Soil geochemical survey of abandoned mining sites in the Eastern-Central Peloritani Mountains, Sicily, Italy
A. Consenza, A. Lima, Robert A. Ayuso, Nora K. Foley, S. Albanese, A. Messina, B. De Vivo
2015, Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis (15) 361-372
This investigation focused on topsoils (n = 122) and vertical profiles (n = 6) distributed over an area of 250 km2 in the eastern-central Peloritani Mountains, northeastern Sicily. Georeferenced concentration of 53 elements (including potentially harmful ones), determined by ICP-MS after an aqua regia leach, were used to produce geochemical maps by means of a...
Temperature and depth mediate resource competition and apparent competition between Mysis diluviana and kokanee
Erik R. Schoen, David A. Beauchamp, Anna R. Buettner, Nathanael C. Overman
2015, Ecological Applications (25) 1962-1975
In many food webs, species in similar trophic positions can interact either by competing for resources or boosting shared predators (apparent competition), but little is known about how the relative strengths of these interactions vary across environmental gradients. Introduced Mysis diluviana shrimp interact with planktivorous fishes such as kokanee salmon (lacustrine Oncorhynchus nerka)...
Delayed dynamic triggering of deep tremor along the Parkfield-Cholame section of the San Andreas Fault following the 2014 M6.0 South Napa earthquake
Zhigang Peng, David R. Shelly, William L. Ellsworth
2015, Geophysical Research Letters (42) 7916-7922
Large, distant earthquakes are known to trigger deep tectonic tremor along the San Andreas Fault and in subduction zones. However, there are relatively few observations of triggering from regional distance earthquakes. Here we show that a small tremor episode about 12–18 km NW of Parkfield was triggered during and immediately following...
FORUM: Effective management of ecological resilience – are we there yet?
Bryan M. Spears, Stephen C. Ives, David G. Angeler, Craig R. Allen, Sebastian Birk, Laurence Carvalho, Stephen Cavers, Francis Daunt, R. Daniel Morton, Michael J. O. Pocock, Glenn Rhodes, Stephen J. Thackeray
2015, Journal of Applied Ecology (52) 1311-1315
Ecological resilience is developing into a credible paradigm for policy development and environmental management for preserving natural capital in a rapidly changing world. However, resilience emerges from complex interactions, limiting the translation of theory into practice.Main limitations include the following: (i) difficulty in quantification and detection of...
A preliminary investigation of the variables affecting the distribution of giant gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas) in the Sacramento Valley, California
Brian J. Halstead, Shannon M. Skalos, Michael L. Casazza, Glenn D. Wylie
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1178
Giant gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas) comprise a species of rare, semi-aquatic snake precinctive to the Central Valley of California. Because of the loss of more than 90% of their natural habitat, giant gartersnakes are listed as Threatened by the United States and California endangered species acts. Little is known, however, about...
Discharge, suspended sediment, bedload, and water quality in Clear Creek, western Nevada, water years 2010-12
Jena M. Huntington, Charles S. Savard
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5124
Clear Creek is a small stream that drains the eastern Sierra Nevada near Lake Tahoe, flows roughly parallel to the U.S. Highway 50 corridor, and discharges to the Carson River near Carson City, Nevada. Historical and ongoing development in the drainage basin is thought to be affecting Clear Creek and...
Fluvial geomorphology and suspended-sediment transport during construction of the Roanoke River Flood Reduction Project in Roanoke, Virginia, 2005–2012
John D. Jastram, Jennifer L. Krstolic, Douglas Moyer, Kenneth Hyer
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5111
Beginning in 2005, after decades of planning, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) undertook a major construction effort to reduce the effects of flooding on the city of Roanoke, Virginia—the Roanoke River Flood Reduction Project (RRFRP). Prompted by concerns about the potential for RRFRP construction-induced geomorphological instability and sediment...
Effects of Hydrocarbon Extraction on Landscapes of the Appalachian Basin
Terry E. Slonecker, Lesley E. Milheim, Coral M. Roig-Silva, Siddiq S. Kalaly
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3064
An important and sometimes overlooked aspect of contemporary natural gas exploration, development, and delivery activities is the geographic profile and spatial footprint that these activities have on the land surface. The function of many ecosystems and the goods and services they provide, in large part, are the result of their...
