Monitoring the removal of phosphate from ground water discharging through a pond-bottom permeable reactive barrier
T.D. McCobb, D.R. LeBlanc, A.J. Massey
2009, Ground Water Monitoring and Remediation (29) 43-55
Installation of a permeable reactive barrier to intercept a phosphate (PO4) plume where it discharges to a pond provided an opportunity to develop and test methods for monitoring the barrier’s performance in the shallow pond‐bottom sediments. The barrier is composed of zero‐valent‐iron mixed with the native sediments to a 0.6‐m...
Ground and surface temperature variability for remote sensing of soil moisture in a heterogeneous landscape
M.A. Giraldo, D. Bosch, M. Madden, L. Usery, M. Finn
2009, Journal of Hydrology (368) 214-223
At the Little River Watershed (LRW) heterogeneous landscape near Tifton Georgia US an in situ network of stations operated by the US Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service-Southeast Watershed Research Lab (USDA-ARS-SEWRL) was established in 2003 for the long term study of climatic and soil biophysical processes. To develop an accurate...
Hurricane Katrina sediment slowed elevation loss in subsiding brackish marshes of the Mississippi River delta
K.L. McKee, J. A. Cherry
2009, Wetlands (29) 2-15
Although hurricanes can damage or destroy coastal wetlands, they may play a beneficial role in reinvigorating marshes by delivering sediments that raise soil elevations and stimulate organic matter production. Hurricane Katrina altered elevation dynamics of two subsiding brackish marshes in the Mississippi River deltaic plain by adding 3 to 8...
Volatile selenium flux from the great Salt Lake, Utah
X. Diaz, W.P. Johnson, W.A. Oliver, D. L. Naftz
2009, Environmental Science & Technology (43) 53-59
The removal mechanisms that govern Se concentrations in the Great Salt Lake are unknown despite this terminal lake being an avian habitat of hemispheric importance. However, the volatilization flux of Se from the Great Salt Lake has not been previously measured due to challenges of analysis in this hypersaline environment...
Tidal and flood signatures of settling particles in the Gaoping submarine canyon (SW Taiwan) revealed from radionuclide and flow measurements
C.-A. Huh, J.T. Liu, H.-L. Lin, J. P. Xu
2009, Marine Geology (267) 8-17
Sediment transport and sedimentation processes in the Gaoping submarine canyon were studied using sediment trap and current meter moorings deployed at a location during the winter (January-March) and the summer (July-September) months in 2008. At the end of each deployment, sediment cores were also collected from the canyon floor at...
Approximation to cutoffs of higher modes of Rayleigh waves for a layered earth model
Y. Xu, J. Xia, R. D. Miller
2009, Pure and Applied Geophysics (166) 339-351
A cutoff defines the long-period termination of a Rayleigh-wave higher mode and, therefore is a key characteristic of higher mode energy relationship to several material properties of the subsurface. Cutoffs have been used to estimate the shear-wave velocity of an underlying half space of a layered earth model. In this...
Genesis of the Assif El Mal Zn-Pb (Cu, Ag) vein deposit. An extension-related Mesozoic vein system in the High Atlas of Morocco. Structural, mineralogical, and geochemical evidence
M. Bouabdellah, G. Beaudoin, D. L. Leach, F. Grandia, E. Cardellach
2009, Mineralium Deposita (44) 689-704
The Assif El Mal Zn-Pb (Cu-Ag) vein system, located in the northern flank of the High Atlas of Marrakech (Morocco), is hosted in a Cambro-Ordovician volcaniclastic and metasedimentary sequence composed of graywacke, siltstone, pelite, and shale interlayered with minor tuff and mudstone. Intrusion of synorogenic to postorogenic Late Hercynian peraluminous...
Late Pleistocene Sea level on the New Jersey Margin: Implications to eustasy and deep-sea temperature
J.D. Wright, R. E. Sheridan, K.G. Miller, J. Uptegrove, B.S. Cramer, J.V. Browning
2009, Global and Planetary Change (66) 93-99
We assembled and dated a late Pleistocene sea-level record based on sequence stratigraphy from the New Jersey margin and compared it with published records from fossil uplifted coral reefs in New Guinea, Barbados, and Araki Island, as well as a composite sea-level estimate from scaling of Red Sea isotopic values....
Utilization by fishes of the Alviso Island ponds and adjacent waters in south san francisco bay following restoration to tidal influence
M. K. Saiki, F.H. Mejia
2009, California Fish and Game (95) 38-52
Earthen levees of three isolated salt ponds known locally as the Alviso Island Ponds were intentionally breached in March 2006 to allow tidal exchange of the ponds with water from Coyote Creek. The water exchange transformed the previously fishless hypersaline ponds into lower salinity habitats suitable for fish life. This...
