Characteristic earthquake magnitude frequency distributions on faults calculated from consensus data in California
Thomas E. Parsons, Eric L. Geist, Rodolfo Console, Roberto Carluccio
2018, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (123) 10,761-10,784
An estimate of the expected earthquake rate at all possible magnitudes is needed for seismic hazard forecasts. Regional earthquake magnitude frequency distributions obey a negative exponential law (Gutenberg‐Richter), but it's unclear if individual faults do. We add three new methods to calculate long‐term California earthquake rupture rates to the existing...
A video surveillance system to monitor breeding colonies of common terns (Sterna Hirundo)
J.L. Wall, Paul Marban, D.F. Brinker, J.D. Sullivan, M. Zimnik, J.L. Murrow, P. C. McGowan, Carl R. Callahan, Diann J. Prosser
2018, Journal of Visualized Experiments (137)
Many waterbird populations have faced declines over the last century, including the common tern (Sterna hirundo), a waterbird species with a widespread breeding distribution, that has been recently listed as endangered in some habitats of its range. Waterbird monitoring programs exist to track populations through time; however, some of the...
Tidal Wetlands and Estuaries
Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Wei Jun Cai, Simone Alin, Andreas Andersson, Joseph Crosswell, Kenneth Dunton, Jose Martin Hernandez-Ayon, Maria Herrmann, Audra L. Hinson, Charles Hopkinson, Jennifer Howard, Xinping Hu, Sara H. Knox, Kevin Kroeger, David Lagomasino, Patrick Megonigal, Raymond Najjar, May-Linn Paulsen, Dorothy Peteet, Emily Pidgeon, Karina Schafer, Zhaohui Aleck Wang, Maria Tzortziou, Elizabeth Watson
Jennifer Howard, Emily Pidgeon, editor(s)
2018, Book chapter, Second state of the carbon cycle report (SOCCR2): A sustained assessment report
1. The top 1 m of tidal wetland soils and estuarine sediments of North America contains 1,886 ± 1046 teragrams of carbon (Tg C). [High confidence, Very likely] 2. Soil carbon accumulation rate (i.e., sediment burial) in North American tidal wetlands is currently 9 ± 5 Tg C per year...
GSFLOW-GRASS v1.0.0: GIS-enabled hydrologic modeling of coupled groundwater–surface-water systems
G.-H. Crystal Ng, Andrew D. Wickert, Lauren D. Somers, Leila Saberi, Collin Cronkite-Ratcliff, Richard G. Niswonger, Jeffrey M. McKenzie
2018, Geoscientific Model Development (11) 4755-4777
The importance of water moving between the atmosphere and aquifers has led to efforts to develop and maintain coupled models of surface water and groundwater. However, developing inputs to these models is usually time-consuming and requires extensive knowledge of software engineering, often prohibiting their use by many researchers and water...
Propagation of endangered moapa dace
Jack E. Ruggirello, Scott A. Bonar, Olin G. Feuerbacher, Lee H. Simons, Chelsea Powers
2018, Copeia (106) 652-662
We report successful captive spawning and rearing of the highly endangered Moapa Dace, Moapa coriacea (approximately 650 individual fish in existence at time of this study). We simulated conditions under which this stream-dwelling southern Nevada cyprinid and similar species spawned and reared in the wild by varying temperature, photoperiod, flow, and substrate...
Land subsidence along the California Aqueduct in west-central San Joaquin Valley, California, 2003–10
Michelle Sneed, Justin T. Brandt, Michael Solt
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5144
Extensive groundwater withdrawal from the unconsolidated deposits in the San Joaquin Valley caused widespread aquifer-system compaction and resultant land subsidence from 1926 to 1970—locally exceeding 8.5 meters. The importation of surface water beginning in the early 1950s through the Delta-Mendota Canal and in the early 1970s through the California Aqueduct...
Groundwater-storage change and land-surface elevation change in Tucson Basin and Avra Valley, south-central Arizona--2003-2016
Robert L. Carruth, Libby M. Wildermuth, Brian D. Conway
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5154
The U.S. Geological Survey monitors groundwater-storage change and land-surface elevation change caused by groundwater withdrawal in Tucson Basin and Avra Valley—the two most populated alluvial basins within the Tucson Active Management Area. The Tucson Active Management Area is one of five active management areas in Arizona established by the 1980...
