Alternative standardization approaches to improving streamflow reconstructions with ring-width indices of riparian trees
David M. Meko, Jonathan M. Friedman, Ramzi Touchan, Jesse R. Edmondson, Eleanor R. Griffin, Julian A. Scott
2015, The Holocene (25) 1093-1101
Old, multi-aged populations of riparian trees provide an opportunity to improve reconstructions of streamflow. Here, ring widths of 394 plains cottonwood (Populus deltoids, ssp. monilifera) trees in the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota, are used to reconstruct streamflow along the Little Missouri River (LMR), North Dakota,...
Water quality of groundwater and stream base flow in the Marcellus Shale Gas Field of the Monongahela River Basin, West Virginia, 2011-12
Douglas B. Chambers, Mark D. Kozar, Terence Messinger, Michon L. Mulder, Adam J. Pelak, Jeremy S. White
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5233
The Marcellus Shale gas field underlies portions of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Development of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technology led to extensive development of gas from the Marcellus Shale beginning about 2007. The need to identify and monitor changes in water-quality conditions related...
Landsat surface reflectance data
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3034
Landsat satellite data have been produced, archived, and distributed by the U.S. Geological Survey since 1972. Users rely on these data for historical study of land surface change and require consistent radiometric data processed to the highest science standards. In support of the guidelines established through the Global Climate Observing...
Land-use impacts on water resources and protected areas: applications of state-and-transition simulation modeling of future scenarios
Tamara Wilson, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Jason T. Sherba, Dick Cameron
2015, Conference Paper, AIMS Environmental Science
Human land use will increasingly contribute to habitat loss and water shortages in California, given future population projections and associated land-use demand. Understanding how land-use change may impact future water use and where existing protected areas may be threatened by land-use conversion will be important if effective, sustainable management approaches...
Digital representation of oil and natural gas well pad scars in southwest Wyoming: 2012 update
Steven L. Garman, Jamie L. McBeth
2015, Data Series 934
The recent proliferation of oil and natural gas energy development in the Greater Green River Basin of southwest Wyoming has accentuated the need to understand wildlife responses to this development. The location and extent of surface disturbance that is created by oil and natural gas well pad scars are key...
Effects and empirical critical loads of Nitrogen for ecoregions of the United States
Linda H. Pardo, Molly J. Robin-Abbott, Mark E. Fenn, Christine L. Goodale, Linda H. Geiser, Charles T. Driscoll, Edith B. Allen, Jill Baron, Roland Bobbink, William D. Bowman, C M Clark, B. Emmett, Frank S Gilliam, Tara L. Greaver, Sharon J Hall, Erik A. Lilleskov, Lingli Liu, Jason A. Lynch, Knute J Nadelhoffer, Steven S. Perakis, John L Stoddard, Kathleen C. Weathers, Robin L. Dennis
2015, Book chapter, Critical loads and dynamic risk assessments
Human activity in the last century has increased nitrogen (N) deposition to a level that has caused or is likely to cause alterations to the structure and function of many ecosystems across the United States. We synthesized current research relating atmospheric N deposition to effects on terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems...
Physical abrasion of mafic minerals and basalt grains: application to Martian aeolian deposits
Carin Cornwall, Joshua L. Bandfield, Timothy N. Titus, B. C. Schreiber, D. R. Montgomery
2015, Icarus (256) 13-21
Sediment maturity, or the mineralogical and physical characterization of sediment deposits, has been used to locate sediment source, transport medium and distance, weathering processes, and paleoenvironments on Earth. Mature terrestrial sands are dominated by quartz, which is abundant in source lithologies on Earth and is physically and chemically stable under...
Turbines and terrestrial vertebrates: variation in tortoise survivorship between a wind energy facility and an adjacent undisturbed wildland area in the desert southwest (USA)
Mickey Agha, Jeffrey E. Lovich, Joshua R. Ennen, Benjamin J. Augustine, Terence R. Arundel, Mason O. Murphy, Kathie Meyer-Wilkins, Curtis Bjurlin, David F. Delaney, Jessica Briggs, Meaghan Austin, Sheila V. Madrak, Steven J. Price
2015, Environmental Management (56) 332-341
With the recent increase in utility-scale wind energy development, researchers have become increasingly concerned how this activity will affect wildlife and their habitat. To understand the potential impacts of wind energy facilities (WEF) post-construction (i.e., operation and maintenance) on wildlife, we compared differences in activity centers and survivorship of Agassiz's...
Minerals, lands, and geology for the common defence and general welfare, Volume 4, 1939-1961: A history of geology in relation to the development of public-land, federal science, and mapping policies and the development of mineral resources in the United States from the 60th to the 82d year of the U.S. Geological Survey
Mary C. Rabbitt, Clifford M. Nelson
2015, Book
The fourth volume of the comprehensive history of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is titled “Minerals, Lands, and Geology for the Common Defence and General Welfare—Volume 4, 1939‒1961.” The title is based on a passage in the preamble of the U.S. Constitution. The late Mary C. Rabbitt (1915‒2002), a geophysicist who...
