Five-year interim report of the United States-Mexico Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program: 2007--2012
William M. Alley, editor(s)
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1059
Transboundary aquifers are an essential, and in many cases, singular source of water for United States – Mexico border communities, particularly in arid regions. Declining water levels, deteriorating water quality, and increasing use of groundwater resources by municipal, industrial, and agricultural water users on both sides of the international border...
Use of sediment amendments to rehabilitate sinking coastal swamp forests in Louisiana
Beth A. Middleton, Ming Jiang
2013, Ecological Engineering (54) 183-191
Coastal wetlands are losing elevation worldwide, so that techniques to increase elevation such as sediment amendment might benefit these wetlands. This study examined the potential of sediment amendment to raise elevation and support the production and regeneration of vegetation in coastal forests in Louisiana. Before sediment amendment, the vegetation did...
Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Uruzgan mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter V in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan
Philip A. Davis
2013, Data Series 709-V
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the...
Wildfire and invasive species in the west: challenges that hinder current and future management and protection of the sagebrush-steppe ecosystem: a Gap Report
Kenneth F. Mayer, Pete Anderson, Jeanne Chambers, Chad Boyd, Tom Christiansen, Dawn Davis, Shawn Espinosa, Doug Havlina, Michael Ielmini, Don Kemner, Laurie Kurth, Jeremy Maestas, Brian Mealor, Ted Milesneck, Lara Niell, Mike Pellant, David A. Pyke, Joe Tague, Jason Vernon
2013, Report
The Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) to satisfy the 45-day report requirement identified in Cooperative Agreement (F13AC00353) between WAFWA and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) submit this “Gap Report”. This report summarizes the policy, fiscal and science challenges that land managers encounter related to...
A causal examination of the effects of confounding factors on multimetric indices
Donald R. Schoolmaster Jr., James B. Grace, E. William Schweiger, Brian R. Mitchell, Glenn R. Guntenspergen
2013, Ecological Indicators (29) 411-419
The development of multimetric indices (MMIs) as a means of providing integrative measures of ecosystem condition is becoming widespread. An increasingly recognized problem for the interpretability of MMIs is controlling for the potentially confounding influences of environmental covariates. Most common approaches to handling covariates are based on simple notions of...
A comparison of bats and rodents as reservoirs of zoonotic viruses: are bats special?
Angela D. Luis, David T.S. Hayman, Thomas J. O'Shea, Paul M. Cryan, Amy T. Gilbert, Juliet R.C. Pulliam, James N. Mills, Mary E. Timonin, Craig K. R. Willis, Andrew A. Cunningham, Anthony R. Fooks, Charles E. Rupprecht, James L.N. Wood, Colleen T. Webb
2013, Proceedings of the Royal Society B (280) 1471-2954
Bats are the natural reservoirs of a number of high-impact viral zoonoses. We present a quantitative analysis to address the hypothesis that bats are unique in their propensity to host zoonotic viruses based on a comparison with rodents, another important host order. We found that bats indeed host more zoonotic...
Streams in the urban heat island: spatial and temporal variability in temperature
Kayleigh A. Somers, Emily S. Bernhardt, James B. Grace, Brooke A. Hassett, Elizabeth B. Sudduth, Siyi Wang, Dean L. Urban
2013, Freshwater Science (32) 309-326
Streams draining urban heat islands tend to be hotter than rural and forested streams at baseflow because of warmer urban air and ground temperatures, paved surfaces, and decreased riparian canopy. Urban infrastructure efficiently routes runoff over hot impervious surfaces and through storm drains directly into streams and can lead to...
High seroprevalence of antibodies to avian influenza viruses among wild waterfowl in Alaska: implications for surveillance
Heather M. Wilson, Jeffery S. Hall, Paul L. Flint, J. Christian Franson, Craig R. Ely, Joel A. Schmutz, Michael D. Samuel
2013, PLoS ONE (8)
We examined seroprevalence (presence of detectable antibodies in serum) for avian influenza viruses (AIV) among 4,485 birds, from 11 species of wild waterfowl in Alaska (1998–2010), sampled during breeding/molting periods. Seroprevalence varied among species (highest in eiders (Somateria and Polysticta species), and emperor geese (Chen canagica)), ages (adults higher than...