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) water-use websites
Kimberly Shaffer, Kathleen M. Rowland, B. Pierre Sargent
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3044
Explore U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) water-use websites to learn how and where the Nation's water use has changed over time! Learn how to find and access USGS water-use data shown in maps, graphs, visualizations, and information products. Gain a better understanding of water-use terms and USGS educational resources. Learn how to find and...
Simulation of groundwater flow and analysis of projected water use for the Rush Springs aquifer, western Oklahoma
J.H. Ellis
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5136
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation and the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, (1) quantified the groundwater resources of the Rush Springs aquifer in western Oklahoma by developing a numerical groundwater-flow model, (2) evaluated the effects of estimated equal-proportionate-share (EPS) pumping rates on aquifer storage and...
Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the East Siberian Sea Basin Province, 2008
Kenneth J. Bird, David W. Houseknecht, Janet K. Pitman
Thomas E. Moore, Donald L. Gautier, editor(s)
2018, Professional Paper 1824-Y
The East Siberian Sea Basin, which lies beneath the continental shelf east of the New Siberian Islands, is one of the better-known basins in a series of postorogenic (successor) basins in the East Siberian-Chukchi Sea region because of a reconnaissance network of seismic-reflection profiles and outcrops on nearby islands. In...
Assessing risks from harbor dredging to the northernmost population of diamondback terrapins using acoustic telemetry
Theodore R. Castro-Santos, M. Bolus, A. J. Danylchuk
2018, Estuaries and Coasts (42) 378-389
The northern diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin terrapin) is a saltmarsh-dependent turtle that occupies coastal habitats throughout much of the Atlantic coast of North America. We used a novel application of acoustic telemetry to quantify both mobility and occupancy of terrapins within a dredged harbor and surrounding habitats, and used these...
Biophysical assessment for indemnity selection of Federal Lands in Colorado
Natasha B. Carr, Lucy E. Burris, Daniel J. Manier
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1167
Information on the biophysical features of Federal lands identified as suitable for transfer to the State of Colorado was requested by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). This information is intended for use in conducting an Environmental Assessment prior to the transfer of ownership (conveyance) to the State. The Colorado...
Honolulu Magnetic Observatory
Jeffrey J. Love, Carol Finn
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3029
Tucked in a grove of thorny mesquite trees, on an ancient coral reef on the south side of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, west of Pearl Harbor, a small unmanned observatory quietly records the Earth’s time-varying magnetic field. The Honolulu Magnetic Observatory is 1 of 14 that the U.S. Geological...
Fish behavior and abundance monitoring near a floating surface collector in North Fork Reservoir, Clackamas River, Oregon, using multi-beam acoustic imaging sonar
Collin D. Smith, John M. Plumb, Noah S. Adams
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1182
An imaging sonar was used to assess the behavior and abundance of fish sized the same as salmonid smolt and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) at the entrance to the juvenile fish floating surface collector (FSC) at North Fork Reservoir, Oregon. The purpose of the FSC is to collect downriver...
Invasive rat control is an efficient, yet insufficient, method for recovery of the critically endangered Hawaiian plant hau kuahiwi (Hibiscadelphus giffardianus)
Nathan S. Gill, Stephanie G. Yelenik, Paul C. Banko, Christopher B. Dixon, Kelly Jaenecke, Robert Peck
2018, PLoS ONE (13) 1-11
Biological invasions of rodents and other species have been especially problematic on tropical islands. Invasive Rattus rattus consumption of Hibiscadelphus giffardianus (Malvaceae; common Hawaiian name hau kuahiwi) fruit and seeds has been hypothesized to be the most-limiting factor inhibiting the critically endangered tree, but this has not been experimentally tested,...
Demographic characteristics of an avian predator, Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla), in response to its aquatic prey in a Central Appalachian USA watershed impacted by shale gas development
Mack W. Frantz, Petra B. Wood, George T. Merovich Jr.
David A. Lightfoot, editor(s)
2018, PLoS ONE (13) 1-19
We related Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla) demographic response and nest survival to benthic macroinvertebrate aquatic prey and to shale gas development parameters using models that accounted for both spatial and non-spatial sources of variability in a Central Appalachian USA watershed. In 2013, aquatic prey density and pollution intolerant genera (i.e.,...
