Detections, concentrations, and distributional patterns of compounds of emerging concern in the San Antonio River Basin, Texas, 2011-12
Stephen P. Opsahl, Rebecca B. Lambert
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5200
During 2011–12, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio River Authority, evaluated detections, concentrations, and distributional patterns of selected compounds of emerging concern (hereinafter referred to as “CECs”) from water-quality samples (hereinafter referred to as “samples”) collected at a total of 20 sampling sites distributed throughout the...
Estimation of traveltime and longitudinal dispersion in streams in West Virginia
Jeffrey B. Wiley, Terence Messinger
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5182
Traveltime and dispersion data are important for understanding and responding to spills of contaminants in waterways. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with West Virginia Bureau for Public Health, Office of Environmental Health Services, compiled and evaluated traveltime and longitudinal dispersion data representative of many West Virginia waterways. Traveltime...
GWM-VI: groundwater management with parallel processing for multiple MODFLOW versions
Edward R. Banta, David P. Ahlfeld
2013, Techniques and Methods 6-A48
Groundwater Management–Version Independent (GWM–VI) is a new version of the Groundwater Management Process of MODFLOW. The Groundwater Management Process couples groundwater-flow simulation with a capability to optimize stresses on the simulated aquifer based on an objective function and constraints imposed on stresses and aquifer state. GWM–VI extends prior versions of...
Loess origin, transport, and deposition over the past 10,000 years, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska
Daniel R. Muhs, James R. Budahn, John P. McGeehin, E. Arthur Bettis III, Gary L. Skipp, James B. Paces, Elisabeth A. Wheeler
2013, Aeolian Research (11) 85-99
Contemporary glaciogenic dust has not received much attention, because most research has been on glaciogenic dust of the last glacial period or non-glaciogenic dust of the present interglacial period. Nevertheless, dust from modern glaciogenic sources may be important for Fe inputs to primary producers in the ocean. Adjacent to the...
Bathymetry and acoustic backscatter: Estero Bay, California
Stephen R. Hartwell, David P. Finlayson, Peter Dartnell, Samuel Y. Johnson
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1225
Between July 30 and August 9, 2012, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center (PCMSC), acquired bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data from Estero Bay, San Luis Obispo, California, under PCMSC Field Activity ID S-05-12-SC. The survey was done using the R/V Parke Snavely outfitted with a...
Streamflow monitoring and statistics for development of water rights claims for Wild and Scenic Rivers, Owyhee Canyonlands Wilderness, Idaho, 2012
Molly S. Wood, Ryan L. Fosness
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5212
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), collected streamflow data in 2012 and estimated streamflow statistics for stream segments designated "Wild," "Scenic," or "Recreational" under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System in the Owyhee Canyonlands Wilderness in southwestern Idaho. The streamflow statistics were...
Trichinosis
William J. Foreyt, Rachel C. Abbott, Charles van Riper III
2013, Circular 1388
Trichinosis, or trichinellosis, is one of the most widespread global parasitic diseases of humans and animals. This ancient disease is caused by the larval stage of parasitic roundworms (nematodes) in the genus Trichinella. Often called the “trichina worm,” this parasite is considered to be the king of the parasite community,...
Common and distinguishing features of the bacterial and fungal communities in biological soil crusts and shrub root zone soils
Blaire Steven, La Verne Gallegos-Graves, Chris Yeager, Jayne Belnap, Cheryl R. Kuske
2013, Soil Biology and Biochemistry (69) 302-312
Soil microbial communities in dryland ecosystems play important roles as root associates of the widely spaced plants and as the dominant members of biological soil crusts (biocrusts) colonizing the plant interspaces. We employed rRNA gene sequencing (bacterial 16S/fungal large subunit) and shotgun metagenomic sequencing to compare the microbial communities inhabiting...
Sexual dimorphism and feeding ecology of Diamond-backed Terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin)
Elizabeth B. Underwood, Sarah Bowers, Jacquelyn C. Guzy, Jeffrey E. Lovich, Carole A. Taylor, J. Whitfield Gibbons, Michael E. Dorcas
2013, Herpetologica (69) 397-404
Natural and sexual selection are frequently invoked as causes of sexual size dimorphism in animals. Many species of turtles, including the Diamond-backed Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin), exhibit sexual dimorphism in body size, possibly enabling the sexes to exploit different resources and reduce intraspecific competition. Female terrapins not only have larger body...
