Contaminants from Cretaceous black shale: I. Natural weathering processes controlling contaminant cycling in Mancos Shale, southwestern United States, with emphasis on salinity and selenium
Michele L. Tuttle, Juli W. Fahy, John G. Elliott, Richard I. Grauch, Lisa L. Stillings
2014, Applied Geochemistry (46) 57-71
Soils derived from black shale can accumulate high concentrations of elements of environmental concern, especially in regions with semiarid to arid climates. One such region is the Colorado River basin in the southwestern United States where contaminants pose a threat to agriculture, municipal water supplies, endangered aquatic species, and water-quality...
Routine screening of harmful microorganisms in beach sands: implications to public health
Raquel Sabino, R. Rodrigues, I. Costa, Carlos Carneiro, M. Cunha, A. Duarte, N. Faria, F.C. Ferriera, M.J. Gargate, C. Julio, M.L. Martins, Meredith Nevers, M. Oleastro, H. Solo-Gabriele, C. Verissimo, C. Viegas, Richard L. Whitman, J. Brandao
2014, Science of the Total Environment (472) 1062-1069
Beaches worldwide provide recreational opportunities to hundreds of millions of people and serve as important components of coastal economies. Beach water is often monitored for microbiological quality to detect the presence of indicators of human sewage contamination so as to prevent public health outbreaks associated with water contact. However, growing...
Unique characteristics of the trachea of the juvenile leatherback turtle facilitate feeding, diving and endothermy
John Davenport, T. Todd Jones, Thierry M. Work, George H. Balazs
2014, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology (450) 40-46
The adult leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea overlaps in body size (300–500 kg) with many marine mammals, yet develops from a 50 g hatchling. Adults can dive deeper than 1200 m and have core body temperatures of 25 °C; hatchlings are near-surface dwellers. Juvenile leatherbacks have rarely been studied; here we...
Impact of climate variability on runoff in the north-central United States
Karen R. Ryberg, Wei Lin, Aldo V. Vecchia
2014, Journal of Hydrologic Engineering (19) 148-158
Large changes in runoff in the north-central United States have occurred during the past century, with larger floods and increases in runoff tending to occur from the 1970s to the present. The attribution of these changes is a subject of much interest. Long-term precipitation, temperature, and streamflow records were used...
The relation between invertebrate drift and two primary controls, discharge and benthic densities, in a large regulated river
Theodore A. Kennedy, Charles B. Yackulic, Wyatt F. Cross, Paul E. Grams, Michael D. Yard, Adam J. Copp
2014, Freshwater Biology (59) 557-572
1. Invertebrate drift is a fundamental process in streams and rivers. Studies from laboratory experiments and small streams have identified numerous extrinsic (e.g. discharge, light intensity, water quality) and intrinsic factors (invertebrate life stage, benthic density, behaviour) that govern invertebrate drift concentrations (# m−3), but the factors that govern invertebrate...
Correlation of gene expression and contaminat concentrations in wild largescale suckers: a field-based study
Helena E. Christiansen, Alvine C. Mehinto, Fahong Yu, Russell W. Perry, Nancy D. Denslow, Alec G. Maule, Matthew G. Mesa
2014, Science of the Total Environment (484) 379-389
Toxic compounds such as organochlorine pesticides (OCs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants (PBDEs) have been detected in fish, birds, and aquatic mammals that live in the Columbia River or use food resources from within the river. We developed a custom microarray for largescale suckers (Catostomus macrocheilus)...
Climatic variation and tortoise survival: has a desert species met its match?
Jeffrey E. Lovich, Charles B. Yackulic, Jerry Freilich, Mickey Agha, Meaghan Austin, Katherine P. Meyer, Terence R. Arundel, Jered Hansen, Michael S. Vamstad, Stephanie A. Root
2014, Biological Conservation (169) 214-224
While demographic changes in short-lived species may be observed relatively quickly in response to climate changes, measuring population responses of long-lived species requires long-term studies that are not always available. We analyzed data from a population of threatened Agassiz’s desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) at a 2.59 km2 study plot in...
Ecological limit functions relating fish community response to hydrologic departures of the ecological flow regime in the Tennessee River basin, United States
Rodney R. Knight, Jennifer C. Murphy, William J. Wolfe, Charles F. Saylor, Amy K. Wales
2014, Ecohydrology (7) 1262-1280
Ecological limit functions relating streamflow and aquatic ecosystems remain elusive despite decades of research. We investigated functional relationships between species richness and changes in streamflow characteristics at 662 fish sampling sites in the Tennessee River basin. Our approach included the following: (1) a brief summary of relevant literature on...
