Detecting annual and seasonal changes in a sagebrush ecosystem with remote sensing-derived continuous fields
Collin G. Homer, Debra K. Meyer, Cameron L. Aldridge, Spencer Schell
2013, Journal of Applied Remote Sensing (7)
Climate change may represent the greatest future risk to the sagebrush ecosystem. Improved ways to quantify and monitor gradual change resulting from climate influences in this ecosystem are vital to its future management. For this research, the change over time of five continuous field cover components including bare ground, herbaceous,...
Internet-based Modeling, Mapping, and Analysis for the Greater Everglades (IMMAGE; Version 1.0): web-based tools to assess the impact of sea level rise in south Florida
Paul Hearn, David Strong, Eric Swain, Jeremy Decker
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1185
South Florida's Greater Everglades area is particularly vulnerable to sea level rise, due to its rich endowment of animal and plant species and its heavily populated urban areas along the coast. Rising sea levels are expected to have substantial impacts on inland flooding, the depth and extent of surge from...
Analytical properties of some commercially available nitrate reductase enzymes evaluated as replacements for cadmium in automated, semiautomated, and manual colorimetric methods for determination of nitrate plus nitrite in water
Charles J. Patton, Jennifer R. Kryskalla
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5033
A multiyear research effort at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Quality Laboratory (NWQL) evaluated several commercially available nitrate reductase (NaR) enzymes as replacements for toxic cadmium in longstanding automated colorimetric air-segmented continuous-flow analyzer (CFA) methods for determining nitrate plus nitrite (NOx) in water. This research culminated in USGS...
Water-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and adjacent areas, central New Mexico, period of record through September 30, 2012
Joseph E. Beman
2013, Data Series 790
The Albuquerque Basin, located in central New Mexico, is about 100 miles long and 25–40 miles wide. The basin is defined as the extent of consolidated and unconsolidated deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age that encompasses the structural Rio Grande Rift within the basin. Drinking-water supplies throughout the basin were...
A comprehensive evaluation of two MODIS evapotranspiration products over the conterminous United States: using point and gridded FLUXNET and water balance ET
Naga M. Velpuri, Gabriel B. Senay, Ramesh K. Singh, Stefanie Bohms, James P. Verdin
2013, Remote Sensing of Environment (139) 35-49
Remote sensing datasets are increasingly being used to provide spatially explicit large scale evapotranspiration (ET) estimates. Extensive evaluation of such large scale estimates is necessary before they can be used in various applications. In this study, two monthly MODIS 1 km ET products, MODIS global ET (MOD16) and Operational Simplified...
Coastal flood inundation monitoring with Satellite C-band and L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar data
Elijah W. Ramsey III, Amina Rangoonwala, Terri Bannister
2013, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (49) 1239-1260
Satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) was evaluated as a method to operationally monitor the occurrence and distribution of storm- and tidal-related flooding of spatially extensive coastal marshes within the north-central Gulf of Mexico. Maps representing the occurrence of marsh surface inundation were created from available Advanced Land Observation Satellite (ALOS)...
Clustering of velocities in a GPS network spanning the Sierra Nevada Block, the northern Walker Lane Belt, and the Central Nevada Seismic Belt, California-Nevada
James C. Savage, Robert W. Simpson
2013, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (118) 4937-4947
The deformation across the Sierra Nevada Block, the Walker Lane Belt, and the Central Nevada Seismic Belt (CNSB) between 38.5°N and 40.5°N has been analyzed by clustering GPS velocities to identify coherent blocks. Cluster analysis determines the number of clusters required and assigns the GPS stations to the proper clusters....
Scenarios of bioenergy development impacts on regional groundwater withdrawals
Daniel R. Uden, Craig R. Allen, Rob B. Mitchell, Qingfeng Guan, Tim D. McCoy
2013, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (68) 124A-128A
Irrigation increases agricultural productivity, but it also stresses water resources (Huffaker and Hamilton 2007). Drought and the potential for drier conditions resulting from climate change could strain water supplies in landscapes where human populations rely on finite groundwater resources for drinking, agriculture, energy, and industry (IPCC 2007). For instance, in...
