Selection of the InSight landing site
M. Golombek, D. Kipp, N. Warner, Ingrid J. Daubar, Robin L. Fergason, Randolph L. Kirk, R. Beyer, A. Huertas, Sylvain Piqueux, N.E. Putzig, B.A. Campbell, G. A. Morgan, C. Charalambous, W. T. Pike, K. Gwinner, F. Calef, D. Kass, M. A. Mischna, J. Ashley, C. Bloom, N. Wigton, T. Hare, C. Schwartz, H. Gengl, L. Redmond, M. Trautman, J. Sweeney, C. Grima, I. B. Smith, E. Sklyanskiy, M. Lisano, J. Benardini, S.E. Smrekar, P. Lognonne, W. B. Banerdt
2017, Space Science Reviews (211) 5-95
The selection of the Discovery Program InSight landing site took over four years from initial identification of possible areas that met engineering constraints, to downselection via targeted data from orbiters (especially Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Context Camera (CTX) and High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) images), to selection and certification via...
A hydrologic drying bias in water-resource impact analyses of anthropogenic climate change
Paul Milly, Krista A. Dunne
2017, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (53) 822-838
For water-resource planning, sensitivity of freshwater availability to anthropogenic climate change (ACC) often is analyzed with “offline” hydrologic models that use precipitation and potential evapotranspiration (Ep) as inputs. Because Ep is not a climate-model output, an intermediary model of Ep must be introduced to connect the climate model to the...
Behavior of a wave-driven buoyant surface jet on a coral reef
Liv M. Herdman, James L. Hench, Oliver Fringer, Stephen G. Monismith
2017, Journal of Geophysical Research C: Oceans (122) 4088-4109
A wave-driven surface buoyant jet exiting a coral reef was studied in order to quantify the amount of water re-entrained over the reef crest. Both moored observations and Lagrangian drifters were used to study the fate of the buoyant jet. To investigate in detail the effects of buoyancy and along-shore...
Yolo Bypass Juvenile Salmon Utilization Study 2016—Summary of acoustically tagged juvenile salmon and study fish release, Sacramento River, California
Theresa L. Liedtke, William R. Hurst
2017, Data Series 1066
The Yolo Bypass is a flood control bypass in Sacramento Valley, California. Flood plain habitats may be used for juvenile salmon rearing, however, the potential value of such habitats can be difficult to evaluate because of the intermittent nature of inundation events. The Yolo Bypass Juvenile Salmon Utilization Study (YBUS)...
Long-term trends in midwestern milkweed abundances and their relevance to monarch butterfly declines
David N. Zaya, Ian S. Pearse, Gregory Spyreas
2017, BioScience (67) 343-356
Declines in monarch butterfly populations have prompted investigation into the sensitivity of their milkweed host plants to land-use change. Documented declines in milkweed abundance in croplands have spurred efforts to promote milkweeds in other habitats. Nevertheless, our current understanding of milkweed populations is poor. We used a long-term plant survey...
QFASAR: Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis with R
Jeffrey F. Bromaghin
2017, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (8) 1158-1162
Knowledge of predator diets provides essential insights into their ecology, yet diet estimation is challenging and remains an active area of research.Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) is a popular method of estimating diet composition that continues to be investigated and extended. However, software to implement QFASA...
Bathymetric survey of the Cayuga Inlet flood-control channel and selected tributaries in Ithaca, New York, 2016
John F. Wernly, Elizabeth A. Nystrom, William F. Coon
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1109
From July 14 to July 20, 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Ithaca, New York, and the New York State Department of State, surveyed the bathymetry of the Cayuga Inlet flood-control channel and the mouths of selected tributaries to Cayuga Inlet and Cayuga Lake in...
Three-dimensional hydrogeologic framework model of the Rio Grande transboundary region of New Mexico and Texas, USA, and northern Chihuahua, Mexico
Donald S. Sweetkind
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5060
As part of a U.S. Geological Survey study in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, a digital three-dimensional hydrogeologic framework model was constructed for the Rio Grande transboundary region of New Mexico and Texas, USA, and northern Chihuahua, Mexico. This model was constructed to define the aquifer system geometry and...