Water quality analysis of groundwater in crystalline basement rocks, Northern Ghana
Y.S. Anku, B. Banoeng-Yakubo, D.K. Asiedu, S.M. Yidana
2009, Environmental Geology (58) 989-997
Hydrochemical data are presented for groundwater samples, collected from fractured aquifers in parts of northern Ghana. The data was collected to assess the groundwater suitability for domestic and agricultural use. Results of the study reveal that the pH of the groundwater in the area is slightly acidic to slightly alkaline....
The relative influence of geographic location and reach-scale habitat on benthic invertebrate assemblages in six ecoregions
M.D. Munn, I.R. Waite, D. P. Larsen, A.T. Herlihy
2009, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (154) 1-14
The objective of this study was to determine the relative influence of reach-specific habitat variables and geographic location on benthic invertebrate assemblages within six ecoregions across the Western USA. This study included 417 sites from six ecoregions. A total of 301 taxa were collected with the highest richness associated with...
A preliminary study of older hot spring alteration in Sevenmile Hole, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, Yellowstone Caldera, Wyoming
Peter B. Larson, Allison Phillips, David A. John, Michael A. Cosca, Chad Pritchard, Allen K. Andersen, Jennifer Manion
2009, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (188) 225-236
Erosion in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, Yellowstone Caldera (640 ka), Wyoming, has exposed a cross section of older hydrothermal alteration in the canyon walls. The altered outcrops of the post-collapse tuff of Sulphur Creek (480 ka) extend from the canyon rim to more than 300 m beneath it. The hydrothermal...
Method development for analysis of urban dust using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry to detect the possible presence of world trade center dust constituents
A.M. Bern, H.A. Lowers, G.P. Meeker, J.A. Rosati
2009, Environmental Science & Technology (43) 1449-1454
The collapse of the World Trade Center Towers on September 11, 2001, sent dust and debris across much of Manhattan and in the surrounding areas. Indoor and outdoor dust samples were collected and characterized by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists using scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectrometry (SEM/EDS). From this...
Evidence for prolonged mid-Paleozoic plutonism and ages of crustal sources in east-central Alaska from SHRIMP U-Pb dating of syn-magmatic, inherited, and detrital zircon
Cynthia Dusel-Bacon, I.S. Williams
2009, Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (46) 21-39
Sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U–Pb analyses of igneous zircons from the Lake George assemblage in the eastern Yukon–Tanana Upland (Tanacross quadrangle) indicate both Late Devonian (∼370 Ma) and Early Mississippian (∼350 Ma) magmatic pulses. The zircons occur in four textural variants...
Predicting the biological condition of streams: Use of geospatial indicators of natural and anthropogenic characteristics of watersheds
D.M. Carlisle, J. Falcone, M. R. Meador
2009, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (151) 143-160
We developed and evaluated empirical models to predict biological condition of wadeable streams in a large portion of the eastern USA, with the ultimate goal of prediction for unsampled basins. Previous work had classified (i.e., altered vs. unaltered) the biological condition of 920 streams based on a biological assessment of...
Modeling misidentification errors in capture-recapture studies using photographic identification of evolving marks
J. Yoshizaki, K. H. Pollock, C. Brownie, R.A. Webster
2009, Ecology (90) 3-9
Misidentification of animals is potentially important when naturally existing features (natural tags) are used to identify individual animals in a capture-recapture study. Photographic identification (photoID) typically uses photographic images of animals' naturally existing features as tags (photographic tags) and is subject to two main causes of identification errors: those related...
Discovery of lake-effect clouds on Titan
M.E. Brown, E.L. Schaller, H.G. Roe, C. Chen, J. Roberts, R. H. Brown, K. H. Baines, R. N. Clark
2009, Geophysical Research Letters (36)
Images from instruments on Cassini as well as from telescopes on the ground reveal the presence of sporadic small-scale cloud activity in the cold late-winter north polar region of Saturn's large moon Titan. These clouds lie underneath the previously discovered uniform polar cloud attributed to a quiescent ethane cloud at...
Quantifying periglacial erosion: Insights on a glacial sediment budget, Matanuska Glacier, Alaska
C. R. O’Farrell, A.M. Heimsath, D. E. Lawson, L.M. Jorgensen, E.B. Evenson, G. Larson, J. Denner
2009, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms (34) 2008-2022
Glacial erosion rates are estimated to be among the highest in the world. Few studies have attempted, however, to quantify the flux of sediment from the periglacial landscape to a glacier. Here, erosion rates from the nonglacial landscape above the Matanuska Glacier, Alaska are presented and compare with an 8-yr...
