The Chesapeake Bay impact structure
David S. Powars, Lucy E. Edwards, Gregory S. Gohn, J. Wright Horton Jr.
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3071
About 35 million years ago, during late Eocene time, a 2-mile-wide asteroid or comet smashed into Earth in what is now the lower Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. The oceanic impact vaporized, melted, fractured, and (or) displaced the target rocks and sediments and sent billions of tons of water, sediments, and...
Large-scale range collapse of Hawaiian forest birds under climate change and the need 21st century conservation options
Lucas B. Fortini, Adam E. Vorsino, Fred A. Amidon, Eben H. Paxton, James D. Jacobi
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
Hawaiian forest birds serve as an ideal group to explore the extent of climate change impacts on at-risk species. Avian malaria constrains many remaining Hawaiian forest bird species to high elevations where temperatures are too cool for malaria's life cycle and its principal mosquito vector. The impact of climate change...
Applications of optical sensors for high-frequency water-quality monitoring and research
Brian A. Pellerin
2015, Conference Paper
The recent commercial availability of in-situ optical sensors, together with new techniques for data collection and analysis, provides the opportunity to monitor a wide range of water-quality constituents over time scales during which environmental conditions actually change. Traditional approaches for data collection (daily to monthly discrete samples) are often limited...
Dune management challenges on developed coasts
Nicole A. Elko, Kate Brodie, Hilary F. Stockdon, Karl F. Nordstrom, Chris Houser, Kim McKenna, Laura Moore, Julie D. Rosati, Peter Ruggiero, Roberta Thuman, Ian J. Walker
2015, Conference Paper
From October 26-28, 2015, nearly 100 members of the coastal management and research communities met in Kitty Hawk, NC, USA to bridge the apparent gap between the coastal dune research of scientists and engineers and the needs of coastal management practitioners. The workshop aimed to identify the challenges involved in...
Simulating maize yield and bomass with spatial variability of soil field capacity
Liwang Ma, Lajpat Ahuja, Thomas Trout, Bernard T. Nolan, Robert W. Malone
2015, Agronomy Journal (108) 171-184
Spatial variability in field soil properties is a challenge for system modelers who use single representative values, such as means, for model inputs, rather than their distributions. In this study, the root zone water quality model (RZWQM2) was first calibrated for 4 yr of maize (Zea mays L.) data at six...
Public-supply water use in Kansas, 2013
Jennifer L. Lanning-Rush, Patrick J. Eslick
2015, Data Series 964
This report, prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Water Resources, presents derivative statistics of water used by Kansas public-supply systems in 2013. The published statistics from the previous 4 years (2009–12) are also shown with the 2013 statistics and are...
Genetic structure, diversity, and interisland dispersal in the endangered Mariana Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus guami)
Mark P. Miller, Thomas D. Mullins, Susan M. Haig, Leilani L. Takano, Karla Garcia
2015, The Condor (117) 660-669
The Mariana Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus guami) is a highly endangered taxon, with fewer than 300 individuals estimated to occur in the wild. The subspecies is believed to have undergone population declines attributable to loss of wetland habitats on its native islands in the Mariana Islands. We analyzed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)...
Photosynthetic and growth response of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) mature trees and seedlings to calcium, magnesium, and nitrogen additions in the Catskill Mountains, NY, USA
Bahram Momen, Shawna J Behling, Gregory B. Lawrence, Joseph H Sullivan
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
Decline of sugar maple in North American forests has been attributed to changes in soil calcium (Ca) and nitrogen (N) by acidic precipitation. Although N is an essential and usually a limiting factor in forests, atmospheric N deposition may cause N-saturation leading to loss of soil Ca. Such changes can...
Regional growth decline of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and its potential causes
Daniel A. Bishop, Colin M. Beier, Neil Pederson, Gregory B. Lawrence, John C Stella, Timothy J. Sullivan
2015, Ecosphere (6)
Sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh) has experienced poor vigor, regeneration failure, and elevated mortality across much of its range, but there has been relatively little attention to its growth rates. Based on a well-replicated dendrochronological network of range-centered populations in the Adirondack Mountains (USA), which encompassed a wide gradient of soil...
