Water-vapor movement through unsaturated alluvium in Amargosa Desert near Beatty, Nevada - Current understanding and continuing studies: A section in Joint US Geological Survey, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission workshop on research related to low-level radioactive waste disposal, May 4-6, 1993, National Center, Reston, Virginia; Proceedings (WRI 95-4015)
David E. Prudic
Peter R. Stevens, Thomas J. Nicholson, editor(s)
1996, Report, Joint US Geological Survey, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission workshop on research related to low-level radioactive waste disposal, May 4-6, 1993, National Center, Reston, Virginia; Proceedings (WRI 95-4015)
Disposal of low-level radioactive wastes has been a concern since the 1950's. These wastes commonly are buried in shallow trenches (Fischer, 1986, p. 2). Water infiltrating into the trenches is considered the principal process by which contaminants are transported away from the buried wastes, although gaseous transport in some areas...
Compression of the Global Land 1-km AVHRR dataset
B. L. Kess, D.R. Steinwand, S.E. Reichenbach
1996, International Journal of Remote Sensing (17) 2955-2969
Large datasets, such as the Global Land 1-km Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Data Set (Eidenshink and Faundeen 1994), require compression methods that provide efficient storage and quick access to portions of the data. A method of lossless compression is described that provides multiresolution decompression within geographic subwindows of...
Detectability, philopatry, and the distribution of dispersal distances in vertebrates
Walter D. Koenig, Dirk H. Van Vuren, Philip N. Hooge
1996, Trends in Ecology and Evolution (11) 514-517
Dispersal is of central importance to population biology, behavioral ecology and conservation. However, because field studies are based on finite study areas, nearly all dispersal distributions for vertebrates currently available are biased, often highly so. The inadequacy of dispersal data obtained directly by traditional methods using population studies of marked...
The 1993 Mississippi river flood: A one hundred or a one thousand year event?
B.D. Malamud, D.L. Turcotte, C.C. Barton
1996, Environmental & Engineering Geoscience (2) 479-486
Power-law (fractal) extreme-value statistics are applicable to many natural phenomena under a wide variety of circumstances. Data from a hydrologic station in Keokuk, Iowa, shows the great flood of the Mississippi River in 1993 has a recurrence interval on the order of 100 years using power-law statistics applied to partial-duration...
Effects of cavity-entrance restrictors on red-cockaded woodpeckers
B.E. Raulston, D.A. James, J.E. Johnson
1996, Wildlife Society Bulletin (24) 694-698
The U.S. Forest Service has installed restrictors on cavity entrances of red-cockaded woodpeckers to limit access by larger cavity-dwelling competitors. This study tested the hypothesis that restrictors have no adverse effects on red-cockaded woodpeckers. Entrance restrictors were placed on openings to 20 cavities used by roosting red-cockaded woodpeckers, and 20...
Bacteriological quality of ground water used for household supply, Lower Susquehanna River basin, Pennsylvania and Maryland
Tammy M. Bickford, Bruce D. Lindsey, M.R. Beaver
1996, Water-Resources Investigations Report 96-4212
This report describes the bacteriological results of a ground-water study conducted from 1993 to 1995 as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program in the Lower Susquehanna River Basin study unit. Water samples collected from 146 household supply wells were analyzed for fecal-indicator organisms including total coliform,...
Relation of landscape position and irrigation to concentrations of alachlor, atrazine, and selected degradates in regolith in northeastern Nebraska
Ingrid M. Verstraeten, D. T. Lewis, D. L. McCallister, A. Parkhurst, E.M. Thurman
1996, ACS Symposium Series (630) 178-197
Concentrations of alachlor, its ethanesulfonic acid degradate, atrazine and its degradates, deethylatrazine and deisopropylatrazine, in the upper regolith and associated shallow aquifers were determined in relation to landscape position (floodplains, terraces, and uplands) and irrigation (nonirrigated and irrigated corn cropland) in 1992. Irrigated and nonirrigated sites were located on each...
The stable oxygen and carbon isotopic record from a coral growing in Florida Bay: a 160 year record of climatic and anthropogenic influence
Peter K. Swart, Genevieve F. Healy, Richard E. Dodge, Philip Kramer, J. Harold Hudson, Robert B. Halley, Michael B. Robblee
1996, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (123) 219-237
A 160 year record of skeletal δ13C and δ18O was examined in a specimen of the coral Solenastrea bournonigrowing in Florida Bay. Variations in the δ18O of the skeleton can be correlated to changes in salinity while changes in the δ13C reflect cycling of organic material within the Bay. Based on...