Integrated carbon budget models for the Everglades terrestrial-coastal-oceanic gradient: Current status and needs for inter-site comparisons
Tiffany G. Troxler, Evelyn Gaiser, Jordan Barr, Jose D. Fuentes, Rudolf Jaffe, Daniel L. Childers, Ligia Collado-Vides, Victor H. Rivera-Monroy, Edward Castañeda-Moya, William Anderson, Randy Chambers, Meilian Chen, Carlos Coronado-Molina, Stephen E. Davis, Victor C. Engel, Carl Fitz, James Fourqurean, Tom Frankovich, John Kominoski, Chris Madden, Sparkle L. Malone, Steve F. Oberbauer, Paulo Olivas, Jennifer Richards, Colin Saunders, Jessica Schedlbauer, Leonard J. Scinto, Fred Sklar, Thomas J. Smith III, Joseph M. Smoak, Gregory Starr, Robert Twilley, Kevin Whelan
2013, Oceanography (26) 98-107
Recent studies suggest that coastal ecosystems can bury significantly more C than tropical forests, indicating that continued coastal development and exposure to sea level rise and storms will have global biogeochemical consequences. The Florida Coastal Everglades Long Term Ecological Research (FCE LTER) site provides an excellent subtropical system for examining...
Genetic characterization of the Pacific sheath-tailed bat (Emballonura semicaudata rotensis) using mitochondrial DNA sequence data
Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Ernest W. Valdez, Thomas J. O’Shea, Jennifer A. Fike
2013, Journal of Mammalogy (94) 1030-1036
Emballonura semicaudata occurs in the southwestern Pacific and populations on many islands have declined or disappeared. One subspecies (E. semicaudata rotensis) occurs in the Northern Mariana Islands, where it has been extirpated from all but 1 island (Aguiguan). We assessed genetic similarity between the last population of E. s....
Origin and characteristics of discharge at San Marcos Springs, south-central Texas
MaryLynn Musgrove, Cassi L. Crow
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3080
The Edwards aquifer in south-central Texas is one of the most productive aquifers in the Nation and is the primary source of water for the rapidly growing San Antonio area. Springs issuing from the Edwards aquifer provide habitat for several threatened and endangered species, serve as locations for recreational activities,...
Annual exceedance probabilities of the peak discharges of 2011 at streamgages in Vermont and selected streamgages in New Hampshire, western Massachusetts, and northeastern New York
Scott A. Olson, Gardner C. Bent
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5187
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, determined annual exceedance probabilities for peak discharges occurring during the 2011 water year (October 1 to September 30) at streamgages in Vermont and selected streamgages in New Hampshire, western Massachusetts, and northeastern New York. This report presents the...
Outplanting Wyoming big sagebrush following wldfire: stock performance and economics
Eva Dettweiler-Robinson, Jonathan D. Bakker, James R. Evans, Heidi Newsome, G. Matt Davies, Troy A. Wirth, David A. Pyke, Richard T. Easterly, Debra Salstrom, Peter W. Dunwiddle
2013, Rangeland Ecology and Management (66) 657-666
Finding ecologically and economically effective ways to establish matrix species is often critical for restoration success. Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata subsp. wyomingensis) historically dominated large areas of western North America, but has been extirpated from many areas by large wildfires; its re-establishment in these areas often requires active management....
Sampling design for long-term regional trends in marine rocky intertidal communities
Gail V. Irvine, Alice Shelley
2013, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (185) 6963-6987
Probability-based designs reduce bias and allow inference of results to the pool of sites from which they were chosen. We developed and tested probability-based designs for monitoring marine rocky intertidal assemblages at Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (GLBA), Alaska. A multilevel design was used that varied in scale and...
Effect of ultramafic intrusions and associated mineralized rocks on the aqueous geochemistry of the Tangle Lakes Area, Alaska
Bronwen Wang, Larry P. Gough, Richard B. Wanty, Gregory K. Lee, James Vohden, J. Michael O’Neill, L. Jack Kerin
2013, Professional Paper 1795-C
Stream water was collected at 30 sites within the Tangle Lakes area of the Delta mineral belt in Alaska. Sampling focused on streams near the ultramafic rocks of the Fish Lake intrusive complex south of Eureka Creek and the Tangle Complex area east of Fourteen Mile Lake, as well as...
