Developing a geomorphic approach for ranking watersheds for rehabilitation, Zuni Indian Reservation, New Mexico
A. C. Gellis, A. Cheama, S.M. Lalio
2001, Geomorphology (37) 105-134
As a result of past erosion problems on the Zuni Indian Reservation in western New Mexico, the US Congress in 1990 authorized the Zuni Tribe to begin a program for watershed rehabilitation. This paper describes an approach to rank the most appropriate watersheds for rehabilitation for the Zuni Reservation. The...
Effect of scale on the behavior of atrazine in surface waters
P. D. Capel, S.J. Larson
2001, Environmental Science & Technology (35) 648-657
Field runoff is an important transport mechanism by which agricultural pesticides, including atrazine, move into the hydrologic environment. Atrazine is chosen because it is widely used, is transported in runoff relatively easily, is widely observed in surface waters, and has relatively little loss in the stream network. Data on runoff...
Calibration of the DRASTIC ground water vulnerability mapping method
M.G. Rupert
2001, Ground Water (39) 625-630
Ground water vulnerability maps developed using the DRASTIC method have been produced in many parts of the world. Comparisons of those maps with actual ground water quality data have shown that the DRASTIC method is typically a poor predictor of ground water contamination. This study significantly improved the effectiveness of...
Enhanced algorithm performance for land cover classification from remotely sensed data using bagging and boosting
J.C.-W. Chan, C. Huang, R. DeFries
2001, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing (39) 693-695
Two ensemble methods, bagging and boosting, were investigated for improving algorithm performance. Our results confirmed the theoretical explanation [1] that bagging improves unstable, but not stable, learning algorithms. While boosting enhanced accuracy of a weak learner, its behavior is subject to the characteristics of each learning algorithm....
Forest impact estimated with NOAA AVHRR and landsat TM data related to an empirical hurricane wind-field distribution
Elijah W. Ramsey III, M.E. Hodgson, S.K. Sapkota, G.A. Nelson
2001, Remote Sensing of Environment (77) 279-292
An empirical model was used to relate forest type and hurricane-impact distribution with wind speed and duration to explain the variation of hurricane damage among forest types along the Atchafalaya River basin of coastal Louisiana. Forest-type distribution was derived from Landsat Thematic Mapper image data, hurricane-impact distribution from a suite...
Application of a nonlinear slug test model
C.D. McElwee
2001, Ground Water (39) 737-744
Knowledge of the hydraulic conductivity distribution is of utmost importance in understanding the dynamics of an aquifer and in planning the consequences of any action taken upon that aquifer. Slug tests have been used extensively to measure hydraulic conductivity in the last 50 years since Hvorslev's (1951) work. A general...
Carbon dynamics within agricultural and native sites in the loess region of Western lowa
K.L. Manies, J.W. Harden, L. Kramer, W.J. Parton
2001, Global Change Biology (7) 545-555
In order to quantify the historical changes in carbon storage that result from agricultural conversion, this study compared the carbon dynamics of two sites in the loess region of Iowa: a native prairie and a cropland. Field data were obtained to determine present-day carbon storage and its variability within a...
Nitrogen input to the Gulf of Mexico
D. A. Goolsby, W.A. Battaglin, Brent T. Aulenbach, R. P. Hooper
2001, Conference Paper
Historical streamflow and concentration data were used in regression models to estimate the annual flux of nitrogen (N) to the Gulf of Mexico and to determine where the nitrogen originates within the Mississippi Basin. Results show that for 1980-1996 the mean annual total N flux to the Gulf of Mexico...
U.S. Geological Survey programs and investigations related to soil and water conservation
W. R. Osterkamp, J. R. Gray
2001, International Journal of Sediment Research (16) 421-429
The U.S. Geological Survey has a rich tradition of collecting hydrologic data, especially for fluxes of water and suspended sediment, that provide a foundation for studies of soil and water conservation. Applied and basic research has included investigations of the effects of land use on rangelands, croplands, and forests; hazards...
Soil efflux and total emission rates of magmatic CO2 at the horseshoe lake tree kill, mammoth mountain, California, 1995-1999
T.M. Gerlach, M.P. Doukas, K.A. McGee, R. Kessler
2001, Chemical Geology (177) 101-116
We report the results of eight soil CO2 efflux surveys by the closed circulation chamber method at the Horseshoe Lake tree kill (HLTK) - the largest tree kill on Mammoth Mountain. The surveys were undertaken from 1995 to 1999 to constrain total HLTK CO2 emissions and to evaluate occasional efflux...
Elevated carbon dioxide flux at the Dixie Valley geothermal field, Nevada; relations between surface phenomena and the geothermal reservoir
D. Bergfeld, F. Goff, C. J. Janik
2001, Chemical Geology (177) 43-66
In the later part of the 1990s, a large die-off of desert shrubs occurred over an approximately 1 km2 area in the northwestern section of the Dixie Valley (DV) geothermal field. This paper reports results from accumulation-chamber measurements of soil CO2 flux from locations in the dead zone and stable...
A metadata initiative for global information discovery
E. Christian
2001, Government Information Quarterly (18) 209-221
The Global Information Locator Service (GILS) encompasses a global vision framed by the fundamental values of open societies. Societal values such as a free flow of information impose certain requirements on the society's information infrastructure. These requirements in turn shape the various laws, policies, standards, and technologies that determine the...
Determination of variables in the prediction of strontium distribution coefficients for selected sediments
M.N. Pace, J.J. Rosentreter, R. C. Bartholomay
2001, Environmental Geology (40) 993-1002
Idaho State University and the US Geological Survey, in cooperation with the US Department of Energy, conducted a study to determine and evaluate strontium distribution coefficients (Kds) of subsurface materials at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). The Kds were determined to aid in assessing the variability of...
