Model-based interpretation of sediment concentration and vertical flux measurements in a shallow estuarine environment
Andreas Brand, Jessica R. Lacy, Steve Gladding, Rusty Holleman, Mark T. Stacey
2015, Limnology and Oceanography (60) 463-481
A one-dimensional numerical model describing tidally varying vertical mixing and settling was used to interpret sediment concentrations and vertical fluxes observed in the shoals of South San Francisco Bay by two acoustic Doppler velocimeters (ADVs) at elevations of 0.36 m and 0.72 m above bed. Measured sediment concentrations changed by...
Geomorphic, flood, and groundwater-flow characteristics of Bayfield Peninsula streams, Wisconsin, and implications for brook-trout habitat
Faith A. Fitzpatrick, Marie C. Peppler, David A. Saad, Dennis M. Pratt, Bernard N. Lenz
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5007
In 2002–03, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a study of the geomorphic, flood, and groundwater-flow characteristics of five Bayfield Peninsula streams, Wisconsin (Cranberry River, Bark River, Raspberry River, Sioux River, and Whittlesey Creek) to determine the physical limitations for brook-trout habitat. The goals of the study were threefold: (1) to...
Climate change: evaluating your local and regional water resources
Lorraine E. Flint, Alan L. Flint, James H. Thorne
2015, Fact Sheet 2014-3098
The BCM is a fine-scale hydrologic model that uses detailed maps of soils, geology, topography, and transient monthly or daily maps of potential evapotranspiration, air temperature, and precipitation to generate maps of recharge, runoff, snow pack, actual evapotranspiration, and climatic water deficit. With these comprehensive environmental inputs and experienced scientific...
Map of assessed continuous (unconventional) oil resources in the United States, 2014
U.S. Geological Survey National Assessment of Oil and Gas Resources Team
2015, Data Series 69-JJ
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducts quantitative assessments of potential oil and gas resources of the onshore United States and associated coastal State waters. Since 2000, the USGS has completed assessments of continuous (unconventional) resources in the United States based on geologic studies and analysis of well-production data and has...
Medea genes, handedness and other traits
Jeffrey Hatfield
2015, Journal of Sleep Disorders & Therapy (4)
Medea factors or genes are maternal-effects mechanisms, found in many species, in which the mother's body selectively kills embryos of a certain genotype.Humans have a similar genetic mechanism, the gene RHD which produces Rh-factor involved in blood type.Recently I proposed that RHD acts as a maternal-effects gene that determines handedness...
Steep spatial gradients of volcanic and marine sulfur in Hawaiian rainfall and ecosystems
Carleton R. Bern, Oliver A. Chadwick, Carol Kendall, Michael J. Pribil
2015, Science of the Total Environment (514) 250-260
Sulfur, a nutrient required by terrestrial ecosystems, is likely to be regulated by atmospheric processes in well-drained, upland settings because of its low concentration in most bedrock and generally poor retention by inorganic reactions within soils. Environmental controls on sulfur sources in unpolluted ecosystems have seldom been investigated in detail,...
Water- and air-quality and surficial bed-sediment monitoring of the Sweetwater Reservoir watershed, San Diego County, California, 2003-09
Gregory O. Mendez, Michael S. Majewski, William T. Foreman, Andrew Y. Morita
2015, Data Series 879
In 1998, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Sweetwater Authority, began a study to assess the overall health of the Sweetwater watershed in San Diego County, California. This study was designed to provide a data set that could be used to evaluate potential effects from the construction and...
Estimation of unaltered daily mean streamflow at ungaged streams of New York, excluding Long Island, water years 1961-2010
Christopher L. Gazoorian
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5220
The lakes, rivers, and streams of New York State provide an essential water resource for the State. The information provided by time series hydrologic data is essential to understanding ways to promote healthy instream ecology and to strengthen the scientific basis for sound water management decision making in New York....
