Recovery of a mining-damaged stream ecosystem
Christopher A. Mebane, Robert J. Eakins, Brian G. Fraser, William J. Adams
2015, Elementa: Science of the anthropocene (3) 1-34
This paper presents a 30+ year record of changes in benthic macroinvertebrate communities and fish populations associated with improving water quality in mining-influenced streams. Panther Creek, a tributary to the Salmon River in central Idaho, USA suffered intensive damage from mining and milling operations at the Blackbird Mine that released...
Relative importance of phosphorus, invasive mussels and climate for patterns in chlorophyll a and primary production in Lakes Michigan and Huron
David M. Warner, Barry M. Lesht
2015, Freshwater Biology (60) 1029-1043
1. Lakes Michigan and Huron, which are undergoing oligotrophication after reduction of phosphorus loading, invasion by dreissenid mussels and variation in climate, provide an opportunity to conduct large-scale evaluation of the relative importance of these changes for lake productivity. We used remote sensing, field data and an information-theoretic approach to...
Archive of digital chirp subbottom profile data collected during USGS Cruise 13CCT04 offshore of Petit Bois Island, Mississippi, August 2013
Arnell S. Forde, James G. Flocks, Jack L. Kindinger, Julie Bernier, Kyle W. Kelso, Dana S. Wiese
2015, Data Series 924
From August 13-23, 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) conducted geophysical surveys to investigate the geologic controls on barrier island framework and long-term sediment transport offshore of Petit Bois Island, Mississippi. This investigation is part of a broader USGS study...
Use of satellite images to determine surface-water cover during the flood event of September 13, 2013, in Lyons and western Longmont, Colorado
Christopher J. Cole, Beverly A. Friesen, Earl M. Wilson, Stanley R. Wilds, Suzanne M. Noble
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1042
The flooding that occurred in north-central Colorado in 2013 was some of the most destructive in the state’s history. Following a summer of drought and wildfires, a wet weather system stalled over the Front Range area from Fort Collins in the north to Colorado Springs in the south, including the...
Geospatial assessment of ecological functions and flood-related risks on floodplains along major rivers in the Puget Sound Basin, Washington
Christopher P. Konrad
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5033
Ecological functions and flood-related risks were assessed for floodplains along the 17 major rivers flowing into Puget Sound Basin, Washington. The assessment addresses five ecological functions, five components of flood-related risks at two spatial resolutions—fine and coarse. The fine-resolution assessment compiled spatial attributes of floodplains from existing, publicly available sources and...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for West Virginia
William J. Carswell Jr.
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3017
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of West Virginia, elevation data are critical for natural resources conservation, flood risk management, forest resources management, infrastructure and construction management, agriculture and...
Observing a catastrophic thermokarst lake drainage in northern Alaska
Benjamin M. Jones, Christopher D. Arp
2015, Permafrost and Periglacial Processes (26) 119-128
The formation and drainage of thermokarst lakes have reshaped ice-rich permafrost lowlands in the Arctic throughout the Holocene. North of Teshekpuk Lake, on the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska, thermokarst lakes presently occupy 22.5% of the landscape, and drained thermokarst lake basins occupy 61.8%. Analysis of remotely sensed imagery...
Hydrologic characteristics of low-impact stormwater control measures at two sites in northeastern Ohio, 2008-13
Robert A. Darner, William D. Shuster, Denise H. Dumouchelle
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5030
This report updates and examines hydrologic data gathered to characterize the performance of two stormwater-control measure (SCM) sites in the Chagrin River watershed, Ohio. At the Sterncrest Drive site, roadside bioswales and rain gardens were used to alleviate drainage problems in this residential neighborhood area. At the Washington Street site,...
Seismic-sequence stratigraphy and geologic structure of the Floridan aquifer system near "Boulder Zone" deep wells in Miami-Dade County, Florida
Kevin J. Cunningham
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5013
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department, acquired, processed, and interpreted seismic-reflection data near the North and South District “Boulder Zone” Well Fields to determine if geologic factors may contribute to the upward migration of injected effluent into that upper part of the Floridan...
