Forecasting sea level rise-driven inundation in diked and tidally restricted coastal lowlands
Kevin A. Befus, A Kurnizki, Kevin D. Kroeger, Meagan J. Eagle, Timothy P. Smith
2023, Estuaries and Coasts (46) 1157-1169
Diked and drained coastal lowlands rely on hydraulic and protective infrastructure that may not function as designed in areas with relative sea-level rise. The slow and incremental loss of the hydraulic conditions required for a well-drained system make it difficult to identify if and when the flow structures no longer...
Constraints on the composition and thermal structure of Ariel’s icy crust as inferred from its largest observed impact crater
Michael T. Bland, Chloe B. Beddingfield, Tom A. Nordheim, Donald A. Patthoff, Steven D. Vance
2023, Icarus (395)
The large graben-like troughs and smooth plains visible on the surface of Ariel are indicative of a period of high heat flow in the Uranian moon's past. High heat flows on icy moons like Ariel can also enable viscous flow that removes impact crater topography, a process called viscous relaxation. Here we use numerical modeling to...
A multi-level assessment of biological effects associated with mercury concentrations in smallmouth bass, Micropterus dolomieu
Vicki S. Blazer, Heather L. Walsh, Adam Sperry, Brenna Raines, James Willacker, Collin A. Eagles-Smith
2023, Environmental Pollution (392)
Total mercury (THg) was measured in muscle (fillet) and liver tissue of adult smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu collected at multiple sites in the Potomac and Susquehanna River drainages within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Smallmouth bass in these drainages have experienced episodic mortality events, a high prevalence of skin...
Asteroid impacts and cascading hazards
Timothy N. Titus, D. G. Robertson, Joel B. Sankey, Larry G. Mastin
2023, Conference Paper
The initial effects from an asteroid impact are generally well characterized and include thermal radiation and blast waves. If the impactor is sufficiently large, either an earthquake or tsunami can also result, depending on whether the impact occurs over land or water. However, the longer-term effects that extend beyond...
First investigations on lamprey responses to elevated total dissolved gas exposure and risk of gas bubble trauma
Theresa L. Liedtke, Kenneth Tiffan, Lisa K. Weiland, Brian K. Ekstrom
2023, Report
A flexible spill program in the federal Columbia River power system increased the total dissolved gas (TDG) water quality standards (i.e., the gas cap) from 120% to 125%. Spill is used to pass juvenile salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) over dams, but it can generate elevated TDG, and exposed fish can develop...
So goes the snow: Alaska snowpack changes and impacts on pacific salmon in a warming climate
Jeremy S. Littell, Joel H. Reynolds, Krista K. Bartz, Stephanie A. McAfee, Gregory D. Hayward
2023, Alaska Park Science (19) 62-75
In Alaska’s watersheds, climate change is altering the nature and role of the snowpack, defined as snow accumulation that melts in spring. Generally, the amount of precipitation that falls as snow and the length of the snow-cover season both decrease as temperatures exceed 0°C (32°F) more frequently. The impacts of...
Magnitude and frequency of floods for rural streams in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, 2017—Results
Toby D. Feaster, Anthony J. Gotvald, Jonathan W. Musser, J. Curtis Weaver, Katharine Kolb, Andrea G. Veilleux, Daniel M. Wagner
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5006
Reliable estimates of the magnitude and frequency of floods are an important part of the framework for hydraulic-structure design and flood-plain management in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Annual peak flows measured at U.S. Geological Survey streamgages are used to compute flood‑frequency estimates at those streamgages. However, flood‑frequency estimates...
Magnitude and frequency of floods for rural streams in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, 2017—Summary
Toby D. Feaster, Anthony J. Gotvald, Jonathan W. Musser, J. Curtis Weaver, Katharine Kolb
2023, Fact Sheet 2023-3011
Reliable flood-frequency estimates are important for hydraulic structure design and floodplain management in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Annual peak streamflows (hereafter, referred to as peak flows) measured at 965 U.S. Geological Survey streamgages were used to compute flood-frequency estimates with annual exceedance probabilities (AEPs) of 50, 20, 10,...