U.S. Geological Survey sage-grouse and sagebrush ecosystem research annual report for 2017
Steven E. Hanser, editor(s)
2017, Circular 1436
The sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystem extends across a large portion of the Western United States, and the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is one of the iconic species of this ecosystem. Greater sage-grouse populations occur in 11 States and are dependent on relatively large expanses of sagebrush-dominated habitat. Sage-grouse populations have...
U.S. Geological Survey—Energy and wildlife research annual report for 2017
Mona Khalil, editor(s)
2017, Circular 1435
IntroductionTerrestrial and aquatic ecosystems provide valuable services to humans and are a source of clean water, energy, raw materials, and productive soils. The Nation’s food supply is more secure because of wildlife. For example, native pollinators enhance agricultural crops, and insect-eating bats provide pest control services worth billions of dollars...
Management implications of broadband sound in modulating wild silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) behavior
Brooke J. Vetter, Robin D. Calfee, Allen F. Mensinger
2017, Management of Biological Invasions (8) 371-376
Invasive silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) dominate large regions of the Mississippi River drainage, outcompete native species, and are notorious for their prolific and unusual jumping behavior. High densities of juvenile and adult (~25 kg) carp are known to jump up to 3 m above the water surface in response to...
Pathogenic lineage of Perkinsea associated with mass mortality of frogs across the United States
Marcos Isidoro Ayza, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Daniel A. Grear, Megan Winzeler, Daniel L. Calhoun, William J. Barichivich
2017, Scientific Reports (7)
Emerging infectious diseases such as chytridiomycosis and ranavirus infections are important contributors to the worldwide decline of amphibian populations. We reviewed data on 247 anuran mortality events in 43 States of the United States from 1999–2015. Our findings suggest that a severe infectious disease of tadpoles caused by a protist...
Evaluation of the U.S. Geological Survey Landsat burned area essential climate variable across the conterminous U.S. using commercial high-resolution imagery
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Nicole M. Brunner, Yen-Ju G. Beal, Todd Hawbaker
2017, Remote Sensing (9) 1-24
The U.S. Geological Survey has produced the Landsat Burned Area Essential Climate Variable (BAECV) product for the conterminous United States (CONUS), which provides wall-to-wall annual maps of burned area at 30 m resolution (1984–2015). Validation is a critical component in the generation of such remotely sensed products. Previous efforts to...
The role of alluvial aquifer sediments in attenuating a dissolved arsenic plume
Brady A. Ziegler, Madeline E. Schreiber, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli
2017, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology (204) 90-101
In a crude-oil-contaminated sandy aquifer at the Bemidji site in northern Minnesota, biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons has resulted in release of naturally occurring As to groundwater under Fe-reducing conditions. This study used chemical extractions of aquifer sediments collected in 1993 and 2011–2014 to evaluate the relationship between Fe and As...
Validation of the USGS Landsat Burned Area Essential Climate Variable (BAECV) across the conterminous United States
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Nicole Fairaux, Yen-Ju G. Beal, Todd Hawbaker
2017, Remote Sensing of Environment (198) 393-406
The Landsat Burned Area Essential Climate Variable (BAECV), developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), capitalizes on the long temporal availability of Landsat imagery to identify burned areas across the conterminous United States (CONUS) (1984–2015). Adequate validation of such products is critical for their proper usage and interpretation. Validation of...
Building collaboration between the North Central CSC and regional partners through liaison teams
Geneva W. Chong
2017, Report
The Liaison Project increased communications between the North CentralClimate Science Center (NC CSC), other USGS Science Centers and potential collaboratorsincluding active members of the four Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCC) included inthe NC CSC area. The project was initiated with listening sessions to determine partners’ interestin liaising with the NC CSC,...
Plateaus and sinuous ridges as the fingerprints of lava flow inflation in the Eastern Tharsis Plains of Mars
Jacob E. Bleacher, Tim R. Orr, Andrew P. de Wet, James R. Zimbelman, Christopher W. Hamilton, W. Brent Garry, Larry S. Crumpler, David A. Williams
2017, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (342) 29-46
The Tharsis Montes rift aprons are composed of outpourings of lava from chaotic terrains to the northeast and southwest flank of each volcano. Sinuous and branching channel networks that are present on the rift aprons suggest the possibility of fluvial processes in their development, or erosion by rapidly emplaced lavas,...
