Enhanced microbial coalbed methane generation: A review of research, commercial activity, and remaining challenges
Daniel J. Ritter, David S. Vinson, Elliott P. Barnhart, Denise M. Akob, Matthew W. Fields, Al B. Cunningham, William H. Orem, Jennifer C. McIntosh
2015, International Journal of Coal Geology (146) 28-41
Coalbed methane (CBM) makes up a significant portion of the world’s natural gas resources. The discovery that approximately 20% of natural gas is microbial in origin has led to interest in microbially enhanced CBM (MECoM), which involves stimulating microorganisms to produce additional CBM from existing production wells. This paper reviews...
Transport, dam passage, and size selection of adult Atlantic Salmon in the Penobscot River, Maine
Douglas B. Sigourney, Joseph D. Zydlewski, Edward Hughes, Oliver Cox
2015, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (35) 1164-1176
Prior to 2012, returning adult Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar had to pass through fishways at three dams in the lower section of the Penobscot River, Maine: Veazie Dam (river kilometer [rkm] 48; removed in 2013), Great Works Dam (rkm 60; removed in 2012), and Milford Dam (rkm 62). To facilitate...
Use of phosphorus to reduce blooms of the benthic diatom Didymosphenia geminata in an oligotrophic stream
Daniel A. James, Max L. Bothwell, Steven R. Chipps, John Carreiro
2015, Freshwater Science (34) 1272-1281
Blooms of the benthic alga, Didymosphenia geminata [Lyngbye (Schmidt)], were first documented in Rapid Creek, South Dakota, in 2002 and have since been associated with changes to aquatic resources. Low concentration of P has been associated with D. geminata stalk development (i.e., blooms), so we considered elevating P as a...
Patterns and predictability in the intra-annual organic carbon variability across the boreal and hemiboreal landscape
Julia K. Hytteborn, Johan Temnerud, Richard B. Alexander, Elizabeth W. Boyer, Martyn N. Futter, Mats Froberg, Joel Dahne, Kevin H. Bishop
2015, Science of the Total Environment (520) 260-269
Factors affecting total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations in 215 watercourses across Sweden were investigated using parameter parsimonious regression approaches to explain spatial and temporal variabilities of the TOC water quality responses. We systematically quantified the effects of discharge, seasonality, and long-term trend as factors controlling intra-annual (among year) and...
USGS National Wildlife Health Center quarterly mortality report January 2015 to March 2015
Anne Ballmann, Barbara L. Bodenstein, Robert J. Dusek, Daniel A. Grear, Jennifer G. Chipault
2015, Wildlife Disease Association Newsletter 4-6
No abstract available....
Hydraulic fracturing water use variability in the United States and potential environmental implications
Tanya J. Gallegos, Brian A. Varela, Seth S. Haines, Mark A. Engle
2015, Water Resources Research (51) 5839-5845
Until now, up-to-date, comprehensive, spatial, national-scale data on hydraulic fracturing water volumes have been lacking. Water volumes used (injected) to hydraulically fracture over 263,859 oil and gas wells drilled between 2000 and 2014 were compiled and used to create the first U.S. map of hydraulic fracturing water use. Although median...
Can orchards help connect Mediterranean ecosystems? Animal movement data alter conservation priorities
Theresa M. Nogeire, Frank W. Davis, Kevin R. Crooks, Brad H. McRae, Lisa M. Lyren, Erin E. Boydston
2015, American Midland Naturalist (174) 105-116
As natural habitats become fragmented by human activities, animals must increasingly move through human-dominated systems, particularly agricultural landscapes. Mapping areas important for animal movement has therefore become a key part of conservation planning. Models of landscape connectivity are often parameterized using expert opinion and seldom distinguish between the risks and...
Tectonic and sedimentary linkages between the Belt-Purcell basin and southwestern Laurentia during the Mesoproterozoic ca. 1.60-1.40 Ga
James V. Jones III, Christohper G Dainel, Michael F Doe
2015, Lithosphere (7) 465-472
Mesoproterozoic sedimentary basins in western North America provide key constraints on pre-Rodinia craton positions and interactions along the western rifted margin of Laurentia. One such basin, the Belt-Purcell basin, extends from southern Idaho into southern British Columbia and contains a >18-km-thick succession of siliciclastic sediment deposited ca. 1.47–1.40 Ga. The...
