Helicopter electromagnetic and magnetic geophysical survey data, portions of the North Platte and South Platte Natural Resources Districts, western Nebraska, May 2009
B. D. Smith, J.D. Abraham, J. C. Cannia, B. J. Minsley, M. Deszcz-Pan, L.B. Ball
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1259
This report is a release of digital data from a helicopter electromagnetic and magnetic survey that was conducted during June 2009 in areas of western Nebraska as part of a joint hydrologic study by the North Platte Natural Resource District (NRD), South Platte NRD, and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Flight...
Progression of stream bank erosion dudring a large flood, Rio Puerco, New Mexico
Eleanor R. Griffin, J. Dungan Smith, Jonathan M. Friedman, Kirk R. Vincent
2010, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 2nd Joint Federal Interagency Conference
In August 2006, a large flood following saltcedar control efforts through a 12-km long segment of the Rio Puerco arroyo resulted in extensive lateral erosion of the streambanks. Almost all woody vegetation on the floodplain and channel banks had been killed by aerial spraying with herbicide in September 2003. During...
U.S. Geological Survey Science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative-2009 Annual Report
Zachary H. Bowen, Cameron L. Aldridge, Patrick J. Anderson, Timothy J. Assal, Laura R. H. Biewick, Steven W. Blecker, R. Sky Bristol, Natasha B. Carr, Anna D. Chalfoun, Geneva W. Chong, James E. Diffendorfer, Bradley C. Fedy, Steven L. Garman, Stephen S. Germaine, Richard I. Grauch, JoAnn M. Holloway, Collin G. Homer, Matthew Kauffman, Douglas Keinath, Natalie Latysh, Daniel J. Manier, Robert R. McDougal, Cynthia P. Melcher, Kirk A. Miller, Jessica Montag, Constance J. Nutt, Christopher J. Potter, Hall Sawyer, Spencer Schell, Sarah L. Shafer, David B. Smith, Lisa L. Stillings, Michele L. Tuttle, Anna B. Wilson
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1231
This is the second report produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) to detail annual work activities. The first report described work activities for 2007 and 2008; this report covers work activities conducted in 2009. Important differences between the two reports are that...
Age and sex specific timing, frequency, and spatial distribution of horseshoe crab spawning in Delaware Bay: Insights from a large-scale radio telemetry array
David R. Smith, L. J. Brousseau, Mary T. Mandt, Michael J. Millard
2010, Current Zoology (56) 563-574
To study horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus spawning behavior and migration over a large-spatial extent (>100 km), we arrayed fixed station radio receivers throughout Delaware Bay and deployed radio transmitters and archival tags on adult horseshoe crabs prior to their spawning season. We tagged and released 160 females and 60 males in 2004...
Analytical results for municipal biosolids samples from a monitoring program near Deer Trail, Colorado (U.S.A.), 2009
J.G. Crock, D. B. Smith, T. J. B. Yager, C. J. Berry, M. G. Adams
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1162
Since late 1993, Metro Wastewater Reclamation District of Denver, a large wastewater treatment plant in Denver, Colo., has applied Grade I, Class B biosolids to about 52,000 acres of nonirrigated farmland and rangeland near Deer Trail, Colo., U.S.A. In cooperation with the Metro District in 1993, the U.S. Geological Survey...
Geochemical data for Colorado soils: Results from the 2006 state-scale geochemical survey
David B. Smith, Karl J. Ellefsen, James E. Kilburn
2010, Data Series 520
In 2006, soil samples were collected at 960 sites (1 site per 280 square kilometers) throughout the state of Colorado. These samples were collected from a depth of 0-15 centimeters and, following a near-total multi-acid digestion, were analyzed for a suite of more than 40 major and trace elements. The...
Structured decision-making and rapid prototyping to plan a management response to an invasive species
S. M. Blomquist, Trisha D. Johnson, David R. Smith, Geoff P. Call, Brant N. Miller, W. Mark Thurman, Jamie E. McFadden, Mary J. Parkin, G. Scott Bloomer
2010, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (1) 19-32
We developed components of a decision structure that could be used in an adaptive management framework for responding to invasion of hemlock woolly adelgid Adeleges tsugae on the Cumberland Plateau of northern Tennessee. Hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive forest pest, was first detected in this area in 2007. We used a structured...
