The environmental and medical geochemistry of potentially hazardous materials produced by disasters
Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Suzette A. Morman, G.P. Meeker, Todd M. Hoefen, Philip L. Hageman, Ruth E. Wolf
2014, Book chapter, Treatise on Geochemistry
Many natural or human-caused disasters release potentially hazardous materials (HM) that may pose threats to the environment and health of exposed humans, wildlife, and livestock. This chapter summarizes the environmentally and toxicologically significant physical, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics of materials produced by a wide variety of recent disasters, such as...
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)
T. Lee Tibbitts, William Moskoff
2014, The Birds of North America
No abstract available...
Volcanoes of the passive margin: The youngest magmatic event in eastern North America
Sarah E Mazza, Esteban Gazel, Elizabeth A Johnson, Michael J. Kunk, Ryan J. McAleer, James A Spotila, Michael Bizimis, Drew S Coleman
2014, Geology (42) 483-486
The rifted eastern North American margin (ENAM) provides important clues to the long-term evolution of continental margins. An Eocene volcanic swarm exposed in the Appalachian Valley and Ridge Province of Virginia and West Virginia (USA) contains the youngest known igneous rocks in the ENAM. These magmas provide the only window...
A large mantle water source for the northern San Andreas Fault System: A ghost of subduction past
Stephen H. Kirby, Kelin Wang, Thomas M. Brocher
2014, Earth, Planets and Space (66-67)
Recent research indicates that the shallow mantle of the Cascadia subduction margin under near-coastal Pacific Northwest U.S. is cold and partially serpentinized, storing large quantities of water in this wedge-shaped region. Such a wedge probably formed to the south in California during an earlier period of subduction. We show by...
Preslip and cascade processes initiating laboratory stick slip
Gregory C. McLaskey, David A. Lockner
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (119) 6323-6336
Recent modeling studies have explored whether earthquakes begin with a large aseismic nucleation process or initiate dynamically from the rapid growth of a smaller instability in a “cascade-up” process. To explore such a case in the laboratory, we study the initiation of dynamic rupture (stick slip) of a smooth saw-cut...
Growth and survival of Apache Trout under static and fluctuating temperature regimes
Matthew S. Recsetar, Scott A. Bonar, Olin Feuerbacher
2014, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (143) 1247-1254
Increasing stream temperatures have important implications for arid-region fishes. Little is known about effects of high water temperatures that fluctuate over extended periods on Apache Trout Oncorhynchus gilae apache, a federally threatened species of southwestern USA streams. We compared survival and growth of juvenile Apache Trout held for 30 d in...
Using dissolved organic matter age and composition to detect permafrost thaw in boreal watersheds of interior Alaska
Jonathan A. O’Donnell, George R. Aiken, Michelle Ann Walvoord, Peter A. Raymond, Kenna D. Butler, Mark M. Dornblaser, Katherine Heckman
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (119) 2155-2170
Recent warming at high latitudes has accelerated permafrost thaw, which can modify soil carbon dynamics and watershed hydrology. The flux and composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from soils to rivers are sensitive to permafrost configuration and its impact on subsurface hydrology and groundwater discharge. Here, we evaluate the utility...
The USGS-National Park Service Water Quality Partnership
Alan C. Ellsworth, Mark A. Nilles, Gary Rosenlieb
2014, The George Wright Forum (31) 191-197
No abstract available....
Auroral omens of the American Civil War
Jeffrey J. Love
2014, Weatherwise (67) 34-41
Aurorae are a splendid night-time sight: coruscations of green, purple, and red fluorescent light in the form of gently wafting ribbons, billowing curtains, and flashing rays. Mostly seen at high latitudes, in the north aurorae are often called the northern lights or aurora borealis, and, in the south, the southern...
