A conceptual prototype for the next-generation national elevation dataset
Jason M. Stoker, Hans Karl Heidemann, Gayla A. Evans, Susan K. Greenlee
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1023
In 2012 the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Geospatial Program (NGP) funded a study to develop a conceptual prototype for a new National Elevation Dataset (NED) design with expanded capabilities to generate and deliver a suite of bare earth and above ground feature information over the United States. This report...
Comparison of filters for concentrating microbial indicators and pathogens in lake-water samples
Donna S. Francy, Erin A. Stelzer, Amie M. G. Brady, Carrie Huitger, Rebecca N. Bushon, S. Ip, Michael W. Ware, Eric N. Villegas, Vincent Gallardo, H.D. Alan Lindquist
2013, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (79) 1342-1352
Bacterial indicators are used to indicate increased health risk from pathogens and to make beach closure and advisory decisions; however, beaches are seldom monitored for the pathogens themselves. Studies of sources and types of pathogens at beaches are needed to improve estimates of swimming-associated health risks. It would be advantageous...
Predictive models for Escherichia coli concentrations at inland lake beaches and relationship of model variables to pathogen detection
Donna S. Francy, Erin A. Stelzer, Joseph W. Duris, Amie M. G. Brady, John H. Harrison, Heather E. Johnson, Michael W. Ware
2013, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (79) 1676-1688
Predictive models, based on environmental and water quality variables, have been used to improve the timeliness and accuracy of recreational water quality assessments, but their effectiveness has not been studied in inland waters. Sampling at eight inland recreational lakes in Ohio was done in order to investigate using predictive models...
Disease in a dynamic landscape: host behavior and wildfire reduce amphibian chytrid infection
Blake R. Hossack, Winsor H. Lowe, Joy L. Ware, Paul Stephen Corn
2013, Biological Conservation (157) 293-299
Disturbances are often expected to magnify effects of disease, but these effects may depend on the ecology, behavior, and life history of both hosts and pathogens. In many ecosystems, wildfire is the dominant natural disturbance and thus could directly or indirectly affect dynamics of many diseases. To determine how probability...
Using hand proportions to test taxonomic boundaries within the Tupaia glis species complex (Scandentia, Tupaiidae)
Eric J. Sargos, Neal Woodman, Aspen T. Reese, Link E. Olson
2013, Journal of Mammalogy (94) 183-201
Treeshrews (order Scandentia) comprise 2 families of squirrel-sized terrestrial, arboreal, and scansorial mammals distributed throughout much of tropical South and Southeast Asia. The last comprehensive taxonomic revision of treeshrews was published in 1913, and a well-supported phylogeny clarifying relationships among all currently recognized extant species within the order has only...
Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources of North Africa, 2012
Christopher J. Schenk, Timothy R. Klett, Katherine J. Whidden, Mark A. Kirschbaum, Ronald R. Charpentier, Troy A. Cook, Michael E. Brownfield, Janet K. Pitman
2013, Fact Sheet 2012-3147
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated means of 19 billion barrels of technically recoverable undiscovered conventional oil and 370 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered conventional natural gas resources in 8 geologic provinces of North Africa....
Community exposure to tsunami hazards in California
Nathan J. Wood, Jamie Ratliff, Jeff Peters
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5222
Evidence of past events and modeling of potential events suggest that tsunamis are significant threats to low-lying communities on the California coast. To reduce potential impacts of future tsunamis, officials need to understand how communities are vulnerable to tsunamis and where targeted outreach, preparedness, and mitigation efforts may be warranted....
Distribution of invasive ants and methods for their control in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park
Robert W. Peck, Paul C. Banko, Kirsten Snook, Melody Euaparadorn
2013, Technical Report HCSU-040
The first invasive ants were detected in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park (HAVO) more than 80 years ago. Ecological impacts of these ants are largely unknown, but studies in Hawai`i and elsewhere increasingly show that invasive ants can reduce abundance and diversity of native arthropod communities...
