Land changes and their driving forces in the Southeastern United States
Darrell E. Napton, Roger F. Auch, Rachel Headley, Janis Taylor
2010, Regional Environmental Change (10) 37-53
The ecoregions of the Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain, Southeastern Plains, Piedmont, and Blue Ridge provide a continuum of land cover from the Atlantic Ocean to the highest mountains in the East. From 1973 to 2000, each ecoregion had a unique mosaic of land covers and land cover changes. The forests...
Organic intermediates in the anaerobic biodegradation of coal to methane under laboratory conditions
William H. Orem, Mary A. Voytek, Elizabeth J. Jones, Harry E. Lerch, Anne L. Bates, M.D. Corum, Peter D. Warwick, Arthur C. Clark
2010, Organic Geochemistry (41) 997-1000
Organic intermediates in coal fluids produced by anaerobic biodegradation of geopolymers in coal play a key role in the production of methane in natural gas reservoirs. Laboratory biodegradation experiments on sub-bituminous coal from Texas, USA, were conducted using bioreactors to examine the organic intermediates relevant to methane production. Production of...
Structural analysis of three extensional detachment faults with data from the 2000 Space-Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
J.E. Spencer
2010, GSA Today (20) 4-10
The Space-Shuttle Radar Topography Mission provided geologists with a detailed digital elevation model of most of Earth's land surface. This new database is used here for structural analysis of grooved surfaces interpreted to be the exhumed footwalls of three active or recently active extensional detachment faults. Exhumed fault footwalls, each...
Sexing California gulls using morphometrics and discriminant function analysis
Garth Herring, Joshua T. Ackerman, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, John Y. Takekawa
2010, Waterbirds (33) 79-85
A discriminant function analysis (DFA) model was developed with DNA sex verification so that external morphology could be used to sex 203 adult California Gulls (Larus californicus) in San Francisco Bay (SFB). The best model was 97% accurate and included head-to-bill length, culmen depth at the gonys, and wing length....
11-Deoxycortisol is a corticosteroid hormone in the lamprey
D.A. Close, S.-S. Yun, S. D. McCormick, A.J. Wildbill, W. Li
2010, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (107) 13942-13947
Corticosteroid hormones are critical for controlling metabolism, hydromineral balance, and the stress response in vertebrates. Although corticosteroid hormones have been well characterized in most vertebrate groups, the identity of the earliest vertebrate corticosteroid hormone has remained elusive. Here we provide evidence that 11-deoxycortisol is the corticosteroid hormone in the lamprey,...
At-sea observations of marine birds and their habitats before and after the 2008 eruption of Kasatochi volcano, Alaska
G.S. Drew, Donald E. Dragoo, M. Renner, John F. Piatt
2010, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research (42) 325-334
Kasatochi volcano, an island volcano in the Aleutian chain, erupted on 7-8 August 2008. The resulting ash and pyroclastic flows blanketed the island, covering terrestrial habitats. We surveyed the marine environment surrounding Kasatochi Island in June and July of 2009 to document changes in abundance or distribution of nutrients, fish,...
Holocene landscape response to seasonality of storms in the Mojave Desert
D. M. Miller, K. M. Schmidt, S. A. Mahan, J. P. McGeehin, L.A. Owen, J.A. Barron, F. Lehmkuhl, R. Lohrer
2010, Quaternary International (215) 45-61
New optically stimulated and radiocarbon ages for alluvial fan and lake deposits in the Mojave Desert are presented, which greatly improves the temporal resolution of surface processes. The new Mojave Desert climate-landscape record is particularly detailed for the late Holocene. Evidence from...
Geology of the Selk crater region on Titan from Cassini VIMS observations
J.M. Soderblom, R. H. Brown, L.A. Soderblom, J. W. Barnes, R. Jaumann, Stéphane Le Mouélic, Christophe Sotin, K. Stephan, K. H. Baines, B. J. Buratti, R. N. Clark, P. D. Nicholson
2010, Icarus (208) 905-912
Observations of Titan obtained by the Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) have revealed Selk crater, a geologically young, bright-rimmed, impact crater located ???800. km north-northwest of the Huygens landing site. The crater rim-crest diameter is ???90. km; its floor diameter is ???60. km. A central pit/peak, 20-30. km...
Complete mitochondrial genome of a Pleistocene jawbone unveils the origin of polar bear
Charlotte Lindqvist, Stephan C. Schuster, Yazhou Sun, Sandra L. Talbot, Ji Qi, Aakrosh Ratan, Lynn P. Tomsho, Lindsay Kasson, Eve Zeyl, Jon Aars, Webb Miller, Olafur Ingolfsson, Lutz Bachmann, Øystein Wiig
2010, PNAS (107) 5053-5057
The polar bear has become the flagship species in the climate-change discussion. However, little is known about how past climate impacted its evolution and persistence, given an extremely poor fossil record. Although it is undisputed from analyses of mitochondrial (mt) DNA that polar bears constitute a lineage within the genetic...
