A shift in bloater consumption in Lake Michigan between 1993 and 2011 and its effects on Diporeia and Mysis prey
Steven A. Pothoven, David B. Bunnell
2016, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (145) 59-68
Bioenergetics modeling was used to determine individual and population consumption by Bloater Coregonus hoyi in Lake Michigan during three time periods with variable Bloater density: 1993–1996 (high), 1998–2002 (intermediate), and 2009–2011 (low). Despite declines in Bloater abundance between 1993 and 2011, our results did not show any density-dependent compensatory response...
Use of terrestrial field studies in the derivation of bioaccumulation potential of chemicals
Nico W. van den Brink, Jennifer A. Arblaster, Sarah R. Bowman, Jason M. Conder, John E. Elliott, Mark S. Johnson, Derek C.G. Muir, Tiago Natal-da-Luz, Barnett A. Rattner, Bradley E. Sample, Richard F. Shore
2016, Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management (12) 135-145
Field-based studies are an essential component of research addressing the behavior of organic chemicals, and a unique line of evidence that can be used to assess bioaccumulation potential in chemical registration programs and aid in development of associated laboratory and modeling efforts. To aid scientific and regulatory discourse on the...
Combined effects of projected sea level rise, storm surge, and peak river flows on water levels in the Skagit Floodplain
Josheph J Hamman, Alan F. Hamlet, Roger Fuller, Eric E. Grossman
2016, Northwest Science (90) 57-78
Current understanding of the combined effects of sea level rise (SLR), storm surge, and changes in river flooding on near-coastal environments is very limited. This project uses a suite of numerical models to examine the combined effects of projected future climate change on flooding in the Skagit floodplain and estuary....
Forcing and variability of nonstationary rip currents
Joseph W. Long, H.T. Ozkan-Haller
2016, Journal of Geophysical Research C: Oceans (121) 520-539
Surface wave transformation and the resulting nearshore circulation along a section of coast with strong alongshore bathymetric gradients outside the surf zone are modeled for a consecutive 4 week time period. The modeled hydrodynamics are compared to in situ measurements of waves and currents collected during the Nearshore Canyon Experiment...
Global perspectives on the urban stream syndrome
Allison H. Roy, Derek B. Booth, Krista A. Capps, Benjamin Smith
2016, Freshwater Science (35) 412-420
Urban streams commonly express degraded physical, chemical, and biological conditions that have been collectively termed the “urban stream syndrome”. The description of the syndrome highlights the broad similarities among these streams relative to their less-impaired counterparts. Awareness of these commonalities has fostered rapid improvements in the management of urban stormwater...
Reconnaissance sediment budget for selected watersheds of West Maui, Hawai‘i
Jonathan D. Stock, Kim A. Falinski, Tova Callender
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1190
Episodic runoff brings suspended sediment to the nearshore waters of West Maui, Hawaiʻi. Even small rainfalls create visible plumes over a few hours. We used mapping, field experiments, and analysis of recent (July 19–20, 2014) and historic rainfall to estimate sources of land-based pollution for two watersheds in West...
Evaluation of the hydraulic and biological performance of the portable floating fish collector at Cougar Reservoir and Dam, Oregon, 2014
John W. Beeman, Scott D. Evans, Philip V. Haner, Hal C. Hansel, Amy C. Hansen, Gabriel S. Hansen, Tyson W. Hatton, Jamie M. Sprando, Collin D. Smith, Noah S. Adams
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1003
The biological and hydraulic performance of a new portable floating fish collector (PFFC) located in a cul-de-sac within the forebay of Cougar Dam, Oregon, was evaluated during 2014. The purpose of the PFFC was to explore surface collection as a means to capture juvenile salmonids at one or more sites...
Evaluating Landsat 8 evapotranspiration for water use mapping in the Colorado River Basin
Gabriel Senay, MacKenzie Friedrichs, Ramesh K. Singh, Naga Manohar Velpuri
2016, Remote Sensing of Environment (185) 171-185
Evapotranspiration (ET) mapping at the Landsat spatial resolution (100 m) is essential to fully understand water use and water availability at the field scale. Water use estimates in the Colorado River Basin (CRB), which has diverse ecosystems and complex hydro-climatic regions, will be helpful to water planners and managers. Availability of...