Effects of fine sediment, hyporheic flow, and spawning site characteristics on survival and development of bull trout embryos
Tracy Bowerman, Bethany Neilson, Phaedra E. Budy
2014, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (71) 1059-1071
Successful spawning is imperative for the persistence of salmonid populations, but relatively little research has been conducted to evaluate factors affecting early life-stage survival for bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), a threatened char. We conducted a field experiment to assess the relationship between site-specific environmental factors and bull trout embryo survival...
Understanding how lake populations of arctic char are structured and function with special consideration of the potential effects of climate change: A multi-faceted approach.
Phaedra E. Budy, Chris Luecke
2014, Oecologia (176) 81-94
Size dimorphism in fish populations, both its causes and consequences, has been an area of considerable focus; however, uncertainty remains whether size dimorphism is dynamic or stabilizing and about the role of exogenous factors. Here, we explored patterns among empirical vital rates, population structure, abundance and trend, and predicted the...
Flow and sorption controls of groundwater arsenic in individual boreholes from bedrock aquifers in central Maine, USA
Qiang Yang, Charles W. Culbertson, Martha G. Nielsen, Charles W. Schalk, Carole D. Johnson, Robert G. Marvinney, Martin Stute, Yan Zheng
2014, Science of the Total Environment (505) 1291-1307
To understand the hydrogeochemical processes regulating well water arsenic (As) evolution in fractured bedrock aquifers, three domestic wells with [As] up to 478 μg/L are investigated in central Maine. Geophysical logging reveals that fractures near the borehole bottom contribute 70-100% of flow. Borehole and fracture water samples from various depths...
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hydrographic survey data used in a U.S. Geological Survey regional geologic framework study along the Delmarva Peninsula
Elizabeth A. Pendleton, Laura L. Brothers, E. Robert Thieler, William W. Danforth, Castle E. Parker
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1262
The U.S. Geological Survey initiated a research effort in 2014 to define the geologic framework of the Delmarva Peninsula inner continental shelf, which included new data collection and assembly of relevant extant datasets. Between 2006 and 2011, Science Applications International Corporation, under contract to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration...
Postglacial eruptive history, geochemistry, and recent seismicity of Aniakchak volcano, Alaska Peninsula
Charles R. Bacon, Christina A. Neal, Thomas P. Miller, Robert G. McGimsey, Christopher J. Nye
2014, Professional Paper 1810
Aniakchak is a Pleistocene to Holocene composite volcano of the Alaska–Aleutian arc that suffered at least one caldera-forming eruption in postglacial time and last erupted in 1931. The oldest recognized postglacial eruption, Aniakchak I, produced andesite ignimbrite ca. 9,500–7,500 14C yr B.P. Subsequently, a vent northeast of the summit issued dacite–rhyodacite magma...
Meteorological data for selected sites along the Colorado River Corridor, Arizona, 2011-13
Joshua J. Caster, Timothy P. Dealy, Timothy Andrews, Helen C. Fairley, Amy E. East, Joel B. Sankey
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1247
This report presents data from 14 automated weather stations collected as part of an ongoing monitoring program within the Grand Canyon National Park and Glen Canyon Recreation Area along the Colorado River Corridor in Arizona. Weather data presented in this document include precipitation, wind speed, maximum wind gusts, wind direction,...
Petroleum systems and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas in the Anadarko Basin Province, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas: USGS Province 58
Debra K. Higley
2014, Data Series 69-EE
This publication provides research results and related data in support of the U.S. Geological Survey assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas resource potential of the Anadarko Basin Province of western Oklahoma and Kansas, northern Texas, and southeastern Colorado. This province area includes the Las Animas arch of southeastern Colorado,...
Conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo: global tantalum processing plants, a critical part of the tantalum supply chain
John F. Papp
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3122
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) analyzes mineral and metal supply chains to identify and describe major components of mineral and metal material flows from ore extraction, through intermediate forms, to a final product. Supply chain analyses may be used (1) to identify risks to the United States associated with the...
Why bother about wildlife disease?