Application of the FluEgg model to predict transport of Asian carp eggs in the Saint Joseph River (Great Lakes tributary)
Tatiana Garcia, Elizabeth A. Murphy, P. Ryan Jackson, Marcelo H. Garcia
2015, Journal of Great Lakes Research (41) 374-386
The Fluvial Egg Drift Simulator (FluEgg) is a three-dimensional Lagrangian model that simulates the movement and development of Asian carp eggs until hatching based on the physical characteristics of the flow field and the physical and biological characteristics of the eggs. This tool provides information concerning egg development and spawning...
Environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling improves occurrence and detection estimates of invasive Burmese pythons
Margaret E. Hunter, Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Robert M. Dorazio, Jennifer A. Fike, Brian J. Smith, Charles T. Hunter, Robert N. Reed, Kristen M. Hart
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
Environmental DNA (eDNA) methods are used to detect DNA that is shed into the aquatic environment by cryptic or low density species. Applied in eDNA studies, occupancy models can be used to estimate occurrence and detection probabilities and thereby account for imperfect detection. However, occupancy terminology has been applied inconsistently...
Summary of hydrologic conditions in Kansas, water year 2014
Andrew L. Robison
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3027
The U.S. Geological Survey Kansas Water Science Center, in cooperation with Federal, State, and local agencies, maintains a long-term network of hydrologic monitoring gages in the State of Kansas. These include 206 real-time streamgages, 12 real-time reservoir-level monitoring stations, and 32 groundwater monitoring wells. These data and associated analyses, accumulated...
11.12 – Tools and techniques: gravitational method
Jeffrey Phillips
2015, Book chapter, Treatise on Geophysics
The gravitational method is used to investigate density variations within the subsurface at depths of several meters to tens of meters, as in depth-to-bedrock investigations, or at depths of several kilometers, as in sedimentary basin thickness investigations. This chapter covers fundamental relations, densities of Earth materials, instruments, field procedures, data...
Accuracy testing of electric groundwater-level measurement tapes
Jim Jelinski, Christopher S. Clayton, Janice M. Fulford
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1236
Electric tapes are used to measure groundwater levels and to verify the accuracy of pressure transducers installed in wells. Electric tapes are generally assumed to be accurate to ±0.01 foot (ft), but little information is available from the manufacturers and no accuracy studies have been conducted to confirm this value....
Dissolved-solids loads discharged from irrigated areas near Manila, Utah, May 2007-October 2012, and relation of loads to selected variables
Susan A. Thiros, Steven J. Gerner
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5018
The Manila/Washam Salinity Project (MWSP) is a cooperative effort by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and local farmers and ranchers to reduce the transport of dissolved solids to Flaming Gorge Reservoir from irrigated agricultural lands near Manila, Utah. To estimate dissolved-solids loads from the MWSP area, discharge and water...
Global phylogeography of the avian malaria pathogen Plasmodium relictum based on MSP1 allelic diversity
Olof Hellgren, Carter T. Atkinson, Staffan Bensch, Tamer Albayrak, Dimitar Dimitrov, John G. Ewen, Kyeong Soon Kim, Marcos R. Lima, Lynn Martin, Vaidas Palinauskas, Robert Ricklefs, Ravinder N. M. Sehgal, Valkiunas Gediminas, Yoshio Tsuda, Alfonso Marzal
2015, Ecography (38) 842-850
Knowing the genetic variation that occurs in pathogen populations and how it is distributed across geographical areas is essential to understand parasite epidemiology, local patterns of virulence, and evolution of host-resistance. In addition, it is important to identify populations of pathogens that are evolutionarily independent and thus ‘free’ to adapt...
The river as a chemostat: fresh perspectives on dissolved organic matter flowing down the river continuum
Irena F. Creed, Diane M. McKnight, Brian A. Pellerin, Mark B. Green, Brian A. Bergamaschi, George R. Aiken, Douglas A. Burns, Stuart E G Findlay, James B. Shanley, Robert G. Striegl, Brent T. Aulenbach, David W. Clow, Hjalmar Laudon, Brian L. McGlynn, Kevin J. McGuire, Richard A. Smith, Sarah M. Stackpoole
2015, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (72) 1272-1285
A better understanding is needed of how hydrological and biogeochemical processes control dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations and dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition from headwaters downstream to large rivers. We examined a large DOM dataset from the National Water Information System of the US Geological Survey, which represents approximately 100 000...
