Interactive effects between nest microclimate and nest vegetation structure confirm microclimate thresholds for Lesser Prairie-Chicken nest survival
Blake A. Grisham, Alixandra J. Godar, Clint W. Boal, David A. Haukos
2016, The Condor (118) 728-746
The range of Lesser Prairie-Chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) spans 4 unique ecoregions along 2 distinct environmental gradients. The Sand Shinnery Oak Prairie ecoregion of the Southern High Plains of New Mexico and Texas is environmentally isolated, warmer, and more arid than the Short-Grass, Sand Sagebrush, and Mixed-Grass Prairie ecoregions in Colorado,...
Methane emissions from oceans, coasts, and freshwater habitats: New perspectives and feedbacks on climate
Leila J. Hamdan, Kimberly P. Wickland
2016, Limnology and Oceanography (61) S3-S12
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and atmospheric concentrations have risen 2.5 times since the beginning of the Industrial age. While much of this increase is attributed to anthropogenic sources, natural sources, which contribute between 35% and 50% of global methane emissions, are thought to have a role in the...
Molecular-level evidence provided by ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry for oil-derived doc in groundwater at Bemidji, Minnesota
Ananna Islam, Arif Ahmed, Manhoi Hur, Kevin A. Thorn, Sunghwan Kim
2016, Journal of Hazardous Materials (320) 123-132
Dissolved organic matter samples extracted from ground water at the USGS Bemidji oil spill site in Minnesota were investigated by ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry. Principle component analysis (PCA) of the elemental composition assignments of the samples showed that the score plots for the contaminated sites were well separated from those...
Hampton roads regional Water-Quality Monitoring Program
Aaron J. Porter, John D. Jastram
2016, Fact Sheet 2016-3095
IntroductionHow much nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended solids are contributed by the highly urbanized areas of the Hampton Roads region in Virginia to Chesapeake Bay? The answer to this complex question has major implications for policy decisions, resource allocations, and efforts aimed at restoring clean waters to Chesapeake Bay and its...
Hydrologic assessment of the shallow groundwater flow system beneath the Shinnecock Nation tribal lands, Suffolk County, New York
Michael L. Noll, Simonette L. Rivera, Ronald Busciolano
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5110
Defining the distribution and flow of shallow groundwater beneath the Shinnecock Nation tribal lands in Suffolk County, New York, is a crucial first step in identifying sources of potential contamination to the surficial aquifer and coastal ecosystems. The surficial or water table aquifer beneath the tribal lands is the primary...
An empirical approach for estimating stress-coupling lengths for marine-terminating glaciers
Ellyn Enderlin, Gordon S. Hamilton, Shad O’Neel, Timothy C. Bartholomaus, Mathieu Morlighem, John W. Holt
2016, Frontiers in Earth Science (4) 1-12
Variability in the dynamic behavior of marine-terminating glaciers is poorly understood, despite an increase in the abundance and resolution of observations. When paired with ice thicknesses, surface velocities can be used to quantify the dynamic redistribution of stresses in response to environmental perturbations through computation of the glacier force balance. However,...
Decadal shifts in grass and woody plant cover are driven by prolonged drying and modified by topo‐edaphic properties
Seth M. Munson, Temuulen T. Sankey, George Z. Xian, Miguel L. Villarreal, Collin G. Homer
2016, Ecological Applications (26) 2480-2494
Woody plant encroachment and overall declines in perennial vegetation in dryland regions can alter ecosystem properties and indicate land degradation, but the causes of these shifts remain controversial. Determining how changes in the abundance and distribution of grass and woody plants are influenced by conditions that regulate water availability at...
Mineralogy, chemistry, and fluid-aided evolution of the Pea Ridge Fe oxide-(Y + REE) deposit, southeast Missouri, USA
Daniel E. Harlov, Corey J. Meighan, Ian D. Kerr, Iain M. Samson
2016, Economic Geology (111) 1963-1984
The Kiruna-type Pea Ridge iron oxide-apatite (IOA) deposit is hosted by a sequence of 1.47 Ga rhyolite tuffs of the St. Francois Mountains, southeast Missouri, USA. It consists of a series of altered zones composed mainly of amphibole, magnetite, hematite, and quartz, together with the presence of several rare earth...
Mineral thermometry and fluid inclusion studies of the Pea Ridge iron oxide-apatite–rare earth element deposit, Mesoproterozoic St. Francois Mountains Terrane, southeast Missouri, USA
Albert H. Hofstra, Corey J. Meighan, Xinyu Song, Iain Samson, Erin E. Marsh, Heather A. Lowers, Poul Emsbo, Andrew G. Hunt
2016, Economic Geology (111) 1985-2016
Mineral thermometry and fluid inclusion studies were conducted on variably altered and mineralized samples from the Mesoproterozoic Pea Ridge iron oxide-apatite (IOA)-rare earth element (REE) deposit in order to constrain P-T conditions, fluid chemistry, and the source of salt and volatiles during early magnetite and later REE mineralization.Scanning electron microscopy...
