Spatial patterns of March and September streamflow trends in Pacific Northwest Streams, 1958-2008
Heejun Chang, Il-Won Jung, Madeline Steele, Marshall Gannett
2012, Geographical Analysis (44) 177-201
Summer streamflow is a vital water resource for municipal and domestic water supplies, irrigation, salmonid habitat, recreation, and water-related ecosystem services in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) in the United States. This study detects significant negative trends in September absolute streamflow in a majority of 68 stream-gauging stations located on unregulated...
Remote sensing of sagebrush canopy nitrogen
Jessica J. Mitchell, Nancy F. Glenn, Temuulen T. Sankey, DeWayne R. Derryberry, Matthew J. Germino
2012, Remote Sensing of Environment (124) 217-223
This paper presents a combination of techniques suitable for remotely sensing foliar Nitrogen (N) in semiarid shrublands – a capability that would significantly improve our limited understanding of vegetation functionality in dryland ecosystems. The ability to estimate foliar N distributions across arid and semi-arid environments could help answer process-driven questions...
Water-level altitudes and continuous and discrete water quality at and near an aquifer storage and recovery site, Bexar, Atascosa, and Wilson Counties, Texas, June 2004-September 2011
Cassi L. Crow
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5260
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the San Antonio Water System (SAWS), collected data during 2004–11 to characterize the quality of native groundwater from the San Antonio segment of the Edwards aquifer (hereinafter, Edwards aquifer) and preinjection and postinjection water from the Carrizo aquifer (informal name commonly applied...
Rapid, low-cost photogrammetry to monitor volcanic eruptions: An example from Mount St. Helens, Washington, USA
Angela K. Diefenbach, Juliet G. Crider, Steve P. Schilling, Daniel Dzurisin
2012, Bulletin of Volcanology (74) 579-587
We describe a low-cost application of digital photogrammetry using commercially available photogrammetric software and oblique photographs taken with an off-the-shelf digital camera to create sequential digital elevation models (DEMs) of a lava dome that grew during the 2004–2008 eruption of Mount St. Helens (MSH) volcano. Renewed activity at MSH provided...
Tropical forest carbon balance in a warmer world: a critical review spanning microbial- to ecosystem-scale processes
Tana E. Wood, Molly A. Cavaleri, Sasha C. Reed
2012, Biological Reviews (87) 912-927
Tropical forests play a major role in regulating global carbon (C) fluxes and stocks, and even small changes to C cycling in this productive biome could dramatically affect atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations. Temperature is expected to increase over all land surfaces in the future, yet we have a surprisingly...
Low-flow characteristics of streams under natural and diversion conditions, Waipiʻo Valley, Island of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi
Richard A. Fontaine
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5118
Over the past 100 years, natural streamflow in Waipiʻo Valley has been reduced by the transfer of water out of the valley by Upper and Lower Hāmākua Ditches. The physical condition and diversion practices along the two ditch systems have varied widely over the years, and as a result, so...
Comparing modern and presettlement forest dynamics of a subboreal wilderness: Does spruce budworm enhance fire risk?
Brian R. Sturtevant, Brian R. Miranda, Douglas J. Shinneman, Eric J. Gustafson, Peter T. Wolter
2012, Ecological Applications (22) 1278-1296
Insect disturbance is often thought to increase fire risk through enhanced fuel loadings, particularly in coniferous forest ecosystems. Yet insect disturbances also affect successional pathways and landscape structure that interact with fire disturbances (and vice-versa) over longer time scales. We applied a landscape succession and disturbance model (LANDIS-II) to evaluate...
Characterization of the hydrologic resources of San Miguel County, New Mexico, and identification of hydrologic data gaps, 2011
Anne Marie Matherne, Anne M. Stewart
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5238
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with San Miguel County, New Mexico, conducted a study to assess publicly available information regarding the hydrologic resources of San Miguel County and to identify data gaps in that information and hydrologic information that could aid in the management of available water resources....
Porphyry copper assessment of the Tibetan Plateau, China: Chapter F in Global mineral resource assessment
Steve Ludington, Jane M. Hammarstrom, Gilpin R. Robinson Jr., John L. Mars, Robert J. Miller
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5090-F
The U.S. Geological Survey collaborated with the China Geological Survey to conduct a mineral-resource assessment of resources in porphyry copper deposits on the Tibetan Plateau in western China. This area hosts several very large porphyry deposits, exemplified by the Yulong and Qulong deposits, each containing at least 7,000,000 metric tons...