Integration of stable carbon isotope, microbial community, dissolved hydrogen gas, and 2HH2O tracer data to assess bioaugmentation for chlorinated ethene degradation in fractured rocks
Kinga M. Revesz, Barbara Sherwood Lollar, Julie D. Kirshtein, Claire R. Tiedeman, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, Daniel J. Goode, Allen M. Shapiro, Mary A. Voytek, Pierre J. Lancombe, Eurybiades Busenberg
2014, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology (156) 62-77
An in situ bioaugmentation (BA) experiment was conducted to understand processes controlling microbial dechlorination of trichloroethene (TCE) in groundwater at the Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), West Trenton, NJ. In the BA experiment, an electron donor (emulsified vegetable oil and sodium lactate) and a chloro-respiring microbial consortium were injected into...
Fitting statistical distributions to sea duck count data: implications for survey design and abundance estimation
Elise F. Zipkin, Jeffery B. Leirness, Brian P. Kinlan, Allan F. O’Connell, Emily D. Silverman
2014, Statistical Methodology (17) 67-81
Determining appropriate statistical distributions for modeling animal count data is important for accurate estimation of abundance, distribution, and trends. In the case of sea ducks along the U.S. Atlantic coast, managers want to estimate local and regional abundance to detect and track population declines, to define areas of high and...
Band reporting probablilities of mallards, American black ducks, and wood ducks in eastern North America
Pamela R. Garrettson, Robert V. Raftovich, James E. Hines, Guthrie S. Zimmerman
2014, Journal of Wildlife Management (78) 50-57
Estimates of band reporting probabilities are used for managing North American waterfowl to convert band recovery probabilities into harvest probabilities, which are used to set harvest regulations. Band reporting probability is the probability that someone who has shot and retrieved a banded bird will report the band. This probability can...
Precise determination of δ88Sr in rocks, minerals, and waters by double-spike TIMS: A powerful tool in the study of chemical, geologic, hydrologic and biologic processes
Leonid A. Neymark, Wayne R. Premo, Nikolay N. Mel’nikov, Poul Emsbo
2014, Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry (29) 65-75
We present strontium isotopic (88Sr/86Sr and 87Sr/86Sr) results obtained by 87Sr–84Sr double spike thermal ionization mass-spectrometry (DS-TIMS) for several standards as well as natural water samples and mineral samples of abiogenic and biogenic origin. The detailed data reduction algorithm and a user-friendly Sr-specific stand-alone computer program used for the spike...
Ambient changes in tracer concentrations from a multilevel monitoring system in Basalt
Roy C. Bartholomay, Brian V. Twining, Peter E. Rose
2014, Groundwater Monitoring & Remediation (34) 79-88
Starting in 2008, a 4-year tracer study was conducted to evaluate ambient changes in groundwater concentrations of a 1,3,6-naphthalene trisulfonate tracer that was added to drill water. Samples were collected under open borehole conditions and after installing a multilevel groundwater monitoring system completed with 11 discrete monitoring zones within dense...
Hysteresis and uncertainty in soil water-retention curve parameters
William J. Likos, Ning Lu, Jonathan W. Godt
2014, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering (140)
Accurate estimates of soil hydraulic parameters representing wetting and drying paths are required for predicting hydraulic and mechanical responses in a large number of applications. A comprehensive suite of laboratory experiments was conducted to measure hysteretic soil-water characteristic curves (SWCCs) representing a wide range of soil types. Results were used...
Seasonal cultivated and fallow cropland mapping using MODIS-based automated cropland classification algorithm
Zhuoting Wu, Prasad S. Thenkabail, Rick Mueller, Audra Zakzeski, F. Melton, Lee Johnson, Carolyn Rosevelt, John Dwyer, Jeanine Jones, James P. Verdin
2014, Journal of Applied Remote Sensing (8)
Increasing drought occurrences and growing populations demand accurate, routine, and consistent cultivated and fallow cropland products to enable water and food security analysis. The overarching goal of this research was to develop and test automated cropland classification algorithm (ACCA) that provide accurate, consistent, and repeatable information on seasonal cultivated as...
Agricultural disturbance response models for invertebrate and algal metrics from streams at two spatial scales within the U.S.
Ian R. Waite
2014, Hydrobiologia (726) 285-303
As part of the USGS study of nutrient enrichment of streams in agricultural regions throughout the United States, about 30 sites within each of eight study areas were selected to capture a gradient of nutrient conditions. The objective was to develop watershed disturbance predictive models for macroinvertebrate and algal metrics...
