Copper speciation in variably toxic sediments at the Ely Copper Mine, Vermont, United States
Bryn E. Kimball, Andrea L. Foster, Robert R. Seal II, Nadine M. Piatak, Samuel M. Webb, Jane M. Hammarstrom
2016, Environmental Science & Technology (50) 1136
At the Ely Copper Mine Superfund site, Cu concentrations exceed background values in both streamwater (160–1200 times) and sediments (15–79 times). Previously, these sediment samples were incubated with laboratory test organisms, and they exhibited variable toxicity for different stream sites. In this study we combined bulk- and microscale techniques to...
The scaling of geographic ranges: implications for species distribution models
Charles B. Yackulic, Joshua R. Ginsberg
2016, Landscape Ecology (31) 1195-1208
Context The geographic ranges of many species are responding to ongoing environmental change. Processes operating at different levels of biological organization, with corresponding spatial extents and grains and temporal rates, interact with the evolving configuration of environmental conditions to determine range dynamics. Objectives <p id="Par2"...
Progress on water data integration and distribution: a summary of select U.S. Geological Survey data systems
David L. Blodgett, Jessica M. Lucido, James M. Kreft
2016, Journal of Hydroinformatics (18) 226-237
Critical water-resources issues ranging from flood response to water scarcity make access to integrated water information, services, tools, and models essential. Since 1995 when the first water data web pages went online, the U.S. Geological Survey has been at the forefront of water data distribution and integration. Today, real-time and...
Beat-the-wave evacuation mapping for tsunami hazards in Seaside, Oregon, USA
George R. Priest, Laura Stimely, Nathan J. Wood, Ian Madin, Rudie Watzig
2016, Natural Hazards (80) 1031-1056
Previous pedestrian evacuation modeling for tsunamis has not considered variable wave arrival times or critical junctures (e.g., bridges), nor does it effectively communicate multiple evacuee travel speeds. We summarize an approach that identifies evacuation corridors, recognizes variable wave arrival times, and produces a map of minimum pedestrian travel speeds to...
Northern long-eared bat day-roosting and prescribed fire in the Central Appalachians, USA
W. Mark Ford, Alexander Silvis, Joshua B. Johnson, John W. Edwards, Milu Karp
2016, Fire Ecology (12) 13-17
The northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis Trovessart) is a cavity-roosting species that forages in cluttered upland and riparian forests throughout the oak-dominated Appalachian and Central Hardwoods regions. Common prior to white-nose syndrome, the population of this bat species has declined to functional extirpation in some regions in...
Predicting recreational water quality advisories: A comparison of statistical methods
Wesley R. Brooks, Steven R. Corsi, Michael N. Fienen, Rebecca B. Carvin
2016, Environmental Modelling and Software (76) 81-94
Epidemiological studies indicate that fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) in beach water are associated with illnesses among people having contact with the water. In order to mitigate public health impacts, many beaches are posted with an advisory when the concentration of FIB exceeds a beach action value. The most commonly used...
Human and bovine viruses and bacteria at three Great Lakes beaches: Environmental variable associations and health risk
Steven R. Corsi, Mark A. Borchardt, Rebecca B. Carvin, Tucker R Burch, Susan K. Spencer, Michelle A. Lutz, Colleen M. McDermott, Kimberly M. Busse, Gregory Kleinheinz, Xiaoping Feng, Jun Zhu
2016, Environmental Science & Technology (50) 987-995
Waterborne pathogens were measured at three beaches in Lake Michigan, environmental factors for predicting pathogen concentrations were identified, and the risk of swimmer infection and illness was estimated. Waterborne pathogens were detected in 96% of samples collected at three Lake Michigan beaches in summer, 2010. Samples were quantified for 22...
Characterizing seasonal and diel vertical movement and habitat use of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) in Clear Lake, Maine
Joseph D. Zydlewski, Dimitry Gorsky, David Balsey
2016, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (141) 761-771
Seasonal and daily vertical activity of lake whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis was studied in Clear Lake, Maine (253 ha), using acoustic telemetry from November 2004 to June 2009. Twenty adult lake whitefish were tagged with acoustic tags that had either a depth sensor or both depth and temperature sensors to assess...
Observing outer planet satellites (except Titan) with the James Webb Space Telescope: Science justification and observational requirements
Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Will Grundy, John Stansberry, Anand Sivaramakrishnan, Deepashri Thatte, Murthy Gudipati, Constantine Tsang, Alexandra Greenbaum, Chima McGruder
2016, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (128) 1-8
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will allow observations with a unique combination of spectral, spatial, and temporal resolution for the study of outer planet satellites within our Solar System. We highlight the infrared spectroscopy of icy moons and temporal changes on geologically active satellites as two particularly valuable avenues of scientific...
