Evapotranspiration in the Nile Basin: Identifying dynamics and drivers, 2002–2011
Henok Alemu, Armel T. Kaptue, Gabriel Senay, Michael C. Wimberly, Geoffrey M. Henebry
2015, Water (7) 4914-1931
Analysis of the relationship between evapotranspiration (ET) and its natural and anthropogenic drivers is critical in water-limited basins such as the Nile. The spatiotemporal relationships of ET with rainfall and vegetation dynamics in the Nile Basin during 2002–2011 were analyzed using satellite-derived data. Non-parametric statistics were used to quantify ET-rainfall...
Paleodischarge of the Mojave River, southwestern U.S.A, investigated with single-pebble measurements of 10Be
Andrew J. Cyr, David M. Miller, Shannon A. Mahan
2015, Geosphere (11) 1158-1171
The paleohydrology of ephemeral stream systems is an important constraint on paleoclimatic conditions in arid environments, but remains difficult to constrain quantitatively. For example, sedimentary records of the size and extent of pluvial lakes in the Mojave Desert have been used as a proxy for Quaternary climate variability. Although the...
Comparing ecoregional classifications for natural areas management in the Klamath Region, USA
Daniel A. Sarr, Andrew Duff, Eric C. Dinger, Sarah L. Shafer, Michael Wing, Nathaniel E. Seavy, John D. Alexander
2015, Natural Areas Journal (35) 360-377
We compared three existing ecoregional classification schemes (Bailey, Omernik, and World Wildlife Fund) with two derived schemes (Omernik Revised and Climate Zones) to explore their effectiveness in explaining species distributions and to better understand natural resource geography in the Klamath Region, USA. We analyzed presence/absence data derived from digital distribution...
Use of phosphorus to reduce blooms of the benthic diatom Didymosphenia geminata in an oligotrophic stream
Daniel A. James, Max L. Bothwell, Steven R. Chipps, John Carreiro
2015, Freshwater Science (34) 1272-1281
Blooms of the benthic alga, Didymosphenia geminata [Lyngbye (Schmidt)], were first documented in Rapid Creek, South Dakota, in 2002 and have since been associated with changes to aquatic resources. Low concentration of P has been associated with D. geminata stalk development (i.e., blooms), so we considered elevating P as a...
Parameter estimation for groundwater models under uncertain irrigation data
Yonas Demissie, Albert J. Valocchi, Ximing Cai, Nicholas Brozovic, Gabriel Senay, Mekonnen Gebremichael
2015, Groundwater (53) 614-625
The success of modeling groundwater is strongly influenced by the accuracy of the model parameters that are used to characterize the subsurface system. However, the presence of uncertainty and possibly bias in groundwater model source/sink terms may lead to biased estimates of model parameters and model predictions when the standard...
Early Holocene Great Salt Lake
Charles G. Oviatt, David B. Madsen, David M. Miller, Robert S. Thompson, John P. McGeehin
2015, Quaternary Research (84) 57-68
Shorelines and surficial deposits (including buried forest-floor mats and organic-rich wetland sediments) show that Great Salt Lake did not rise higher than modern lake levels during the earliest Holocene (11.5–10.2 cal ka BP; 10–9 14C ka BP). During that period, finely laminated, organic-rich muds (sapropel) containing brine-shrimp cysts and...
Transport, dam passage, and size selection of adult Atlantic Salmon in the Penobscot River, Maine
Douglas B. Sigourney, Joseph D. Zydlewski, Edward Hughes, Oliver Cox
2015, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (35) 1164-1176
Prior to 2012, returning adult Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar had to pass through fishways at three dams in the lower section of the Penobscot River, Maine: Veazie Dam (river kilometer [rkm] 48; removed in 2013), Great Works Dam (rkm 60; removed in 2012), and Milford Dam (rkm 62). To facilitate...
Tracing the cycling and fate of the explosive 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene in coastal marine systems with a stable isotopic tracer, 15N-[TNT]
Richard W. Smith, Penny Vlahos, J.K. Bohlke, Thivanka Ariyarathna, Mark Ballentine, Christopher Cooper, Stephen Fallis, Thomas J. Groshens, Craig R. Tobias
2015, Environmental Science & Technology (49) 12223-12231
2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT) has been used as a military explosive for over a hundred years. Contamination concerns have arisen as a result of manufacturing and use on a large scale; however, despite decades of work addressing TNT contamination in the environment, its fate in marine ecosystems is not fully resolved. Here...
