Identifying sources of aeolian mineral dust: Present and past
Daniel R Muhs, Joseph M Prospero, Matthew C Baddock, Thomas E Gill
2014, Book chapter, Mineral dust: A key player in the earth system
Aeolian mineral dust is an important component of the Earth’s environmental systems, playing roles in the planetary radiation balance, as a source of fertilizer for biota in both terrestrial and marine realms and as an archive for understanding atmospheric circulation and paleoclimate in the geologic past. Crucial to understanding all...
A portable freshwater closed-system fish egg incubation system
Jenny L. Sutherland, Bruce A. Manny, Gregory W. Kennedy, Edward F. Roseman, Jeffrey D. Allen, M. Glen Black
2014, North American Journal of Aquaculture (76) 391-398
To identify fish eggs collected in the field to species, a portable closed‐system fish egg incubation system was designed and used to incubate and hatch the eggs in the laboratory. The system is portable, small in scale (2.54 × 1.52 × 2.03 m), and affordable, with the approximate cost of the...
Extracellular enzyme kinetics scale with resource availability
Robert L. Sinsabaugh, Jayne Belnap, Stuart G. Findlay, Jennifer J. Follstad Shah, Brian H. Hill, Kevin A. Kuehn, Cheryl Kuske, Marcy E. Litvak, Noelle G. Martinez, Daryl L. Moorhead, Daniel D. Warnock
2014, Biogeochemistry
Microbial community metabolism relies on external digestion, mediated by extracellular enzymes that break down complex organic matter into molecules small enough for cells to assimilate. We analyzed the kinetics of 40 extracellular enzymes that mediate the degradation and assimilation of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus by diverse aquatic and terrestrial microbial...
Size-dependent reactivity of magnetite nanoparticles: a field-laboratory comparison
Andrew L. Swindle, Andrew S. Elwood Madden, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Mourad Benamara
2014, Environmental Science & Technology (48) 11413-11420
Logistic challenges make direct comparisons between laboratory- and field-based investigations into the size-dependent reactivity of nanomaterials difficult. This investigation sought to compare the size-dependent reactivity of nanoparticles in a field setting to a laboratory analog using the specific example of magnetite dissolution. Synthetic magnetite nanoparticles of three size intervals, ∼6...
Water-chemistry data collected in and near Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, Hawaii, 2012–2014
Fred D. Tillman, Delwyn S. Oki, Adam G. Johnson
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1173
Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park (KAHO) on western Hawaiʻi was established in 1978 to preserve, interpret, and perpetuate traditional Native Hawaiian culture and activities, including the preservation of a variety of culturally and ecologically significant water resources that are vital to this mission. KAHO water bodies provide habitat for 1 threatened,...
An overview comparing results from two decades of monitoring for pesticides in the Nation’s streams and rivers, 1992-2001 and 2002-2011
Wesley W. Stone, Robert J. Gilliom, Jeffrey D. Martin
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5154
This report provides an overview of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment program and National Stream Quality Accounting Network findings for pesticide occurrence in U.S. streams and rivers during 2002–11 and compares them to findings for the previous decade (1992–2001). In addition, pesticide stream concentrations were compared to Human...
Pesticide trends in major rivers of the United States, 1992-2010
Karen R. Ryberg, Aldo V. Vecchia, Robert J. Gilliom, Jeffrey D. Martin
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5135
This report is part of a series of pesticide trend assessments led by the National Water-Quality Assessment Program of the U.S. Geological Survey. This assessment focuses on major rivers of various sizes throughout the United States that have large watersheds with a range of land uses, changes in pesticide use,...
Metamorphosis alters contaminants and chemical tracers in insects: implications for food webs
Johanna M. Kraus, David M. Walters, Jeff S. Wesner, Craig A. Stricker, Travis S. Schmidt, Robert E. Zuellig
2014, Environmental Science & Technology (48) 10957-10965
Insects are integral to most freshwater and terrestrial food webs, but due to their accumulation of environmental pollutants they are also contaminant vectors that threaten reproduction, development, and survival of consumers. Metamorphosis from larvae to adult can cause large chemical changes in insects, altering contaminant concentrations and fractionation of chemical...
