Debris flow occurrence and sediment persistence, Upper Colorado River Valley, CO
Kyle J Grimsley, Sara L. Rathburn, Jonathan M. Friedman, Joseph F. Mangano
2016, Environmental Management (58) 76-92
Debris flow magnitudes and frequencies are compared across the Upper Colorado River valley to assess influences on debris flow occurrence and to evaluate valley geometry effects on sediment persistence. Dendrochronology, field mapping, and aerial photographic analysis are used to evaluate whether a 19th century earthen, water-conveyance ditch has altered the...
Hydraulic model and flood-inundation maps developed for the Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina
Douglas G. Smith, Chad R. Wagner
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5137
A one-dimensional step-backwater model was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina, to provide a means for predicting flood-plain inundation. The model was developed for selected reaches of the Pee Dee River, Brown Creek,...
Mineral commodity summaries 2016
Joyce A. Ober
2016, Report
This report is the earliest Government publication to furnish estimates covering 2015 nonfuel mineral industry data. Data sheets contain information on the domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, and 5-year salient statistics for more than 90 individual minerals and materials...
An analysis of water data systems to inform the Open Water Data Initiative
David L. Blodgett, Emily K. Read, Jessica M. Lucido, Tad Slawecki, Dwane Young
2016, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (52) 845-858
Improving access to data and fostering open exchange of water information is foundational to solving water resources issues. In this vein, the Department of the Interior's Assistant Secretary for Water and Science put forward the charge to undertake an Open Water Data Initiative (OWDI) that would prioritize and accelerate work...
Tomographic Rayleigh-wave group velocities in the Central Valley, California centered on the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta
Jon Peter B. Fletcher, Jemile Erdem, Kevin Seats, Jesse Lawrence
2016, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (121) 2429-2446
If shaking from a local or regional earthquake in the San Francisco Bay region were to rupture levees in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta then brackish water from San Francisco Bay would contaminate the water in the Delta: the source of fresh water for about half of California. As a prelude...
Influence of manatees' diving on their risk of collision with watercraft
Holly H. Edwards, Julien Martin, Charles J. Deutsch, Robert G Muller, Stacie M. Koslovsky, Alexander J. Smith, Margie E. Barlas
2016, PLoS ONE (11)
Watercraft pose a threat to endangered Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris). Mortality from watercraft collisions has adversely impacted the manatee population’s growth rate, therefore reducing this threat is an important management goal. To assess factors that contribute to the risk of watercraft strikes to manatees, we studied the diving behavior...
From "Duck Factory" to "Fish Factory": Climate induced changes in vertebrate communities of prairie pothole wetlands and small lakes
Kyle I. McLean, David M. Mushet, Craig A. Stockwell
2016, Wetlands (36) 407-421
The Prairie Pothole Region’s myriad wetlands and small lakes contribute to its stature as the “duck factory” of North America. The fishless nature of the region’s aquatic habitats, a result of frequent drying, freezing, and high salinity, influences its importance to waterfowl. Recent precipitation increases have resulted in higher water...
Integrated assessment of wastewater treatment plant effluent estrogenicity in the Upper Murray River, Australia, using the native Murray rainbowfish (Melanotaenia fluviatilis)
Alan M. Vajda, Anupama Kumar, Marianne Woods, Mike Williams, Hai Doan, Peter Tolsher, Rai S. Kookana, Larry B. Barber
2016, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (34) 1078-1087
The contamination of major continental river systems by endocrine-active chemicals (EACs) derived from the discharge of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents can affect human and ecosystem health. As part of a long-term effort to develop a native fish model organism for assessment of endocrine disruption in Australia's largest watershed, the...
Landsat International Cooperators and Global Archive Consolidation
U.S. Geological Survey
2016, Fact Sheet 2016-3018
Landsat missions have always been an important component of U.S. foreign policy, as well as science and technology policy. The Landsat program’s longstanding network of International Cooperators (ICs), which operates numerous International Ground Stations (IGS) around the world, embodies the United States’ policy of peaceful use of outer space and...
U.S. Department of the Interior Climate Science Centers and U.S. Geological Survey National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center—Annual report for 2015
Elda Varela Minder, Holly A. Padgett
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1043
2015 was another great year for the Department of the Interior (DOI) Climate Science Centers (CSCs) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center (NCCWSC) network. The DOI CSCs and USGS NCCWSC continued their mission of providing the science, data, and tools that are needed for...