Undiscovered gas resources in the Alum Shale, Denmark, 2013
Donald L. Gautier, Ronald R. Charpentier, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Timothy R. Klett, Janet K. Pitman, Christopher J. Schenk, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Katherine J. Whidden
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3103
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimates a mean undiscovered volume of 6.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Alum Shale in Denmark....
Accuracy of the Missouri River Least Tern and Piping Plover Monitoring Program: considerations for the future
Terry L. Shaffer, Mark H. Sherfy, Michael J. Anteau, Jennifer H. Stucker, Marsha A. Sovada, Erin A. Roche, Mark T. Wiltermuth, Thomas K. Buhl, Colin M. Dovichin
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1176
The upper Missouri River system provides nesting and foraging habitat for federally endangered least terns (Sternula antillarum; hereafter “terns”) and threatened piping plovers (Charadrius melodus; hereafter “plovers”). These species are the subject of substantial management interest on the Missouri River for several reasons. First, ecosystem recovery is a goal for...
Holocene dynamics of the Florida Everglades with respect to climate, dustfall, and tropical storms
Paul H. Glaser, Barbara C. S. Hansen, Joseph J. Donovan, Thomas J. Givnish, Craig A. Stricker, John C. Volin
2013, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (110) 17211-17216
Aeolian dust is rarely considered an important source for nutrients in large peatlands, which generally develop in moist regions far from the major centers of dust production. As a result, past studies assumed that the Everglades provides a classic example of an originally oligotrophic, P-limited wetland that was subsequently degraded...
Flood-inundation maps for the DuPage River from Plainfield to Shorewood, Illinois, 2013
Elizabeth A. Murphy, Jennifer B. Sharpe
2013, Scientific Investigations Map 3275
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 15.5-mi reach of the DuPage River from Plainfield to Shorewood, Illinois, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Will County Stormwater Management Planning Committee. The inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science Web site...
Evidence for high salinity of Early Cretaceous sea water from the Chesapeake Bay crater
Ward E. Sanford, Michael W. Doughten, Tyler B. Coplen, Andrew G. Hunt, Thomas D. Bullen
2013, Nature (503) 252-256
High salinity groundwater more than 1000 metres deep in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the United States has been documented in several locations1,2, most recently within the 35 million-year-old Chesapeake Bay impact crater3,4,5. Suggestions for the origin of increased salinity in the crater have included evaporite dissolution6, osmosis6, and evaporation...
Large dams and alluvial rivers in the Anthropocene: The impacts of the Garrison and Oahe Dams on the Upper Missouri River
Katherine Skalak, Adam J. Benthem, Edward R. Schenk, Cliff R. Hupp, Joel M. Galloway, Rochelle A. Nustad, Gregg J. Wiche
2013, Anthropocene (2) 51-64
The Missouri River has had a long history of anthropogenic modification with considerable impacts on river and riparian ecology, form, and function. During the 20th century, several large dam-building efforts in the basin served the needs for irrigation, flood control, navigation, and the generation of hydroelectric power. The managed flow...
Inundation, sedimentation, and subsidence creates goose habitat along the Arctic coast of Alaska
Ken D. Tape, Paul L. Flint, Brandt W. Meixell, Benjamin V. Gaglioti
2013, Environmental Research Letters (8)
The Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska is characterized by thermokarst lakes and drained lake basins, and the rate of coastal erosion has increased during the last half-century. Portions of the coast are <1 m above sea level for kilometers inland, and are underlain by ice-rich permafrost. Increased storm surges or...
Users, uses, and value of Landsat satellite imagery: results from the 2012 survey of users
Holly M. Miller, Leslie A. Richardson, Stephen R. Koontz, John Loomis, Lynne Koontz
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1269
Landsat satellites have been operating since 1972, providing a continuous global record of the Earth’s land surface. The imagery is currently available at no cost through the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Social scientists at the USGS Fort Collins Science Center conducted an extensive survey in early 2012 to explore who...
ECALS: Loading studies interim report October 2013
Katy Klymus, Cathy Richter, Duane Chapman, Craig P. Paukert
2013, Report
Here we follow up the loading studies interim report from July 2013 and include results from laboratory studies assessing the effects of diet on eDNA shedding rates by bigheaded carps(silver and bighead carp). In order to understand how eDNA behavesin the environment, we must understand how it enters the system....
