Sediment accumulation in prairie wetlands under a changing climate: The relative roles of landscape and precipitation
Susan K. Skagen, Lucy E. Burris, Diane A. Granfors
2016, Wetlands (36) 383-395
Sediment accumulation threatens the viability and hydrologic functioning of many naturally formed depressional wetlands across the interior regions of North America. These wetlands provide many ecosystem services and vital habitats for diverse plant and animal communities. Climate change may further impact sediment accumulation rates in the context of current land...
Flood-Inundation Maps of Selected Areas Affected by the Flood of October 2015 in Central and Coastal South Carolina
Jonathan W. Musser, Kara M. Watson, Jaime A. Painter, Anthony J. Gotvald
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1019
Heavy rainfall occurred across South Carolina during October 1–5, 2015, as a result of an upper atmospheric low-pressure system that funneled tropical moisture from Hurricane Joaquin into the State. The storm caused major flooding in the central and coastal parts of South Carolina. Almost 27 inches of rain fell near...
Hydraulic and biochemical gradients limit wetland mercury supply to an Adirondack stream
Paul M. Bradley, Douglas A. Burns, Judson Harvey, Celeste A. Journey, Mark E. Brigham, Karen Riva-Murray
2016, SOJ Aquatic Research (1) 1-9
Net fluxes (change between upstream and downstream margins) for water, methylmercury (MeHg), total mercury (THg), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and chloride (Cl) were assessed twice in an Adirondack stream reach (Sixmile Brook, USA), to test the hypothesized importance of wetland-stream hydraulic and chemical gradients as fundamental controls on fluvial mercury...
Are the Columbia River Basalts, Columbia Plateau, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, USA, a viable geothermal target? A preliminary analysis
Erick R. Burns, Colin F. Williams, Terry Tolan, Joern Ole Kaven
2016, Conference Paper, Proceedings, 41st Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering
The successful development of a geothermal electric power generation facility relies on (1) the identification of sufficiently high temperatures at an economically viable depth and (2) the existence of or potential to create and maintain a permeable zone (permeability >10-14 m2) of sufficient size to allow efficient long-term extraction of...
Efficiency of portable antennas for detecting passive integrated transponder tags in stream-dwelling salmonids
Nolan P. Banish, Summer M. Burdick, Katherine R. Moyer
2016, PLoS ONE (11)
Portable antennas have become an increasingly common technique for tracking fish marked with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags. We used logistic regression to evaluate how species, fish length, and physical habitat characteristics influence portable antenna detection efficiency in stream-dwelling brown trout (Salmo trutta), bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), and redband trout...
Toward a quantitative and empirical dissolved organic carbon budget for the Gulf of Maine, a semienclosed shelf sea
William Balch, Thomas G. Huntington, George R. Aiken, David Drapeau, Bruce Bowler, Laura Lubelczyk, Kenna D. Butler
2016, Global Biogeochemical Cycles (30) 268-292
A time series of organic carbon export from Gulf of Maine (GoM) watersheds was compared to a time series of biological, chemical, bio-optical, and hydrographic properties, measured across the GoM between Yarmouth, NS, Canada, and Portland, ME, U.S. Optical proxies were used to quantify the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and...
Potential foraging decisions by a desert ungulate to balance water and nutrient intake in a water-stressed environment
Jay V. Gedir, James W. Cain III, Paul R. Krausman, Jamison D. Allen, Glenn C. Duff, John R. Morgart
2016, PLoS ONE (11) 1-20
Arid climates have unpredictable precipitation patterns, and wildlife managers often provide supplemental water to help desert ungulates endure the hottest, driest periods. When surface water is unavailable, the only source of water for ungulates comes from the forage they consume, and they must make resourceful foraging decisions to meet their...
Terrestrial-based lidar beach topography of Fire Island, New York, June 2014
Owen T. Brenner, Cheryl J. Hapke, Kathryn G. Lee, Dustin R. Kimbrow
2016, Data Series 980
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) in Florida and the USGS Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center (LMG WSC) in Montgomery, Alabama, collaborated to gather alongshore terrestrial-based lidar beach elevation data at Fire Island, New York. This high-resolution elevation dataset was collected on June...
