Water's Way at Sleepers River watershed – revisiting flow generation in a post-glacial landscape, Vermont USA
James B. Shanley, Stephen D. Sebestyen, Jeffrey J. McDonnell, Brian L. McGlynn, Thomas Dunne
2015, Hydrological Processes (29) 3447-3459
The Sleepers River Research Watershed (SRRW) in Vermont, USA, has been the site of active hydrologic research since 1959 and was the setting where Dunne and Black demonstrated the importance and controls of saturation-excess overland flow (SOF) on streamflow generation. Here, we review the early studies from the SRRW and...
Soil surface organic layers in Arctic Alaska: spatial distribution, rates of formation, and microclimatic effects
Carson Baughman, Daniel H. Mann, David L. Verbyla, Michael L. Kunz
2015, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (120) 1150-1164
Organic layers of living and dead vegetation cover the ground surface in many permafrost landscapes and play important roles in ecosystem processes. These soil surface organic layers (SSOLs) store large amounts of carbon and buffer the underlying permafrost and its contained carbon from changes in aboveground climate. Understanding the dynamics of SSOLs...
Ecosystem carbon stocks and sequestration potential of federal lands across the conterminous United States
Zhengxi Tan, Shuguang Liu, Terry L. Sohl, Yiping Wu, Claudia J. Young
2015, PNAS (112) 12723-12728
Federal lands across the conterminous United States (CONUS) account for 23.5% of the CONUS terrestrial area but have received no systematic studies on their ecosystem carbon (C) dynamics and contribution to the national C budgets. The methodology for US Congress-mandated national biological C sequestration potential assessment was used to evaluate...
Parameter estimation for groundwater models under uncertain irrigation data
Yonas Demissie, Albert J. Valocchi, Ximing Cai, Nicholas Brozovic, Gabriel B. Senay, Mekonnen Gebremichael
2015, Groundwater (53) 614-625
The success of modeling groundwater is strongly influenced by the accuracy of the model parameters that are used to characterize the subsurface system. However, the presence of uncertainty and possibly bias in groundwater model source/sink terms may lead to biased estimates of model parameters and model predictions when the standard...
Evidence of a higher late-Holocene treeline along the Continental Divide in central Colorado
Paul E. Carrara, John McGeehin
2015, The Holocene (25) 1829-1837
Using a combination of 23 radiocarbon ages and annual ring counts from 18 Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine (Pinus aristata) remnants above the local present-day limits, a period of higher treeline has been determined for two sites near the Continental Divide in central Colorado. The highest remnants were found about 30 m...
Early Holocene Great Salt Lake
Charles G. Oviatt, David B. Madsen, David M. Miller, Robert S. Thompson, John P. McGeehin
2015, Quaternary Research (84) 57-68
Shorelines and surficial deposits (including buried forest-floor mats and organic-rich wetland sediments) show that Great Salt Lake did not rise higher than modern lake levels during the earliest Holocene (11.5–10.2 cal ka BP; 10–9 14C ka BP). During that period, finely laminated, organic-rich muds (sapropel) containing brine-shrimp cysts and...
Transport, dam passage, and size selection of adult Atlantic Salmon in the Penobscot River, Maine
Douglas B. Sigourney, Joseph D. Zydlewski, Edward Hughes, Oliver Cox
2015, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (35) 1164-1176
Prior to 2012, returning adult Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar had to pass through fishways at three dams in the lower section of the Penobscot River, Maine: Veazie Dam (river kilometer [rkm] 48; removed in 2013), Great Works Dam (rkm 60; removed in 2012), and Milford Dam (rkm 62). To facilitate...
Use of phosphorus to reduce blooms of the benthic diatom Didymosphenia geminata in an oligotrophic stream
Daniel A. James, Max L. Bothwell, Steven R. Chipps, John Carreiro
2015, Freshwater Science (34) 1272-1281
Blooms of the benthic alga, Didymosphenia geminata [Lyngbye (Schmidt)], were first documented in Rapid Creek, South Dakota, in 2002 and have since been associated with changes to aquatic resources. Low concentration of P has been associated with D. geminata stalk development (i.e., blooms), so we considered elevating P as a...