Dione's spectral and geological properties
K. Stephan, R. Jaumann, R. Wagner, R. N. Clark, D. P. Cruikshank, C. A. Hibbitts, T. Roatsch, H. Hoffmann, R. H. Brown, G. Filiacchione, B. J. Buratti, G. B. Hansen, T. B. McCord, P. D. Nicholson, K. H. Baines
2010, Icarus (206) 631-652
We present a detailed analysis of the variations in spectral properties across the surface of Saturn's satellite Dione using Cassini/VIMS data and their relationships to geological and/or morphological characteristics as seen in the Cassini/ISS images. This analysis focuses on a local region on Dione's anti-saturnian hemisphere that was observed by...
Calculation of weighted averages approach for the estimation of ping tolerance values
S. Silalom, J.L. Carter, P. Chantaramongkol
2010, Chiang Mai Journal of Science (37) 151-159
A biotic index was created and proposed as a tool to assess water quality in the Upper Mae Ping sub-watersheds. The Ping biotic index was calculated by utilizing Ping tolerance values. This paper presents the calculation of Ping tolerance values of the collected macroinvertebrates. Ping tolerance values were estimated by...
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil of the Canadian River floodplain in Oklahoma
F. Sartori, T.L. Wade, J.L. Sericano, B.P. Mohanty, Karen A. Smith
2010, Journal of Environmental Quality (39) 568-579
The accumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in soil, plants, and water may impart negative effects on ecosystem and human health. We quantified the concentration and distribution of 41 PAH (n = 32), organic C, total N, and S (n = 140) and investigated PAH sources using a chronosequence of...
Effects of altered groundwater chemistry upon the pH-dependency and magnitude of bacterial attachment during transport within an organically contaminated sandy aquifer
Ronald W. Harvey, David W. Metge, Larry B. Barber, George R. Aiken
2010, Water Research (44) 1062-1071
The effects of a dilute (ionic strength = 5 × 10−3 M) plume of treated sewage, with elevated levels (3.9 mg/L) of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), upon the pH-dependency and magnitude of bacterial transport through an iron-laden, quartz sand aquifer (Cape Cod, MA) were evaluated using sets of replicate, static minicolumns. Compared with uncontaminated groundwater, the...
Trends and transformation of nutrients and pesticides in a Coastal Plain aquifer system, United States
J. M. Denver, A. J. Tesoriero, J.R. Barbaro
2010, Journal of Environmental Quality (39) 154-167
Four local-scale sites in areas with similar corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] agriculture were studied to determine the effects of different hydrogeologic settings of the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain (NACP) on the transport of nutrients and pesticides in groundwater. Settings ranged from predominantly well-drained soils...
Comparison of aquifer characterization approaches through steady state groundwater model validation: A controlled laboratory sandbox study
W.A. Illman, J. Zhu, A.J. Craig, D. Yin
2010, Water Resources Research (46)
Groundwater modeling has become a vital component to water supply and contaminant transport investigations. An important component of groundwater modeling under steady state conditions is selecting a representative hydraulic conductivity (K) estimate or set of estimates which defines the K field of the studied region. Currently, there are a number...
Do common eiders nest in kin groups? Microgeographic genetic structure in a philopatric sea duck
Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Sandra L. Talbot, Richard B. Lanctot, Kevin G. McCracken
2010, Molecular Ecology (19) 647-657
We investigated local genetic associations among female Pacific common eiders (Somateria mollissima v-nigrum) nesting in a stochastic Arctic environment within two groups of barrier islands (Simpson Lagoon and Mikkelsen Bay) in the Beaufort Sea, Alaska. Nonrandom genetic associations were observed among nesting females using regional spatial autocorrelation analyses for distance...
On the composition of earth's short-period seismic noise field
K.D. Koper, K. Seats, H. Benz
2010, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (100) 606-617
In the classic microseismic band of 5-20 sec, seismic noise consists mainly of fundamental mode Rayleigh and Love waves; however, at shorter periods seismic noise also contains a significant amount of body-wave energy and higher mode surface waves. In this study we perform a global survey of Earth's short-period seismic...
Spatial variability of steady-state infiltration into a two-layer soil system on burned hillslopes
D.A. Kinner, J. A. Moody
2010, Journal of Hydrology (381) 322-332
Rainfall-runoff simulations were conducted to estimate the characteristics of the steady-state infiltration rate into 1-m2 north- and south-facing hillslope plots burned by a wildfire in October 2003. Soil profiles in the plots consisted of a two-layer system composed of an ash on top of sandy mineral soil. Multiple rainfall rates...
