Attribution of monotonic trends and change points in peak streamflow across the conterminous United States using a multiple working hypotheses framework, 1941–2015 and 1966–2015
Karen R. Ryberg, editor(s)
2022, Professional Paper 1869
The U.S. Geological Survey has a long history of leading flood-frequency analysis studies. These studies play a critical role in the assessment of risk, protection of lives, and planning and design of flood protection infrastructure. Standard flood-frequency analysis is based on the assumption of stationarity—that is, that the distribution of...
A computer-aided approach for adapting stage-discharge ratings and characterizing uncertainties of streamflow data with discrete measurements
David J. Holtschlag
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5083
Relations between stage (water level) and discharge of streamflow through a natural channel are the result of time-varying processes, which are commonly described by time-varying stage-discharge ratings. Hydrographers with the U.S. Geological Survey successfully maintain the accuracy of streamflow data by manually applying time-tested approaches to adapt ratings to temporal...
National strategy for landslide loss reduction
Jonathan W. Godt, Nathan J. Wood, Alice Pennaz, Connor M. Dacey, Benjamin B. Mirus, Lauren N. Schaefer, Stephen L. Slaughter
2022, Open-File Report 2022-1075
Executive SummaryLandslide hazards are present in all 50 States and most U.S. territories, and they affect lives, property, infrastructure, and the environment. Landslides are the downslope movement of earth materials under the force of gravity. They can occur without any obvious trigger. Widespread or severe landslide events are often driven...
Modeling of fire spread in sagebrush steppe using FARSITE: An approach to improving input data and simulation accuracy
Samuel J. Price, Matthew J. Germino
2022, Fire Ecology (18)
Background: Model simulations of wildfire spread and assessments of their accuracy are needed for understanding and managing altered fire regimes in semiarid regions. The accuracy of wildfire spread simulations can be evaluated from post hoc comparisons of simulated and actual wildfire perimeters, but this requires information on pre-fire vegetation fuels...
Hydrologic and environmental thresholds in stream fish assemblage structure across flow regimes
John Tyler Fox, Daniel D. Magoulick
2022, Ecological Indicators (144)
The characteristic pattern of variation in flow magnitude, frequency, duration, timing, and rate of change defines the flow regime of rivers and streams and is a key driver of ecosystem processes in fluvial ecosystems. Understanding how freshwater biotic assemblages change across gradients of hydrology and anthropogenic-source disturbance in different streamflow...
Field investigation of sub-isokinetic sampling by the US D-96-type suspended-sediment sampler and its effect on suspended-sediment measurements
Thomas A. Sabol, David J. Topping, Ronald E. Griffiths, Guillaume Dramais
2022, Open-File Report 2022-1077
Collection of accurate suspended-sediment data using depth-integrating samplers requires that they operate isokinetically, that is, that they sample at the local stream velocity unaffected by the presence of the suspended-sediment sampler. Sub-isokinetic suspended-sediment sampling causes grain-size dependent positive biases in the suspended-sediment concentration measured by the suspended-sediment sampler. Collapsible bag...
Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in passive samplers at seven coastal sites off West Maui, Hawaiʻi:
Pamela L. Campbell, Nancy G. Prouty, Curt D. Storlazzi
2022, Open-File Report 2022-1065
Passive membrane samplers—semipermeable membrane devices and polar organic chemical integrative samplers—were deployed for 22 continuous days at 7 sites along the West Maui, Hawaiʻi, coastline in February and March 2017 to assess organic contaminants at shallow coral reef ecosystems from diverse upstream inputs. The distribution of organic compounds observed at...
Spatial distribution and physicochemical properties of respirable volcanic ash from the 16-17 August 2006 Tungurahua eruption (Ecuador), and alveolar epithelium response in-vitro
Julia Eychenne, Lucia Gurioli, David Damby, Corinne Belville, Federica Schiavi, Geoffroy Marceau, Claire Szczepaniak, Christelle Blavignac, Mickael Laumonier, Emmanuel Gardes, Jean-Luc Le Pennec, Jean-Marie Nedelec, Loic Blanchon, Vincent Sapin
2022, GeoHealth (6)
Tungurahua volcano (Ecuador) intermittently emitted ash between 1999 and 2016, enduringly affecting the surrounding rural area and its population, but its health impact remains poorly documented. We aim to assess the respiratory health hazard posed by the 16–17 August 2006 most intense eruptive phase of Tungurahua. We mapped the spatial...
Identifying shared priorities for a bioregional approach to restoration in the Northern Gulf of Mexico
Kelly G. Guilbeau, Ann C Hijuelos, Stephanie Romanach, Gregory Steyer
2022, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (10)
Natural resource management is often challenged with a mismatch between the scale of decision-making and the scale of the biological, ecological, and physical processes that control a system. Bioregional approaches to adaptive management have emerged as an approach to inform natural resource management at ecologically relevant scales and...