Soil Geochemical Data for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative Study Area
David B. Smith, Karl J. Ellefsen
2010, Data Series 510
In 2008, soil samples were collected at 139 sites throughout the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative study area in southwest Wyoming. These samples, representing a density of 1 site per 440 square kilometers, were collected from a depth of 0-5 cm and analyzed for a suite of more than 40 major...
Displaying seismic deaggregation: The importance of the various sources
Warwick D. Smith, Stephen Harmsen
2010, Seismological Research Letters (81) 488-497
Seismic hazard deaggregation has become a standard part of probabilistic seismic hazard assessment (PSHA). The first product of PSHA is calculation of the likely severity of ground motion at a given range of annual probability levels, and this is extremely important for seismic design...
Introduction to the JEEG Agricultural Geophysics Special Issue
Barry J. Allred, Bruce D. Smith
2010, Journal of Environmental & Engineering Geophysics (15) v-vi
Near-surface geophysical methods have become increasingly important tools in applied agricultural practices and studies. The great advantage of geophysical methods is their potential rapidity, low cost, and spatial continuity when compared to more traditional methods of assessing agricultural land, such as sample collection and laboratory analysis. Agricultural geophysics investigations commonly...
Effects of nourishment on the form and function of an estuarine beach
N.L. Jackson, K.F. Nordstrom, S. Saini, D. R. Smith
2010, Ecological Engineering (36) 1709-1718
Beach nourishment programs in estuaries can enhance shore protection, but they decrease habitat suitability by creating higher berms and wider backshores than would occur under natural conditions. Use of sediment sources from outside the area can result in sedimentary characteristics that differ from native sediments on the surface and at...
Effect of imperfect detectability on adaptive and conventional sampling: Simulated sampling of freshwater mussels in the upper Mississippi River
D. R. Smith, B. R. Gray, T.J. Newton, D. Nichols
2010, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (170) 499-507
Adaptive sampling designs are recommended where, as is typical with freshwater mussels, the outcome of interest is rare and clustered. However, the performance of adaptive designs has not been investigated when outcomes are not only rare and clustered but also imperfectly detected. We address this combination of challenges using data...
Establishing the Antarctic Dome C community reference standard site towards consistent measurements from Earth observation satellites
C. Cao, S. Uprety, J. Xiong, A. Wu, P. Jing, D. Smith, G. Chander, N. Fox, S. Ungar
2010, Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing (36) 498-513
Establishing satellite measurement consistency by using common desert sites has become increasingly more important not only for climate change detection but also for quantitative retrievals of geophysical variables in satellite applications. Using the Antarctic Dome C site (75°06′S, 123°21′E, elevation 3.2 km) for satellite radiometric calibration and validation (Cal/Val) is...
Population dynamics of the sand shiner (notropis stramineus) in non-wadeable rivers of Iowa
C. D. Smith, T.E. Neebling, M.C. Quist
2010, Journal of Freshwater Ecology (25) 617-626
The sand shiner (Notropis stramineus) is a common cyprinid found throughout the Great Plains region of North America that plays an important ecological role in aquatic systems. This study was conducted to describe population dynamics of sand shiners including age structure, growth, mortality, and recruitment variability in 15 non-wadeable rivers...
Post-construction monitoring of a Core-Loc™ breakwater using tripod-based LiDAR
Jessica H. Podoski, Gerald W. Bawden, Sandra Bond, Thomas D. Smith, James Foster
2010, Book chapter, Coasts, marine structures and breakwaters: Adapting to change
The goal of the technology application described herein is to determine whether breakwater monitoring data collected using Tripod (or Terrestrial) Light Detection and Ranging (T-LiDAR) can give insight into processes such as how Core-Loc™ concrete armour units nest following construction, and in turn how settlement affects armour layer stability, concrete...
Reference condition approach to restoration planning
J.M. Nestler, C.H. Theiling, S.J. Lubinski, D.L. Smith
2010, River Research and Applications (26) 1199-1219
Ecosystem restoration planning requires quantitative rigor to evaluate alternatives, define end states, report progress and perform environmental benefits analysis (EBA). Unfortunately, existing planning frameworks are, at best, semi-quantitative. In this paper, we: (1) describe a quantitative restoration planning approach based on a comprehensive, but simple mathematical framework that can be...
