Identifying regions of strong scattering at the core-mantle boundary from analysis of PKKP precursor energy
S. Rost, P.S. Earle
2010, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (297) 616-626
We detect seismic scattering from the core-mantle boundary related to the phase PKKP (PK. KP) in data from small aperture seismic arrays in India and Canada. The detection of these scattered waves in data from small aperture arrays is new and allows a better characterization of the fine-scale structure of...
The three scales of submarine groundwater flow and discharge across passive continental margins
John F. Bratton
2010, Journal of Geology (118) 565-575
Increased study of submarine groundwater systems in recent years has provided a wealth of new data and techniques, but some ambiguity has been introduced by insufficient distinguishing of the relevant spatial scales of the phenomena studied. Submarine groundwater flow and discharge on passive continental margins can be most productively studied...
Effects of landscape features on waterbird use of rice fields
S. King, C.S. Elphick, D. Guadagnin, O. Taft, T. Amano
2010, Waterbirds (33) 151-159
Literature is reviewed to determine the effects of landscape features on waterbird use of fields in regions where rice (Oryza sativa) is grown. Rice-growing landscapes often consist of diverse land uses and land cover, including rice fields, irrigation ditches, other agricultural fields, grasslands, forests and natural wetlands. Numerous studies indicate...
Zinc isotopic composition of particulate matter generated during the combustion of coal and coal + tire-derived fuels
D.M. Borrok, R. Giere, M. Ren, E. R. Landa
2010, Environmental Science & Technology (44) 9219-9224
Atmospheric Zn emissions from the burning of coal and tire-derived fuel (TDF) for power generation can be considerable. In an effort to lay the foundation for tracking these contributions, we evaluated the Zn isotopes of coal, a mixture of 95 wt % coal + 5 wt % TDF, and the...
Environmental drivers of fish functional diversity and composition in the Lower Colorado River Basin
T.K. Pool, J. D. Olden, Joanna B. Whittier, C.P. Paukert
2010, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (67) 1791-1807
Freshwater conservation efforts require an understanding of how natural and anthropogenic factors shape the present-day biogeography of native and non-native species. This knowledge need is especially acute for imperiled native fishes in the highly modified Lower Colorado River Basin (LCRB), USA. In the present study we employed both a taxonomic...
SHRIMP U-Pb dating of recurrent Cryogenian and Late Cambrian-Early Ordovician alkalic magmatism in central Idaho: Implications for Rodinian rift tectonics
K. Lund, J. N. Aleinikoff, K. V. Evans, E. A. duBray, E.H. deWitt, D.M. Unruh
2010, Geological Society of America Bulletin (122) 430-453
Composite alkalic plutonic suites and tuffaceous diamictite, although discontinuously exposed across central Idaho in roof pendants and inliers within the Idaho batholith and Challis volcanic-plutonic complex, define the >200-km-long northwest-aligned Big Creek-Beaverhead belt. Sensitive highresolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U-Pb zircon dates on these igneous rocks provide direct evidence for the...
Coral Ba/Ca records of sediment input to the fringing reef of the southshore of Moloka'i, Hawai'i over the last several decades
N.G. Prouty, M.E. Field, J. D. Stock, S.D. Jupiter, M. McCulloch
2010, Marine Pollution Bulletin (60) 1822-1835
The fringing reef of southern Moloka’i is perceived to be in decline because of land-based pollution. In the absence of historical records of sediment pollution, ratios of coral Ba/Ca were used to test the hypothesis that sedimentation has increased over time. Baseline Ba/Ca ratios co-vary with the abundance of red,...
Effects of prior detections on estimates of detection probability, abundance, and occupancy
Jason D. Riddle, Rua S. Mordecai, Kenneth H. Pollock, Theodore R. Simons
2010, The Auk (127) 94-99
Survey methods that account for detection probability often require repeated detections of individual birds or repeated visits to a site to conduct Counts or collect presence-absence data. Initial encounters with individual species or individuals of a species could influence detection probabilities for subsequent encounters. For example, observers may be more...
