Nutrient sources and transport in the Missouri River Basin, with emphasis on the effects of irrigation and reservoirs
J.B. Brown, L.A. Sprague, J.A. Dupree
2011, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (47) 1034-1060
SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) models were used to relate instream nutrient loads to sources and factors influencing the transport of nutrients in the Missouri River Basin. Agricultural inputs from fertilizer and manure were the largest nutrient sources throughout a large part of the basin, although atmospheric and...
Behavioral, clinical, and pathological characterization of acid metalliferous water toxicity in mallards
J.P. Isanhart, H. Wu, K. Pandher, R.K. MacRae, S.B. Cox, M.J. Hooper
2011, Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (61) 653-667
From September to November 2000, United States Fish and Wildlife Service biologists investigated incidents involving 221 bird deaths at 3 mine sites located in New Mexico and Arizona. These bird deaths primarily involved passerine and waterfowl species and were assumed to be linked to consumption of acid metalliferous water (AMW)....
Mercury export from the Yukon River Basin and potential response to a changing climate
P. F. Schuster, Robert G. Striegl, G. R. Aiken, David P. Krabbenhoft, J. F. Dewild, K. Butler, B. Kamark, M. Dornblaser
2011, Environmental Science & Technology (45) 9262-9267
We measured mercury (Hg) concentrations and calculated export and yield from the Yukon River Basin (YRB) to quantify Hg flux from a large, permafrost-dominated, high-latitude watershed. Exports of Hg averaged 4400 kg Hg yr–1. The average annual yield for the YRB during the study period was 5.17 μg m–2 yr–1, which...
Portrait of a small population of boreal toads (anaxyrus boreas)
E. Muths, R. D. Scherer
2011, Herpetologica (67) 369-377
Much attention has been given to the conservation of small populations, those that are small because of decline, and those that are naturally small. Small populations are of particular interest because ecological theory suggests that they are vulnerable to the deleterious effects of environmental, demographic, and genetic stochasticity as well...
Assessing historical rate changes in global tsunami occurrence
E.L. Geist, T. Parsons
2011, Geophysical Journal International (187) 497-509
The global catalogue of tsunami events is examined to determine if transient variations in tsunami rates are consistent with a Poisson process commonly assumed for tsunami hazard assessments. The primary data analyzed are tsunamis with maximum sizes >1m. The record of these tsunamis appears to be complete since approximately 1890....
δ15N constraints on long-term nitrogen balances in temperate forests
S.S. Perakis, E.R. Sinkhorn, J.E. Compton
2011, Oecologia (167) 793-807
Biogeochemical theory emphasizes nitrogen (N) limitation and the many factors that can restrict N accumulation in temperate forests, yet lacks a working model of conditions that can promote naturally high N accumulation. We used a dynamic simulation model of ecosystem N and δ15N to evaluate which combination of N input...
Emergence of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus in the North American Great Lakes region is associated with low viral genetic diversity
T.M. Thompson, W.N. Batts, M. Faisal, P. Bowser, J.W. Casey, K. Phillips, K.A. Garver, J. Winton, Gael Kurath
2011, Diseases of Aquatic Organisms (96) 29-43
Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) is a fish rhabdovirus that causes disease in a broad range of marine and freshwater hosts. The known geographic range includes the Northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and recently it has invaded the Great Lakes region of North America. The goal of this work was...
Landslide inventories: The essential part of seismic landslide hazard analyses
E. L. Harp, D. K. Keefer, H.P. Sato, H. Yagi
2011, Engineering Geology (122) 9-21
A detailed and accurate landslide inventory is an essential part of seismic landslide hazard analysis. An ideal inventory would cover the entire area affected by an earthquake and include all of the landslides that are possible to detect down to sizes of 1–5 m in length. The landslides must also be...
A trans-dimensional Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm for model assessment using frequency-domain electromagnetic data
B. J. Minsley
2011, Geophysical Journal International (187) 252-272
A meaningful interpretation of geophysical measurements requires an assessment of the space of models that are consistent with the data, rather than just a single, ‘best’ model which does not convey information about parameter uncertainty. For this purpose, a trans-dimensional Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm is developed for...
