Relationships between river discharge and abundance of age 0 redhorses (Moxostoma spp.) in the Oconee River, Georgia, USA, with implications for robust redhorse
R. Peterson, Cecil A. Jennings, J.T. Peterson
2013, River Research and Applications (29) 734-742
Robust redhorse (Moxostoma robustum) and notchlip redhorse (M. collapsum) are two species of redhorses that reside in the lower Oconee River, Georgia. Robust redhorse is listed as a state endangered species in Georgia and North Carolina, and attempts to investigate factors affecting its reproductive success have met with limited success....
Delivering integrated HAZUS-MH flood loss analyses and flood inundation maps over the Web
Hearn Jr., Herbert E. Longenecker III, John J. Aguinaldo, Ami N. Rahav
2013, Journal of Emergency Management (11) 293-302
Catastrophic flooding is responsible for more loss of life and damages to property than any other natural hazard. Recently developed flood inundation mapping technologies make it possible to view the extent and depth of flooding on the land surface over the Internet; however, by themselves these technologies are unable to...
Rebuilding after collapse: evidence for long-term cohort dynamics in the native Hawaiian rain forest
Hans Juergen Boehmer, Helene H. Wagner, James D. Jacobi, Grant C. Gerrish, Dieter Mueller-Dombois
2013, Journal of Vegetation Science (24) 639-650
Questions: Do long-term observations in permanent plots confirm the conceptual model of Metrosideros polymorpha cohort dynamics as postulated in 1987? Do regeneration patterns occur independently of substrate age, i.e. of direct volcanic disturbance impact? Location: The windward mountain slopes of the younger Mauna Loa and the older Mauna Kea volcanoes (island...
Evaluating chemical extraction techniques for the determination of uranium oxidation state in reduced aquifer sediments
Deborah L. Stoliker, Kate M. Campbell, Patricia M. Fox, David M. Singer, Nazila Kaviani, Minna Carey, Nicole E. Peck, John R. Barger, Douglas B. Kent, James A. Davis
2013, Environmental Science & Technology (47) 9225-9232
Extraction techniques utilizing high pH and (bi)carbonate concentrations were evaluated for their efficacy in determining the oxidation state of uranium (U) in reduced sediments collected from Rifle, CO. Differences in dissolved concentrations between oxic and anoxic extractions have been proposed as a means to quantify the U(VI) and U(IV) content...
Ambient response of a unique performance-based design tall building with dynamic response modification features
Mehmet Celebi, Moh Huang, Anthony Shakal, John Hooper, Ron Klemencic
2013, The Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings (22) 816-829
A 64-story, performance-based design building with reinforced concrete core shear walls and unique dynamic response modification features (tuned liquid sloshing dampers and buckling-restrained braces) has been instrumented with a monitoring array of 72 channels of accelerometers. The responses of the building to ambient motions from ground or...
Nitrogen
Lori E. Apodaca
2013, Mining Engineering (65) 89-89
The article presents an overview of the nitrogen chemical market as of July 2013, including the production of ammonia compounds. Industrial uses for ammonia include fertilizers, explosives, and plastics. Other topics include industrial capacity of U.S. ammonia producers CF Industries Holdings Inc., Koch Nitrogen Co., PCS Nitrogen, Inc., and Agrium...
Optimal placement of off-stream water sources for ephemeral stream recovery
Matthew B. Rigge, Alexander Smart, Bruce Wylie
2013, Rangeland Ecology and Management (66) 479-486
Uneven and/or inefficient livestock distribution is often a product of an inadequate number and distribution of watering points. Placement of off-stream water practices (OSWP) in pastures is a key consideration in rangeland management plans and is critical to achieving riparian recovery by improving grazing evenness, while improving livestock performance. Effective...
Peat
Lori E. Apodaca
2013, Mining Engineering (65) 89-89
The article looks at the U.S. peat market as of July 2013. Peat is produced from deposits of plant organic materials in wetlands and includes varieties such as reed-sedge, sphagnum moss, and humus. Use for peat include horticultural soil additives, filtration, and adsorbents. Other topics include effects of environmental protection...
Seismicity around Parkfield correlates with static shear stress changes following the 2003 Mw6.5 San Simeon earthquake
Xiaoteng Meng, Zhigang Peng, Jeanne L. Hardebeck
2013, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (118) 3576-3591
Earthquakes trigger other earthquakes, but the physical mechanism of the triggering is currently debated. Most studies of earthquake triggering rely on earthquakes listed in catalogs, which are known to be incomplete around the origin times of large earthquakes and therefore missing potentially triggered events. Here we apply a waveform matched-filter...
