Machine learning for ecosystem services
Simon Willcock, Javier Martinez-Lopez, Danny A.P. Hooftman, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Stefano Balbi, Alessia Marzo, Carlo Prato, Saverio Sciandrello, Giovanni Signorello, Brian Voigt, Ferdinando Villa, James M. Bullock, Ioannis Athanasiadis
2018, Ecosystem Services (33) 165-174
Recent developments in machine learning have expanded data-driven modelling (DDM) capabilities, allowing artificial intelligence to infer the behaviour of a system by computing and exploiting correlations between observed variables within it. Machine learning algorithms may enable the use of increasingly available ‘big data’ and assist applying ecosystem service models across...
Historical eruptions and hazards at Bogoslof volcano, Alaska
Christopher F. Waythomas, Cheryl E. Cameron
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5085
Bogoslof volcano is a submarine volcano in the southernBering Sea (53.9272°N, 168.0344°W), located 100 kilometers(km) west of Dutch Harbor/Unalaska, and 40 km northof Umnak Island. The volcano has a relatively long history ofscientific investigation and several of its historical eruptionshave been documented during brief visits to the area since thelate...
Powerful turbidity currents driven by dense basal layers
C. K. Paull, P. J. Talling, Katherine L. Maier, Daniel Parsons, Jingping Xu, D. W. Caress, R. Gwiazda, E. Lundsten, K. Anderson, James P. Barry, M. Chaffey, T. O’Reilly, Kurt J. Rosenberger, Jenny Gales, Brian Kieft, Mary McGann, Samantha E. Simmons, M. McCann, Esther J. Sumner, M. A. Clare, M. J. Cartigny
2018, Nature Communications (9)
Seafloor sediment flows (turbidity currents) are among the volumetrically most important yet least documented sediment transport processes on Earth. A scarcity of direct observations means that basic characteristics, such as whether flows are entirely dilute or driven by a dense basal layer, remain equivocal. Here we present the most detailed...
Assessment of environmental flows in the middle Verde River watershed, Arizona
Bruce Gungle, Nicholas V. Paretti
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3062
This report summarizes analyses of middle Verde River watershed environmental flows detailed in U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5100, “Preliminary synthesis and assessment of environmental flows in the middle Verde River watershed, Arizona," by N.V. Paretti, A.M.D. Brasher, S.L. Pearlstein, D.M. Skow, B. Gungle, and...
An intercomparison of oceanic methane and nitrous oxide measurements
Samuel Wilson, Hermann Bange, Damian Arevalo-Martinez, Jonathan Barnes, Alberto V. Borges, Ian Brown, John Bullister, Macarena Burgos, David Capelle, Michael Casso, Mercedes de la Paz, Laura Farias, Lindsay Fenwick, Sara Ferron, Gerardo Garcia, MIchael Glockzin, David Karl, Annette Kock, Sarah Laperriere, Cliff S. Law, Cara Manning, Andrew Marriner, Jukka-Pekka Myllykangas, John Pohlman, Andrew Rees, Allison Santoro, Philippe Tortll, Robert C. Upstill-Goddard, David Wisegarver, Gui-Ling Zhang, Gregor Rehder
2018, Biogeosciences (15) 5801-5907
Large-scale climatic forcing is impacting oceanic biogeochemical cycles and is expected to influence the water-column distribution of trace gases, including methane and nitrous oxide. Our ability as a scientific community to evaluate changes in the water-column inventories of methane and nitrous oxide depends largely on our capacity to obtain robust...
Diatom floras in lakes in the Ruby Mountains and East Humboldt Range, Nevada, USA: A tool for assessing high-elevation climatic variability
Scott W. Starratt
2018, Book chapter, Nova Hedwigia
Local conditions, including lake size, depth, bathymetric profile, watershed characteristics, and timing and extent of ice cover determine the characteristics of diatom floras, and how those assemblages respond to short and long-term changes in climate. The diatom assemblages from fourteen sediment samples collected from marginal and profundal zones of seven...
VS30 at three strong-motion recording stations in Napa and Solano Counties, California — Lovall Valley Road, Broadway Street and Sereno Drive in Vallejo, and Vallejo Fire Station — Calculations determined from S-wave refraction tomography and multichannel analysis of surface waves (Rayleigh and Love)
Joanne H. Chan, Rufus D. Catchings, Mark R. Goldman, Coyn J. Criley
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1162
The August 24, 2014, moment magnitude (Mw) 6.0 South Napa earthquake caused an estimated $400 million in structural damage to the City of Napa, California. In 2015, we acquired high-resolution P- and S-wave seismic data near three strong-motion recording stations in Napa and Solano Counties where high peak ground accelerations...