Climate-induced lake drying causes heterogeneous reductions in waterfowl species richness
Jennifer K. Roach, Dennis B. Griffith
2015, Landscape Ecology (30) 1005-1022
ContextLake size has declined on breeding grounds for international populations of waterfowl.ObjectivesOur objectives were to (1) model the relationship between waterfowl species richness and lake size; (2) use the model and trends in lake size to project historical, contemporary, and...
Evidence of a higher late-Holocene treeline along the Continental Divide in central Colorado
Paul E. Carrara, John McGeehin
2015, The Holocene (25) 1829-1837
Using a combination of 23 radiocarbon ages and annual ring counts from 18 Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine (Pinus aristata) remnants above the local present-day limits, a period of higher treeline has been determined for two sites near the Continental Divide in central Colorado. The highest remnants were found about 30 m...
Point spread functions for earthquake source imaging: An interpretation based on seismic interferometry
Hisashi Nakahara, Matthew M. Haney
2015, Geophysical Journal International (202) 54-61
Recently, various methods have been proposed and applied for earthquake source imaging, and theoretical relationships among the methods have been studied. In this study, we make a follow-up theoretical study to better understand the meanings of earthquake source imaging. For imaging problems, the point spread function (PSF) is used to...
Evapotranspiration in the Nile Basin: Identifying dynamics and drivers, 2002–2011
Henok Alemu, Armel T. Kaptue, Gabriel B. Senay, Michael C. Wimberly, Geoffrey M. Henebry
2015, Water (7) 4914-1931
Analysis of the relationship between evapotranspiration (ET) and its natural and anthropogenic drivers is critical in water-limited basins such as the Nile. The spatiotemporal relationships of ET with rainfall and vegetation dynamics in the Nile Basin during 2002–2011 were analyzed using satellite-derived data. Non-parametric statistics were used to quantify ET-rainfall...
Up in arms: Immune and nervous system response to sea star wasting disease
Lauren E Fuess, Morgan E. Eiselord, Collin J. Closek, Allison M. Tracy, Ruth Mauntz, Sarah Gignoux-Wolfsohn, Monica M Moritsch, Reyn Yoshioka, Colleen A. Burge, Drew Harvell, Carolyn S. Friedman, Paul K. Hershberger, Steven B. Roberts
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
Echinoderms, positioned taxonomically at the base of deuterostomes, provide an important system for the study of the evolution of the immune system. However, there is little known about the cellular components and genes associated with echinoderm immunity. The 2013–2014 sea star wasting disease outbreak is an emergent, rapidly spreading disease,...
Use of dynamic occupancy models to assess the response of Darters (Teleostei: Percidae) to varying hydrothermal conditions in a southeastern United States tailwater
C.P. Shea, Phillip William Bettoli, K. M. Potoka, C. F. Saylor, P. W. Shute
2015, River Research and Applications (31) 676-691
During the past 100 years, most large rivers in North America have been altered for flood control, hydropower, navigation or water supply development. Although these activities clearly provide important human services, their associated environmental disturbances can profoundly affect stream-dwelling organisms. We used dynamic multi-species occupancy models combined with a trait-based approach...
Tree mortality predicted from drought-induced vascular damage
William R.L. Anderegg, Alan L. Flint, Cho-ying Huang, Lorraine E. Flint, Joseph A. Berry, Frank W. Davis, John S. Sperry, Christopher B. Field
2015, Nature Geoscience (8) 367-371
The projected responses of forest ecosystems to warming and drying associated with twenty-first-century climate change vary widely from resiliency to widespread tree mortality1, <a id="ref-link-3"...
NACSN, note 67--Application for revision of Articles 36 and 37, Lithodemic units of the North American stratigraphic code
Robert M. Easton, Lucy E. Edwards, Randall C. Orndorff, Manuel Duguet, Ismael Ferrusquia-Villafranca
2015, Stratigraphy (12) 39-45
Currently the North American Stratigraphic Code, (NACSN 2005, Article 37) sets restrictions on the use of the term “complex” for lithodemic units. With exceptions for “volcanic complex” and “structural complex,” a complex must consist of more than one genetic class of rock (i.e., sedimentary, igneous or metamorphic). Thus, the use...
Flood Map for the Winooski River in Waterbury, Vermont, 2014
Scott A. Olson
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5077
From August 28 to 29, 2011, Tropical Storm Irene delivered rainfall ranging from approximately 4 to more than 7 inches in the Winooski River Basin in Vermont. The rainfall resulted in severe flooding throughout the basin and significant damage along the Winooski River. In response to the flooding, the U.S....