Slip maxima at fault junctions and rupturing of barriers during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake
Z.-K. Shen, Jielun Sun, P. Zhang, Y. Wan, M. Wang, R. Burgmann, Y. Zeng, Weijun Gan, H. Liao, Q. Wang
2009, Nature Geoscience (2) 718-724
The disastrous 12 May 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China took the local population as well as scientists by surprise. Although the Longmen Shan fault zonewhich includes the fault segments along which this earthquake nucleatedwas well known, geologic and geodetic data indicate relatively low (<3 mm yr -1) deformation rates. Here...
Geochemistry of yukon and copper river tributaries, Alaska
M. Carney, A. Ellis, T. Bullen, J. Langman
2009, Conference Paper, Proceedings of World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2009 - World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2009: Great Rivers
Alaska is already beginning to be affected by changes in global climate which make it a good location to study the feedback effects between climate, the water cycle and the carbon cycle. Using river dissolved elements and Sr isotopes we examine changes and/or differences in chemical weathering between watersheds in...
Assessment of the "fish tumors or other deformities" beneficial use impairment in brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus): I. Orocutaneous tumors
V. S. Blazer, S.D. Rafferty, P.C. Baumman, S.B. Smith, E.C. Obert
2009, Journal of Great Lakes Research (35) 517-526
The "fish tumor or other deformities" beneficial use impairment (BUI) occurs at 9 of the 12 areas of concern (AOC) on Lake Erie. As point sources are mitigated and remediation occurs, AOC are faced with determining delisting criteria. The lack of standardized analyses for this BUI has confounded that process....
Experimental infection of cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) with varying doses of West Nile virus
P.T. Oesterle, N.M. Nemeth, Kaci K. VanDalen, H. Sullivan, K.T. Bentler, G.R. Young, R. G. McLean, L. Clark, C. Smeraski, Jeffrey S. Hall
2009, American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (81) 1159-1164
Cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) were inoculated with differing doses of West Nile virus (WNV) to evaluate their potential role as reservoir hosts in nature. Swallows often nest in large colonies in habitats and months associated with high mosquito abundance and early WNV transmission in North America. Additionally, cliff swallow diet...
Late Pleistocene to Holocene sedimentation and hydrocarbon seeps on the continental shelf of a steep, tectonically active margin, southern California, USA
Amy E. Draut, Patrick E. Hart, T.D. Lorenson, Holly F. Ryan, Florence L. Wong, Ray W. Sliter, James E. Conrad
2009, Marine Geophysical Research (30) 193-206
Small, steep, uplifting coastal watersheds are prolific sediment producers that contribute significantly to the global marine sediment budget. This study illustrates how sedimentation evolves in one such system where the continental shelf is largely sediment-starved, with most terrestrial sediment bypassing the shelf in favor of deposition in deeper basins. The...
Photometric changes on Saturn's Titan: Evidence for active cryovolcanism
Robert M. Nelson, Lucas W. Kamp, Rosaly Lopes, Dennis L. Matson, Randolph L. Kirk, Bruce W. Hapke, Stephen D. Wall, Mark D. Boryta, Frank E. Leader, William D. Smythe, Karl L. Mitchell, Kevin H. Baines, Ralf Jaumann, Christophe Sotin, Roger N. Clark, Dale P. Cruikshank, Pierre Drossart, Jonathan I. Lunine, Michel Combes, Giancarlo Bellucci, Jean-Pierre Bibring, Fabrizio Capaccioni, Pricilla Cerroni, Angioletta Coradini, Vittorio Formisano, Gianrico Filacchione, Yves Langevin, Thomas B. McCord, Vito Mennella, Philip D. Nicholson, Bruno Sicardy, Patrick G.J. Irwin, John C. Pearl
2009, Geophysical Research Letters (36)
We report infrared spectrophotometric variability on the surface of Saturn's moon Titan detected in images returned by the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) onboard the Cassini Saturn Orbiter. The changes were observed at 7°S, 138°W and occurred between October 27, 2005 and January 15, 2006. After that date the...
Abundance and distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates in offshore soft sediments in Western Lake Huron, 2001-2007
J. R. P. French III, J.S. Schaeffer, E.F. Roseman, C.S. Kiley, A. Fouilleroux
2009, Journal of Great Lakes Research (35) 120-127
Invasive species have had major impacts on the Great Lakes. This is especially true of exotic dreissenid mussels which are associated with decreased abundance of native macroinvertebrates and changes in food availability for fish. Beginning in 2001, we added a benthic macroinvertebrate survey to the USGS-Great Lakes Science Center's annual...