Conservation and Ecology of Marine Forage Fishes--Proceedings of a Research Symposium, September 2012
Theresa Liedtke, Caroline Gibson, Dayv Lowry, Duane Fagergren
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1035
Locally and globally, there is growing recognition of the critical roles that herring, smelt, sand lance, eulachon, and other forage fishes play in marine ecosystems. Scientific and resource management entities throughout the Salish Sea, agree that extensive information gaps exist, both in basic biological knowledge and parameters critical to fishery...
Development of flood profiles and flood-inundation maps for the Village of Killbuck, Ohio
Chad J. Ostheimer
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1032
Digital flood-inundation maps for a reach of Killbuck Creek near the Village of Killbuck, Ohio, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with Holmes County, Ohio. The inundation maps depict estimates of the areal extent of flooding corresponding to water levels (stages) at the USGS streamgage Killbuck...
Potential for recovery of cerium contained in automotive catalytic converters
Donald I. Bleiwas
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1037
Catalytic converters (CATCONs) are required by Federal law to be installed in nearly all gasoline- and diesel-fueled onroad vehicles used in the United States. About 85 percent of the light-duty vehicles and trucks manufactured worldwide are equipped with CATCONs. Portions of the CATCONs (called monoliths) are recycled for their platinum-group...
Hydrogeologic framework and estimates of groundwater storage for the Hualapai Valley, Detrital Valley, and Sacramento Valley basins, Mohave County, Arizona
Margot Truini, L. Sue Beard, Jeffrey Kennedy, Dave W. Anning
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5275
We have investigated the hydrogeology of the Hualapai Valley, Detrital Valley, and Sacramento Valley basins of Mohave County in northwestern Arizona to develop a better understanding of groundwater storage within the basin fill aquifers. In our investigation we used geologic maps, well-log data, and geophysical surveys to delineate the sedimentary...
Where fast weathering creates thin regolith and slow weathering creates thick regolith
Ekaterina Bazilevskaya, Marina Lebedeva, Milan J. Pavich, Susan L. Brantley, Gernot Rother, Dilworth Y. Parkinson, David Cole
2013, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 847-858
Weathering disaggregates rock into regolith – the fractured or granular earth material that sustains life on the continental land surface. Here, we investigate what controls the depth of regolith formed on ridges of two rock compositions with similar initial porosities in Virginia (USA). A priori, we predicted that the regolith...
Groundwater resources of the Wood River Valley, Idaho--A groundwater-flow model for resource management
James Bartolino, Sean Vincent
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3005
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR), will use the current understanding of the Wood River Valley aquifer system to construct a MODFLOW numerical groundwater-flow model to simulate potential anthropogenic and climatic effects on groundwater and surface-water resources. This model will serve...
Drought and deluge: Effects of recent climate variability on groundwater levels in eastern Arkansas
John B. Czarnecki, T.P. Schrader
2013, Fact Sheet 2012-3135
Arkansas experienced wide extremes in climate variability during the period of 2005 to 2010, recording the largest annual precipitation ever recorded in the State (100.05 inches) in 2009. Many weather stations across the State reported between 80 to 90 inches of rainfall in 2009. For comparison, the average annual precipitation...
The floodplain food web mosaic: a study of its importance to salmon and steelhead with implications for their recovery
J. Ryan Bellmore, Colden V. Baxter, Kyle Martens, Patrick J. Connolly
2013, Ecological Applications (23) 189-207
Although numerous studies have attempted to place species of interest within the context of food webs, such efforts have generally occurred at small scales or disregard potentially important spatial heterogeneity. If food web approaches are to be employed to manage species, studies are needed that evaluate the multiple habitats and...
Effects of recent climate variability on groundwater levels in eastern Arkansas
John B. Czarnecki, T.P. Schrader
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5258
Water-level fluctuations in wells completed in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer in eastern Arkansas were compared to variability in annual precipitation, an indicator of climate variability. The wettest year on record in Little Rock, Arkansas, occurred in 2009 with 81.79 inches of precipitation compared to an average of 47.1...