Brine intrusion by upconing for a high-level nuclear waste repository at Forsmark: Scoping calculations
Clifford I. Voss, Joel Geier, Georg Lindgren
2013, Report
SSM currently reviews a license application for a spent nuclear fuel repository that is proposed to be located at Forsmark, Sweden. The repository is to be situated at 500 m depth in the rock and copper canisters are deposited in holes excavated from the tunnel system. To protect the canisters...
Massachusetts shoreline change project: a GIS compilation of vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the 2013 update
Theresa L. Smith, Emily A. Himmelstoss, E. Robert Thieler
2013, Open-File Report 2012-1183
Identifying the rates and trends associated with the position of the shoreline through time presents vital information on potential impacts these changes may have on coastal populations and infrastructure, and supports informed coastal management decisions. This report publishes the historical shoreline data used to assess the scale and timing of...
Greater Sage-Grouse National Research Strategy
Steven E. Hanser, Daniel J. Manier
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5167
The condition of the sagebrush ecosystem has been declining in the Western United States, and greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), a sagebrush-obligate species, has experienced concurrent decreases in distribution and population numbers. This has prompted substantial research and management over the past two decades to improve the understanding of sage-grouse and...
A record of large earthquakes during the past two millennia on the southern Green Valley Fault, California
James J. Lienkaemper, John N. Baldwin, Robert Turner, Robert R. Sickler, Johnathan Brown
2013, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (103) 2386-2403
We document evidence for surface-rupturing earthquakes (events) at two trench sites on the southern Green Valley fault, California (SGVF). The 75-80-km long dextral SGVF creeps ~1-4 mm/yr. We identify stratigraphic horizons disrupted by upward-flowering shears and in-filled fissures unlikely to have formed from creep alone. The Mason Rd site exhibits...
Numerical simulation of the groundwater-flow system in Chimacum Creek Basin and vicinity, Jefferson County, Washington
Joseph L. Jones, Kenneth H. Johnson, Lonna M. Frans
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5160
A groundwater-flow model was developed to evaluate potential future effects of growth and of water-management strategies on water resources in the Chimacum Creek Basin. The model covers an area of about 64 square miles (mi2) on the Olympic Peninsula in northeastern Jefferson County, Washington. The Chimacum Creek Basin drains an...
Evaluation of internal loading and water level changes: implications for phosphorus, algal production, and nuisance blooms in Kabetogama Lake, Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota
Victoria G. Christensen, Ryan P. Maki, Richard L. Kiesling
2013, Lake and Reservoir Management (29) 202-215
Hydrologic manipulations have the potential to exacerbate or remediate eutrophication in productive reservoirs. Dam operations at Kabetogama Lake, Minnesota, were modified in 2000 to restore a more natural water regime and improve water quality. The US Geological Survey and National Park Service evaluated nutrient, algae, and nuisance bloom data in...
Dendrometer bands made easy: using modified cable ties to measure incremental growth of trees
Evelyn R. Anemaet, Beth A. Middleton
2013, Applications in Plant Science (1)
Dendrometer bands are a useful way to make sequential repeated measurements of tree growth, but traditional dendrometer bands can be expensive, time consuming, and difficult to construct in the field. An alternative to the traditional method of band construction is to adapt commercially available materials. This paper describes how to...
Dissolved methane in groundwater, Upper Delaware River Basin, Pennsylvania and New York, 2007-12
William M. Kappel
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1167
The prospect of natural gas development from the Marcellus and Utica Shales has raised concerns about freshwater aquifers being vulnerable to contamination. Well owners are asking questions about subsurface methane, such as, “Does my well water have methane and is it safe to drink the water?” and “Is my well...