Remote characterization of the 12 January 2020 eruption of Taal Volcano, Philippines, using seismo-acoustic, volcanic lightning, and satellite observations
Anna Perttu, Jelle D. Assink, Alexa R. Van Eaton, Corentin Caudron, Chris Vagasky, Janine Krippner, Kathleen McKee, Silvio De Angelis, Brian Perttu, Benoit Taisne, Gert Lube
2023, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (113) 1471-1492
On 12 January 2020, an eruption began on the shores of the Main Crater Lake (MCL) of Taal Volcano—a caldera system on the southern end of Luzon Island in the Philippines. Taal, one of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines, is located 30 km south of Manila—a major metropolitan area...
Simulating the migration dynamics of juvenile salmonids through rivers and estuaries using a hydrodynamically driven enhanced particle tracking model
Vamsi Krishna Sridharan, Doug Jackson, Andrew M. Hein, Russell W. Perry, Adam C. Pope, Noble Hendrix, Eric M. Danner, Steven T. Lindley
2023, Ecological Modeling (482)
Juvenile salmonids migrate hundreds of kilometers from their natal streams to mature in the ocean. Throughout this migration, they respond to environmental cues such as local water velocities and other stimuli to direct and modulate their movements, often through heavily modified...
Benchmarking high-resolution hydrologic model performance of long-term retrospective streamflow simulations in the contiguous United States
Erin Towler, Sydney Foks, Aubrey L Dugger, Jesse E. Dickinson, Hedeff I. Essaid, David Gochis, Roland J. Viger, Yongxin Zhang
2023, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (27) 1809-1825
Because use of high-resolution hydrologic models is becoming more widespread and estimates are made over large domains, there is a pressing need for systematic evaluation of their performance. Most evaluation efforts to date have focused on smaller basins that have been relatively undisturbed by...
Potential effects of habitat change on migratory bird movements and avian influenza transmission in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway
John Takekawa, Diann Prosser, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Shenglai Yin, Xinxin Wang, Geli Zhang, Xiangming Xiao
2023, Diversity (15)
Wild waterbirds, and especially wild waterfowl, are considered to be a reservoir for avian influenza viruses, with transmission likely occurring at the agricultural-wildlife interface. In the past few decades, avian influenza has repeatedly emerged in China along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF), where extensive habitat conversion has occurred. Rapid...
Public-supply water use in 2010 and projections of use in 2020 and 2030, Tennessee
John A. Robinson, W. Scott Gain
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5041
Future water use was projected for public-water systems in Tennessee. Water-use information was compiled for Tennessee for 2010, and projections were made to 2020 and 2030. The water-use models were based on two primary datasets: baseline water-use information for 2010 for Tennessee and projected population in Tennessee.Population and water withdrawals...
Volcanic aquifers of Hawaiʻi—Contributions to assessing groundwater availability on Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, and Maui
Scot K. Izuka, Kolja Rotzoll
2023, Professional Paper 1876
The volcanic aquifers of the Hawaiian Islands supply water to 1.46 million residents, diverse industries, and a large component of the U.S. military in the Pacific. Groundwater also supplies fresh water that supports ecosystems in streams and near the coast. Hawaii’s aquifers are remarkably productive given their small size, but...
Developing a habitat model to support management of threatened seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) at Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland and Virginia
Benjamin T. Gutierrez, Erika E. Lentz
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5034
Amaranthus pumilus (seabeach amaranth) is a federally threatened plant species that has been the focus of restoration efforts at Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS). Despite several years with strong population numbers prior to 2010, monitoring efforts have revealed a significant decline in the seabeach amaranth population since that time, the...
Challenges and solutions for automated avian recognition in aerial imagery
Zhonqgi Miao, Stella X Yu, Kyle Lawrence Landolt, Mark D. Koneff, Timothy White, Luke J. Fara, Enrika Hlavacek, Bradley A. Pickens, Travis J. Harrison, Wayne M. Getz
2023, Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation (9) 439-453
Remote aerial sensing provides a non-invasive, large geographical-scale technology for avian monitoring, but the manual processing of images limits its development and applications. Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods can be used to mitigate this manual image processing requirement. The implementation of AI methods, however, has several...
Biogeochemical and hydrologic synergy control mercury fate in an arid land river-reservoir system
Brett Poulin, Michael T. Tate, Jacob M. Ogorek, Sara E. Breitmeyer, Austin K. Baldwin, Alysa Muir Yoder, Reed C. Harris, Jesse Naymik, Nick Gastelecutto, Charles Hoovestol, Christopher F. Larsen, Ralph Myers, George R. Aiken, David P. Krabbenhoft
2023, Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts
Reservoirs in arid landscapes provide critical water storage and hydroelectric power but influence the transport and biogeochemical cycling of mercury (Hg). Improved management of reservoirs to mitigate the supply and uptake of bioavailable methylmercury (MeHg) in aquatic food webs will benefit from a mechanistic understanding of inorganic divalent Hg...
