Geological and geophysical evaluation of the mechanisms of the great 1899 Yakutat Bay earthquakes
George Plafker, Wayne R. Thatcher
Jeffery T. Freymueller, Peter J. Haeussler, Robert L. Wesson, Goran Ekstrom, editor(s)
2008, Book chapter, Active tectonics and seismic potential of Alaska
We have used tectonic, geologic, and seismologic observations to reevaluate the mechanisms and seismotectonic significance of the two great (Mw = 8.1 and 8.2) September 1899 Yakutat Bay earthquakes. In their comprehensive study of these earthquakes between 1905 and 1910, Tarr and Martin (1912) showed that these events were accompanied...
Overview of the 2004 to 2006, and continuing, eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington
William E. Scott, David R. Sherrod, Cynthia A. Gardner
David R. Sherrod, William E. Scott, Peter H. Stauffer, editor(s)
2008, Professional Paper 1750-1
Rapid onset of unrest at Mount St. Helens on September 23, 2004, initiated an uninterrupted lava-dome-building eruption that continues to the time of writing this overview (spring 2006) for a volume of papers focused on this eruption. About three weeks of intense seismic unrest and localized surface uplift, punctuated by...
Relating streamflow characteristics to specialized insectivores in the Tennessee River Valley: a regional approach
Rodney R. Knight, M. Brian Gregory, Amy K. Wales
2008, Ecohydrology (1) 394-407
Analysis of hydrologic time series and fish community data across the Tennessee River Valley identified three hydrologic metrics essential to habitat suitability and food availability for insectivorous fish communities in streams of the Tennessee River Valley: constancy (flow stability or temporal invariance), frequency of moderate flooding (frequency of habitat disturbance),...
Magmatism and tectonics in a tilted crustal section through a continental arc, eastern Transverse Ranges and southern Mojave Desert
Andrew P. Barth, J. Lawford Anderson, Carl E. Jacobson, Scott R. Paterson, Joseph L. Wooden
E. M. Duebendorfer, Eugene I. Smith, editor(s)
2008, Book chapter, Field guide to plutons, volcanoes, faults, reefs, dinosaurs, and possible glaciation in selected areas of Arizona, California, and Nevada
This field guide describes a two-and-one-half day transect, from east to west across southern California, from the Colorado River to the San Andreas fault. Recent geochronologic results for rocks along the transect indicate the spatial and temporal relationships between subarc and retroarc shortening and Cordilleran arc magmatism. The transect begins...
Subsidence reversal in a re-establish wetland in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, USA
Robin L. Miller, Miranda S. Fram, Roger Fujii, Gail A. Wheeler
2008, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science (6)
The stability of levees in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is threatened by continued subsidence of Delta peat islands. Up to 6 meters of land-surface elevation has been lost in the 150 years since Delta marshes were leveed and drained, primarily from oxidation of peat soils. Flooding subsided peat islands halts...
Paleoseismicity and neotectonics of the Aleutian subduction zone — An overview
Gary A. Carver, George Plafker
Jeffery T. Freymueller, Peter J. Haeussler, Robert L. Wesson, Goran Ekstrom, editor(s)
2008, Book chapter, Active tectonics and seismic potential of Alaska
The Aleutian subduction zone is one of the most seismically active plate boundaries and the source of several of the world’s largest historic earthquakes. The structural architecture of the subduction zone varies considerably along its length. At the eastern end is a tectonically complex collision zone where the allochthonous Yakutat...
Managing public and media response to a reawakening volcano: lessons from the 2004 eruptive activity of Mount St. Helens
Peter M. Frenzen, Michael T. Matarrese
David R. Sherrod, William E. Scott, Peter H. Stauffer, editor(s)
2008, Professional Paper 1750-23
Volcanic eruptions and other infrequent, large-scale natural disturbances pose challenges and opportunities for public-land managers. In the days and weeks preceding an eruption, there can be considerable uncertainty surrounding the magnitude and areal extent of eruptive effects. At the same time, public and media interest in viewing developing events is...
