 years of quiescence, Redoubt Volcano began to show signs of abnormal heat flow in its summit crater. In the months that followed, the excess heat triggered melting and ablation of Redoubt's glaciers, beginning at the summit and propagating to lower elevations as the...