Changes in pond water levels and surface extent due to climate variability alter solute sources to closed-basin Prairie-Pothole wetland ponds, 1979 to 2012
James W. LaBaugh, David M. Mushet, Donald O. Rosenberry, Ned H. Euliss Jr., Martin B. Goldhaber, Christopher T. Mills, Richard D. Nelson
2016, Wetlands (36) 343-355
Wetter conditions beginning in 1993 resulted in marked changes in water levels and surface extent of prairie-pothole region wetland ponds, including closed-basin wetlands in the Cottonwood Lake area of North Dakota, U.S.A. Pond water levels after 1993 were consistently 0.5 to 2 m higher than during 1979–1993 (≤ 1 m deep) in...
Bitumen prices and structural changes in North American crude oil markets
Emil D. Attanasi
2016, Natural Resources Research (25) 487-496
In an earlier report, changes in bitumen prices at Hardesty, Alberta, Canada, were modeled as the responses to changes in monthly prices of Hardesty light/medium crude oil for the period 2000–2006 with a simple error correction econometric model. This note re-examines that price relationship for the period 2009–2014. Over the...
Post-fire debris flows in southern California: Science, prediction, and implications for practitioners
Dennis M. Staley, Jason W. Kean
2016, Book chapter, Applied Geology in California
No abstract available....
Katmai National Park and Preserve and Alagnak Wild River: Geologic resources inventory report
Chad Hults, Judith E. Fierstein
2016, Natural Resource Report NPS/NRSS/GRD/NRR—2016/1314
The Geologic Resources Inventory (GRI) is one of 12 inventories funded by the National Park Service (NPS) Inventory and Monitoring Program. The Geologic Resources Division of the NPS Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate administers the GRI. This GRI report was written for resource managers to support science-informed decision making....
Shifting patterns in SAV species diversity and community structure
Nancy B. Rybicki, Christopher E. Tanner, Erin C. Shields, Kenneth A. Moore, Stanley Kollar, David J. Wilcox, Katherina A. M. Engelhardt
2016, Book chapter, Chesapeake Bay submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV): A third technical synthesis
This chapter examines the shifting patterns in Chesapeake SAV community structure and the potential environmental variables that explain variation in species composition patterns at both long and short time periods. Bay-wide species occurrence data sets are summarized. These data show that twenty-seven or more species of SAV are found within...
Response of fish assemblages to declining acidic deposition in Adirondack Mountain lakes, 1984–2012
Barry P. Baldigo, Karen Roy, Charles T. Driscoll
2016, Atmospheric Environment (146) 223-235
Adverse effects of acidic deposition on the chemistry and fish communities were evident in Adirondack Mountain lakes during the 1980s and 1990s. Fish assemblages and water chemistry in 43 Adirondack Long-Term Monitoring (ALTM) lakes were sampled by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation and the New York State Department of Environmental...
Re-Occupancy of Breeding Territories by Ferruginous Hawks in Wyoming: Relationships to Environmental and Anthropogenic Factors
Zachary P. Wallace, Patricia L. Kennedy, John R. Squires, Robert J. Oakleaf, Lucretia E. Olson, Katie M. Dugger
2016, PLoS ONE (11)
Grassland and shrubland birds are declining globally due in part to anthropogenic habitat modification. Because population performance of these species is also influenced by non-anthropogenic factors, it is important to incorporate all relevant ecological drivers into demographic models. We used design-based sampling and occupancy models to test relationships of environmental...
Updated atomic weights: Time to review our table
Tyler B. Coplen, Fabienne Meyers, Norman E. Holden
2016, ChemistryViews Magazine (05 April 2016)
Despite common belief, atomic weights are not necessarily constants of nature. Scientists’ ability to measure these values is regularly improving, so one would expect that the accuracy of these values should be improving with time. It is the task of the IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) Commission...
Nitrapyrin in streams: The first study documenting off-field transport of a nitrogen stabilizer compound
Emily E. Woodward, Michelle Hladik, Dana W. Kolpin
2016, Environmental Science & Technology Letters (3) 387-392
Nitrapyrin is a bactericide that is co-applied with fertilizer to prevent nitrification and enhance corn yields. While there have been studies of the environmental fate of nitrapyrin, there is no documentation of its off-field transport to streams. In 2016, 59 water samples from 11 streams across Iowa were analyzed for...