Tectonic and sedimentary linkages between the Belt-Purcell basin and southwestern Laurentia during the Mesoproterozoic ca. 1.60-1.40 Ga
James V. Jones III, Christohper G Dainel, Michael F Doe
2015, Lithosphere (7) 465-472
Mesoproterozoic sedimentary basins in western North America provide key constraints on pre-Rodinia craton positions and interactions along the western rifted margin of Laurentia. One such basin, the Belt-Purcell basin, extends from southern Idaho into southern British Columbia and contains a >18-km-thick succession of siliciclastic sediment deposited ca. 1.47–1.40 Ga. The...
Enhanced microbial coalbed methane generation: A review of research, commercial activity, and remaining challenges
Daniel J. Ritter, David S. Vinson, Elliott P. Barnhart, Denise M. Akob, Matthew W. Fields, Al B. Cunningham, William H. Orem, Jennifer C. McIntosh
2015, International Journal of Coal Geology (146) 28-41
Coalbed methane (CBM) makes up a significant portion of the world’s natural gas resources. The discovery that approximately 20% of natural gas is microbial in origin has led to interest in microbially enhanced CBM (MECoM), which involves stimulating microorganisms to produce additional CBM from existing production wells. This paper reviews...
Flood Map for the Winooski River in Waterbury, Vermont, 2014
Scott A. Olson
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5077
From August 28 to 29, 2011, Tropical Storm Irene delivered rainfall ranging from approximately 4 to more than 7 inches in the Winooski River Basin in Vermont. The rainfall resulted in severe flooding throughout the basin and significant damage along the Winooski River. In response to the flooding, the U.S....
Geologic map of the Simcoe Mountains Volcanic Field, main central segment, Yakama Nation, Washington
Wes Hildreth, Judy Fierstein
2015, Scientific Investigations Map 3315
Mountainous parts of the Yakama Nation lands in south-central Washington are mostly covered by basaltic lava flows and cinder cones that make up the Simcoe Mountains volcanic field. The accompanying geologic map of the central part of the volcanic field has been produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on...
Integrating multiple distribution models to guide conservation efforts of an endangered toad
Michael L. Treglia, Robert N. Fisher, Lee A. Fitzgerald
2015, PLoS ONE (10) 1-18
Species distribution models are used for numerous purposes such as predicting changes in species’ ranges and identifying biodiversity hotspots. Although implications of distribution models for conservation are often implicit, few studies use these tools explicitly to inform conservation efforts. Herein, we illustrate how multiple distribution models developed using distinct sets...
Holocene diatom-derived climate history of Medicine Lake, northern California, USA
Scott W. Starratt
2015, CIRMOUNT Mountain Views (9) 12-20
The Medicine Lake record is unusual because it responds not only to local and regional climate signals, but changes in conditions on Medicine Lake volcano during the Holocene. Ice retreated within the Medicine Lake volcano occurred around 11,400 years ago, followed by filling of two sub-basins. The absence of Cyclotella...
Sediment conditions in the San Antonio River Basin downstream from San Antonio, Texas, 2000-13
Darwin J. Ockerman, J. Ryan Banta, Cassi L. Crow, Stephen P. Opsahl
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3043
Sediment plays an important role in the ecological health of rivers and estuaries and consequently is an important issue for water-resource managers. To better understand sediment characteristics in the San Antonio River Basin, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio River Authority, completed a two-part study in...
California State Waters Map Series — Offshore of Point Reyes, California
Janet Watt, Peter Dartnell, Nadine E. Golden, H. Gary Greene, Mercedes D. Erdey, Guy R. Cochrane, Samuel Y. Johnson, Stephen R. Hartwell, Rikk G. Kvitek, Michael W. Manson, Charles A. Endris, Bryan E. Dieter, Ray W. Sliter, Lisa M. Krigsman, Erik Lowe, John L. Chinn
Janet Watt, Susan A. Cochran, editor(s)
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1114
This publication about the Offshore of Point Reyes map area includes ten map sheets that contain explanatory text, in addition to this descriptive pamphlet and a data catalog of geographic information system (GIS) files. Sheets 1, 2, and 3 combine data from four different sonar surveys to generate comprehensive high-resolution...
Assessment of interim flow water-quality data of the San Joaquin River restoration program and implications for fishes, California, 2009-11
Marissa L. Wulff, Larry R. Brown
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1093
After more than 50 years of extensive water diversion for urban and agriculture use, a major settlement was reached among the U.S. Departments of the Interior and Commerce, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Friant Water Users Authority in an effort to restore the San Joaquin River. The settlement...
