Radiocarbon dating of silica sinter and postglacial hydrothermal activity in the El Tatio geyser field
Carolina Munoz Saez, Michael Manga, Shaul Hurwitz, Silvina Salgter, Dakota Churchill, Martin Reich, David Damby, Diego Morata
2020, Geophysical Research Letters (47)
The El Tatio geothermal field in the Chilean Altiplano contains hydrothermal silica sinter deposits overlaying glacial and volcanic units, providing an opportunity to constrain the timing of deglaciation and volcanic activity in an area with sparse absolute chronologies. We obtained 51 new radiocarbon ages and δ13C values on the organic material...
Quantifying uncertainty for remote spectroscopy of surface composition
David R. Thompson, Amy Braverman, Philip Brodrick, Alberto Candela, Nimrod Carmon, Roger N. Clark, David Connelly, Robert O. Green, Raymond F. Kokaly, Longlei Li, Natalie Mahowald, Ronald L. Miller, Gregory S. Okin, Thomas H. Painter, Gregg A. Swayze, Michael Turmon, Jouni Susilouto, David Wettergreen
2020, Remote Sensing of Environment (247)
Remote surface measurements by imaging spectrometers play an important role in planetary and Earth science. To make these measurements, investigators calibrate instrument data to absolute units, invert physical models to estimate atmospheric effects, and then determine surface properties from the spectral reflectance. This study quantifies the uncertainty in this process. Global missions demand...
Assessment of restorative maintenance practices on the infiltration capacity of permeable pavement
Mari Danz, William R. Selbig, Nicolas Buer
2020, Water (12)
Permeable pavement has the potential to be an effective tool in managing stormwater runoff through retention of sediment and other contaminants associated with urban development. The infiltration capacity of permeable pavement declines as more sediment is captured, thereby reducing its ability to treat runoff. Regular restorative maintenance practices can alleviate...
Trends in oyster populations in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico: An assessment of river discharge and fishing effects over time and space
J. F Moore, W. E Pine, P. C Frederick, Sarah Becker, Marcos Moreno, Michael J. Dodrill, Matthew Boone, L Sturmer, Simeon Yurek
2020, Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science (12) 191-204
Within the Big Bend region of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, one of the least developed coastlines in the continental USA, intertidal and subtidal populations of eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica (hereafter referred to as “oyster”) are a critical ecosystem and important economic constituent. We assessed trends in intertidal oyster populations,...
Progress toward a preliminary karst depression density map for the conterminous United States
Daniel H. Doctor, Jeanne M. Jones, Nathan J. Wood, Jeff T. Falgout, Natalya Igorevna Rapstine
2020, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 16th Sinkhole Conference
Most methods for the assessment of sinkhole hazard susceptibility are predicated upon knowledge of pre-existing closed depressions in karst areas. In the United States (U.S.), inventories of existing karst depressions are piecemeal, and are often obtained through inconsistent methodologies applied at the state or county level and at...
Sediment transport in a restored, river-influenced Pacific Northwest estuary
Daniel J. Nowacki, Eric E. Grossman
2020, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science (242)
Predicting the success of future investments in coastal and estuarine ecosystem restorations is limited by scarce data quantifying sediment budgets and transport processes of prior restorations. This study provides detailed analyses of the hydrodynamics and sediment fluxes of a recently restored U.S. Pacific Northwest estuary, a 61 ha former agricultural...
Temporal and spatial variability of shallow soil moisture across four planar hillslopes on a tropical ocean island, San Cristóbal, Galápagos
Madelyn S. Percy, Diego A. Riveros-Iregui, Benjamin B. Mirus, Larry K. Benninger
2020, Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies (30)
Study Region: This paper provides a summary of findings from temporal and spatial studies of soil water content on planar hillslopes across the equatorial island of San Cristóbal, Galápagos (Ecuador). Study Focus: Soil water content (SWC) was measured to generate temporal and spatial records to determine seasonal variation and to...
A revised classification of the Xolmiini (Aves: Tyrannidae: Fluvicolinae), including a new genus for Muscisaxicola fluviatilis
R. Terry Chesser, Michael G Harvey, Robb T Brumfield, Elizabeth P Derryberry
2020, Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington (133) 35-48
Recent studies using molecular phylogenetics have provided new insight into the composition of and relationships among species in the avian tribe Xolmiini. Key findings include the paraphyly of Xolmis, including the exclusion of X. dominicanus from the Xolmiini, and the apparent paraphyly of Muscisaxicola. We provide a revised classification of the Xolmiini, including a...