A semi-structured MODFLOW-USG model to evaluate local water sources to wells for decision support
Daniel T. Feinstein, Michael N. Fienen, Howard W. Reeves, Christian D. Langevin
2016, Ground Water (54) 532-544
In order to better represent the configuration of the stream network and simulate local groundwater-surface water interactions, a version of MODFLOW with refined spacing in the topmost layer was applied to a Lake Michigan Basin (LMB) regional groundwater-flow model developed by the U.S. Geological. Regional MODFLOW models commonly use coarse...
USGS lidar science strategy—Mapping the technology to the science
Jason M. Stoker, John Brock, Christopher E. Soulard, Kernell G. Ries, Larry J. Sugarbaker, Wesley E. Newton, Patricia K. Haggerty, Kathy Lee, John A. Young
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1209
Summary The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) utilizes light detection and ranging (lidar) and enabling technologies to support many science research activities. Lidar-derived metrics and products have become a fundamental input to complex hydrologic and hydraulic models, flood inundation models, fault detection and geologic mapping, topographic and land-surface mapping, landslide and volcano...
Determination of pesticides and pesticide degradates in filtered water by direct aqueous-injection liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry
Mark W. Sandstrom, Leslie K. Kanagy, Cyrissa A. Anderson, Christopher J. Kanagy
2016, Techniques and Methods 5-B11
A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed for determination of 229 pesticides compounds (113 pesticides and 116 pesticide degradates) in filtered water samples from stream and groundwater sites. The pesticides represent a broad range of chemical classes and were selected based on criteria such as current-use intensity, probability...
Assessment of undiscovered continuous gas resources of the Ordos Basin Province, China, 2015
Ronald R. Charpentier, Timothy R. Klett, Christopher J. Schenk, Michael E. Brownfield, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Phuong A. Le, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Kristen R. Marra, Tracey J. Mercier
2016, Fact Sheet 2015-3087
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean resources of 28 trillion cubic feet of tight gas and 5.6 trillion cubic feet of coalbed gas in upper Paleozoic rocks in the Ordos Basin Province, China....
A thermodynamical model for the surface tension of silicate melts in contact with H2O gas
Simone Colucci, Maurizio Battaglia, Raffaello Trigila
2016, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (175) 113-127
Surface tension plays an important role in the nucleation of H2O gas bubbles in magmatic melts and in the time-dependent rheology of bubble-bearing magmas. Despite several experimental studies, a physics based model of the surface tension of magmatic melts in contact with H2O is lacking. This paper employs gradient theory...
Using standardized fishery data to inform rehabilitation efforts
Jonathan J. Spurgeon, Nathaniel T. Stewart, Mark A. Pegg, Kevin L. Pope, Mark T. Porath
2016, Lake and Reservoir Management (32) 41-50
Lakes and reservoirs progress through an aging process often accelerated by human activities, resulting in degradation or loss of ecosystem services. Resource managers thus attempt to slow or reverse the negative effects of aging using a myriad of rehabilitation strategies. Sustained monitoring programs to assess the efficacy of rehabilitation strategies...
Evolution of fracture permeability of ultramafic rocks undergoing serpentinization at hydrothermal conditions: An experimental study
Aida Farough, Diane E. Moore, David A. Lockner, R.P. Lowell
2016, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (17) 44-55
We performed flow-through laboratory experiments on five cylindrically cored samples of ultramafic rocks, in which we generated a well-mated through-going tensile fracture, to investigate evolution of fracture permeability during serpentinization. The samples were tested in a triaxial loading machine at a confining pressure of 50 MPa, pore pressure of 20...
Iterative ecological forecasting: Needs, opportunities, and challenges
Mike Dietze, Andrew Fox, Julio L. Betancourt, Mevin Hooten, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Tim H. Keitt, Melissa Kenney, Christine Laney, Laurel Larsen, Henry W. Loescher, Claire Lunch, Bryan Pijanowski, James T. Randerson, Emily Read, Andrew T. Tredennick, Kathleen Weathers, Ethan P. White
2016, Conference Paper
A fundamental environmental challenge facing humanity in the 21st century and beyond is predicting the impacts of global environmental change. This challenge is complicated by the fact that we live on a non-stationary, unreplicated planet that is rapidly moving outside the envelope of natural variability into an historical non-analog world....
Water-magma interaction and plume processes in the 2008 Okmok eruption, Alaska
Joel A. Unema, Michael H. Ort, Jessica D Larsen, Christina A. Neal, Janet R. Schaefer
2016, Geological Society of America Bulletin (128) 792-806
Eruptions of similar explosivity can have divergent effects on the surroundings due to differences in the behavior of the tephra in the eruption column and atmosphere. Okmok volcano, located on Umnak Island in the eastern Aleutian Islands, erupted explosively between 12 July and 19 August 2008. The basaltic andesitic eruption...
