Estuarine monitoring programs in the Albemarle Sound study area, North Carolina
Michelle Moorman, Katharine R. Kolb, Stacy Supak
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1110
Albemarle Sound was selected in 2012 as one of the two demonstration sites in the Nation to test and improve the design of the National Water Quality Monitoring Council’s National Monitoring Network (NMN) for U.S. Coastal Waters and their tributaries. The goal of the NMN for U.S. coastal waters and...
How complete is the ISC-GEM Global Earthquake Catalog?
Andrew J. Michael
2014, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (104) 1829-1837
The International Seismological Centre, in collaboration with the Global Earthquake Model effort, has released a new global earthquake catalog, covering the time period from 1900 through the end of 2009. In order to use this catalog for global earthquake studies, I determined the magnitude of completeness (Mc) as a function...
Using state-of-the-art technology to evaluate saltwater intrusion in the Biscayne aquifer of Miami-Dade County, Florida
Scott T. Prinos
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3050
The fresh groundwater supplies of many communities have been adversely affected or limited by saltwater intrusion. An insufficient understanding of the origin of intruded saltwater may lead to inefficient or ineffective water-resource management. A 2008–2012 cooperative U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Miami-Dade County study of saltwater intrusion describes state-of-the art...
Soil fluxes of methane, nitrous oxide, and nitric oxide from aggrading forests in coastal Oregon
Heather E. Erickson, Steven S. Perakis
2014, Soil Biology and Biochemistry (76) 268-277
Soil exchanges of greenhouse and other gases are poorly known for Pacific Northwest forests where gradients in nutrient availability and soil moisture may contribute to large variations in fluxes. Here we report fluxes of methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and nitric oxide (NO) over multiple seasons from three naturally N-rich,...
Evaluation of groundwater and surface-water interactions in the Caddo Nation Tribal Jurisdictional Area, Caddo County, Oklahoma, 2010-13
Shana L. Mashburn, S. Jerrod Smith
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5082
Streamflows, springs, and wetlands are important natural and cultural resources to the Caddo Nation. Consequently, the Caddo Nation is concerned about the vulnerability of the Rush Springs aquifer to overdrafting and whether the aquifer will continue to be a viable source of water to tribal members and other local residents...
Contaminants of emerging concern in ambient groundwater in urbanized areas of Minnesota, 2009-12
Melinda L. Erickson, Susan K. Langer, Jason L. Roth, Sharon E. Kroening
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5096
A study of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in ambient groundwater in urbanized areas of Minnesota was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. For this study, water samples were collected from November 2009 through June 2012 from 118 wells located in different...
W(h)ither the Oracle? Cognitive biases and other human challenges of integrated environmental modeling
Pierre D. Glynn
D.P. Ames, N. W. T. Quinn, A.E. Rizzoli, editor(s)
2014, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 7th International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software, June 15-19, San Diego, California, USA
Integrated environmental modeling (IEM) can organize and increase our knowledge of the complex, dynamic ecosystems that house our natural resources and control the quality of our environments. Human behavior, however, must be taken into account. Human biases/heuristics reflect adaptation over our evolutionary past to frequently experienced situations that affected our...
Morphology, ecology and biogeography of Stauroneis pachycephala P.T. Cleve (Bacillariophyta) and its transfer to the genus Envekadea
Islam Atazadeh, Mark B. Edlund, Bart van de Vijver, Keely Mills, Sarah A. Spaulding, Peter A. Gell, Simon Crawford, Andrew F. Barton, Sylvia S. Lee, Kathryn E. L. Smith, Peter Newall, Marina Potapova
2014, Diatom Research (29) 455-464
Stauroneis pachycephala was described in 1881 from the Baakens River, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Recently, it was found during surveys of the MacKenzie River (Victoria, Australia), the Florida Everglades (USA) and coastal marshes of Louisiana (USA). The morphology, ecology and geographic distribution of this species are described in this article....
