Hydrogeologic data and water-quality data from a thick unsaturated zone at a proposed wastewater-treatment facility site, Yucca Valley, San Bernardino County, California, 2008-11
David O’Leary, Dennis A. Clark, John A. Izbicki
2015, Data Series 925
The Hi-Desert Water District, in the community of Yucca Valley, California, is considering constructing a wastewater-treatment facility and using the reclaimed water to recharge the aquifer system through surface spreading. The Hi-Desert Water District is concerned with possible effects of this recharge on water quality in the underlying groundwater system;...
Surface monitoring of microseismicity at the Decatur, Illinois, CO2 sequestration demonstration site
J. Ole Kaven, Stephen H. Hickman, Arthur F. McGarr, William L. Ellsworth
2015, Seismological Research Letters (86) 1096-1101
Sequestration of CO2 into subsurface reservoirs can play an important role in limiting future emission of CO2 into the atmosphere (e.g., Benson and Cole, 2008). For geologic sequestration to become a viable option to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, large-volume injection of supercritical CO2 into deep sedimentary formations is required. These...
Restoration of oyster reefs in an estuarine lake: population dynamics and shell accretion
Sandra M. Casas, Jerome F. La Peyre, Megan La Peyre
2015, Marine Ecology Progress Series (524) 171-184
Restoration activities inherently depend on understanding the spatial and temporal variation in basic demographic rates of the species of interest. For species that modify and maintain their own habitat such as the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica, understanding demographic rates and their impacts on population and habitat success are crucial to...
Water-quality trends in the Scituate reservoir drainage area, Rhode Island, 1983-2012
Kirk P. Smith
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5058
The Scituate Reservoir is the primary source of drinking water for more than 60 percent of the population of Rhode Island. Water-quality and streamflow data collected at 37 surface-water monitoring stations in the Scituate Reservoir drainage area, Rhode Island, from October 2001 through September 2012, water years (WYs) 2002-12, were...
Simulation of nitrogen attenuation in a subterranean estuary, representative of the southern coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts
John A. Colman, Carl S. Carlson, C. Robinson
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1085
A two-dimensional model was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to assess flow and chemical reaction associated with groundwater discharge through the subterranean estuary representative of coastal salt ponds of southern Cape Cod. The model simulated both the freshwater and saltwater flow...
Hydrologic model of the Modesto Region, California, 1960-2004
Steven P. Phillips, Diane L. Rewis, Jonathan A. Traum
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5045
Strategies for managing water supplies and groundwater quality in the Modesto region of the eastern San Joaquin Valley, California, are being formulated and evaluated by the Stanislaus and Tuolumne Rivers Groundwater Basin Association. Management issues and goals in the basin include an area in the lower part of the basin...
Effects of oyster harvest activities on Louisiana reef habitat and resident nekton communities
Steve Beck, Megan K. LaPeyre
2015, Fishery Bulletin (113) 327-340
Oysters are often cited as “ecosystem engineers” because they modify their environment. Coastal Louisiana contains extensive oyster reef areas that have been harvested for decades, and whether differences in habitat functions exist between those areas and nonharvested reefs is unclear. We compared reef physical structure and resident community metrics between...
Assessment of general health of fishes collected at selected sites in the Great Lakes Basin In 2012
Patricia M. Mazik, Ryan P. Braham, Cassidy M. Hahn, Vicki Blazer
2015, Report
During the past decade, there has been a substantive increase in the detection of “emerging contaminants”, defined as a new substance, chemical, or metabolite in the environment; or a legacy substance with a newly expanded distribution, altered release, or a newly recognized effect (such as endocrine disruption). Emerging contaminants include...
Elevational gradient in clutch size of Red-faced Warblers
Kristen G. Dillon, Courtney J. Conway
2015, Journal of Field Ornithology (86) 163-172
Our understanding of life history evolution has benefited from debates regarding the underlying causes, and geographic ubiquity, of spatial patterns in avian clutch sizes. Past studies have revealed that birds lay smaller clutch sizes at higher elevation. However, in most previous studies, investigators have failed to adequately control for elevational...