Holocene tectonics and fault reactivation in the foothills of the north Cascade Mountains, Washington
Brian L. Sherrod, Elizabeth Barnett, Elizabeth Schermer, Harvey M. Kelsey, Jonathan Hughes, Franklin F. Foit Jr., Craig S. Weaver, Ralph Haugerud, Tim Hyatt
2013, Geosphere (9) 827-852
We use LiDAR imagery to identify two fault scarps on latest Pleistocene glacial outwash deposits along the North Fork Nooksack River in Whatcom County, Washington (United States). Mapping and paleoseismic investigation of these previously unknown scarps provide constraints on the earthquake history and seismic hazard in the northern Puget Lowland....
Cost-effectiveness analysis of sandhill crane habitat management
Andrew C. Kessler, James W. Merchant, Steven D. Shultz, Craig R. Allen
2013, Journal of Wildlife Management (77) 1301-1310
Invasive species often threaten native wildlife populations and strain the budgets of agencies charged with wildlife management. We demonstrate the potential of cost-effectiveness analysis to improve the efficiency and value of efforts to enhance sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) roosting habitat. We focus on the central Platte River in Nebraska (USA),...
Biological nitrogen fixation: rates, patterns and ecological controls in terrestrial ecosystems
Peter M. Vitousek, Duncan N.L. Menge, Sasha C. Reed, Cory C. Cleveland
2013, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (368)
New techniques have identified a wide range of organisms with the capacity to carry out biological nitrogen fixation (BNF)—greatly expanding our appreciation of the diversity and ubiquity of N fixers—but our understanding of the rates and controls of BNF at ecosystem and global scales has not advanced at the same...
Movements and habitat-use of loggerhead sea turtles in the northern Gulf of Mexico during the reproductive period
Kristen M. Hart, Margaret M. Lamont, Autumn R. Sartain-Iverson, Ikuko Fujisaki, Brail S. Stephens
2013, PLoS ONE (8)
Nesting strategies and use of important in-water habitats for far-ranging marine turtles can be determined using satellite telemetry. Because of a lack of information on habitat-use by marine turtles in the northern Gulf of Mexico, we used satellite transmitters in 2010 through 2012 to track movements of 39 adult female...
Potential climate change impacts on temperate forest ecosystem processes
Emily B. Peters, Kirk R. Wythers, Shuxia Zhang, John B. Bradford, Peter B. Reich
2013, Canadian Journal of Forest Research
Large changes in atmospheric CO2, temperature and precipitation are predicted by 2100, yet the long-term consequences for carbon, water, and nitrogen cycling in forests are poorly understood. We applied the PnET-CN ecosystem model to compare the long-term effects of changing climate and atmospheric CO2 on productivity, evapotranspiration, runoff, and net...
Twentieth-century global-mean sea level rise: Is the whole greater than the sum of the parts?
J.M. Gregory, N.J. White, J.A. Church, M.F.P. Bierkens, J.E. Box, M.R. Van den Broeke, J.G. Cogley, X. Fettweis, E. Hanna, P. Huybrechts, Leonard F. Konikow, P.W. Leclercq, B. Marzeion, J. Oerlemans, M.E. Tamisiea, Y. Wada, L.M. Wake, R.S.W. Van de Wal
2013, Journal of Climate (26) 4476-4499
Confidence in projections of global-mean sea level rise (GMSLR) depends on an ability to account for GMSLR during the twentieth century. There are contributions from ocean thermal expansion, mass loss from glaciers and ice sheets, groundwater extraction, and reservoir impoundment. Progress has been made toward solving the “enigma” of twentieth-century...
Exposure and effects of perfluoroalkyl substances in tree swallows nesting in Minnesota and Wisconsin, USA
Christine M. Custer, Thomas W. Custer, Paul M. Dummer, Matthew A. Etterson, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Qian Wu, Kurunthachalam Kannan, Annette Trowbridge, Patrick C. McKann
2013, Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology
The exposure and effects of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were studied at eight locations in Minnesota and Wisconsin between 2007 and 2011 using tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). Concentrations of PFASs were quantified as were reproductive success end points. The sample egg method was used wherein an egg sample is collected, and...
Rapid fluctuations in flow and water-column properties in Asan Bay, Guam: implications for selective resilience of coral reefs in warming seas
Curt D. Storlazzi, Michael E. Field, Olivia M. Cheriton, M.K. Presto, J.B. Logan
2013, Coral Reefs (32) 949-961
Hydrodynamics and water-column properties were investigated off west-central Guam from July 2007 through January 2008. Rapid fluctuations, on time scales of 10s of min, in currents, temperature, salinity, and acoustic backscatter were observed to occur on sub-diurnal frequencies along more than 2 km of the fore reef but not at...