Species replacement by a nonnative salmonid alters ecosystem function by reducing prey subsidies that support riparian spiders
J.R. Benjamin, K.D. Fausch, C. V. Baxter
2011, Oecologia (167) 503-512
Replacement of a native species by a nonnative can have strong effects on ecosystem function, such as altering nutrient cycling or disturbance frequency. Replacements may cause shifts in ecosystem function because nonnatives establish at different biomass, or because they differ from native species in traits like foraging behavior. However, no...
Migration and wintering sites of Pelagic Cormorants determined by satellite telemetry
Scott A. Hatch, V.A. Gill, D.M. Mulcahy
2011, Journal of Field Ornithology (82) 269-278
Factors affecting winter survival may be key determinants of status and population trends of seabirds, but connections between breeding sites and wintering areas of most populations are poorly known. Pelagic Cormorants (Phalacrocorax pelagicus; N= 6) surgically implanted with satellite transmitters migrated from a breeding colony on Middleton Island, northern Gulf...
A Regional Modeling Framework of Phosphorus Sources and Transport in Streams of the Southeastern United States
A.M. Garcia, A.B. Hoos, S. Terziotti
2011, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (47) 991-1010
We applied the SPARROW model to estimate phosphorus transport from catchments to stream reaches and subsequent delivery to major receiving water bodies in the Southeastern United States (U.S.). We show that six source variables and five land‐to‐water transport variables are significant (p < 0.05) in explaining 67% of the variability in long‐term...
Completion of the 2006 national land cover database for the conterminous united states
Joyce Fry, George Z. Xian, Suming Jin, Jon Dewitz, Collin G. Homer, Limin Yang, Christopher A. Barnes, N.D. Herold, J.D. Wickham
2011, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing (77) 858-864
No abstract available....
Sewers as a source and sink of chlorinated-solvent groundwater contamination, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina
D.A. Vroblesky, M.D. Petkewich, M.A. Lowery, J. E. Landmeyer
2011, Ground Water Monitoring and Remediation (31) 63-69
Groundwater contamination by tetrachloroethene and its dechlorination products is present in two partially intermingled plumes in the surficial aquifer near a former dry‐cleaning facility at Site 45, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina. The northern plume originates from the vicinity of former above‐ground storage tanks. Free‐phase tetrachloroethene from...
Soils and late-Quaternary landscape evolution in the Cottonwood River basin, east-central Kansas: Implications for archaeological research
J.M. Beeton, R.D. Mandel
2011, Geoarchaeology (26) 693-723
Temporal and spatial patterns of landscape evolution strongly influence the temporal and spatial patterns of the archaeological record in drainage systems. In this geoarchaeological investigation we took a basin‐wide approach in assessing the soil stratigraphy, lithostratigraphy, and geochronology of alluvial deposits and associated buried soils in the Cottonwood River basin...
Stoichiometric relationship between suspension-feeding caddisfly (Trichoptera: Brachycentridae) and seston
J.A. Veldboom, R. J. Haro
2011, Hydrobiologia (675) 129-141
Organisms must acquire adequate amounts of carbon (C) and nutrients [i.e., nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P)] from their food to support growth. The growth of organisms can be constrained by consumer-resource elemental imbalances in C:nutrient ratios, especially in aquatic ecosystems. Furthermore, the elemental composition of aquatic organisms can change through...
Singular and interactive effects of blowdown, salvage logging, and wildfire in sub-boreal pine systems
A.W. D’Amato, S. Fraver, B.J. Palik, J.B. Bradford, L. Patty
2011, Forest Ecology and Management (262) 2070-2078
The role of disturbance in structuring vegetation is widely recognized; however, we are only beginning to understand the effects of multiple interacting disturbances on ecosystem recovery and development. Of particular interest is the impact of post-disturbance management interventions, particularly in light of the global controversy surrounding the effects of salvage...
Landscape evolution in south-central Minnesota and the role of geomorphic history on modern erosional processes
K.B. Gran, P. Belmont, S.S. Day, N. Finnegan, C. Jennings, J.W. Lauer, P.R. Wilcock
2011, Conference Paper, GSA Today
The Minnesota River Valley was carved during catastrophic drainage of glacial Lake Agassiz at the end of the late Pleistocene. The ensuing base-level drop on tributaries created knickpoints that excavated deep valleys as they migrated upstream. A sediment budget compiled in one of these tributaries, the Le Sueur River, shows...
