Saline lakes of the glaciated Northern Great Plains
David M. Mushet
2011, Lakeline (31) 31-35
Unless you have flown over the region or seen aerial photographs, it is hard to grasp the scale of the millions of lakes and wetlands that dot the prairie landscape of the glaciated Northern Great Plains (Figure 1). This region of abundant aquatic habitats within a grassland matrix provides for...
Factors governing risk of cougar attacks on humans
David Mattson, Kenneth Logan, Linda Sweanor
2011, Human-Wildlife Interactions (5) 135-158
Since the 1980s wildlife managers in the United States and Canada have expressed increasing concern about the physical threat posed by cougars (Puma concolor) to humans. We developed a conceptual framework and analyzed 386 human– cougar encounters (29 fatal attacks, 171 instances of nonfatal contact, and 186 close-threatening encounters) to provide...
Multi-species attributes as the condition for adaptive sampling of rare species using two-stage sequential sampling with an auxiliary variable
B. Panahbehagh, D. R. Smith, M.M. Salehi, D.J. Hornbach, D.J. Brown
F. Chan, D. Marinova, R.S. Anderssen, editor(s)
2011, Conference Paper, MODSIM2011, 19th International Congress on Modelling and Simulation. Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand, December 2011
Assessing populations of rare species is challenging because of the large effort required to locate patches of occupied habitat and achieve precise estimates of density and abundance. The presence of a rare species has been shown to be correlated with presence or abundance of more common species. Thus, ecological community...
Fluorspar
M.M. Miller
2011, Mining Engineering (63) 61-63
World fluorspar demand showed some signs of recovery in 2010 but was still depressed compared with 2008. In 2010, nearly all fluorspar (CaF[sub2]) consumption in the United States was from imports. Hastie Mining and Trucking Co. produced some fluorspar as a byproduct from its limestone quarry operations in Illinois. In...
Ecosystem approach to inland fisheries: research needs and implementation strategies
T. Douglas Beard Jr., Robert Arlinghaus, Steven J. Cooke, Peter B. McIntyre, Sena De Silva, Devin M. Bartley, Ian G. Cowx
2011, Biology Letters (7) 481-483
Inland fisheries are a vital component in the livelihoods and food security of people throughout the world, as well as contributing huge recreational and economic benefits. These valuable assets are jeopardized by lack of research-based understanding of the impacts of fisheries on inland ecosystems, and similarly the impact of human...
Gemstones
D.W. Olson
2011, Mining Engineering (63) 64-65
The estimated value of natural gemstones produced from U.S. deposits during 2010 was $8.5 million, a slight increase from 2009. U.S. gemstone production included agate, amber, beryl, coral, garnet, jade, jasper, opal, pearl, quartz, sapphire, shell, topaz, tourmaline, turquoise and many other gem materials....
Nitrogen
L.E. Apodaca
2011, Mining Engineering (63) 85-86
Ammonia was produced by 12 companies at 24 plants in 16 states in the United States during 2010. Sixty percent of total U.S. ammonia production capacity was centered in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas because of those states' large reserves of natural gas, the dominant domestic feedstock....
Exploration review
D.R. Wilburn, R.L. Vasil, A. Nolting
2011, Mining Engineering (63) 58-75
This summary of international mineral exploration activities for the year 2010 draws upon available information from industry sources, published literature and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) specialists. The summary provides data on exploration budgets by region and mineral commodity, identifies significant mineral discoveries and areas of mineral exploration, discusses government programs...
Pumice, pumicite review
R.D. Crangle Jr.
2011, Mining Engineering (63) 18-18
The article focuses on the industrial mineral pumice. It mentions the estimated production of pumice in the U.S. in 2010, price range, and total U.S. exports and imports. Described as an igneous volcanic rock, pumice has low density which allows it float on water and porous enough to be used...