Recognition of typical antibiotic residues in environmental media related to groundwater in China (2009−2019)
Fuyang Huang, Ziyi An, Michael J. Moran, Fei Liu
2020, Journal of Hazardous Materials (399)
The potential adverse environmental and health-related impacts of antibiotics are becoming more and more concerning. China is globally the largest antibiotic producer and consumer, possibly resulting in the ubiquity and high detection levels of antibiotics in environmental compartments. Clear status on the concentration levels and spatial distribution of antibiotic contamination...
Climate from the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, 1986 – 2017: Surface air temperature trends and redefined summer season
Maciej K. Obryk, P. T. Doran, A. G. Fountain, Monique Myers, C. P. McKay
2020, JGR Atmospheres (125)
The weather of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, the largest ice‐free region of the Antarctica, has been continuously monitored since 1985 with currently 14 operational meteorological stations distributed throughout the valleys. Because climate is based on a 30‐year record of weather, this is the first study to truly define the...
Landslides across the United States: Occurrence, susceptibility, and data limitations
Benjamin B. Mirus, Eric S. Jones, Rex L. Baum, Jonathan W. Godt, Stephen L. Slaughter, Matthew Crawford, Jeremy T. Lancaster, Thomas Stanley, Dalia Kirschbaum, William J. Burns, Robert G. Schmitt, Kassandra O Lindsey, Kevin McCoy
2020, Landslides (17) 2271-2285
Detailed information about landslide occurrence is the foundation for advancing process understanding, susceptibility mapping, and risk reduction. Despite the recent revolution in digital elevation data and remote sensing technologies, landslide mapping remains resource intensive. Consequently, a modern, comprehensive map of landslide occurrence across the United States (USA) has not been...
Regional hydrostratigraphic framework of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and vicinity, New Jersey, in the context of perfluoroalkyl substances contamination of groundwater and surface water
Alex R. Fiore
2020, Open-File Report 2019-1134
A study was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force, to describe the regional hydrostratigraphy of shallow aquifers and confining units underlying Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL) and vicinity, New Jersey, in the context of contamination of groundwater and surface water by per- and polyfluoroalkyl...
Decadal-scale decoupling of soil phosphorus and molybdenum cycles by temperate nitrogen-fixing trees
Katherine A Dynarski, Julie C. Pett-Ridge, Steven S. Perakis
2020, Biogeochemistry (149) 371
Symbiotic nitrogen- (N) fixing trees can influence multiple biogeochemical cycles by fixing atmospheric N, which drives net primary productivity and soil carbon (C) and N accumulation, as well as by mobilizing soil phosphorus (P) and other nutrients to support growth and metabolism. The soil micronutrient molybdenum (Mo) is essential to...
Identifying Precipitation and Reference Evapotranspiration Trends in West Africa to Support Drought Insurance
Sari Blakeley, Stuart Sweeney, Gregory Husak, Laura Harrison, Chris Funk, Pete Peterson, Daniel E Osgood
2020, Remote Sensing (12)
West Africa represents a wide gradient of climates, extending from tropical conditions along the Guinea Coast to the dry deserts of the south Sahara, and it has some of the lowest income, most vulnerable populations on the planet, which increases catastrophic impacts of low and high frequency climate variability. This...
Capture of environmental DNA (eDNA) from water samples by flocculation
W. Bane Schill
2020, JOVE Journal Of Visualized Experiments (159)
The analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA) has become a widely used approach to problem solving in species management. The detection of cryptic species including invasive and (or) species at risk is the goal, typically accomplished by testing water and sediment for the presence of characteristic DNA signatures. Reliable and efficient...
Pervasive shifts in forest dynamics in a changing world
Nate G. McDowell, Craig D. Allen, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Brian H. Aukema, Ben Bond-Lamberty, Louise Chini, James S. Clark, Michael Dietze, Charlotte Grossiord, Adam Hanbury-Brown, George C. Hurtt, Robert B. Jackson, Daniel J. Johnson, Lara Kueppers, Jeremy W. Lichstein, Kiona Ogle, Benjamin Poulter, Thomas A. M. Pugh, Rupert Seidl, Monica G. Turner, Maria Uriarte, Anthony P. Walker, Chonggang Xu
2020, Science (368)
Forest dynamics arise from the interplay of environmental drivers and disturbances with the demographic processes of recruitment, growth, and mortality, subsequently driving biomass and species composition. However, forest disturbances and subsequent recovery are shifting with global changes in climate and land use, altering these dynamics. Changes...