Redox reaction rates in shallow aquifers: Implications for nitrate transport in groundwater and streams
Anthony J. Tesoriero
2012, Conference Paper, Abstracts with Programs, Geological Society of America Annual Meeting
Groundwater age and water chemistry data along flow paths from recharge areas to streams were used to evaluate the trends and transformations of agricultural chemicals. Results from this analysis indicate that median nitrate recharge concentrations in these agricultural areas have increased markedly over the last 50 years from 4 mg...
Spatial distribution of damage around faults in the Joe Lott Tuff Member of the Mount Belknap Volcanics, Utah: A mechanical analog for faulting in pyroclastic deposits on Mars
Chris H. Okubo
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets (117)
Volcanic ash is thought to comprise a large fraction of the Martian equatorial layered deposits and much new insight into the process of faulting and related fluid flow in these deposits can be gained through the study of analogous terrestrial tuffs. This study identifies a set of fault-related processes that...
The utility of harvest recoveries of marked individuals to assess polar bear (Ursus maritimus) survival
Elizabeth L. Peacock, Jeff Laake, Kristin L. Laidre, Erik W. Born, Stephen N. Atkinson
2012, Arctic (65) 391-400
Management of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) populations requires the periodic assessment of life history metrics such as survival rate. This information is frequently obtained during short-term capture and marking efforts (e.g., over the course of three years) that result in hundreds of marked bears remaining in the population after active...
Improving the accuracy of S02 column densities and emission rates obtained from upward-looking UV-spectroscopic measurements of volcanic plumes by taking realistic radiative transfer into account
Christoph Kern, Tim Deutschmann, Cynthia Werner, A. Jeff Sutton, Tamar Elias, Peter J. Kelly
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research D: Atmospheres (117)
Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is monitored using ultraviolet (UV) absorption spectroscopy at numerous volcanoes around the world due to its importance as a measure of volcanic activity and a tracer for other gaseous species. Recent studies have shown that failure to take realistic radiative transfer into account during the spectral retrieval...
Impact of reduced near-field entrainment of overpressured volcanic jets on plume development
Farhad Saffaraval, Stephen A. Solovitz, Darcy E. Ogden, Larry G. Mastin
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research (117)
Volcanic plumes are often studied using one-dimensional analytical models, which use an empirical entrainment ratio to close the equations. Although this ratio is typically treated as constant, its value near the vent is significantly reduced due to flow development and overpressured conditions. To improve the accuracy of these models, a...
Yield of bedrock wells in the Nashoba terrane, central and eastern Massachusetts
Leslie A. DeSimone, Jeffrey R. Barbaro
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5155
The yield of bedrock wells in the fractured-bedrock aquifers of the Nashoba terrane and surrounding area, central and eastern Massachusetts, was investigated with analyses of existing data. Reported well yield was compiled for 7,287 wells from Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. Geological Survey databases. Yield of these wells...
Estimating recruitment dynamics and movement of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon using an integrated assessment model
Josh Korman, Steven Martell, Carl J. Walters, Andrew S. Makinster, Lewis G. Coggins, Michael D. Yard, William R. Persons
2012, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (69) 1827-1849
We used an integrated assessment model to examine effects of flow from Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona, USA, on recruitment of nonnative rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Colorado River and to estimate downstream migration from Glen Canyon to Marble Canyon, a reach used by endangered native fish. Over a 20-year...
Linking the historic 2011 Mississippi River flood to coastal wetland sedimentation
Federico Falcini, Nicole S. Khan, Leonardo Macelloni, Benjamin P. Horton, Carol B. Lutken, Karen L. McKee, Rosalia Santoleri, Simone Colella, Chunyan Li, Gianluca Volpe, Marco D’Emidio, Alessandro Salusti, Douglas J. Jerolmack
2012, Nature Geoscience (5) 803-807
Wetlands in the Mississippi River deltaic plain are deteriorating in part because levees and control structures starve them of sediment. In Spring of 2011 a record-breaking flood brought discharge on the lower Mississippi River to dangerous levels, forcing managers to divert up to 3500 m3/s-1 of water to the Atchafalaya...
