Early to Middle Ordovician back-arc basin in the southern Appalachian Blue Ridge: characteristics, extent, and tectonic significance
James Tull, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Clinton I. Barineau
2014, GSA Bulletin (126) 990-1015
Fault-dismembered segments of a distinctive, extensive, highly allochthonous, and tectonically significant Ordovician (ca. 480–460 Ma) basin, which contains suites of bimodal metavolcanic rocks, associated base metal deposits, and thick immature deep-water (turbiditic) metasediments, occur in parts of the southern Appalachian Talladega belt, eastern Blue Ridge, and Inner Piedmont of Alabama,...
Effects of soil temperature and depth to ground water on first-year growth of a dryland riparian phreatophyte, Glycyrrhiza lepidota (American licorice)
Douglas C. Andersen, S. Mark Nelson
2014, Southwestern Naturalist (59) 56-65
We investigated the effects of soil temperature and depth to ground water on first-year growth of a facultative floodplain phreatophyte, Glycyrrhiza lepidota, in a 2-×-2 factorial greenhouse experiment. We grew plants in mesocosms subirrigated with water low in dissolved oxygen, mimicking natural systems, and set depth of ground water at 63...
Volcanic tremor masks its seismogenic source: Results from a study of noneruptive tremor recorded at Mount St. Helens, Washington
Roger P. Denlinger, Seth C. Moran
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (119) 2230-2251
On 2 October 2004, a significant noneruptive tremor episode occurred during the buildup to the 2004–2008 eruption of Mount St. Helens (Washington). This episode was remarkable both because no explosion followed, and because seismicity abruptly stopped following the episode. This sequence motivated us to consider a model for volcanic tremor...
Compositional controls on early diagenetic pathways in fine-grained sedimentary rocks: Implications for predicting unconventional reservoir attributes of mudstones
Margaret A. Keller, Joe H.S. Macquaker, Kevin G. Taylor, David Polya
2014, AAPG Bulletin (98) 587-603
Diagenesis significantly impacts mudstone lithofacies. Processes operating to control diagenetic pathways in mudstones are poorly known compared to analogous processes occurring in other sedimentary rocks. Selected organic-carbon-rich mudstones, from the Kimmeridge Clay and Monterey Formations, have been investigated to determine how varying starting compositions influence diagenesis.The sampled Kimmeridge Clay...
Geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in Aptian carbonates, onshore northern Gulf of Mexico Basin, United States
Paul C. Hackley, Alexander W. Karlsen
2014, Cretaceous Research (48) 225-234
Carbonate lithofacies of the Lower Cretaceous Sligo Formation and James Limestone were regionally evaluated using established U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment methodology for undiscovered conventional hydrocarbon resources. The assessed area is within the Upper Jurassic–Cretaceous–Tertiary Composite total petroleum system, which was defined for the assessment. Hydrocarbons reservoired in carbonate platform...
Detection of the emerging amphibian pathogens Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and ranavirus in Russia
Andrey N. Reshetnikov, Tara E. Chestnut, Jesse L. Brunner, Kaylene M. Charles, Emily E. Nebergall, Deanna H. Olson
2014, Diseases of Aquatic Organisms (110) 235-240
In a population of the European common toad Bufo bufo from a rural pond in the region of Lake Glubokoe Regional Reserve in Moscow province, Russia, unexplained mass mortality events involving larvae and metamorphs have been observed over a monitoring period of >20 yr. We tested toads from this and a nearby...
Optical sensors for water quality
Brian A. Pellerin, Brian A. Bergamaschi
2014, Lakeline 13-17
Shifts in land use, population, and climate have altered hydrologic systems in the United States in ways that affect water quality and ecosystem function. Water diversions, detention in reservoirs, increased channelization, and changes in rainfall and snowmelt are major causes, but there are also more subtle causes such as changes...
Similar resilience attributes in lakes with different management practices
Didier L. Baho, Stina Drakare, Richard K. Johnson, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler
2014, PLoS ONE (9)
Liming has been used extensively in Scandinavia and elsewhere since the 1970s to counteract the negative effects of acidification. Communities in limed lakes usually return to acidified conditions once liming is discontinued, suggesting that liming is unlikely to shift acidified lakes to a state equivalent to pre-acidification conditions that requires...
