USGS Quarterly Report: January 2013-March 2013
Anne E. Ballmann, C. LeAnn White, Barb Bodenstein, Jennifer Buckner
2013, WDA Newsletter (2013) 4-6
Distribution of late Pleistocene ice-rich syngenetic permafrost of the Yedoma Suite in east and central Siberia, Russia
Guido Grosse, Joel E. Robinson, Robin Bryant, Maxwell D. Taylor, William Harper, Amy DeMasi, Emily Kyker-Snowman, Alexandra Veremeeva, Lutz Schirrmeister, Jennifer Harden
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1078
This digital database is the product of collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey, the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks; the Los Altos Hills Foothill College GeoSpatial Technology Certificate Program; the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Potsdam, Germany; and the Institute of Physical Chemical and...
Locations and attributes of wind turbines in New Mexico, 2011
Natasha B. Carr, James B. Diffendorfer, Tammy S. Fancher, Sarah J. Hawkins, Natalie Latysh, Kenneth J. Leib, Anne Marie Matherne
2013, Data Series 783
This dataset represents an update to U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 596. Locations and attributes of wind turbines in New Mexico, 2009 (available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/596/).This updated New Mexico wind turbine Data Series provides geospatial data for all 562 wind turbines established within the State of New Mexico as of June...
Locations and attributes of wind turbines in Colorado, 2011
Natasha B. Carr, James E. Diffendorfer, Tammy S. Fancher, Sarah J. Hawkins, Natalie Latysh, Kenneth J. Leib, Anne Marie Matherne
2013, Data Series 782
This dataset represents an update to U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 597. Locations and attributes of wind turbines in Colorado, 2009 (available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/597/). This updated Colorado wind turbine Data Series provides geospatial data for all 1,204 wind turbines established within the State of Colorado as of September 2011, an...
Using multi-species occupancy models in structured decision making on managed lands
John R. Sauer, Peter J. Blank, Elise F. Zipkin, Jane E. Fallon, Frederick W. Fallon
2013, Journal of Wildlife Management (77) 117-127
Land managers must balance the needs of a variety of species when manipulating habitats. Structured decision making provides a systematic means of defining choices and choosing among alternative management options; implementation of a structured decision requires quantitative approaches to predicting consequences of management on the relevant species. Multi-species...
Sustainably connecting children with nature: an exploratory study of nature play area visitor impacts and their management
Matthew H.E.M. Browning, Jeffrey L. Marion, Timothy G. Gregoire
2013, Landscape and Urban Planning (119) 104-112
Parks are developing nature play areas to improve children's health and “connect” them with nature. However, these play areas are often located in protected natural areas where managers must balance recreation with associated environmental impacts. In this exploratory study, we sought to describe these impacts. We also investigated which ages,...
Demographics of reintroduced populations: estimation, modeling, and decision analysis
Sarah J. Converse, Clinton T. Moore, Doug P. Armstrong
2013, Journal of Wildlife Management (77) 1081-1093
Reintroduction can be necessary for recovering populations of threatened species. However, the success of reintroduction efforts has been poorer than many biologists and managers would hope. To increase the benefits gained from reintroduction, management decision making should be couched within formal decision-analytic frameworks. Decision analysis is a structured process for...
A matter of tradeoffs: reintroduction as a multiple objective decision
Sarah J. Converse, Clinton T. Moore, Martin J. Folk, Michael C. Runge
2013, Journal of Wildlife Management (77) 1145-1156
Decision making in guidance of reintroduction efforts is made challenging by the substantial scientific uncertainty typically involved. However, a less recognized challenge is that the management objectives are often numerous and complex. Decision makers managing reintroduction efforts are often concerned with more than just how to maximize the probability of...
Impacts of an ethanol-blended fuel release on groundwater and fate of produced methane: simulation of field observations
Ehsan Rasa, Barbara A. Bekins, Douglas M. Mackay, Nicholas R. de Sieyes, John T. Wilson, Kevin P. Feris, Isaac A. Wood, Kate M. Scow
2013, Water Resources Research (49) 4907-4926
In a field experiment at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) designed to mimic the impact of a small-volume release of E10 (10% ethanol and 90% conventional gasoline), two plumes were created by injecting extracted groundwater spiked with benzene, toluene, and o-xylene, abbreviated BToX (No-Ethanol Lane) and BToX plus ethanol (With-Ethanol...