Convergence of soil nitrogen isotopes across global climate gradients
Joseph M. Craine, Andrew J. Elmore, Lixin Wang, Laurent Augusto, W. Troy Baisden, E. N. J. Brookshire, Michael D. Cramer, Niles J. Hasselquist, Erik A. Hobbie, Ansgar Kahmen, Keisuke Koba, J. Marty Kranabetter, Michelle C. Mack, Erika Marin-Spiotta, Jordan R. Mayor, Kendra K. McLauchlan, Anders Michelsen, Gabriela B. Nardoto, Rafael S. Oliveira, Steven S. Perakis, Pablo L. Peri, Carlos A. Quesada, Andreas Richter, Louis A. Schipper, Bryan A. Stevenson, Benjamin L. Turner, Ricardo A. G. Viani, Wolfgang Wanek, Bernd Zeller
2015, Scientific Reports (5)
Quantifying global patterns of terrestrial nitrogen (N) cycling is central to predicting future patterns of primary productivity, carbon sequestration, nutrient fluxes to aquatic systems, and climate forcing. With limited direct measures of soil N cycling at the global scale, syntheses of the 15 N: 14 N ratio of soil organic...
Simulations of a hypothetical temperature control structure at Detroit Dam on the North Santiam River, northwestern Oregon
Norman L. Buccola, Adam J. Stonewall, Stewart A. Rounds
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1012
Water temperature models of Detroit Lake, Big Cliff Lake, and the North Santiam River in northwestern Oregon were used to assess the potential for a hypothetical structure with variable intake elevations and an internal connection to power turbines at Detroit Dam (scenario SlidingWeir) to release more natural, pre-dam temperatures year round....
Mineral commodity summaries 2015
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2015, Report
Each chapter of the 2015 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production and resources. The...
Improved algorithms in the CE-QUAL-W2 water-quality model for blending dam releases to meet downstream water-temperature targets
Stewart A. Rounds, Norman L. Buccola
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1027
Water-quality models allow water resource professionals to examine conditions under an almost unlimited variety of potential future scenarios. The two-dimensional (longitudinal, vertical) water-quality model CE-QUAL-W2, version 3.7, was enhanced and augmented with new features to help dam operators and managers explore and optimize potential solutions for temperature management downstream of...
Climate change and prairie pothole wetlands: mitigating water-level and hydroperiod effects through upland management
David A. Renton, David M. Mushet, Edward S. DeKeyser
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5004
Prairie pothole wetlands offer crucial habitat for North America’s waterfowl populations. The wetlands also support an abundance of other species and provide ecological services valued by society. The hydrology of prairie pothole wetlands is dependent on atmospheric interactions. Therefore, changes to the region’s climate can have profound effects on wetland...
Long-term plant responses to climate are moderated by biophysical attributes in a North American desert
Seth M. Munson, Robert H. Webb, David C. Housman, Kari E. Veblen, Kenneth E. Nussear, Erik A. Beever, Kristine B. Hartney, Maria N. Miriti, Susan L. Phillips, Robert E. Fulton, Nita G. Tallent
2015, Journal of Ecology (103) 657-668
Recent elevated temperatures and prolonged droughts in many already water-limited regions throughout the world, including the southwestern U.S., are likely to intensify according to future climate-model projections. This warming and drying can negatively affect perennial vegetation and lead to the degradation of ecosystem properties. To better understand these detrimental effects, we...
Simulation of the regional groundwater-flow system of the Menominee Indian Reservation, Wisconsin
Paul F. Juckem, Charles P. Dunning
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5237
A regional, two-dimensional, steady-state groundwater-flow model was developed to simulate the groundwater-flow system and groundwater/surface-water interactions within the Menominee Indian Reservation. The model was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, to contribute to the fundamental understanding of the region’s hydrogeology....
Timescales alter the inferred strength and temporal consistency of intraspecific diet specialization
Mark Novak, M. Tim Tinker
2015, Oecologia (178) 61-74
Many populations consist of individuals that differ substantially in their diets. Quantification of the magnitude and temporal consistency of such intraspecific diet variation is needed to understand its importance, but the extent to which different approaches for doing so reflect instantaneous vs. time-aggregated measures of individual diets may bias inferences....
Trophic ecology of northern pike and their effect on conservation of westslope cutthroat trout.
John D. Walrath, Michael C. Quist, Jon A. Firehammer
2015, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (35) 158-177
Westslope Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi in Coeur d’Alene Lake, Idaho, have declined in recent years; predation by Northern Pike Esox lucius, a nonnative sport fish, is thought to be a causative mechanism. The goal of this study was to describe the seasonal food habits of Northern Pike and determine their influence on...