Testing ecological tradeoffs of a new tool for removing fine sediment in a spring-fed stream
Adam J. Sepulveda, Juddson D. Sechrist, Laurie B Marczak
2014, Ecological Restoration (31) 68-77
Excessive fine sediment is a focus of stream restoration work because it can impair the structure and function of streams, but few methods exist for removing sediment in spring-fed streams. We tested a novel method of sediment removal with the potential to have minimal adverse effects on the biological community...
Reservoir floodplains support distinct fish assemblages
Leandro E. Miranda, S. L. Wigen, Jonah D. Dagel
2014, River Research and Applications (30) 338-346
Reservoirs constructed on floodplain rivers are unique because the upper reaches of the impoundment may include extensive floodplain environments. Moreover, reservoirs that experience large periodic water level fluctuations as part of their operational objectives seasonally inundate and dewater floodplains in their upper reaches, partly mimicking natural inundations of river floodplains....
Fish depth distributions in the Lower Mississippi River
K. J. Killgore, Leandro E. Miranda
2014, River Research and Applications (30) 347-359
A substantial body of literature exists about depth distribution of fish in oceans, lakes and reservoirs, but less is known about fish depth distribution in large rivers. Most of the emphasis on fish distributions in rivers has focused on longitudinal and latitudinal spatial distributions. Knowledge on depth distribution is necessary...
Can antibrowsing defense regulate the spread of woody vegetation in arctic tundra?
John P. Bryant, Kyle Joly, F. Stuart Chapin III, Donald L. DeAngelis, Knut Kielland
2014, Ecography (37) 204-211
Global climate warming is projected to promote the increase of woody plants, especially shrubs, in arctic tundra. Many factors may affect the extent of this increase, including browsing by mammals. We hypothesize that across the Arctic the effect of browsing will vary because of regional variation in antibrowsing chemical defense....
When water, gravity and geology collide: Firsthand observations of the impacts of the 2013 Colorado floods
Geoffrey S. Plumlee
2014, Earth Magazine (59) 29-34
No abstract available....
Porphyry copper assessment of Central America and the Caribbean Basin
Floyd Gray, Jane M. Hammarstrom, Stephen Ludington, Lukas Zürcher, Carl E. Nelson, Gilpin R. Robinson Jr., Robert J. Miller, Barry C. Moring
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5090-I
Mineral resource assessments provide a synthesis of available information about distributions of mineral deposits in the Earth’s crust. The U.S. Geological Survey prepared a probabilistic mineral resource assessment of undiscovered resources in porphyry copper deposits in Central America and the Caribbean Basin in collaboration with geoscientists from academia and the...
Monitoring of wild fish health at selected sites in the Great Lakes Basin: methods and preliminary results
Vicki Blazer, Patricia M. Mazik, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Ryan Braham, Cassidy Hahn, Heather L. Walsh, Adam Sperry
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1027
During fall 2010 and spring 2011, a total of 119 brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus), 136 white sucker (Catostomus commersoni), 73 smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu), and 59 largemouth bass (M. salmoides) were collected from seven Great Lakes Basin Areas of Concern and one Reference Site. Comprehensive fish health assessments were conducted...
2013 update on sea otter studies to assess recovery from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, Prince William Sound, Alaska
Brenda E. Ballachey, Daniel H. Monson, George G. Esslinger, Kimberly A. Kloecker, James L. Bodkin, Lizabeth Bowen, A. Keith Miles
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1030
On March 24, 1989, the tanker vessel Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling an estimated 42 million liters of Prudhoe Bay crude oil. Oil spread in a southwesterly direction and was deposited on shores and waters in western Prince William Sound (WPWS). The sea otter (Enhydra...
Modifications made to ModelMuse to add support for the Saturated-Unsaturated Transport model (SUTRA)
Richard B. Winston
2014, Techniques and Methods 6-A49
This report (1) describes modifications to ModelMuse,as described in U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Techniques and Methods (TM) 6–A29 (Winston, 2009), to add support for the Saturated-Unsaturated Transport model (SUTRA) (Voss and Provost, 2002; version of September 22, 2010) and (2) supplements USGS TM 6–A29. Modifications include changes to the main...