Land-use pressure and a transition to forest-cover loss in the Eastern United States
Mark A. Drummond, Thomas R. Loveland
2010, BioScience (60) 286-298
Contemporary land-use pressures have a significant impact on the extent and condition of forests in the eastern United States, causing a regional-scale decline in forest cover. Earlier in the 20th century, land cover was on a trajectory of forest expansion that followed agricultural abandonment. However, the potential for forest regeneration...
Satellite observations of a surtseyan eruption: Hunga Ha'apai, Tonga
R. Greg Vaughan, Peter W. Webley
2010, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (198) 177-186
On March 17, 2009, a surtseyan eruption occurred around Hunga Ha'apai Island, Tonga. A series of observations from the high-spatial resolution Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), and the high-temporal resolution Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), was used to estimate the magnitude, location, start time, and duration of...
Development of a macrophyte-based index of biotic integrity for Minnesota lakes
M.W. Beck, L.K. Hatch, B. Vondracek, R.D. Valley
2010, Ecological Indicators (10) 968-979
Traditional approaches for managing aquatic resources have often failed to account for effects of anthropogenic disturbances on biota that are not directly reflected by chemical and physical proxies of environmental condition. The index of biotic integrity (IBI) is a potentially effective assessment method to integrate ecological, functional, and structural aspects...
Hematology of southern Beaufort Sea polar bears (2005-2007): Biomarker for an arctic ecosystem health sentinel
Cassandra M. Kirk, Steven C. Amstrup, Rhonda Swor, Darce Holcomb, T. M. O'Hara
2010, EcoHealth (7) 307-320
Declines in sea-ice habitats have resulted in declining stature, productivity, and survival of polar bears in some regions. With continuing sea-ice declines, negative population effects are projected to expand throughout the polar bear's range. Precise causes of diminished polar bear life history performance are unknown, however, climate and sea-ice condition...
Abundance and sexual size dimorphism of the giant gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) in the Sacramento valley of California
G.D. Wylie, Michael L. Casazza, C.J. Gregory, B.J. Halstead
2010, Journal of Herpetology (44) 94-103
The Giant Gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) is restricted to wetlands of the Central Valley of California. Because of wetland loss in this region, the Giant Gartersnake is both federally and state listed as threatened. We conducted markrecapture studies of four populations of the Giant Gartersnake in the Sacramento Valley (northern Central...
Wind River water restoration, Annual report November 2008 to October 2009.
P.J. Connolly, I.G. Jezorek, C.S. Munz
2010, Report
This report summarizes work completed by U.S. Geological Survey’s Columbia River Research Laboratory (USGS-CRRL) in the Wind River subbasin during the period November 2008 through October 2009 under Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) contract 41038. Long term research in the Wind River has focused on assessments of steelhead/rainbow trout Oncorhynchus...
Wild Steelhead and introduced spring Chinook Salmon in the Wind River, Washington: Overlapping populations and interactions
I.G. Jezorek, P.J. Connolly
2010, Report
We investigated interactions of introduced juvenile spring Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha with wild juvenile steelhead O. mykiss in the upper Wind River watershed (rkm 24.6 to rkm 43.8), Washington. Our objective was to determine if the presence of introduced spring Chinook salmon influenced populations of wild juvenile steelhead and if...
Effectiveness of a redesigned water diversion using rock vortex weirs to enhance longitudinal connectivity for small Salmonids
Kyle D. Martens, Patrick J. Connolly
2010, North American Journal of Fisheries Management 1544-1552
For nearly 100 years, water diversions have affected fish passage in Beaver Creek, a tributary of the lower Methow River in north-central Washington State. From 2000 to 2004, four dam-style water diversions were replaced with a series of rock vortex weirs (RVWs). The weirs were designed to allow fish passage...
A global overview of drought and heat-induced tree mortality reveals emerging climate change risks for forests
Craig D. Allen, A.K. Macalady, H. Chenchouni, D. Bachelet, N. McDowell, Michel Vennetier, T. Kitzberger, A. Rigling, D.D. Breshears, E. H. Hogg, P. Gonzalez, R. Fensham, Z. Zhang, J. Castro, N. Demidova, J.-H. Lim, G. Allard, S. W. Running, A. Semerci, N. Cobb
2010, Forest Ecology and Management (259) 660-684
Greenhouse gas emissions have significantly altered global climate, and will continue to do so in the future. Increases in the frequency, duration, and/or severity of drought and heat stress associated with climate change could fundamentally alter the composition, structure, and biogeography of forests in many regions. Of particular concern are...
