Forcing functions governing salt transport processes in coastal navigation canals and connectivity to surrounding marshes in South Louisiana using Houma Navigation Canal as a surrogate
Gregg Snedden
2014, Report
Understanding how circulation and mixing processes in coastal navigation canals influence the exchange of salt between marshes and coastal ocean, and how those processes are modulated by external physical processes, is critical to anticipating effects of future actions and circumstance. Examples of such circumstances include deepening the channel, placement of...
Assessing landscape constraints on species abundance: Does the neighborhood limit species response to local habitat conservation programs?
Christopher F. Jorgensen, Larkin A. Powell, Jeffrey J. Lusk, Andrew A. Bishop, Joseph J. Fontaine
2014, PLoS ONE (9) 1-13
Landscapes in agricultural systems continue to undergo significant change, and the loss of biodiversity is an ever-increasing threat. Although habitat restoration is beneficial, management actions do not always result in the desired outcome. Managers must understand why management actions fail; yet, past studies have focused on assessing habitat attributes at...
Relationships between water and gas chemistry in mature coalbed methane reservoirs of the Black Warrior Basin
Jack C. Pashin, Marcella R. McIntyre-Redden, Steven D. Mann, David C. Kopaska-Merkel, Matthew S. Varonka, William H. Orem
2014, International Journal of Coal Geology (126) 92-105
Water and gas chemistry in coalbed methane reservoirs of the Black Warrior Basin reflects a complex interplay among burial processes, basin hydrodynamics, thermogenesis, and late-stage microbial methanogenesis. These factors are all important considerations for developing production and water management strategies. Produced water ranges from nearly potable sodium-bicarbonate water to...
Occupancy patterns of regionally declining grassland sparrow populations in a forested Pennsylvania landscape
Jason M. Hill, Duane R. Diefenbach
2014, Conservation Biology (28) 735-744
Organisms can be affected by processes in the surrounding landscape outside the boundary of habitat areas and by local vegetation characteristics. There is substantial interest in understanding how these processes affect populations of grassland birds, which have experienced substantial population declines. Much of our knowledge regarding patterns of occupancy and...
Global ocean conveyor lowers extinction risk in the deep sea
Lea-Anne Henry, Norbert Frank, Dierk Hebbeln, Claudia Weinberg, Laura Robinson, Tina van de Flierdt, Mikael Dahl, Melanie Douarin, Cheryl L. Morrison, Matthias Lopez Correa, Alex D. Rogers, Mario Ruckelshausen, J. Murray Roberts
2014, Deep Sea Research Part A, Oceanographic Research Papers (88) 8-16
General paradigms of species extinction risk are urgently needed as global habitat loss and rapid climate change threaten Earth with what could be its sixth mass extinction. Using the stony coral Lophelia pertusa as a model organism with the potential for wide larval dispersal, we investigated how the global ocean...
Annual crop type classification of the U.S. Great Plains for 2000 to 2011
Daniel M. Howard, Bruce K. Wylie
2014, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing (6) 537-549
The purpose of this study was to increase the spatial and temporal availability of crop classification data. In this study, nearly 16.2 million crop observation points were used in the training of the US Great Plains classification tree crop type model (CTM). Each observation point was further defined by weekly...
Size-selective mortality of steelhead during freshwater and marine life stages related to freshwater growth in the Skagit River, Washington
Jamie N. Thompson, David A. Beauchamp
2014, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (143) 910-925
We evaluated freshwater growth and survival from juvenile (ages 0–3) to smolt (ages 1–5) and adult stages in wild steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss sampled in different precipitation zones of the Skagit River basin, Washington. Our objectives were to determine whether significant size-selective mortality (SSM) in steelhead could be detected between early and later...
Application of spatially gridded temperature and land cover data sets for urban heat island analysis
Kevin Gallo, George Z. Xian
2014, Urban Climate (8) 1-10
Two gridded data sets that included (1) daily mean temperatures from 2006 through 2011 and (2) satellite-derived impervious surface area, were combined for a spatial analysis of the urban heat-island effect within the Dallas-Ft. Worth Texas region. The primary advantage of using these combined datasets included the capability to designate...