Unrealistic parameter estimates in inverse modelling: A problem or a benefit for model calibration?
E. P. Poeter, M. C. Hill
1996, IAHS-AISH Publication (237) 277-285
Estimation of unrealistic parameter values by inverse modelling is useful for constructed model discrimination. This utility is demonstrated using the three-dimensional, groundwater flow inverse model MODFLOWP to estimate parameters in a simple synthetic model where the true conditions and character of the errors are completely known. When a poorly constructed...
Calculation of earthquake rupture histories using a hybrid global search algorithm: Application to the 1992 Landers, California, earthquake
S. Hartzell, P. Liu
1996, Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors (95) 79-99
A method is presented for the simultaneous calculation of slip amplitudes and rupture times for a finite fault using a hybrid global search algorithm. The method we use combines simulated annealing with the downhill simplex method to produce a more efficient search algorithm then either of the two constituent parts....
Using remote sensing and GIS techniques to estimate discharge and recharge. fluxes for the Death Valley regional groundwater flow system, USA
F. A. D’Agnese, C.C. Faunt, Turner A. Keith
1996, IAHS-AISH Publication 503-511
The recharge and discharge components of the Death Valley regional groundwater flow system were defined by remote sensing and GIS techniques that integrated disparate data types to develop a spatially complex representation of near-surface hydrological processes. Image classification methods were applied to multispectral satellite data to produce a vegetation map....
An 84-kyr paleomagnetic record from the sediments of Lake Baikal, Siberia
J.A. Peck, J.W. King, Steven M. Colman, V.A. Kravchinsky
1996, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (101) 11365-11385
We have conducted a paleomagnetic study of sediment cores obtained from the Selenga prodelta region of Lake Baikal, Russia. This record, which spans approximately the last 84 kyr, contributes to a better understanding of the nature of geomagnetic field behavior in Siberia and is a useful correlation and dating tool....
Slip history of the 1995 Kobe, Japan, earthquake determined from strong motion, teleseismic, and geodetic data
D.J. Wald
1996, Journal of Physics of the Earth (44) 489-503
Near-source ground motions, teleseismic body waveforms, and geodetic displacements produced by the 1995 Kobe, Japan, earthquake have been used to determine the spatial and temporal dislocation pattern on the faulting surfaces. A linear, least-squares approach was used to invert the data sets both independently and in unison in order to...
Streamflow trends in Wisconsin's driftless area
W.A. Gebert, W.R. Krug
1996, Water Resources Bulletin (32) 733-744
Trends in streamflow characteristics were analyzed for streams in southwestern Wisconsin's Driftless Area by using data at selected gaging stations. The analyses indicate that annual low flows have increased significantly, whereas annual flood peaks have decreased. The same trends were not observed for forested areas of northern Wisconsin. Streamflow trends...
Sand boils induced by the 1993 Mississippi River flood: Could they one day be misinterpreted as earthquake-induced liquefaction?
Y. Li, J. Craven, E.S. Schweig, S. F. Obermeier
1996, Geology (24) 171-174
In areas that are seismically active but lacking clear surficial faulting, many paleoearthquake studies depend on the interpretation of ancient liquefaction features (sand blows) as indicators of prehistoric seismicity. Sand blows, however, can be mimicked by nonseismic sand boils formed by water seeping...
Remote mineralogic and lithologic mapping of the Ice River alkaline complex, British Columbia, Canada, using AVIRIS data
T. L. Bowers, L. C. Rowan
1996, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing (62) 1379-1385
The Ice River Alkaline Complex is a late Paleozoic intrusion of mafic alkaline rocks, syenite, and carbonatite exposed in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. The complex intrudes Cambrian and Ordovician shales, slates, and limestones of the Chancellor and Ottertail Formations and the McKay Group. We examined the alkaline complex and adjacent...
Shear wave velocity structure in North America from large-scale waveform inversions of surface waves
D. Alsina, R.L. Woodward, R.K. Snieder
1996, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (101) 15969-15986
A two-step nonlinear and linear inversion is carried out to map the lateral heterogeneity beneath North America using surface wave data. The lateral resolution for most areas of the model is of the order of several hundred kilometers. The most obvious feature in the tomographic images is the rapid transition...
