Near real-time indicators of burn severity in the western U.S. from active fire tracking
Elijah Orland, Tempest McCabe, Yang Chen, Rebecca C. Scholten, Zeb Becker, Rachel A. Loehman, James T. Randerson, Shane R. Coffield, Tianjia Liu, Alexey N. Shiklomanov, Kurtis Nelson, Birgit Peterson, Melanie B. Follette-Cook, Douglas C. Morton
2025, Fire Ecology (21)
BackgroundTimely information on wildfire burn severity is critical to assess and mitigate potential post-fire impacts on soils, vegetation, and hillslope stability. Tracking individual fire spread and intensity using satellite active fire data provides a pathway to near real-time (NRT) information. Here, we generated a large database (n = 2177) of wildfire events...
Host responses and viral traits interact to shape the impacts of climate warming on highly pathogenic avian influenza in migratory waterfowl
Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, Michael L. Casazza, Cory T. Overton, Elliott Matchett, Diann J. Prosser
2025, PLOS Computational Biology. (21)
Emerging infectious diseases pose threats to wildlife populations, as exemplified by recent outbreaks of avian influenza viruses in wild birds. Climate change can affect infection dynamics in wildlife through direct effects on pathogens (e.g., environmental decay rates) and changes to host ecology, including shifting migration patterns. Here, we adapt an...
RioM-1: A new calcite reference material for U-Pb LA-ICP-MS geochronology
Marco Silva, Cristiano Lana, Ricardo Scholz, Ian Buick, Sandra K. Kamo, Nick M.W. Roberts, Axel Gerdes, Michael Wiedenbeck, Blair Schoene, Francisco E. Apen, Sean Patrick Gaynor
2025, Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research
Determining absolute ages of carbonate diagenesis, faulting, fossil formation, speleothem growth, carbonate-hosted hydrocarbon deposits, vein mineralisation and hydrothermal alteration has become increasingly accessible through LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating of calcite, complementing traditional isotope dilution methods still applicable to certain materials (e.g., speleothems via micro-drilling). However, well-calibrated reference materials for LA-ICP-MS calcite...
Diel and spatial variability in cyanobacterial composition, gene abundance, and toxin concentration: A pilot study
Victoria Christensen, Leon R. Katona, Jaime F. LeDuc, Ryan P. Maki, Hayley Olds, James C. Smith, Hailey Elizabeth Trompeter
2025, Scientific Reports (15)
We designed a pilot field study to assess relations between sunlight, cyanobacteria, and cyanotoxins. In 2021, we collected day (07:00 h, 10:00 h, 13:00 h, 16:00 h) and night samples (19:00 h, 22:00 h, 01:00 h, 04:00 h) at two locations in Kabetogama Lake, MN, USA. One sample set was collected from the lakeward end of a boat...
Modeling diverse environmental responses of reservoirs to floating photovoltaic systems
Evan M. Bredeweg, Ivan Arismendi, Christina Amy Murphy, Sarah K. Henkel
2025, Limnologica - Ecology and Management of Inland Waters (115)
Floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems are emerging as a promising strategy for large-scale clean energy production worldwide. However, by altering key physical drivers such as solar radiation and wind mixing, FPV installations may have also unintended consequences for lakes and reservoirs. Given the wide diversity of freshwater systems globally, understanding the...
Submarine groundwater discharge creates cold‐water refugia that can mitigate exposure of heat stress in nearshore corals
Eric E. Grossman, Ferdinand K.J. Oberle, Curt D. Storlazzi
2025, Frontiers in Marine Science (12)
Coral reef mortality around the world is accelerating due to human activities and rising sea temperatures that cause bleaching, which is expected to become more frequent. Our ability to predict which corals will be most resilient, however, remains limited due to insufficient information characterizing nearshore temperature and habitat conditions. In...
Assessing flood water infiltration and storage in a restored floodplain
Nicholas Corson-Dosch, Faith Fitzpatrick, Paul Juckem, James D. Blount, Wonsook S. Ha
2025, Hydological Processes (39)
In urban areas, floodplain restoration is gaining prominence as a strategy for restoring the natural functions of floodplain ecosystems and reducing flood risk. This has spurred research into potential interactions between floodwaters, the hyporheic zone, and the floodplain aquifer. An urban restored stream in Wisconsin, USA, was used as a...
Case study of deep learning image segmentation for the purposes of rapid 2D petrographic analysis in volcanic rocks
Brenna A. Halverson, Matthew W. Loewen, Hannah R. Dietterich, Alan Whittington
2025, Volcanica (8) 427-443
Automation using deep learning methods is a useful alternative to manual methods of petrographic segmentation, but often requires user familiarity with coding and/or algorithms. We examine the DragonflyTM program's deep learning tools for application by users with a variety of skill levels as a method for petrographic image segmentation. An...
