Habitat quality and recruitment success of cui-ui in the Truckee River downstream of Marble Bluff Dam, Pyramid Lake, Nevada
G. Gary Scoppettone, Peter H. Rissler, J. Antonio Salgado, Beverly Harry
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1247
We compared cui-ui (Chasmistes cujus) recruitment from two reaches of the Truckee River with histories of severe erosional downcutting caused by a decline in Pyramid Lake surface elevation. In 1975, Marble Bluff Dam (MBD) was constructed 5 kilometers upstream of the extant mouth of the Truckee River to stabilize the...
Ranking contributing areas of salt and selenium in the Lower Gunnison River Basin, Colorado, using multiple linear regression models
Joshua I. Linard
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5075
Mitigating the effects of salt and selenium on water quality in the Grand Valley and lower Gunnison River Basin in western Colorado is a major concern for land managers. Previous modeling indicated means to improve the models by including more detailed geospatial data and a more rigorous method for developing...
Updating the planetary time scale: focus on Mars
Kenneth L. Tanaka, Cathy Quantin-Nataf
2013, Ciencias Da Terra
Formal stratigraphic systems have been developed for the surface materials of the Moon, Mars, Mercury, and the Galilean satellite Ganymede. These systems are based on geologic mapping, which establishes relative ages of surfaces delineated by superposition, morphology, impact crater densities, and other relations and features. Referent units selected from the...
SSR_pipeline: a bioinformatic infrastructure for identifying microsatellites from paired-end Illumina high-throughput DNA sequencing data
Mark P. Miller, Brian J. Knaus, Thomas D. Mullins, Susan M. Haig
2013, Journal of Heredity (104) 881-885
SSR_pipeline is a flexible set of programs designed to efficiently identify simple sequence repeats (e.g., microsatellites) from paired-end high-throughput Illumina DNA sequencing data. The program suite contains 3 analysis modules along with a fourth control module that can automate analyses of large volumes of data. The modules are used to...
A fluid-driven earthquake swarm on the margin of the Yellowstone caldera
David R. Shelly, David P. Hill, Frederick Massin, Jamie Farrell, Robert B. Smith, Taka'aki Taira
2013, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (118) 4872-4886
Over the past several decades, the Yellowstone caldera has experienced frequent earthquake swarms and repeated cycles of uplift and subsidence, reflecting dynamic volcanic and tectonic processes. Here, we examine the detailed spatial-temporal evolution of the 2010 Madison Plateau swarm, which occurred near the northwest boundary of the Yellowstone caldera. To...
Baseline monitoring of the western Arctic Ocean estimates 20% of the Canadian Basin surface waters are undersaturated with respect to aragonite
Lisa L. Robbins, Jonathan G. Wynn, John T. Lisle, Kimberly K. Yates, Paul O. Knorr, Robert H. Byrne, Xuewu Liu, Mark C. Patsavas, Kumiko Azetsu-Scott, Taro Takahashi
2013, PLoS ONE (8)
Marine surface waters are being acidified due to uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide, resulting in surface ocean areas of undersaturation with respect to carbonate minerals, including aragonite. In the Arctic Ocean, acidification is expected to occur at an accelerated rate with respect to the global oceans, but a paucity of...
Regional signatures of plant response to drought and elevated temperature across a desert ecosystem
Seth M. Munson, Esteban H. Muldavin, Jayne Belnap, Debra P.C. Peters, John P. Anderson, M. Hildegard Reiser, Kirsten Gallo, Alicia Melgoza-Castillo, Jeffrey E. Herrick, Tim A. Christiansen
2013, Ecology (94) 2030-2041
The performance of many desert plant species in North America may decline with the warmer and drier conditions predicted by climate change models, thereby accelerating land degradation and reducing ecosystem productivity. We paired repeat measurements of plant canopy cover with climate at multiple sites across the Chihuahuan Desert over the...
A scenario and forecast model for Gulf of Mexico hypoxic area and volume
Donald Scavia, Mary Anne Evans, Daniel R. Obenour
2013, Environmental Science & Technology (47)
For almost three decades, the relative size of the hypoxic region on the Louisiana-Texas continental shelf has drawn scientific and policy attention. During that time, both simple and complex models have been used to explore hypoxia dynamics and to provide management guidance relating the size of the hypoxic zone...