Safety of spray-dried powder formulated Pseudomonas fluorescens strain CL145A exposure to subadult/adult unionid mussels during simulated open-water treatments
James A. Luoma, Kerry L. Weber, Diane L. Waller, Jeremy K. Wise, Denise A. Mayer, Douglas B. Aloisi
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1064
The exposure effects of a commercially prepared spray dried powder (SDP) formulation of Pseudomonas fluorescens (strain CL145A) on the survival of seven species of unionid mussels endemic to the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins was evaluated in this study. The study exposures were completed within replicated 350-liter test tanks contained within...
Critical metals in manganese nodules from the Cook Islands EEZ, abundances and distributions
James R. Hein, Francesca Spinardi, Nobuyuki Okamoto, Kira Mizell, Darryl Thorburn, Akuila Tawake
2015, Ore Geology Reviews (68) 97-116
The Cook Islands (CIs) Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) encompasses 1,977,000 km2 and includes the Penrhyn and Samoa basins abyssal plains where manganese nodules flourish due to the availability of prolific nucleus material, slow sedimentation rates, and strong bottom currents. A group of CIs nodules was analyzed for mineralogical and chemical composition,...
Exposure-related effects of Pseudomonas fluorescens (Pf-CL145A) on juvenile unionid mussels
Kerry L. Weber, James A. Luoma, Denise A. Mayer, Douglas B. Aloisi, Nathan L. Eckert
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1066
The exposure-related effects of a commercially prepared spray-dried powder (SDP) or freeze-dried powder (FDP) formulation of Pseudomonas fluorescens (strain CL145A) on the survival of seven species of newly metamorphosed (<72 hours old) freshwater unionid mussels was evaluated. Forty unionid mussels of each species were randomly distributed to test chambers and...
Characterization of streamflow, salinity, and selenium loading and land-use change in Montrose Arroyo, western Colorado, from 1992 to 2013
Rodney J. Richards, Jennifer L. Moore
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5039
Salinity and dissolved selenium are known water-quality impairments in the lower Gunnison River watershed of western Colorado. Salinity is a concern because of its adverse effects on agricultural land and equipment, and on municipal and industrial users. The Montrose Arroyo watershed in Montrose, Colorado, contains agricultural and residential areas as...
Ten ways remote sensing can contribute to conservation
Robert A. Rose, Dirck Byler, J. Ron Eastman, Erica Fleishman, Gary Geller, Scott Goetz, Liane Guild, Healy Hamilton, Matt Hansen, Rachel Headley, Jennifer Hewson, Ned Horning, Beth A. Kaplin, Nadine Laporte, Allison K. Leidner, Peter Leimgruber, Jeffrey T. Morisette, John Musinsky, Lilian Pintea, Ana Prados, Volker C. Radeloff, Mary Rowen, Sassan Saatchi, Steve Schill, Karyn Tabor, Woody Turner, Anthony Vodacek, James Vogelmann, Martin Wegmann, David Wilkie, Cara Wilson
2015, Conservation Biology (29) 350-359
In an effort to increase conservation effectiveness through the use of Earth observation technologies, a group of remote sensing scientists affiliated with government and academic institutions and conservation organizations identified 10 questions in conservation for which the potential to be answered would be greatly increased by use of remotely sensed...
Carbon exchange between the atmosphere and subtropical forested cypress and pine wetlands
W. Barclay Shoemaker, Frank E. Anderson, Jordan G. Barr, Scott L. Graham, Daniel B. Botkin
2015, Biogeosciences (12) 2285-2300
Carbon dioxide exchange between the atmosphere and forested subtropical wetlands is largely unknown. Here we report a first step in characterizing this atmospheric–ecosystem carbon (C) exchange, for cypress strands and pine forests in the Greater Everglades of Florida as measured with eddy covariance methods at three locations (Cypress Swamp, Dwarf...
Is there a single best estimator? selection of home range estimators using area- under- the-curve
W. David Walter, Dave P. Onorato, Justin W. Fischer
2015, Movement Ecology (3)
Background Global positioning system (GPS) technology for monitoring home range and movements of wildlife has resulted in prohibitively large sample sizes of locations for traditional estimators of home range. We used area-under-the-curve to explore the fit of 8 estimators of home range to data collected with...
The effect of research activities and winter precipitation on voiding behaviour of Agassiz’s desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii)
Mickey Agha, Mason O. Murphy, Jeffrey E. Lovich, Joshua R. Ennen, Christian R. Oldham, Kathie Meyer-Wilkins, Curtis Bjurlin, Meaghan Austin, Sheila V. Madrak, Caleb L. Loughran, Laura A. Tennant, Steven J. Price
2015, Wildlife Research (41) 641-649
Context: There is little information available on how research activities might cause stress responses in wildlife, especially responses of threatened species such as the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii). Aims: The present study aims to detect behavioural effects of researcher handling and winter precipitation on a natural population of desert tortoises in the desert...
