Sea-floor geology in northeastern Block Island Sound, Rhode Island
Kate Y. McMullen, Lawrence J. Poppe, Seth D. Ackerman, Dann S. Blackwood, P.G. Lewit, Castle E. Parker
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1003
Multibeam-echosounder and sidescan-sonar data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in northeastern Block Island Sound, combined with sediment samples and bottom photography collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, are used to interpret sea-floor features and sedimentary environments in this 52-square-kilometer-area offshore Rhode Island. Boulders, which are often overgrown...
Species and life-history affects the utility of otolith chemical composition to determine natal stream-of-origin in Pacific salmon
Christian E. Zimmerman, Heidi K. Swanson, Eric C. Volk, Adam J. R. Kent
2013, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (142) 1370-1380
To test the utility of otolith chemical composition as a tool for determining the natal stream of origin for salmon, we examined water chemistry and otoliths of juvenile and adult Chum Salmon Oncorhynchus keta and Coho Salmon O. kisutch from three watersheds (five rivers) in the Norton Sound region of...
Potential Environmental and Environmental-Health Implications of the SAFRR Tsunami Scenario in California: Chapter F in The SAFRR (Science Application for Risk Reduction) Tsunami Scenario
Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Suzette A. Morman, Carma San Juan
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1170-F
The California Tsunami Scenario models the impacts of a hypothetical, yet plausible, tsunami caused by an earthquake offshore from the Alaska Peninsula. In this chapter, we interpret plausible tsunami-related contamination, environmental impacts, potential for human exposures to contaminants and hazardous materials, and implications for remediation and recovery. Inundation-related damages to...
The SAFRR tsunami scenario-physical damage in California: Chapter E in The SAFRR (Science Application for Risk Reduction) Tsunami Scenario
Keith Porter, William Byers, David Dykstra, Amy Lim, Patrick Lynett, Jaime Ratliff, Charles Scawthorn, Anne Wein, Rick Wilson
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1170-E
his chapter attempts to depict a single realistic outcome of the SAFRR (Science Application for Risk Reduction) tsunami scenario in terms of physical damage to and recovery of various aspects of the built environment in California. As described elsewhere in this report, the tsunami is generated by a hypothetical magnitude...
Landsat 8
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3060
The Landsat era that began in 1972 will continue into the future, since the February 2013 launch of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (renamed Landsat 8 on May 30, 2013). The Landsat 8 satellite provides 16-bit high-quality land-surface data, with instruments advancing future measurement capabilities while ensuring compatibility with historical...
Modeling for the SAFRR Tsunami Scenario-generation, propagation, inundation, and currents in ports and harbors: Chapter D in The SAFRR (Science Application for Risk Reduction) Tsunami Scenario
SAFRR Tsunami Modeling Working Group
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1170-D
This U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Open-File report presents a compilation of tsunami modeling studies for the Science Application for Risk Reduction (SAFRR) tsunami scenario. These modeling studies are based on an earthquake source specified by the SAFRR tsunami source working group (Kirby and others, 2013). The modeling studies in this...
Baseline assessment of physical characteristics, aquatic biota, and selected water-quality properties at the reach and mesohabitat scale for three stream reaches in the Big Cypress Basin, northeastern Texas, 2010-11
Christopher L. Braun, James B. Moring
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3065
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Northeast Texas Municipal Water District and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, did a baseline assessment in 2010-11 of physical characteristics and selected aquatic biota (fish and mussels) collected at the mesohabitat scale for three stream reaches in the Big Cypress...
Alaska earthquake source for the SAFRR tsunami scenario: Chapter B in The SAFRR (Science Application for Risk Reduction) Tsunami Scenario
Stephen Kirby, David Scholl, Roland E. von Huene, Ray Wells
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1170-B
Tsunami modeling has shown that tsunami sources located along the Alaska Peninsula segment of the Aleutian-Alaska subduction zone have the greatest impacts on southern California shorelines by raising the highest tsunami waves for a given source seismic moment. The most probable sector for a Mw ~ 9 source within this...
Synthesis and interpretation of surface-water quality and aquatic biota data collected in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, 1979-2009
John D. Jastram, Craig D. Snyder, Nathaniel P. Hitt, Karen C. Rice
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5157
Shenandoah National Park in northern and central Virginia protects 777 square kilometers of mountain terrain in the Blue Ridge physiographic province and more than 90 streams containing diverse aquatic biota. Park managers and visitors are interested in the water quality of park streams and its ability to support healthy coldwater communities...