Milton Friend
2014, Circular 1401
In most developed countries, the maintenance of the numbers of wildlife1 is vested in the natural resource agencies of those countries. During earlier times, game species were the primary focus of natural resource agencies2,3 however, current wildlife conservation continues to transition towards a more holistic focus on biodiversity4 and environmental health5,6. Nevertheless, that...
Modeling uncertainty in coal resource assessments, with an application to a central area of the Gillette coal field, Wyoming
Ricardo A. Olea, James A. Luppens
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5196
Standards for the public disclosure of mineral resources and reserves do not require the use of any specific methodology when it comes to estimating the reliability of the resources. Unbeknownst to most intended recipients of resource appraisals, such freedom commonly results in subjective opinions or estimations based on suboptimal approaches,...
Status and understanding of groundwater quality in the Sierra Nevada Regional study unit, 2008: California GAMA Priority Basin Project
Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5174
Groundwater quality in the Sierra Nevada Regional (SNR) study unit was investigated as part of the California State Water Resources Control Board’s Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program Priority Basin Project. The study was designed to provide statistically unbiased assessments of the quality of untreated groundwater within the primary aquifer...
Groundwater quality in the Sierra Nevada, California
Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3096
Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project (PBP) of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access...
Managing the whole landscape: Historical, hybrid, and novel ecosystems
Richard J. Hobbs, Eric S. Higgs, Carol M. Hall, Peter Bridgewater, F. Stuart Chapin III, John J. Ewel, Erle C. Ellis, Lauren M. Hallett, James Harris, Kristen B. Hulvey, Stephen T. Jackson, Patricia L. Kennedy, Christoph Kueffer, Lori Lach, Trevor C. Lantz, Ariel E. Lugo, Joseph Mascaro, Stephen D. Murphy, Cara Nelson, Michael P. Perring, David M. Richardson, Timothy Seastedt, Rachel J. Standish, Brian M. Starzomski, Katharine N. Suding, Pedro M. Tognetti, Laith Yakob, Laurie Yung
2014, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (12) 557-564
The reality confronting ecosystem managers today is one of heterogeneous, rapidly transforming landscapes, particularly in the areas more affected by urban and agricultural development. A landscape management framework that incorporates all systems, across the spectrum of degrees of alteration, provides a fuller set of options for how and when to...
Making decisions in complex landscapes: Headwater stream management across multiple federal agencies
Rachel Katz, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Michael C. Runge, Bruce Connery, Marquette Crockett, Libby Herland, Sheela Johnson, Dawn Kirk, Jeb Wofford, Rick Bennett, Keith Nislow, Marian Norris, Daniel Hocking, Benjamin Letcher, Allison H. Roy
2014, Report
Headwater stream ecosystems are vulnerable to numerous threats associated with climate and land use change. In the northeastern US, many headwater stream species (e.g., brook trout and stream salamanders) are of special conservation concern and may be vulnerable to climate change influences, such as changes in stream temperature and streamflow....
Radiometric cross calibration of Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+)
Nischal Mishra, Obaidul Haque, Larry Leigh, David Aaron, Dennis Helder, Brian L. Markham
2014, Remote Sensing (6) 12619-12638
This study evaluates the radiometric consistency between Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) using cross calibration techniques. Two approaches are used, one based on cross calibration between the two sensors using simultaneous image pairs, acquired during an underfly event on 29–30 March 2013....
Foraging and predation risk for larval cisco (Coregonus artedi) in Lake Superior: A modelling synthesis of empirical survey data
Jared T. Myers, Daniel L. Yule, Michael L. Jones, Henry R. Quinlan, Eric K. Berglund
2014, Ecological Modelling (294) 71-83
The relative importance of predation and food availability as contributors to larval cisco (Coregonus artedi) mortality in Lake Superior were investigated using a visual foraging model to evaluate potential predation pressure by rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) and a bioenergetic model to evaluate potential starvation risk. The models were informed by...