Industrial garnet
D.W. Olson
2011, Mining Engineering (63) 71-72
Garnet has been used as a gemstone since the Bronze Age. However, garnet's angular fractures, relatively high hardness and specific gravity, chemical inertness and nontoxicity make it ideal for many industrial applications. It is also free of crystalline silica and can be recycled....
Gopherus agassizii (desert tortoise). Burrow collapse
Caleb L. Loughran, Joshua Ennen, Jeffrey E. Lovich
2011, Herpetological Review (42) 593-593
In the deserts of the southwestern U.S., burrows are utilized by the Desert Tortoise to escape environmental extremes (reviewed by Ernst and Lovich 2009. Turtles of the United States and Canada. 2nd ed. Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, Baltimore, Maryland. 827 pp.). However, the potential for mortality through burrow collapse and...
Characterization of the Sonoran desert as a radiometric calibration target for Earth observing sensors
Amit Angal, Gyanesh Chander, Xiaoxiong Xiong, Tae-young Choi, Aisheng Wu
2011, Journal of Applied Remote Sensing (5)
To provide highly accurate quantitative measurements of the Earth's surface, a comprehensive calibration and validation of the satellite sensors is required. The NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Characterization Support Team, in collaboration with United States Geological Survey, Earth Resources Observation and Science Center, has previously demonstrated the use of...
Changes in historical Iowa land cover as context for assessing the environmental benefits of current and future conservation efforts on agricultural lands
Alisa L. Gallant, Walt Sadinski, Mark F. Roth, Charles A. Rewa
2011, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (66) 67A-77A
Conservationists and agriculturists face unprecedented challenges trying to minimize tradeoffs between increasing demands for food, fiber, feed, and biofuels and the resulting loss or reduced values of other ecosystem services, such as those derived from wetlands and biodiversity (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005a, 2005c; Maresch et al. 2008). The Food, Conservation,...
Variation in spring migration routes and breeding distribution of northern pintails Anas acuta that winter in Japan
Jerry W. Hupp, Noriyuki Yamaguchi, Paul L. Flint, John M. Pearce, Ken-ichi Tokita, Tetsuo Shimada, Andrew M. Ramey, Sergei Kharitonov, Hiroyoshi Higuchi
2011, Journal of Avian Biology (42) 289-300
In North America, spring migration routes and breeding distribution of northern pintails Anas acuta vary because some individuals opportunistically nest at mid-latitudes in years when ephemeral prairie wetlands are available, whereas others regularly nest in arctic and sub-arctic regions where wetland abundance is more constant. Less was known about migration...
Biogeochemical evolution of a landfill leachate plume, Norman, Oklahoma
Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, J.K. Bohlke, Jason R. Masoner, George N. Breit, Michelle M. Lorah, Michele L. Tuttle, Jeanne B. Jaeschke
2011, Ground Water (49) 663-687
Leachate from municipal landfills can create groundwater contaminant plumes that may last for decades to centuries. The fate of reactive contaminants in leachate-affected aquifers depends on the sustainability of biogeochemical processes affecting contaminant transport. Temporal variations in the configuration of redox zones downgradient from the Norman Landfill were studied for...
Conclusions and future use of fecal indicator bacteria for monitoring water quality and protecting human health
Michael J. Sadowsky, Richard L. Whitman
2011, Book chapter, The fecal bacteria
A summary of the focus and the recurring theme of the book is presented in this chapter. It includes the use of faecal bacteria as an indicator of faecal pollution and water quality, ubiquity of faecal bacteria, and sources and movement of faecal bacteria in the environment....
Contexts for change in alpine tundra
George P. Malanson, Jonathan P. Rose, P. Jason Schroeder, Daniel B. Fagre
2011, Physical Geography (32) 97-113
Because alpine tundra is responding to climate change, a need exists to understand the meaning of observed changes. To provide context for such interpretation, the relevance of niche and neutral theories of biogeography and the continuum and classification approaches to biogeographic description are assessed. Two extensive studies of alpine tundra,...