Potentiometric surfaces, summer 2013 and winter 2015, and select hydrographs for the Southern High Plains aquifer, Cannon Air Force Base, Curry County, New Mexico
Jake Collison
2016, Scientific Investigations Map 3352
Cannon Air Force Base (Cannon AFB) is located in the High Plains physiographic region of east-central New Mexico, about 5 miles west of Clovis, New Mexico. The area surrounding Cannon AFB is primarily used for agriculture, including irrigated cropland and dairies. The Southern High Plains aquifer is the principal source...
Radar and optical mapping of surge persistence and marsh dieback along the New Jersey Mid-Atlantic coast after Hurricane Sandy
Amina Rangoonwala, Nicholas M. Enwright, Elijah W. Ramsey III, Joseph P. Spruce
2016, International Journal of Remote Sensing (37) 1692-1713
This study combined a radar-based time series of Hurricane Sandy surge and estimated persistence with optical sensor-based marsh condition change to assess potential causal linkages of surge persistence and marsh condition change along the New Jersey Atlantic Ocean coast. Results based on processed TerraSAR-X and COSMO-SkyMed synthetic aperture radar (SAR)...
High rates of detection of Clade 2.3.4.4 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5 viruses in wild birds in the Pacific Northwest during the winter of 2014-2015
S. Ip, Robert J. Dusek, Barbara L. Bodenstein, Mia Kim Torchetti, Paul DeBruyn, Kristin G. Mansfield, Thomas J. DeLiberto, Jonathan M. Sleeman
2016, Avian Diseases (60) 354-358
In 2014, Clade 2.3.4.4 H5N8 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses spread across the Republic of Korea and ultimately were reported in China, Japan, Russia and Europe. Mortality associated with a reassortant HPAI H5N2 virus was detected in poultry farms in Western Canada at the end of November. The same...
The high cost of motherhood: End-lactation syndrome in southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) on the central California, USA, coast
Sarah S Chinn, Melissa A. Miller, M. Tim Tinker, Michelle M. Staedler, Francesca I. Batac, Erin M. Dodd, Laird A. Henkel
2016, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (52) 307-318
Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) have exceptionally high energetic requirements, which nearly double during lactation and pup care. Thus, females are extremely vulnerable to caloric insufficiency. Despite a number of compensatory strategies, the metabolic challenge of reproduction culminates in numerous maternal deaths annually. Massive depletion of energy reserves results in a...
Differentiating sex and species of Western Grebes (Aechmophorus occidentalis) and Clark's Grebes (Aechmophorus clarkii) and their eggs using external morphometrics and discriminant function analysis
C. Alex Hartman, Joshua T. Ackerman, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Mark P. Herzog
2016, Waterbirds (39) 13-26
In birds where males and females are similar in size and plumage, sex determination by alternative means is necessary. Discriminant function analysis based on external morphometrics was used to distinguish males from females in two closely related species: Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis) and Clark's Grebe (A. clarkii). Additionally, discriminant function...
Hawksbill satellite-tracking case study: Implications for remigration interval and population estimates
Autumn R. Sartain-Iverson, Kristen M. Hart, Ikuko Fujisaki, Michael S. Cherkiss, Clayton Pollock, Ian Lundgren, Zandy Hillis-Starr
2016, Marine Turtle Newsletter (148) 2-7
Hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) are circumtropically distributed and listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN (Meylan & Donnelly 1999; NMFS & USFWS 1993). To aid in population recovery and protection, the Hawksbill Recovery Plan identified the need to determine demographic information for hawksbills, such as distribution, abundance, seasonal movements,...
Organic matter quantity and source affects microbial community structure and function following volcanic eruption on Kasatochi Island, Alaska
Lydia H. Zeglin, Bronwen Wang, Christopher F. Waythomas, Frederick Rainey, Sandra L. Talbot
2016, Environmental Microbiology (18) 146-158
In August 2008, Kasatochi volcano erupted and buried a small island in pyroclastic deposits and fine ash; since then, microbes, plants and birds have begun to re-colonize the initially sterile surface. Five years post-eruption, bacterial 16S rRNA gene and fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) copy numbers and extracellular enzyme activity...
