Atlas of relations between climatic parameters and distributions of important trees and shrubs in North America: Revisions for all taxa from the United States and Canada and new taxa from the western United States
Robert S. Thompson, Katherine H. Anderson, Richard T. Pelltier, Laura E. Strickland, Sarah L. Shafer, Patrick J. Bartlein, Andrew K. McFadden
2015, Professional Paper 1650-G
This is the seventh volume in an atlas series that explores the relations between the geographic distributions of woody plant species and climatic variables in North America. A 25-kilometer (km) equal-area grid of modern climatic and bioclimatic variables was constructed from weather data. The geographic distributions of selected tree and...
In-place oil shale resources of the Mahogany zone sorted by grade, overburden thickness and stripping ratio, Green River Formation, Piceance Basin, Colorado and Uinta Basin, Utah
Justin E. Birdwell, Tracey J. Mercier, Ronald C. Johnson, Michael E. Brownfield
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3005
A range of geological parameters relevant to mining oil shale have been examined for the Mahogany zone of the Green River Formation in the Piceance Basin, Colorado, and Uinta Basin, Utah, using information available in the U.S. Geological Survey Oil Shale Assessment database. Basinwide discrete and cumulative distributions of resource...
Maine StreamStats: a water-resources web application
Pamela J. Lombard
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3014
Maine StreamStats is a tool that any user with Internet access can use to delineate a basin on the fly and estimate a wide variety of streamflow statistics for ungaged sites on rivers and streams in Maine. Estimates are based on regression equations or are from data from similar gaged...
Wildlife, urban inputs, and landscape configuration are responsible for degraded swimming water quality at an embayed beach
Muruleedhara N. Byappanahalli, Meredith Nevers, Richard L. Whitman, Zhongfu Ge, Dawn A. Shively, Ashley Spoljaric, Katarzyna Przybyla-Kelly
2015, Journal of Great Lakes Research (41) 156-163
Jeorse Park Beach, on southern Lake Michigan, experiences frequent closures due to high Escherichia coli (E. coli) levels since regular monitoring was implemented in 2005. During the summer of 2010, contaminant source tracking techniques, such as the conventional microbial and physical surveys and hydrodynamic models, were used to determine the reasons for...
The Landscape Evolution Observatory: a large-scale controllable infrastructure to study coupled Earth-surface processes
Luke A. Pangle, Stephen B. DeLong, Nate Abramson, John Adams, Greg A. Barron-Gafford, David D. Breshears, Paul D. Brooks, Jon Chorover, William E. Dietrich, Katerina Dontsova, Matej Durcik, Javier Espeleta, T.P.A. Ferre, Regis Ferriere, Whitney Henderson, Edward A. Hunt, Travis E. Huxman, David Millar, Brendan Murphy, Guo-Yue Niu, Mitch Pavao-Zuckerman, Jon D. Pelletier, Craig Rasmussen, Joaquin Ruiz, Scott Saleska, Marcel Schaap, Michael Sibayan, Peter A. Troch, Markus Tuller, Joost van Haren, Xubin Zeng
2015, Geomorphology (244) 190-203
Zero-order drainage basins, and their constituent hillslopes, are the fundamental geomorphic unit comprising much of Earth's uplands. The convergent topography of these landscapes generates spatially variable substrate and moisture content, facilitating biological diversity and influencing how the landscape filters precipitation and sequesters atmospheric carbon dioxide. In light of these significant...
Large-scale dam removal on the Elwha River, Washington, USA: river channel and floodplain geomorphic change
Amy E. East, George R. Pess, Jennifer A. Bountry, Christopher S. Magirl, Andrew C. Ritchie, Joshua B. Logan, Timothy J. Randle, Mark C. Mastin, Justin Toby Minear, Jeffrey J. Duda, Martin C. Liermann, Michael L. McHenry, Timothy J. Beechie, Patrick B. Shafroth
2015, Geomorphology (228) 765-786
A substantial increase in fluvial sediment supply relative to transport capacity causes complex, large-magnitude changes in river and floodplain morphology downstream. Although sedimentary and geomorphic responses to sediment pulses are a fundamental part of landscape evolution, few opportunities exist to quantify those processes over field scales. We investigated the downstream...
Toxicity of sediments from lead-zinc mining areas to juvenile freshwater mussels (Lampsilis siliquoidea) compared to standard test organisms
John M. Besser, Christopher G. Ingersoll, William G. Brumbaugh, Nile E. Kemble, Thomas W. May, Ning Wang, Donald D. MacDonald, Andrew D. Roberts
2015, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (34) 626-639
Sediment toxicity tests compared chronic effects on survival, growth, and biomass of juvenile freshwater mussels (28-d exposures with Lampsilis siliquoidea) to the responses of standard test organisms—amphipods (28-d exposures with Hyalella azteca) and midges (10-d exposures with Chironomus dilutus)—in sediments from 2 lead–zinc mining areas: the Tri-State Mining District and Southeast Missouri...