Determination of the sources of nitrate contamination in karst springs using isotopic and chemical indicators
S.V. Panno, Keith C. Hackley, H.-H. Hwang, W.R. Kelly
2001, Chemical Geology (179) 113-128
The sources of nitrate (NO-3) in groundwater of the shallow karst aquifer in southwestern Illinois' sinkhole plain were investigated using chemical and isotopic techniques. The groundwater in this aquifer is an important source of potable water for about half of the residents of the sinkhole plain area. Previous work has...
Constraints on dike propagation from continuous GPS measurements
P. Segall, Peter Cervelli, S. Owen, M. Lisowski, Asta Mikijus
2001, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (106) 19301-19317
The January 1997 East Rift Zone eruption on Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, occurred within a network of continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers. The GPS measurements reveal the temporal history of deformation during dike intrusion, beginning ∼8 hours prior to the onset of the eruption. The dike volume as a function...
Sample-size requirements for evaluating population size structure
J.C. Vokoun, C.F. Rabeni, J.S. Stanovick
2001, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (21) 660-665
A method with an accompanying computer program is described to estimate the number of individuals needed to construct a sample length-frequency with a given accuracy and precision. First, a reference length-frequency assumed to be accurate for a particular sampling gear and collection strategy was constructed. Bootstrap procedures created length-frequencies with...
Empirical assessment of indices of prey importance in the diets of predacious fish
H. Liao, C.L. Pierce, J. G. Larscheid
2001, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (130) 583-591
Determining the importance of prey taxa in the diets of predacious species is a frequent objective in fisheries research. Various indices of prey importance are in common use, and all give different results because of their emphasis on different aspects of fish diets. We explored these differences by empirically comparing...
Reproductive ecology and demography of the 'Akohekohe
John C. Simon, Thane K. Pratt, Kim E. Berlin, James R. Kowalsky
2001, Condor (103) 736-745
The ‘Ākohekohe (Palmeria dolei) is an endangered Hawaiian honeycreeper endemic to the montane rain forests of east Maui in the Hawaiian Islands. We investigated ‘Ākohekohe nesting ecology using color-banded birds for the first time as a background to understanding the species' conservation. From 1994–1997, we color-banded 78 individuals, located and...
Volcano monitoring using the Global Positioning System: Filtering strategies
K.M. Larson, Peter Cervelli, M. Lisowski, Asta Mikijus, P. Segall, S. Owen
2001, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (106) 19453-19464
Permanent Global Positioning System (GPS) networks are routinely used for producing improved orbits and monitoring secular tectonic deformation. For these applications, data are transferred to an analysis center each day and routinely processed in 24-hour segments. To use GPS for monitoring volcanic events, which may last only a few hours,...
Evidence that coded-wire-tagging procedures can enhance transmission of Renibacterium salmoninarum in chinook salmon
D.G. Elliott, R.J. Pascho
2001, Journal of Aquatic Animal Health (13) 181-193
Binary coded wire tags (CWTs) are used extensively for identification and management of anadromous salmonid populations. A study of bacterial kidney disease (BKD) in two brood year groups of hatchery-reared spring chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha provided strong evidence that horizontal transmission of Renibacterium salmoninarum, the causative agent of BKD, might...
Earthquake shaking — Finding the "hot spots"
Edward H. Field, Lucile Jones, Tom Jordan, Mark Benthien, Lisa Wald
2001, Fact Sheet 001-01
A new Southern California Earthquake Center study has quantified how local geologic conditions affect the shaking experienced in an earthquake. The important geologic factors at a site are softness of the rock or soil near the surface and thickness of the sediments above hard bedrock. Even when these 'site effects'...
The behaviour of 39 pesticides in surface waters as a function of scale
P. D. Capel, S.J. Larson, T. A. Winterstein
2001, Hydrological Processes (15) 1251-1269
A portion of applied pesticides runs off agricultural fields and is transported through surface waters. In this study, the behaviour of 39 pesticides is examined as a function of scale across 14 orders of magnitude from the field to the ocean. Data on pesticide loads in streams from two US...
Moose, caribou, and grizzly bear distribution in relation to road traffic in Denali National Park, Alaska
A. C. Yost, R.G. Wright
2001, Arctic (54) 41-48
Park managers are concerned that moose (Alces alces), caribou (Rangifer tarandus), and grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) may be avoiding areas along the 130 km road through Denali National Park as a result of high traffic volume, thus decreasing opportunities for visitors to view wildlife. A wildlife monitoring system was developed in...
Fire and vegetation history of the Jemez Mountains
Craig D. Allen
Peggy S. Johnson, editor(s)
2001, New Mexico Decision-Makers Field Guide 1
Historic patterns of fire occurrence and vegetation change in the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico have been described in detail by using multiple lines of evidence. Data sources include old aerial and ground-based photographs, historic records, charcoal deposits from bogs, fire-scarred trees (Figure 1), tree-ring reconstructions of precipitation, and...
Effects of gull predation and weather on survival of emperor goose goslings
Joel A. Schmutz, Bryan F.J. Manly, Christian P. Dau
2001, Journal of Wildlife Management (65) 248-257
Numbers of emperor geese (Chen canagica) have remained depressed since the mid-1980s. Despite increases in glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus), a primary predator of goslings, little information existed to assess whether recent patterns of gosling survival have been a major factor affecting population dynamics. We used observations of known families of...