Semi-arid vegetation response to antecedent climate and water balance windows
David P. Thoma, Seth M. Munson, Kathryn M. Irvine, Dana L. Witwicki, Erin Bunting
2016, Applied Vegetation Science (19) 413-429
Questions Can we improve understanding of vegetation response to water availability on monthly time scales in semi-arid environments using remote sensing methods? What climatic or water balance variables and antecedent windows of time associated with these variables best relate to the condition of vegetation? Can we develop credible...
Recommended reporting standards for test accuracy studies of infectious diseases of finfish, amphibians, molluscs and crustaceans: the STRADAS-aquatic checklist
Ian A Gardner, Richard J Whittington, Charles G B Caraguel, Paul Hick, Nicholas J G Moody, Serge Corbeil, Kyle A. Garver, Janet V. Warg, Isabelle Arzul, Maureen K. Purcell, Mark St. J. Crane, Thomas B. Waltzek, Niels J Olesen, Alicia Gallardo Lagno
2016, Diseases of Aquatic Organisms (118) 91-111
Complete and transparent reporting of key elements of diagnostic accuracy studies for infectious diseases in cultured and wild aquatic animals benefits end-users of these tests, enabling the rational design of surveillance programs, the assessment of test results from clinical cases and comparisons of diagnostic test performance. Based on deficiencies in...
Effect of variable annual precipitation and nutrient input on nitrogen and phosphorus transport from two Midwestern agricultural watersheds
Stephen J. Kalkhoff, Laura E. Hubbard, Mark D. Tomer, D.E. James
2016, Science of the Total Environment (559) 53-62
Precipitation patterns and nutrient inputs affect transport of nitrate (NO3-N) and phosphorus (TP) from Midwest watersheds. Nutrient concentrations and yields from two subsurface-drained watersheds, the Little Cobb River (LCR) in southern Minnesota and the South Fork Iowa River (SFIR) in northern Iowa, were evaluated during 1996–2007 to document relative differences...
Angler harvest, hatchery return, and tributary stray rates of recycled adult summer steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss in the Cowlitz River, Washington
Tobias J. Kock, Russell W. Perry, Chris Gleizes, Wolf Dammers, Theresa L. Liedtke
2016, River Research and Applications (32) 1790-1799
Hatchery ‘recycling’ programs have been used to increase angling opportunities by re-releasing fish into a river after they returned to a hatchery or fish trap. Recycling is intended to increase opportunities for fishermen, but this strategy could affect wild fish populations if some recycled fish remain in the river and...
Salmon and steelhead in the White Salmon River after the removal of Condit Dam–Planning efforts and recolonization results
Brady Allen, Rod O Engle, Joseph S Zendt, Frank C Shrier, Jeremy T Wilson, Patrick J. Connolly
2016, Fisheries (41) 190-203
Condit Dam, at river kilometer 5.3 on the White Salmon River, Washington, was breached in 2011 and completely removed in 2012. This action opened habitat to migratory fish for the first time in 100 years. The White Salmon Working Group was formed to create plans for fish salvage in preparation...
Report of the River Master of the Delaware River for the period December 1, 2008–November 30, 2009
Bruce E. Krejmas, Gary N. Paulachok, Mason Jr., Marie Owens
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1231
A Decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, entered June 7, 1954, established the position of Delaware River Master within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). In addition, the Decree authorizes diversions of water from the Delaware River Basin and requires compensating releases from certain reservoirs, owned by New...
Logistic and linear regression model documentation for statistical relations between continuous real-time and discrete water-quality constituents in the Kansas River, Kansas, July 2012 through June 2015
Guy M. Foster, Jennifer L. Graham
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1040
The Kansas River is a primary source of drinking water for about 800,000 people in northeastern Kansas. Source-water supplies are treated by a combination of chemical and physical processes to remove contaminants before distribution. Advanced notification of changing water-quality conditions and cyanobacteria and associated toxin and taste-and-odor compounds provides drinking-water...
Effect of a levee setback on aquatic resources using two-dimensional flow and bioenergetics models
Robert W. Black, Christiana R. Czuba, Christopher S. Magirl, Sarah McCarthy, Hans Berge, Kyle Comanor
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5025
Watershed restoration is the focus of many resource managers and can include a multitude of restoration actions each with specific restoration objectives. For the White River flowing through the cities of Pacific and Sumner, Washington, a levee setback has been proposed to reconnect the river with its historical floodplain...