Regression equations to estimate seasonal flow duration, n-day high-flow frequency, and n-day low-flow frequency at sites in North Dakota using data through water year 2009
Tara Williams-Sether, Tara A. Gross
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5184
Seasonal mean daily flow data from 119 U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations in North Dakota; the surrounding states of Montana, Minnesota, and South Dakota; and the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan with 10 or more years of unregulated flow record were used to develop regression equations for flow duration,...
Structured heterogeneity in a marine terrace chronosequence: Upland mottling
Marjorie S. Schulz, David A. Stonestrom, Corey R. Lawrence, Thomas D. Bullen, John Fitzpatrick, Emily Kyker-Snowman, Jane Manning, Meagan Mnich
2016, Vadose Zone Journal (15)
Soil mottles generally are interpreted as a product of reducing conditions during periods of water saturation. The upland soils of the Santa Cruz, CA, marine terrace chronosequence display an evolving sequence of reticulate mottling from the youngest soil (65 ka) without mottles to the oldest soil (225 ka) with well-developed...
Experimental studies and model analysis of noble gas fractionation in porous media
Xin Ding, B. Mack. Kennedy, William C. Evans, David A. Stonestrom
2016, Vadose Zone Journal (15) 1-12
The noble gases, which are chemically inert under normal terrestrial conditions but vary systematically across a wide range of atomic mass and diffusivity, offer a multicomponent approach to investigating gas dynamics in unsaturated soil horizons, including transfer of gas between saturated zones, unsaturated zones, and the atmosphere. To evaluate the...
Bivalve grazing can shape phytoplankton communities
Lisa Lucas, James E. Cloern, Janet K. Thompson, Mark T. Stacey, Jeffrey K. Koseff
2016, Frontiers in Marine Science (3)
The ability of bivalve filter feeders to limit phytoplankton biomass in shallow waters is well-documented, but the role of bivalves in shaping phytoplankton communities is not. The coupled effect of bivalve grazing at the sediment-water interface and sinking of phytoplankton cells to that bottom filtration zone could influence the relative...
Simulating future water temperatures in the North Santiam River, Oregon
Norman L. Buccola, John C. Risley, Stewart A. Rounds
2016, Journal of Hydrology (535) 318-330
A previously calibrated two-dimensional hydrodynamic and water-quality model (CE-QUAL-W2) of Detroit Lake in western Oregon was used in conjunction with inflows derived from Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) hydrologic models to examine in-lake and downstream water temperature effects under future climate conditions. Current and hypothetical operations and structures at Detroit Dam...
Spatial capture-recapture: a promising method for analyzing data collected using artificial cover objects
Chris Sutherland, David Munoz, David A.W. Miller, Evan H. Campbell Grant
2016, Herpetologica (72) 6-12
Spatial capture–recapture (SCR) is a relatively recent development in ecological statistics that provides a spatial context for estimating abundance and space use patterns, and improves inference about absolute population density. SCR has been applied to individual encounter data collected noninvasively using methods such as camera traps, hair snares, and scat...
Fishing diseased abalone to promote yield and conservation
Tal Ben-Horin, Kevin D. Lafferty, Gorka Bidegain, Hunter S. Lenihan
2016, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (371)
Past theoretical models suggest fishing disease-impacted stocks can reduce parasite transmission, but this is a good management strategy only when the exploitation required to reduce transmission does not overfish the stock. We applied this concept to a red abalone fishery so impacted by an infectious disease (withering syndrome) that stock...
Testing the suitability of geologic frameworks for extrapolating hydraulic properties across regional scales
Benjamin B. Mirus, Keith J. Halford, Donald S. Sweetkind, Joseph M. Fenelon
2016, Hydrogeology Journal (24) 1133-1146
The suitability of geologic frameworks for extrapolating hydraulic conductivity (K) to length scales commensurate with hydraulic data is difficult to assess. A novel method is presented for evaluating assumed relations between K and geologic interpretations for regional-scale groundwater modeling. The approach relies on simultaneous interpretation of...
Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses and generation of novel reassortants,United States, 2014–2015
Dong-Hun Lee, Justin Bahl, Mia Kim Torchetti, Mary Lea Killian, S. Ip, David E Swayne
2016, Emerging Infectious Diseases (22) 1283-1285
Asian highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N8) viruses spread into North America in 2014 during autumn bird migration. Complete genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of 32 H5 viruses identified novel H5N1, H5N2, and H5N8 viruses that emerged in late 2014 through reassortment with North American low-pathogenicity avian influenza viruses....
