Confirmation of significant sea turtle nesting activity on a remote island chain in the Gulf of Mexico
Margaret Lamont, Dianne Ingram, Todd Baker, Matt Weigel, Brian M. Shamblin
2023, Ecology and Evolution (13)
Globally, six of the seven sea turtle species are threatened or endangered and as such, monitoring reproductive activity for these species is necessary for effective population recovery. Remote beaches provide a challenge to conducting these surveys, which often results in data gaps that can hamper management planning. Throughout the summer...
Identifying drivers of population dynamics for a stream breeding amphibian using time series of egg mass counts
Jonathan P. Rose, Sarah J. Kupferberg, Ryan A. Peek, Don Ashton, James B. Bettaso, Steven Bobzien, Ryan M. Bourque, Koen G.H. Breedveld, Alessandro Catenazzi, Joseph E. Drennan, Earl Gonsolin, Marcia Grefsrud, Andrea E. Herman, Matthew R. House, Matt R. Kluber, Amy J. Lind, Karla R. Marlow, Alan Striegle, Michael van Hattem, Clara A. Wheeler, Jeffery T. Wilcox, Kevin D. Wiseman, Brian J. Halstead
2023, Ecosphere (14)
The decline in amphibian populations is one of the starkest examples of the biodiversity crisis. For stream breeding amphibians, alterations to natural flow regimes by dams, water diversions, and climate change have been implicated in declines and extirpations. Identifying drivers of amphibian declines requires long time series of abundance data...
Geographic and taxonomic variation in adaptive capacity among mountain-dwelling small mammals: implications for conservation status and actions
Erik A. Beever, Jennifer L. Wilkening, Peter D. Billman, Lindsey Thurman, Kristina A. Ernest, David H. Wright, Alisha M. Gill, April C. Craighead, Nolan A. Helmstetter, Leona K. Svancara, Meghan J. Camp, Sabuj Bhattacharyya, Jedediah Fitzgerald, Jocelyn M. R. Hirose, Marie L. Westover, Francis D. Gerraty, Kelly B. Klingler, Danielle A. Schmidt, Dylan K. Ryals, Richard N. Brown, Steven L. Clark, Neil Clayton, Gail H. Collins, Kyle A. Cutting, Daniel F. Doak, Clinton W. Epps, Janet E. Foley, Johnnie French, Charles L. Hayes, Zachary A. Mills, Lucas Moyer-Horner, Lyle B. Nichols, Kate B. Orlofsky, Mary M. Peacock, Nicholas C. Penzel, Johnny Peterson, Nathan G. Ramsay, Tom Rickman, Megan M. Robinson, Hillary L. Robison, Karen M. C. Rowe, Kevin C. Rowe, Michael A. Russello, Adam B. Smith, Joseph A. E. Stewart, Will W. Thompson, James H. Thorne, Matthew D. Waterhouse, Shana S. Weber, Kenneth C. Wilson
2023, Biological Conservation (282)
Contemporary climate change is modifying the distribution, morphology, phenology, physiology, evolution, and interspecific interactions of species. Effects of climate change are mediated not only through the magnitude of change experienced (exposure) and an animal's sensitivity to such changes, but also through the ability of the...
Complex styles of phreatomagmatic explosions at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii, controlled by magma structure
Jo Schmith, Donald A. Swanson
2023, Frontiers in Earth Science - Volcanology (11)
Explosive eruptions at basaltic volcanoes remain poorly understood. Kīlauea Volcano is a type locality for basaltic eruptions and is well-known for effusive activity. However, more than 7 m of phreatomagmatic Keanakākoʻi Tephra unit D deposits from explosive eruptions crown the southern rim of the summit caldera and provide...
Evaluating a prospective fault-based stress-transfer forecast for the M7.9 Wenchuan earthquake region 15 years later
Thomas E. Parsons, Chen Ji, Eric Kirby
2023, The Seismic Record (3) 218-227
Four days after the 12 May 2008 M 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake struck the Sichuan region of China, we submitted a prospective earthquake forecast based on transfer of stress from the mainshock onto significant faults crossing through populated areas. We identified where the largest aftershocks were...
Multi-scale assessment of roost selection by ‘ōpe‘ape‘a, the Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus semotus)
Kristina Montoya-Aiona, P. Marcos Gorresen, Karen Courtot, Aaron A. Aguirre, Flor A. Calderon, Sean P. Casler, Sarah G. Ciarrachi, Julia P. S. Hoeh, Josephine L. Tupu, Terry L. Zinn
2023, PLoS ONE (18)
The Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus semotus; Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae), commonly and locally known as ‘ōpe‘ape‘a, is a solitary, insectivorous, and foliage-roosting species distributed across a wide range of habitats in lowland and montane environments. The species, as with many others in the Hawaiian archipelago, are facing a...