Neural net detection of seismic features related to gas hydrates and free gas accumulations on the northern U.S. Atlantic margin
Urmi Majumdar, Nathaniel C. Miller, Carolyn D. Ruppel
2022, Interpretation (10) T785-T806
Bottom-simulating reflections (BSRs) that sometimes mark the base of the gas hydrate stability zone in marine sediments are often identified based on the reverse polarity reflections that cut across stratigraphic layering in seismic amplitude data. On the northern U.S. Atlantic margin (USAM) between Cape...
Drought and water management in ancient Maya society
Tripti Bhattacharya, Samantha Krause, Dan Penny, David Wahl
2022, Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment (47) 189-204
Paleoclimate research in the Maya region of Mesoamerica provides compelling evidence of drought during key periods of cultural transition in Maya society. These include the transition from the Preclassic to the Classic, and from Classic to the Postclassic. Previous research emphasized a causal relationship between drought and...
Groundwater and surface-water data collection for the Walla Walla River Basin, Washington, 2018–22
Elisabeth T. Fasser, Sarah B. Dunn
2022, Data Report 1163
The semi-arid Walla Walla River Basin (WWRB) spans 1777 square miles in the states of Washington and Oregon and supports a diverse agricultural region as well as cities and rural communities that are partially reliant on groundwater. Historically, surface water and groundwater data have been collected in the WWRB...
Tapwater exposures, effects potential, and residential risk management in Northern Plains Nations
Paul M. Bradley, Kristin M. Romanok, Kelly L. Smalling, Michael J. Focazio, Robert Charboneau, Christine Marie George, Ana Navas-Acien, Marcia O’Leary, Reno Red Cloud, Tracy Zacher, Sara E. Breitmeyer, Mary C. Cardon, Christa K. Cuny, Guthrie Ducheneaux, Kendra Enright, Nicola Evans, James L. Gray, David E. Harvey, Michelle L. Hladik, Leslie K. Kanagy, Keith A. Loftin, R. Blaine McCleskey, Elizabeth Medlock-Kakaley, Shannon M. Meppelink, Joshua F. Valder, Christopher P. Weis
2022, Environmental Science and Technology Water (2) 1772-1788
In the United States (US), private-supply tapwater (TW) is rarely monitored. This data gap undermines individual/community risk-management decision-making, leading to an increased probability of unrecognized contaminant exposures in rural and remote locations that rely on private wells. We assessed point-of-use (POU) TW in three northern plains Tribal Nations, where ongoing...
A study on the effect of site response on California seismic hazard map assessment
Molly M. Gallahue, Leah Marschall Salditch, Madeleine C. Lucas, James S. Neely, Seth Stein, Norman A. Abrahamson, Tessa Williams, Susan E. Hough
2022, Frontiers in Earth Science: Geohazards and Georisks (10)
Prior studies have repeatedly shown that probabilistic seismic hazard maps from several different countries predict higher shaking than that observed. Previous map assessments have not, however, considered the influence of site response on hazard. Seismologists have long acknowledged the influence of near-surface geology, in particular low-impedance sediment layers,...
Wind turbine wakes can impact down-wind vegetation greenness
James E. Diffendorfer, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Zachary H. Ancona
2022, Environmental Research Letters (17)
Global wind energy has expanded 5-fold since 2010 and is predicted to expand another 8–10-fold over the next 30 years. Wakes generated by wind turbines can alter downwind microclimates and potentially downwind vegetation. However, the design of past studies has made it difficult to isolate the impact...
Insights on multistage rock avalanche behavior from runout modeling constrained by seismic inversions
Andrew Mitchell, Kate E. Allstadt, David L. George, Jordan Aaron, Scott McDougall, Jeffrey R. Moore, Brian Menounous
2022, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth (127)
Inversion of low-frequency regional seismic records to solve for a time series of bulk forces exerted on the earth by a landslide (a force-time function) is increasingly being used to infer volumes and dynamics of large, highly energetic landslides, such as rock avalanches and flowslides, and to...
Evaluating acid-aluminum stress in streams of the Northeastern U.S. at watershed, fish community and physiological scales
Benjamin J Zdasiuk, Celia Y. Chen, Stephen D. McCormick, Keith H. Nislow, Joel G Singley, John T. Kelly
2022, Ecological Indicators (144)
In spite of overall improvements in air and water quality, biological stress from low pH and high concentrations of inorganic aluminum continue to impact fish and fish habitat in northeastern North America, with independent and interactive effects on individuals, populations and communities. Integrative indicators can therefore be useful in monitoring...
Inventory of eelgrass (Zostera marina) and seaweeds at the end of the Alaska Peninsula, August–September 2012:
David H. Ward, Kyle R. Hogrefe, Tyronne F. Donnelly, Neils C. Dau, Orville Lind, Kevin J. Payne, Sandra C. Lindstrom
2022, Open-File Report 2021-1034
Coastal communities in Alaska are undergoing rapid environmental change from increasing temperatures and baseline data are needed to monitor potential impacts. We conducted the first surveys of the abundance and distribution of eelgrass (Zostera marina) and seaweeds in the western part of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge at the end of...