Ocean circulation and biogeochemistry moderate interannual and decadal surface water pH changes in the Sargasso Sea
Nathalie F. Goodkin, Bo-Shian Wang, Chen-Feng You, Konrad Hughen, Nancy G. Prouty, Nicholas Bates, Scott Doney
2015, Geophysical Research Letters (42) 4931-4939
The oceans absorb anthropogenic CO2 from the atmosphere, lowering surface ocean pH, a concern for calcifying marine organisms. The impact of ocean acidification is challenging to predict as each species appears to respond differently and because our knowledge of natural changes to ocean pH is limited in both time and...
Geochemical reanalysis of historical U.S. Geological Survey sediment samples from the Inmachuk, Kugruk, Kiwalik, and Koyuk River drainages, Granite Mountain, and the northern Darby Mountains, Bendeleben, Candle, Kotzebue, and Solomon quadrangles, Alaska
Melanie B. Werdon, Matthew Granitto, Jaime S. Azain
2015, Report
The State of Alaska’s Strategic and Critical Minerals (SCM) Assessment project, a State-funded Capital Improvement Project (CIP), is designed to evaluate Alaska’s statewide potential for SCM resources. The SCM Assessment is being implemented by the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS), and involves obtaining new airborne-geophysical, geological, and...
Hydrologic influences on water-level changes in the Eastern Snake River Plain aquifer at and near the Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, 1949-2014
Roy C. Bartholomay, Brian V. Twining
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5085
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, has maintained a water-level monitoring program at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) since 1949 to systematically measure water levels to provide long-term information on groundwater recharge, discharge, movement, and storage in the eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) aquifer....
The influence of a rapid drawdown and prolonged dewatering on angling pressure, catch and harvest in a Nebraska reservoir
Jason A. DeBoer, Christa M. Webber, Taylor A. Dixon, Kevin L. Pope
2015, Journal of Freshwater Ecology (31) 131-146
Reservoirs can be dynamic systems, often prone to unpredictable and extreme water-level fluctuations, and can be environments where survival is difficult for zooplankton and larval fish. Although numerous studies have examined the effects of extreme reservoir drawdown on water quality, few have examined extreme drawdown on both abiotic and biotic...
Geochemical reanalysis of historical U.S. Geological Survey sediment samples from the Kougarok area, Bendeleben and Teller quadrangles, Seward Peninsula, Alaska
Melanie B. Werdon, Matthew Granitto, Jaime S. Azain
2015, Report, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys
The State of Alaska’s Strategic and Critical Minerals (SCM) Assessment project, a State-funded Capital Improvement Project (CIP), is designed to evaluate Alaska’s statewide potential for SCM resources. The SCM Assessment is being implemented by the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS), and involves obtaining new airborne-geophysical, geological, and...
An empirical evaluation of landscape energetic models: Mallard and American black duck space use during the non-breeding period
William S. Beatty, Elisabeth B. Webb, Dylan C. Kesler, Luke W. Naylor, Andrew H. Raedeke, Dale D. Humburg, John M. Coluccy, G. Soulliere
2015, Journal of Wildlife Management (79) 1141-1151
Bird conservation Joint Ventures are collaborative partnerships between public agencies and private organizations that facilitate habitat management to support waterfowl and other bird populations. A subset of Joint Ventures has developed energetic carrying capacity models (ECCs) to translate regional waterfowl population goals into habitat objectives during the non-breeding period. Energetic...
Reproductive biology of Ambystoma salamanders in the southeastern United States
Brad M. Glorioso, J. Hardin Waddle, J. M. Hefner
2015, Herpetology Notes (8) 347-356
Reproductive aspects of Ambystoma salamanders were investigated at sites in Louisiana (2010–12) and Mississippi (2013). Three species occurred at the Louisiana site, Spotted Salamander (A. maculatum), Marbled Salamander (A. opacum), and Mole Salamander (A. talpoideum), whereas only Spotted Salamanders were studied at the Mississippi site. A total of 162 and...
Detection of snake fungal disease due to Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola in Virginia, USA
Amanda L. Guthrie, Susan Knowles, Anne Ballmann, Jeffrey M. Lorch
2015, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (52) 143-149
Snake fungal disease (SFD) is an emerging disease of wildlife believed to be caused by Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola. Although geographic and host ranges have yet to be determined, this disease is characterized by crusty scales, superficial pustules, and subcutaneous nodules, with subsequent morbidity and mortality in some snake species. To confirm the...