Influence of river discharge on grass carp occupancy dynamics in south-eastern Iowa rivers
Christopher J. Sullivan, Michael J. Weber, Clay Pierce, Carlos A. Camacho
Michael J. Weber, editor(s)
2018, River Research and Applications (35) 60-67
Despite the longstanding presence of grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella in the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) watershed, information regarding their populations remains largely unknown, in part because capture is difficult. Occupancy models are a popular wildlife assessment tool to account for imperfect detections but have been slow to be adopted in fisheries. Herein,...
Preparations for water sampling
U.S. Geological Survey
2018, Techniques and Methods 9-A1
The “National Field Manual for the Collection of Water-Quality Data” (NFM) provides guidelines and procedures for U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) personnel who collect data used to assess the quality of the Nation’s surface-water and groundwater resources. This chapter, NFM A1, provides an overview of preparations for water sampling, which includes...
Baseline water quality of an area undergoing shale-gas development in the Muskingum River watershed, Ohio, 2015–16
S. Alex Covert, Martha L. Jagucki, Carrie A. Huitger
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5113
In 2015–16, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, led a study to assess baseline (2015–16) surface-water quality in six lake drainage basins within the Muskingum River watershed that are in the early years of shale-gas development. In 2015, 9 of the 10 most active...
Sediment transport model including short-lived radioisotopes: Model description and idealized test cases
Justin J. Birchler, Courtney K. Harris, Christopher R. Sherwood, Tara A Kniskern
2018, Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (6) 1-17
Geochronologies derived from sediment cores in coastal locations are often used to infer event bed characteristics such as deposit thicknesses and accumulation rates. Such studies commonly use naturally occurring, short-lived radioisotopes, such as Beryllium-7 (7Be) and Thorium-234 (234Th), to study depositional and post-depositional processes. These radioisotope activities, however, are not...
Tag retention and survival of juvenile bighead carp implanted with a dummy acoustic tag at three temperatures
Curtis G. Byrd, Duane Chapman, Emily K. Pherigo, Jeffrey C. Jolley
2018, Journal of Applied Ichthyology (35) 763-768
Bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis and silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix(together, the bigheaded carps) are invasive fishes in North America that have resulted in substantial negative effects on native fish communities and aquatic ecosystems. Movement and behavior of adult bigheaded carps has been studied previously using telemetry, while similar studies with juvenile bigheaded carps have...
Modeling hydrodynamics, water temperature, and water quality in Klamath Straits Drain, Oregon and California, 2012–15
Annett B. Sullivan, Stewart A. Rounds
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5134
Executive SummaryLocated southwest of Klamath Falls, Oregon, Klamath Straits Drain is a 10.1-mile-long canal that conveys water uphill and northward through the use of pumps before discharging to the Klamath River. Klamath Straits Drain traverses an area that historically encompassed Lower Klamath Lake. Currently, the Drain receives water from farmland...
Examining forest structure with terrestrial lidar: Suggestions and novel techniques based on comparisons between scanners and forest treatments
Jonathon J. Donager, Temuulen T. Sankey, Joel B. Sankey, Andrew J. Sanchez Meadorc, Abraham E. Springer, John D. Bailey
2018, Earth and Space Science (5) 753-776
Terrestrial laser scanners (TLSs) provide a tool to assess and monitor forest structure across forest landscapes. We present TLS methods, suggestions, and mapped guidelines for planning TLS acquisitions at varying scales and forest densities. We examined rates of point‐density decline with distance from two TLS that acquire data at relatively...
Flood-inundation maps for the North Fork Kentucky River at Hazard, Kentucky
Justin A. Boldt, Jeremiah G. Lant, Nicholas E. Kolarik
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5122
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 7.1-mile reach of the North Fork Kentucky River at Hazard, Kentucky (Ky.), were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Kentucky Silver Jackets and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the...
Groundwater quality in the Mississippi embayment–Texas coastal uplands aquifer system, south-central United States
James A. Kingsbury
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3067
Groundwater provides nearly 50 percent of the Nation’s drinking water. To help protect this vital resource, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project assesses groundwater quality in aquifers that are important sources of drinking water (Burow and Belitz, 2014). The Mississippi embayment–Texas coastal uplands aquifer system constitutes...
