Multifractal model of magnetic susceptibility distributions in some igneous rocks
Mark E. Gettings
2012, Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics (19) 635-642
Measurements of in-situ magnetic susceptibility were compiled from mainly Precambrian crystalline basement rocks beneath the Colorado Plateau and ranges in Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. The susceptibility meter used measures about 30 cm3 of rock and measures variations in the modal distribution of magnetic minerals that form a minor component...
Time lapse photography as an approach to understanding glide avalanche activity
Jordy Hendrikx, Erich H. Peitzsch, Daniel B. Fagre
2012, Conference Paper, Proceedings, 2012 International Snow Science Workshop
Avalanches resulting from glide cracks are notoriously difficult to forecast, but are a recurring problem for numerous avalanche forecasting programs. In some cases glide cracks are observed to open and then melt away in situ. In other cases, they open and then fail catastrophically as large, full-depth avalanches. Our understanding...
Timing of wet snow avalanche activity: An analysis from Glacier National Park, Montana, USA.
Erich H. Peitzsch, Jordy Hendrikx, Daniel B. Fagre
2012, Conference Paper, Proceedings, 2012 International Snow Science Workshop
Wet snow avalanches pose a problem for annual spring road opening operations along the Going-to-the-Sun Road (GTSR) in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. A suite of meteorological metrics and snow observations has been used to forecast for wet slab and glide avalanche activity. However, the timing of spring wet slab...
Aerial survey estimates of fallow deer abundance
Peter J. Gogan, Natalie B. Gates, Bruce C. Lubow, Suzanne Pettit
2012, California Fish and Game (98) 135-147
Reliable estimates of the distribution and abundance of an ungulate species is essential prior to establishing and implementing a management program. We used ground surveys to determine distribution and ground and aerial surveys and individually marked deer to estimate the abundance of fallow deer (Dama dama) in north-coastal California. Fallow...
The use of U.S. Geological Survey digital geospatial data products for science research
Dalia E. Varanka, Carol Deering, Holly Caro
2012, Book chapter, History of Cartography
The development of geographic information system (GIS) transformed the practice of geographic science research. The availability of low-cost, reliable data by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) supported the advance of GIS in the early stages of the transition to digital technology. To estimate the extent of the scientific use of...
Microsatellite marker isolation and development for the giant Pacific Octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini)
Rebecca K. Toussaint, G. Kevin Sage, Sandra L. Talbot, David Scheel
2012, Conservation Genetics Resources (4) 545-548
We isolated and developed 18 novel microsatellite markers for the giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) and examined them for 31 individuals from Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska. These loci displayed moderate levels of allelic diversity (averaging 11 alleles per locus) and heterozygosity (averaging 65%). Seven loci deviated from Hardy–Weinberg Equilibrium...
Can arsenic occurrence rate in bedrock aquifers be predicted?
Qiang Yang, Hun Bok Jung, Robert G. Marvinney, Charles W. Culbertson, Yan Zheng
2012, Environmental Science & Technology (46) 2080-2087
A high percentage (31%) of groundwater samples from bedrock aquifers in the greater Augusta area, Maine was found to contain greater than 10 μg L–1 of arsenic. Elevated arsenic concentrations are associated with bedrock geology, and more frequently observed in samples with high pH, low dissolved oxygen, and low nitrate. These...
Contrasting extreme long-distance migration patterns in bar-tailed godwits Limosa lapponica
Phil F. Battley, Nils Warnock, T. Lee Tibbitts, Robert E. Gill Jr., Theunis Piersma, Chris J. Hassell, David C. Douglas, Daniel M. Mulcahy, Brett D. Gartrell, Rob Schuckard, David S. Melville, Adrian C. Riegen
2012, Journal of Avian Biology (43) 21-32
Migrating birds make the longest non-stop endurance flights in the animal kingdom. Satellite technology is now providing direct evidence on the lengths and durations of these flights and associated staging episodes for individual birds. Using this technology, we compared the migration performance of two subspecies of bar-tailed godwit Limosa lapponica travelling between...