Parameter estimation at the conterminous United States scale and streamflow routing enhancements for the National Hydrologic Model infrastructure application of the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (NHM-PRMS)
Lauren E. Hay, Jacob H. LaFontaine, Ashley E. Van Beusekom, Parker A. Norton, William H. Farmer, R. Steve Regan, Steven L. Markstrom, Jesse E. Dickinson
2023, Techniques and Methods 6-B10
This report documents a three-part continental-scale calibration procedure and a new streamflow routing algorithm using the U.S. Geological Survey National Hydrologic Model (NHM) infrastructure along with an application of the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS). The traditional approach to hydrologic model calibration and evaluation, which relies on comparing observed and simulated...
Fluid migration pathways to groundwater in mature oil fields: Exploring the roles of water injection/production and oil-well integrity in California, USA
Peter B. McMahon, Matthew K. Landon, Michael J. Stephens, Kimberly A. Taylor, Janice M. Gillespie, Tracy Davis, David H. Shimabukuro
2023, Science of the Total Environment (900)
Mature oil fields potentially contain multiple fluid migration pathways toward protected groundwater (total dissolved solids, TDS, in nonexempted aquifer <10,000 mg/L) because of their extensive development histories. Time-series data for water use, fluid pressures, oil-well construction, and geochemistry from the South Belridge and Lost Hills mature oil...
Calibrating optical turbidity measurements with suspended-sediment concentrations from the Herring River in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, from November 2018 to November 2019
Olivia A. De Meo, Neil K. Ganju, Robert D. Bales, Eric D. Marsjanik, Steven E. Suttles
2023, Data Report 1180
The sediment budget in the tidally restricted Herring River in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, must be quantified so restoration options for the river can be evaluated. Platforms equipped with optical turbidity sensors were deployed seaward and landward of the Herring River restriction to measure a time series of turbidity, from which a...
Aeromagnetic map of northeastern California
Victoria E. Langenheim, Donald S. Sweetkind
2023, Scientific Investigations Map 3505
Aeromagnetic surveys were conducted to improve understanding of the geology and structure in northeastern California, a region predominantly covered by Quaternary and Tertiary, mainly Neogene, volcanic rocks including Medicine Lake volcano. New aeromagnetic data are a substantial improvement over existing data and reveal structural details not resolved by older surveys....
Mechanisms of water-rock interaction and implications for remediating flooded mine workings elucidated from environmental tracers, stable isotopes, and rare earth elements
Connor P. Newman, Katherine Walton-Day, Robert L. Runkel, Richard Wilkin
2023, Applied Geochemistry (157)
Contamination from acid mine drainage affects ecosystems and usability of groundwater for domestic and municipal purposes. The Captain Jack Superfund Site outside of Ward, Boulder County, Colorado, USA, hosts a draining mine adit that was remediated through emplacement of a hydraulic bulkhead to preclude acid mine drainage from entering...
Societal benefits of floodplains in the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds: Sediment, nutrient, and flood regulation ecosystem services
Kristina G. Hopkins, Jacqueline Sage Welles, Emily Pindilli, Gregory E. Noe, Peter Claggett, Labeeb Ahmed, Marina J. Metes
2023, Journal of Environmental Management (345)
Floodplains provide critical ecosystem services to people by regulating floodwaters and retaining sediments and nutrients. Geospatial analyses, field data collection, and modeling were integrated to quantify a portfolio of services that floodplains provide to downstream communities within the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds. The portfolio of services included floodplain...
Ground‐motion variability from kinematic rupture models and the implications for nonergodic probabilistic seismic hazard analysis
Grace Alexandra Parker, Morgan P. Moschetti, Eric M. Thompson
2023, Seismological Research Letters (94) 2687-2697
The variability of earthquake ground motions has a strong control on probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA), particularly for the low frequencies of exceedance used for critical facilities. We use a crossed mixed‐effects model to partition the variance components from simulated ground motions of M<mi...
Runout model evaluation based on back-calculation of building damage
Katherine R. Barnhart, Jason W. Kean
2023, Conference Paper, E3S Web of Conferences
We evaluated the ability of three debris-flow runout models (RAMMS, FLO2D and D-Claw) to predict the number of damaged buildings in simulations of the 9 January 2019 Montecito, California, debris-flow event. Observations of building damage after the event were combined with OpenStreetMap building footprints to construct a database of all potentially...
Forecasting the inundation of postfire debris flows
Katherine R. Barnhart, Ryan P Jones, David L. George, Francis K. Rengers, Jason W. Kean
2023, Conference Paper, E3S Web of Conferences
In the semi-arid regions of the western United States, postfire debris flows are typically runoff generated. The U.S. Geological Survey has been studying the mechanisms of postfire debris-flow initiation for multiple decades to generate operational models for forecasting the timing, location, and magnitude of postfire debris flows. Here we discuss challenges...
