Reservoir rehabilitations: Seeking the Fountain of Youth
Mark A. Pegg, Kevin L. Pope, L.A. Powell, Kelly C. Turek, Jonathan J. Spurgeon, Nathaniel T. Stewart, Nick P. Hogberg, Mark T. Porath
2017, Fisheries (40) 177-181
Aging of reservoirs alters the functions, and associated services, of these systems through time. The goal of habitat rehabilitation is often to alter the trajectory of the aging process such that the duration of the desired state is prolonged. There are two important characteristics in alteration of the trajectory—the amplitude...
An Arctic and Subarctic ostracode database: Biogeographic and paleoceanographic applications
Laura Gemery, Thomas M. Cronin, William M. Briggs, Elisabeth M. Brouwers, Eugene I. Schornikov, Anna Stepanova, Adrian M. Wood, Moriaki Yasuhara
2017, Hydrobiologia (786) 59-95
A new Arctic Ostracode Database-2015 (AOD-2015) provides census data for 96 species of benthic marine Ostracoda from 1340 modern surface sediments from the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas. Ostracoda is a meiofaunal, Crustacea group that secretes a bivalved calcareous (CaCO3) shell commonly preserved in sediments. Arctic and subarctic ostracode species...
Hierarchical stochastic modeling of large river ecosystems and fish growth across spatio-temporal scales and climate models: the Missouri River endangered pallid sturgeon example
Mark L. Wildhaber, Christopher K. Wikle, Edward H. Moran, Christopher J. Anderson, Kristie J. Franz, Rima Dey
2017, Geological Society of London Special Publications (408) 119-145
We present a hierarchical series of spatially decreasing and temporally increasing models to evaluate the uncertainty in the atmosphere – ocean global climate model (AOGCM) and the regional climate model (RCM) relative to the uncertainty in the somatic growth of the endangered pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus). For effects on fish...
A fully-stochasticized, age-structured population model for population viability analysis of fish: Lower Missouri River endangered pallid sturgeon example
Mark L. Wildhaber, Janice L. Albers, Nicholas S. Green, Edward H. Moran
2017, Ecological Modelling (359) 434-448
We develop a fully-stochasticized, age-structured population model suitable for population viability analysis (PVA) of fish and demonstrate its use with the endangered pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) of the Lower Missouri River as an example. The model incorporates three levels of variance: parameter variance (uncertainty about the value of a parameter...
Salinity influences on aboveground and belowground net primary productivity in tidal wetlands
Kathryn N. Pierfelice, B. Graeme Lockaby, Ken W. Krauss, William H. Conner, Gregory E. Noe, Matthew C. Ricker
2017, Journal of Hydrologic Engineering (22)
Tidal freshwater wetlands are one of the most vulnerable ecosystems to climate change and rising sea levels. However salinification within these systems is poorly understood, therefore, productivity (litterfall, woody biomass, and fine roots) were investigated on three forested tidal wetlands [(1) freshwater, (2) moderately saline, and (3) heavily salt-impacted] and a marsh along...
Hydrologic modeling in a marsh-mangrove ecotone: Predicting wetland surface water and salinity response to restoration in the Ten Thousand Islands region of Florida, USA
B.D. Michot, E.A. Meselhe, Ken W. Krauss, Surendra Shrestha, Andrew S. From, Eduardo Patino
2017, Journal of Hydrologic Engineering (22)
At the fringe of Everglades National Park in southwest Florida, United States, the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge (TTINWR) habitat has been heavily affected by the disruption of natural freshwater flow across the Tamiami Trail (U.S. Highway 41). As the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) proposes to restore the...
Earth Stewardship: An initiative by the Ecological Society of America to foster engagement to sustain Planet Earth
F. Stuart Chapin III, Steward T. A. Pickett, Mary E. Power, Scott L. Collins, Jill S. Baron, David W. Inouye, Monica G. Turner
2017, Book chapter, Earth Stewardship: Linking ecology and ethics in theory and practice
The Ecological Society of America (ESA) has responded to the growing commitment among ecologists to make their science relevant to society through a series of concerted efforts, including the Sustainable Biosphere Initiative (1991), scientific assessment of ecosystem management (1996), ESA’s vision for the future (2003), Rapid Response Teams that respond...