Carryover effects associated with winter location affect fitness, social status, and population dynamics in a long-distance migrant
James S. Sedinger, Jason L. Schamber, David H. Ward, Christopher A. Nicolai, Bruce Conant
2011, American Naturalist (178) E110-E123
We used observations of individually marked female black brant geese (Branta bernicla nigricans; brant) at three wintering lagoons on the Pacific coast of Baja California—Laguna San Ignacio (LSI), Laguna Ojo de Liebre (LOL), and Bahía San Quintín (BSQ)—and the Tutakoke River breeding colony in Alaska to assess hypotheses about carryover...
Ball clay
R.L. Virta
2011, Mining Engineering (63) 41-42
The article discusses the latest developments in the global ball clay mining industry, particularly in the U.S., as of June 2011. It cites several firms that are involved in ball clay mining in the U.S., including HC Spins Clay Co. Inc., the Imerys Group and Old Hickory Clay Co. Among...
Behavior and movement of formerly landlocked juvenile coho salmon after release into the free-flowing Cowlitz River, Washington
Tobias J. Kock, Julie A. Henning, Theresa L. Liedtke, Ida M. Royer, Brian K. Ekstrom, Dennis W. Rondorf
2011, Northwestern Naturalist (92) 167-174
Formerly landlocked Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) juveniles (age 2) were monitored following release into the free-flowing Cowlitz River to determine if they remained in the river or resumed seaward migration. Juvenile Coho Salmon were tagged with a radio transmitter (30 fish) or Floy tag (1050 fish) and their behavior was...
Atomic weights: No longer constants of nature
Tyler B. Coplen, Norman E. Holden
2011, Chemistry International (33) 10-15
Many of us were taught that the standard atomic weights we found in the back of our chemistry textbooks or on the Periodic Table of the Chemical Elements hanging on the wall of our chemistry classroom are constants of nature. This was common knowledge for more than a century and...
Comment on “An unconfined groundwater model of the Death Valley Regional Flow System and a comparison to its confined predecessor” by R.W.H. Carroll, G.M. Pohll and R.L. Hershey [Journal of Hydrology 373/3–4, pp. 316–328]
Claudia C. Faunt, Alden M. Provost, Mary C. Hill, Wayne R. Belcher
2011, Journal of Hydrology (397) 306-309
Carroll et al. (2009) state that the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Death Valley Regional Flow System (DVRFS) model, which is based on MODFLOW, is “conceptually inaccurate in that it models an unconfined aquifer as a confined system and does not simulate unconfined drawdown in transient pumping simulations.” Carroll et...
Gopherus agassizii (desert tortoise) and Crotalus ruber (red diamond rattlesnake). Burrow co-occupancy
Jeffrey E. Lovich
2011, Herpetological Review (42) 421-421
I observed an adult Desert Tortoise and an adult Red Diamond Rattlesnake (sexes unknown) in a shallow tortoise burrow on 6 January 1997 at a wind energy generation facility near Palm Springs, Riverside Co., California, USA (33.9599°N, 116.6613°W)....
Population dynamics of Lake Ontario lake trout during 1985-2007
Travis O. Brenden, James R. Bence, Brian F. Lantry, Jana R. Lantry, Ted Schaner
2011, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (31) 962-979
Lake trout Salvelinus namaycush were extirpated from Lake Ontario circa 1950 owing to commercial and recreational fishing, predation by sea lampreys Petromyzon marinus, and habitat degradation. Since the 1970s, substantial efforts have been devoted to reestablishing a self-sustaining population through stocking, sea lamprey control, and harvest reduction. Although a stocking-supported...
Industrial sand and gravel
T.P. Dolley
2011, Mining Engineering (63) 72-73
Domestic production of industrial sand and gravel in 2010 was about 26.5 Mt (29.2 million st), a 6-percent increased from 2009. Certain end uses of industrial sand and gravel, such as sand for container glass, golf course sand, recreational sand, specialty glass and water filtration, showed increased demand in 2010....
