Trends in snowmelt-related streamflow timing in the conterminous United States
Robert W. Dudley, Glenn A. Hodgkins, Michael McHale, Michael J. Kolian, Benjamin Renard
2017, Journal of Hydrology (547) 208-221
Changes in snowmelt-related streamflow timing have implications for water availability and use as well as ecologically relevant shifts in streamflow. Historical trends in snowmelt-related streamflow timing (winter-spring center volume date, WSCVD) were computed for minimally disturbed river basins in the conterminous United States. WSCVD was computed by summing daily streamflow...
Evidence for strong lateral seismic velocity variation in the lower crust and upper mantle beneath the California margin
Voon Lai, Robert Graves, Shengji Wei, Don Helmberger
2017, Earth and Planetary Science Letters 202-211
Regional seismograms from earthquakes in Northern California show a systematic difference in arrival times across Southern California where long period (30–50 seconds) SH waves arrive up to 15 seconds earlier at stations near the coast compared with sites towards the east at similar epicentral distances. We attribute this time difference...
The 3.6 ka Aniakchak tephra in the Arctic Ocean: A constraint on the Holocene radiocarbon reservoir age in the Chukchi Sea
Christof Pearce, Aron Varhelyi, Stefan Wastegard, Francesco Muschitiello, Natalia Barrientos Macho, Matt O’Regan, Thomas M. Cronin, Laura Gemery, Igor Semiletov, Jan Backman, Martin Jakobsson
2017, Climate of the Past (13) 303-316
The caldera-forming eruption of the Aniakchak volcano in the Aleutian Range on the Alaskan Peninsula at 3.6 cal kyr BP was one of the largest Holocene eruptions worldwide. The resulting ash is found as a visible sediment layer in several Alaskan sites and as a cryptotephra on Newfoundland and Greenland. This large...
Spatiotemporal ecology of Apalone spinifera in a large, Great Plains river ecosystem
Brian J. Tornabene, Robert G. Bramblett, Alexander V. Zale, Stephen A. Leathe
2017, Herpetological Conservation and Biology (12) 252-271
Sparse information exists about the ecology of Spiny Softshell Turtles (Apalone spinifera) in large rivers, at the northwestern extent of their natural range, and in Montana, where they are disjunct from downstream populations and a State Species of Concern. We determined spatiotemporal ecology of 47 female and 12 male turtles...
Using diets of Canis breeding pairs to assess resource partitioning between sympatric red wolves and coyotes
Joseph W. Hinton, Annaliese K. Ashley, Justin A. Dellinger, John L. Gittleman, Frank T. van Manen, Michael J. Chamberlain
2017, Journal of Mammalogy (98) 475-488
Foraging behaviors of red wolves (Canis rufus) and coyotes (Canis latrans) are complex and their ability to form congeneric breeding pairs and hybridize further complicates our understanding of factors influencing their diets. Through scat analysis, we assessed prey selection of red wolf, coyote, and congeneric breeding pairs formed by red...
The Evergreen basin and the role of the Silver Creek fault in the San Andreas fault system, San Francisco Bay region, California
Robert C. Jachens, Carl M. Wentworth, Russell W. Graymer, Robert Williams, David A. Ponce, Edward A. Mankinen, William J. Stephenson, Victoria E. Langenheim
2017, Geosphere (13) 269-286
The Evergreen basin is a 40-km-long, 8-km-wide Cenozoic sedimentary basin that lies mostly concealed beneath the northeastern margin of the Santa Clara Valley near the south end of San Francisco Bay (California, USA). The basin is bounded on the northeast by the strike-slip Hayward fault and an approximately parallel subsurface...
Reconnaissance sedimentology of selected tertiary exposures in the upland region bordering the Yukon Flats basin, east-central Alaska
David L. LePain, Richard G. Stanley
2017, Preliminary Interpretive Report 2016-6
This report summarizes reconnaissance sedimentologic and stratigraphic observations made during six days of helicopter-supported fieldwork in 2002 on Tertiary sedimentary rocks exposed in the upland region around the flanks of the Yukon Flats basin in east-central Alaska (fig. 1). This project was a cooperative effort between the Alaska Division of...
Long-term spatial heterogeneity in mallard distribution in the Prairie pothole region
Adam K. Janke, Michael J. Anteau, Joshua D. Stafford
2017, Wildlife Society Bulletin (41) 116-124
The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of north-central United States and south-central Canada supports greater than half of all breeding mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) annually counted in North America and is the focus of widespread conservation and research efforts. Allocation of conservation resources for this socioeconomically important population would benefit from an...