Changing patterns in the use, recycling, and material substitution of mercury in the United States
David R. Wilburn
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5137
Environmental concerns have led to numerous regulations that have dramatically decreased the reported production and use of mercury in the United States since the 1980s. Government legislation and subsequent industry actions have led to increased collection of mercury-containing materials and the recovery of mercury through recycling. Mercury emissions have been...
Simulated impacts of mountain pine beetle and wildfire disturbances on forest vegetation composition and carbon stocks in the Southern Rocky Mountains
Megan K. Caldwell, Todd Hawbaker, Jenny S. Briggs, P.W. Cigan, Susan Stitt
2013, Biogeosciences Discussions (10) 12919-12965
Forests play an important role in sequestering carbon and offsetting anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, but changing disturbance regimes may compromise the capability of forests to store carbon. In the Southern Rocky Mountains, a recent outbreak of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae; MPB) has caused levels of tree mortality that are...
Summary of the Third International Planetary Dunes Workshop: remote sensing and image analysis of planetary dunes
Lori K. Fenton, Rosalyn K. Hayward, Briony H.N. Horgan, David M. Rubin, Timothy N. Titus, Mark A. Bishop, Devon M. Burr, Matthew Chojnacki, Cynthia L. Dinwiddie, Laura Kerber, Alice Le Gall, Timothy I. Michaels, Lynn Neakrase, Claire E. Newman, Daniela Tirsch, Hezi Yizhaq, James R. Zimbelman
2013, Aeolian Research (8) 29-38
The Third International Planetary Dunes Workshop took place in Flagstaff, AZ, USA during June 12–15, 2012. This meeting brought together a diverse group of researchers to discuss recent advances in terrestrial and planetary research on aeolian bedforms. The workshop included two and a half days of oral and poster presentations,...
Radiocarbon dating late Quaternary loess deposits using small terrestrial gastropod shells
Jeff S. Pigati, John P. McGeehin, Daniel R. Muhs, E. Arthur Bettis III
2013, Quaternary Science Reviews (76) 114-128
Constraining the ages and mass accumulation rates of late Quaternary loess deposits is often difficult because of the paucity of organic material typically available for 14C dating and the inherent limitations of luminescence techniques. Radiocarbon dating of small terrestrial gastropod shells may provide an alternative to these methods as fossil shells...
An evaluation of Mesodon and other larger terrestrial gastropod shells for dating late Holocene and historic alluvium in the Midwestern USA
Monica T. Rakovan, Jason A. Rech, Jeffery S. Pigati, Jeffrey C. Nekola, Gregory C. Wiles
2013, Geomorphology (193) 47-56
Understanding the history of stream erosion and changes in channel morphology is important for managing and restoring unstable streams. One of the significant challenges in this type of research is establishing accurate dating of late Holocene and historic alluvium. Here we evaluate the potential of using 14C dating and amino...
Flood hydrology and dam-breach hydraulic analyses of five reservoirs in Colorado
Michael R. Stevens, Galen K. Hoogestraat
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5097
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service has identified hazard concerns for areas downstream from five Colorado dams on Forest Service land. In 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Forest Service, initiated a flood hydrology analysis to estimate the areal extent of potential downstream flood inundation and...
Terrestrial salamander abundance on reclaimed mountaintop removal mines
Petra Bohall Wood, Jennifer M. Williams
2013, Wildlife Society Bulletin (37) 815-823
Mountaintop removal mining, a large-scale disturbance affecting vegetation, soil structure, and topography, converts landscapes from mature forests to extensive grassland and shrubland habitats. We sampled salamanders using drift-fence arrays and coverboard transects on and near mountaintop removal mines in southern West Virginia, USA, during 2000–2002. We compared terrestrial salamander relative...