Distribution of eelgrass (Zostera marina) in coastal waters adjacent to Togiak National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
David H. Ward, Kyle R. Hogrefe, Tyronne F. Donnelly, Michael A. Swaim
2022, Open-File Report 2020-1080
Declines in the distribution and abundance of seagrasses worldwide have prompted a need for baseline distribution maps of eelgrass (Zostera marina) in Alaska. We used high-resolution digital-color aerial photography and multi-spectral satellite imagery to map the distribution and spatial extent of eelgrass at 21 sites in coastal waters adjacent...
A century of drought in Hawai‘i: Geospatial analysis and synthesis across hydrological, ecological, and socioeconomic scales
Abby G. Frazier, Christian P. Giardina, Thomas W Giambelluca, Laura Brewington, Yi-Leng Chen, Pao-Shin Chu, Lucas Berio Fortini, David Helweg, Victoria W. Keener, Ryan J Longman, Matthew P Lucas, Alan Mair, Delwyn S. Oki, Julian Reyes, Stephanie G. Yelenik, Clay Trauernicht
2022, Sustainability (14)
Drought is a prominent feature of Hawaiʻi’s climate. However, it has been over 30 years since the last comprehensive meteorological drought analysis, and recent drying trends have emphasized the need to better understand drought dynamics and multi-sector effects in Hawaiʻi. Here, we provide a comprehensive synthesis of...
A sagebrush conservation design to proactively restore America’s sagebrush biome
Kevin Doherty, David M. Theobald, John B. Bradford, Lief A. Wiechman, Geoffrey Bedrosian, Chad S. Boyd, Matthew Cahill, Peter S. Coates, Megan K. Creutzburg, Michele R. Crist, Sean P. Finn, Alexander V. Kumar, Caitlin E. Littlefield, Jeremy D. Maestas, Karen L. Prentice, Brian G. Prochazka, Thomas E. Remington, William D. Sparklin, John C. Tull, Zachary Wurtzebach, Katherine A. Zeller
2022, Open-File Report 2022-1081
A working group of experts with diverse professional backgrounds and disciplinary expertise was assembled to conceptualize a spatially explicit conservation design to support and inform the Sagebrush Conservation Strategy Part 2. The goal was to leverage recent advancements in remotely sensed landcover products to develop spatially and temporally explicit maps...
Laysan albatross exhibit complex behavioral plasticity in the subtropical and subarctic North Pacific Ocean
Morgan Elizabeth Gilmour, Jonathan J. Felis, Michelle M. Hester, Lindsay C. Young, Josh Adams
2022, Marine Ecology Progress Series (697) 125-147
Animals that regularly traverse habitat extremes between the subtropics and subarctic are expected to exhibit foraging behaviors that respond to changes in dynamic ocean habitats, and these behaviors may facilitate adaptations to novel and changing climates. During the chick-provisioning stage, Laysan albatross Phoebastria immutabilis parents regularly undertake short- and long-distance foraging trips...
The biogeography of relative abundance of soil fungi versus bacteria in surface topsoil
Kailiang Yu, Johan van den Hoogen, Zhiqiang Wang, Colin Averill, Devin Routh, Gabriel Reuben Smith, Rebecca E. Drenovsky, Kate M. Scow, Fei Mo, Mark Waldrop, Yuanhe Yang, Weize Tang, Franciska De Vries, Richard D. Bardgett, Peter Manning, Felipe Bastida, Sara G. Baer, Elizabeth Bach, Carlos J. Garcia, Qingkui Wang, Linna Ma, Baodong Chen, Xianjing He, Sven Teurlinex, Amber Heijboer, James A. Bradley, Thomas W. Crowther
2022, Earth System Science Data (14) 4339-4350
Fungi and bacteria are the two dominant groups of soil microbial communities worldwide. By controlling the turnover of soil organic matter, these organisms directly regulate the exchange of carbon between the soil and the atmosphere. Fundamental differences in the physiology and life history of bacteria and fungi suggest that variation...
Loss of street tree canopy increases stormwater runoff
William R. Selbig, Steven P. Loheide II, William Shuster, Bryant C. Scharenbroch, Robert C. Coville, James Kruegler, William Avery, Ralph J. Haefner, David Nowak
2022, Fact Sheet 2022-3074
Urban forests have largely been overlooked for the role they play in reducing stormwater runoff volume by using hydrologic processes such as interception (rainfall intercepted by tree canopy), evapotranspiration (the transfer of water from vegetation into the atmosphere) and infiltration (percolation of rainwater into the Earth’s soil). Early research into...
Conflict of energies: Spatially modeling mule deer caloric expenditure in response to oil and gas development
Samuel Norton Chambers, Miguel L. Villarreal, Olivia Jane Marie Duane, Seth M. Munson, Erica Francis Stuber, Gayle L Tyree, Eric K Waller, Michael C. Duniway
2022, Landscape Ecology (37) 2947-2961
ContextWildlife avoid human disturbances, including roads and development. Avoidance and displacement of wildlife into less suitable habitat due to human development can affect their energy expenditures and fitness. The heart rate and oxygen uptake of large mammals varies with both natural aspects of their habitat (terrain, climate, predators,...