Assessing and addressing the re-eutrophication of Lake Erie: central basin hypoxia
Donald Scavia, J. David Allan, Kristin K. Arend, Steven Bartell, Dmitry Beletsky, Nate S. Bosch, Stephen B. Brandt, Ruth D. Briland, Irem Daloglu, Joseph V. DePinto, David M. Dolan, Mary Anne Evans, Troy M. Farmer, Daisuke Goto, Haejin Han, Tomas O. Hook, Roger Knight, Stuart A. Ludsin, Doran Mason, Anna M. Michalak, R. Peter Richards, James Roberts, Daniel K. Rucinski, Edward Rutherford, David J. Schwab, Timothy M. Sesterhenn, Hongyan Zhang, Yuntao Zhou
2014, Journal of Great Lakes Research (40) 226-246
Relieving phosphorus loading is a key management tool for controlling Lake Erie eutrophication. During the 1960s and 1970s, increased phosphorus inputs degraded water quality and reduced central basin hypolimnetic oxygen levels which, in turn, eliminated thermal habitat vital to cold-water organisms and contributed to the extirpation of important benthic macroinvertebrate...
Males exceed females in PCB concentrations of cisco (Coregonus artedi) from Lake Superior
Charles P. Madenjian, Daniel L. Yule, Sergei M. Chernyak, Linda J. Begnoche, Eric K. Berglund, Edmund J. Isaac
2014, Science of the Total Environment (493) 377-383
We determined whole-fish polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations of 25 male and 25 female age-7 ciscoes (Coregonus artedi) captured from a spawning aggregation in Thunder Bay, Lake Superior, during November 2010. We also determined PCB concentrations in the ovaries and somatic tissue of five additional female ciscoes (ages 5–22). All 55...
Water quality at a biosolids-application area near Deer Trail, Colorado, 1993-1999
Tracy J.B. Yager
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5074
The Metro Wastewater Reclamation District (Metro District) in Denver, Colo., applied biosolids resulting from municipal sewage treatment to farmland in eastern Colorado beginning in December 1993. In mid-1993, the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Metro District began monitoring water quality at the biosolids-application area about 10 miles east...
Coastal geology and recent origins for Sand Point, Lake Superior
Timothy G. Fisher, David E. Krantz, Mario R. Castaneda, Walter L. Loope, Harry M. Jol, Ronald J. Goble, Melinda C. Higley, Samantha DeWald, Paul Hansen
2014, GSA Special Papers (508) 85-110
Sand Point is a small cuspate foreland located along the southeastern shore of Lake Superior within Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore near Munising, Michigan. Park managers’ concerns for the integrity of historic buildings at the northern periphery of the point during the rising lake levels in the mid-1980s greatly elevated the...
From field data to volumes: Constraining uncertainties in pyroclastic eruption parameters
Malin Klawonn, Bruce F. Houghton, Don Swanson, Sarah A. Fagents, Paul Wessel, Cecily J. Wolfe
2014, Bulletin of Volcanology (76)
In this study, we aim to understand the variability in eruption volume estimates derived from field studies of pyroclastic deposits. We distributed paper maps of the 1959 Kīlauea Iki tephra to 101 volcanologists worldwide, who produced hand-drawn isopachs. Across the returned maps, uncertainty in isopach areas is 7 % across the...
Spatially explicit habitat models for 28 fishes from the Upper Mississippi River System (AHAG 2.0)
Brian S. Ickes, J.S. Sauer, N. Richards, M. Bowler, B. Schlifer
2014, Long Term Resource Monitoring Program Technical Report 2014-T002
Environmental management actions in the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) typically require pre-project assessments of predicted benefits under a range of project scenarios. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) now requires certified and peer-reviewed models to conduct these assessments. Previously, habitat benefits were estimated for fish communities...
Evaluation of the behavior and movement of adult summer steelhead in the lower Cowlitz River, Washington, following collection and release, 2013-2014
Tobias J. Kock, Theresa L. Liedtke, Brian K. Ekstrom, Chris Gleizes, Wolf Dammers
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1122
Summer steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) produced by a hatchery on the lower Cowlitz River, Washington, support a popular sport fishery during June–September each year. Many of these fish return to the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery and are held until they are spawned in December. In the past, fishery managers have released some...
A comprehensive population dataset for Afghanistan constructed using GIS-based dasymetric mapping methods
Allyson L. Thompson, Bernard E. Hubbard
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5238
This report summarizes the application of dasymetric methods for mapping the distribution of population throughout Afghanistan. Because Afghanistan's population has constantly changed through decades of war and conflict, existing vector and raster GIS datasets (such as point settlement densities and intensities of lights at night) do not adequately reflect the...