Numerical modeling of the effects of Hurricane Sandy and potential future hurricanes on spatial patterns of salt marsh morphology in Jamaica Bay, New York City
Hongqing Wang, Q. Chen, Kelin Hu, Gregg A. Snedden, Ellen K. Hartig, Brady R. Couvillion, Cody L. Johnson, Philip M. Orton
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1016
The salt marshes of Jamaica Bay, managed by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and the Gateway National Recreation Area of the National Park Service, serve as a recreational outlet for New York City residents, mitigate flooding, and provide habitat for critical wildlife species. Hurricanes and extra-tropical...
Bathymetry data collected in October 2014 from Fire Island, New York—The wilderness breach, shoreface, and bay
Timothy R. Nelson, Jennifer L. Miselis, Cheryl J. Hapke, Owen T. Brenner, Rachel E. Henderson, Billy J. Reynolds, Kathleen E. Wilson
2017, Data Series 1034
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, conducted a bathymetric survey of Fire Island, New York, from October 5 to 10, 2014. The U.S. Geological Survey is involved in a post-Hurricane Sandy effort to map and monitor the morphologic evolution...
Modeling nonbreeding distributions of shorebirds and waterfowl in response to climate change
Gordon C. Reese, Susan K. Skagen
2017, Ecology and Evolution (7) 1497-1513
To identify areas on the landscape that may contribute to a robust network of conservation areas, we modeled the probabilities of occurrence of several en route migratory shorebirds and wintering waterfowl in the southern Great Plains of North America, including responses to changing climate. We predominantly used data from the...
Flood effects provide evidence of an alternate stable state from dam management on the Upper Missouri River
Katherine Skalak, Adam J. Benthem, Cliff R. Hupp, Edward R. Schenk, Joel M. Galloway, Rochelle A. Nustad
2017, River Research and Applications (33) 889-902
We examine how historic flooding in 2011 affected the geomorphic adjustments created by dam regulation along the approximately 120 km free flowing reach of the Upper Missouri River bounded upstream by the Garrison Dam (1953) and downstream by Lake Oahe Reservoir (1959) near the City of Bismarck, ND, USA. The largest...
Estimating current and future streamflow characteristics at ungaged sites, central and eastern Montana, with application to evaluating effects of climate change on fish populations
Roy Sando, Katherine J. Chase
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5002
A common statistical procedure for estimating streamflow statistics at ungaged locations is to develop a relational model between streamflow and drainage basin characteristics at gaged locations using least squares regression analysis; however, least squares regression methods are parametric and make constraining assumptions about the data distribution. The random forest regression...
Geologic map of the Providence Mountains in parts of the Fountain Peak and adjacent 7.5' quadrangles, San Bernardino County, California
Paul Stone, David M. Miller, Calvin H. Stevens, Jose J. Rosario, Jorge A. Vazquez, Elmira Wan, Susan S. Priest, Zenon C. Valin
2017, Scientific Investigations Map 3376
IntroductionThe Providence Mountains are in the eastern Mojave Desert about 60 km southeast of Baker, San Bernardino County, California. This range, which is noted for its prominent cliffs of Paleozoic limestone, is part of a northeast-trending belt of mountainous terrain more than 100 km long that also includes the Granite...
Eruptive history of the Ubehebe Crater Cluster, Death Valley, California
Judith E. Fierstein, Wes Hildreth
2017, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (335) 128-146
A sequence of late Holocene eruptions from the Ubehebe Crater cluster in Death Valley was short-lived, emplacing several phreatomagmatic and magmatic deposits. Seven craters form the main group, which erupted along a north-south alignment 1.5 km long. At least five more make a 500-m east-west alignment west of the main crater group. One...
Predicting the impacts of Mississippi River diversions and sea-level rise on spatial patterns of eastern oyster growth rate and production
Hongqing Wang, Q. Chen, Megan La Peyre, Kelin Hu, Jerome F. La Peyre
2017, Ecological Modelling (352) 40-53
There remains much debate regarding the perceived tradeoffs of using freshwater and sediment diversions for coastal restoration in terms of balancing the need for wetland restoration versus preserving eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) production. Further complicating the issue, climate change-induced sea-level rise (SLR) and land subsidence are also expected to affect...