VS30 at three strong-motion recording stations in Napa and Napa County, California — Main Street in downtown Napa, Napa fire station number 3, and Kreuzer Lane — Calculations determined from s-wave refraction tomography and multichannel analysis of surface waves (Rayleigh and Love)
Joanne H. Chan, Rufus D. Catchings, Mark R. Goldman, Coyn J. Criley
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1161
The August 24, 2014, moment magnitude (Mw) 6.0 South Napa earthquake caused an estimated $400 million in structural damage to the City of Napa, California. In 2015, we acquired high-resolution P- and S-wave seismic data near three strong-motion recording stations in Napa County where high peak ground accelerations (PGAs) were...
Investigating the mixing efficiencies of liquid-to-liquid chemical injection manifolds for aquatic invasive species management
Thomas J. Zolper, Aaron R. Cupp, David L. Smith
2018, Journal of Fluids Engineering (141) 1-14
Aquatic invasive species (AIS) have spread throughout the United States via major rivers and tributaries. Locks and dams positioned along affected waterways, specifically lock chambers, are being evaluated as potential management sites to prevent further expansion into new areas. Recent research has shown that infusion of chemicals (e.g., carbon dioxide)...
Effects of large-scale wetland loss on network connectivity of the Rainwater Basin, Nebraska
Bram H. F. Verheijen, Dana M. Varner, David A. Haukos
2018, Landscape Ecology (33) 1939-1951
ContextThe Rainwater Basin region in south-central Nebraska supports a complex network of spatially-isolated wetlands that harbor diverse floral and faunal communities. Since European settlement, many wetlands have been lost from the network, which has increased distances among remaining wetlands. As a result, populations of wildlife species with limited dispersal capabilities...
Artelle et al. (2018) miss the science underlying North American wildlife management
Jonathan R. Mawdsley, John F. Organ, Daniel J. Decker, Ann Forstchen, Ronald J. Regan, Shawn J. Riley, Mark S. Boyce, John E. Mcdonald Jr., Chris Dwyer, Shane P. Mahoney
2018, Science Advances (4) 1-2
Artelle et al. (2018) conclude that “hallmarks of science” are largely missing from North American wildlife management based on a desk review of selected hunting management plans and related documents found through Internet searches and email requests to state and provincial wildlife agencies. We highlight three fundamental problems that compromise the...
Impact of sylvatic plague vaccine on non-target small rodents in grassland ecosystems
Gebbiena M. Bron, Katherine L. D. Richgels, Samuel. Michael D., Julia E. Poje, Faye Lorenzsonn, Jonathan P. Matteson, Jesse T. Boulerice, Jorge E. Osorio, Tonie E. Rocke
2018, EcoHealth (15) 555-565
Oral vaccination is an emerging management strategy to reduce the prevalence of high impact infectious diseases within wild animal populations. Plague is a flea-borne zoonosis of rodents that often decimates prairie dog (Cynomys spp.) colonies in the western USA. Recently, an oral sylvatic plague vaccine (SPV) was developed to...
Embryonic effects of an environmentally relevant PCB mixture in the domestic chicken
Mary Ann Ottinger, Emma T. Lavoie, Mary E. B. Bohannon, Allegra M. Marcel, Anna E. Tschiffely, Kara B. Duffy, Moira A. McKernan, Nichola Thompson, H. Kasen Whitehouse, Kimya Davani, Marci Strauss, Donald E. Tillitt, Joshua Lipton, Karen M. Dean
2018, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (37) 2513-2522
Studies were conducted to develop methods to assess the effects of a complex mixture of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the domestic chicken (Gallus domesticus). Treatments were administered by egg injection to compare embryonic effects of an environmentally relevant PCB congener mixture in the domestic chicken over a range of doses....
Chronic toxicity of 4-nonylphenol to two unionid mussels in water-only exposures
Chris D. Ivey, Ning Wang, David Alvarez, Edward J. Hammer, Candice R. Bauer
2018, Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (101) 423-427
Limited studies indicate that mussels are generally insensitive to organic chemicals; however, these studies were conducted in acute or short-term exposures, and little is known about the chronic sensitivity of mussels to organic chemicals. We evaluated the chronic (28 days) toxicity of 4-nonylphenol (4-NP) to two commonly tested species of mussels:...
Wrangling distributed computing for high-throughput environmental science: An introduction to HTCondor
Richard A. Erickson, Michael N. Fienen, S. Grace McCalla, Emily L. Weiser, Melvin L. Bower, Jonathan M. Knudson, Greg Thain
2018, PLOS Computational Biology (14) 1-8
Biologists and environmental scientists now routinely solve computational problems that were unimaginable a generation ago. Examples include processing geospatial data, analyzing -omics data, and running large-scale simulations. Conventional desktop computing cannot handle these tasks when they are large, and high-performance computing is not always available nor the most appropriate solution...
