Glaciological measurements and mass balances from Sperry Glacier, Montana, USA, years 2005–2015
Adam Clark, Daniel B. Fagre, Erich H. Peitzsch, Blase A. Reardon, Joel T. Harper
2017, Earth System Science Data (9) 47-61
Glacier mass balance measurements help to provide an understanding of the behavior of glaciers and their response to local and regional climate. In 2005 the United States Geological Survey established a surface mass balance monitoring program on Sperry Glacier, Montana, USA. This project is the first quantitative study of mass...
Impacts of mangrove density on surface sediment accretion, belowground biomass and biogeochemistry in Puttalam Lagoon, Sri Lanka
D.H. Phillips, M.P. Kumara, L.P. Jayatissa, Ken W. Krauss, M. Huxham
2017, Wetlands (37) 471-483
Understanding the effects of seedling density on sediment accretion, biogeochemistry and belowground biomass in mangrove systems can help explain ecological functioning and inform appropriate planting densities during restoration or climate change mitigation programs. The objectives of this study were to examine: 1) impacts of mangrove seedling density on surface sediment...
The 3D Elevation Program—Landslide recognition, hazard assessment, and mitigation support
Vicki Lukas, Carswell
2017, Fact Sheet 2016-3094
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Landslide Hazards Program conducts landslide hazard assessments, pursues landslide investigations and forecasts, provides technical assistance to respond to landslide emergencies, and engages in outreach. All of these activities benefit from the availability of high-resolution, three-dimensional (3D) elevation information in the form of light...
Development and evaluation of a reservoir model for the Chain of Lakes in Illinois
Marian M. Domanski
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5155
Forecasts of flows entering and leaving the Chain of Lakes reservoir on the Fox River in northeastern Illinois are critical information to water-resource managers who determine the optimal operation of the dam at McHenry, Illinois, to help minimize damages to property and loss of life because of flooding on the...
NDVI, scale invariance and the modifiable areal unit problem: An assessment of vegetation in the Adelaide Parklands
Hamideh Nouri, Sharolyn Anderson, Paul Sutton, Simon Beecham, Pamela L. Nagler, Christopher J. Jarchow, Dar A. Roberts
2017, Science of the Total Environment (584–585) 11-18
This research addresses the question as to whether or not the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is scale invariant (i.e. constant over spatial aggregation) for pure pixels of urban vegetation. It has been long recognized that there are issues related to the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP) pertaining to indices...
Molecular systematics of the critically-endangered North American spinymussels (Unionidae: Elliptio and Pleurobema) and description of Parvaspina gen. nov.
Michael A. Perkins, Nathan A. Johnson, Michael M. Gangloff
2017, Conservation Genetics (18) 745-757
Despite being common in numerous marine bivalve lineages, lateral spines are extremely rare among freshwater bivalves (Bivalvia: Unionidae), with only three known species characterized by the presence of spines: Elliptio spinosa, Elliptio steinstansana, and Pleurobema collina. All three taxa are endemic to the Atlantic Slope of...
Microbially mediated barite dissolution in anoxic brines
Bingjie Ouyang, Denise M. Akob, Darren S. Dunlap, Devon Renock
2017, Applied Geochemistry (76) 51-59
Fluids injected into shale formations during hydraulic fracturing of black shale return with extraordinarily high total-dissolved-solids (TDS) and high concentrations of barium (Ba) and radium (Ra). Barite, BaSO4, has been implicated as a possible source of Ba as well as a problematic mineral scale that forms on internal well surfaces,...
Development of a coupled wave-flow-vegetation interaction model
Alexis Beudin, Tarandeep S. Kalra, Neil K. Ganju, John C. Warner
2017, Computers & Geosciences (100) 76-86
Emergent and submerged vegetation can significantly affect coastal hydrodynamics. However, most deterministic numerical models do not take into account their influence on currents, waves, and turbulence. In this paper, we describe the implementation of a wave-flow-vegetation module into a Coupled-Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport (COAWST) modeling system that includes a flow model (ROMS)...
Depositional environment and organic matter accumulation of Upper Ordovician–Lower Silurian marine shale in the Upper Yangtze Platform, South China
Yangfang Li, Tongwei Zhang, Geoffrey S. Ellis, Deyong Shao
2017, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (466) 252-264
The main controlling factors of organic matter accumulation in the Upper Ordovician Wufeng–Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formations are complex and remain highly controversial. This study investigates the vertical variation of total organic carbon (TOC) content as well as major and trace element concentrations of four Ordovician–Silurian transition sections from the...
