Reducing cement's CO2 footprint
Hendrik G. van Oss
2011, Private Sector & Development (10)
The manufacturing process for Portland cement causes high levels of greenhouse gas emissions. However, environmental impacts can be reduced by using more energy-efficient kilns and replacing fossil energy with alternative fuels. Although carbon capture and new cements with less CO2 emission are still in the experimental phase, all these innovations...
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...
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,...
Mineral resource of the month: rare earth elements
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2011, Earth (56) 24-25
The article provides information on rare earth elements, which are group of 17 natural metallic elements. The rare earth elements are scandium, yttrium and lanthanides and classified into light rare earth elements (LREE) and heavy rate earth elements (HREE). The principal ores of the rare earth elements are identified. An...
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,...
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...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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....
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...
A previously unreported locality record for the Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum)
Jeff Lovich, Gordon Haxel
2011, Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences (110) 59-62
Although the Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum) is widely distributed throughout the Sonoran and portions of the Mojave Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, details of its distribution in California are imperfectly known, due to the apparent rarity of the species in that state. In their review of...
Estimating the hatchery fraction of a natural population: a Bayesian approach
Jarrett J. Barber, Kenneth G. Gerow, Patrick J. Connolly, Sarabdeep Singh
2011, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (31) 934-942
There is strong and growing interest in estimating the proportion of hatchery fish that are in a natural population (the hatchery fraction). In a sample of fish from the relevant population, some are observed to be marked, indicating their origin as hatchery fish. The observed proportion of marked fish is...
Bioenergetics in ecosystems
Charles P. Madenjian
Anthony P. Farrell, editor(s)
2011, Book chapter, Encyclopedia of fish physiology: from genome to environment
A bioenergetics model for a fish can be defined as a quantitative description of the fish’s energy budget. Bioenergetics modeling can be applied to a fish population in a lake, river, or ocean to estimate the annual consumption of food by the fish population; such applications have proved to be...
Variations in eruption style during the 1931 A.D. eruption of Aniakchak volcano, Alaska
Robert S. Nicholson, James E. Gardner, Christina A. Neal
2011, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (207) 69-82
The 1931 A.D. eruption of Aniakchak volcano, Alaska, progressed from subplinian to effusive eruptive style and from trachydacite to basaltic andesite composition from multiple vent locations. Eyewitness accounts and new studies of deposit stratigraphy provide a combined narrative of eruptive events. Additional field, compositional, grain size, componentry, density, and grain...
Nature's Notebook 2010: Data & participant summary
Theresa Crimmins, Alyssa H. Rosemartin, R. Lee Marsh, Ellen G. Denny, Carolyn A.F. Enquist, Jake F. Weltzin
2011, USA-NPN Technical Series 2011-001
The USA National Phenology Network (USA‐NPN) seeks to engage volunteer observers to collect phenology observations of plants and animals using consistent standards and to contribute to the USANPN National Phenology Database (NPDb). The commencement of 2010 marked the second functional year of Nature’s Notebook, the online phenology observation program developed by...
Landscape models of brook trout abundance and distribution in lotic habitat with field validation
James E. McKenna Jr., James H. Johnson
2011, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (31) 742-756
Brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis are native fish in decline owing to environmental changes. Predictions of their potential distribution and a better understanding of their relationship to habitat conditions would enhance the management and conservation of this valuable species. We used over 7,800 brook trout observations throughout New York State and...
Methane hydrates and the future of natural gas
Carolyn Ruppel
2011, Report, The future of natural gas: an interdisciplinary MIT study
For decades, gas hydrates have been discussed as a potential resource, particularly for countries with limited access to conventional hydrocarbons or a strategic interest in establishing alternative, unconventional gas reserves. Methane has never been produced from gas hydrates at a commercial scale and, barring major changes in the...
Lake sturgeon response to a spawning reef constructed in the Detroit river
Edward F. Roseman, B. Manny, J. Boase, M. Child, G. Kennedy, J. Craig, K. Soper, R. Drouin
2011, Journal of Applied Ichthyology (27) 66-76
Prior to the First World War, the bi-national Detroit River provided vast areas of functional fish spawning and nursery habitat. However, ongoing conflicting human uses of these waters for activities such as waste disposal, water withdrawals, shoreline development, shipping, recreation, and fishing have altered many of the chemical, physical, and...
Global Positioning System constraints on crustal deformation before and during the 21 February 2008 Wells, Nevada M6.0 earthquake
William C. Hammond, Geoffrey Blewitt, Corne Kreemer, Jessica R. Murray-Moraleda, Jerry L. Svarc
Craig M. dePolo, Daphne D. LaPointe, editor(s)
2011, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Special Publication 36
Using Global Positioning System (GPS) data from permanent sites and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) campaign data we have estimated co-seismic displacements and secular background crustal deformation patterns associated with the 21 February 2008 Wells Nevada earthquake. Estimated displacements at nearby permanent GPS sites ELKO (84 km distant) and GOSH...
A Geo-referenced 3D model of the Juan de Fuca Slab and associated seismicity
J. L. Blair, P. A. McCrory, D. H. Oppenheimer, F. Waldhauser
2011, Data Series 633
We present a Geographic Information System (GIS) of a new 3-dimensional (3D) model of the subducted Juan de Fuca Plate beneath western North America and associated seismicity of the Cascadia subduction system. The geo-referenced 3D model was constructed from weighted control points that integrate depth information from hypocenter locations...
An introduction to adaptive management for threatened and endangered species
Michael C. Runge
2011, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (2) 220-233
Management of threatened and endangered species would seem to be a perfect context for adaptive management. Many of the decisions are recurrent and plagued by uncertainty, exactly the conditions that warrant an adaptive approach. But although the potential of adaptive management in these settings has been extolled, there are limited...