Evaluation and comparison of methods to estimate irrigation withdrawal for the National Water Census Focus Area Study of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin in southwestern Georgia
Jaime A. Painter, Lynn J. Torak, John W. Jones
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5118
Methods to estimate irrigation withdrawal using nationally available datasets and techniques that are transferable to other agricultural regions were evaluated by the U.S. Geological Survey as part of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin focus area study of the National Water Census (ACF–FAS). These methods investigated the spatial, temporal, and quantitative...
Long-term trends in reservoir water quality and quantity in two major river basins of the southern Great Plains
D. Dawson, Matthew M. VanLandeghem, William H. Asquith, Reynaldo Patino
2015, Land and Reservoir Management (31) 254-279
Trends in water quality and quantity were assessed for 11 major reservoirs of the Brazos and Colorado river basins in the southern Great Plains (maximum period of record, 1965–2010). Water quality, major contributing-stream inflow, storage, local precipitation, and basin-wide total water withdrawals were analyzed. Inflow and storage decreased and total...
Field guide to the Mesozoic arc and accretionary complex of South-Central Alaska, Indian to Hatcher Pass
Susan M. Karl, P.J. Oswald, Chad P. Hults
2015, Book, Fieldtrip Guidebook
This field trip traverses exposures of a multi-generation Mesozoic magmatic arc and subduction-accretion complex that had a complicated history of magmatic activity and experienced variations in composition and deformational style in response to changes in the tectonic environment. This Mesozoic arc formed at an unknown latitude to the south, was...
Increasing Northern Hemisphere water deficit
Gregory J. McCabe, David M. Wolock
2015, Climatic Change (132) 237-249
A monthly water-balance model is used with CRUTS3.1 gridded monthly precipitation and potential evapotranspiration (PET) data to examine changes in global water deficit (PET minus actual evapotranspiration) for the Northern Hemisphere (NH) for the years 1905 through 2009. Results show that NH deficit increased dramatically near the year 2000 during...
Monitoring gas emissions can help forecast volcanic eruptions
Christoph Kern, J. Maarten de Moor, Bo Galle
2015, Eos, Earth and Space Science News (96) 6-6
As magma ascends in active volcanoes, dissolved volatiles partition from melt into a gas phase, rise, and are released into the atmosphere from volcanic vents. The major components of high-temperature volcanic gas are typically water vapor, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. Volcanologists have long recognized that measuring the chemical composition and emission rates...
Application of a coupled vegetation competition and groundwater simulation model to study effects of sea level rise and storm surges on coastal vegetation
Su Yean Teh, Michael Turtora, Donald L. DeAngelis, Jiang Jiang, Leonard G. Pearlstine, Thomas J. Smith, Hock Lye Koh
2015, Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (3) 1149-1177
Global climate change poses challenges to areas such as low-lying coastal zones, where sea level rise (SLR) and storm-surge overwash events can have long-term effects on vegetation and on soil and groundwater salinities, posing risks of habitat loss critical to native species. An early warning system is urgently needed to...
Environmental DNA sampling protocol - filtering water to capture DNA from aquatic organisms
Matthew B. Laramie, David S. Pilliod, Caren S. Goldberg, Katherine M. Strickler
2015, Techniques and Methods 2-A13
Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis is an effective method of determining the presence of aquatic organisms such as fish, amphibians, and other taxa. This publication is meant to guide researchers and managers in the collection, concentration, and preservation of eDNA samples from lentic and lotic systems. A sampling workflow diagram...
Bedrock geologic map of the Worcester South quadrangle, Worcester County, Massachusetts
Gregory J. Walsh, Arthur J. Merschat
2015, Scientific Investigations Map 3345
The bedrock geology of the 7.5-minute Worcester South quadrangle, Massachusetts, consists of deformed Neoproterozoic to Paleozoic crystalline metamorphic and intrusive igneous rocks in three fault-bounded terranes (zones), including the Avalon, Nashoba, and Merrimack zones (Zen and others, 1983). This quadrangle spans the easternmost occurrence of Ganderian margin arc-related rocks (Nashoba...
