An 1800-yr record of decadal-scale hydroclimatic variability in the upper Arkansas River basin from bristlecone pine
C.A. Woodhouse, G.T. Pederson, S.T. Gray
2011, Quaternary Research (75) 483-490
Bristlecone pine trees are exceptionally long-lived, and with the incorporation of remnant material have been used to construct multi-millennial length ring-width chronologies. These chronologies can provide valuable information about past temperature and moisture variability. In this study, we outline a method to build a moisture-sensitive bristlecone chronology and assess the...
GSD-1G and MPI-DING Reference Glasses for In Situ and Bulk Isotopic Determination
K.P. Jochum, S. A. Wilson, W. Abouchami, M. Amini, J. Chmeleff, A. Eisenhauer, E. Hegner, L.M. Iaccheri, B. Kieffer, J. Krause, W.F. McDonough, R. Mertz-Kraus, I. Raczek, R.L. Rudnick, Donna K. Scholz, G. Steinhoefel, B. Stoll, A. Stracke, S. Tonarini, D. Weis, U. Weis, J.D. Woodhead
2011, Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research (35) 193-226
This paper contains the results of an extensive isotopic study of United States Geological Survey GSD-1G and MPI-DING reference glasses. Thirteen different laboratories were involved using high-precision bulk (TIMS, MC-ICP-MS) and microanalytical (LA-MC-ICP-MS, LA-ICP-MS) techniques. Detailed studies were performed to demonstrate the large-scale and small-scale homogeneity of the reference glasses....
Diel cycles in dissolved barium, lead, iron, vanadium, and nitrite in a stream draining a former zinc smelter site near Hegeler, Illinois
Robert T. Kay, G.E. Groschen, G. Cygan, David H. Dupre
2011, Chemical Geology (283) 99-108
Diel variations in the concentrations of a number of constituents have the potential to substantially affect the appropriate sampling regimen in acidic streams. Samples taken once during the course of the day cannot adequately reflect diel variations in water quality and may result in an inaccurate understanding of biogeochemical...
Dual-track CCS stakeholder engagement: Lessons learned from FutureGen in Illinois
G. Hund, S.E. Greenberg
2011, Energy Procedia (4) 6218-6225
FutureGen, as originally planned, was to be the world’s first coal-fueled, near-zero emissions power plant with fully integrated, 90% carbon capture and storage (CCS). From conception through siting and design, it enjoyed strong support from multiple stakeholder groups, which benefited the overall project. Understanding the stakeholder engagement process for this...
Mineral resource of the month: garnet
Donald W. Olson
2011, Earth (56) 29-29
Garnet, the birthstone for the month of January, has been used as a gemstone for centuries. Garnet necklaces dating from the Bronze Age have been found in graves, and garnet is found among the ornaments adorning the oldest Egyptian mummies. However, garnet’s characteristics, such as its relatively high hardness and...
Widespread seismicity excitation throughout central Japan following the 2011 M=9.0 Tohoku earthquake and its interpretation by Coulomb stress transfer
S. Toda, R.S. Stein, J. Lin
2011, Geophysical Research Letters (38)
We report on a broad and unprecedented increase in seismicity rate following the M=9.0 Tohoku mainshock for M ≥ 2 earthquakes over inland Japan, parts of the Japan Sea and Izu islands, at distances of up to 425 km from the locus of high (≥15 m) seismic slip on the...
Estimation of suspended-sediment concentration from total suspended solids and turbidity data for Kentucky, 1978-1995
Tanja N. Williamson, Charles G. Crawford
2011, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (47) 739-749
Suspended sediment is a constituent of water quality that is monitored because of concerns about accelerated erosion, nonpoint contamination of water resources, and degradation of aquatic environments. In order to quantify the relationship among different sediment parameters for Kentucky streams, long‐term records were obtained from the National Water Information System...
Scale-dependent factors affecting North American river otter distribution in the midwest
Mackenzie R. Jeffress, Craig P. Paukert, Joanna B. Whittier, B. K. Sandercock, P. S. Gipson
2011, American Midland Naturalist (166) 177-193
The North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) is recovering from near extirpation throughout much of its range. Although reintroductions, trapping regulations and habitat improvements have led to the reestablishment of river otters in the Midwest, little is known about how their distribution is influenced by local- and landscape-scale habitat....