The 2016 groundwater flow model for Dane County, Wisconsin
Michael J. Parsen, Kenneth R. Bradbury, Randall J. Hunt, Daniel T. Feinstein
2016, Bulletin 110
A new groundwater flow model for Dane County, Wisconsin, replaces an earlier model developed in the 1990s by the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (WGNHS) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). This modeling study was conducted cooperatively by the WGNHS and the USGS with funding from the Capital Area...
Temperature response of soil respiration largely unaltered with experimental warming
Joanna C. Carey, Jianwu Tang, Pamela H. Templer, Kevin D. Kroeger, Thomas W. Crowther, Andrew J. Burton, Jeffrey S. Dukes, Bridget Emmett, Serita D. Frey, Mary A. Heskel, Lifen Jiang, Megan B. Machmuller, Jacqueline Mohan, Anne Marie Panetta, Peter B. Reich, Sabine Reinsch, Xin Wang, Steven D. Allison, Chris Bamminger, Scott D. Bridgham, Scott L. Collins, Giovanbattista de Dato, William C. Eddy, Brian J. Enquist, Marc Estiarte, John Harte, Amanda Henderson, Bart R. Johnson, Klaus Steenberg Larsen, Yiqi Luo, Sven Marhan, Jerry M. Melillo, Josep Penuelas, Laurel Pfeifer-Meister, Christian Poll, Edward B. Rastetter, Andrew B. Reinmann, Lorien L. Reynolds, Inger K. Schmidt, Gaius R. Shaver, Aaron L. Strong, Vidya Suseela, Albert Tietema
2016, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (113) 13797-13802
The respiratory release of carbon dioxide (CO2) from soil is a major yet poorly understood flux in the global carbon cycle. Climatic warming is hypothesized to increase rates of soil respiration, potentially fueling further increases in global temperatures. However, despite considerable scientific attention in recent decades, the overall response of...
Cryovolcanism on Ceres
O. Ruesch, T. Platz, P. Schenk, L.A. McFadden, J. C. Castillo-Rogez, L. C. Quick, S. Byrne, F. Preusker, D.P. O'Brien, N. Schmedemann, D.A. Williams, Jian-Yang Li, M. T. Bland, H. Hiesinger, T. Kneissl, A. Neesemann, M. Schaefer, J. H. Pasckert, B.E. Schmidt, D.L. Buczkowski, M. V. Sykes, A. Nathues, T. Roatsch, M. Hoffman, C.A. Raymond, C.T. Russell
2016, Science (353)
Volcanic edifices are abundant on rocky bodies of the inner solar system. In the cold outer solar system, volcanism can occur on solid bodies with a water-ice shell, but derived cryovolcanic constructs have proved elusive. We report the discovery using Dawn Framing Camera images of a landform on dwarf planet...
The Permian–Triassic transition in Colorado
James S. Hagadorn, Karen R. Whitely, Bonita L. Lahey, Charles M. Henderson, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma
2016, GSA Field Guides (44) 73-92
The Lykins Formation and its equivalents in Colorado are a stratigraphically poorly constrained suite of redbeds and intercalated stromatolitic carbonates, which is hypothesized to span the Permian-Triassic boundary. Herein we present a preliminary detrital zircon geochronology, new fossil occurrences, and δ13C chemostratigraphy for exposures along the Front Range and...
Use of structured decision-making to explicitly incorporate environmental process understanding in management of coastal restoration projects: Case study on barrier islands of the northern Gulf of Mexico
P. Soupy Dalyander, Michelle B. Meyers, Brady Mattsson, Gregory Steyer, Elizabeth Godsey, Justin McDonald, Mark R. Byrnes, Mark Ford
2016, Journal of Environmental Management (183) 497-509
Coastal ecosystem management typically relies on subjective interpretation of scientific understanding, with limited methods for explicitly incorporating process knowledge into decisions that must meet multiple, potentially competing stakeholder objectives. Conversely, the scientific community lacks methods for identifying which advancements in system understanding would have the highest value to decision-makers. A...
Thamnophis marcianus (Checkered Gartersnake). USA: Arizona: Yuma and La Paz Counties: Colorado River
Ryan Munes, Robert Reed, Bryan Falk, Ashley Lauren Hall, Andrew Holycross
2016, Herpetological Review (47) 631-632
No abstract available....
Concentrations of mineral aerosol from desert to plains across the central Rocky Mountains, western United States
Richard L. Reynolds, Seth M. Munson, Daniel Fernandez, Harland L. Goldstein, Jason C. Neff
2016, Aeolian Research (23) 21-35
Mineral dusts can have profound effects on climate, clouds, ecosystem processes, and human health. Because regional dust emission and deposition in western North America are not well understood, measurements of total suspended particulate (TSP) from 2011 to 2013 were made along a 500-km transect of five remote sites in Utah...