Using heat as a tracer to estimate spatially distributed mean residence times in the hyporheic zone of a riffle-pool sequence
Ramon C. Naranjo
2013, Water Resources Research (49) 3697-3711
Biochemical reactions that occur in the hyporheic zone are highly dependent on the time solutes that are in contact with sediments of the riverbed. In this investigation, we developed a 2-D longitudinal flow and solute-transport model to estimate the spatial distribution of mean residence time in the hyporheic zone. The...
Mortality of Palmetto bass following catch-and-release angling
M.J. Petersen, Phillip William Bettoli
2013, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (33) 806-810
Palmetto bass (Striped Bass Morone saxatilis x White Bass M. chrysops) have been stocked into reservoirs in the southeastern USA since the late 1960s and have gained widespread acceptance as a sport fish. These fisheries are growing in popularity and catch-and-release (CR) fishing is commonplace; however, there is a dearth...
The Nation's top 25 construction aggregates producers
Jason Christopher Willett
2013, Aggregates Manager (18) 24-27
U.S. production of construction aggregates in 2011 was 2.17 billion short tons, valued at $17.2 billion, free on board (f.o.b.) at plant. Construction aggregates production decreased by 37 percent, and the associated value decreased by 25 percent, compared with the record highs reported in 2006. In 2011, construction aggregates production...
Prevalence of neutralizing antibodies to rabies virus in serum of seven species of insectivorous bats from Colorado and New Mexico, United States
Richard A. Bowen, Thomas J. O'Shea, Vidya Shankar, Melissa A. Neubaum, Daniel J. Neubaum, Charles E. Rupprecht
2013, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (49) 367-374
We determined the presence of rabies-virus-neutralizing antibodies (RVNA) in serum of 721 insectivorous bats of seven species captured, sampled, and released in Colorado and New Mexico, United States in 2003-2005. A subsample of 160 bats was tested for rabies-virus RNA in saliva. We sampled little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) at...
Adaptation to climate change: changes in farmland use and stocking rate in the U.S.
Jianhong E. Mu, Bruce A. McCarl, Anne M. Wein
2013, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change (18) 713-730
This paper examines possible adaptations to climate change in terms of pasture and crop land use and stocking rate in the United States (U.S.). Using Agricultural Census and climate data in a statistical model, we find that as temperature and precipitation increases agricultural commodity producers respond by reducing crop land...
Identification of largemouth bass virus in the introduced Northern snakehead inhabiting the Cheasapeake Bay watershed
Luke R. Iwanowicz, Christine L. Densmore, Cassidy M. Hahn, Phillip McAllister, John Odenkirk
2013, Journal of Aquatic Animal Health (25) 191-196
The Northern Snakehead Channa argus is an introduced species that now inhabits the Chesapeake Bay. During a preliminary survey for introduced pathogens possibly harbored by these fish in Virginia waters, a filterable agent was isolated from five specimens that produced cytopathic effects in BF-2 cells. Based on PCR amplification and...
Advancements in understanding the aeromagnetic expressions of basin-margin faults—An example from San Luis Basin, Colorado
V. J. Grauch, Paul A. Bedrosian, Benjamin J. Drenth
2013, The Leading Edge (32) 882-891
Advancements in aeromagnetic acquisition technology over the past few decades have led to greater resolution of shallow geologic sources with low magnetization, such as intrasedimentary faults and paleochannels. Detection and mapping of intrasedimentary faults in particular can be important for understanding the overall structural setting of...
The LANDFIRE Refresh strategy: updating the national dataset
Kurtis J. Nelson, Joel A. Connot, Birgit E. Peterson, Charley Martin
2013, Fire Ecology (9) 80-101
The LANDFIRE Program provides comprehensive vegetation and fuel datasets for the entire United States. As with many large-scale ecological datasets, vegetation and landscape conditions must be updated periodically to account for disturbances, growth, and natural succession. The LANDFIRE Refresh effort was the first attempt to consistently update these products nationwide....
2011 floods of the central United States
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2013, Professional Paper 1798
The Central United States experienced record-setting flooding during 2011, with floods that extended from headwater streams in the Rocky Mountains, to transboundary rivers in the upper Midwest and Northern Plains, to the deep and wide sand-bedded lower Mississippi River. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as part of its mission, collected...