Integration of regional hydrologic modeling using FORTRAN and ArcGIS
Alan L. Flint, Lorraine E. Flint
2008, Water Resources Impact (10) 31-35
Toward a time-dependent probabilistic seismic hazard analysis for Alaska
Oliver S. Boyd, Yuehua Zeng, Charles G. Bufe, Robert L. Wesson, Frederick Pollitz, Jeanne L. Hardebeck
Jeffery T. Freymueller, Peter J. Haeussler, Robert L. Wesson, Goran Ekstrom, editor(s)
2008, Book chapter, Active tectonics and seismic potential of Alaska
We report on a time-dependent seismic hazard analysis for Alaska and the Aleutians to complement our recently completed time-independent map. Whereas the time-independent map treats all sources as statistically independent, the time-dependent analysis is based on calculations of the conditional probability of occurrence for the next 50 years by using...
Low genotyping error rates and noninvasive sampling in Bighorn Sheep
Gordon Luikart, Stephanie Zundel, Delphine Rioux, Christian Miquel, Kim A. Keating, John T. Hogg, Brian Steele, Kerry Foresman, Pierre Taberlet
2008, Journal of Wildlife Management (72) 299-304
Noninvasive DNA sampling allows studies of natural populations without disturbing the target animals. Unfortunately, high genotyping error rates often make noninvasive studies difficult. We report low error rates (0.0–7.5%/locus) when genotyping 18 microsatellite loci in only 4 multiplex polymerase chain reaction amplifications using fecal DNA from bighorn sheep (Ovis...
Seasonal and spatial variability in dissolved organic matter quantity and composition from the Yukon River basin, Alaska
R.G.M. Spencer, George Aiken, Kimberly P. Wickland, Rob Striegl, Peter J. Hernes
2008, Global Biogeochemical Cycles (22)
[1] The seasonal and spatial variability of dissolved organic matter (DOM) quantity and chemical composition were investigated in the Yukon River basin of Alaska, United States, and northwestern Canada. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC), chromophoric DOM (CDOM), and dissolved lignin phenols were measured across a range of source...
Does a boundary of the Wrangell Block extend through southern Cook Inlet and Shelikof Strait, Alaska?
Michael A. Fisher, Ray W. Sliter, Florence L. Wong
Jeffery T. Freymueller, Peter J. Haeussler, Robert L. Wesson, Goran Ekstrom, editor(s)
2008, Book chapter, Active tectonics and seismic potential of Alaska
In southcentral Alaska, the boundaries of two different tectonic blocks extend southwestward from the Denali Fault toward Cook Inlet and Shelikof Strait. We use offshore multichannel seismic reflection data and oil-well stratigraphy to evaluate whether local geologic structures are compatible with boundaries of either tectonic block and with the relative...
N-15 NMR study of the immobilization of 2,4- and 2,6-dinitrotoluene in aerobic compost
Kevin A. Thorn, J.C. Pennington, Kay R. Kennedy, Larry G. Cox, C.A. Hayes, B.E. Porter
2008, Environmental Science & Technology (42) 2542-2550
Large-scale aerobic windrow composting has been used to bioremediate washout lagoon soils contaminated with the explosives TNT (2,4,6-trinitrotoluene) and RDX (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine) at several sites within the United States. We previously used 15N NMR to investigate the reduction and binding of T15NT in aerobic bench -scale reactors simulating the conditions of windrow...
Numerical modeling of rainfall thresholds for shallow landsliding in the Seattle, Washington, area
Jonathan W. Godt, Jonathan P. McKenna
2008, Reviews in Engineering Geology (20) 121-136
The temporal forecasting of landslide hazard has typically relied on empirical relations between rainfall characteristics and landslide occurrence to identify conditions that may cause shallow landslides. Here, we describe an alternate, deterministic approach to define rainfall thresholds for landslide occurrence in the Seattle, Washington, area. This approach combines an infinite...
A prototype system for forecasting landslides in the Seattle, Washington, area
Alan F. Chleborad, Rex L. Baum, Jonathan W. Godt, Philip S. Powers
2008, Reviews in Engineering Geology (20) 103-120
Empirical rainfall thresholds and related information form the basis of a prototype system for forecasting landslides in the Seattle area. The forecasts are tied to four alert levels, and a decision tree guides the use of thresholds to determine the appropriate level. From analysis of historical landslide data, we developed...
Shallow landslide hazard map of Seattle, Washington
Edwin L. Harp, John A. Michael, William T. Laprade
2008, Reviews in Engineering Geology (20) 67-82
Landslides, particularly debris flows, have long been a significant cause of damage and destruction to people and property in the Puget Sound region. Following the years of 1996 and 1997, the Federal Emergency Management Agency designated Seattle as a “Project Impact” city with the goal of encouraging the city to...
