Ecological effects of climate change on salt marsh wildlife: a case study from a highly urbanized estuary
Karen M. Thorne, John Y. Takekawa, Deborah L. Elliott-Fisk
2012, Journal of Coastal Research (28) 1477-1487
Coastal areas are high-risk zones subject to the impacts of global climate change, with significant increases in the frequencies of extreme weather and storm events, and sea-level rise forecast by 2100. These physical processes are expected to alter estuaries, resulting in loss of intertidal wetlands and their component wildlife species....
Developing ShakeCast statistical fragility analysis framework for rapid post-earthquake assessment
K.-W. Lin, D.J. Wald
2012, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 15th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering (15WCEE), Lisbon, Portugal, September 24-28
When an earthquake occurs, the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) ShakeMap estimates the extent of potentially damaging shaking and provides overall information regarding the affected areas. The USGS ShakeCast system is a freely-available, post-earthquake situational awareness application that automatically retrieves earthquake shaking data from ShakeMap, compares intensity measures against users’...
John B. "Jack" Townshend (1927-2012)
Jeffrey J. Love, Carol A. Finn
2012, Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union (93) 524-525
Jack Townshend, geophysicist and dedicated public servant, died on 13 August 2012 in Fairbanks, Alaska. He was 85. Jack's career with the federal government, most of it with the national magnetic observatory program, spanned more than six solar cycles of time, and he retired only days before his death. The...
Geomagnetic detection of the sectorial solar magnetic field and the historical peculiarity of minimum 23-24
Jeffrey J. Love, J. Rigler
2012, Geophysical Research Letters (39)
[1] Analysis is made of the geomagnetic-activityaaindex covering solar cycle 11 to the beginning of 24, 1868–2011. Autocorrelation shows 27.0-d recurrent geomagnetic activity that is well-known to be prominent during solar-cycle minima; some minima also exhibit a smaller amount of 13.5-d recurrence. Previous work has shown that the recent solar...
Exploration review
D.R. Wilburn, T.D. Rapstine, E.C. Lee
2012, Mining Engineering (64) 40-60
This summary of international mineral exploration activities for the year 2011 draws upon available information from industry sources, published literature and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) specialists. This summary provides data on exploration budgets by region and mineral commodity, identifies significant mineral discoveries and areas of mineral exploration, discusses government programs...
Pumice and pumicite
R.D. Crangle Jr.
2012, Mining Engineering (64) 85-86
Production of pumice in the United States during 2011 was estimated to be 380 kt (420,000 st), a 3-percent decrease compared with 2010. The unit value of pumice varied by end use in 2011. Pumice used as an abrasive was priced at $10.39/t ($9.30/st), while specialty-grade pumice, used in cosmetics,...
Lithium
B.W. Jaskula
2012, Mining Engineering (64) 72-73
In 2011, world lithium consumption was estimated to have been about 25 kt (25,000 st) of lithium contained in minerals and compounds, a 10-percent increase from 2010. U.S. consumption was estimated to have been about 2 kt (2,200 st) of contained lithium, a 100-percent increase from 2010. The United States...
Strontium
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2012, Mining Engineering (64) 91-91
In 2011, U.S. apparent consumption of strontium (contained in celestite and manufactured strontium compounds) increased markedly to 18.4 kt (20,300 st) from 10.4 kt (11,500 st) in 2010. Gross weight of imports was 34.4 kt (38,000 st), of which 76 percent originated from Mexico....
Bulk rock composition and geochemistry of olivine-hosted melt inclusions in the Grey Porri Tuff and selected lavas of the Monte dei Porri volcano, Salina, Aeolian Islands, southern Italy
Angela L. Doherty, Robert J. Bodnar, Benedetto De Vivo, Wendy A. Bohrson, Harvey E. Belkin, Antonia Messina, Robert J. Tracy
2012, Central European Journal of Geosciences (4) 338-355
The Aeolian Islands are an arcuate chain of submarine seamounts and volcanic islands, lying just north of Sicily in southern Italy. The second largest of the islands, Salina, exhibits a wide range of compositional variation in its erupted products, from basaltic lavas to rhyolitic pumice. The Monte dei Porri eruptions...