A plant toxin mediated mechanism for the lag in snowshoe hare population recovery following cyclic declines
Donald L. DeAngelis, John P. Bryant, Rongsong Liu, Stephen A. Gourley, Charles J Krebs, Paul B Reichardt
2015, Oikos (124) 796-805
A necessary condition for a snowshoe hare population to cycle is reduced reproduction after the population declines. But the cause of a cyclic snowshoe hare population's reduced reproduction during the low phase of the cycle, when predator density collapses, is not completely understood. We propose that moderate-severe browsing by snowshoe...
Seismicity of the Earth 1900-2013, seismotectonics of South America (Nazca Plate Region)
Gavin P. Hayes, Gregory M. Smoczyk, Harley M. Benz, Kevin P. Furlong, Antonio Villaseñor
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1031-E
The South American arc extends over 7,000 kilometers (km), from the Chilean margin triple junction offshore of southern Chile, to its intersection with the Panama fracture zone, offshore of the southern coast of Panama in Central America. It marks the plate boundary between the subducting Nazca plate and the South...
Ecosystem consequences of changing inputs of terrestrial dissolved organic matter to lakes: current knowledge and future challenges
Christopher T. Solomon, Stuart E. Jones, Brian Weidel, Ishi Buffam, Megan L. Fork, Jan Karlsson, Soren Larsen, Jay T. Lennon, Jordan S. Read, Steven Sadro, Jasmine E. Saros
2015, Ecosystems (18) 376-389
Lake ecosystems and the services that they provide to people are profoundly influenced by dissolved organic matter derived from terrestrial plant tissues. These terrestrial dissolved organic matter (tDOM) inputs to lakes have changed substantially in recent decades, and will likely continue to change. In this paper, we first briefly review...
Conceptual and numerical models of groundwater flow in the Ogallala and Arikaree aquifers, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation area, South Dakota, water years 1980-2009
Kyle W. Davis, Larry D. Putnam, Anneka R. LaBelle
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5241
The Ogallala and Arikaree aquifers are the largest sources of groundwater on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and are used extensively for irrigation and public and domestic water supplies. To assess the potential for decreased water levels and discharge to streams in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, conceptual and numerical...
A comparison of hydrologic models for ecological flows and water availability
Peter V Caldwell, Jonathan G. Kennen, Ge Sun, Julie E. Kiang, John B Butcher, Michelle C Eddy, Lauren E. Hay, Jacob H. LaFontaine, Ernie F. Hain, Stacy C Nelson, Steve G McNulty
2015, Ecohydrology (8) 1525-1546
Robust hydrologic models are needed to help manage water resources for healthy aquatic ecosystems and reliable water supplies for people, but there is a lack of comprehensive model comparison studies that quantify differences in streamflow predictions among model applications developed to answer management questions. We assessed differences in daily streamflow...
Development of 13 microsatellites for Gunnison Sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) using next-generation shotgun sequencing and their utility in Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus)
Jennifer A. Fike, Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Shawna J Zimmerman, Todd A. Castoe
2015, Conservation Genetics Resources (7) 211-214
Gunnison Sage-grouse are an obligate sagebrush species that has experienced significant population declines and has been proposed for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. In order to examine levels of connectivity among Gunnison Sage-grouse leks, we identified 13 novel microsatellite loci though next-generation shotgun sequencing, and tested them on...
Analysis of historic agricultural irrigation data from the Natural Resources Conservation Service monitoring and evaluation for Grand Valley, Lower Gunnison Basin, and McElmo Creek Basin, western Colorado, 1985 to 2003
John W. Mayo
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1261
The Natural Resources Conservation Service Monitoring and Evaluation for three salinity control units in western Colorado—Grand Valley, Lower Gunnison, and McElmo Creek—from 1985 to 2003 was a response to the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act, Public Law 93–320, July 24, 1974, and its amendments. The Natural Resources Conservation Service...
The U.S. Geological Survey’s nonindigenous aquatic species database: over thirty years of tracking introduced aquatic species in the United States (and counting)
Pamela L. Fuller, Matthew E. Neilson
2015, Management of Biological Invasions (6) 159-170
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) Database has tracked introductions of freshwater aquatic organisms in the United States for the past four decades. A website provides access to occurrence reports, distribution maps, and fact sheets for more than 1,000 species. The site also includes an on-line reporting system...
Modeling elk and bison carrying capacity for Great Sand Dunes National Park, Baca National Wildlife Refuge, and The Nature Conservancy's Medano Ranch, Colorado
Gary Wockner, Randall Boone, Kathryn A. Schoenecker, Linda Zeigenfuss
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1200
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve and the neighboring Baca National Wildlife Refuge constitute an extraordinary setting that offers a variety of opportunities for outdoor recreation and natural resource preservation in the San Luis Valley of Colorado. Adjacent to these federal lands, the Nature Conservancy (TNC) manages the historic...