Volcano-tectonic earthquakes: A new tool for estimating intrusive volumes and forecasting eruptions
Randall A. White, Wendy McCausland
2016, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (309) 139-155
We present data on 136 high-frequency earthquakes and swarms, termed volcano-tectonic (VT) seismicity, which preceded 111 eruptions at 83 volcanoes, plus data on VT swarms that preceded intrusions at 21 other volcanoes. We find that VT seismicity is usually the earliest reported seismic precursor for eruptions at volcanoes that...
Scaling relationships among drivers of aquatic respiration from the smallest to the largest freshwater ecosystems
Ed K Hall, Donald Schoolmaster, A.M Amado, Edward G. Stets, J.T. Lennon, L. Domaine, J.B. Cotner
2016, Inland Waters (6) 1-10
To address how various environmental parameters control or constrain planktonic respiration (PR), we used geometric scaling relationships and established biological scaling laws to derive quantitative predictions for the relationships among key drivers of PR. We then used empirical measurements of PR and environmental (soluble reactive phosphate [SRP], carbon [DOC], chlorophyll...
Effects of topoclimatic complexity on the composition of woody plant communities
Meagan F. Oldfather, Matthew N. Britton, Prahlad D. Papper, Michael J. Koontz, Michelle M. Halbur, Celeste Dodge, Alan L. Flint, Lorraine E. Flint, David D. Ackerly
2016, AoB PLANTS (8) 1-15
Topography can create substantial environmental variation at fine spatial scales. Shaped by slope, aspect, hill-position and elevation, topoclimate heterogeneity may increase ecological diversity, and act as a spatial buffer for vegetation responding to climate change. Strong links have been observed between climate heterogeneity and species diversity at broader scales, but...
Demographic modeling for reintroduction decision-making
Sarah J. Converse, Doug P. Armstrong
2016, Book chapter, Reintroduction of fish and wildlife populations
In this chapter we consider the construction and use of population models to support reintroduction decision making. We begin by reviewing the decision-analytic process, also known as structured decision making. The material on structured decision making builds on the chapter by Chauvenet et al. (This Volume) who focus their attention...
Silicic lunar volcanism: Testing the crustal melting model
Amber Gullikson, Justin Hagerty, Mary R. Reid, Jennifer F. Rapp, David S. Draper
2016, American Mineralogist (101) 2312-2321
Lunar silicic rocks were first identified by granitic fragments found in samples brought to Earth by the Apollo missions, followed by the discovery of silicic domes on the lunar surface through remote sensing. Although these silicic lithologies are thought to make up a small portion of the lunar crust, their...
Uncertainty in CO2 storage cost and resource estimates
Steven T. Anderson
2016, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs (48)
Carbon capture from stationary sources and geological storage of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) is an important option to include in strategies for the mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, the potential costs of commercial-scale CO2storage are not well constrained, stemming from the inherent uncertainty in current geologic storage resource...
Liability, and the costs of CO2 sequestration
Steven T. Anderson
2016, Conference Paper, U.S. Association for Energy Economics and International Association for Energy Economics North American Conference, 34th
No abstract available....
Combined effects of nitrogen to phosphorus and nitrate toammonia ratios on cyanobacterial metabolite concentrations ineutrophic Midwestern USA reservoirs
Theodore D. Harris, Val H. Smith, Jennifer L. Graham, Dedmer B. Van de Waal, Lenore Tedesco, Nicolas Clercin
2016, Inland Waters (6) 199-210
Recent studies have shown that the total nitrogen to total phosphorus (TN:TP) ratio and nitrogen oxidation state may have substantial effects on secondary metabolite (e.g., microcystins) production in cyanobacteria. We investigated the relationship between the water column TN:TP ratio and the cyanobacterial secondary metabolites geosmin, 2-methylisoborneol (MIB), and microcystin using...
Understanding environmental DNA detection probabilities: A case study using a stream-dwelling char Salvelinus fontinalis
Taylor Wilcox, Kevin S. Mckelvey, Michael K. Young, Adam J. Sepulveda, Bradley B. Shepard, Stephen F Jane, Andrew R. Whiteley, Winsor H. Lowe, Michael K. Schwartz
2016, Biological Conservation (194) 209-216
Environmental DNA sampling (eDNA) has emerged as a powerful tool for detecting aquatic animals. Previous research suggests that eDNA methods are substantially more sensitive than traditional sampling. However, the factors influencing eDNA detection and the resulting sampling costs are still not well understood. Here we use multiple experiments to derive...