Cumulative drought and land-use impacts on perennial vegetation across a North American dryland region
Seth M. Munson, A. Lexine Long, Cynthia Wallace, Robert H. Webb
2016, Applied Vegetation Science (19) 430-441
Question The decline and loss of perennial vegetation in dryland ecosystems due to global change pressures can alter ecosystem properties and initiate land degradation processes. We tracked changes of perennial vegetation using remote sensing to address the question of how prolonged drought and land-use intensification have affected perennial...
Spatial variation in risk and consequence of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans introduction in the USA
Katherine L. D. Richgels, Robin E. Russell, M. J. Adams, C. LeAnn White, Evan H. Campbell Grant
2016, Royal Society Open Science (3)
A newly identified fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), is responsible for mass mortality events and severe population declines in European salamanders. The eastern USA has the highest diversity of salamanders in the world and the introduction of this pathogen is likely to be devastating. Although data are inevitably limited for new pathogens,...
Post-Hurricane Irene coastal oblique aerial photographs collected from Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina, to Virginia Beach, Virginia, August 30-31, 2011
Karen L. M. Morgan, M. Dennis Krohn
2016, Data Series 979
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as part of the National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards project, conducts baseline and storm-response photography missions to document and understand the changes in vulnerability of the Nation's coasts to extreme storms (Morgan, 2009). On August 30-31, 2011, the USGS conducted an oblique aerial...
Developing integrated methods to address complex resource and environmental issues
Kathleen S. Smith, Jeffrey D. Phillips, Anne E. McCafferty, Roger N. Clark, editor(s)
2016, Circular 1413
IntroductionThis circular provides an overview of selected activities that were conducted within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Integrated Methods Development Project, an interdisciplinary project designed to develop new tools and conduct innovative research requiring integration of geologic, geophysical, geochemical, and remote-sensing expertise. The project was supported by the USGS Mineral...
Reconstruction of late Holocene climate based on tree growth and mechanistic hierarchical models
John Tipton, Mevin Hooten, Neil Pederson, Martin Tingley, Daniel Bishop
2016, Environmetrics (27) 42-54
Reconstruction of pre-instrumental, late Holocene climate is important for understanding how climate has changed in the past and how climate might change in the future. Statistical prediction of paleoclimate from tree ring widths is challenging because tree ring widths are a one-dimensional summary of annual growth that represents a multi-dimensional...
High-resolution seismic reflection imaging of growth folding and shallow faults beneath the Southern Puget Lowland, Washington State
Jackson K. Odum, William J. Stephenson, Thomas L. Pratt, Richard J. Blakely
2016, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (100) 1710-1723
Marine seismic reflection data from southern Puget Sound, Washington, were collected to investigate the nature of shallow structures associated with the Tacoma fault zone and the Olympia structure. Growth folding and probable Holocene surface deformation were imaged within the Tacoma fault zone beneath Case and Carr Inlets. Shallow faults near...
Demographic response of northern spotted owls to barred owl removal
V. Lowell Diller, Keith A. Hamm, Desiree A Early, David W Lamphear, Katie M. Dugger, Charles B. Yackulic, Carl J. Schwarz, Peter C. Carlson, Trent L. McDonald
2016, Journal of Wildlife Management (80) 691-707
Federally listed as threatened in 1990 primarily because of habitat loss, the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) has continued to decline despite conservation efforts resulting in forested habitat being reserved throughout its range. Recently, there is growing evidence the congeneric invasive barred owl (Strix varia) may be...
Wetting and drying of soil in response to precipitation: Data analysis, modeling, and forecasting
Aniruddha Basak, Chinmay Kulkarni, Kevin M. Schmidt, Ole Mengshoel
2016, Conference Paper
This paper investigates methods to analyze and forecast soil moisture time series. We extend an existing Antecedent Water Index (AWI) model, which expresses soil moisture as a function of time and rainfall. Unfortunately, the existing AWI model does not forecast effectively for time periods beyond a few hours. To overcome...