Geologic map of the Simcoe Mountains Volcanic Field, main central segment, Yakama Nation, Washington
Wes Hildreth, Judy Fierstein
2015, Scientific Investigations Map 3315
Mountainous parts of the Yakama Nation lands in south-central Washington are mostly covered by basaltic lava flows and cinder cones that make up the Simcoe Mountains volcanic field. The accompanying geologic map of the central part of the volcanic field has been produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on...
Integrating multiple distribution models to guide conservation efforts of an endangered toad
Michael L. Treglia, Robert N. Fisher, Lee A. Fitzgerald
2015, PLoS ONE (10) 1-18
Species distribution models are used for numerous purposes such as predicting changes in species’ ranges and identifying biodiversity hotspots. Although implications of distribution models for conservation are often implicit, few studies use these tools explicitly to inform conservation efforts. Herein, we illustrate how multiple distribution models developed using distinct sets...
Holocene diatom-derived climate history of Medicine Lake, northern California, USA
Scott W. Starratt
2015, CIRMOUNT Mountain Views (9) 12-20
The Medicine Lake record is unusual because it responds not only to local and regional climate signals, but changes in conditions on Medicine Lake volcano during the Holocene. Ice retreated within the Medicine Lake volcano occurred around 11,400 years ago, followed by filling of two sub-basins. The absence of Cyclotella...
Sediment conditions in the San Antonio River Basin downstream from San Antonio, Texas, 2000-13
Darwin J. Ockerman, J. Ryan Banta, Cassi L. Crow, Stephen P. Opsahl
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3043
Sediment plays an important role in the ecological health of rivers and estuaries and consequently is an important issue for water-resource managers. To better understand sediment characteristics in the San Antonio River Basin, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio River Authority, completed a two-part study in...
California State Waters Map Series — Offshore of Point Reyes, California
Janet Watt, Peter Dartnell, Nadine E. Golden, H. Gary Greene, Mercedes D. Erdey, Guy R. Cochrane, Samuel Y. Johnson, Stephen R. Hartwell, Rikk G. Kvitek, Michael W. Manson, Charles A. Endris, Bryan E. Dieter, Ray W. Sliter, Lisa M. Krigsman, Erik Lowe, John L. Chinn
Janet Watt, Susan A. Cochran, editor(s)
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1114
This publication about the Offshore of Point Reyes map area includes ten map sheets that contain explanatory text, in addition to this descriptive pamphlet and a data catalog of geographic information system (GIS) files. Sheets 1, 2, and 3 combine data from four different sonar surveys to generate comprehensive high-resolution...
Assessment of interim flow water-quality data of the San Joaquin River restoration program and implications for fishes, California, 2009-11
Marissa L. Wulff, Larry R. Brown
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1093
After more than 50 years of extensive water diversion for urban and agriculture use, a major settlement was reached among the U.S. Departments of the Interior and Commerce, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Friant Water Users Authority in an effort to restore the San Joaquin River. The settlement...
Ocean circulation and biogeochemistry moderate interannual and decadal surface water pH changes in the Sargasso Sea
Nathalie F. Goodkin, Bo-Shian Wang, Chen-Feng You, Konrad Hughen, Nancy G. Prouty, Nicholas Bates, Scott Doney
2015, Geophysical Research Letters (42) 4931-4939
The oceans absorb anthropogenic CO2 from the atmosphere, lowering surface ocean pH, a concern for calcifying marine organisms. The impact of ocean acidification is challenging to predict as each species appears to respond differently and because our knowledge of natural changes to ocean pH is limited in both time and...
Geochemical reanalysis of historical U.S. Geological Survey sediment samples from the Inmachuk, Kugruk, Kiwalik, and Koyuk River drainages, Granite Mountain, and the northern Darby Mountains, Bendeleben, Candle, Kotzebue, and Solomon quadrangles, Alaska
Melanie B. Werdon, Matthew Granitto, Jaime S. Azain
2015, Report
The State of Alaska’s Strategic and Critical Minerals (SCM) Assessment project, a State-funded Capital Improvement Project (CIP), is designed to evaluate Alaska’s statewide potential for SCM resources. The SCM Assessment is being implemented by the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS), and involves obtaining new airborne-geophysical, geological, and...