Pre-Acadian tectonics of the eastern Orange-Milford Belt, south-central Connecticut
Ryan T. Deasy, Robert P. Wintsch, Bryan Wathen, Ryan J. McAleer, Romain Meyer, Michael J. Kunk
2025, Conference Paper
This excursion presents a reinterpretation of mapping and new analytical data from the eastern Orange-Milford belt (OMB) in south-central Connecticut. The OMB is a fault-bound terrane of argillites and mafic rocks of anomalously low metamorphic grade—and of poorly constrained ages and tectonic affinity—wedged between kyanite/sillimanite-grade peri- Laurentian rocks to the...
Magma fragmentation and tephra deposition from a small-volume phreatomagmatic eruption: Blue Lake crater, Oregon, USA
Sophia Leiter, Pierre-Simon Ross, Emily Renee Johnson
2025, Bulletin of Volcanology
Maars pose considerable hazards due to their more explosive nature (compared with more common scoria cones) and likelihood that eruptions produce pyroclastic surges. Blue Lake crater is a maar in the Oregon High Cascades that erupted within the last 3000 years, making it one of the youngest eruptions in the Oregon...
UAS and high-resolution satellite imagery improve the accuracy of cheatgrass detection across an invaded Yellowstone landscape
Jason R. Kreitler, Joshua W. Von Nonn, Seth M. Munson, Alex C. Zaideman, Steven T. Bekedam, Ann Rodman, Miguel Villarreal
2025, Landscape Ecology (40)
ContextCheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) is a problem across the western United States, where it outcompetes and replaces native grass species, alters habitats, and increases the risk of wildfires. Cheatgrass greens up earlier in the growing season compared to native grasses, making it classifiable with multi-temporal and multi-spectral remote sensing.ObjectivesWe mapped cheatgrass...
Mechanisms influencing thermal refuges and territory occupancy by collared pikas during summer and winter
Lillian A. Harrison, Katherine S. Christie, Collette Brandt, Matthew Richard Falcy, Sophie L. Gilbert, Janet L. Rachlow
2025, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research (57)
Collared pikas (Ochotona collaris) are cold adapted alpine lagomorphs of western Canada and Alaska, USA, that are vulnerable to direct and indirect effects of climate change. However, how and to what extent such changes influence persistence for this species is not well understood, particularly at fine spatial...
Monitoring Pacific walrus coastal haulouts by satellite to estimate herd abundance and distribution
Anthony S. Fischbach, Rebecca L. Taylor, David C. Douglas
2025, Wildlife Society Bulletin (49)
The Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) has a single, panmictic stock that ranges across the Bering and Chukchi Seas. However, its seasonal distribution is incompletely described, particularly in autumn when herds gather on shore, and abundance is of interest to management entities. We monitored walrus herds using satellite imagery on...
Late Pleistocene kinematics of the Great Southern Puerto Rico Fault Zone, Puerto Rico
Emerson Madelyn Lynch, Jessica Ann Thompson Jobe, Richard W. Briggs, M. Morow Tan, Victor Ortega Díaz, K. Stephen Hughes
2025, Seismological Research Letters
Several onshore faults in southern Puerto Rico have recently been recognized as Quaternary active. However, the kinematics of these faults, particularly any lateral component, remain largely unconstrained. It is difficult to characterize low strain‐rate faults, partially due to extensive erosional and anthropogenic landscape modification, steep relief, and frequent landsliding, limiting...
Statistical streamflow comparison of current and historical 30-year periods for selected streams in New Jersey
Brianna Williams, Samantha L. Sullivan, Thomas P. Suro, Jerilyn V. Collenburg, Amy R. McHugh, Jennifer L. Shourds
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5061
As the population of New Jersey increases, supplying adequate drinking water to meet demand remains a high priority. To better understand potential streamflow trends over time, the U.S. Geological Survey completed a study comparing low flows at continuous- and partial-record streamgages in New Jersey between a historical period (1950–79) and...
Fitness consequences of catastrophic wildfire are mitigated by behavioral responses of an iconic bird
Bryan S. Stevens, Courtney J. Conway, Shane B. Roberts, Devin K. Englestead
2025, Fire Ecology (21)
BackgroundDrought, human disturbance, and invasive species are reshaping disturbance regimes and increasing the scale, severity, and frequency of wildfire in many ecosystems around the globe, including the sagebrush steppe of western North America. Recent studies suggested greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) adhere to strong site fidelity in the aftermath...