Habitat availability is a more plausible explanation than insecticide acute toxicity for U.S. grassland bird species declines
Jason M. Hill, J. Franklin Egan, Glenn E. Stauffer, Duane R. Diefenbach
2014, PLoS ONE (9) 1-8
Grassland bird species have experienced substantial declines in North America. These declines have been largely attributed to habitat loss and degradation, especially from agricultural practices and intensification (the habitat-availability hypothesis). A recent analysis of North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) “grassland breeding” bird trends reported the surprising conclusion that insecticide...
Land-margin ecosystem hydrologic data for the coastal Everglades, Florida, water years 1996-2012
Gordon H. Anderson, Thomas J. Smith III, Karen M. Balentine
2014, Data Series 853
Mangrove forests and salt marshes dominate the landscape of the coastal Everglades (Odum and McIvor, 1990). However, the ecological effects from potential sea-level rise and increased water flows from planned freshwater Everglades restoration on these coastal systems are poorly understood. The National Park Service (NPS) proposed the South Florida Global...
2010 Volcanic activity in Alaska, Kamchatka, and the Kurile Islands: Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory
Christina A. Neal, Julie Herrick, O.A. Girina, Marina Chibisova, Alexander Rybin, Robert G. McGimsey, Jim Dixon
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5034
The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) responded to eruptions, possible eruptions, volcanic unrest or suspected unrest at 12 volcanic centers in Alaska during 2010. The most notable volcanic activity consisted of intermittent ash emissions from long-active Cleveland volcano in the Aleutian Islands. AVO staff also participated in hazard communication regarding eruptions...
A pier-scour database: 2,427 field and laboratory measurements of pier scour
Stephen T. Benedict, Andral W. Caldwell
2014, Data Series 845
The U.S. Geological Survey conducted a literature review to identify potential sources of published pier-scour data, and selected data were compiled into a digital spreadsheet called the 2014 USGS Pier-Scour Database (PSDb-2014) consisting of 569 laboratory and 1,858 field measurements. These data encompass a wide range of laboratory and field...
Three-dimensional seismic velocity structure of Mauna Loa and Kilauea volcanoes in Hawaii from local seismic tomography
Guoqing Lin, Peter M. Shearer, Robin S. Matoza, Paul G. Okubo, Falk Amelung
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (119) 4377-4392
We present a new three-dimensional seismic velocity model of the crustal and upper mantle structure for Mauna Loa and Kilauea volcanoes in Hawaii. Our model is derived from the first-arrival times of the compressional and shear waves from about 53,000 events on and near the Island of Hawaii between 1992...
An analysis of potential water availability from the Charles Mill, Clendening, Piedmont, Pleasant Hill, Senecaville, and Wills Creek Lakes in the Muskingum River Watershed, Ohio
G. F. Koltun
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5071
This report presents the results of a study to assess potential water availability from the Charles Mill, Clendening, Piedmont, Pleasant Hill, Senecaville, and Wills Creek Lakes, located within the Muskingum River Watershed, Ohio. The assessment was based on the criterion that water withdrawals should not appreciably affect maintenance of recreation-season...
Connecting the dots: a collaborative USGS-NPS effort to expand the utility of monitoring data
James B. Grace, Donald R. Schoolmaster Jr., E. William Schweiger, Brian R. Mitchell, Kathryn Miller, Glenn R. Guntenspergen
2014, The George Wright Forum (31) 181-190
The Natural Resource Challenge (National Park Service 1999) was a call to action. It constituted a mandate for monitoring based on the twin premises that (1) natural resources in national parks require active management and stewardship if we are to protect them from gradual degradation, and (2) we cannot protect...
Lithium: for harnessing renewable energy
Dwight Bradley, Brian W. Jaskula
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3035
Lithium, which has the chemical symbol Li and an atomic number of 3, is the first metal in the periodic table. Lithium has many uses, the most prominent being in batteries for cell phones, laptops, and electric and hybrid vehicles. Worldwide sources of lithium are broken down by ore-deposit type...
Winter browse selection by white-tailed deer and implications for bottomland forest restoration in the Upper Mississippi River Valley, USA
Benjamin J. Cogger, Nathan R. De Jager, Meredith Thomsen, Carrie Reinhardt Adams
2014, Natural Areas Journal (34) 144-153
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) forage selectively, modifying upland forest species composition and in some cases shifting ecosystems to alternative stable states. Few studies, however, have investigated plant selection by deer in bottomland forests. Herbaceous invasive species are common in wetlands and their expansion could be promoted if deer avoid them...