Effectiveness of post-fire seeding in desert tortoise Critical Habitat following the 2005 Southern Nevada Fire Complex
Lesley DeFalco, K. Kristina Drake, S. J. Scoles-Sciulla, Kyla L. Bauer
2010, Report
In June 2005, lightning strikes ignited multiple wildfires in southern Nevada. The Southern Nevada Fire Complex burned more than 32,000 acres of designated desert tortoise Critical Habitat and an additional 403,000 acres of Mojave Desert habitat characterized as potentially suitable for the tortoise. Mortalities of desert tortoises were observed after...
Alexandria's Eastern Harbor, Egypt: Pollen, microscopic charcoal, and the transition from natural to human-modified basin
J.-D. Stanley, C.E. Bernhardt
2010, Journal of Coastal Research (26) 67-79
Pollen and microscopic charcoal examined in Holocene sediment core samples record major environmental modifications affecting Alexandria's Eastern Harbor through time. We assess whether such changes on Egypt's coastal margin were influenced primarily by natural, or natural plus human, or primarily human factors. We focus on (1) the times when pollen...
Surface elevation change and susceptibility of different mangrove zones to sea-level rise on Pacific high islands of Micronesia
K. W. Krauss, Donald R. Cahoon, J. A. Allen, K. C. Ewel, J.C. Lynch, Nicole Cormier
2010, Ecosystems (13) 129-143
Mangroves on Pacific high islands offer a number of important ecosystem services to both natural ecological communities and human societies. High islands are subjected to constant erosion over geologic time, which establishes an important source of terrigeneous sediment for nearby marine communities. Many of these sediments are deposited in mangrove...
Desert wildfire and severe drought diminish survivorship of the long-lived Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia; Agavaceae)
L.A. DeFalco, T. C. Esque, S. J. Scoles-Sciulla, J. Rodgers
2010, American Journal of Botany (97) 243-250
Extreme climate events are transforming plant communities in the desert Southwest of the United States. Abundant precipitation in 1998 associated with El Ni??o Southern Oscillation (ENSO) stimulated exceptional alien annual plant production in the Mojave Desert that fueled wildfires in 1999. Exacerbated by protracted drought, 80% of the burned Yucca...
Columbia River Project water use plan: Mid Columbia River sturgeon incubation and rearing study (Year 1)
Michael J. Parsley
2010, Report
This report describes the results from the first year of a three-year investigation on the effects of different thermal regimes on incubation and rearing early life stages of white sturgeon. The Columbia River has been significantly altered by the construction of dams resulting in annual flows and water temperatures that...
Gypsies in the palace: Experimentalist's view on the use of 3-D physics-based simulation of hillslope hydrological response
A.L. James, Jeffery J. McDonnell, I. Tromp-Van Meerveld, N.E. Peters
2010, Hydrological Processes (24) 3878-3893
As a fundamental unit of the landscape, hillslopes are studied for their retention and release of water and nutrients across a wide range of ecosystems. The understanding of these near-surface processes is relevant to issues of runoff generation, groundwater-surface water interactions, catchment export of nutrients, dissolved organic carbon, contaminants (e.g....
Climate and terrestrial ecosystem change in the U.S. Rocky Mountains and upper Columbia basin: Historical and future perspectives for natural resource management
Gregory T. Pederson, David B. McWethy, Stephen T. Gray, Philip E. Higuera, Jeremy S. Littell, Andrea J. Ray
2010, Report, National Park Service White Paper
Modern technologies for an ancient fish: tools to inform management of migratory sturgeon stocks. A report for the Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking (POST) Project
Troy C. Nelson, Phaedra Doukakis, Steven T Lindley, Andrea Drauch Schreier, Joseph E. Hightower, Larry R. Hildebrand, Rebecca E. Whitlock, Molly A. H. Webb
2010, Report
No abstract available....