Evidence of a higher late-Holocene treeline along the Continental Divide in central Colorado
Paul E. Carrara, John McGeehin
2015, The Holocene (25) 1829-1837
Using a combination of 23 radiocarbon ages and annual ring counts from 18 Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine (Pinus aristata) remnants above the local present-day limits, a period of higher treeline has been determined for two sites near the Continental Divide in central Colorado. The highest remnants were found about 30 m...
Downscaling global land-use/land-cover projections for use in region-level state-and-transition simulation modeling
Jason T. Sherba, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Adam W. Davis, Owen P. Parker
2015, AIMS Environmental Science (2) 623-647
Global land-use/land-cover (LULC) change projections and historical datasets are typically available at coarse grid resolutions and are often incompatible with modeling applications at local to regional scales. The difficulty of downscaling and reapportioning global gridded LULC change projections to regional boundaries is a barrier to the use of these datasets...
Statistical analysis of soil geochemical data to identify pathfinders associated with mineral deposits: An example from the Coles Hill uranium deposit, Virginia, USA
Denise M. Levitan, Carl E. Zipper, Patricia Donovan, Madeline E. Schreiber, Robert R. Seal, Mark A. Engle, John A. Chermak, Robert J. Bodnar, Daniel K. Johnson, Joseph G. Aylor Jr.
2015, Journal of Geochemical Exploration (154) 238-251
Soil geochemical anomalies can be used to identify pathfinders in exploration for ore deposits. In this study, compositional data analysis is used with multivariate statistical methods to analyse soil geochemical data collected from the Coles Hill uranium deposit, Virginia, USA, to identify pathfinders associated with this deposit. Elemental compositions and...
Topographic, latitudinal and climatic distribution of Pinus coulteri: geographic range limits are not at the edge of the climate envelope
Nathalie I. Chardon, William K. Cornwell, Lorraine E. Flint, Alan L. Flint, David D. Ackerly
2015, Ecography (38) 590-601
With changing climate, many species are projected to move poleward or to higher elevations to track suitable climates. The prediction that species will move poleward assumes that geographically marginal populations are at the edge of the species' climatic range. We studied Pinus coulteri from the center to the northern (poleward)...
Tree mortality predicted from drought-induced vascular damage
William R.L. Anderegg, Alan L. Flint, Cho-ying Huang, Lorraine E. Flint, Joseph A. Berry, Frank W. Davis, John S. Sperry, Christopher B. Field
2015, Nature Geoscience (8) 367-371
The projected responses of forest ecosystems to warming and drying associated with twenty-first-century climate change vary widely from resiliency to widespread tree mortality1, <a id="ref-link-3"...
Enhanced microbial coalbed methane generation: A review of research, commercial activity, and remaining challenges
Daniel J. Ritter, David S. Vinson, Elliott P. Barnhart, Denise M. Akob, Matthew W. Fields, Al B. Cunningham, William H. Orem, Jennifer C. McIntosh
2015, International Journal of Coal Geology (146) 28-41
Coalbed methane (CBM) makes up a significant portion of the world’s natural gas resources. The discovery that approximately 20% of natural gas is microbial in origin has led to interest in microbially enhanced CBM (MECoM), which involves stimulating microorganisms to produce additional CBM from existing production wells. This paper reviews...
Flood Map for the Winooski River in Waterbury, Vermont, 2014
Scott A. Olson
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5077
From August 28 to 29, 2011, Tropical Storm Irene delivered rainfall ranging from approximately 4 to more than 7 inches in the Winooski River Basin in Vermont. The rainfall resulted in severe flooding throughout the basin and significant damage along the Winooski River. In response to the flooding, the U.S....
Geologic map of the Simcoe Mountains Volcanic Field, main central segment, Yakama Nation, Washington
Wes Hildreth, Judy Fierstein
2015, Scientific Investigations Map 3315
Mountainous parts of the Yakama Nation lands in south-central Washington are mostly covered by basaltic lava flows and cinder cones that make up the Simcoe Mountains volcanic field. The accompanying geologic map of the central part of the volcanic field has been produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on...
Integrating multiple distribution models to guide conservation efforts of an endangered toad
Michael L. Treglia, Robert N. Fisher, Lee A. Fitzgerald
2015, PLoS ONE (10) 1-18
Species distribution models are used for numerous purposes such as predicting changes in species’ ranges and identifying biodiversity hotspots. Although implications of distribution models for conservation are often implicit, few studies use these tools explicitly to inform conservation efforts. Herein, we illustrate how multiple distribution models developed using distinct sets...