Water resources of La Salle Parish, Louisiana
Vincent E. White, Lawrence B. Prakken
2015, Fact Sheet 2014-3089
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in La Salle Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the...
Update of the Graizer-Kalkan ground-motion prediction equations for shallow crustal continental earthquakes
Vladimir Graizer, Erol Kalkan
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1009
A ground-motion prediction equation (GMPE) for computing medians and standard deviations of peak ground acceleration and 5-percent damped pseudo spectral acceleration response ordinates of maximum horizontal component of randomly oriented ground motions was developed by Graizer and Kalkan (2007, 2009) to be used for seismic hazard analyses and engineering applications....
A laboratory evaluation of tagging-related mortality and tag loss in juvenile humpback chub
David L. Ward, William R. Persons, Kirk Young, Dennis M. Stone, Randy Van Haverbeke, William R. Knight
2015, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (35) 135-140
We quantified tag retention, survival, and growth in juvenile, captive-reared Humpback Chub Gila cypha marked with three different tag types: (1) Biomark 12.5-mm, 134.2-kHz, full duplex PIT tags injected into the body cavity with a 12-gauge needle; (2) Biomark 8.4-mm, 134.2-kHz, full duplex PIT tags injected with a 16-gauge needle;...
Bedrock geologic map of the Spring Valley, West Plains, and parts of the Piedmont and Poplar Bluff 30'x60' quadrangles, Missouri, including the upper Current River and Eleven Point River drainage basins
David J. Weary, Richard W. Harrison, Randall C. Orndorff, Robert E. Weems, J. Stephen Schindler, John E. Repetski, Herbert A. Pierce
2015, Scientific Investigations Map 3280
This map covers the drainage basins of the upper Current River and the Eleven Point River in the Ozark Plateaus physiographic province of southeastern Missouri. The two surface drainage basins are contiguous in their headwaters regions, but are separated in their lower reaches by the lower Black River basin in...
Desertification, land use, and the transformation of global drylands
Brandon T. Bestelmeyer, Gregory S. Okin, Michael C. Duniway, Steven R. Archer, Nathan F. Sayre, Jebediah C. Williamson, Jeffrey E. Herrick
2015, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (1) 28-36
Desertification is an escalating concern in global drylands, yet assessments to guide management and policy responses are limited by ambiguity concerning the definition of “desertification” and what processes are involved. To improve clarity, we propose that assessments of desertification and land transformation be placed within a state change–land-use change (SC–LUC)...
Legacy effects in linked ecological-soil-geomorphic systems of drylands
Curtis Monger, Osvaldo E. Sala, Michael C. Duniway, Haim Goldfus, Isaac A. Meir, Rosa M. Poch, Heather L. Throop, Enrique R. Vivoni
2015, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (13) 13-19
A legacy effect refers to the impacts that previous conditions have on current processes or properties. Legacies have been recognized by many disciplines, from physiology and ecology to anthropology and geology. Within the context of climatic change, ecological legacies in drylands (eg vegetative patterns) result from feedbacks between biotic, soil,...
Geochemical and petrographic data for intrusions peripheral to the Big Timber Stock, Crazy Mountains, Montana
Edward A. du Bray, Anna B. Wilson, Bradley S. Van Gosen
2015, Data Series 895
The Paleocene Fort Union Formation hosts a compositionally diverse array of Eocene plugs, dikes, and sills arrayed around the Eocene Big Timber stock in the Crazy Mountains of south-central Montana. The geochemistry and petrography of the sills have not previously been characterized or interpreted. The purpose of this report is...
Fire modulates climate change response of simulated aspen distribution across topoclimatic gradients in a semi-arid montane landscape
Jian Yang, Peter J. Weisberg, Douglas J. Shinneman, Thomas E. Dilts, Susan L. Earnst, Robert M Scheller
2015, Landscape Ecology (30) 1055-1073
Content Changing aspen distribution in response to climate change and fire is a major focus of biodiversity conservation, yet little is known about the potential response of aspen to these two driving forces along topoclimatic gradients. Objective This study is set to evaluate how aspen distribution might shift in response...