Nontuberculous mycobacterial disease and molybdenum in Colorado watersheds
Ettie M Lipner, Joshua French, Carleton R. Bern, Katherine Walton-Day, David Knox, Michael Strong, D. Rebecca Prevots, James L Crooks
2020, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (17)
Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are environmental bacteria that may cause chronic lung disease. Environmental factors that favor NTM growth likely increase the risk of NTM exposure within specific environments. We aimed to identify water-quality constituents (Al, As, Cd, Ca, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, K, Se,...
Extreme arsenic and antimony uptake and tolerance in toad tadpoles during development in highly contaminated wetlands
Meghan A. Dovick, Thomas R Kulp, Robert S. Arkle, David S. Pilliod
2020, Environmental Science and Technology (54) 7983-7991
The effects of extreme concentrations of toxic metalloids, such as arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb), on larval amphibians are not well-understood. We sampled Western Toad tadpoles (Anaxyrus boreas) living in As- and Sb-contaminated wetlands throughout their development. Although the tadpoles completed...
Observations of coastal change and numerical modeling of sediment-transport pathways at the mouth of the Columbia River and its adjacent littoral cell
Andrew W. Stevens, Edwin Elias, Stuart Pearson, George M. Kaminsky, Peter R Ruggiero, Heather M. Weiner, Guy R. Gelfenbaum
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1045
Bathymetric and topographic surveys performed annually along the coastlines of northern Oregon and southwestern Washington documented changes in beach and nearshore morphology between 2014 and 2019. Volume change analysis revealed measurable localized erosion and deposition throughout the study area, but significant net erosion at the regional scale (several kilometers [km])...
Methods of collection and quality assessment of arsenic data in well-water supplies in Maine, 2001–2 and 2006–7
Charles W. Culbertson, James M. Caldwell, Luther Schalk, Deana Manassaram, Lorraine C. Backer, Andrew E. Smith
2020, Data Series 1125
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, assessed the chemical characteristics and the occurrence, distribution, and oxidation state of inorganic arsenic in drinking water from selected domestic well-water supplies in Maine in 2001–2...
Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) 20th anniversary postcard
Lianne C. Ball
2020, General Information Product 198
The Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) was established within the U.S. Geological Survey in 2000 as a result of Congressional funding for Department of the Interior agencies to study amphibians and provide information to help manage amphibians and address threats. As the research arm of the Department of the...
Immigration does not offset harvest mortality in groups of a cooperatively breeding carnivore
S. B. Bassing, David Edward Ausband, Michael S. Mitchell, M. K. Schwartz, J. J. Nowak, G. Hale, L. P. Waits
2020, Animal Conservation (23) 750-761
The effects of harvest on cooperatively breeding species are often more complex than simply subtracting the number of animals that died from the group count. Changes in demographic rates, particularly dispersal, could offset some effects of harvest mortality in groups but this is rarely explored with...
Between the supercontinents: Mesoproterozoic Deer Trail Group, an intermediate age unit between the Mesoproterozoic Belt–Purcell Supergroup and the Neoproterozoic Windermere Supergroup in northeastern Washington, USA
Stephen E. Box, Chad J. Pritchard, Travis S. Stephens, Paul B. O’Sullivan
2020, Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (57) 1411-1427
Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic basins in western North America record the evolving position of the Laurentian craton within two supercontinents during their growth and dismemberment: Columbia (Nuna) and Rodinia. The western-most exposures of the Columbia rift-related Belt–Purcell Supergroup are preserved in northeastern Washington, structurally overlain by the Deer Trail Group and...
Deglacierization of a marginal basin and implications for outburst floods, Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska
Christian Kienholz, Jamie Pierce, Eran Hood, Jason M. Amundson, Gabriel Wolken, Aaron Jacobs, Skye Hart, Katreen Wikstrom-Jones, Dina Abdel-Fattah, Crane Johnson, Jeffrey S. Conaway
2020, Frontiers in Earth Science (8)
Suicide Basin is a partly glacierized marginal basin of Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska, that has released glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs) annually since 2011. The floods cause inundation and erosion in the Mendenhall Valley, impacting homes and other infrastructure. Here, we utilize in-situ and remote sensing data to assess the recent evolution and...
Rethinking foundation species in a changing world: The case for Rhododendron maximum as an emerging foundation species in shifting ecosystems of the southern Appalachians
Maura P. Dudley, Mary Freeman, Seth J. Wenger, C. Rhett Jackson, Catherine M. Pringle
2020, Forest Ecology and Management (472)
“Foundation species” are widespread, abundant species that play critical roles in structuring ecosystem characteristics and processes. Ecosystem change in response to human activities, climate change, disease introduction, or other environmental conditions may promote the emergence of new foundation species or the decline of previously important foundation species. We present rhododendron...