Deep-ocean ferromanganese crusts and nodules
James R. Hein, Andrea Koschinsky
2014, Book chapter, Treatise on geochemistry
Ferromanganese crusts and nodules may provide a future resource for a large variety of metals, including many that are essential for emerging high- and green-technology applications. A brief review of nodules and crusts provides a setting for a discussion on the latest (past 10 years) research related to the geochemistry...
Near-bottom circulation and dispersion of sediment containing Alexandrium fundyense cysts in the Gulf of Maine during 2010-2011
Alfredo L. Aretxabaleta, Bradford Butman, Richard P. Signell, P. Soupy Dalyander, Christopher R. Sherwood, Vitalii A. Sheremet, Dennis J. McGillicuddy Jr.
2014, Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography (103) 96-111
The life cycle of Alexandrium fundyense in the Gulf of Maine includes a dormant cyst stage that spends the winter predominantly in the bottom sediment. Wave-current bottom stress caused by storms and tides induces resuspension of cyst-containing sediment during winter and spring. Resuspended sediment could be transported by water flow...
Compaction and gas loss in welded pyroclastic deposits as revealed by porosity, permeability, and electrical conductivity measurements of the Shevlin Park Tuff
Heather M. Wright, Katharine V. Cashman
2014, GSA Bulletin (126) 234-247
Pyroclastic flows produced by large volcanic eruptions commonly densify after emplacement. Processes of gas escape, compaction, and welding in pyroclastic-flow deposits are controlled by the physical and thermal properties of constituent material. Through measurements of matrix porosity, permeability, and electrical conductivity, we provide a framework for understanding the evolution of...
The Mw 5.8 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake of August 2011 and aftershock sequence: constraints on earthquake source parameters and fault geometry
Daniel E. McNamara, H.M. Benz, Robert B. Herrmann, Eric A. Bergman, Paul Earle, Anne Meltzer, Mitch Withers, Martin Chapman
2014, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (104) 40-54
The Mw 5.8 earthquake of 23 August 2011 (17:51:04 UTC) (moment, M0 5.7×1017 N·m) occurred near Mineral, Virginia, within the central Virginia seismic zone and was felt by more people than any other earthquake in United States history. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) received 148,638 felt reports from 31 states and 4...
An evaluation of temporal changes in sediment accumulation and impacts on carbon burial in Mobile Bay, Alabama, USA
Christopher G. Smith, Lisa E. Osterman
2014, Estuaries and Coasts (37) 1092-1106
The estuarine environment can serve as either a source or sink of carbon relative to the coastal ocean carbon budget. A variety of time-dependent processes such as sedimentation, carbon supply, and productivity dictate how estuarine systems operate, and Mobile Bay is a system that has experienced both natural and anthropogenic...
Geochronology and paleoenvironment of pluvial Harper Lake, Mojave Desert, California, USA
Anna L. Garcia, Jeffrey R. Knott, Shannon Mahan, Jordan Bright
2014, Quaternary Research (81) 305-317
Accurate reconstruction of the paleo-Mojave River and pluvial lake (Harper, Manix, Cronese, and Mojave) system of southern California is critical to understanding paleoclimate and the North American polar jet stream position over the last 500 ka. Previous studies inferred a polar jet stream south of 35°N at 18 ka and...
Improving groundwater predictions utilizing seasonal precipitation forecasts from general circulation models forced with sea surface temperature forecasts
Naser Almanaseer, A. Sankarasubramanian, Jerad Bales
2014, Journal of Hydrologic Engineering (19) 87-98
Recent studies have found a significant association between climatic variability and basin hydroclimatology, particularly groundwater levels, over the southeast United States. The research reported in this paper evaluates the potential in developing 6-month-ahead groundwater-level forecasts based on the precipitation forecasts from ECHAM 4.5 General Circulation Model Forced with Sea Surface...
HiRISE observations of new impact craters exposing Martian ground ice
Colin M. Dundas, Shane Byrne, Alfred S. McEwen, Michael T. Mellon, Megan R. Kennedy, Ingrid J. Daubar, Lee Saper
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets (119) 109-127
Twenty small new impact craters or clusters have been observed to excavate bright material inferred to be ice at mid and high latitudes on Mars. In the northern hemisphere, the craters are widely distributed geographically and occur at latitudes as low as 39°N. Stability modeling suggests that this ice distribution...
Virtual Beach 3: user's guide
Mike Cyterski, Wesley Brooks, Mike Galvin, Kurt Wolfe, Rebecca Carvin, Tonia Roddick, Mike Fienen, Steve Corsi
2014, Report
Virtual Beach version 3 (VB3) is a decision support tool that constructs site-specific statistical models to predict fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) concentrations at recreational beaches. VB3 is primarily designed for beach managers responsible for making decisions regarding beach closures or the issuance of swimming advisories due to pathogen contamination....
