Geospatial association between adverse birth outcomes and arsenic in groundwater in New Hampshire, USA
Xun Shi, Joseph D. Ayotte, Akikazu Onda, Stephanie Miller, Judy Rees, Diane Gilbert-Diamond, Tracy L Onega, Jiang Gui, Margaret R. Karagas, John B Moeschler
2015, Environmental Geochemistry and Health (37) 333-351
There is increasing evidence of the role of arsenic in the etiology of adverse human reproductive outcomes. Because drinking water can be a major source of arsenic to pregnant women, the effect of arsenic exposure through drinking water on human birth may be revealed by a geospatial association between arsenic...
Icefield-to-ocean linkages across the northern Pacific coastal temperate rainforest ecosystem
Shad O’Neel, Eran Hood, Allison L. Bidlack, Sean W. Fleming, Mayumi L. Arimitsu, Anthony Arendt, Evan W. Burgess, Christopher J. Sergeant, Anne E. Beaudreau, Kristin Timm, Gregory D. Hayward, Joel H. Reynolds, Sanjay Pyare
2015, BioScience (65) 499-512
Rates of glacier mass loss in the northern Pacific coastal temperate rainforest (PCTR) are among the highest on Earth, and changes in glacier volume and extent will affect the flow regime and chemistry of coastal rivers, as well as the nearshore marine ecosystem of the Gulf of Alaska. Here we...
Glaciological and marine geological controls on terminus dynamics of Hubbard Glacier, southeast Alaska
Leigh A. Stearns, Gordon S. Hamilton, C. J. van der Veen, D. C. Finnegan, Shad O’Neel, J. B. Scheick, D. E. Lawson
2015, Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface (120) 1065-1081
Hubbard Glacier, located in southeast Alaska, is the world's largest non-polar tidewater glacier. It has been steadily advancing since it was first mapped in 1895; occasionally, the advance creates an ice or sediment dam that blocks a tributary fjord (Russell Fiord). The sustained advance raises the probability of long-term closure...
Rapid growth and genetic diversity retention in an isolated reintroduced black bear population in the central appalachians
Sean M. Murphy, John J. Cox, Joseph D. Clark, Benjamin J. Augustine, John T. Hast, Dan Gibbs, Michael Strunk, Steven Dobey
2015, Journal of Wildlife Management (79) 807-818
Animal reintroductions are important tools of wildlife management to restore species to their historical range, and they can also create unique opportunities to study population dynamics and genetics from founder events. We used non-invasive hair sampling in a systematic, closed-population capture-mark-recapture (CMR) study design at the Big South Fork (BSF)...
Genes indicative of zoonotic and swine pathogens are persistent in stream water and sediment following a swine manure spill
Sheridan K. Haack, Joseph W. Duris, Dana W. Kolpin, Lisa R. Fogarty, Heather E. Johnson, Kristen E. Gibson, Michael J. Focazio, Kellogg J. Schwab, Laura E. Hubbard, William T. Foreman
2015, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (81) 3430-3441
Manure spills to streams are relatively frequent, but no studies have characterized stream contamination with zoonotic and veterinary pathogens, or fecal chemicals, following a spill. We tested stream water and sediment over 25 days and downstream for 7.6 km for: fecal indicator bacteria (FIB); the fecal indicator chemicals cholesterol and...
A nonlinear, implicit one-line model to predict long-term shoreline change
Sean Vitousek, Patrick L. Barnard
2015, Conference Paper, The proceedings of the coastal sediments 2015
We present the formulation, validation, and application of a nonlinear, implicit one-line model to simulate long-term (decadal and longer) shoreline change. The purpose of the implicit numerical method presented here is to allow large time steps without sacrificing model stability compared to explicit approaches, and thereby improve computational efficiency. The...