Geostatistical analysis of tritium, groundwater age and other noble gas derived parameters in California
A. Visser, J. E. Moran, D. Hillegonds, M. Singleton, Justin T. Kulongoski, Kenneth Belitz, B. Esser
2016, Water Research (91) 314-330
Key characteristics of California groundwater systems related to aquifer vulnerability, sustainability, recharge locations and mechanisms, and anthropogenic impact on recharge are revealed in a spatial geostatistical analysis of a unique data set of tritium, noble gases and other isotopic analyses unprecedented in size at nearly 4000 samples.The correlation...
Identifying long term empirical relationships between storm characteristics and episodic groundwater recharge
Arik Tashie, Benjamin B. Mirus, Tamlin Pavelsky
2016, Water Resources Research (52) 21-35
Shallow aquifers are an important source of water resources and provide base flow to streams; yet actual rates of groundwater recharge are difficult to estimate. While climate change is predicted to increase the frequency and magnitude of extreme precipitation events, the resulting impact on groundwater recharge remains poorly understood. We...
Long-term changes in sediment and nutrient delivery from Conowingo Dam to Chesapeake Bay: Effects of reservoir sedimentation
Qian Zhang, Robert M. Hirsch, William P. Ball
2016, Environmental Science & Technology (50) 1877-1886
Reduction of suspended sediment (SS), total phosphorus (TP), and total nitrogen is an important focus for Chesapeake Bay watershed management. The Susquehanna River, the bay’s largest tributary, has drawn attention because SS loads from behind Conowingo Dam (near the river’s mouth) have been rising dramatically. To better understand these changes,...
Response of periphyton fatty acid composition to supplemental flows in the upper Esopus Creek, Catskill Mountains, New York
Scott D. George, Anne G. Ernst, Barry P. Baldigo, Dale C. Honeyfield
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5161
Fatty acid analysis of periphyton is an emerging tool for assessing the condition of a stream ecosystem on the basis of its water quality. The study presented in this report was designed to test the hypothesis that periphyton communities have a fatty acid profile that can detect excessive turbidity and...
Paleomagnetic record determined in cores from deep research wells in the Quaternary Santa Clara basin, California
Edward A. Mankinen, Carl M. Wentworth
2016, Geosphere (12) 35-57
Paleomagnetic study of cores from six deep wells provides an independent temporal framework for much of the alluvial stratigraphy of the Quaternary basin beneath the Santa Clara Valley. This stratigraphy consists of 8 upward-fining cycles in the upper 300 m of section and an underlying 150 m or more of...
Post-disaster supply chain interdependent critical infrastructure system restoration: A review of data necessary and available for modeling
Varun Ramachandran, Suzanna K. Long, Thomas G. Shoberg, Steven Corns, Hector J. Carlo
2016, Data Science Journal (15)
The majority of restoration strategies in the wake of large-scale disasters have focused on short-term emergency response solutions. Few consider medium- to long-term restoration strategies to reconnect urban areas to national supply chain interdependent critical infrastructure systems (SCICI). These SCICI promote the effective flow of goods, services, and information vital...
Evaluating potential sources of variation in Chironomidae catch rates on sticky traps
Joshua T. Smith, Jeffrey D. Muehlbauer, Theodore A. Kennedy
2016, Marine and Freshwater Research (67) 1987-1990
Sticky traps are a convenient tool for assessing adult aquatic insect population dynamics, but there are many practical questions about how trap sampling artefacts may affect observed results. Utilising study sites on the Colorado River and two smaller streams in northern Arizona, USA, we evaluated whether catch rates and sex...
Assessing models of speciation under different biogeographic scenarios; An empirical study using multi-locus and RNA-seq analyses
Taylor Edwards, Marc Tollis, PingHsun Hsieh, Ryan N. Gutenkunst, Zhen Liu, Kenro Kusumi, Melanie Culver, Robert W. Murphy
2016, Ecology and Evolution (6) 379-396
Evolutionary biology often seeks to decipher the drivers of speciation, and much debate persists over the relative importance of isolation and gene flow in the formation of new species. Genetic studies of closely related species can assess if gene flow was present during speciation, because signatures of past introgression often...