Genetic and morphological divergence among Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) populations breeding in north-central and western North America
Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Robert N. Rosenfield, John Bielefeldt, Robert K. Murphy, Andrew C. Stewart, William C. Stout, Timothy G. Driscoll, Michael A. Bozek, Brian L. Sloss, Sandra L. Talbot
2012, The Auk (129) 427-43
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) populations breeding in the northern portion of the species' range exhibit variation in morphological traits that conforms to predictions based on differences in prey size, tree stand density, and migratory behavior. We examined genetic structure and gene flow and compared divergence at morphological traits (PST) and...
Validation of a coupled wave-flow model in a high-energy setting: the mouth of the Columbia River
Edwin P.L. Elias, Guy R. Gelfenbaum, Andre J. van der Westhuysen
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research C: Oceans (117)
A monthlong time series of wave, current, salinity, and suspended-sediment measurements was made at five sites on a transect across the Mouth of Columbia River (MCR). These data were used to calibrate and evaluate the performance of a coupled hydrodynamic and wave model for the MCR based on the Delft3D...
Great lakes prey fish populations: a cross-basin overview of status and trends based on bottom trawl surveys, 1978-2012
Owen T. Gorman
2012, Report
The assessment of prey fish stocks in the Great Lakes have been conducted annually with bottom trawls since the 1970s by the Great Lakes Science Center, sometimes assisted by partner agencies. These stock assessments provide data on the status and trends of prey fish that are consumed by important commercial...
Time-dependent onshore tsunami response
Alex Apotsos, Guy R. Gelfenbaum, Bruce E. Jaffe
2012, Coastal Engineering (64) 73-86
While bulk measures of the onshore impact of a tsunami, including the maximum run-up elevation and inundation distance, are important for hazard planning, the temporal evolution of the onshore flow dynamics likely controls the extent of the onshore destruction and the erosion and deposition of sediment that occurs. However, the...
Synthesis study of an erosion hot spot, Ocean Beach, California
Patrick L. Barnard, Jeff E. Hansen, Li H. Erikson
2012, Journal of Coastal Research (28) 903-922
A synthesis of multiple coastal morphodynamic research efforts is presented to identify the processes responsible for persistent erosion along a 1-km segment of 7-km-long Ocean Beach in San Francisco, California. The beach is situated adjacent to a major tidal inlet and in the shadow of the ebb-tidal delta at the...
Slip rate on the San Diego trough fault zone, inner California Borderland, and the 1986 Oceanside earthquake swarm revisited
Holly F. Ryan, James E. Conrad, C. K. Paull, Mary McGann
2012, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (102) 2300-2312
The San Diego trough fault zone (SDTFZ) is part of a 90-km-wide zone of faults within the inner California Borderland that accommodates motion between the Pacific and North American plates. Along with most faults offshore southern California, the slip rate and paleoseismic history of the SDTFZ are unknown. We present...
Influence of fault trend, bends, and convergence on shallow structure and geomorphology of the Hosgri strike-slip fault, offshore central California
Samuel Y. Johnson, Janet Tilden Watt
2012, Geosphere (8) 1632-1656
We mapped an ∼94-km-long portion of the right-lateral Hosgri fault zone in offshore central California using a dense network of high-resolution seismic reflection profiles, marine magnetic data, and multibeam bathymetry. These data document the location, length, and continuity of multiple fault strands, highlight fault-zone heterogeneity, and demonstrate the importance...
Arrival and expansion of the invasive foraminifera Trochammina hadai Uchio in Padilla Bay, Washington
Mary McGann, Eric E. Grossman, Renee K. Takesue, Dan Penttila, John P. Walsh, Reide Corbett
2012, Northwest Science (86) 9-26
Trochammina hadai Uchio, a benthic foraminifera native to Japanese estuaries, was first identified as an invasive in 1995 in San Francisco Bay and later in 16 other west coast estuaries. To investigate the timing of the arrival and expansion of this invasive species in Padilla Bay, Washington, we analyzed the...