Pre-fieldwork surveys
Robert C. Witter
Ian Shennan, Antony J. Long, Benajamin P. Horton, editor(s)
2015, Book chapter, Handbook of sea-level research
In sea-level studies, initial surveys at the office or library can increase a project’s likelihood of success. Pre-fieldwork surveys should begin with a thorough review of prior research literature that appraises available data, identifies data gaps, and places the project objectives into a broader scientific context. Whereas peer reviewed journal...
Metal Mixture Modeling Evaluation project: 2. Comparison of four modeling approaches
Kevin J. Farley, Joe Meyer, Laurie S. Balistrieri, Karl DeSchamphelaere, Yuichi Iwasaki, Colin Janssen, Masashi Kamo, Steve Lofts, Christopher A. Mebane, Wataru Naito, Adam C. Ryan, Robert C. Santore, Edward Tipping
2015, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (34) 741-753
As part of the Metal Mixture Modeling Evaluation (MMME) project, models were developed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Japan), the U.S. Geological Survey (USA), HDR⎪HydroQual, Inc. (USA), and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UK) to address the effects of metal mixtures on biological responses...
Occurrence and distribution of fecal indicator bacteria and gene markers of pathogenic bacteria in Great Lakes tributaries, March-October 2011
Angela K. Brennan, Heather E. Johnson, Alexander R. Totten, Joseph W. Duris
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1013
From March through October 2011, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), conducted a study to determine the frequency of occurrence of pathogen gene markers and densities of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) in 22 tributaries to the Great Lakes. This project was funded as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)...
Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) radiometric performance on-orbit
Ron Morfitt, Julia A. Barsi, Raviv Levy, Brian L. Markham, Esad Micijevic, Lawrence Ong, Pat Scaramuzza, Kelly Vanderwerff
2015, Remote Sensing (7) 2208-2237
Expectations of the Operational Land Imager (OLI) radiometric performance onboard Landsat-8 have been met or exceeded. The calibration activities that occurred prior to launch provided calibration parameters that enabled ground processing to produce imagery that met most requirements when data were transmitted to the ground. Since launch, calibration updates have...
C3 and C4 plant responses to increased temperatures and altered monsoonal precipitation in a cool desert on the Colorado Plateau, USA
Timothy M. Wertin, Sasha C. Reed, Jayne Belnap
2015, Oecologia (177) 997-1013
Dryland ecosystems represent >40 % of the terrestrial landscape and support over two billion people; consequently, it is vital to understand how drylands will respond to climatic change. However, while arid and semiarid ecosystems commonly experience extremely hot and dry conditions, our understanding of how further temperature increases or altered precipitation...
Likelihood analysis of spatial capture-recapture models for stratified or class structured populations
J. Andrew Royle, Christopher S. Sutherland, Angela K. Fuller, Catherine C. Sun
2015, Ecosphere (6)
We develop a likelihood analysis framework for fitting spatial capture-recapture (SCR) models to data collected on class structured or stratified populations. Our interest is motivated by the necessity of accommodating the problem of missing observations of individual class membership. This is particularly problematic in SCR data arising from DNA analysis...
Coping with earthquakes induced by fluid injection
Arthur F. McGarr, Barbara Bekins, Nina Burkardt, James W. Dewey, Paul S. Earle, William L. Ellsworth, Shemin Ge, Stephen H. Hickman, Austin F. Holland, Ernest Majer, Justin L. Rubinstein, Anne Sheehan
2015, Science (347) 830-831
Large areas of the United States long considered geologically stable with little or no detected seismicity have recently become seismically active. The increase in earthquake activity began in the mid-continent starting in 2001 (1) and has continued to rise. In 2014, the rate of occurrence of earthquakes with magnitudes (M)...
Development of regression equations to revise estimates of historical streamflows for the St. Croix River at Stillwater, Minnesota (water years 1910-2011), and Prescott, Wisconsin (water years 1910-2007)
Jeffrey R. Ziegeweid, Suzanne Magdalene
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5239
A natural dam of glacial-era sediments at the confluence of the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers forms Lake St. Croix, a riverine lake that comprises the lowest 25 miles of the St. Croix River. Historically, backwater effects from the Mississippi River prevented the use of traditional streamgages for collecting continuous...
Assessment of unconventional oil and gas resources in the Jurassic Sargelu Formation of Iraq, 2014
Christopher J. Schenk, Janet K. Pitman, Ronald R. Charpentier, Timothy R. Klett, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Michael E. Brownfield, Heidi M. Leathers, Tracey J. Mercier, Marilyn E. Tennyson
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3006
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) quantitatively assessed the potential for unconventional (continuous) oil and gas resources within the Jurassic Sargelu Formation of Iraq. Organic-rich shales of the Jurassic Sargelu Formation are one of the main petroleum source rocks for conventional fields in the Arabian Peninsula. The Sargelu Formation consists of...