SAFRR (Science Application for Risk Reduction) Tsunami Scenario--Executive Summary and Introduction: Chapter A in The SAFRR (Science Application for Risk Reduction) Tsunami Scenario
Stephanie L. Ross, Lucile M. Jones, Kevin H. Miller, Keith A. Porter, Anne Wein, Rick I. Wilson, Bohyun Bahng, Aggeliki Barberopoulou, Jose C. Borrero, Deborah M. Brosnan, John T. Bwarie, Eric L. Geist, Laurie A. Johnson, Stephen H. Kirby, William R. Knight, Kate Long, Patrick Lynett, Carl E. Mortensen, Dmitry J. Nicolsky, Suzanne C. Perry, Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Charles R. Real, Kenneth Ryan, Elena Suleimani, Hong Kie Thio, Vasily V. Titov, Paul M. Whitmore, Nathan J. Wood
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1170-A
The Science Application for Risk Reduction (SAFRR) tsunami scenario depicts a hypothetical but plausible tsunami created by an earthquake offshore from the Alaska Peninsula and its impacts on the California coast. The tsunami scenario is a collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the California Geological Survey, the California Governor’s...
The SAFRR (Science Application for Risk Reduction) Tsunami Scenario
Stephanie L. Ross, Lucile M. Jones, editor(s)
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1170
The Science Application for Risk Reduction (SAFRR) tsunami scenario depicts a hypothetical but plausible tsunami created by an earthquake offshore from the Alaska Peninsula and its impacts on the California coast. The tsunami scenario is a collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the California Geological Survey (CGS), the California...
The SAFRR tsunami scenario: improving resilience for California
Stephanie L. Ross, Lucile M. Jones, Kevin H. Miller, Keith A. Porter, Anne Wein, Rick I. Wilson, Bohyun Bahng, Aggeliki Barberopoulou, Jose C. Borrero, Deborah M. Brosnan, John T. Bwarie, Eric L. Geist, Laurie A. Johnson, Stephen H. Kirby, William R. Knight, Kate Long, Patrick Lynett, Carl E. Mortensen, Dmitry J. Nicolsky, Suzanne C. Perry, Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Charles R. Real, Kenneth Ryan, Elena Suleimani, Hong Kie Thio, Vasily V. Titov, Paul M. Whitmore, Nathan J. Wood
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3081
On March 11, 2011, the Tohoku earthquake and the resulting tsunami devastated Japan with a disaster of unfathomable proportions. Five thousand miles away, the waves from Tohoku caused $50 to 100 million in damages in California. Although this pales in comparison to the loss of lives and property in Japan,...
Using broad landscape level features to predict redd densities of steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Methow River watershed, Washington
Jason G. Romine, Russell W. Perry, Patrick J. Connolly
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1232
We used broad-scale landscape feature variables to model redd densities of spring Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Methow River watershed. Redd densities were estimated from redd counts conducted from 2005 to 2007 and 2009 for steelhead trout and 2005 to 2009 for spring Chinook...
Estimating ecosystem carbon stocks at Redwood National and State Parks
Phillip J. van Mantgem, Mary Ann Madej, Joseph Seney, Janelle Deshais
2013, Park Science (30) 20-26
Accounting for ecosystem carbon is increasingly important for park managers. In this case study we present our efforts to estimate carbon stocks and the effects of management on carbon stocks for Redwood National and State Parks in northern California. Using currently available information, we estimate that on average these parks’...
Mobile laser scanning applied to the earth sciences
Benjamin A. Brooks, Craig Glennie, Kenneth W. Hudnut, Todd Ericksen, Darren Hauser
2013, Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union (94) 313-315
Lidar (light detection and ranging), a method by which the precise time of flight of emitted pulses of laser energy is measured and converted to distance for reflective targets, has helped scientists make topographic maps of Earth's surface at scales as fine as centimeters. These maps have allowed the discovery...
Morphological distinctiveness of Javan Tupaia hypochrysa (Scandentia, Tupaiidae)
Eric J. Sargis, Neal Woodman, Natalie C. Morningstar, Aspen T. Reese, Link E. Olson
2013, Journal of Mammalogy (94) 938-947
The common treeshrew, Tupaia glis, represents a species complex with a complicated taxonomic history. It is distributed mostly south of the Isthmus of Kra on the Malay Peninsula and surrounding islands. In our recent revision of a portion of this species complex, we did not fully assess the population from...