Hydrologic and hydraulic analyses of Great Meadow wetland, Acadia National Park, Maine
Pamela J. Lombard
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5159
The U.S. Geological Survey completed hydrologic and hydraulic analyses of Cromwell Brook and the Sieur de Monts tributary in Acadia National Park, Maine, to better understand causes of flooding in complex hydrologic and hydraulic environments, like those in the Great Meadow wetland and Sieur de Monts Spring area. Regional regression...
Nutrient processes at the stream-lake interface for a channelized versus unmodified stream mouth
Richard G. Niswonger, Ramon C. Naranjo, David Smith, James E. Constantz, Kip K. Allander, Donald O. Rosenberry, Bethany Neilson, Michael R. Rosen, David A. Stonestrom
2017, Water Resources Research (53) 237-256
Inorganic forms of nitrogen and phosphorous impact freshwater lakes by stimulating primary production and affecting water quality and ecosystem health. Communities around the world are motivated to sustain and restore freshwater resources and are interested in processes controlling nutrient inputs. We studied the environment where streams flow into lakes, referred...
Evaluating mountain meadow groundwater response to Pinyon-Juniper and temperature in a great basin watershed
Rosemary W.H. Carroll, Justin L. Huntington, Keirith A. Snyder, Richard G. Niswonger, Charles Morton, Tamzen K. Stringham
2017, Ecohydrology (10) 1-18
This research highlights development and application of an integrated hydrologic model (GSFLOW) to a semiarid, snow-dominated watershed in the Great Basin to evaluate Pinyon-Juniper (PJ) and temperature controls on mountain meadow shallow groundwater. The work used Google Earth Engine Landsat satellite and gridded climate archives for model evaluation. Model simulations...
Comparison of climate envelope models developed using expert-selected variables versus statistical selection
Laura A. Brandt, Allison Benscoter, Rebecca G. Harvey, Carolina Speroterra, David N. Bucklin, Stephanie S. Romanach, James I. Watling, Frank J. Mazzotti
2017, Ecological Modelling (345) 10-20
Climate envelope models are widely used to describe potential future distribution of species under different climate change scenarios. It is broadly recognized that there are both strengths and limitations to using climate envelope models and that outcomes are sensitive to initial assumptions, inputs, and modeling methods Selection of predictor variables,...
Integrating landslide and liquefaction hazard and loss estimates with existing USGS real-time earthquake information products
Kate E. Allstadt, Eric M. Thompson, Mike Hearne, M. Anna Nowicki Jessee, J. Zhu, David J. Wald, Hakan Tanyas
2017, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 16th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has made significant progress toward the rapid estimation of shaking and shakingrelated losses through their Did You Feel It? (DYFI), ShakeMap, ShakeCast, and PAGER products. However, quantitative estimates of the extent and severity of secondary hazards (e.g., landsliding, liquefaction) are not currently included in scenarios...
Apparent late Quaternary fault slip rate increase in the southwestern Lower Rhine Graben, central Europe
Ryan D. Gold, Anke M. Friedrich, Simon Kubler, Martin Salamon
2017, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (107) 563-580
In regions of low strain, long earthquake recurrence intervals (104–106 yrs) and erosive processes limit preservation of Quaternary markers suitable for distinguishing whether faults slip at uniform or secularly varying rates. The Lower Rhine graben in the border region of Germany, The Netherlands, and Belgium provides a unique opportunity to...
Spatially integrative metrics reveal hidden vulnerability of microtidal salt marshes
Neil K. Ganju, Zafer Defne, Matthew L. Kirwan, Sergio Fagherazzi, Andrea D’Alpaos, Luca Carniello
2017, Nature Communications (8) 1-7
Salt marshes are valued for their ecosystem services, and their vulnerability is typically assessed through biotic and abiotic measurements at individual points on the landscape. However, lateral erosion can lead to rapid marsh loss as marshes build vertically. Marsh sediment budgets represent a spatially integrated measure of competing constructive and...
A carbon balance model for the great dismal swamp ecosystem
Rachel Sleeter, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Brianna Williams, Dianna M. Hogan, Todd Hawbaker, Zhiliang Zhu
2017, Carbon Balance and Management (12) 1-20
BackgroundCarbon storage potential has become an important consideration for land management and planning in the United States. The ability to assess ecosystem carbon balance can help land managers understand the benefits and tradeoffs between different management strategies. This paper demonstrates an application of the Land...