Logs and data from trenches across the Berryessa Fault at the Jerd Creek site, northeastern Napa County, California, 2011-2012
James J. Lienkaemper, Carla M. Rosa, Ian J. Cappelle, Evan M. Wolf, Nichole E. Knepprath, Lucille A. Piety, Sarah A. Derouin, Liam M. Reidy, Joanna L. Redwine, Robert R. Sickler
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1033
The primary purpose of this report is to provide drafted field logs of exploratory trenches excavated across the Berryessa Fault section of the northern Green Valley Fault (Lienkaemper, 2012; Lienkaemper and others, 2013) in 2011 and 2012 that show evidence for at least one surface-rupturing earthquake in the past few...
Assessment of undiscovered sandstone copper deposits of the Kodar-Udokan area, Russia
Michael L. Zientek, Vladimir S. Chechetkin, Heather L. Parks, Stephen E. Box, Deborah A. Briggs, Pamela M. Cossette, Alla Dolgopolova, Timothy S. Hayes, Reimar Seltmann, Boris Syusyura, Cliff D. Taylor, Niki E. Wintzer
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5090-M
Mineral resource assessments integrate and synthesize available information as a basis for estimating the location, quality, and quantity of undiscovered mineral resources. This probabilistic mineral resource assessment of undiscovered sandstone copper deposits within Paleoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks of the Kodar-Udokan area in Russia is a contribution to a global assessment led...
Precipitation variability of the Grand Canyon region, 1893 through 2009, and its implications for studying effects of gullying of Holocene terraces and associated archeological sites in Grand Canyon, Arizona
Richard Hereford, Glenn E. Bennett, Helen C. Fairley
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1006
A daily precipitation dataset covering a large part of the American Southwest was compiled for online electronic distribution (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2014/1006/). The dataset contains 10.8 million observations spanning January 1893 through January 2009 from 846 weather stations in six states and 13 climate divisions. In addition to processing the data...
Assessing risks to humans from invasive Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park, Florida, USA
Robert N. Reed, Ray W. Snow
2014, Wildlife Society Bulletin
Invasive Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) are now established across a large area of southern Florida, USA, including all of Everglades National Park (NP). The presence of these large-bodied snakes in the continental United States has attracted intense media attention, including regular reference to the possibility of these snakes preying...
Estimate of undiscovered copper resources of the world, 2013
Kathleen M. Johnson, Jane M. Hammarstrom, Michael L. Zientek, Connie L. Dicken
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3004
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated a mean of 3,500 million metric tons (Mt) of undiscovered copper among 225 tracts around the world. Annual U.S. copper consumption is 2 Mt; global consumption is 20 Mt. The USGS assessed undiscovered copper in two deposit types that account...
Mean annual, seasonal, and monthly precipitation and runoff in Arkansas, 1951-2011
Aaron L. Pugh, Drew A. Westerman
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5006
This report describes long-term annual, seasonal, and monthly means for precipitation and runoff in Arkansas for the period from 1951 through 2011. Precipitation means were estimated using data from the Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model database; while total runoff, groundwater runoff, and surface runoff means were estimated using data...
Photomosaics and event evidence from the Frazier Mountain paleoseismic site, trench 1, cuts 1–4, San Andreas Fault Zone, southern California (2007–2009)
Katherine M. Scharer, Tom E. Fumal, Ray J. Weldon II, Ashley R. Streig
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1002
The Frazier Mountain paleoseismic site is located at the northwest end of the Mojave section of the San Andreas Fault, in a small, closed depression at the base of Frazier Mountain near Tejon Pass, California (lat 34.8122° N., long 118.9034° W.). The site was known to contain a good record...
Daytime avoidance of chemosensory alarm cues by adult sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus)
Richard Di Rocco, Cowan Belanger, István Imre, Grant Brown, Nicholas S. Johnson
2014, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 824-830
Sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) avoid damage-released and predator chemosensory cues at night, but their response to these cues during the day is unknown. Here, we explored (i) whether sea lamprey avoid these cues during the day and (ii) the effect of water temperature on the avoidance of chemosensory alarm cues...