Energy map of southwestern Wyoming, Part B: oil and gas, oil shale, uranium, and solar
Laura R.H. Biewick, Anna B. Wilson
2014, Data Series 843
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has compiled Part B of the Energy Map of Southwestern Wyoming for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI). Part B consists of oil and gas, oil shale, uranium, and solar energy resource information in support of the WLCI. The WLCI represents the USGS partnership with...
Investigations of novel unsaturated bile salts of male sea lamprey as potential chemical cues
Nicholas S. Johnson, Sang-Seon Yun, Weiming Li
2014, Journal of Chemical Ecology (40) 1152-1160
Sulfated bile salts function as chemical cues that coordinate reproduction in sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus. 7α, 12α, 24-trihydroxy-5α-cholan-3-one 24-sulfate (3kPZS) is the most abundant known bile salt released by sexually mature male sea lampreys and attracts ovulated females. However, previous studies showed that the male-produced pheromone consists of unidentified components...
Developing and testing temperature models for regulated systems: a case study on the Upper Delaware River
Jeffrey C. Cole, Kelly O. Maloney, Matthias Schmid, James E. McKenna Jr.
2014, Journal of Hydrology (519) 588-598
Water temperature is an important driver of many processes in riverine ecosystems. If reservoirs are present, their releases can greatly influence downstream water temperatures. Models are important tools in understanding the influence these releases may have on the thermal regimes of downstream rivers. In this study, we developed and tested...
Carbonate margin, slope, and basin facies of the Lisburne Group (Carboniferous-Permian) in northern Alaska
Julie A. Dumoulin, Craig A. Johnson, John F. Slack, Kenneth J. Bird, Michael T. Whalen, Thomas E. Moore, Anita G. Harris, Paul B. O’Sullivan
Klaas Verwer, Ted E. Playton, Paul M. Harris, editor(s)
2014, Book chapter, Deposits, architecture, and controls of carbonate margin, slope and basinal settings
The Lisburne Group (Carboniferous-Permian) consists of a carbonate platform that extends for >1000 km across northern Alaska, and diverse margin, slope, and basin facies that contain world-class deposits of Zn and Ba, notable phosphorites, and petroleum source rocks....
Minimal role of eastern fence lizards in Borrelia burgdorferi transmission in central New Jersey oak/pine woodlands
Eric L. Rulison, Kaetlyn T Kerr, Megan C Dyer, Seungeun Han, Russell L. Burke, Jean I. Tsao, Howard S. Ginsberg
2014, Journal of Parasitology (100) 578-582
The Eastern fence lizard, Sceloporus undulatus, is widely distributed in eastern and central North America, ranging through areas with high levels of Lyme disease, as well as areas where Lyme disease is rare or absent. We studied the potential role of S. undulatus in transmission dynamics of Lyme spirochetes by...
Effects of wastewater effluent discharge on stream quality in Indian Creek, Johnson County, Kansas
Jennifer L. Graham, Guy M. Foster
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3100
Contaminants from point and other urban sources affect stream quality in Indian Creek, which is one of the most urban drainage basins in Johnson County, Kansas. The Johnson County Douglas L. Smith Middle Basin and Tomahawk Creek Wastewater Treatment Facilities discharge to Indian Creek. Data collected by the U.S. Geological...
Effects of wastewater effluent discharge and treatment facility upgrades on environmental and biological conditions of Indian Creek, Johnson County, Kansas, June 2004 through June 2013
Jennifer L. Graham, Mandy L. Stone, Teresa J. Rasmussen, Guy M. Foster, Barry C. Poulton, Chelsea R. Paxson, Theodore D. Harris
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5187
Indian Creek is one of the most urban drainage basins in Johnson County, Kansas, and environmental and biological conditions of the creek are affected by contaminants from point and other urban sources. The Johnson County Douglas L. Smith Middle Basin (hereafter referred to as the “Middle Basin”) and Tomahawk Creek...
Dynamics of the Yellowstone hydrothermal system
Shaul Hurwitz, Jacob B. Lowenstern
2014, Reviews of Geophysics (52) 375-411
The Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field is characterized by extensive seismicity, episodes of uplift and subsidence, and a hydrothermal system that comprises more than 10,000 thermal features, including geysers, fumaroles, mud pots, thermal springs, and hydrothermal explosion craters. The diverse chemical and isotopic compositions of waters and gases derive from mantle,...
Temporal variability of carbon and nutrient burial, sediment accretion, and mass accumulation over the past century in a carbonate platform mangrove forest of the Florida Everglades.
Josh L. Breithaupt, Joseph M. Smoak, Thomas J. Smith III, Christian J. Sanders
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (119) 2032-2048
The objective of this research was to measure temporal variability in accretion and mass sedimentation rates (including organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorous (TP)) from the past century in a mangrove forest on the Shark River in Everglades National Park, USA. The 210Pb Constant Rate of Supply...