Nonlethal screening of bat-wing skin with the use of ultraviolet fluorescence to detect lesions indicative of white-nose syndrome
Gregory G. Turner, Carol U. Meteyer, Hazel Barton, John F. Gumbs, DeeAnn M. Reeder, Barrie Overton, Hana Bandouchova, Tomas Bartonicka, Natalia Martinkova, Jiri Pikula, Jan Zukal, David S. Blehert
2014, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (50) 566-573
Definitive diagnosis of the bat disease white-nose syndrome (WNS) requires histologic analysis to identify the cutaneous erosions caused by the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus [formerly Geomyces] destructans (Pd). Gross visual inspection does not distinguish bats with or without WNS, and no nonlethal, on-site, preliminary screening methods are available for WNS in...
Extending the turbidity record: making additional use of continuous data from turbidity, acoustic-Doppler, and laser diffraction instruments and suspended-sediment samples in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon
Nicholas Voichick, David J. Topping
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5097
Turbidity is a measure of the scattering and absorption of light in water, which in rivers is primarily caused by particles, usually sediment, suspended in the water. Turbidity varies significantly with differences in the design of the instrument measuring turbidity, a point that is illustrated in this study by side-by-side...
Electron microprobe analyses of glasses from Kīlauea tephra units, Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii
Rosalind L. Helz, David A. Clague, Larry G. Mastin, Timothy R. Rose
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1090
This report presents approximately 2,100 glass analyses from three tephra units of Kīlauea Volcano: the Keanakākoʻi Tephra, the Kulanaokuaiki Tephra, and the Pāhala Ash. It also includes some new analyses obtained as part of a re-evaluation of the MgO contents of glasses in two of the three original datasets; this...
Mountain landscapes offer few opportunities for high-elevation tree species migration
David M. Bell, John B. Bradford, William K. Lauenroth
2014, Global Change Biology (20) 1441-1451
Climate change is anticipated to alter plant species distributions. Regional context, notably the spatial complexity of climatic gradients, may influence species migration potential. While high-elevation species may benefit from steep climate gradients in mountain regions, their persistence may be threatened by limited suitable habitat as land area decreases with elevation....
Groundwater Dating with Atmospheric Halogenated Compounds
Karl B. Haase, Eurybiades Busenberg
2014, Book chapter, Encyclopedia of Scientific Dating Methods
"Atmospheric environmental releases refer to the emission of stable, long-lived compounds of solely anthropogenic origin into the atmosphere and the use of the compounds to estimate dates of their incorporation into groundwater."...
Proceedings of the U.S. Geological Survey Eighth Biennial Geographic Information Science Workshop and first The National Map Users Conference, Denver, Colorado, May 10-13, 2011
Jennifer B. Sieverling, Jeffrey Dietterle, editor(s)
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5053
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is sponsoring the first The National Map Users Conference in conjunction with the eighth biennial Geographic Information Science (GIS) Workshop on May 10-13, 2011, in Lakewood, Colorado. The GIS Workshop will be held at the USGS National Training Center, located on the Denver Federal Center,...
Simulation of natural flows in major river basins in Alabama
Alexandria M. Hunt, Ana María García
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5021
The Office of Water Resources (OWR) in the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) is charged with the assessment of the State’s water resources. This study developed a watershed model for the major river basins that are within Alabama or that cross Alabama’s borders, which serves as a...
Organizing phenological data resources to inform natural resource conservation
Alyssa H. Rosemartin, Theresa Crimmins, Carolyn A.F. Enquist, Katharine L. Gerst, Jherime L. Kellermann, Erin E. Posthumus, Ellen G. Denny, Patricia Guertin, Lee Marsh, Jake F. Weltzin
2014, Biological Conservation (173) 90-97
Changes in the timing of plant and animal life cycle events, in response to climate change, are already happening across the globe. The impacts of these changes may affect biodiversity via disruption to mutualisms, trophic mismatches, invasions and population declines. To understand the nature, causes and consequences of changed, varied...