Characterizing regional soil mineral composition using spectroscopyand geostatistics
V.L. Mulder, S. de Bruin, J. Weyermann, Raymond F. Kokaly, M.E. Schaepman
2013, Remote Sensing of Environment (139) 415-429
This work aims at improving the mapping of major mineral variability at regional scale using scale-dependent spatial variability observed in remote sensing data. Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data and statistical methods were combined with laboratory-based mineral characterization of field samples to create maps of the distributions...
On the absolute calibration of SO2 cameras
Peter Lubcke, Nicole Bobrowski, Sebastian Illing, Christoph Kern, Jose Manuel Alvarez Nieves, Leif Vogel, Johannes Zielcke, Hugo Delgados Granados, Ulrich Platt
2013, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (6) 677-696
Sulphur dioxide emission rate measurements are an important tool for volcanic monitoring and eruption risk assessment. The SO2 camera technique remotely measures volcanic emissions by analysing the ultraviolet absorption of SO2 in a narrow spectral window between 300 and 320 nm using solar radiation scattered in the atmosphere. The SO2...
Recent (circa 1998 to 2011) channel-migration rates of selected streams in Indiana
Bret A. Robinson
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5168
An investigation was completed to document recent (circa 1998 to 2011) channel-migration rates at 970 meander bends along 38 of the largest streams in Indiana. Data collection was completed by using the Google Earth™ platform and, for each selected site, identifying two images with capture dates separated by multiple years....
Nickel-cobalt laterites: a deposit model
Erin E. Marsh, Eric D. Anderson, Floyd Gray
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5070-H
Nickel-cobalt (Ni-Co) laterite deposits are supergene enrichments of Ni±Co that form from intense chemical and mechanical weathering of ultramafic parent rocks. These regolith deposits typically form within 26 degrees of the equator, although there are a few exceptions. They form in active continental margins and stable cratonic settings. It takes...
Quality of groundwater and surface water, Wood River Valley, south-central Idaho, July and August 2012
Candice B. Hopkins, James R. Bartolino
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5163
Residents and resource managers of the Wood River Valley of south-central Idaho are concerned about the effects that population growth might have on the quality of groundwater and surface water. As part of a multi-phase assessment of the groundwater resources in the study area, the U.S. Geological Survey evaluated the...
Geohydrology, geochemistry, and groundwater simulation (1992-2011) and analysis of potential water-supply management options, 2010-60, of the Langford Basin, California
Lois M. Voronin, Jill N. Densmore, Peter Martin, Charles F. Brush, Carl S. Carlson, David M. Miller
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5101
Groundwater withdrawals began in 1992 from the Langford Basin within the Fort Irwin National Training Center (NTC), California. From April 1992 to December 2010, approximately 12,300 acre-feet of water (averaging about 650 acre-feet per year) has been withdrawn from the basin and transported to the adjacent Irwin Basin. Since withdrawals...
The distribution and modeling of nitrate transport in the Carson Valley alluvial aquifer, Douglas County, Nevada
Ramon C. Naranjo, Toby L. Welborn, Michael R. Rosen
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5136
Residents of Carson Valley in Douglas County, Nevada, rely on groundwater from an alluvial aquifer for domestic use and agricultural irrigation. Since the 1970s, there has been a rapid increase in population in several parts of the valley that rely on domestic wells for drinking water and septic systems for...
Suspended-sediment loads and reservoir sediment trap efficiency for Clinton Lake, Kansas, 2010-12
Kyle E. Juracek
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5153
Continuous streamflow and turbidity data collected from October 1, 2010, to September 30, 2012, at a site upstream and downstream from Clinton Lake, Kansas, were used to compute the total suspended-sediment load delivered to and released from the reservoir as well as the sediment trap efficiency for the reservoir. Ongoing...