Marmots do not drink coffee: Human urine contributions to the nitrogen budget of a popular national park destination
Jill Baron, Timothy Weinmann, Varun Kirk Acharya, Caitlin Charlton, Koren Nydick, Scott Esser
2023, Ecosphere (14)
Reactive nitrogen (Nr) concentrations are higher than expected for mountain lakes in Rocky Mountain National Park, and for many years, high Nr concentrations have been attributed to atmospheric Nr deposition from regional and more distant emission sources, including combustion of fossil fuels and agricultural...
Summary and conclusions
John A. Izbicki, Krishangi D. Groover, Whitney A. Seymour, David M. Miller, John G. Warden, Laurence G. Miller
2023, Professional Paper 1885-J
Executive SummaryChromium concentrations in rock and aquifer material in Hinkley and Water Valleys in the Mojave Desert, 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California, are generally low compared to the average chromium concentration of 185 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) in the average bulk continental crust. Chromium concentrations in felsic, coarse-textured...
Sequestration and reoxidation of chromium in experimental microcosms
Laurence G. Miller, Callum E. Bobb, Andrea L. Foster, Emily G. Wright, Stacy C. Bennett, Krishangi D. Groover, John A. Izbicki
2023, Professional Paper 1885-I
Groundwater containing hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), downgradient from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Hinkley compressor station in the Mojave Desert, 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California, is undergoing bioremediation using added ethanol as a reductant in a volume of the aquifer defined as the in situ reactive zone...
Predevelopment water levels, groundwater recharge, and selected hydrologic properties of aquifer materials, Hinkley and Water Valleys, California
Krishangi D. Groover, John A. Izbicki, Whitney A. Seymour, Anthony A. Brown, Randall E. Bayless, Carole D. Johnson, Katherine L. Pappas, Gregory A. Smith, Dennis A. Clark, Joshua Larsen, Meghan C. Dick, Lorraine E. Flint, Christina L. Stamos, John G. Warden
2023, Professional Paper 1885-H
Hydrologic and geophysical data were collected to support updates to an existing groundwater-flow model of Hinkley Valley, California, in the Mojave Desert about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. These data provide information on predevelopment (pre-1930) water levels, groundwater recharge, and selected hydrologic properties of aquifer materials.A predevelopment groundwater-level...
Evaluation of natural and anthropogenic (human-made) hexavalent chromium
John A. Izbicki, John G. Warden, Krishangi D. Groover, Whitney A. Seymour
2023, Professional Paper 1885-G
Hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), was released between 1952 and 1964 from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Hinkley compressor station, in the Mojave Desert about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. Geologic, geochemical, and hydrologic data from more than 100 wells collected between March 2015 and November 2017 were...
Environmental tracers of groundwater source, age, and geochemical evolution
John G. Warden, John A. Izbicki, Jurgen Sultenfuss, Kathleen Scheiderich, John Fitzpatrick
2023, Professional Paper 1885-F
Hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), was discharged in cooling wastewater to unlined surface ponds from 1952 to 1964 and reached the underlying unconsolidated aquifer at the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Hinkley compressor station in the Mojave Desert, 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. A suite of environmental tracers was...
Groundwater chemistry and hexavalent chromium
John A. Izbicki, R. Blaine McCleskey, Carmen A. Burton, Dennis A. Clark, Gregory A. Smith
2023, Professional Paper 1885-E
Water samples collected by the U.S. Geological Survey from more than 100 wells between March 2015 and November 2017 in Hinkley and Water Valleys, in the Mojave Desert 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California, were analyzed for field parameters, major ions, nutrients, and selected trace elements, including hexavalent chromium,...
Analyses of regulatory water-quality data
John A. Izbicki, Whitney A. Seymour
2023, Professional Paper 1885-D
Between 1952 and 1964, hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), was released into groundwater from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Hinkley compressor station in the Mojave Desert 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. The Pacific Gas and Electric Company has monitored groundwater near Hinkley, California, for Cr(VI) and other constituents...
