Simulated high-latitude soil thermal dynamics during the past four decades
S. Peng, P. Ciais, T. Wang, I. Gouttevin, A. D. McGuire, D. Lawrence, E. Burke, X. Chen, C. Delire, C. Koven, A. MacDougall, A. Rinke, K. Saito, W. Zhang, R. Alkama, T. J. Bohn, B. Decharme, T. Hajima, D. Ji, D.P. Lettenmaier, P.A. Miller, J.C. Moore, B. Smith, T. Sueyoshi
2015, Cryosphere Discussions (9) 2301-2337
Soil temperature (Ts ) change is a key indicator of the dynamics of permafrost. On seasonal and inter-annual time scales, the variability of Ts determines the active layer depth, which regulates hydrological soil properties and biogeochemical processes. On the multi-decadal scale, increasing T 5 s not only drives permafrost thaw/retreat,...
Predicting ecological responses of the Florida Everglades to possible future climate scenarios: Introduction
Nicholas G. Aumen, Karl E Havens, G. Ronnie Best, Leonard Berry
2015, Environmental Management (55) 741-748
Florida’s Everglades stretch from the headwaters of the Kissimmee River near Orlando to Florida Bay. Under natural conditions in this flat landscape, water flowed slowly downstream as broad, shallow sheet flow. The ecosystem is markedly different now, altered by nutrient pollution and construction of canals, levees, and water control structures...
Characterization of hydraulic fracturing flowback water in Colorado: Implications for water treatment
Yaal Lester, Imma Ferrer, E. Michael Thurman, Kurban A. Sitterley, Julie A. Korak, George R. Aiken, Karl G. Linden
2015, Science of the Total Environment (512-513) 637-644
A suite of analytical tools was applied to thoroughly analyze the chemical composition of an oil/gas well flowback water from the Denver–Julesburg (DJ) basin in Colorado, and the water quality data was translated to propose effective treatment solutions tailored to specific reuse goals. Analysis included bulk quality parameters, trace organic...
Landowner perceptions of three types of boating in the Saranac Lakes area of New York State׳s Adirondack Park
Diane Kuehn, Rudy Schuster, Erik Nordman
2015, Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism (9) 53-63
In order for natural resource managers to better understand conflicting landowner perspectives related to non-motorized, motorized, and personal watercraft use, this study examines the demographic and experiential characteristics, values, attitudes, and beliefs of landowners in the Saranac Lakes area of the Adirondack Park in New York State. A mixed-methods approach,...
Polygonal tundra geomorphological change in response to warming alters future CO2 and CH4 flux on the Barrow Peninsula
Mark J. Lara, A. David McGuire, Eugénie S. Euskirchen, Craig E. Tweedie, Kenneth M. Hinkel, Alexei N. Skurikhin, Vladimir E. Romanovsky, Guido Grosse, W. Robert Bolton, Helene Genet
2015, Global Change Biology (21) 1634-1651
The landscape of the Barrow Peninsula in northern Alaska is thought to have formed over centuries to millennia, and is now dominated by ice-wedge polygonal tundra that spans drained thaw-lake basins and interstitial tundra. In nearby tundra regions, studies have identified a rapid increase in thermokarst formation (i.e., pits) over...
Masked expression of life-history traits in a highly variable environment
Jason A. DeBoer, Joseph J. Fontaine, Christopher J. Chizinski, Kevin L. Pope
2015, Great Plains Research (25) 25-38
Differing life-history strategies may act as a constraint on reproductive expression that ultimately limits the ability of individual species to respond to changes in the magnitude or frequency of environmental variation, and potentially underlies the variation often inherent in phenotypic and evolved responses to anthropogenic change. Alternatively, if there...
Energy development and avian nest survival in Wyoming, USA: A test of a common disturbance index
Matthew G. Hethcoat, Anna D. Chalfoun
2015, Biological Conservation (184) 327-334
Global energy demands continue to result in new and emerging sources of anthropogenic disturbance to populations and systems. Here, we assessed the influence of natural gas development on a critical component of fitness (nest survival) for Brewer’s sparrow (Spizella breweri), sagebrush sparrow (Artemisiospiza nevadensis), and sage thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus), three...
Evaluating physical habitat and water chemistry data from statewide stream monitoring programs to establish least-impacted conditions in Washington State
Siri K. Wilmoth, Kathryn M. Irvine, Chad Larson
2015, Report
Various GIS-generated land-use predictor variables, physical habitat metrics, and water chemistry variables from 75 reference streams and 351 randomly sampled sites throughout Washington State were evaluated for effectiveness at discriminating reference from random sites within level III ecoregions. A combination of multivariate clustering and ordination techniques were used. We describe average...