Summarizing components of U.S. Department of the Interior vulnerability assessments to focus climate adaptation planning
Laura M. Thompson, Michelle D. Staudinger, Shawn L. Carter
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1110
A secretarial order identified climate adaptation as a critical performance objective for future management of U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) lands and resources in response to global change. Vulnerability assessments can inform climate adaptation planning by providing insight into what natural resources are most at risk and why. Three...
Reconnaissance surficial geologic map of the Taylor Mountains quadrangle, southwestern Alaska
Frederic H. Wilson
2015, Scientific Investigations Map 3334
This map and accompanying digital files are the result of the interpretation of aerial photographs from the 1950s as well as more modern imagery. The area, long considered a part of Alaska that was largely not glaciated (see Karlstrom, 1964; Coulter and others, 1965; or Péwé, 1975), actually has a...
Methods for estimating the magnitude and frequency of peak streamflows at ungaged sites in and near the Oklahoma Panhandle
S. Jerrod Smith, Jason M. Lewis, Grant M. Graves
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5134
This report presents the results of a cooperative study by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to estimate the magnitude and frequency of peak streamflows from regional regression equations for ungaged stream sites in and near the Oklahoma Panhandle. These methods relate basin characteristics (physiographic and...
The 2004–2008 dome-building eruption at Mount St. Helens, Washington: Epilogue
Daniel Dzurisin, Seth C. Moran, Michael Lisowski, Steve P. Schilling, Kyle R. Anderson, Cynthia A. Werner
2015, Bulletin of Volcanology (77)
The 2004–2008 dome-building eruption at Mount St. Helens ended during winter 2007–2008 at a time when field observations were hampered by persistent bad weather. As a result, recognizing the end of the eruption was challenging—but important for scientists trying to understand how and why long-lived eruptions end and for public...
Comparison of electronarcosis and carbon dioxide sedation effects on travel time in adult Chinook and Coho Salmon
Shane G Keep, M. Brady Allen, Joseph S Zendt
2015, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (35) 906-912
The immobilization of fish during handling is crucial in avoiding injury to fish and is thought to reduce handling stress. Chemical sedatives have been a primary choice for fish immobilization. However, most chemical sedatives accumulate in tissues, and often food fishes must be held until accumulations degrade to levels safe...
Chemical and biotic characteristics of prairie lakes and large wetlands in south-central North Dakota—Effects of a changing climate
David M. Mushet, Martin B. Goldhaber, Christopher T. Mills, Kyle I. McLean, Vanessa M. Aparicio, R. Blaine McCleskey, JoAnn M. Holloway, Craig A. Stockwell
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5126
The climate of the prairie pothole region of North America is known for variability that results in significant interannual changes in water depths and volumes of prairie lakes and wetlands; however, beginning in July 1993, the climate of the region shifted to an extended period of increased precipitation that has...
Population dynamics of the Cui-ui of Pyramid Lake, Nevada: A Potamodromous catostomid subject to failed reproduction
Gayton G. Scoppettone, Peter H. Rissler, Mark C. Fabes, Sean P. Shea
2015, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (35) 853-864
Fishes of the Truckee River basin (California and Nevada) evolved in an aquatic system that has been episodically diminished by extended drought. For potamodromous species, such as the endangered Cui-ui endemic to Pyramid Lake, Nevada, prehistoric episodic severe drought presumably led to periods of failed reproduction due to restricted access...
Geologic map of the Masters 7.5' quadrangle, Weld and Morgan Counties, Colorado
Margaret E. Berry, Janet L. Slate, James B. Paces, Paul R. Hanson, Theodore R. Brandt
2015, Scientific Investigations Map 3344
The Masters 7.5' quadrangle is located along the South Platte River corridor on the semiarid plains of eastern Colorado and contains surficial deposits that record alluvial, eolian, and hillslope processes that have operated in concert with environmental changes from Pleistocene to present time. The South Platte River, originating high in...
Larger trees suffer most during drought in forests worldwide
Amy C. Bennett, Nathan G. McDowell, Craig D. Allen, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira
2015, Nature Plants (1)
The frequency of severe droughts is increasing in many regions around the world as a result of climate change. Droughts alter the structure and function of forests. Site- and region-specific studies suggest that large trees, which play keystone roles in forests and can be disproportionately important to ecosystem carbon storage and hydrology,...