The atmosphere can be a source of certain water soluble volatile organic compounds in urban streams
Scott J. Kenner, David A. Bender, John S. Zogorski, James F. Pankow, James F. Pankow
2014, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (50) 1124-1137
Surface water and air volatile organic compound (VOC) data from 10 U.S. Geological Survey monitoring sites were used to evaluate the potential for direct transport of VOCs from the atmosphere to urban streams. Analytical results of 87 VOC compounds were screened by evaluating the occurrence and detection levels in both...
An online database for informing ecological network models: http://kelpforest.ucsc.edu
Rodrigo Beas-Luna, Mark Novak, Mark H. Carr, M. Tim Tinker, August Black, Jennifer E. Caselle, Michael Hoban, Dan Malone, Alison C. Iles
2014, PLoS ONE (9)
Ecological network models and analyses are recognized as valuable tools for understanding the dynamics and resiliency of ecosystems, and for informing ecosystem-based approaches to management. However, few databases exist that can provide the life history, demographic and species interaction information necessary to parameterize ecological network models. Faced with the difficulty...
Temperature drives global patterns in forest biomass distribution in leaves, stems, and roots
Peter B. Reich, Yunjian Lou, John B. Bradford, Hendrik Poorter, Charles H. Perry, Jacek Oleksyn
2014, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (111) 13721-13726
Whether the fraction of total forest biomass distributed in roots, stems, or leaves varies systematically across geographic gradients remains unknown despite its importance for understanding forest ecology and modeling global carbon cycles. It has been hypothesized that plants should maintain proportionally more biomass in the organ that acquires the most...
Robust, low-cost data loggers for stream temperature, flow intermittency, and relative conductivity monitoring
Thomas Chapin, Andrew S. Todd, Matthew P. Zeigler
2014, Water Resources Research (50) 6542-6548
Water temperature and streamflow intermittency are critical parameters influencing aquatic ecosystem health. Low-cost temperature loggers have made continuous water temperature monitoring relatively simple but determining streamflow timing and intermittency using temperature data alone requires significant and subjective data interpretation. Electrical resistance (ER) sensors have recently been developed to overcome the...
Mineral resource of the month: vermiculite
Arnold O. Tanner
2014, Earth (59) 63-63
Vermiculite comprises a group of hydrated, laminar magnesium-aluminum-iron silicate minerals resembling mica. They are secondary minerals, typically altered biotite, iron-rich phlogopite or other micas or clay-like minerals that are themselves sometimes alteration products of amphibole, chlorite, olivine and pyroxene. Vermiculite deposits are associated with volcanic ultramafic rocks rich in magnesium...
Bioaccumulation and toxicity of CuO nanoparticles by a freshwater invertebrate after waterborne and dietborne exposures
Marie Noele Croteau, Superb K. Misra, Samuel N. Luoma, Eugenia Valsami-Jones
2014, Environmental Science & Technology (48) 10929-10937
The incidental ingestion of engineered nanoparticles (NPs) can be an important route of uptake for aquatic organisms. Yet, knowledge of dietary bioavailability and toxicity of NPs is scarce. Here we used isotopically modified copper oxide (65CuO) NPs to characterize the processes governing their bioaccumulation in a freshwater snail after waterborne...
An empirical approach to modeling methylmercury concentrations in an Adirondack stream watershed
Douglas A. Burns, Elizabeth A. Nystrom, David M. Wolock, Paul M. Bradley, Karen Riva-Murray
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (119) 1970-1984
Inverse empirical models can inform and improve more complex process-based models by quantifying the principal factors that control water quality variation. Here we developed a multiple regression model that explains 81% of the variation in filtered methylmercury (FMeHg) concentrations in Fishing Brook, a fourth-order stream in the Adirondack Mountains, New...
Interannual observations and quantification of summertime H2O ice deposition on the Martian CO2 ice south polar cap
Adrian J. Brown, Sylvain Piqueux, Timothy N. Titus
2014, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (405) 102-109
The spectral signature of water ice was observed on Martian south polar cap in 2004 by the Observatoire pour l'Mineralogie, l'Eau les Glaces et l'Activite (OMEGA) ( Bibring et al., 2004). Three years later, the OMEGA instrument was used to discover water ice deposited during southern summer on the polar...
Melanin-based color of plumage: role of condition and of feathers' microstructure
Liliana D’Alba, Caroline R. Van Hemert, Karen A. Spencer, Britt J. Heidinger, Lisa Gill, Neil P. Evans, Pat Monaghan, Colleen M. Handel, Matthew D. Shawkey
2014, Integrative and Comparative Biology (54) 633-644
Whether melanin-based colors honestly signal a bird's condition during the growth of feathers is controversial, and it is unclear if or how the physiological processes underlying melanogenesis or color-imparting structural feather microstructure may be adversely affected by condition. Here we report results from two experiments designed to measure the effect...