Parameter estimation method and updating of regional prediction equations for ungaged sites in the desert region of California
Nancy A. Barth, Andrea G. Veilleux
2012, Conference Paper
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is currently updating at-site flood frequency estimates for USGS streamflow-gaging stations in the desert region of California. The at-site flood-frequency analysis is complicated by short record lengths (less than 20 years is common) and numerous zero flows/low outliers at many sites. Estimates of the three...
Groundwater and surface-water exchange and resultingnNitrate dynamics in the Bogue Phalia Basin in northwestern Mississippi
Jeannie R. B. Barlow, Richard H. Coupe
2012, Journal of Environmental Quality (41) 155-169
During April 2007 through September 2008, the USGS collected hydrogeologic and water-quality data from a site on the Bogue Phalia to evaluate the role of groundwater and surface-water interaction on the transport of nitrate to the shallow sand and gravel aquifer underlying the Mississippi Alluvial Plain in northwestern Mississippi. A...
The leatherbacks of Grande Riviere Trinidad and Tobago
Raymond R. Carthy
2012, Florida Environmental Outreach (3) 1, 10-13
No abstract available....
The origins of Late Quaternary debris avalanche and debris flow deposits from Cofre de Perote volcano, México
Rodolfo Diaz-Castellon, Bernard E. Hubbard, Gerardo Carrasco-Nunez, Jose Luis Rodriguez-Vargas
2012, Geosphere (8) 950-971
Cofre de Perote volcano is a compound, shield-like volcano located in the northeastern Trans-Mexican volcanic belt. Large debris avalanche and lahar deposits are associated with the evolution of Cofre. The two best preserved of these debris-avalanche and debris-flow deposits are the ∼42 ka “Los Pescados debris flow” deposit and...
Strata-bound Fe-Co-Cu-Au-Bi-Y-REE deposits of the Idaho Cobalt Belt: Multistage hydrothermal mineralization in a magmatic-related iron oxide copper-gold system
John F. Slack
2012, Economic Geology (107) 1089-1113
Mineralogical and geochemical studies of strata-bound Fe-Co-Cu-Au-Bi-Y-rare-earth element (REE) deposits of the Idaho cobalt belt in east-central Idaho provide evidence of multistage epigenetic mineralization by magmatic-hydrothermal processes in an iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) system. Deposits of the Idaho cobalt belt comprise three types: (1) strata-bound sulfide lenses in the...
Morphometric-based sexual determination of Bananaquits (Coereba flaveola)
Brent D. Bibles, Clint W. Boal
2012, Ornitologia Neotropical (23) 507-515
The Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) is a common passerine throughout the tropics and has been a convenient species for ecological studies. This species has sexually monomorphic plumage and cannot be reliably sexed unless in breeding condition. This is problematic for demographic and comparative studies, which are contingent upon accurately aging and...
Comparison of electrical conductivity calculation methods for natural waters
R. Blaine McCleskey, D. Kirk Nordstrom, Joseph N. Ryan
2012, Limnology and Oceanography: Methods (10) 952-967
The capability of eleven methods to calculate the electrical conductivity of a wide range of natural waters from their chemical composition was investigated. A brief summary of each method is presented including equations to calculate the conductivities of individual ions, the ions incorporated, and the method's limitations. The ability of...
Illumination of rheological mantle heterogeneity by the M7.2 2010 El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake
Fred F. Pollitz, Roland Bürgmann, Wayne R. Thatcher
2012, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (13)
Major intracontinental strike-slip faults tend to mark boundaries between lithospheric blocks of contrasting mechanical properties along much of their length. Both crustal and mantle heterogeneities can form such boundaries, but the role of crustal versus mantle strength contrasts for localizing strain sufficiently to generate major faults remains unclear. Using the...
The Quaternary thrust system of the northern Alaska Range
Sean P. Bemis, Gary A. Carver, Richard D. Koehler
2012, Geosphere (8) 196-205
The framework of Quaternary faults in Alaska remains poorly constrained. Recent studies in the Alaska Range north of the Denali fault add significantly to the recognition of Quaternary deformation in this active orogen. Faults and folds active during the Quaternary occur over a length of ∼500 km along the...