Community for Data Integration 2013 Annual Report
Michelle Y. Chang, Jennifer Carlino, Christopher Barnes, David L. Blodgett, Andrew R. Bock, Anthony L. Everette, Gregory L. Fernette, Lorraine E. Flint, Janice M. Gordon, David L. Govoni, Lauren E. Hay, Heather S. Henkel, Megan Hines, Sally L. Holl, Collin G. Homer, Vivian B. Hutchison, Drew A. Ignizio, Tim J. Kern, Frances L. Lightsom, Steven L. Markstrom, Michael S. O’Donnell, Jacquelyn L. Schei, Lorna A. Schmid, Kathryn M. Schoephoester, Peter N. Schweitzer, Susan K. Skagen, Daniel J. Sullivan, Colin Talbert, Meredith Pavlick Warren
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1005
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducts earth science to help address complex issues affecting society and the environment. In 2006, the USGS held the first Scientific Information Management Workshop to bring together staff from across the organization to discuss the data and information management issues affecting the integration and delivery...
Geophysical log analysis of selected test and residential wells at the Shenandoah Road National Superfund Site, East Fishkill, Dutchess County, New York
Richard J. Reynolds, J. Alton Anderson, John Williams
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5228
The U.S. Geological Survey collected and analyzed geophysical logs from 20 test wells and 23 residential wells at the Shenandoah Road National Superfund Site in East Fishkill, New York, from 2006 through 2010 as part of an Interagency Agreement to provide hydrogeologic technical support to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,...
Contaminant removal by wastewater treatment plants in the Stillaguamish River Basin, Washington
Jack E. Barbash, Patrick W. Moran, Richard J. Wagner, Michael Wolanek
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3023
Human activities in most areas of the developed world typically release nutrients, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides, and other contaminants into the environment, many of which reach freshwater ecosystems. In urbanized areas, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are critical facilities for collecting and reducing the amounts of wastewater contaminants (WWCs) that...
A review of infectious agents in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) and their long-term ecological relevance
Anna C. Fagre, Kelly A. Patyk, Pauline Nol, Todd C. Atwood, Karsten Hueffer, Colleen G. Duncan
2015, EcoHealth (12) 528-539
Disease was a listing criterion for the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2008; it is therefore important to evaluate the current state of knowledge and identify any information gaps pertaining to diseases in polar bears. We conducted a systematic literature review focused...
Assessment of the use of sorbent amendments for reduction of mercury methylation in wetland sediments at Acadia National Park, Maine
Thomas G. Huntington, Ariel Lewis, Aria Amirbahman, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Charles W. Culbertson
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5234
Mercury is a contaminant of ecological concern because of its ubiquity and toxicity to fish and wildlife, and is considered a severe and ongoing threat to biota at Acadia National Park in Maine. The formation and biomagnification of methylmercury is the primary concern of resource managers at Acadia, and information...
Direct detection of fungal siderophores on bats with white-nose syndrome via fluorescence microscopy-guided ambient ionization mass spectrometry
Samantha J. Mascuch, Wilna J. Moree, Cheng-Chih Cheng-Chih Hsu, Gregory G. Turner, Tina L. Cheng, David S. Blehert, A. Marm Kilpatrick, Winifred F. Frick, Michael J. Meehan, Pieter C. Dorrestein, Lena Gerwick
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
White-nose syndrome (WNS) caused by the pathogenic fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans is decimating the populations of several hibernating North American bat species. Little is known about the molecular interplay between pathogen and host in this disease. Fluorescence microscopy ambient ionization mass spectrometry was used to generate metabolic profiles from the wings of both...
Surface and subsurface microgravity data in the vicinity of Sanford Underground Research Facility, Lead, South Dakota
Jeffrey R. Kennedy, Karl R. Koth, Rob Carruth
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1043
Absolute gravity data were collected at 32 stations in the vicinity of the Sanford Underground Research Facility from 2007 through 2014 for the purpose of monitoring groundwater storage change during dewatering of the former Homestake gold mine in the Black Hills of South Dakota, the largest and deepest underground mine...
Barite: a case study of import reliance on an essential material for oil and gas exploration and development drilling
Donald I. Bleiwas, M. Michael Miller
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5230
Global dependence on a limited number of countries for specific mineral commodities could lead to sudden supply disruptions for the United States, and barite is one such commodity. Analyses of barite supply amounts and sources for the United States are demonstrative of mineral commodities on which the country is import...