Flood-Inundation Maps for the North River in Colrain, Charlemont, and Shelburne, Massachusetts, From the Confluence of the East and West Branch North Rivers to the Deerfield River
Gardner C. Bent, Pamela J. Lombard, Robert W. Dudley
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5108
A series of 10 digital flood-inundation maps were developed for a 3.3-mile reach of the North River in Colrain, Charlemont, and Shelburne, Massachusetts, by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The coverage of the maps extends from the confluence of the East and West...
The National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center and Department of the Interior Climate Science Centers annual report for 2014
Elda Varela Minder, Holly A. Padgett
2015, Circular 1415
Introduction The National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center (NCCWSC) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) Climate Science Centers (CSCs) had another exciting year in 2014. The NCCWSC moved toward focusing their science funding on several high priority areas and, along with the CSCs, gained new agency partners; contributed to...
Explained and unexplained tissue loss in corals from the Tropical Eastern Pacific
Jenny Carolina Rodriguez-Villalobos, Thierry M. Work, Luis Eduardo Calderon-Aguilera, Hector Reyes-Bonilla, Luis Hernandez
2015, Diseases of Aquatic Organisms (116) 121-131
Coral reefs rival rainforest in biodiversity, but are declining in part because of disease. Tissue loss lesions, a manifestation of disease, are present in dominant Pocillopora along the Pacific coast of Mexico. We characterized tissue loss in 7 species of Pocillopora from 9 locations (44 sites) spanning southern to northern Mexico. Corals were identified...
Rapid maturation of the muscle biochemistry that supports diving in Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens)
Shawn R. Norem, Chadwick V. Jay, Jennifer M. Burns, Anthony S. Fischbach
2015, Journal of Experimental Biology (218) 3319-3329
Physiological constraints dictate animals’ ability to exploit habitats. For marine mammals, it is important to quantify physiological limits that influence diving and their ability to alter foraging behaviors. We characterized age-specific dive limits of walruses by measuring anaerobic (acid-buffering capacity) and aerobic (myoglobin content) capacities of the muscles that power...
Using hydrophones as a surrogate monitoring technique to detect temporal and spatial variability in bedload transport
Mathieu D. Marineau, J. Toby Minear, Scott Wright
2015, Conference Paper
Collecting physical bedload measurements is an expensive and time-consuming endeavor that rarely captures the spatial and temporal variability of sediment transport. Technological advances can improve monitoring of sediment transport by filling in temporal gaps between physical sampling periods. We have developed a low-cost hydrophone recording system designed to record the...
Biodiversity and Habitat Markets—Policy, Economic, and Ecological implications of Market-Based Conservation
Emily Pindilli, Frank Casey
2015, Circular 1414
This report is a primer on market-like and market-based mechanisms designed to conserve biodiversity and habitat. The types of markets and market-based approaches that were implemented or are emerging to benefit biodiversity and habitat in the United States are examined. The central approaches considered in this report include payments for...
Geologic map of Kundelan ore deposits and prospects, Zabul Province, Afghanistan; modified from the 1971 original map compilations of K.I. Litvinenko and others
Robert D. Tucker, Stephen G. Peters, Will R. Stettner, Linda M. Masonic, Thomas W. Moran
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1198
This map and cross sections are redrafted modified versions of the Geological map of the Kundelan ore deposit area, scale 1:10,000 (graphical supplement no. 18) and the Geological map of the Kundelan deposits, scale 1:2,000 (graphical supplement no. 3) both contained in an unpublished Soviet report by Litvinenko and others...
Groundwater chemistry in the vicinity of the Puna Geothermal Venture Power Plant, Hawai‘i, after two decades of production
W.C. Evans, D. Bergfeld, A.J. Sutton, R.C. Lee, T.D. Lorenson
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5139
We report chemical data for selected shallow wells and coastal springs that were sampled in 2014 to determine whether geothermal power production in the Puna area over the past two decades has affected the characteristics of regional groundwater. The samples were analyzed for major and minor chemical species, trace...
Strategy to evaluate persistent contaminant hazards resulting from sea-level rise and storm-derived disturbances—Study design and methodology for station prioritization
Timothy J. Reilly, Daniel K. Jones, Michael J. Focazio, Kimberly C. Aquino, Chelsea L. Carbo, Erika E. Kaufhold, Elizabeth K. Zinecker, William Benzel, Shawn C. Fisher, Dale W. Griffin, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Keith A. Loftin, William B. Schill
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1188-A
Coastal communities are uniquely vulnerable to sea-level rise (SLR) and severe storms such as hurricanes. These events enhance the dispersion and concentration of natural and anthropogenic chemicals and pathogenic microorganisms that could adversely affect the health and resilience of coastal communities and ecosystems in coming years. The U.S. Geological Survey...