Remote sensing analysis of riparian vegetation response to desert marsh restoration in the Mexican Highlands
Laura M. Norman, Miguel L. Villarreal, H. Ronald Pulliam, Robert L. Minckley, Leila Gass, Cindy Tolle, Michelle Coe
2014, Ecological Engineering (70) 241-254
Desert marshes, or cienegas, are extremely biodiverse habitats imperiled by anthropogenic demands for water and changing climates. Given their widespread loss and increased recognition, remarkably little is known about restoration techniques. In this study, we examine the effects of gabions (wire baskets filled with rocks used as dams) on vegetation...
Two low coverage bird genomes and a comparison of reference-guided versus de novo genome assemblies
Daren C. Card, Drew R. Schield, Jacobo Reyes-Velasco, Matthre K. Fujita, Audra L. Andrew, Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Jennifer A. Fike, Diana F. Tomback, Robert P. Ruggiero, Todd A. Castoe
2014, PLoS ONE (9)
As a greater number and diversity of high-quality vertebrate reference genomes become available, it is increasingly feasible to use these references to guide new draft assemblies for related species. Reference-guided assembly approaches may substantially increase the contiguity and completeness of a new genome using only low levels of genome coverage...
Status and understanding of groundwater quality in the Klamath Mountains study unit, 2010: California GAMA Priority Basin Project
George L. V Bennett V, Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5065
Groundwater quality in the Klamath Mountains (KLAM) study unit was investigated as part of the Priority Basin Project of the California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The study unit is located in Del Norte, Humboldt, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties. The GAMA Priority Basin Project is being...
Groundwater quality in the Klamath Mountains, California
George L. V Bennett V, Miranda S. Fram
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3031
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 of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access to...
Effectiveness of Aquaflor (50% florfenicol) administered in feed to control mortality associated with Streptococcus iniae in tilapia at a commercial tilapia production facility
Mark P. Gaikowski, Susan M. Schleis, Eric Leis, Becky A. Lasee, Richard G. Endris
2014, North American Journal of Aquaculture (76) 375-382
The efficacy of Aquaflor (florfenicol; FFC) to control mortality caused by Streptococcus iniae in tilapia was evaluated under field conditions. The trial was initiated following presumptive diagnosis of S. iniae infection in a mixed group of fingerling (mean, 4.5 g) Nile Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus and a hybrid of Nile Tilapia×Blue...
Demographics and run timing of adult Lost River (Deltistes luxatus) and short nose (Chasmistes brevirostris) suckers in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, 2012
David A. Hewitt, Eric C. Janney, Brian S. Hayes, Alta C. Harris
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1186
Data from a long-term capture-recapture program were used to assess the status and dynamics of populations of two long-lived, federally endangered catostomids in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon. Lost River suckers (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose suckers (Chasmistes brevirostris) have been captured and tagged with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags during their...
Sea-floor morphology and sedimentary environments of western Block Island Sound, northeast of Gardiners Island, New York
Katherine Y. McMullen, Lawrence J. Poppe, William W. Danforth, Dann S. Blackwood, Andrew R. Clos, Castle E. Parker
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1160
Multibeam-echosounder data, collected during survey H12299 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in a 162-square-kilometer area of Block Island Sound, northeast of Gardiners Island, New York, are used along with sediment samples and bottom photography, collected at 37 stations in this area by the U.S. Geological Survey during cruise...
Incorporating cold-air pooling into downscaled climate models increases potential refugia for snow-dependent species within the Sierra Nevada Ecoregion, CA
Jennifer A. Curtis, Lorraine E. Flint, Alan L. Flint, Jessica D. Lundquist, Brian Hudgens, Erin E. Boydston, Julie K. Young
2014, PLoS ONE (9) 1-13
We present a unique water-balance approach for modeling snowpack under historic, current and future climates throughout the Sierra Nevada Ecoregion. Our methodology uses a finer scale (270 m) than previous regional studies and incorporates cold-air pooling, an atmospheric process that sustains cooler temperatures in topographic depressions thereby mitigating snowmelt. Our...