Using stable isotopes of carbon to investigate the seasonal variation of carbon transfer in a northwestern Arkansas cave
Katherine J. Knierim, Erik Pollock, Phillip D. Hays, Jam Khojasteh
2015, Journal of Cave and Karst Studies (77) 12-27
Stable-isotope analyses are valuable in karst settings, where characterizing biogeochemical cycling of carbon along groundwater flow paths is critical for understanding and protecting sensitive cave and karst water resources. This study quantified the seasonal changes in concentration and isotopic composition (δ13C) of aqueous and gaseous carbon species—dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC)...
Coastal evidence for Holocene subduction-zone earthquakes and tsunamis in central Chile
Tina Dure, Marco Cisternas, Benjamin Horton, Lisa Ely, Alan R. Nelson, Robert L. Wesson, Jessica Pilarczyk
2015, Quaternary Science Reviews (113) 93-111
The ∼500-year historical record of seismicity along the central Chile coast (30–34°S) is characterized by a series of ∼M 8.0–8.5 earthquakes followed by low tsunamis (<4 m) occurring on the megathrust about every 80 years. One exception is the AD 1730 great earthquake (M 9.0–9.5) and high tsunami (>10 m), but the...
Testing a small UAS for mapping artisanal diamond mining sites in Africa
Katherine C. Malpeli, Peter G. Chirico
2015, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing (81) 258-263
Remote sensing technology is advancing at an unprecedented rate. At the forefront of the new technological developments are unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The advent of small, lightweight, low-cost, and user-friendly UAS is greatly expanding the potential applications of remote sensing technology and improving the set of tools available to researchers...
Insufficient sampling to identify species affected by turbine collisions
Julie A. Beston, James E. Diffendorfer, Scott Loss
2015, Journal of Wildlife Management (79) 513-517
We compared the number of avian species detected and the sampling effort during fatality monitoring at 50 North American wind facilities. Facilities with short intervals between sampling events and high effort detected more species, but many facilities appeared undersampled. Species accumulation curves for 2 wind facilities studied for more than...
Seismic source dynamics of gas-piston activity at Kı̄lauea Volcano, Hawai‘i
Bernard A. Chouet, Phillip B. Dawson
2015, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (120) 2525-2560
Since 2008, eruptive activity at the summit of Kı̄lauea Volcano, Hawai‘i has been confined to the new Overlook pit crater within the Halema‘uma‘u Crater. Among the broad range of magmatic processes observed in the new pit are recurring episodes of gas pistoning. The gas-piston activity is accompanied by seismic signals...
Post-White-nose syndrome trends in Virginia’s cave bats, 2008-2013
Karen E. Powers, Richard J. Reynolds, Wil Orndorff, W. Mark Ford, Christopher S. Hobson
2015, Journal of Ecology and the Natural Environment (7) 113-123
Since its 2009 detection in Virginia hibernacula, the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans causing White-nose Syndrome (WNS) has had a marked impact on cave bats locally. From 2008-2013, we documented numeric and physiologic changes in cave bats through fall swarm (FS), early hibernation (EH), and late hibernation (LH) capture and banding...
Total protein concentration and diagnostic test results for gray wolf (Canis lupus) serum using Nobuto filter paper strips
Rocio F. Jara, Carolina Sepulveda, S. Ip, Michael D. Samuel
2015, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (51) 475-478
Nobuto filter paper strips are widely used for storing blood-serum samples, but the recovery of proteins from these strips following rehydration is unknown. Poor recovery of proteins could reduce the concentration of antibodies and antigens and reduce the sensitivity of diagnostic assays. We compared the protein concentration, and its association...
Diverse juvenile life-history behaviours contribute to the spawning stock of an anadromous fish population
Timothy E. Walsworth, Daniel E. Schindler, Jennifer R. Griffiths, Christian E. Zimmerman
2015, Ecology of Freshwater Fish (24) 204-213
Habitat quality often varies substantially across space and time, producing a shifting mosaic of growth and mortality trade-offs across watersheds. Traditional studies of juvenile habitat use have emphasised the evolution of single optimal strategies that maximise recruitment to adulthood and eventual fitness. However, linking the distribution of individual behaviours that...