Global methane emissions from rivers and streams
Gerard Rocher-Ros, Emily H. Stanley, Luke C. Loken, Nora J. Casson, Peter A. Raymond, Shaoda Liu, Giuseppe Amatulli, Ryan A. Sponseller
2023, Nature (621) 530-535
Methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas and its concentrations have tripled in the atmosphere since the industrial revolution. There is evidence that global warming has increased CH4 emissions from freshwater ecosystems<a id="ref-link-section-d293024e611" title="Yvon-Durocher, G. et al. Methane fluxes show consistent temperature dependence across microbial to ecosystem scales. Nature 507, 488–491...
A multi-ecosystem prioritization framework to balance competing habitat conservation needs of multiple species in decline
Nicholas J. Van Lanen, Jessica E. Shyvers, Courtney J. Duchardt, Cameron L. Aldridge
2023, Landscape Ecology (38) 2795-2813
ContextIndividual species often drive habitat restoration action; however, management under this paradigm may negatively affect non-target species. Prioritization frameworks which explicitly consider benefits to target species while minimizing consequences for non-target species may improve management strategies and outcomes.ObjectivesWe examined extents to which conifer removal, an approach...
A methodology to combine shaking and ground failure models for forecasting seismic damage to buried pipeline networks
N. Simon Kwong, Kishor S. Jaiswal
2023, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (113) 2574-2595
How does an earthquake affect buried pipeline networks? It is well known that the seismic performance of buried pipelines depends on ground failures (GFs) as well as strong ground shaking (SGS), but it is unclear how the various types of earthquake hazards should be collectively combined, as existing methodologies tend...
The 3D Elevation Program—Supporting Oregon's economy
Tom Carlson
2023, Fact Sheet 2023-3029
IntroductionOregon’s physical environments and vegetation are diverse. The varied geologic and climatic conditions combined with increasing population have created the need for high-quality elevation data that can be used for infrastructure management, forestry and wildfire management, agriculture, natural resources conservation, and other business uses. Critical applications that meet the State’s...
Modeling the effects of interior headland restoration on estuarine sediment transport processes in a marine-dominant estuary
Robert L. Jenkins III, Davina Passeri, Christopher G. Smith, David M. Thompson, Kathryn E.L. Smith
2023, Frontiers in Marine Science (10)
The effects of interior headland restoration on estuarine sediment transport processes were assessed through process-based numerical modeling. Three proposed interior headland restoration scenarios in the Grand Bay estuary (Mississippi/Alabama) were modeled using Delft3D to understand impacts on suspended sediment concentrations, bed level morphology, and sediment fluxes under present-day conditions and...
Geology and assessment of coal resources for the Cherokee coal bed in the Fort Union Formation, south-central Wyoming
Brian N. Shaffer, Ricardo A. Olea
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5067
The Cherokee coal bed is a locally thick and laterally continuous coal bed in the Overland Member of the Paleocene Fort Union Formation in south-central Wyoming. It represents a significant resource that is easily accessible and may be extractable through both surface and underground mining methods. A database of more...
Flood-inundation maps for Fourmile Creek at Silver Grove, Kentucky
Justin A. Boldt
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5068
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 3.4-mile reach of Fourmile Creek at Silver Grove, Kentucky, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the City of Silver Grove and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District. Because the City of Silver Grove is subject to flooding from...
Drought-vulnerability assessment of public water systems in West Virginia
Matthew R. Kearns, Kaycee E. Faunce, Terence Messinger
2023, Open-File Report 2023-1057
Water withdrawn from rivers and streams accounts for approximately 80 percent of the public water supply in West Virginia. Localized and (or) seasonal droughts may threaten future water availability in the state, particularly in rural communities located in the headwaters of unregulated watersheds. Monthly water withdrawal data obtained from the...
Predicting burn severity for integration with post-fire debris-flow hazard assessment: A case study from the Upper Colorado River Basin, USA
Adam Gerhard Wells, Todd Hawbaker, John Kevin Hiers, Jason W. Kean, Rachel A. Loehman, Paul F. Steblein
2023, International Journal of Wildland Fire (32) 1315-1331
Background: Burn severity significantly increases the likelihood and volume of post-wildfire debris flows. Pre-fire severity predictions can expedite mitigation efforts because precipitation contributing to these hazards often occurs shortly after wildfires, leaving little time for post-fire planning and management.Aim: The aim of this study was to predict burn severity using pre-fire conditions...
Conservation at the nexus of niches: Multidimensional niche modeling to improve management of Prairie Chub
Zachary D. Steffensmeier, Shannon K. Brewer, Maeghen Wedgeworth, Trevor A. Starks, Anthony W. Rodger, Erin Nguyen, Joshuah S. Perkin
2023, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (43) 1205-1224
ObjectiveA central challenge in applied ecology is understanding how organisms are spatially and temporally distributed and how management might be tailored to maintain or restore species distributions. The niche concept is central to understanding species distributions, but the diversity of niche definitions requires that multiple dimensions be...