Precise interpolar phasing of abrupt climate change during the last ice age
WAIS Divide Project Members, Christo Buizert, Betty M. Adrian, Jinho Ahn, Mary Albert, Richard B. Alley, Daniel Baggenstos, Thomas K. Bauska, Ryan C. Bay, Brian B. Bencivengo, Charles R. Bentley, Edward J. Brook, Nathan J. Chellman, Gary D. Clow, Jihong Cole-Dai, Howard Conway, Eric Cravens, Kurt M. Cuffey, Nelia W. Dunbar, Jon S. Edwards, John M. Fegyveresi, Dave G. Ferris, Joan J. Fitzpatrick, T. J. Fudge, Chris J. Gibson, Vasileios Gkinis, Joshua J. Goetz, Stephanie Gregory, Geoffrey Mill Hargreaves, Nels Iverson, Jay A. Johnson, Tyler R. Jones, Michael L. Kalk, Matthew J. Kippenhan, Bess G. Koffman, Karl Kreutz, Tanner W. Kuhl, Donald A. Lebar, James E. Lee, Shaun A. Marcott, Bradley R. Markle, Olivia J. Maselli, Joseph R. McConnell, Kenneth C. McGwire, Logan E. Mitchell, Nicolai B. Mortensen, Peter D. Neff, Kunihiko Nishiizumi, Richard M. Nunn, Anais J. Orsi, Daniel R. Pasteris, Joel B. Pedro, Erin C. Pettit, P. Buford Price, John C. Priscu, Rachael H. Rhodes, Julia L. Rosen, Andrew J. Schauer, Spruce W. Schoenemann, Paul J. Sendelbach, Jeffrey P. Severinghaus, Alexander J. Shturmakov, Michael Sigl, Kristina R. Slawny, Joseph M. Souney, Todd A. Sowers, Matthew K. Spencer, Eric J. Steig, Kendrick C. Taylor, Mark S. Twickler, Bruce H. Vaughn, Donald E. Voigt, Edwin D. Waddington, Kees C. Welten, Anthony W. Wendricks, James W. C. White, Mai Winstrup, Gifford J. Wong, Thomas E. Woodruff
2015, Nature (520) 661-665
The last glacial period exhibited abrupt Dansgaard–Oeschger climatic oscillations, evidence of which is preserved in a variety of Northern Hemisphere palaeoclimate archives1. Ice cores show that Antarctica cooled during...
Colored shaded-relief bathymetry, acoustic backscatter, and selected perspective views of the Inner Continental Borderland, southern California
Peter Dartnell, Neal W. Driscoll, Daniel S. Brothers, James E. Conrad, Jared Kluesner, Graham Kent, Brian D. Andrews
2015, Scientific Investigations Map 3324
In late 2013, Scripps Institution of Oceanography collected multibeam bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data of the Inner Continental Borderland Region, Southern California. The U.S. Geological Survey Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center processed these data, and this report provides the data in a number of different formats in addition to a...
U.S. Geological Survey quality-assurance plan for surface-water activities in Kansas, 2015
Colin C. Painter, Brian L. Loving
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1074
This Surface Water Quality-Assurance Plan documents the standards, policies, and procedures used by the Kansas Water Science Center (KSWSC) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for activities related to the collection, processing, storage, analysis, and publication of surface-water data....
Focused exhumation along megathrust splay faults in Prince William Sound, Alaska
Peter J. Haeussler, Phillip A Armstrong, Lee M Liberty, Kelly M Ferguson, Shaun P Finn, Jeannette C Arkle, Thomas L. Pratt
2015, Quaternary Science Reviews (113) 8-22
Megathrust splay faults are a common feature of accretionary prisms and can be important for generating tsunamis during some subduction zone earthquakes. Here we provide new evidence from Alaska that megathrust splay faults have been conduits for focused exhumation in the last 5 Ma. In most of central Prince William Sound,...
Simulating hydrologic response to climate change scenarios in four selected watersheds of New Hampshire
David M. Bjerklie, Joseph D. Ayotte, Matthew J. Cahillane
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5047
The State of New Hampshire has initiated a coordinated effort to proactively prepare for the effects of climate change on the natural and human resources of New Hampshire. An important aspect of this effort is to develop a vulnerability assessment of hydrologic response to climate change. The U.S. Geological Survey,...
Home range, habitat use, and movement patterns of non-native Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park, Florida, USA
Kristen M. Hart, Michael S. Cherkiss, Brian J. Smith, Frank J. Mazzotti, Ikuko Fujisaki, Ray W. Snow, Michael E. Dorcas
2015, Animal Biotelemetry (3)
Background Studies on the spatial ecology of invasive species provide critical information for conservation managers such as habitat preferences and identification of native species at risk of predation. To understand the spatial ecology of non-native Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus), now well-established in Everglades National Park and much of South Florida...
Assessing the components of adaptive capacity to improve conservation and management efforts under global change
Adrienne Nicotra, Erik A. Beever, Amanda Robertson, Gretchen Hofmann, John O’Leary
2015, Conservation Biology (29) 1268-1278
Natural-resource managers and other conservation practitioners are under unprecedented pressure to categorize and quantify the vulnerability of natural systems based on assessment of the exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of species to climate change. Despite the urgent need for these assessments, neither the theoretical basis of adaptive capacity nor the...
Species richness and distributions of boreal waterbirds in relation to nesting and brood-rearing habitats
Tyler L. Lewis, Mark S. Lindberg, Joel A. Schmutz, Mark R. Bertram, Adam J. Dubour
2015, Journal of Wildlife Management (79) 296-310
Identification of ecological factors that drive animal distributions allows us to understand why distributions vary temporally and spatially, and to develop models to predict future changes to populations–vital tools for effective wildlife management and conservation. For waterbird broods in the boreal forest, distributions are likely driven by factors affecting quality...