Physiological condition of juvenile wading birds in relation to multiple landscape stressors in the Florida Everglades: effects of hydrology, prey availability, and mercury bioaccumulation
Garth Herring, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Dale E. Gawlik, James M. Beerens, Joshua T. Ackerman
2014, PLoS ONE (9)
The physiological condition of juvenile birds can be influenced by multiple ecological stressors, and few studies have concurrently considered the effects of environmental contaminants in combination with ecological attributes that can influence foraging conditions and prey availability. Using three temporally distinct indices of physiological condition, we compared the physiological response...
Do cities simulate climate change? A comparison of herbivore response to urban and global warming
Elsa Youngsteadt, Adam G. Dale, Adam Terando, Robert R. Dunn, Steven D. Frank
2014, Global Change Biology (21) 97-105
Cities experience elevated temperature, CO2, and nitrogen deposition decades ahead of the global average, such that biological response to urbanization may predict response to future climate change. This hypothesis remains untested due to a lack of complementary urban and long-term observations. Here, we examine the response of an herbivore, the...
The June-July 2007 collapse and refilling of Puʻu ʻŌʻō Crater, Kilauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi
Tim R. Orr
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5124
Episode 57 of Kīlauea’s long-lived east rift zone eruption was characterized by lava effusion and spattering within the crater at Puʻu ʻŌʻō that lasted from July 1 to July 20, 2007. This eruptive episode represented a resumption of activity following a 12-day eruptive hiatus on Kīlauea associated with the episode...
California State Waters Map Series — Offshore of San Gregorio, California
Guy R. Cochrane, Peter Dartnell, H. Gary Greene, Janet Watt, Nadine E. Golden, Charles A. Endris, Eleyne L. Phillips, Stephen R. Hartwell, Samuel Y. Johnson, Rikk G. Kvitek, Mercedes D. Erdey, Carrie K. Bretz, Michael W. Manson, Ray W. Sliter, Stephanie L. Ross, Bryan E. Dieter, John L. Chin, Susan A. Cochran
Guy R. Cochrane, Susan A. Cochran, editor(s)
2014, Scientific Investigations Map 3306
In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within the 3-nautical-mile limit of California's State Waters. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration,...
Progress toward a safer future since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
Thomas M. Brocher, Robert A. Page, Peter H. Stauffer, James W. Hendley II
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3092
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake interrupted several decades of seismic tranquility in the San Francisco Bay Area. It caused damage throughout the region and was a wakeup call to prepare for potentially even more damaging future quakes. Since 1989, the work of the U.S. Geological Survey and many other organizations...
Operational earthquake forecasting can enhance earthquake preparedness
T.H. Jordan, W. Marzocchi, A.J. Michael, M.C. Gerstenberger
2014, Seismological Research Letters (85) 955-959
We cannot yet predict large earthquakes in the short term with much reliability and skill, but the strong clustering exhibited in seismic sequences tells us that earthquake probabilities are not constant in time; they generally rise and fall over periods of days to years in correlation with nearby seismic activity....
Science for the stewardship of the groundwater resources of Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Jeffrey R. Barbaro, John P. Masterson, Denis R. LeBlanc
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3067
Groundwater is the sole source of drinking water and a major source of freshwater for domestic, industrial, and agricultural uses on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Groundwater discharged from aquifers also supports freshwater pond and stream ecosystems and coastal wetlands. Six hydraulically distinct groundwater-flow systems (lenses) have been delineated on Cape Cod....
Ecological risks of shale oil and gas development to wildlife, aquatic resources and their habitats
Margaret C. Brittingham, Kelly O. Maloney, Aida M. Farag, David D. Harper, Zachary H. Bowen
2014, Environmental Science & Technology (48) 11034-11047
Technological advances in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have led to the exploration and exploitation of shale oil and gas both nationally and internationally. Extensive development of shale resources has occurred within the United States over the past decade, yet full build out is not expected to occur for years....
Groundwater geochemical and selected volatile organic compound data, Operable Unit 1, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Keyport, Washington, July 2013
Raegan L. Huffman
2014, Data Series 871
Previous investigations indicate that concentrations of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) are substantial in groundwater beneath the 9-acre former landfill at Operable Unit 1, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Keyport, Washington. The U.S. Geological Survey has continued to monitor groundwater geochemistry to ensure that conditions remain favorable for contaminant biodegradation...