Mapping wetlands and surface water in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America: Chapter 16
Jennifer R. Rover, David M. Mushet
2015, Book chapter, Remote sensing of wetlands: Applications and advances
The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) is one of the most highly productive wetland regions in the world. Prairie Pothole wetlands serve as a primary feeding and breeding habitat for more than one-half of North America’s waterfowl population, as well as a variety of songbirds, waterbirds, shorebirds, and other wildlife. During...
Sixth International Limnogeology Congress: abstract volume, Reno, Nevada, June 15-19, 2015
Michael R. Rosen, Andrew S. Cohen, Matthew Kirby, Elizabeth Gierlowski-Kordesch, Scott W. Starratt, Blas L. Valero Garces, Johan Varekamp, editor(s)
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1092
Limnogeology is the study of modern lakes and lake deposits in the geologic record. Limnogeologists have been active since the 1800s, but interest in limnogeology became prevalent in the early 1990s when it became clear that lake deposits contain continental environmental and climate records. A society that is focused on...
Sixth International Limnogeology Congress: field trip guidebook, Reno, Nevada, June 15-19, 2015
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1108
Limnogeology is the study of modern lakes and lake deposits in the geologic record. Limnogeologists have been active since the 1800s, but interest in Limnogeology became prevalent in the early 1990s when it became clear that lake deposits contain continental environmental and climate records. A society that is focused on...
Landscape disturbance from unconventional and conventional oil and gas development in the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania, USA
Terry E. Slonecker, Lesley E. Milheim
2015, Environments (2) 200-220
The spatial footprint of unconventional (hydraulic fracturing) and conventional oil and gas development in the Marcellus Shale region of the State of Pennsylvania was digitized from high-resolution, ortho-rectified, digital aerial photography, from 2004 to 2010. We used these data to measure the spatial extent of oil and gas development and...
Control of nitrogen and phosphorus transport by reservoirs in agricultural landscapes
Stephen M. Powers, Jennifer L. Tank, Dale M. Robertson
2015, Biogeochemistry (124) 417-439
Reservoirs often receive excess nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) lost from agricultural land, and may subsequently influence N and P delivery to inland and coastal waters through internal processes such as nutrient burial, denitrification, and nutrient turnover. Currently there is a need to better understand how reservoirs affect nutrient transport...
Geomorphic consequences of volcanic eruptions in Alaska: A review
Christopher F. Waythomas
2015, Geomorphology (246) 123-145
Eruptions of Alaska volcanoes have significant and sometimes profound geomorphic consequences on surrounding landscapes and ecosystems. The effects of eruptions on the landscape can range from complete burial of surface vegetation and preexisting topography to subtle, short-term perturbations of geomorphic and ecological systems. In some cases, an eruption will...
Hydrologic data from wells at or in the vicinity of the San Juan coal mine, San Juan County, New Mexico
Anne M. Stewart, Nicole Thomas
2015, Data Series 933
In 2010, in cooperation with the Mining and Minerals Division (MMD) of the State of New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) initiated a 4-year assessment of hydrologic conditions at the San Juan coal mine (SJCM), located about 14 miles west-northwest of the city...
Multi-elemental analysis of aqueous geochemical samples by quadrupole inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)
Ruth E. Wolf, Monique Adams
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1010
Typically, quadrupole inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is used to determine as many as 57 major, minor, and trace elements in aqueous geochemical samples, including natural surface water and groundwater, acid mine drainage water, and extracts or leachates from geological samples. The sample solution is aspirated into the inductively coupled...