Geologic and hydrogeologic frameworks of the Biscayne aquifer in central Miami-Dade County, Florida
Michael A. Wacker, Kevin J. Cunningham, John H. Williams
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5138
Evaluations of the lithostratigraphy, lithofacies, paleontology, ichnology, depositional environments, and cyclostratigraphy from 11 test coreholes were linked to geophysical interpretations, and to results of hydraulic slug tests of six test coreholes at the Snapper Creek Well Field (SCWF), to construct geologic and hydrogeologic frameworks for the study area in central...
An enhanced model of land water and energy for global hydrologic and earth-system studies
Paul C.D. Milly, Sergey L. Malyshev, Elena Shevliakova, Krista A. Dunne, Kirsten L. Findell, Tom Gleeson, Zhi Liang, Peter Phillips, Ronald J. Stouffer, Sean Swenson
2014, Journal of Hydrometeorology (15) 1739-1761
LM3 is a new model of terrestrial water, energy, and carbon, intended for use in global hydrologic analyses and as a component of earth-system and physical-climate models. It is designed to improve upon the performance and to extend the scope of the predecessor Land Dynamics (LaD) and LM3V models by...
Use of stable isotopes of nitrogen and water to identify sources of nitrogen in three urban creeks of Durham, North Carolina, 2011-12
Kristen Bukowski McSwain, Megan B. Young, Mary L. Giorgino
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5171
A preliminary assessment of nitrate sources was conducted in three creeks that feed nutrient impaired Falls and Jordan Lakes in the vicinity of Durham County, North Carolina, from July 2011 to June 2012. Cabin Branch, Ellerbe Creek, and Third Fork Creek were sampled monthly to determine if sources of nitrate...
Detecting thermally driven cyclic deformation of an exfoliation sheet with lidar and radar
Brian D. Collins, Greg M. Stock
2014, Conference Paper
Rock falls from steep, exfoliating cliffs are common in many landscapes. Of the many mechanisms known to trigger rock falls, thermally driven deformation is among the least quantified, despite potentially being a prevalent trigger due to its occurrence at all times of year. Here we present the results of a...
Sediment-hosted stratabound copper assessment of the Neoproterozoic Roan Group, central African copperbelt, Katanga Basin, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia
Michael L. Zientek, James D. Bliss, David W. Broughton, Michael Christie, Paul Denning, Timothy S. Hayes, Murray W. Hitzman, John D. Horton, Susan Frost-Killian, Douglas J. Jack, Sharad Master, Heather L. Parks, Cliff D. Taylor, Anna B. Wilson, Niki E. Wintzer, Jon Woodhead
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5090-T
This study estimates the location, quality, and quantity of undiscovered copper in stratabound deposits within the Neoproterozoic Roan Group of the Katanga Basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia. The study area encompasses the Central African Copperbelt, the greatest sediment-hosted copper-cobalt province in the world, containing 152...
Global research priorities to mitigate plastic pollution impacts on marine wildlife
Amanda C. Vegter, Mario Barletta, Cathy A. Beck, Jose C. Borrero, Harry Burton, Marnie L. Campbell, Monica F. Costa, Marcus Eriksen, Cecilia Eriksson, Andres Estrades, Kirsten V. Gilardi, Britta D. Hardesty, Juliana A. Ivar do Sul, Jennifer L. Lavers, Bojan Lazar, Laurent Lebreton, Wallace J. Nichols, Christine A. Ribic, Peter G. Ryan, Qamar A. Schuyler, Stephen D. A. Smith, Hideshige Takada, Kathy A. Townsend, Colette C. C. Wabnitz, Chris Wilcox, Lindsay C. Young, Mark Hamann
2014, Endangered Species Research (25) 225-247
Marine wildlife faces a growing number of threats across the globe, and the survival of many species and populations will be dependent on conservation action. One threat in particular that has emerged over the last 4 decades is the pollution of oceanic and coastal habitats with plastic debris. The...
Preliminary monitoring protocol for the tidal freshwater wetland restoration herbivory study in national capital parks--east: Appendix B
Cairn Krafft, Jeffrey S. Hatfield
2014, Report, Anacostia Park wetlands and resident Canada goose management plan/ environmental impact statement
Four tidal freshwater wetland restoration projects have been undertaken within Anacostia Park on lands managed by the National Park Service since 1993. Monitoring the impacts of Canada goose (Branta canadensis) herbivory on the wetland vegetation will play a key role in determining the long-term health of these tidal freshwater wetland...