Conflicts between sandhill cranes and farmers in the western United States: evolving issues and solutions
Jane E. Austin
2012, Conference Paper, Cranes, Agriculture and Climate Change, May 28 - June 3, 2010, Muraviovka Park for Sustainable Land Use, Amur Region, Russia
The main conflicts between Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) and farmers in western United States occur in the Rocky Mountain region during migration and wintering periods. Most crop damage by cranes occurs in mature wheat (Triticum aestivum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare), young shoots of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and cereal grains, chilies...
Linking soil moisture balance and source-responsive models to estimate diffuse and preferential components of groundwater recharge
M.O. Cuthbert, R. Mackay, J. R. Nimmo
2012, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (9) 8455-8492
Results are presented of a detailed study into the vadose zone and shallow water table hydrodynamics of a field site in Shropshire, UK. A conceptual model is developed and tested using a range of numerical models, including a modified soil moisture balance model (SMBM) for estimating groundwater recharge in the...
Modeling species invasions in Ecopath with Ecosim: an evaluation using Laurentian Great Lakes models
Brian J. Langseth, Mark Rogers, Hongyan Zhang
2012, Ecological Modelling (247) 251-261
Invasive species affect the structure and processes of ecosystems they invade. Invasive species have been particularly relevant to the Laurentian Great Lakes, where they have played a part in both historical and recent changes to Great Lakes food webs and the fisheries supported therein. There is increased interest in understanding...
Rare earths, the lanthanides, yttrium and scandium
G. Bedinger, D. Bleiwas
2012, Mining Engineering (64) 86-88
In 2011, rare earths were recovered from bastnasite concentrates at the Mountain Pass Mine in California. Consumption of refined rare-earth products decreased in 2011 from 2010. U.S. rare-earth imports originated primarily from China, with lesser amounts from Austria, Estonia, France and Japan. The United States imported all of its demand...
Fragilariopsis diatom evolution in Pliocene and Pleistocene Antarctic shelf sediments
Charlotte Sjunneskog, Christina Riesselman, Diane Winter, Reed Scherer
2012, Micropaleontology (58) 273-289
The late Pliocene – early Pleistocene sediment record in the AND-1B core from the McMurdo Sound, Ross Sea, Antarctica, displays a rich diversity and high abundance of diatoms, including several new morphologies within the genus Fragilariopsis. These new morphologies exhibit similarities to the extinct late Miocene/early Pliocene species Fragilariopsis aurica...
Borates
R.D. Crangle Jr.
2012, Mining Engineering (64) 39-40
Four minerals represent 90 percent of the borates used by industry worldwide — the sodium borates, tincal and kernite; the calcium borate, colemanite; and the sodium-calcium borate, ulexite....
Mapping critical loads of nitrogen deposition for aquatic ecosystems in the Rocky Mountains, USA
Leora Nanus, David W. Clow, Jasmine E. Saros, Verlin C. Stephens, Donald H. Campbell
2012, Environmental Pollution (166) 125-135
Spatially explicit estimates of critical loads of nitrogen (N) deposition (CLNdep) for nutrient enrichment in aquatic ecosystems were developed for the Rocky Mountains, USA, using a geostatistical approach. The lowest CLNdep estimates (−1 yr−1) occurred in high-elevation basins with steep slopes, sparse vegetation, and abundance...
Factors influencing geographic patterns in diversity of forest bird communities of eastern Connecticut, USA
Robert J. Craig, Robert W. Klaver
2012, Ecography (36) 599-609
At regional scales, the most important variables associated with diversity are latitudinally-based temperature and net primary productivity, although diversity is also influenced by habitat. We examined bird species richness, community density and community evenness in forests of eastern Connecticut to determine whether: 1) spatial and seasonal patterns exist in diversity,...