Calibration and filtering strategies for frequency domain electromagnetic data
Burke J. Minsley, Bruce D. Smith, Richard Hammack, James I. Sams, Garret Veloski
2010, Conference Paper, Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems 2010
echniques for processing frequency-domain electromagnetic (FDEM) data that address systematic instrument errors and random noise are presented, improving the ability to invert these data for meaningful earth models that can be quantitatively interpreted. A least-squares calibration method, originally developed for airborne electromagnetic datasets, is implemented for a ground-based survey in...
Using airborne geophysical surveys to improve groundwater resource management models
Jared D. Abraham, James C. Cannia, Steven M. Peterson, Bruce D. Smith, Burke J. Minsley, Paul A. Bedrosian
2010, Conference Paper, Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems 2010
Increasingly, groundwater management requires more accurate hydrogeologic frameworks for groundwater models. These complex issues have created the demand for innovative approaches to data collection. In complicated terrains, groundwater modelers benefit from continuous high‐resolution geologic maps and their related hydrogeologic‐parameter estimates. The USGS and its partners have collaborated to use airborne...
Persistence of canine distemper virus in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem's carnivore community
Emily S. Almberg, Paul C. Cross, D.W. Smith
2010, Ecological Applications (20) 2058-2074
Canine distemper virus (CDV) is an acute, highly immunizing pathogen that should require high densities and large populations of hosts for long-term persistence, yet CDV persists among terrestrial carnivores with small, patchily distributed groups. We used CDV in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem's (GYE) wolves (Canis lupus) and coyotes (Canis latrans)...
Feather lead concentrations and 207Pb/206Pb ratios reveal lead exposure history of California Condors (Gymnogyps californianus)
M.E. Finkelstein, D. George, S. Scherbinski, R. Gwiazda, M. Johnson, J. Burnett, J. Brandt, S. Lawrey, Allan P. Pessier, M.R. Clark, Janna Wynne, J. Grantham, D. R. Smith
2010, Environmental Science & Technology (44) 2639-2647
Lead poisoning is a primary factor impeding the survival and recovery of the critically endangered California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus). However, the frequency and magnitude of lead exposure in condors is not well-known in part because most blood lead monitoring occurs biannually, and biannual blood samples capture only ∼10% of a...
Efficient estimators for adaptive stratified sequential sampling
M. Salehi, M. Moradi, Jennifer Brown, David R. Smith
2010, Journal of Statistical Computation and Simulation (80) 1163-1179
In stratified sampling, methods for the allocation of effort among strata usually rely on some measure of within-stratum variance. If we do not have enough information about these variances, adaptive allocation can be used. In adaptive allocation designs, surveys are conducted in two phases. Information from the first phase is...
An incomplete analysis
David Smith, Eric M. Hallerman, Michael J. Millard, John A. Sweka, Richard G. Weber
2009, BioScience (59) 541-541
Niles and colleagues (2009) do not present all of the data relevant to the issues they address in the article they wrote for BioScience. They reference unnamed sources for pre-1997 horseshoe crab harvest to conclude that recent harvest exceeds historic harvest. In fact, reported landings from New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland,...
Preliminary results of the North American Soil Geochemical Landscapes Project, northeast United States and Maritime Provinces of Canada
Eric C. Grunsky, David B. Smith, Peter W.B. Friske, Laurel G. Woodruff
2009, Conference Paper, 24th International Applied Geochemistry Symposium
The results of a soil geochemical survey of the Canadian Maritime provinces and the northeast states of the United States are described. The data presented are for the <2-mm fraction of the surface layer (0-5 cm depth) and C horizons of the soil. Elemental determinations were made by ICP-MS following...
Test of a method to calculate near-bank velocity and boundary shear stress
Jason W. Kean, Roger A. Kuhnle, J. Dungan Smith, Carlos V. Alonso, Eddy J. Langendoen
2009, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering (135) 588-601
Helicopter Electromagnetic and Magnetic Geophysical Survey Data for Portions of the North Platte River and Lodgepole Creek, Nebraska, June 2008
Bruce D. Smith, Jared D. Abraham, James C. Cannia, Patricia Hill
2009, Open-File Report 2009-1110
This report is a release of digital data from a helicopter electromagnetic and magnetic survey that was conducted during June 2008 in areas of western Nebraska as part of a joint hydrologic study by the North Platte Natural Resource District, South Platte Natural Resource District, and U.S. Geological Survey. The...