Chemical variations in Yellowknife Bay formation sedimentary rocks analyzed by ChemCam on board the Curiosity rover on Mars
Nicolas Mangold, Olivier Forni, G. Dromart, K.M. Stack, Roger C. Wiens, Olivier Gasnault, Dawn Y. Sumner, Marion Nachon, Pierre-Yves Meslin, Ryan B. Anderson, Bruce Barraclough, J.F. Bell III, G. Berger, D.L. Blaney, J.C. Bridges, F. Calef, Brian R. Clark, Samuel M. Clegg, Agnes Cousin, L. Edgar, Kenneth S. Edgett, B.L. Ehlmann, Cecile Fabre, M. Fisk, John P. Grotzinger, S.C. Gupta, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, J.A. Hurowitz, J. R. Johnson, Linda C. Kah, Nina L. Lanza, Jeremie Lasue, S. Le Mouélic, Eric Lewin, Michael Malin, Scott M. McLennan, S. Maurice, Noureddine Melikechi, Alissa Mezzacappa, Ralph E. Milliken, H.L. Newsome, A. Ollila, Scott K. Rowland, Violaine Sautter, M.E. Schmidt, S. Schroder, C. D'Uston, Dave Vaniman, R. A. Williams
2015, Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets (120) 452-482
The Yellowknife Bay formation represents a ~5 m thick stratigraphic section of lithified fluvial and lacustrine sediments analyzed by the Curiosity rover in Gale crater, Mars. Previous works have mainly focused on the mudstones that were drilled by the rover at two locations. The present study focuses on the sedimentary...
Structural degradation of Thar lignite using MW1 fungal isolate: optimization studies
Rizwan Haider, Muhammad A. Ghauri, Elizabeth J. Jones, William H. Orem, John R. SanFilipo
2015, International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation (100) 149-154
Biological degradation of low-rank coals, particularly degradation mediated by fungi, can play an important role in helping us to utilize neglected lignite resources for both fuel and non-fuel applications. Fungal degradation of low-rank coals has already been investigated for the extraction of soil-conditioning agents and the substrates, which could be...
A review of the global relationship among freshwater fish, autotrophic activity, and regional climate
Andrew M. Deines, David B. Bunnell, Mark W. Rogers, T. Douglas Beard Jr., William W. Taylor
2015, Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries (25) 323-336
The relationship between autotrophic activity and freshwater fish populations is an important consideration for ecologists describing trophic structure in aquatic communities, fisheries managers tasked with increasing sustainable fisheries development, and fish farmers seeking to maximize production. Previous studies of the empirical relationships of autotrophic activity and freshwater fish yield have...
Bahamas connection: residence areas selected by breeding female loggerheads tagged in Dry Tortugas National Park, USA
Kristen M. Hart, Autumn R. Sartain-Iverson, Ikuko Fujisaki
2015, Animal Biotelemetry (3)
Background Delineation of home ranges, residence and foraging areas, and migration corridors is important for understanding the habitat needs for a given species. Recently, many population segments of Northwest Atlantic loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) were designated as endangered or threatened; the smallest subpopulation is in the Dry Tortugas. Foraging and...
Paleoceanographic, and paleoclimatic constraints on the global Eocene diatom and silicoflagellate record
John A. Barron, Catherine E. Stickley, David Bukry
2015, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (422) 85-100
Eocene diatom and silicoflagellate biostratigraphy are summarized and correlated with the most recent geologic time scale as well as with the global oxygen isotope and eustatic sea level curves. The global distribution of Eocene diatom/silicoflagellate-bearing sediments varies considerably, reflecting changing oceanic gateways and paleoceanography with changing patterns that are...
A survey of Bureau of Land Management employees on collaboration and alternative dispute resolution
Emily W. Ruell, Nina Burkardt, Ryan M. Donovan
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1015
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has been actively expanding its capacity to work cooperatively with other agencies, Tribes, the public, and other stakeholders using collaborative and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) approaches. In 1997, the BLM created the BLM’s Collaboration and Alternative Dispute Resolution Program (Collaboration/ADR Program) to centralize, strengthen,...
Estimated freshwater withdrawals in Washington, 2010
Ron C. Lane, Wendy B. Welch
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5037
Every 5 years since 1950, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has compiled data on the amount of water used in homes, businesses, industries, and farms throughout the State. This water-use data, combined with other related USGS information, has facilitated a unique understanding of the effects of human activity on the...
Back-island and open-ocean shorelines, and sand areas of Assateague Island, Maryland and Virginia, April 12, 1989, to September 5, 2013
Kristy K. Guy
2015, Data Series 928
Assessing the physical change to shorelines and wetlands is critical in determining the resiliency of wetland systems that protect adjacent habitat and communities. The wetland and back-barrier shorelines of Assateague Island, located in Maryland and Virginia, changed as a result of wave action and storm surge that occurred during Hurricane...