Effect of sediment supply and flow rate on the initiation and topographic evolution of sandbars in laboratory and numerical channels
Paul J. Kinzel, Brandy Logan, Jonathan M. Nelson
2017, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 3rd Joint Federal Interagency Conference (10th Federal Interagency Sedimentation Conference and 5th Federal Interagency Hydrologic Modeling Conference),
The evolution of barforms from a bed of uniform sediment and changes in sediment storage were measured in a laboratory flume and simulated numerically. Flume experiments were conducted with several upstream sediment supplies and flow conditions. For the sediment supply rates (no upstream supply, equilibrium supply, and 133, 166, and...
Conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo—Tin processing plants, a critical part of the tin supply chain
Charles Anderson
2017, Fact Sheet 2015-3022
Summary The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) analyzes mineral and metal supply chains to identify and describe major components of material flows from ore extraction, through intermediate forms, to a final product. Supply chain analyses may be used (1) to identify risks to the United States associated with the supply of critical...
Spatially distributed groundwater recharge for 2010 land cover estimated using a water-budget model for the Island of O‘ahu, Hawai‘i
John A. Engott, Adam G. Johnson, Maoya Bassiouni, Scot K. Izuka, Kolja Rotzoll
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5010
Owing mainly to projected population growth, demand for freshwater on the Island of Oʻahu is expected to increase by about 26 percent between 2010 and 2030, according to the City and County of Honolulu. Estimates of groundwater recharge are needed to evaluate the availability of fresh groundwater. For this study,...
Human land-use and soil change
Skye A. Wills, Candiss O. Williams, Michael C. Duniway, Jessica Veenstra, Cathy Seybold, DeAnn Pressley
2017, Book chapter, The soils of the USA
Soil change refers to the alteration of soil and soil properties over time in one location, as opposed to soil variability across space. Although soils change with pedogensis, this chapter focuses on human caused soil change. Soil change can occur with human use and management over long or short...
Biological response to climate change in the Arctic Ocean: The view from the past
Thomas M. Cronin, Matthew A. Cronin
2017, arktos (1)
The Arctic Ocean is undergoing rapid climatic changes including higher ocean temperatures, reduced sea ice, glacier and Greenland Ice Sheet melting, greater marine productivity, and altered carbon cycling. Until recently, the relationship between climate and Arctic biological systems was poorly known, but this has changed substantially...
Time within reproductive season, but not age or inbreeding coefficient, influences seminal and sperm quality in the whooping crane (Grus americana)
M.E. Brown, Sarah J. Converse, Jane N. Chandler, A. L. Crosier, W. Lynch, D.E. Wildt, C. L. Keefer, Nucharin Songsasen
2017, Reproduction, Fertility and Development (29) 294-306
All living whooping cranes (Grus americana) are descended from 16 or fewer birds that remained alive in the early 1940s, a bottleneck that puts the species at potential risk for inbreeding depression. Although AI is commonly used in the management of the captive population of this species, little is known...
Considerations in representing human individuals in social ecological models
Michael J. Manfredo, Tara L. Teel, Michael C. Gavin, David C. Fulton
2017, Book chapter, Understanding society and natural resources
In this chapter we focus on how to integrate the human individual into social-ecological systems analysis, and how to improve research on individual thought and action regarding the environment by locating it within the broader social-ecological context. We discuss three key questions as considerations for future research: (1) is human...
Onshore industrial wind turbine locations for the United States
Jay E. Diffendorfer, Roger Compton, Louisa Kramer, Zach Ancona, Donna Norton
2017, Data Series 817
This dataset provides industrial-scale onshore wind turbine locations in the United States, corresponding facility information, and turbine technical specifications. The database has wind turbine records that have been collected, digitized, locationally verified, and internally quality controlled. Turbines from the Federal Aviation Administration Digital Obstacles File, through product release date July...
Micro-seismicity within the Coso Geothermal field, California, from 1996-2012
J. Ole Kaven, Stephen H. Hickman, Lisa C. Weber
2017, Conference Paper, Proceedings, Thirty-Eighth Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering
We extend our previous catalog of seismicity within the Coso Geothermal field by adding over two and a half years of additional data to prior results. In total, we locate over 16 years of seismicity spanning from April 1996 to May of 2012 using a refined velocity model, apply it...