Cost implications of uncertainty in CO2 storage resource estimates: A review
Steven T. Anderson
2017, Natural Resources Research (26) 137-159
Carbon capture from stationary sources and geologic storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) is an important option to include in strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. However, the potential costs of commercial-scale CO2 storage are not well constrained, stemming from the inherent uncertainty in storage resource estimates coupled with a lack...
Risk, liability, and economic issues with long-term CO2 storage—A review
Steven T. Anderson
2017, Natural Resources Research (26) 89-112
Given a scarcity of commercial-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, there is a great deal of uncertainty in the risks, liability, and their cost implications for geologic storage of carbon dioxide (CO2). The probabilities of leakage and the risk of induced seismicity could be remote, but the volume of...
Territory occupancy and breeding success of Peregrine Falcons Falco peregrinus at various stages of population recovery
Michael J. McGrady, James E. Hines, Chris Rollie, George D. Smith, Elise R. Morton, Jennifer F. Moore, Richard M. Mearns, Ian Newton, Oscar E. Murillo-Garcia, Madan K. Oli
2017, Ibis (159) 285-296
Organochlorine pesticides disrupted reproduction and killed many raptorial birds, and contributed to population declines during the 1940s to 1970s. We sought to discern whether and to what extent territory occupancy and breeding success changed from the pesticide era to recent years in a resident population of Peregrine Falcons Falco peregrinus...
Vertical datum conversion process for the inland and coastal gage network located in the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and South Atlantic-Gulf hydrologic regions
Paul H. Rydlund Jr., Michael L. Noll
2017, Techniques and Methods 11-B8
Datum conversions from the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 among inland and coastal gages throughout the hydrologic regions of New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the South Atlantic-Gulf have implications among river and storm surge forecasting, general commerce, and water-control operations. The...
Bedrock geologic map of the northern Alaska Peninsula area, southwestern Alaska
2017, Scientific Investigations Map 2942
The northern Alaska Peninsula is a region of transition from the classic magmatic arc geology of the Alaska Peninsula to a Proterozoic and early Paleozoic carbonate platform and then to the poorly understood, tectonically complex sedimentary basins of southwestern Alaska. Physiographically, the region ranges from the high glaciated mountains of...
Vulnerabilities to climate change of Massachusetts animal species of greatest conservation need
Hector Galbraith, Toni L. Morelli
2017, Report
Over the last decade, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has addressed the potential and actual impacts of climate change on state flora and fauna. The state’s involvement began in 2007 when, led by the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW) and assisted by Manomet Center for Con-servation Research, it carried out...
Who knew? First Myotis sodalis (Indiana Bat) maternity colony in the coastal plain of Virginia
Michael J. St. Germain, Andrew B. Kniowski, Alexander Silvis, W. Mark Ford
2017, Northeastern Naturalist (24) N5-N10
We report the first confirmed Myotis sodalis (Indiana Bat) maternity colony in Virginia, discovered at Fort A.P. Hill Military Reservation in Caroline County along the Piedmont-Coastal Plain Fall Line. Acoustic surveys conducted in 2014 indicated likely presence of Indiana Bats on the installation. Subsequent focal mist-netting during May–June 2015 resulted...
Low pathogenic avian influenza viruses in wild migratory waterfowl in a region of high poultry production, Delmarva, Maryland
Diann J. Prosser, Christine L. Densmore, Larry J. Hindman, Deborah D. Iwanowicz, Christopher A. Ottinger, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Cindy P. Driscoll, Jessica L. Nagel
2017, Avian Diseases (61) 128-134
Migratory waterfowl are natural reservoirs for low pathogenic avian influenza viruses (AIVs) and may contribute to the long-distance dispersal of these pathogens as well as spillover into domestic bird populations. Surveillance for AIVs is critical to assessing risks for potential spread of these viruses among wild and domestic bird populations....
Extended late Holocene relative sea-level histories for North Carolina, USA
Andrew C. Kemp, Jessica J. Kegel, Stephen J. Culver, Donald C. Barber, David J. Mallinson, Eduardo Leorri, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Niamh Cahill, Stanley R. Riggs, Anna L. Woodson, Ryan P. Mulligan, Benjamin P. Horton
2017, Quaternary Science Reviews (160) 13-30
We produced ∼3000-year long relative sea-level (RSL) histories for two sites in North Carolina (USA) using foraminifera preserved in new and existing cores of dated salt-marsh sediment. At Cedar Island, RSL rose by ∼2.4 m during the past ∼3000 years compared to ∼3.3 m at Roanoke Island. This spatial difference arises primarily from...