MODFLOW–LGR—Documentation of ghost node local grid refinement (LGR2) for multiple areas and the boundary flow and head (BFH2) package
Steffen W. Mehl, Mary C. Hill
2013, Techniques and Methods 6-A44
This report documents the addition of ghost node Local Grid Refinement (LGR2) to MODFLOW-2005, the U.S. Geological Survey modular, transient, three-dimensional, finite-difference groundwater flow model. LGR2 provides the capability to simulate groundwater flow using multiple block-shaped higher-resolution local grids (a child model) within a coarser-grid parent model. LGR2 accomplishes this...
Report of geomagnetic pulsation indices for space weather applications
Z. Xu, Jennifer L. Gannon, Erin J. Rigler
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1166
The phenomenon of ultra-low frequency geomagnetic pulsations was first observed in the ground-based measurements of the 1859 Carrington Event and has been studied for over 100 years. Pulsation frequency is considered to be “ultra” low when it is lower than the natural frequencies of the plasma, such as the ion...
Bedrock geology and outcrop fracture trends in the vicinity of the Savage Municipal Well Superfund site, Milford, New Hampshire
William C. Burton, Philip T. Harte
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1224
The Savage Municipal Well Superfund site consists of an eastward-directed plume of volatile organic compounds, principally tetrachloroethylene (PCE), in alluvium and glacial sand and gravel in the Souhegan River valley, just south of the river and about 4 kilometers west of the town of Milford, New Hampshire. Sampling of monitoring...
Biological and geochemical data of gravity cores from Mobile Bay, Alabama
Kathryn A. Richwine, Marci Marot, Christopher G. Smith, Lisa E. Osterman, C. Scott Adams
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1240
A study was conducted to understand the marine-influenced environments of Mobile Bay, Alabama, by collecting a series of box cores and gravity cores. One gravity core in particular demonstrates a long reference for changing paleoenvironmental parameters in Mobile Bay. Due to lack of abundance of foraminifers and (or) lack of...
Sex determination of duck embryos: observations on syrinx development
Robert E. Wilson, Sarah A. Sonsthagen, J. Christian Franson
2013, Avian Biology Research (6) 243-246
Ducks exhibit sexual dimorphism in vocal anatomy. Asymmetrical ossification of the syrinx (bulla syringealis) is discernable at about 10 days of age in male Pekin duck (Anas platyrhynchos domestica) embryos, but information is lacking on the early development of the bulla in wild ducks. To evaluate the reliability of this...
Songbird abundance in native and planted grassland varies with type and amount of grassland in the surrounding landscape
Stephen K. Davis, Ryan Fisher, Susan Skinner, Terry L. Shaffer, R. Mark Brigham
2013, Journal of Wildlife Management (77) 908-919
Agriculture and wildlife conservation programs have converted vast amounts of cropland into grasslands planted with exotic species. Understanding how landscape context influences avian use of native and planted grasslands is essential for developing effective conservation strategies in agricultural landscapes. Our primary objective was to determine the extent to which the...
Late Quaternary stratigraphy, sedimentology, and geochemistry of an underfilled lake basin in the Puna (north-west Argentina)
Michael M. McGlue, Andrew S. Cohen, Geoffrey S. Ellis, Andrew L. Kowler
2013, Basin Research (25) 638-658
Depositional models of ancient lakes in thin-skinned retroarc foreland basins rarely benefit from appropriate Quaternary analogues. To address this, we present new stratigraphic, sedimentological and geochemical analyses of four radiocarbon-dated sediment cores from the Pozuelos Basin (PB; northwest Argentina) that capture the evolution of this low-accommodation Puna basin over the...
Caveats on tomographic images
Gillian R. Foulger, Giuliano F. Panza, Irina M. Artemieva, Ian D. Bastow, Fabio Cammarano, John R. Evans, Warren B. Hamilton, Bruce R. Julian, Michele Lustrino, Hans Thybo, Yanovskaya
2013, Terra Nova (25) 258-281
Geological and geodynamic models of the mantle often rely on joint interpretations of published seismic tomography images and petrological/geochemical data. This approach tends to neglect the fundamental limitations of, and uncertainties in, seismic tomography results. These limitations and uncertainties involve theory, correcting for the crust, the lack of rays throughout...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Minnesota
William J. Carswell Jr.
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3051
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of Minnesota, elevation data are critical for agriculture and precision farming, natural resources conservation, flood risk management, infrastructure and construction management, water supply...