The USGS Caribbean Seismic Network
Lind Gee, Dan McNamara, Jean Weaver, Harley Benz, Doug Ford, Gay Gyure
2008, Report, Chapter in the <i>IRIS 2008 Annual Report</i>
Jamaica, Cuba, Turks and Caicos, Domincan Republic, Antigua-Barbuda, Grenada, Barbados, Panama, Honduras—what an itinerary! Palm trees, beaches, iguanas and seismic stations....
Preface
Rex L. Baum, Jonathan W. Godt, Lynn M. Highland
2008, Book chapter, Landslides and engineering geology of the Seattle, Washington, area
The idea for Landslides and Engineering Geology of the Seattle, Washington, Areagrew out of a major landslide disaster that occurred in the Puget Sound region at the beginning of 1997. Unusually heavy snowfall in late December 1996 followed by warm, intense rainfall on 31 December through 2 January 1997 produced hundreds...
Modeling rainfall conditions for shallow landsliding in Seattle, Washington
Jonathan W. Godt, William H. Schulz, Rex L. Baum, William Z. Savage
2008, Reviews in Engineering Geology (20) 137-152
We describe the results from an application of a distributed, transient infiltration–slope-stability model for an 18 km2 area of southwestern Seattle, Washington, USA. The model (TRIGRS) combines an infinite slope-stability calculation and an analytic, one-dimensional solution for pore-pressure diffusion in a soil layer of finite depth in response to time-varying rainfall. The...
Assessing deep-seated landslide susceptibility using 3-D groundwater and slope-stability analyses, southwestern Seattle, Washington
Dianne L. Brien, Mark E. Reid
2008, Reviews in Engineering Geology (20) 83-101
In Seattle, Washington, deep-seated landslides on bluffs along Puget Sound have historically caused extensive damage to land and structures. These large failures are controlled by three-dimensional (3-D) variations in strength and pore-water pressures. We assess the slope stability of part of southwestern Seattle using a 3-D limit-equilibrium analysis coupled with...
Molt and aging criteria for four North American grassland passerines
Peter Pyle, Stephanie L. Jones, Janet M. Ruth
2008, Biological Technical Publication BTP-R6011-2008
Prairie and grassland habitats in central and western North America have declined substantially since settlement by Europeans (Knopf 1994) and many of the birds and other organisms that inhabit North American grasslands have experienced steep declines (Peterjohn and Sauer 1999; Johnson and Igl 1997; Sauer, Hines, and Fallon 2007). The...
Biological and societal dimensions of lead poisoning in birds in the USA
Milton Friend, J. Christian Franson, William L. Anderson
2008, Book chapter, Ingestion of lead from spent ammunition: Implications for wildlife and humans: May 2008 Proceedings
The ingestion of spent lead shot was known to cause mortality in wild waterfowl in the US a century before the implementation of nontoxic shot regulations began in 1972. The biological foundation for this transition was strongly supported by both field observations and structured scientific investigations. Despite the overwhelming evidence,...
Application of MODFLOW’s farm process to California’s Central Valley
Claudia C. Faunt, Randall T. Hanson, Wolfgang Schmid, Kenneth Belitz
2008, Conference Paper, California Central Valley Groundwater Modeling Workshop, Proceedings
Historically, California’s Central Valley has been one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. The Central Valley also is rapidly becoming an important area for California’s expanding urban population. During 1980–2007, the population nearly doubled in the Central Valley, increasing the competition for water. Because of the importance...
Baseline studies in the Elwha River ecosystem prior to dam removal: Introduction to the special issue
Jeffrey J. Duda, Jerry Freilich, Edward G. Schreiner
2008, Northwest Science (82) 1-12
The planned removal of two dams that have been in place for over 95 years on the Elwha River provides a unique opportunity to study dam removal effects. Among the largest dams ever considered for removal, this project is compelling because 83% of the watershed lies undisturbed in Olympic National...
Ecosystem conceptual model- Mercury
Charles N. Alpers, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Chris Foe, Susan Klasing, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Darell Slotton, Lisamarie Windham-Myers
2008, Report, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Regional Ecosystem Restoration Implementation Plan
Mercury has been identified as an important contaminant in the Delta, based on elevated concentrations of methylmercury (a toxic, organic form that readily bioaccumulates) in fish and wildlife. There are health risks associated with human exposure to methylmercury by consumption of sport fish, particularly top predators such as bass species....