Spatiotemporal overlap of mallards with poultry farms is associated with greater risk of avian influenza wild bird spillover events
Joshua Alexander Cullen, Nicholas M. Masto, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Cory Highway, Kelly A. Patyk, Mary-Jane McCool, Mia Kim Torchetti, Kristina Lantz, Rebecca L. Poulson, Deborah Carter, Jamie Feddersen, Bradley S. Cohen, Diann J. Prosser
2025, Ecology and Evolution (15)
Animal movement influences local transmission and geographic spread of pathogens. Waterfowl are known reservoirs of pathogens, including H5 goose/Guangdong lineage (H5 GsGd) highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). This HPAI virus lineage causes high rates of morbidity and mortality in domestic poultry and many wild bird species. Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) are...
Update to a management-focused population viability analysis for North Atlantic right whales
Daniel Linden, Michael Runge, J. A. Hostetler, Diane Borggaard, Lance Garrison, Amy R. Knowlton, Véronique Lesage, Robert A. Williams, Richard Pace III
2025, NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NE-337
We provide an update to the recently published population viability analysis for North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis). The update includes improvements to the reproduction modeling and also shares additional context given evidence of reduced mortality indicated by recent population monitoring. Projections from the analysis are used to quantify simulated population...
Combining scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray fluorescence to characterize shear zones at the Pogo gold deposit, Alaska
Katharina I Pfaff, Filip Kasprowicz, Jonathan Saul Caine, William Benzel, Heather A. Lowers
2025, Conference Paper
This study employs a multi-method analytical approach to characterize the mineralogical, geochemical, and textural properties of fault rocks from the Pogo gold mine in the Yukon-Tanana Upland, central Alaska. Specifically, we examine cataclasites, to document the structural and geochemical evolution of shear zones and their associations with gold mineralization. To...
One hundred ninety-nine dead birds: Review of the scientific basis of ecological incident reporting requirements for pesticide registrants under Fifra § 6(A)(2)
Nimish B. Vyas, Cynthia Palmer
2025, Buffalo Environmental Law Journal (31)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates pesticide use in the United States. The EPA is charged by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) with ensuring that a pesticide will not cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment. Incident reports (documentation of exposure and injury from pesticide applications)...
Tertiary metallogeny of the Rocky Mountains Province, USA
Sean Patrick Gaynor, Karen Lund, Snir Attia, Jonathan Andrew Funk, Kyle Eastman, Joshua Mark Rosera, Jonathan Saul Caine, Eric Anderson
2025, Conference Paper
Tertiary ore deposits in the Rocky Mountains physiographic province primarily formed through magmatic-hydrothermal processes associated with shifting tectonics and lithospheric conditions. Important deposit types in the province are calc-alkaline and Climaxtype porphyry; high-, medium-, and low-sulfidation epithermal; alkalic magmatic; carbonate replacement; tungsten skarn and vein; and sandstone uranium. Province wide,...
Acoustic response of bats to the Brood X Periodical Cicada (Magicicada spp.) emergence
Amber S. Litterer, Samuel R. Freeze, W. Mark Ford
2025, Journal of North American Bat Research (10) 1-18
Periodical cicada emergences can positively affect vertebrate reproduction and breeding behavior, yet this response is not well studied for bats. We examined the acoustic response of 6 species/phonic groups of bats in 2021 to the emergence of Brood X periodical cicadas, along the Potomac River corridor, in Maryland and Virginia....
Deformation mechanisms in quartz veins and shear zones elucidate the origin of gold mineralization at Pogo, Alaska
Jonathan Saul Caine, Douglas C. Kreiner, Heather A. Lowers
2025, Conference Paper
Pogo is a quartz vein hosted, ca. 8 Moz gold deposit. Although it has similarities to orogenic and magmatic-hydrothermal deposits, its origin remains enigmatic. Observations from surface exposures, underground workings, and drill core provide new constraints on quartz vein origins with implications for mineralization. Abundant, largely barren metamorphic segregation quartz...
A systematic literature review of forecasting and predictive models of harmful algal blooms in flowing waters
Jennifer C. Murphy, Rebecca Michelle Gorney, Lisa Lucas, Jacob Aaron Zwart, Jennifer L. Graham
2025, Preprint
Occurrences of harmful algal blooms (HABs) in rivers challenge the belief that rivers are not susceptible to HABs because of their short residence times and fluctuating hydrology. Here we present a systematic literature review of predictive and forecasting models for HABs in flowing waters, including rivers, flowing in-stream reservoirs (e.g.,...
Testicular neoplasms and other abnormalities in common carp Cyprinus carpio from the Lower Colorado River, United States
Vicki S. Blazer, Steven L. Goodbred, Heather L. Walsh, Dylan Wichman, Darren Johnson, Renaldo Patino
2025, Animals (15)
Abnormalities were observed in the testes of common carp Cyprinus carpio collected from Willow Beach, Arizona, USA, a site on the lower Colorado River, downstream of Lake Mead and Hoover Dam. Testicular tissue collected from this site in 2003 exhibited numerous large, pigmented macrophage aggregates (MAs) and a...