Sea-floor texture and physiographic zones of the inner continental shelf from Salisbury to Nahant, Massachusetts, including the Merrimack Embayment and Western Massachusetts Bay
Elizabeth E. Pendleton, Walter A. Barnhardt, Wayne E. Baldwin, David S. Foster, William C. Schwab, Brian D. Andrews, Seth D. Ackerman
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1153
A series of maps that describe the distribution and texture of sea-floor sediments and physiographic zones of Massachusetts State waters from Nahant to Salisbury, Massachusetts, including western Massachusetts Bay, have been produced by using high-resolution geophysical data (interferometric and multibeam swath bathymetry, lidar bathymetry, backscatter intensity, and seismic reflection profiles),...
Bathymetry and capacity of Chambers Lake, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Matthew C. Gyves
2015, Scientific Investigations Map 3346
Introduction Chambers Lake is a manmade reservoir on Birch Run, a tributary to West Branch Brandywine Creek in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The lake was created in 1994 after the completion of Multi-Purpose Dam PA-436F (Hibernia Dam), which was built under the Watershed Protection & Flood Control Prevention Act (U.S. Soil Conservation...
Restoration handbook for sagebrush steppe ecosystems with emphasis on greater sage-grouse habitat—Part 1. Concepts for understanding and applying restoration
David A. Pyke, Jeanne C. Chambers, Mike Pellant, Steven T. Knick, Richard F. Miller, Jeffrey L. Beck, Paul S. Doescher, Eugene W. Schupp, Bruce A. Roundy, Mark Brunson, James D. McIver
2015, Circular 1416
Sagebrush steppe ecosystems in the United States currently occur on only about one-half of their historical land area because of changes in land use, urban growth, and degradation of land, including invasions of non-native plants. The existence of many animal species depends on the existence of sagebrush steppe habitat. The...
Tremor-genic slow slip regions may be deeper and warmer and may slip slower than non-tremor-genic regions
Emily Montgomery-Brown, Ellen M. Syracuse
2015, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (16) 3593-3606
Slow slip events (SSEs) are observed worldwide and often coincide with tectonic tremor. Notable examples of SSEs lacking observed tectonic tremor, however, occur beneath Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii, the Boso Peninsula, Japan, near San Juan Bautista on the San Andreas Fault, California, and recently in Central Ecuador. These SSEs are similar...
Using maximum topology matching to explore differences in species distribution models
Jorge Poco, Harish Doraiswamy, Marian Talbert, Jeffrey Morisette, Claudio Silva
2015, Conference Paper
Species distribution models (SDM) are used to help understand what drives the distribution of various plant and animal species. These models are typically high dimensional scalar functions, where the dimensions of the domain correspond to predictor variables of the model algorithm. Understanding and exploring the differences between models help ecologists...
Reactivated faulting near Cushing, Oklahoma: Increased potential for a triggered earthquake in an area of United States strategic infrastructure
Daniel E. McNamara, Gavin P. Hayes, Harley M. Benz, Robert Williams, Nicole D McMahon, R.C. Aster, Austin F. Holland, T Sickbert, Robert B. Herrmann, Richard W. Briggs, Gregory M. Smoczyk, Eric Bergman, Paul S. Earle
2015, Geophysical Research Letters (42) 8328-8332
In October 2014 two moderate-sized earthquakes (Mw 4.0 and 4.3) struck south of Cushing, Oklahoma, below the largest crude oil storage facility in the world. Combined analysis of the spatial distribution of earthquakes and regional moment tensor focal mechanisms indicate reactivation of a subsurface unnamed and unmapped left-lateral strike-slip fault....
USGS research on Atlantic coral reef ecosystems
Ilsa B. Kuffner, Kimberly K. Yates, David G. Zawada, Julie N. Richey, Christina A. Kellogg, Lauren T. Toth
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3073
Overview Coral reefs are massive, biomineralized structures that protect coastal communities by acting as barriers to hazards such as hurricanes and tsunamis. They provide sand for beaches through the natural process of erosion, support tourism and recreational industries, and provide essential habitat for fisheries. The continuing global degradation of coral reef...