Water quality and algal community dynamics of three deepwater lakes in Minnesota utilizing CE-QUAL-W2 models
Erik A. Smith, Richard L. Kiesling, Joel M. Galloway, Jeffrey R. Ziegeweid
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5066
Water quality, habitat, and fish in Minnesota lakes will potentially be facing substantial levels of stress in the coming decades primarily because of two stressors: (1) land-use change (urban and agricultural) and (2) climate change. Several regional and statewide lake modeling studies have identified the potential linkages between land-use and...
Concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and azaarenes in runoff from coal-tar- and asphalt-sealcoated pavement
Barbara Mahler, Peter C. Van Metre, William T. Foreman
2014, Environmental Pollution (188) 81-87
Coal-tar-based sealcoat, used extensively on parking lots and driveways in North America, is a potent source of PAHs. We investigated how concentrations and assemblages of PAHs and azaarenes in runoff from pavement newly sealed with coal-tar-based (CT) or asphalt-based (AS) sealcoat changed over time. Samples of simulated runoff were collected...
Particle-tracking investigation of the retention of sucker larvae emerging from spawning grounds in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon
Tamara M. Wood, Susan A. Wherry, David C. Simon, Douglas F. Markle
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1061
This study had two objectives: (1) to use the results of an individual-based particle-tracking model of larval sucker dispersal through the Williamson River delta and Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, to interpret field data collected throughout Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes, and (2) to use the model to investigate the retention...
Spatial variability in nutrient transport by HUC8, state, and subbasin based on Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin SPARROW models
Dale M. Robertson, David A. Saad, Gregory E. Schwarz
2014, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (50) 988-1009
Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loading from the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB) has been linked to hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. With geospatial datasets for 2002, including inputs from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), and monitored loads throughout the MARB, SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) watershed models were...
Effects of lakes and reservoirs on annual river nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment export in agricultural and forested landscapes
Stephen M. Powers, Dale M. Robertson, Emily H. Stanley
2014, Hydrological Processes (28) 5919-5937
Recently, effects of lakes and reservoirs on river nutrient export have been incorporated into landscape biogeochemical models. Because annual export varies with precipitation, there is a need to examine the biogeochemical role of lakes and reservoirs over time frames that incorporate interannual variability in precipitation. We examined long-term (~20 years) time...
Testing for multiple invasion routes and source populations for the invasive brown treesnake (Boiga irregularis) on Guam: implications for pest management
Jonathan Q. Richmond, Dustin A. Wood, James W. Stanford, Robert N. Fisher
2014, Biological Invasions
The brown treesnake (Boiga irregularis) population on the Pacific island of Guam has reached iconic status as one of the most destructive invasive species of modern times, yet no published works have used genetic data to identify a source population. We used DNA sequence data from multiple genetic markers and...
Gully annealing by aeolian sediment: field and remote-sensing investigation of aeolian-hillslope-fluvial interactions, Colorado River corridor, Arizona, USA
Joel B. Sankey, Amy E. Draut
2014, Geomorphology (220) 68-80
Processes contributing to development of ephemeral gully channels are of great importance to landscapes worldwide, and particularly in dryland regions where soil loss and land degradation from gully erosion pose long-term land-management problems. Whereas gully formation has been relatively well studied, much less is known of the processes that anneal...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Oklahoma
William J. Carswell Jr.
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3053
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of Oklahoma, elevation data are critical for flood risk management, infrastructure and construction management, agriculture and precision farming, natural resources conservation, wildlife and...
Estimation of flood discharges at selected annual exceedance probabilities for unregulated, rural streams in Vermont, with a section on Vermont regional skew regression
Scott A. Olson, Andrea G. with a section by Veilleux
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5078
This report provides estimates of flood discharges at selected annual exceedance probabilities (AEPs) for streamgages in and adjacent to Vermont and equations for estimating flood discharges at AEPs of 50-, 20-, 10-, 4-, 2-, 1-, 0.5-, and 0.2-percent (recurrence intervals of 2-, 5-, 10-, 25-, 50-, 100-, 200-, and 500-years,...