Holocene diatom-derived climate history of Medicine Lake, northern California, USA
Scott W. Starratt
2015, CIRMOUNT Mountain Views (9) 12-20
The Medicine Lake record is unusual because it responds not only to local and regional climate signals, but changes in conditions on Medicine Lake volcano during the Holocene. Ice retreated within the Medicine Lake volcano occurred around 11,400 years ago, followed by filling of two sub-basins. The absence of Cyclotella...
Sediment conditions in the San Antonio River Basin downstream from San Antonio, Texas, 2000-13
Darwin J. Ockerman, J. Ryan Banta, Cassi L. Crow, Stephen P. Opsahl
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3043
Sediment plays an important role in the ecological health of rivers and estuaries and consequently is an important issue for water-resource managers. To better understand sediment characteristics in the San Antonio River Basin, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio River Authority, completed a two-part study in...
California State Waters Map Series — Offshore of Point Reyes, California
Janet Watt, Peter Dartnell, Nadine E. Golden, H. Gary Greene, Mercedes D. Erdey, Guy R. Cochrane, Samuel Y. Johnson, Stephen R. Hartwell, Rikk G. Kvitek, Michael W. Manson, Charles A. Endris, Bryan E. Dieter, Ray W. Sliter, Lisa M. Krigsman, Erik Lowe, John L. Chinn
Janet Watt, Susan A. Cochran, editor(s)
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1114
This publication about the Offshore of Point Reyes map area includes ten map sheets that contain explanatory text, in addition to this descriptive pamphlet and a data catalog of geographic information system (GIS) files. Sheets 1, 2, and 3 combine data from four different sonar surveys to generate comprehensive high-resolution...
Assessment of interim flow water-quality data of the San Joaquin River restoration program and implications for fishes, California, 2009-11
Marissa L. Wulff, Larry R. Brown
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1093
After more than 50 years of extensive water diversion for urban and agriculture use, a major settlement was reached among the U.S. Departments of the Interior and Commerce, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Friant Water Users Authority in an effort to restore the San Joaquin River. The settlement...
Ocean circulation and biogeochemistry moderate interannual and decadal surface water pH changes in the Sargasso Sea
Nathalie F. Goodkin, Bo-Shian Wang, Chen-Feng You, Konrad Hughen, Nancy G. Prouty, Nicholas Bates, Scott Doney
2015, Geophysical Research Letters (42) 4931-4939
The oceans absorb anthropogenic CO2 from the atmosphere, lowering surface ocean pH, a concern for calcifying marine organisms. The impact of ocean acidification is challenging to predict as each species appears to respond differently and because our knowledge of natural changes to ocean pH is limited in both time and...
Geochemical reanalysis of historical U.S. Geological Survey sediment samples from the Inmachuk, Kugruk, Kiwalik, and Koyuk River drainages, Granite Mountain, and the northern Darby Mountains, Bendeleben, Candle, Kotzebue, and Solomon quadrangles, Alaska
Melanie B. Werdon, Matthew Granitto, Jaime S. Azain
2015, Report
The State of Alaska’s Strategic and Critical Minerals (SCM) Assessment project, a State-funded Capital Improvement Project (CIP), is designed to evaluate Alaska’s statewide potential for SCM resources. The SCM Assessment is being implemented by the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS), and involves obtaining new airborne-geophysical, geological, and...
Hydrologic influences on water-level changes in the Eastern Snake River Plain aquifer at and near the Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, 1949-2014
Roy C. Bartholomay, Brian V. Twining
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5085
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, has maintained a water-level monitoring program at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) since 1949 to systematically measure water levels to provide long-term information on groundwater recharge, discharge, movement, and storage in the eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) aquifer....
Reproductive biology of Ambystoma salamanders in the southeastern United States
Brad M. Glorioso, J. Hardin Waddle, J. M. Hefner
2015, Herpetology Notes (8) 347-356
Reproductive aspects of Ambystoma salamanders were investigated at sites in Louisiana (2010–12) and Mississippi (2013). Three species occurred at the Louisiana site, Spotted Salamander (A. maculatum), Marbled Salamander (A. opacum), and Mole Salamander (A. talpoideum), whereas only Spotted Salamanders were studied at the Mississippi site. A total of 162 and...