Abstracts presented at the 24th PACLIM Conference, Pacific Grove, California, USA, 19-22 April, 2009
S. W. Starratt
2011, Quaternary International (235) 108-127
[No abstract available]...
Sequence stratigraphy and a revised sea-level curve for the Middle Devonian of eastern North America
Carlton E. Brett, G.C. Baird, A.J. Bartholomew, M.K. DeSantis, C. A. Ver Straeten
2011, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (304) 21-53
The well-exposed Middle Devonian rocks of the Appalachian foreland basin (Onondaga Formation; Hamilton Group, Tully Formation, and the Genesee Group of New York State) preserve one of the most detailed records of high-order sea-level oscillation cycles for this time period in the world. Detailed examination of coeval units in distal...
Segregating gas from melt: an experimental study of the Ostwald ripening of vapor bubbles in magmas
Nicole C. Lautze, Thomas W. Sisson, Margaret T. Mangan, Timothy L. Grove
2011, Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology (161) 331-347
Diffusive coarsening (Ostwald ripening) of H2O and H2O-CO2 bubbles in rhyolite and basaltic andesite melts was studied with elevated temperature–pressure experiments to investigate the rates and time spans over which vapor bubbles may enlarge and attain sufficient buoyancy to segregate in magmatic systems. Bubble growth and segregation are also considered...
Response of algal metrics to nutrients and physical factors and identification of nutrient thresholds in agricultural streams
Robert W. Black, Patrick W. Moran, Jill D. Frankforter
2011, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (175) 397-417
Many streams within the United States are impaired due to nutrient enrichment, particularly in agricultural settings. The present study examines the response of benthic algal communities in agricultural and minimally disturbed sites from across the western United States to a suite of environmental factors, including nutrients, collected at multiple scales....
Seismically observed seiching in the Panama Canal
D.E. McNamara, A. T. Ringler, C. R. Hutt, L.S. Gee
2011, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (116)
A large portion of the seismic noise spectrum is dominated by water wave energy coupled into the solid Earth. Distinct mechanisms of water wave induced ground motions are distinguished by their spectral content. For example, cultural noise is generally <1 s period, microseisms dominate the seismic spectrum from periods of...
Islands at bay: Rising seas, eroding islands, and waterbird habitat loss in Chesapeake Bay (USA)
R. Michael Erwin, D.F. Brinker, B.D. Watts, G.R. Costanzo, D.D. Morton
2011, Journal of Coastal Conservation (15) 51-60
Like many resources in the Chesapeake Bay region of the U.S., many waterbird nesting populations have suffered over the past three to four decades. In this study, historic information for the entire Bay and recent results from the Tangier Sound region were evaluated to illustrate patterns of island erosion and...
Fish as major carbonate mud producers and missing components of the tropical carbonate factory
C.T. Perry, M.A. Salter, A.R. Harborne, S.F. Crowley, Howard L. Jelks, R.W. Wilson
2011, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (108) 3865-3869
Carbonate mud is a major constituent of recent marine carbonate sediments and of ancient limestones, which contain unique records of changes in ocean chemistry and climate shifts in the geological past. However, the origin of carbonate mud is controversial and often problematic to resolve. Here we show that tropical marine...
210Po in Nevada groundwater and its relation to gross alpha radioactivity
R. L. Seiler
2011, Ground Water (49) 160-171
Polonium-210 (210Po) is a highly toxic alpha emitter that is rarely found in groundwater at activities exceeding 1 pCi/L. 210Po activities in 63 domestic and public-supply wells in Lahontan Valley in Churchill County in northern Nevada, United States, ranged from 0.01 ± 0.005 to 178 ± 16 pCi/L with a...