Moss and vascular plant indices in Ohio wetlands have similar environmental predictors
Martin A. Stapanian, William Schumacher, Brian Gara, Jean V. Adams, Nick Viau
2016, Ecological Indicators (62) 138-146
Mosses and vascular plants have been shown to be reliable indicators of wetland habitat delineation and environmental quality. Knowledge of the best ecological predictors of the quality of wetland moss and vascular plant communities may determine if similar management practices would simultaneously enhance both populations. We used Akaike's Information Criterion...
Mosses in Ohio wetlands respond to indices of disturbance and vascular plant integrity
Martin A. Stapanian, William Schumacher, Brian Gara, Nick Viau
2016, Ecological Indicators (63) 110-120
We examined the relationships between an index of wetland habitat quality and disturbance (ORAM score) and an index of vascular plant integrity (VIBI-FQ score) with moss species richness and a moss quality assessment index (MQAI) in 45 wetlands in three vegetation types in Ohio, USA. Species richness of mosses and...
Toward more realistic projections of soil carbon dynamics by Earth system models
Y. Luo, Anders Ahlstrom, Steven D. Allison, Niels H. Batjes, V. Brovkin, Nuno Carvalhais, Adrian Chappell, Philippe Ciais, Eric A. Davidson, Adien Finzi, Katerina Georgiou, Bertrand Guenet, Oleksandra Hararuk, Jennifer Harden, Yujie He, Francesca Hopkins, L. Jiang, Charles Koven, Robert B. Jackson, Chris D. Jones, M. Lara, J. Liang, A. David McGuire, William Parton, Changhui Peng, J. Randerson, Alejandro Salazar, Carlos A. Sierra, Matthew J. Smith, Hanqin Tian, Katherine E. O Todd-Brown, Margaret S. Torn, Kees Jan van Groenigen, Ying Wang, Tristram O. West, Yaxing Wei, William R. Wieder, Jianyang Xia, Xia Xu, Xiaofeng Xu, T. Zhou
2016, Global Biogeochemical Cycles (30) 40-56
Soil carbon (C) is a critical component of Earth system models (ESMs), and its diverse representations are a major source of the large spread across models in the terrestrial C sink from the third to fifth assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Improving soil C projections...
Pre-Mississippian tectonic affinity across the Canada Basin–Arctic margins of Alaska and Canada
David W. Houseknecht, Christopher D. Connors
2016, Geology (44) 507-510
New and reprocessed seismic reflection data on the Alaskan and Canadian Arctic margins of the Canada Basin, together with geologic constraints from exploration wells and outcrops, reveal structural and stratigraphic relationships in pre-Mississippian rocks that constrain models of Canada Basin opening. Lithostratigraphic age and acoustic character indicate that the Devonian...
Slab-rollback ignimbrite flareups in the southern Great Basin and other Cenozoic American arcs: A distinct style of arc volcanism
Myron G. Best, Eric H. Christiansen, Shanaka de Silva, Peter W. Lipman
2016, Geosphere (12) 1097-1135
In continental-margin subduction zones, basalt magmas spawned in the mantle interact with the crust to produce a broad spectrum of volcanic arc associations. A distinct style of very voluminous arc volcanism develops far inland on thick crust over periods of 10–20 m.y. and involves relatively infrequent caldera-forming explosive eruptions of...
Invasive pythons, not anthropogenic stressors, explain the distribution of a keystone species
Adia R. Sovie, Robert A. McCleery, Robert J. Fletcher, Kristen M. Hart
2016, Biological Invasions (18) 3309-3318
Untangling the causes of native species loss in human-modified systems is difficult and often controversial. Evaluating the impact of non-native species in these systems is particularly challenging, as additional human perturbations often precede or accompany introductions. One example is the ongoing debate over whether mammal declines within Everglades National Park...
Along-strike variations in fault frictional properties along the San Andreas Fault near Cholame, California from joint earthquake and low-frequency earthquake relocations
Rebecca M. Harrington, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Emily M. Griffiths, Xiangfang Zeng, Clifford H. Thurber
2016, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (106) 319-326
Recent observations of low‐frequency earthquakes (LFEs) and tectonic tremor along the Parkfield–Cholame segment of the San Andreas fault suggest slow‐slip earthquakes occur in a transition zone between the shallow fault, which accommodates slip by a combination of aseismic creep and earthquakes (<15 km depth), and the deep fault, which accommodates slip...