Detecting the influence of rare stressors on rare species in Yosemite National Park using a novel stratified permutation test
John R. Matchett, Philip B. Stark, Steven M. Ostoja, Roland A. Knapp, Heather C. McKenny, Matthew L. Brooks, William T. Langford, Lucas N. Joppa, Eric L. Berlow
2015, Scientific Reports (5)
Statistical models often use observational data to predict phenomena; however, interpreting model terms to understand their influence can be problematic. This issue poses a challenge in species conservation where setting priorities requires estimating influences of potential stressors using observational data. We present a novel approach for inferring influence of a...
Real-time, continuous water-quality monitoring in Indiana and Kentucky
Megan E. Shoda, Timothy R. Lathrop, Martin R. Risch
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3041
Water-quality “super” gages (also known as “sentry” gages) provide real-time, continuous measurements of the physical and chemical characteristics of stream water at or near selected U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgages in Indiana and Kentucky. A super gage includes streamflow and water-quality instrumentation and representative stream sample collection for laboratory analysis....
Reduced transmission of human schistosomiasis after restoration of a native river prawn that preys on the snail intermediate host
Susanne H. Sokolow, Elizabeth Huttinger, Nicolas Jouanard, Michael H. Hsieh, Kevin D. Lafferty, Armand M. Kuris, Gilles Riveau, Simon Senghor, Thiam, Alassane D’Diaye, Djibril Sarr Faye, Giulio A. De Leo
2015, PNAS (112) 9650-9655
Eliminating human parasitic disease often requires interrupting complex transmission pathways. Even when drugs to treat people are available, disease control can be difficult if the parasite can persist in nonhuman hosts. Here, we show that restoration of a natural predator of a parasite’s intermediate hosts may enhance drug-based schistosomiasis control....
Dynamic rupture models of earthquakes on the Bartlett Springs Fault, Northern California
Julian C. Lozos, Ruth A. Harris, Jessica R. Murray, James J. Lienkaemper
2015, Geophysical Research Letters (42) 4343-4349
The Bartlett Springs Fault (BSF), the easternmost branch of the northern San Andreas Fault system, creeps along much of its length. Geodetic data for the BSF are sparse, and surface creep rates are generally poorly constrained. The two existing geodetic slip rate inversions resolve at least one locked patch within...
Microbial infections are associated with embryo mortality in Arctic-nesting geese.
Cristina M. Hansen, Brandt W. Meixell, Caroline R. Van Hemert, Rebekah F. Hare, Karsten Hueffer
2015, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (81) 5583-5592
To address the role of bacterial infection in hatching failure of wild geese, we monitored embryo development in a breeding population of Greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons) on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska. During 2013, we observed mortality of normally developing embryos and collected 36 addled eggs for analysis....
Leaf-on canopy closure in broadleaf deciduous forests predicted during winter
Daniel J. Twedt, Andrea J. Ayala, Madeline R. Shickel
2015, Forest Science (61) 926-931
Forest canopy influences light transmittance, which in turn affects tree regeneration and survival, thereby having an impact on forest composition and habitat conditions for wildlife. Because leaf area is the primary impediment to light penetration, quantitative estimates of canopy closure are normally made during summer. Studies of forest structure and...
Effects of ungulate disturbance and weather variation on Pediocactus winkleri: Insights from long-term monitoring
Deborah J. Clark, Thomas O. Clark, Michael C. Duniway, Cody B. Flagg
2015, Western North American Naturalist (75) 88-101
Population dynamics and effects of large ungulate disturbances on Winkler cactus (Pediocactus winkleri K.D. Heil) were documented annually over a 20-year time span at one plot within Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. This cactus species was federally listed as threatened in 1998. The study began in 1995 to gain a better...
Accounting for groundwater in stream fish thermal habitat responses to climate change
Craig D. Snyder, Nathaniel P. Hitt, John A. Young
2015, Ecological Applications (25) 1397-1419
Forecasting climate change effects on aquatic fauna and their habitat requires an understanding of how water temperature responds to changing air temperature (i.e., thermal sensitivity). Previous efforts to forecast climate effects on brook trout habitat have generally assumed uniform air-water temperature relationships over large areas that cannot account for groundwater...