Erosion and vegetation restoration impacts on ecosystem carbon dynamics in South China
X. Tang, Shuguang Liu, G. Zhou
2010, Soil Science Society of America Journal (74) 272-281
To quantify the consequences of erosion and vegetation restoration on ecosystem C dynamics (a key element in understanding the terrestrial C cycle), field measurements were collected since 1959 at two experimental sites set up on highly disturbed barren land in South China. One site had received...
Conceptual hierarchical modeling to describe wetland plant community organization
A.M. Little, G.R. Guntenspergen, T. F. H. Allen
2010, Wetlands (30) 55-65
Using multivariate analysis, we created a hierarchical modeling process that describes how differently-scaled environmental factors interact to affect wetland-scale plant community organization in a system of small, isolated wetlands on Mount Desert Island, Maine. We followed the procedure: 1) delineate wetland groups using cluster analysis, 2) identify differently scaled environmental...
Controls of suspended sediment concentration, nutrient content, and transport in a subtropical wetland
G.B. Noe, J. W. Harvey, R.W. Schaffranek, L. G. Larsen
2010, Wetlands (30) 39-54
Redistribution of largely organic sediment from low elevation sloughs to higher elevation ridges is a leading hypothesis for the formation and maintenance of the native ridge and slough landscape pattern found in peat wetlands of the Florida Everglades. We tested this redistribution hypothesis by measuring the concentration and characteristics of...
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) during MRO's Primary Science Phase (PSP)
Alfred S. McEwen, Maria E. Banks, Nicole Baugh, Kris J. Becker, Aaron Boyd, James W. Bergstrom, Ross A. Beyer, Edward Bortolini, Nathan T. Bridges, Shane Byrne, Bradford Castalia, Frank C. Chuang, Larry S. Crumpler, Ingrid J. Daubar, Alix K. Davatzes, Donald G. Deardorff, Alaina DeJong, W. Alan Delamere, Eldar Z. Noe Dobrea, Colin M. Dundas, Eric M. Eliason, Yisrael Espinoza, Audrie Fennema, Kathryn E. Fishbaugh, Terry Forrester, Paul E. Geissler, John A. Grant, Jennifer L. Griffes, John P. Grotzinger, Virginia C. Gulick, Candice J. Hansen, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Rodney Heyd, Windy L. Jaeger, Dean Jones, Bob Kanefsky, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Robert King, Randolph L. Kirk, Kelly J. Kolb, Jeffrey Lasco, Alexandra Lefort, Richard Leis, Kevin W. Lewis, Sara Martinez-Alonso, Sarah Mattson, Guy K. McArthur, Michael T. Mellon, Joannah Metz, Moses P. Milazzo, Ralph E. Milliken, Tahirih Motazedian, Chris Okubo, Albert Ortiz, Andrea J. Philippoff, Joseph Plassmann, Anjani Polit, Patrick S. Russell, Christian Schaller, Mindi L. Searls, Timothy Spriggs, Steve W. Squyres, Steven Tarr, Nicolas Thomas, Bradley J. Thomson, Livio L. Tornabene, Charlie Van Houten, Circe Verba, Catherine M. Weitz, James J. Wray
2010, Icarus (205) 2-37
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) acquired 8 terapixels of data in 9137 images of Mars between October 2006 and December 2008, covering ∼0.55% of the surface. Images are typically 5–6 km wide with 3-color coverage over the central 20% of the swath, and their...
Budget analysis of Escherichia coli at a southern Lake Michigan Beach
P. Thupaki, M.S. Phanikumar, D. Beletsky, D.J. Schwab, M.B. Nevers, R.L. Whitman
2010, Environmental Science & Technology (44) 1010-1016
Escherichia coli (EC) concentrations at two beaches impacted by river plume dynamics in southern Lake Michigan were analyzed using three-dimensional hydrodynamic and transport models. The relative importance of various physical and biological processes influencing the fate and transport of EC were examined via budget analysis and a first-order sensitivity analysis...
Timing and origin for sand dunes in the Green River Lowland of Illinois, upper Mississippi River Valley, USA
X. Miao, P.R. Hanson, Hongfang Wang, A.R. Young
2010, Quaternary Science Reviews (29) 763-773
The recent increase in dune studies in North America has been heavily focused in the Great Plains, while less attention has historically been given to the dune fields east of the Mississippi River. Here we report ages and suggest a potential sediment source for sand dunes in the Green River...
Event-driven sediment flux in Hueneme and Mugu submarine canyons, southern California
J. P. Xu, P.W. Swarzenski, M. Noble, A.-C. Li
2010, Marine Geology (269) 74-88
Vertical sediment fluxes and their dominant controlling processes in Hueneme and Mugu submarine canyons off south-central California were assessed using data from sediment traps and current meters on two moorings that were deployed for 6 months during the winter of 2007. The maxima of total particulate flux, which reached as...