Projected changes in wildlife habitats in Arctic natural areas of northwest Alaska
Bruce G. Marcot, M. Torre Jorgenson, James P. Lawler, Colleen M. Handel, Anthony R. DeGange
2015, Climatic Change (130) 145-154
We project the effects of transitional changes among 60 vegetation and other land cover types (“ecotypes”) in northwest Alaska over the 21st century on habitats of 162 bird and 39 mammal species known or expected to occur regularly in the region. This analysis, encompassing a broad suite of arctic and...
Geologic map of Tooting crater, Amazonis Planitia region of Mars
Peter J. Mouginis-Mark
2015, Scientific Investigations Map 3297
Tooting crater has a diameter of 27.2 km, and formed on virtually flat lava flows within Amazonis Planitia ~1,300 km west of the summit of Olympus Mons volcano, where there appear to have been no other major topographic features prior to the impact. The crater formed in an area ~185...
Parent–offspring resemblance in colony-specific adult survival of cliff swallows
Charles R. Brown, Erin A. Roche, Mary Bomberger Brown
2015, Evolutionary Ecology (29) 537-550
Survival is a key component of fitness. Species that occupy discrete breeding colonies with different characteristics are often exposed to varying costs and benefits associated with group size or environmental conditions, and survival is an integrative net measure of these effects. We investigated the extent to which survival probability of...
Changes in erosion and flooding risk due to long-term and cyclic oceanographic trends
Thomas Wahl, Nathaniel G. Plant
2015, Geophysical Research Letters (42) 2943-2950
We assess temporal variations in waves and sea level, which are driving factors for beach erosion and coastal flooding in the northern Gulf of Mexico. We find that long-term trends in the relevant variables have caused an increase of ~30% in the erosion/flooding risk since the 1980s. Changes in the...
Hexavalent and total chromium at low reporting concentrations in source-water aquifers and surface waters used for public supply in Illinois, 2013
P.C. Mills, Richard P. Cobb
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5020
On the basis of their recent review of the human health effects of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] in public drinking water, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering the need for Federal regulation of Cr(VI). Presently, only total chromium is regulated, at a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 100 micrograms per...
Assessment of bauxite, clay, and laterite deposits in Afghanistan
Karine M. Renaud, Bruce R. Wardlaw, Bernard E. Hubbard
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1210
Bauxite-bearing rocks are present in several regions of Afghanistan; specifically, the southeast segment of the North Afghanistan Platform, the eastern parts of South Afghanistan, and within the Afghanistan-North and -South Pamir Fold Regions. Bauxite-bearing rocks occur at various stratigraphic levels, in lithologically different sequences of sedimentary rocks. The bauxites are...
Post-Nor'Ida coastal oblique aerial photographs collected from Ocean City, Maryland, to Hatteras, North Carolina, December 4, 2009
Karen L. M. Morgan, M. Dennis Krohn, Kristy K. Guy
2015, Data Series 930
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducts baseline and storm response photography missions to document and understand the changes in vulnerability of the Nation's coasts to extreme storms. The remnants of Tropical Storm Ida intensified to become a nor'easter (herein referred to as Nor'Ida). On December 4, 2009, the USGS conducted...
Estimation of monthly water yields and flows for 1951-2012 for the United States portion of the Great Lakes Basin with AFINCH
Carol L. Luukkonen, David J. Holtschlag, Howard W. Reeves, Christopher J. Hoard, Lori M. Fuller
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5192
Monthly water yields from 105,829 catchments and corresponding flows in 107,691 stream segments were estimated for water years 1951–2012 in the Great Lakes Basin in the United States. Both sets of estimates were computed by using the Analysis of Flows In Networks of CHannels (AFINCH) application within the NHDPlus geospatial...
Migratory Patterns of Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha Returning to a Large, Free-flowing River Basin
John H. Eiler, Allison N. Evans, Carl B. Schreck
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
Upriver movements were determined for Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha returning to the Yukon River, a large, virtually pristine river basin. These returns have declined dramatically since the late 1990s, and information is needed to better manage the run and facilitate conservation efforts. A total of 2,860 fish were radio tagged during 2002–2004....
Brown Trout removal effects on short-term survival and movement of Myxobolus cerebralis-resistant rainbow trout
Eric R. Fetherman, Dana L. Winkelman, Larissa L. Bailey, George J. Schisler, K. Davies
2015, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (144) 610-626
Following establishment of Myxobolus cerebralis (the parasite responsible for salmonid whirling disease) in Colorado, populations of Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykissexperienced significant declines, whereas Brown Trout Salmo trutta densities increased in many locations across the state, potentially influencing the success of M. cerebralis-resistant Rainbow Trout reintroductions. We examined the effects of Brown Trout removal on the short-term...
Lithology, hydrologic characteristics, and water quality of the Arkansas River Valley alluvial aquifer in the vicinity of Van Buren, Arkansas
Timothy M. Kresse, Drew A. Westerman, Rheannon M. Hart
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5044
A study to assess the potential of the Arkansas River Valley alluvial aquifer in the vicinity of Van Buren, Arkansas, as a viable source of public-supply water was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Little Rock, District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. An important study component...