Golden Gate Bridge response: a study with low-amplitude data from three earthquakes
Mehmet Çelebi
2012, Earthquake Spectra (28) 487-510
The dynamic response of the Golden Gate Bridge, located north of San Francisco, CA, has been studied previously using ambient vibration data and finite element models. Since permanent seismic instrumentation was installed in 1993, only small earthquakes that originated at distances varying between ~11 to 122 km have been recorded....
A perspective on modern pesticides, pelagic fish declines, and unknown ecological resilience in highly managed ecosystems
Nathaniel L. Scholz, Erica Fleishman, Larry Brown, Inge Werner, Michael L. Johnson, Marjorie L. Brooks, Carys L. Mitchelmore, Daniel Schlenk
2012, BioScience (62) 428-434
Pesticides applied on land are commonly transported by runoff or spray drift to aquatic ecosystems, where they are potentially toxic to fishes and other nontarget organisms. Pesticides add to and interact with other stressors of ecosystem processes, including surface-water diversions, losses of spawning and rearing habitats, nonnative species, and harmful...
Evaluation of otoliths Salt Creek pupfish (Cyprinodon salinus salinus) for use in analyses of age and growth
Maria C. Dzul, D. Bailey Gaines, Jesse R. Fischer, Michael C. Quist, Stephen J. Dinsmore
2012, Southwestern Naturalist (57) 412-416
We collected Salt Creek pupfish (Cyprinodon salinus salinus) from Salt Creek, Death Valley, California, in November 2009 and May 2010. The purpose of our study was to determine whether otoliths displayed interpretable marks that might be used for estimating age and growth. Otoliths exhibited alternating bands of opaque and translucent...
Exploring the Earth's crust: History and results of controlled-source seismology
Claus Prodehl, Walter D. Mooney
2012, GSA Memoir 208
This volume contains a comprehensive, worldwide history of seismological studies of the Earth’s crust using controlled sources from 1850 to 2005. Essentially all major seismic projects on land and the most important oceanic projects are covered. The time period 1850 to 1939 is presented as a general synthesis, and from...
Estimation of wildfire size and risk changes due to fuels treatments
M.A. Cochrane, C.J. Moran, M.C. Wimberly, A.D. Baer, M.A. Finney, K.L. Beckendorf, J. Eidenshink, Z. Zhu
2012, International Journal of Wildland Fire (21) 357-367
Human land use practices, altered climates, and shifting forest and fire management policies have increased the frequency of large wildfires several-fold. Mitigation of potential fire behaviour and fire severity have increasingly been attempted through pre-fire alteration of wildland fuels using mechanical treatments and prescribed fires. Despite annual treatment of more...
Genetic basis of differences in myxospore count between whirling disease-resistant and -susceptible strains of rainbow trout
Eric R. Fetherman, Dana L. Winkelman, George J. Schisler, Michael F. Antolin
2012, Diseases of Aquatic Organisms (102) 97-106
We used a quantitative genetics approach and estimated broad sense heritability (h2b) of myxospore count and the number of genes involved in myxospore formation to gain a better understanding of how resistance to Myxobolus cerebralis, the parasite responsible for whirling disease, is inherited in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. An M....
Foraging optimally for home ranges
Michael S. Mitchell, Roger A. Powell
2012, Journal of Mammalogy (93) 917-928
Economic models predict behavior of animals based on the presumption that natural selection has shaped behaviors important to an animal's fitness to maximize benefits over costs. Economic analyses have shown that territories of animals are structured by trade-offs between benefits gained from resources and costs of defending them. Intuitively, home...
Downscaling future climate projections to the watershed scale: A north San Francisco Bay estuary case study
Elisabeth Micheli, Lorraine Flint, Alan Flint, Stuart Weiss, Morgan Kennedy
2012, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science (10)
We modeled the hydrology of basins draining into the northern portion of the San Francisco Bay Estuary (North San Pablo Bay) using a regional water balance model (Basin Characterization Model; BCM) to estimate potential effects of climate change at the watershed scale. The BCM calculates water balance components, including runoff,...