Chemical tracer methods
Richard W. Healy
2017, Book chapter, Estimating groundwater recharge
Tracers have a wide variety of uses in hydrologic studies: providing quantitative or qualitative estimates of recharge, identifying sources of recharge, providing information on velocities and travel times of water movement, assessing the importance of preferential flow paths, providing information on hydrodynamic dispersion, and providing data for calibration of water...
Hydrogeology, groundwater flow, and groundwater quality of an abandoned underground coal-mine aquifer, Elkhorn Area, West Virginia
Mark D. Kozar, Kurt J. McCoy, James Q. Britton, B.M. Blake Jr.
2017, Report
The Pocahontas No. 3 coal seam in southern West Virginia has been extensively mined by underground methods since the 1880’s. An extensive network of abandoned mine entries in the Pocahontas No. 3 has since filled with good-quality water, which is pumped from wells or springs discharging from mine portals (adits),...
Use of modflow drain package for simulating inter-basin transfer in abandoned coal mines
Mark D. Kozar, Kurt J. McCoy
2017, Conference Paper, Proceedings America Society of Mining and Reclamation
Simulation of groundwater flow in abandoned mines is difficult, especially where flux to and from mines is unknown or poorly quantified, and inter-basin transfer of groundwater occurs. A 3-year study was conducted in the Elkhorn area, West Virginia to better understand groundwater-flow processes and inter-basin transfer in above drainage abandoned...
Species associations and habitat influence the range-wide distribution of breeding Canada Geese (Branta canadensis interior) on Western Hudson Bay
Matthew Reiter, David E. Andersen, Andrew H. Raedeke, Dale D. Humburg
2017, Waterbirds (36) 20-33
Inter- and intra-specific interactions are potentially important factors influencing the distribution of populations. Aerial survey data, collected during range-wide breeding population surveys for Eastern Prairie Population (EPP) Canada Geese (Branta canadensis interior), 1987–2008, were evaluated to assess factors influencing their nesting distribution. Specifically, associations between nesting Lesser Snow Geese (Chen...
Methods for estimating selected low-flow frequency statistics and harmonic mean flows for streams in Iowa
David A. Eash, Kimberlee K. Barnes
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5171
A statewide study was conducted to develop regression equations for estimating six selected low-flow frequency statistics and harmonic mean flows for ungaged stream sites in Iowa. The estimation equations developed for the six low-flow frequency statistics include: the annual 1-, 7-, and 30-day mean low flows for a recurrence interval...
Lidar-Based Rock-Fall Hazard Characterization of Cliffs
Brian D. Collins, Greg M.Stock
2017, Conference Paper
Rock falls from cliffs and other steep slopes present numerous challenges for detailed geological characterization. In steep terrain, rock-fall source areas are both dangerous and difficult to access, severely limiting the ability to make detailed structural and volumetric measurements necessary for hazard assessment. Airborne and terrestrial lidar survey methods can...
Dynamics of permeability evolution in stimulated geothermal reservoirs
Joshua M. Taron, Steven E. Ingebritsen, Stephen H. Hickman, Colin F. Williams
Tom Gleeson, Steven E. Ingebritsen, editor(s)
2017, Book chapter, Crustal permeability
Spatially and temporally evolving permeability fields are fundamentally associated with the operation of enhanced geothermal systems. This chapter explores the resulting magnitude and patterns of permeability alteration as well as the coupled physical processes that control the evolution of permeability during shear stimulation and long-term evolution of a geothermal reservoir....
Identification of the Polaris Fault using lidar and shallow geophysical methods
Lewis E. Hunter, Michael H. Powers, Bethany L. Burton
2017, Conference Paper, Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems 2010
As part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) Dam Safety Assurance Program, Martis Creek Dam near Truckee, CA, is under evaluation for earthquake and seepage hazards. The investigations to date have included LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and a wide range of geophysical surveys. The LiDAR data led...
Modeling hydraulic and sediment transport processes in white sturgeon spawning habitat on the Kootenai River, Idaho
Richard R. McDonald, Jonathan M. Nelson, Vaughn Paragamian, Gary J. Barton
2017, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering (136) 1077-1092
The Kootenai River white sturgeon currently spawn (2005) in an 18-kilometer reach of the Kootenai River, Idaho. Since completion of Libby Dam upstream from the spawning reach, there has been only one successful year of recruitment of juvenile fish. Where successful in other rivers, white sturgeon spawn over clean coarse...