Insights from fumarole gas geochemistry on the origin of hydrothermal fluids on the Yellowstone Plateau
Giovanni Chiodini, Stefano Caliro, Jacob B. Lowenstern, William C. Evans, D. Bergfeld, Franco Tassi, Dario Tedesco
2012, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (89) 265-278
The chemistry of Yellowstone fumarole gases shows the existence of two component waters, type MC, influenced by the addition of deep mantle fluid, and type CC, influenced by crustal interactions (CC). MC is high in 3He/4He (22 Ra) and low in 4He/40Ar (∼1), reflecting input of deep mantle components. The other water is...
Land use alters the resistance and resilience of soil food webs to drought
Franciska T. de Vries, Mira E. Liiri, Lisa Bjornlund, Matthew A. Bowker, Soren Christensen, Heikki Setala, Richard D. Bardgett
2012, Nature Climate Change (2012) 276-280
Soils deliver several ecosystem services including carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling, which are of central importance to climate mitigation and sustainable food production. Soil biota play an important role in carbon and nitrogen cycling, and, although the effects of land use on soil food webs are well documented the consequences...
Geomorphic analysis of the river response to sedimentation downstream of Mount Rainier, Washington
Jonathan A. Czuba, Christopher S. Magirl, Christiana R. Czuba, Christopher A. Curran, Kenneth H. Johnson, Theresa D. Olsen, Halley K. Kimball, Casey C. Gish
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1242
A study of the geomorphology of rivers draining Mount Rainier, Washington, was completed to identify sources of sediment to the river network; to identify important processes in the sediment delivery system; to assess current sediment loads in rivers draining Mount Rainier; to evaluate if there were trends in streamflow or...
Elucidating spatially explicit behavioral landscapes in the Willow Flycatcher
Amanda V. Bakian, Kimberly A. Sullivan, Eben H. Paxton
2012, Ecological Modelling (232) 119-132
Animal resource selection is a complex, hierarchical decision-making process, yet resource selection studies often focus on the presence and absence of an animal rather than the animal's behavior at resource use locations. In this study, we investigate foraging and vocalization resource selection in a population of Willow Flycatchers, Empidonax traillii...
Consequences of declining snow accumulation for water balance of mid-latitude dry regions
Daniel R. Schlaepfer, William K. Lauenroth, John B. Bradford
2012, Global Change Biology (18) 1988-1997
Widespread documentation of positive winter temperature anomalies, declining snowpack and earlier snow melt in the Northern Hemisphere have raised concerns about the consequences for regional water resources as well as wildfire. A topic that has not been addressed with respect to declining snowpack is effects on ecosystem water balance. Changes...
Century-scale perspective on water quality in selected river basins of the conterminous United States
Edward G. Stets, Valerie J. Kelly, Whitney P. Broussard III, Thor E. Smith, Charles G. Crawford
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5225
Nutrient pollution in the form of excess nitrogen and phosphorus inputs is a well-known cause of water-quality degradation that has affected water bodies across the Nation throughout the 20th century. The recognition of excess nutrients as pollution developed later than the recognition of other water-quality problems, such as waterborne illness,...
A comparison of artificial incubation and natural incubation hatching success of gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) eggs in southern Mississippi
Krista M. Noel, Carl P. Qualls, Joshua R. Ennen
2012, Herpetologica (68) 324-333
Recent studies have found that Gopher Tortoise, Gopherus polyphemus, populations in southern Mississippi exhibit low recruitment, due in part to very low hatching success of their eggs. We sought to determine if the cause(s) of this low hatching success was related to egg quality (intrinsic factors), unsuitability of the nest...
Female Agassiz’s desert tortoise activity at a wind energy facility in southern California: The influence of an El Niño event
Josh R. Ennen, Kathie Meyer-Wilkins, Jeffrey Lovich
2012, Natural Science (4) 30-37
We compared spring-summer activity of adult female Agassiz’s Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) among three consecutive years (1997, 1998, and 1999) that differed dramatically in winter rainfall and annual plant production at a wind energy facility in the Sonoran Desert of southern California. Winter rainfall was approximately 71%, 190%, and 17%...