Mammalian mesocarnivore visitation at tortoise burrows in a wind farm
Mickey Agha, Amanda L. Smith, Jeffrey E. Lovich, David F. Delaney, Joshua R. Ennen, Jessica R. Briggs, Leo J. Fleckenstein, Laura A. Tennant, Shellie R. Puffer, Andrew D. Walde, Terence R. Arundel, Steven J. Price, Brian D. Todd
2017, Journal of Wildlife Management (81) 1117-1124
There is little information on predator–prey interactions in wind energy landscapes in North America, especially among terrestrial vertebrates. Here, we evaluated how proximity to roads and wind turbines affect mesocarnivore visitation with desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) and their burrows in a wind energy landscape. In 2013, we placed motion-sensor cameras...
2014 volcanic activity in Alaska: Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory
Cheryl E. Cameron, James P. Dixon, Christina A. Neal, Christopher F. Waythomas, Janet R. Schaefer, Robert G. McGimsey
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5077
The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) responded to eruptions, possible eruptions, volcanic unrest or suspected unrest, and seismic events at 18 volcanic centers in Alaska during 2014. The most notable volcanic activity consisted of intermittent ash eruptions from long-active Cleveland and Shishaldin Volcanoes in the Aleutian Islands, and two eruptive episodes...
Importance of measuring discharge and sediment transport in lesser tributaries when closing sediment budgets
Ronald E. Griffiths, David J. Topping
2017, Geomorphology (296) 59-73
Sediment budgets are an important tool for understanding how riverine ecosystems respond to perturbations. Changes in the quantity and grain size distribution of sediment within river systems affect the channel morphology and related habitat resources. It is therefore important for resource managers to know if a river reach is...
Characterization of sediment transport upstream and downstream from Lake Emory on the Little Tennessee River near Franklin, North Carolina, 2014–15
Brad A. Huffman, William F. Hazell, Carolyn J. Oblinger
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5081
Federal, State, and local agencies and organizations have expressed concerns regarding the detrimental effects of excessive sediment transport on aquatic resources and endangered species populations in the upper Little Tennessee River and some of its tributaries. In addition, the storage volume of Lake Emory, which is necessary for flood control...
A field study of selected U.S. Geological Survey analytical methods for measuring pesticides in filtered stream water, June - September 2012
Jeffrey D. Martin, Julia E. Norman, Mark W. Sandstrom, Claire E. Rose
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5049
U.S. Geological Survey monitoring programs extensively used two analytical methods, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry, to measure pesticides in filtered water samples during 1992–2012. In October 2012, the monitoring programs began using direct aqueous-injection liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry as a new analytical method for pesticides. The change...
Effects of backpacker use, pack stock trail use, and pack stock grazing on water-quality indicators, including nutrients, E. coli, hormones, and pharmaceuticals, in Yosemite National Park, USA
Harrison Forrester, David W. Clow, James W. Roche, Alan Heyvaert, William A. Battaglin
2017, Environmental Management (60) 526-543
We investigated how visitor-use affects water quality in wilderness in Yosemite National Park. During the summers of 2012–2014, we collected and analyzed surface-water samples for water-quality indicators, including fecal indicator bacteria Escherichia coli, nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon), suspended sediment concentration, pharmaceuticals, and hormones. Samples were collected upstream and downstream...
From coseismic offsets to fault-block mountains
George A. Thompson, Thomas E. Parsons
2017, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (114) 9820-9825
In the Basin and Range extensional province of the western United States, coseismic offsets, under the influence of gravity, display predominantly subsidence of the basin side (fault hanging wall), with comparatively little or no uplift of the mountainside (fault footwall). A few decades later, geodetic measurements [GPS and interferometric synthetic...
Current-use flame retardants in the water of Lake Michigan tributaries
Jiehong Guo, Kevin Romanak, Stephen M. Westenbroek, Ronald A. Hites, Marta Venier
2017, Environmental Science & Technology (51) 9960-9969
In this study, we measured the concentrations of 65 flame retardants in water samples from five Lake Michigan tributaries. These flame retardants included organophosphate esters (OPEs), brominated flame retardants (BFRs), and Dechlorane-related compounds. A total of 59 samples, including both the particulate and the dissolved phases, were collected from the...
