A preliminary deposit model for lithium brines
Dwight Bradley, LeeAnn Munk, Hillary Jochens, Scott Hynek, Keith A. Labay
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1006
This report is part of an effort by the U.S. Geological Survey to update existing mineral deposit models and to develop new ones. The global transition away from hydrocarbons toward energy alternatives increases demand for many scarce metals. Among these is lithium, a key component of lithium-ion batteries for electric...
Effects of drought on birds and riparian vegetation in the Colorado River Delta, Mexico
Osvel Hinojosa-Huerta, Pamela L. Nagler, Yamilett K. Carrillo-Guererro, Edward P. Glenn
2013, Ecological Engineering (51) 275-281
The riparian corridor in the delta of the Colorado River in Mexico supports internationally important bird habitat. The vegetation is maintained by surface flows from the U.S. and Mexico and by a high, non-saline aquifer into which the dominant phreatophytic shrubs and trees are rooted. We studied the effects of...
Frequency and Severity of Trauma in Fishes Subjected to Multiple-pass Depletion Electrofishing
Frank Panek, Christine L. Densmore
2013, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (33) 178-185
The incidence and severity of trauma associated with multiple-pass electrofishing and the effects on short-term (30-d) survival and growth of Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis, and five representative co-inhabiting nontarget or bycatch species were examined. Fish were held in four rectangular fiberglass tanks (190 × 66 cm)...
Mapping grassland productivity with 250-m eMODIS NDVI and SSURGO database over the Greater Platte River Basin, USA
Yingxin Gu, Bruce K. Wylie, Norman B. Bliss
2013, Ecological Indicators (24) 31-36
This study assessed and described a relationship between satellite-derived growing season averaged Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and annual productivity for grasslands within the Greater Platte River Basin (GPRB) of the United States. We compared growing season averaged NDVI (GSN) with Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database rangeland productivity and flux...
Towards integration of GLAS data into a national fuels mapping program
Birgit E. Peterson, Kurtis Nelson, Bruce Wylie
2013, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing (79) 175-183
Comprehensive canopy structure and fuel data are critical for understanding and modeling wildland fire. The LANDFIRE project produces such data nationwide based on a collection of field observations, Landsat imagery, and other geospatial data. Where field data are not available, alternate strategies are being investigated. In this study, vegetation structure...
Rapid increases and time-lagged declines in amphibian occupancy after wildfire
Blake R. Hossack, Winsor H. Lowe, Paul Stephen Corn
2013, Conservation Biology (27) 219-228
Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and severity of drought and wildfire. Aquatic and moisture-sensitive species, such as amphibians, may be particularly vulnerable to these modified disturbance regimes because large wildfires often occur during extended droughts and thus may compound environmental threats. However, understanding of the effects of...
A preliminary deposit model for lithium-cesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites
Dwight Bradley, Andrew McCauley
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1008
This report is part of an effort by the U.S. Geological Survey to update existing mineral deposit models and to develop new ones. We emphasize practical aspects of pegmatite geology that might directly or indirectly help in exploration for lithium-cesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites, or for assessing regions for pegmatite-related mineral resource...
Late quaternary slip-rate variations along the Warm Springs Valley fault system, northern Walker Lane, California-Nevada border
Ryan Gold, Craig dePolo, Richard W. Briggs, Anthony Crone, John Goss
2013, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (103) 542-558
The extent to which faults exhibit temporally varying slip rates has important consequences for models of fault mechanics and probabilistic seismic hazard. Here, we explore the temporal behavior of the dextral‐slip Warm Springs Valley fault system, which is part of a network of closely spaced (10–20 km) faults in the...
Present weather and climate: evolving conditions
Martin P Hoerling, Michael Dettinger, Klaus Wolter, Jeff Lukas, Jon K. Eischeid, Rama Nemani, Brant Liebmann, Kenneth E. Kunkel
2013, Book chapter, Assessment of climate change in southwest United States: a report prepared for the National Climate Assessment
This chapter assesses weather and climate variability and trends in the Southwest, using observed climate and paleoclimate records. It analyzes the last 100 years of climate variability in comparison to the last 1,000 years, and links the important features of evolving climate conditions to river flow variability in four of...
Using isotopes of dissolved inorganic carbon species and water to separate sources of recharge in a cave spring, northwestern Arkansas, USA Blowing Spring Cave
Katherine J. Knierim, Erik Pollock, Phillip D. Hays
2013, Acta Carsologica (42) 261-276
Blowing Spring Cave in northwestern Arkansas is representative of cave systems in the karst of the Ozark Plateaus, and stable isotopes of water (δ18O and δ2H) and inorganic carbon (δ13C) were used to quantify soil-water, bedrock-matrix water, and precipitation contributions to cave-spring flow during storm events to understand controls on...
Fishery population and habitat assessment in Puerto Rico streams: phase 2 final report
Thomas J. Kwak, William E. Smith, Elissa N. Buttermore, Patrick B. Cooney, W. Gregory Cope
2013, Report
This document serves as the Final Report for research on Puerto Rico stream fishes and their habitat funded by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, in the form of a grant to the North Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. This research was also conducted to...
Observations on the identification of larval and juvenile Scaphirhynchus spp. in the lower Mississippi River
Paul D. Hartfield, Nathan M. Kuntz, Harold L. Schramm Jr.
2013, Southeastern Naturalist (12) 251-266
Scaphirhynchus albus (Pallid Sturgeon) and S. platorynchus (Shovelnose Sturgeon) are sympatric and not uncommon in the lower Mississippi River from the confluence of the Ohio River to the Gulf of Mexico, and in its distributary, the Atchafalaya River. Reports of sturgeon larvae have been rare in the Mississippi River but have been increasing...