Regional patterns in the geochemistry of oil-field water, southern San Joaquin Valley, California, USA
Peter B. McMahon, Justin T. Kulongoski, Avner Vengosh, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Matthew K. Landon, Yousif K. Kharaka, Janice M. Gillespie, Tracy Davis
2018, Applied Geochemistry (98) 127-140
Chemical and isotopic data for water co-extracted with hydrocarbons in oil and gas fields are commonly used to examine the source of the formation water and possible impacts on groundwater in areas of oil and gas development. Understanding the geochemical variability of oil-field water could help to evaluate its origin and delineate possible contamination of shallow aquifers in...
Application of Raman spectroscopy as thermal maturity probe in shale petroleum systems: Insights from natural and artificial maturation series
Paul C. Hackley, N. Keno Lunsdorf
2018, Energy & Fuels (32) 11190-11202
Raman spectroscopy was studied as a thermal maturity probe in a series of Upper Devonian Ohio Shale samples from the Appalachian Basin spanning from immature to dry gas conditions. Raman spectroscopy also was applied to samples spanning a similar thermal range...
History and dynamics of the Greater Yellowstone Glacial System during the last two glaciations
Joseph M. Licciardi, Kenneth L. Pierce
2018, Quaternary Science Reviews (200) 1-33
The Greater Yellowstone Glacial System (GYGS) covered about 20,000 km2 at its maximum Pleistocene extent. The initiation, culmination, and ultimate decay of the GYGS involved complex interactions between several coalescent ice masses flowing from glacial source areas adjoining and including the Yellowstone Plateau. Here, we present an updated review of the history...
Fuels guide and database for intact and invaded big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) ecological sites—User manual
Douglas J. Shinneman, Justin L. Welty, Robert S. Arkle, David S. Pilliod, Nancy F. Glenn, Susan K. McIlroy, Anne S. Halford
2018, Data Series 1048
The Fuels Guide and Database (FGD) is intended to provide fuel loading and vegetation information for big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) ecological sites in the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (hereinafter the NCA) in southern Idaho. Sagebrush ecosystems in the NCA and throughout much of...
100-year lower Mississippi floods in a global climate model: Characteristics and future changes
Karin van der Wiel, Sarah B. Kapnick, Gabriel A. Vecchi, James A. Smith, Paul C. D. Milly, Liwei Jia
2018, Journal of Hydrometeorology (19) 1547-1563
Floods in the Mississippi basin can have large negative societal, natural, and economic impacts. Understanding the drivers of floods, now and in the future, is relevant for risk management and infrastructure-planning purposes. We investigate the drivers of 100-yr-return lower Mississippi River floods using a global coupled climate model with an...
2018 hurricane and wildfire supplemental funding: USGS recovery activities
Jo Ellen Hinck, Joseph Stachyra
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3063
The Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-123), was signed by the President on February 9, 2018. This funding provided $42.2 million to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for equipment repair and replacement, high-resolution elevation data collection in both hurricane- and wildfire-impacted areas, and scientific studies...
Altitude of the potentiometric surface, 2000–15, and historical water-level changes in the Memphis aquifer in the Memphis area, Tennessee
James A. Kingsbury
2018, Scientific Investigations Map 3415
The Memphis and Fort Pillow aquifers are the principal sources of water for municipal, industrial, and commercial uses in the Memphis area. About 207 million gallons per day of groundwater were withdrawn in Shelby County, Tennessee, from both aquifers in 2010 for these uses, with most of the water coming...
Revised technical implementation plan for the ShakeAlert system—An earthquake early warning system for the West Coast of the United States
Douglas D. Given, Richard M. Allen, Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Paul Bodin, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Kenneth Creager, Robert M. de Groot, Lind S. Gee, Egill Hauksson, Thomas H. Heaton, Margaret Hellweg, Jessica R. Murray, Valerie I. Thomas, Douglas Toomey, Thomas S. Yelin
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1155
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), along with partner organizations, has developed an earthquake early warning (EEW) system called ShakeAlert for the highest risk areas of the United States: namely, California, Oregon, and Washington. The purpose of the system is to reduce the impact of earthquakes and save lives and property...
Detecting southern California’s white sharks with environmental DNA
Kevin D. Lafferty, Kasey C. Benesh, Andrew R. Mahon, Christopher L. Jerde, Christopher G. Lowe
2018, Frontiers in Marine Science (5) 1-6
To improve ability to detect white sharks without the need for tags, or visual census, we developed a species-specific environmental DNA (eDNA) assay that targets a 163 bp fragment of the white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) mitochondrial cytochrome B gene on a digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) platform. We used this marker...
Hydrologic characteristics and water quality of headwater streams and wetlands at the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, Summit area, Blair and Cambria Counties, Pennsylvania, 2014–16
Charles A. Cravotta III, Daniel G. Galeone, Kathy A. Penrod
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1125
The Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site (ALPO) in Blair and Cambria Counties, Pennsylvania, protects historic features of the first railroad portage over the Allegheny Front and the first railroad tunnel in the United States. This report, which was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the National...