The impact of lower sea-ice extent on Arctic greenhouse-gas exchange
Frans-Jan W. Parmentier, Torben R. Christensen, Lise Lotte Sorensen, Soren Rysgaard, A. David McGuire, Paul A. Miller, Donald A. Walker
2013, Nature Climate Change (3) 195-202
In September 2012, Arctic sea-ice extent plummeted to a new record low: two times lower than the 1979–2000 average. Often, record lows in sea-ice cover are hailed as an example of climate change impacts in the Arctic. Less apparent, however, are the implications of reduced sea-ice cover in the Arctic...
Paleoseismology of a newly discovered scarp in the Yakima fold-and-thrust belt, Kittitas County, Washington
Elizabeth A. Barnett, Brian L. Sherrod, Robert Norris, Douglas Gibbons
2013, Scientific Investigations Map 3212
The Boylston Mountains anticlinal ridge is one of several that are cored by rocks of the Columbia River Basalt Group and, with the interceding synclinal valleys, constitute the Yakima fold-and-thrust belt of central Washington. Lidar data acquired from the U.S. Army's Yakima Training Center reveal a prominent, northwest-side-up, 65°- to...
Streamflow, groundwater, and water-quality monitoring by USGS Nevada Water Science Center
Marsha L. Gipson, Kurtiss Schmidt
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3004
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has monitored and assessed the quantity and quality of our Nation's streams and aquifers since its inception in 1879. Today, the USGS provides hydrologic information to aid in the evaluation of the availability and suitability of water for public and domestic supply, agriculture, aquatic ecosystems,...
Flood-inundation maps for an 8.9-mile reach of the South Fork Little River at Hopkinsville, Kentucky
Jeremiah G. Lant
2013, Scientific Investigations Map 3242
Digital flood-inundation maps for an 8.9-mile reach of South Fork Little River at Hopkinsville, Kentucky, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the City of Hopkinsville Community Development Services. The inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science Web site at...
Tracking and forecasting the Nation’s water quality - Priorities and strategies for 2013-2023
Gary L. Rowe, Robert J. Gilliom, Michael D. Woodside
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3008
Water-quality issues facing the Nation are growing in number and complexity, and solutions are becoming more challenging and costly. Key factors that affect the quality of our drinking water supplies and ecosystem health include contaminants of human and natural origin in streams and groundwater; excess nutrients and sediment; alteration of...
Mass fractionation of noble gases in synthetic methane hydrate: Implications for naturally occurring gas hydrate dissociation
Andrew G. Hunt, Laura Stern, John W. Pohlman, Carolyn Ruppel, Richard J. Moscati, Gary P. Landis
2013, Chemical Geology (339) 242-250
As a consequence of contemporary or longer term (since 15 ka) climate warming, gas hydrates in some settings may presently be dissociating and releasing methane and other gases to the ocean-atmosphere system. A key challenge in assessing the impact of dissociating gas hydrates on global atmospheric methane is the lack...
Introduced northern pike predation on salmonids in southcentral Alaska
Adam Sepulveda, David S. Rutz, Sam S. Ivey, Kristine J. Dunker, Jackson A. Gross
2013, Ecology of Freshwater Fish (22) 268-279
Northern pike (Esox lucius) are opportunistic predators that can switch to alternative prey species after preferred prey have declined. This trophic adaptability allows invasive pike to have negative effects on aquatic food webs. In Southcentral Alaska, invasive pike are a substantial concern because they have spread to important spawning and...
Mapping, monitoring, and modeling Western Gateway Community landscape dynamics
D. J. Hester
2013, Fact Sheet 2012-3141
Federal public lands in the western United States are becoming increasingly surrounded by Gateway Communities. These communities are undergoing landscape change due to population growth, economic growth, and the resulting land-use development. Socioeconomic, demographic, and land-use changes in Gateway Communities are often perceived as threats to Federal land resources, natural...