Population vulnerability and evacuation challenges in California for the SAFRR tsunami scenario
Nathan Wood, Jamie Ratliff, Jeff Peters, Kimberley Shoaf
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1170-I
The SAFRR tsunami scenario models the impacts of a hypothetical yet plausible tsunami associated with a magnitude 9.1 megathrust earthquake east of the Alaska Peninsula. This report summarizes community variations in population vulnerability and potential evacuation challenges to the tsunami. The most significant public-health concern for California coastal communities during...
Public-policy issues associated with the SAFRR Tsunami Scenario
Laurie Johnson, Chuck Real
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1170-M
The SAFRR (Science Application for Risk Reduction) tsunami scenario simulates a tsunami generated by a hypothetical magnitude 9.1 earthquake that occurs offshore of the Alaska Peninsula (Kirby and others, 2013). In addition to the work performed by the authors on public-policy issues associated with the SAFRR tsunami scenario, this section...
Tsunami mitigation and preparedness activities in California
Rick Wilson, Kevin H. Miller
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1170-L
Scenario planning and final results associated with the U.S. Geological Survey Science Application for Risk Reduction (SAFRR) tsunami project are providing great benefits to the ongoing tsunami risk-reduction efforts of the California Tsunami Preparedness and Hazard Mitigation Program. This program, led by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and...
Communication products for the Science Application for Risk Reduction (SAFRR) tsunami scenario: Chapter K in The SAFRR (Science Application for Risk Reduction) Tsunami Scenario
Suzanne C. Perry
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1170-K
Science Application for Risk Reduction (SAFRR), like its predecessor the Multi-Hazards Demonstration Project, has a mission to increase the use of science by decision-makers of all kinds. Thus, an important part of any SAFRR scenario is development of products that enhance usability of the science. In this tsunami scenario, the...
Emergency management response to a warning-level Alaska-source tsunami impacting California: Chapter J in The SAFRR (Science Application for Risk Reduction) Tsunami Scenario
Kevin M. Miller, Kate Long
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1170-J
This chapter is directed towards two audiences: Firstly, it targets nonemergency management readers, providing them with insight on the process and challenges facing emergency managers in responding to tsunami Warning, particularly given this “short fuse” scenario. It is called “short fuse” because there is only a 5.5-hour window following the...
Economic impacts of the SAFRR tsunami scenario in California: Chapter H in The SAFRR (Science Application for Risk Reduction) Tsunami Scenario
Anne Wein, Adam Rose, Ian Sue Wing, Dan Wei
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1170-H
This study evaluates the hypothetical economic impacts of the SAFRR (Science Application for Risk Reduction) tsunami scenario to the California economy. The SAFRR scenario simulates a tsunami generated by a hypothetical magnitude 9.1 earthquake that occurs offshore of the Alaska Peninsula (Kirby and others, 2013). Economic impacts are measured by...
Evaluation of the groundwater flow model for southern Utah and Goshen Valleys, Utah, updated to conditions through 2011, with new projections and groundwater management simulations
Lynette E. Brooks
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1171
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Southern Utah Valley Municipal Water Association, updated an existing USGS model of southern Utah and Goshen Valleys for hydrologic and climatic conditions from 1991 to 2011 and used the model for projection and groundwater management simulations. All model files used in...
Application of the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin in the southeastern United States
Jacob H. LaFontaine, Lauren E. Hay, Roland J. Viger, Steve L. Markstrom, R. Steve Regan, Caroline M. Elliott, John Jones
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5162
A hydrologic model of the Apalachicola–Chattahoochee–Flint River Basin (ACFB) has been developed as part of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center effort to provide integrated science that helps resource managers understand the effect of climate change on a range of ecosystem responses. The hydrologic...
Flood-inundation maps for the Wabash River at Terre Haute, Indiana
Pamela J. Lombard
2013, Scientific Investigations Map 3232
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 6.3-mi reach of the Wabash River from 0.1 mi downstream of the Interstate 70 bridge to 1.1 miles upstream of the Route 63 bridge, Terre Haute, Indiana, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Indiana Department of Transportation. The inundation...