Best practices for virtual participation in meetings: Experiences from synthesis centers
Stephanie E. Hampton, Benjamin S. Halpern, Marten Winter, Jennifer K. Balch, John N. Parker, Jill Baron, Margaret Palmer, Mark P. Schildhauer, Pamela Bishop, Thomas R. Meagher, Alison Specht
2017, Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America (98) 57-63
The earth environment is a complex system, in which collaborative scientific approaches can provide major benefits by bringing together diverse perspectives, methods, and data, to achieve robust, synthetic understanding (Fig. 1). Face-to-face scientific meetings remain extremely valuable because of...
Metamorphosis affects metal concentrations and isotopic signatures in a mayfly (Baetis tricaudatus): Implications for the aquatic-terrestrial transfer of metals
Jeff S. Wesner, David Walters, Travis S. Schmidt, Johanna M. Kraus, Craig A. Stricker, William H. Clements, Ruth E. Wolf
2017, Environmental Science & Technology (51) 2438-2446
Insect metamorphosis often results in substantial chemical changes that can alter contaminant concentrations and fractionate isotopes. We exposed larval mayflies (Baetis tricaudatus) and their food (periphyton) to an aqueous zinc gradient (3-340 µg Zn/l) and measured zinc concentrations at different stages of metamorphosis: larval, subimago, and imago. We also measured...
Macroclimatic change expected to transform coastal wetland ecosystems this century
Christopher A. Gabler, Michael J. Osland, James B. Grace, Camille L. Stagg, Richard H. Day, Stephen B. Hartley, Nicholas M. Enwright, Andrew From, Meagan L. McCoy, Jennie L. McLeod
2017, Nature Climate Change (7) 142-147
Coastal wetlands, existing at the interface between land and sea, are highly vulnerable to climate change. Macroclimate (for example, temperature and precipitation regimes) greatly influences coastal wetland ecosystem structure and function. However, research on climate change impacts in coastal wetlands has concentrated primarily on sea-level rise and largely ignored macroclimatic...
Climate-mediated competition in a high-elevation salamander community
Eric A. Dallalio, Adrianne B. Brand, Evan H. Campbell Grant
2017, Journal of Herpetology (51) 190-196
The distribution of the federally endangered Shenandoah Salamander (Plethodon shenandoah) is presumed to be limited by competition with the Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus). In particular, the current distribution of P. shenandoah is understood to be restricted to warmer and drier habitats because of interspecific interactions. These habitats may be particularly...
Woody encroachment in northern Great Plains grasslands: Perceptions, actions, and needs
Amy J. Symstad, Sherry A. Leis
2017, Natural Areas Journal (37) 118-127
The United States Northern Great Plains (NGP) has a high potential for landscape-scale conservation, but this grassland landscape is threatened by encroachment of woody species. We surveyed NGP land managers to identify patterns in, and illustrate a broad range of, individual managers' perceptions on (1) the threat of woody encroachment...
Enhanced Al and Zn removal from coal-mine drainage during rapid oxidation and precipitation of Fe oxides at near-neutral pH
Jill E. Burrows, Charles A. Cravotta, Stephen C. Peters
2017, Applied Geochemistry (78) 194-210
Net-alkaline, anoxic coal-mine drainage containing ∼20 mg/L FeII and ∼0.05 mg/L Al and Zn was subjected to parallel batch experiments: control, aeration (Aer 1 12.6 mL/s; Aer 2 16.8 mL/s; Aer 3 25.0 mL/s), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to test the hypothesis that aeration increases pH, FeII oxidation, hydrous FeIII oxide (HFO) formation, and...
Spectral wave dissipation by submerged aquatic vegetation in a back-barrier estuary
Daniel J. Nowacki, Alexis Beudin, Neil K. Ganju
2017, Limnology and Oceanography (62) 736-753
Submerged aquatic vegetation is generally thought to attenuate waves, but this interaction remains poorly characterized in shallow-water field settings with locally generated wind waves. Better quantification of wave–vegetation interaction can provide insight to morphodynamic changes in a variety of environments and also is relevant to the planning of nature-based coastal...
Integrating Radarsat-2, Lidar, and Worldview-3 Imagery to maximize detection of forested inundation extent in the Delmarva Peninsula, USA
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Hayley Distler, Di Ana Mendiola, Megan Lang
2017, Remote Sensing (9)
Natural variability in surface-water extent and associated characteristics presents a challenge to gathering timely, accurate information, particularly in environments that are dominated by small and/or forested wetlands. This study mapped inundation extent across the Upper Choptank River Watershed on the Delmarva Peninsula, occurring within both Maryland and Delaware. We integrated...