Modeling transport of nutrients & sediment loads into Lake Tahoe under climate change
John Riverson, Robert Coats, Mariza Costa-Cabral, Mike Dettinger, John Reuter, Goloka Sahoo, Geoffrey Schladow
2013, Climatic Change (116) 35-50
The outputs from two General Circulation Models (GCMs) with two emissions scenarios were downscaled and bias-corrected to develop regional climate change projections for the Tahoe Basin. For one model—the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory or GFDL model—the daily model results were used to drive a distributed hydrologic model. The watershed model...
Assessment of the NASA-USGS Global Land Survey (GLS) Datasets
Garik Gutman, Chengquan Huang, Gyanesh Chander, Praveen Noojipady, Jeffery G. Masek
2013, Remote Sensing of Environment (134) 249-265
The Global Land Survey (GLS) datasets are a collection of orthorectified, cloud-minimized Landsat-type satellite images, providing near complete coverage of the global land area decadally since the early 1970s. The global mosaics are centered on 1975, 1990, 2000, 2005, and 2010, and consist of data acquired from four sensors: Enhanced...
Modeled distribution and abundance of a pelagic seabird reveal trends in relation to fisheries
Martin Renner, Julia K. Parrish, John F. Piatt, Kathy J. Kuletz, Ann E. Edwards, George L. Hunt Jr.
2013, Marine Ecology Progress Series (484) 259-277
The northern fulmar Fulmarus glacialis is one of the most visible and widespread seabirds in the eastern Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. However, relatively little is known about its abundance, trends, or the factors that shape its distribution. We used a long-term pelagic dataset to model changes in fulmar at-sea...
Natural climate variability and teleconnections to precipitation over the Pacific-North American region in CMIP3 and CMIP5 models
Suraj D. Polade, Alexander Gershunov, Daniel R. Cayan, Michael D. Dettinger, David W. Pierce
2013, Geophysical Research Letters (40) 2296-2301
Natural climate variability will continue to be an important aspect of future regional climate even in the midst of long-term secular changes. Consequently, the ability of climate models to simulate major natural modes of variability and their teleconnections provides important context for the interpretation and use of climate change projections....
National assessment of hurricane-induced coastal erosion hazards: Southeast Atlantic Coast
Hilary F. Stockdon, Kara S. Doran, David M. Thompson, Kristin L. Sopkin, Nathaniel G. Plant
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1130
Beaches serve as a natural barrier between the ocean and inland communities, ecosystems, and natural resources. However, these dynamic environments move and change in response to winds, waves, and currents. During extreme storms, changes to beaches can be large, and the results are sometimes catastrophic. Lives may be lost, communities...
Native and nonnative fish populations of the Colorado River are food limited--evidence from new food web analyses
Theodore A. Kennedy, Wyatt F. Cross, Robert O. Hall Jr., Colden V. Baxter, Emma J. Rosi-Marshall
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3039
Fish populations in the Colorado River downstream from Glen Canyon Dam appear to be limited by the availability of high-quality invertebrate prey. Midge and blackfly production is low and nonnative rainbow trout in Glen Canyon and native fishes in Grand Canyon consume virtually all of the midge and blackfly biomass...
Meeting the Science Needs of the Nation in the Wake of Hurricane Sandy-- A U.S. Geological Survey Science Plan for Support of Restoration and Recovery
Herbert T. Buxton, Matthew E. Andersen, Michael J. Focazio, John W. Haines, Robert A. Hainly, Daniel J. Hippe, Larry J. Sugarbaker
2013, Circular 1390
n late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy came ashore during a spring high tide on the New Jersey coastline, delivering hurricane-force winds, storm tides exceeding 19 feet, driving rain, and plummeting temperatures. Hurricane Sandy resulted in 72 direct fatalities in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States, and widespread and substantial physical,...
National assessment of hurricane-induced coastal erosion hazards: Mid-Atlantic Coast
Kara S. Doran, Hilary F. Stockdon, Kristin L. Sopkin, David M. Thompson, Nathaniel G. Plant
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1131
Beaches serve as a natural buffer between the ocean and inland communities, ecosystems, and natural resources. However, these dynamic environments move and change in response to winds, waves, and currents. During extreme storms, changes to beaches can be large, and the results are sometimes catastrophic. Lives may be lost, communities...