Golden eagle population trends in the western United States: 1968-2010
Brian A. Millsap, Guthrie S. Zimmerman, John R. Sauer, Ryan M. Nielson, Mark Otto, Emily Bjerre, Robert K. Murphy
2013, Journal of Wildlife Management (77) 1436-1448
In 2009, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service promulgated permit regulations for the unintentional lethal take (anthropogenic mortality) and disturbance of golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos). Accurate population trend and size information for golden eagles are needed so agency biologists can make informed decisions when eagle take permits are requested....
The impact of sea-level rise on organic matter decay rates in Chesapeake Bay brackish tidal marshes
M.L. Kirwanm, J.A. Langley, Gleen R. Guntenspergen, J.P. Megonigal
2013, Biogeosciences (10) 1869-1876
The balance between organic matter production and decay determines how fast coastal wetlands accumulate soil organic matter. Despite the importance of soil organic matter accumulation rates in influencing marsh elevation and resistance to sea-level rise, relatively little is known about how decomposition rates will respond to sea-level rise. Here, we...
Remote detection of magmatic water in Bullialdus crater on the Moon
Rachel L. Klima, John Cahill, Justin Hagerty, David Lawrence
2013, Nature Geoscience (6) 737-741
Once considered dry compared with Earth, laboratory analyses of igneous components of lunar samples have suggested that the Moon’s interior is not entirely anhydrous. Water and hydroxyl have also been detected from orbit on the lunar surface, but these have been attributed to nonindigenous sources, such as interactions with the...
Vegetation inventory, mapping, and classification report, Fort Bowie National Historic Site
Sarah Studd, Elizabeth Fallon, Laura Crumbacher, Sam Drake, Miguel L. Villarreal
2013, Natural Resource Report NPS/SODN/NRR—2013/673
A vegetation mapping and characterization effort was conducted at Fort Bowie National Historic Site in 2008-10 by the Sonoran Desert Network office in collaboration with researchers from the Office of Arid lands studies, Remote Sensing Center at the University of Arizona. This vegetation mapping effort was completed under the National...
Comparative embryotoxicity of a pentabrominated diphenyl ether mixture to common terns (Sterna hirundo) and American kestrels (Falco sparverius)
Barnett A. Rattner, Rebecca S. Lazarus, Gary H. Heinz, Natalie K. Karouna-Reiner, Sandra L. Schultz, Robert C. Hale
2013, Chemosphere (93) 441-447
Concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in Forster’s tern (Sterna forsteri) eggs from San Francisco Bay have been reported to range up to 63 μg g−1 lipid weight. This value exceeds the lowest-observed-adverse-effect level (1.8 μg g−1 egg wet weight; ∼32 μg−1 lipid weight) reported in an embryotoxicity study with...
Social learning of migratory performance
Thomas Mueller, Robert B. O’Hara, Sarah J. Converse, Richard P. Urbanek, William F. Fagan
2013, Science (341) 999-1002
Successful bird migration can depend on individual learning, social learning, and innate navigation programs. Using 8 years of data on migrating whooping cranes, we were able to partition genetic and socially learned aspects of migration. Specifically, we analyzed data from a reintroduced population wherein all birds were captive bred and...
2013 Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Forecast
Donald Scavia, Mary Anne Evans, Dan Obenour
2013, Report
The Gulf of Mexico annual summer hypoxia forecasts are based on average May total nitrogen loads from the Mississippi River basin for that year. The load estimate, recently released by USGS, is 7,316 metric tons per day. Based on that estimate, we predict the area of this summer’s hypoxic...
Too risky to settle: avian community structure changes in response to perceived predation risk on adults and offspring
Fangyuan Hua, Robert J. Fletcher, Kathryn E. Sieving, Robert M. Dorazio
2013, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (280)
Predation risk is widely hypothesized as an important force structuring communities, but this potential force is rarely tested experimentally, particularly in terrestrial vertebrate communities. How animals respond to predation risk is generally considered predictable from species life-history and natural-history traits, but rigorous tests of these predictions remain scarce. We report...
Candidate soil indicators for monitoring the progress of constructed wetlands toward a natural state: a statistical approach
Martin A. Stapanian, Jean V. Adams, M. Siobhan Fennessy, John Mack, Mick Micacchion
2013, Wetlands (33) 1083-1094
A persistent question among ecologists and environmental managers is whether constructed wetlands are structurally or functionally equivalent to naturally occurring wetlands. We examined 19 variables collected from 10 constructed and nine natural emergent wetlands in Ohio, USA. Our primary objective was to identify candidate indicators of wetland...