Evaluating impacts of subdivision density on shallow groundwater in Southeastern Wisconsin, USA
T.W. Rayne, K. R. Bradbury
2011, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management (54) 559-575
Using simple numerical groundwater flow models, we tested the impacts of suburban developments on groundwater levels and discharge to streams. We used lot sizes of 1, 3 and 5 acres (4000, 12,000 and 20,000 m2) with one domestic well per lot that pumped water from shallow aquifers. Our modelling showed that...
Soil clay content underlies prion infection odds
W. David Walter, D.P. Walsh, Matthew L. Farnsworth, Dana L. Winkelman, M.W. Miller
2011, Nature Communications (2)
Environmental factors—especially soil properties—have been suggested as potentially important in the transmission of infectious prion diseases. Because binding to montmorillonite (an aluminosilicate clay mineral) or clay-enriched soils had been shown to enhance experimental prion transmissibility, we hypothesized that prion transmission among mule deer might also be enhanced in ranges with...
Food availability is expressed through physiological stress indicators in nestling white ibis: A food supplementation experiment
Garth Herring, Mark I. Cook, D.E. Gawlik, Erynn M. Call
2011, Functional Ecology (25) 682-690
1.Physiological responses to environmental stress such as adrenocortical hormones and cellular stress proteins have recently emerged as potentially powerful tools for investigating physiological effects of avian food limitation. However, little is known about the physiological stress responses of free‐living nestling birds to environmental variation in food availability.2. We experimentally tested how...
Hydrological mobilization of mercury and dissolved organic carbon in a snow-dominated, forested watershed: Conceptualization and modeling
J. Schelker, Douglas A. Burns, M. Weiler, H. Laudon
2011, Journal of Geophysical Research G: Biogeosciences (116)
The mobilization of mercury and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) during snowmelt often accounts for a major fraction of the annual loads. We studied the role of hydrological connectivity of riparian wetlands and upland/wetland transition zones to surface waters on the mobilization of Hg and DOC in Fishing Brook, a headwater...
Evidence of volcanic and glacial activity in Chryse and Acidalia Planitiae, Mars
Sara Martinez-Alonso, Michael T. Mellon, Maria E. Banks, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Alfred S. McEwen
2011, Icarus (212) 597-621
Chryse and Acidalia Planitiae show numerous examples of enigmatic landforms previously interpreted to have been influenced by a water/ice-rich geologic history. These landforms include giant polygons bounded by kilometer-scale arcuate troughs, bright pitted mounds, and mesa-like features. To investigate the significance of the last we have analyzed in detail the...
Dirhinus texanus (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae) from Utah
L.L. Pech, M.W. Gates, T. B. Graham
2011, Southwestern Naturalist (56) 275-276
We collected a Dirhinus texanus (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae) in Salt Creek Canyon, Canyonlands National Park, San Juan County, Utah. This is the first record for D. texanus in Utah. ...
Trends in pesticide concentrations in streams of the western United States, 1993-2005
Henry M. Johnson, Joseph L. Domagalski, Dina Saleh
2011, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (47) 265-286
Trends in pesticide concentrations for 15 streams in California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho were determined for the organophosphate insecticides chlorpyrifos and diazinon and the herbicides atrazine, s‐ethyl diproplythiocarbamate (EPTC), metolachlor, simazine, and trifluralin. A parametric regression model was used to account for flow, seasonality, and antecedent hydrologic conditions and thereby...
Diel activity of Gulf of Mexico sturgeon in a northwest Florida bay
B.M. Wrege, M.S. Duncan, J. Jeffery Isely
2011, Journal of Applied Ichthyology (27) 322-326
In this paper, we assess patterns in activity of Gulf of Mexico sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi over a 24-h period in the Pensacola bay system, Florida. Although seasonal migration of sturgeon is well documented, little information is available pertaining to daily variation in activity. We surgically implanted 58 Gulf sturgeon...
Cruise ships as a source of avian mortality during fall migration
Carol I. Bocetti
2011, Wilson Journal of Ornithology (123) 176-178
AAvian mortality during fall migration has been studied at many anthropogenic structures, most of which share the common feature of bright lighting. An additional, unstudied source of avian mortality during fall migration is recreational cruise ships that are brightly lit throughout the night. I documented a single mortality event of...