Working with strainmeter data
Kathleen M. Hodgkinson, Duncan Agnew, Evelyn A. Roeloffs
2013, Eos, Earth and Space Science News (94) 91-91
The Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO), the geodetic component of the U.S. National Science Foundation–funded Earthscope program, includes 75 borehole and 6 laser strainmeters (http://pbo.unavco.org). The strainmeters are installed at several locations: on the Cascadia forearc in Washington state and on Vancouver Island,...
Site Response and Basin Waves in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California
Jon Peter B. Fletcher, John Boatwright
2013, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (103) 196-210
The Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta is an inland delta at the western extent of the Central Valley. Levees were built around swampy islands starting after the Civil War to reclaim these lands for farming. Various studies show that these levees could fail in concert from shaking from a major local or...
The utility of atmospheric analyses for the mitigation of artifacts in InSAR
James Foster, John Kealy, Tiziana Cherubini, S. Businger, Zhong Lu, Michael Murphy
2013, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (118) 748-758
The numerical weather models (NWMs) developed by the meteorological community are able to provide accurate analyses of the current state of the atmosphere in addition to the predictions of the future state. To date, most attempts to apply the NWMs to estimate the refractivity of the atmosphere at the time...
Association mapping of genetic risk factors for chronic wasting disease in wild deer
Tomomi Matsumoto, Michael D. Samuel, Trent Bollinger, Margo Pybus, David W. Coltman
2013, Evolutionary Applications (6) 340-352
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal transmissible spongiform encephalopathy affecting North American cervids. We assessed the feasibility of association mapping CWD genetic risk factors in wild white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) using a panel of bovine microsatellite markers from three homologous deer linkage groups predicted...
Mapping river bathymetry with a small footprint green LiDAR: Applications and challenges
Paul J. Kinzel, Carl J. Legleiter, Jonathan M. Nelson
2013, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (49) 183-204
Airborne bathymetric Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) systems designed for coastal and marine surveys are increasingly sought after for high-resolution mapping of fluvial systems. To evaluate the potential utility of bathymetric LiDAR for applications of this kind, we compared detailed surveys collected using wading and sonar techniques with measurements from...
Shifts in stable-isotope signatures confirm parasitic relationship of freshwater mussel glochidia attached to host fish
Mark W. Fritts, Andrea K. Fritts, Scott A. Carleton, Robert B. Bringolf
2013, Journal of Molluscan Studies (79) 163-167
The parasitic nature of the association between glochidia of unionoidean bivalves and their host fish (i.e. the role of fish hosts in providing nutritional resources to the developing glochidia) is still uncertain. While previous work has provided descriptions of development of glochidia on fish hosts, earlier studies have not explicitly...
Evaluating model structure adequacy: The case of the Maggia Valley groundwater system, southern Switzerland
Mary C. Hill, L. Foglia, S. W. Mehl, P. Burlando
2013, Water Resources Research (49) 260-282
Model adequacy is evaluated with alternative models rated using model selection criteria (AICc, BIC, and KIC) and three other statistics. Model selection criteria are tested with cross-validation experiments and insights for using alternative models to evaluate model structural adequacy are provided. The study is conducted using the computer codes UCODE_2005...
Diatom evidence for the onset of Pliocene cooling from AND-1B, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica
Christina Riesselman, R. B. Dunbar
2013, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (369) 136-153
The late Pliocene, ~ 3.3–3.0 Ma, is the most recent interval of sustained global warmth in the geologic past. This window is the focus of climate reconstruction efforts by the U.S. Geological Survey's Pliocene Research, Interpretation, and Synoptic Mapping (PRISM) Data/Model Cooperative, and may provide a useful climate analog for the coming...
Worldwide trends in fishing interest indicated by Internet search volume
G.R. Wilde, K.L. Pope
2013, Fisheries Management and Ecology (20) 211-222
There is a growing body of literature that shows internet search volume on a topic, such as fishing, is a viable measure of salience. Herein, internet search volume for 'fishing' and 'angling' is used as a measure of public interest in fishing, in particular, recreational fishing. An online tool, Google...
Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Nalbandon mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter L in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan
Philip A. Davis, Laura E. Cagney
2013, Data Series 709-L
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the...
Digital data from the Great Sand Dunes airborne gravity gradient survey, south-central Colorado
B. J. Drenth, J.D. Abraham, V. J. S. Grauch, V.F. Labson, G. Hodges
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1011
This report contains digital data and supporting explanatory files describing data types, data formats, and survey procedures for a high-resolution airborne gravity gradient (AGG) survey at Great Sand Dunes National Park, Alamosa and Saguache Counties, south-central Colorado. In the San Luis Valley, the Great Sand Dunes survey covers a large...
Seismicity of the Earth 1900–2010 Middle East and vicinity
Jennifer Jenkins, Bethan Turner, Rebecca Turner, Gavin P. Hayes, Sian Davies, Richard L. Dart, Arthur C. Tarr, Antonio Villaseñor, Harley M. Benz
2013, Open-File Report 2010-1083-K
No fewer than four major tectonic plates (Arabia, Eurasia, India, and Africa) and one smaller tectonic block (Anatolia) are responsible for seismicity and tectonics in the Middle East and surrounding region. Geologic development of the region is a consequence of a number of first-order plate tectonic processes that include subduction,...
Water quality, streamflow conditions, and annual flow-duration curves for streams of the San Juan–Chama Project, southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, 1935-2010
Sarah E. Falk, Scott K. Anderholm, Katya A. Hafich
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5005
The Albuquerque–Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority supplements the municipal water supply for the Albuquerque metropolitan area, in central New Mexico, with water diverted from the Rio Grande. Water diverted from the Rio Grande for municipal use is derived from the San Juan–Chama Project, which delivers water from streams in the...