Slab melting beneath the Cascades Arc driven by dehydration of altered oceanic peridotite
Kristina J Walowski, Paul J. Wallace, E.H. Hauri, I. Wada, Michael A. Clynne
2015, Nature Geoscience (8) 404-408
Water is returned to Earth’s interior at subduction zones. However, the processes and pathways by which water leaves the subducting plate and causes melting beneath volcanic arcs are complex; the source of the water—subducting sediment, altered oceanic crust, or hydrated mantle in the downgoing plate—is debated; and the role of...
Sampling of sea ducks for influenza A viruses in Alaska during winter provides lack of evidence for epidemiological peak of infection.
Andrew M. Ramey, Andrew B. Reeves, Rebecca L. Poulson, Jeff Wasley, Daniel Esler, David E. Stalknecht
2015, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (51) 938-941
Sampling of sea ducks for influenza A viruses in Alaska during winter provided no evidence for an epidemiologic peak of infection. Isolates were recovered, however, that provide information on viral diversity and dispersal that may not be realized through sampling efforts focused on other avian taxa....
Consequences of habitat change and resource selection specialization for population limitation in cavity-nesting birds
Thomas E. Martin
2015, Journal of Applied Ecology (52) 475-485
Resource selection specialization may increase vulnerability of populations to environmental change. One environmental change that may negatively impact some populations is the broad decline of quaking aspen Populus tremuloides, a preferred nest tree of cavity-nesting organisms who are commonly limited by nest-site availability. However, the long-term consequences of...
A tribute to George Plafker
Gary S. Fuis, Peter J. Haeussler, Brian F. Atwater
2015, Quaternary Science Reviews (113) 3-7
In a long and distinguished career, George Plafker made fundamental advances in understanding of megathrust tectonics, tsunami generation, paleoseismology, crustal neotectonics, and Alaskan geology, chiefly by means of geological field observations. George discovered that giant earthquakes result from tens of meters of seismic slip on subduction megathrusts, and he did this...
Expanding metal mixture toxicity models to natural stream and lake invertebrate communities
Laurie S. Balistrieri, Christopher A. Mebane, Travis S. Schmidt, William (Bill) Keller
2015, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (34) 761-776
A modeling approach that was used to predict the toxicity of dissolved single and multiple metals to trout is extended to stream benthic macroinvertebrates, freshwater zooplankton, and Daphnia magna. The approach predicts the accumulation of toxicants (H, Al, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in organisms using 3 equilibrium accumulation...
Reconnaissance investigation of the Lisburne Group in the Cobblestone Creek area, Chandler Lake quadrangle, Alaska
Julie A. Dumoulin, Michael T. Whalen
M. A. Wartes, P. L. Decker, editor(s)
2015, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Preliminary Interpretive Report 2015-2
A reconnaissance investigation of the Carboniferous Lisburne Group in the Cobblestone Creek area, Chandler Lake Quadrangle, yields insights into its resource potential and regional relations. Locally porous vuggy dolostone with hydrocarbon reservoir potential occurs in the lower Lisburne in the three most southerly of five thrust sheets, and contains traces...
Sources of fine-grained sediment in the Linganore Creek watershed, Frederick and Carroll Counties, Maryland, 2008-10
Allen C. Gellis, Gregory B. Noe, John W. Clune, Michael K. Myers, Cliff R. Hupp, Edward R. Schenk, Gregory E. Schwarz
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5147
Sediment fingerprinting quantifies the delivery of fine-grained sediment from a watershed and sediment-budget measurements quantify the erosion and deposition of fine-grained sediment. Both approaches were used in the agricultural and forested 147-square-kilometer (km2) Linganore Creek watershed in Maryland from August 1, 2008 through December 31, 2010, to determine the sources...
A comparison between boat-based and diver-based methods for quantifying coral bleaching
David G. Zawada, Rob Ruzicka, Michael A. Colella
2015, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology (467) 39-44
Recent increases in both the frequency and severity of coral bleaching events have spurred numerous surveys to quantify the immediate impacts and monitor the subsequent community response. Most of these efforts utilize conventional diver-based methods, which are inherently time-consuming, expensive, and limited in spatial scope unless they deploy large teams...
U.S. Geological Survey Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Roadmap 2014
Jill J. Cress, Michael E. Hutt, Jeff L. Sloan, Mark A. Bauer, Mark R. Feller, Susan E. Goplen
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1032
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is responsible for protecting the natural resources and heritage contained on almost 20 percent of the land in the United States. This responsibility requires acquisition of remotely sensed data throughout vast lands, including areas that are remote and potentially dangerous to access. One...