Flood-inundation maps for the Tippecanoe River near Delphi, Indiana
Chad D. Menke, Aubrey R. Bunch, Moon H. Kim
2013, Scientific Investigations Map 3243
Digital flood-inundation maps for an 11-mile reach of the Tippecanoe River that extends from County Road W725N to State Road 18 below Oakdale Dam, Indiana (Ind.), were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Indiana Department of Transportation. The inundation maps, which can be accessed through...
Cross-sensor comparisons between Landsat 5 TM and IRS-P6 AWiFS and disturbance detection using integrated Landsat and AWiFS time-series images
Xuexia Chen, James E. Vogelmann, Gyanesh Chander, Lei Ji, Brian Tolk, Chengquan Huang, Matthew Rollins
2013, International Journal of Remote Sensing (34) 2432-2453
Routine acquisition of Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) data was discontinued recently and Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) has an ongoing problem with the scan line corrector (SLC), thereby creating spatial gaps when covering images obtained during the process. Since temporal and spatial discontinuities of Landsat data are...
Challenge theme 7: Information support for management of border security and environmental protection: Chapter 9 in United States-Mexican Borderlands: Facing tomorrow's challenges through USGS science
Jean W. Parcher, William R. Page
2013, Circular 1380-9
Historically, international borders were located far from the major political and economic capitals of their countries and rarely received adequate planning or infrastructure development. Today, as a result of global economics and increased movement of goods between nations, border regions play a much greater role in commerce, tourism, and transportation....
Miscellaneous geochemical data from waters in the Upper Animas River Watershed, Colorado
Raymond H. Johnson, Douglas B. Yager
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1047
This report releases geochemistry data in waters from the upper Animas River watershed that have been analyzed by inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry. These samples were collected at various sites and at various dates (41 sites and 86 samples from 2008 to 2010). A main data table is provided and the...
Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Bakhud mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter U in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan
Philip A. Davis, Laura E. Cagney
Philip A. Davis, editor(s)
2013, Data Series 709-U
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the...
The Borderlands and climate change: Chapter 10 in United States-Mexican Borderlands: Facing tomorrow's challenges through USGS science
Joan Fitzpatrick, Floyd Gray, Russell Dubiel, Jeff Langman, J. Bruce Moring, Laura M. Norman, William R. Page, Jean W. Parcher
2013, Circular 1380-10
The prediction of global climate change in response to both natural forces and human activity is one of the defining issues of our times. The unprecedented observational capacity of modern earth-orbiting satellites coupled with the development of robust computational representations (models) of the Earth’s weather and climate systems afford us...
Challenge theme 6: Natural hazard risks in the Borderlands: Chapter 8 in United States-Mexican Borderlands: Facing tomorrow's challenges through USGS science
William R. Page, Jean W. Parcher, Jim Stefanov
2013, Circular 1380-8
Natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides and debris flows, wildfires, hurricanes, and intense storm-induced flash floods threaten communities to varying degrees all along the United States–Mexican border. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collaborates with Federal, State, and local agencies to minimize the effects of natural hazards by providing timely, unbiased...
An opportunity and an imperative: Chapter 11 in United States-Mexican Borderlands: Facing tomorrow's challenges through USGS science
Randall G. Updike, William R. Page
2013, Circular 1380-11
Along the nearly 3,200 kilometers (almost 2,000 miles) of the United States–Mexican border, we are witnessing the expression of the challenges of the 21st century. The Borderlands have become a microcosm for the entire United States and Mexico; the issues faced in that region are felt throughout both nations—water availability...
Hydrologic data and groundwater flow simulations in the vicinity of Long Lake, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, near Gary, Indiana
David C. Lampe, E. Randall Bayless
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5003
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected data and simulated groundwater flow to increase understanding of the hydrology and the effects of drainage alterations to the water table in the vicinity of Long Lake, near Gary, Indiana. East Long Lake and West Long Lake (collectively known as Long Lake) make up...
General weather conditions and precipitation contributing to the 2011 flooding in the Mississippi River and Red River of the North Basins, December 2010 through July 2011
Kevin C. Vining, Katherine J. Chase, Gina R. Loss
2013, Professional Paper 1798-B
Excessive precipitation produced severe flooding in the Mississippi River and Red River of the North Basins during spring and summer 2011. The 2011 flooding was caused by weather conditions that were affected in part by a La Niña climate pattern. During the 2010–11 climatological winter (December 2010–February 2011), several low...