Aeromagnetic survey over US to advance geomagnetic research
T.G. Hildenbrand, R.J. Blakely, W. J. Hinze, Gordon R. Keller, R.A. Langel, M. Nabighian, W. Roest
1996, Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union (77) 265-268
A proposed high-altitude survey of the United States offers an exciting and cost effective opportunity to collect magnetic-anomaly data. Lockheed Martin Missile and Space Company is considering funding a reimbursable ER-2 aircraft (Figure 1) mission to collect synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery at an altitude of...
Remote sensing of forest fire severity and vegetation recovery
J.D. White, K.C. Ryan, C.H. Key, S. W. Running
1996, International Journal of Wildland Fire (6) 125-136
Burned forested areas have patterns of varying burn severity as a consequence of various topographic, vegetation, and meteorological factors. These patterns are detected and mapped using satellite data. Other ecological information can be abstracted from satellite data regarding rates of recovery of vegetation foliage and variation of burn severity on...
Feeding ecology of larval and juvenile American shad (Alosa sapidissima) in a small pond
J. H. Johnson, D. S. Dropkin
1996, Journal of Applied Ichthyology (12) 9-13
Release ponds are used as part of a multifacet effort to restore American shad (Alosa sapidissima) in the upper Susquehanna River basin. Little information exists, however, on the feeding ecology of young shad in small ponds. Consequently, we examined feeding ecology and prey selection of 299 larval and 299 juvenile...
Assessing habitat selection when availability changes
Stephen M. Arthur, Bryan F. J. Manly, Lyman L. McDonald, Gerald W. Garner
1996, Ecology (77) 215-227
We present a method of comparing data on habitat use and availability that allows availability to differ among observations. This method is applicable when habitats change over time and when animals are unable to move throughout a predetermined study area between observations. We used maximum—likelihood techniques to derive an index...
Transition from slab to slabless: Results from the 1993 Mendocino triple junction seismic experiment
B. C. Beaudoin, N. J. Godfrey, S.L. Klemperer, C. Lendl, A.M. Trehu, T.J. Henstock, A. Levander, J.E. Holl, A.S. Meltzer, James H. Luetgert, Walter D. Mooney
1996, Geology (24) 195-199
Three seismic refraction-reflection profiles, part of the Mendocino triple junction seismic experiment, allow us to compare and contrast crust and upper mantle of the North American margin before and after it is modified by passage of the Mendocino triple junction. Upper crustal velocity models reveal an asymmetric Great Valley basin...
Use of SAR data to study active volcanoes in Alaska
K.G. Dean, K. Engle, Z. Lu, J. Eichelberger, T. Near, M. Doukas
1996, Earth Observation Quarterly 21-23
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data of the Westdahl, Veniaminof, and Novarupta volcanoes in the Aleutian Arc of Alaska were analysed to investigate recent surface volcanic processes. These studies support ongoing monitoring and research by the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) in the North Pacific Ocean Region. Landforms and possible crustal deformation...
Meeting summary - Coastal meteorology and oceanography: Report of the third prospectus development team of the U.S. Weather Research Program to NOAA and NSF
R. Rotunno, L.J. Pietrafesa, J. S. Allen, B.R. Colman, C.M. Dorman, C.W. Kreitzberg, S.J. Lord, M.G. McPhee, G.L. Mellor, C.N.K. Mooers, P.P. Niiler, R.A. Pielke Sr., M.D. Powell, D.P. Rogers, J.D. Smith, Lingtian Xie, R. Carbone
1996, Conference Paper, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
U.S. Weather Research Program (USWRP) prospectus development teams (PDTs) are small groups of scientists that are convened by the USWRP lead scientist on a one-time basis to discuss critical issues and to provide advice related to future directions of the program. PDTs are a principal source of information for the...
Hydrogeology of the Hawaii Scientific Drilling Project borehole KP-1 2. Groundwater geochemistry and regional flow patterns
D. M. Thomas, Frederick L. Paillet, M.E. Conrad
1996, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (101) 11683-11694
A series of downhole and surface water samples were taken from the 1‐km‐deep KP‐1 borehole located on the eastern flank of the island of Hawaii. Early samples from depths of more than 700 m showed salinities nearly equivalent to seawater but having anomalous cation concentrations that are...