Shear-wave velocity characterization of the USGS Hawaiian strong-motion network on the Island of Hawaii and development of an NEHRP site-class map
Ivan G. Wong, Kenneth Stokoe, Brady R. Cox, Jiabei Yuan, Keith L. Knudsen, Fabia Terra, Paul G. Okubo, Yin-Cheng Lin
2011, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (101) 2252-2269
To assess the level and nature of ground shaking in Hawaii for the purposes of earthquake hazard mitigation and seismic design, empirical ground-motion prediction models are desired. To develop such empirical relationships, knowledge of the subsurface site conditions beneath strong-motion stations is critical. Thus, as a first step...
Behavioral and physiological responses to male handicap in chick-rearing black-legged kittiwakes
S. Leclaire, V. Bourret, R.H. Wagner, Scott A. Hatch, F. Helfenstein, O. Chastel, E. Danchin
2011, Behavioral Ecology (22) 1156-1165
Parental investment entails a trade-off between the benefits of effort in current offspring and the costs to future reproduction. Long-lived species are predicted to be reluctant to increase parental effort to avoid affecting their survival. We tested this hypothesis in black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla by clipping flight feathers of experimental males at...
40Ar/39Ar dating of tuff vents in the Campi Flegrei caldera (southern Italy): Toward a new chronostratigraphic reconstruction of the Holocene volcanic activity
L. Fedele, D.D. Insinga, A.T. Calvert, V. Morra, A. Perrotta, C. Scarpati
2011, Bulletin of Volcanology (73) 1323-1336
The Campi Flegrei hosts numerous monogenetic vents inferred to be younger than the 15 ka Neapolitan Yellow Tuff. Sanidine crystals from the three young Campi Flegrei vents of Fondi di Baia, Bacoli and Nisida were dated using 40Ar/39Ar geochronology. These vents, together with several other young edifices, occur roughly along the...
The role of sample preparation in interpretation of trace element concentration variability in moss bioindication studies
Z.M. Migaszewski, P. J. Lamothe, J.G. Crock, A. Galuszka, S. Dolegowska
2011, Environmental Chemistry Letters (9) 323-329
Trace element concentrations in plant bioindicators are often determined to assess the quality of the environment. Instrumental methods used for trace element determination require digestion of samples. There are different methods of sample preparation for trace element analysis, and the selection of the best method should be fitted for the...
Provenance of Des Moines lobe till records ice-stream catchment evolution during Laurentide deglaciation
B.A. Lusardi, C.E. Jennings, K.L. Harris
2011, Boreas (40) 585-597
Mapping and analysis of deposits of the Des Moines lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, active after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), reveal several texturally and lithologically distinct tills within what had been considered to be a homogeneous deposit. Although the differences between tills are subtle, minor distinctions are predictable...
The Christiansen Effect in Saturn's narrow dusty rings and the spectral identification of clumps in the F ring
M.M. Hedman, P. D. Nicholson, M.R. Showalter, R. H. Brown, B. J. Buratti, R. N. Clark, K. Baines, Christophe Sotin
2011, Icarus (215) 695-711
Stellar occultations by Saturn’s rings observed with the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) onboard the Cassini spacecraft reveal that dusty features such as the F ring and the ringlets in the Encke and the Laplace Gaps have distinctive infrared transmission spectra. These spectra show a narrow optical depth minimum...
Waves and tides responsible for the intermittent closure of the entrance of a small, sheltered tidal wetland at San Francisco, CA
D.M. Hanes, K. Ward, L. H. Erikson
2011, Continental Shelf Research (31) 1682-1687
Crissy Field Marsh (CFM; http://www.nps.gov/prsf/planyourvisit/crissy-field-marsh-and-beach.htm) is a small, restored tidal wetland located in the entrance to San Francisco Bay just east of the Golden Gate. The marsh is small but otherwise fairly typical of many such restored wetlands worldwide. The marsh is hydraulically connected to the...