Challenge theme 5: Current and future needs of energy and mineral resources in the Borderlands and the effects of their development: Chapter 7 in United States-Mexican Borderlands: Facing tomorrow's challenges through USGS science
Randall G. Updike, Eugene G. Ellis, William R. Page, Melanie J. Parker, Jay B. Hestbeck, William F. Horak
2013, Circular 1380-7
Exploration and extraction activities related to energy and mineral resources in the Borderlands—such as coal-fired power plants, offshore drilling, and mining—can create issues that have potentially major economic and environmental implications. Resource assessments and development projects, environmental studies, and other related evaluations help to understand some of these issues, such...
Consequences of land use and land cover change
E. Terrence Slonecker, Christopher Barnes, Krista Karstensen, Lesley E. Milheim, Coral M. Roig-Silva
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3010
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Climate and Land Use Change Mission Area is one of seven USGS mission areas that focuses on making substantial scientific "...contributions to understanding how Earth systems interact, respond to, and cause global change". Using satellite and other remotely sensed data, USGS scientists monitor patterns of...
Seismicity of the Earth 1900–2010 Himalaya and vicinity
Bethan Turner, Jennifer Jenkins, Rebecca Turner, Amy Parker, Alison Sinclair, Sian Davies, Gavin P. Hayes, Antonio Villaseñor, Rirchard L. Dart, Arthur C. Tarr, Kevin P. Furlong, Harley M. Benz
2013, Open-File Report 2010-1083-J
Seismicity in the Himalaya region predominantly results from the collision of the India and Eurasia continental plates, which are converging at a relative rate of 40–50 mm/yr. Northward underthrusting of India beneath Eurasia generates numerous earthquakes and consequently makes this area one of the most seismically hazardous regions on Earth....
Modeling variably saturated subsurface solute transport with MODFLOW-UZF and MT3DMS
Eric D. Morway, Richard G. Niswonger, Christian D. Langevin, Ryan T. Bailey, Richard W. Healy
2013, Ground Water (51) 237-251
The MT3DMS groundwater solute transport model was modified to simulate solute transport in the unsaturated zone by incorporating the unsaturated-zone flow (UZF1) package developed for MODFLOW. The modified MT3DMS code uses a volume-averaged approach in which Lagrangian-based UZF1 fluid fluxes and storage changes are mapped onto a fixed grid. Referred...
Geological analysis of aeromagnetic data from southwestern Alaska: Implications for exploration in the area of the Pebble porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposit
Eric D. Anderson, Murray W. Hitzman, Thomas Monecke, Paul A. Bedrosian, Anjana K. Shah, Karen D. Kelley
2013, Economic Geology (108) 421-436
Aeromagnetic data are used to better understand the geology and mineral resources near the Late Cretaceous Pebble porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposit in southwestern Alaska. The reduced-to-pole (RTP) transformation of regional-scale aeromagnetic data shows that the Pebble deposit is within a cluster of magnetic anomaly highs. Similar to Pebble, the Iliamna, Kijik,...
Challenge theme 4: People in the Borderlands: Chapter 6 in United States-Mexican Borderlands: Facing tomorrow's challenges through USGS science
Laura M. Norman, Rudy M. Shuster, Jean W. Parcher
2013, Circular 1380-6
The management of shared resources in the United States–Mexican border region requires cooperation from the people of both countries to assess and understand their relation to the environment. Society is dependent on the long-term healthy functioning of ecosystems and their ability to supply food and raw materials. Likewise, resources and...
United States-Mexican Borderlands: Facing tomorrow's challenges through USGS science
Randall G. Updike, Eugene G. Ellis, William R. Page, Melanie J. Parker, Jay B. Hestbeck, William F. Horak, editor(s)
2013, Circular 1380
Along the nearly 3,200 kilometers (almost 2,000 miles) of the United States–Mexican border, in an area known as the Borderlands, we are witnessing the expression of the challenges of the 21st century. This circular identifies several challenge themes and issues associated with life and the environment in the Borderlands, listed...
