Avoiding The Inevitable? Capacity Loss From Reservoir Sedimentation
John R. Gray, Timothy J. Randle, Kent L. Collins
2013, Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union (94) 4-4
The inexorable loss of capacity of the nation's reservoirs—sooner or later threatening water supplies for municipal, agricultural, and industrial uses—is but one of a number of deleterious effects wrought by sediment deposition. Trapped sediments can also damage or bury dam outlets, water intakes, and related infrastructure. Downstream effects of sediment...
Final report and archive of the swath bathymetry and ancillary data collected in the Puerto Rico Trench region in 2002 and 2003
Uri S. ten Brink, William W. Danforth, Christopher F. Polloni
2013, Open-File Report 2006-1210
In 2002 and 2003, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), conducted three exploration cruises that mapped for the first time the morphology of the entire tectonic plate boundary stretching from the Dominican Republic in the west to the Lesser Antilles in...
Predicting thermal reference conditions for USA streams and rivers
Ryan A. Hill, Charles P. Hawkins, Daren Carlisle
2013, Freshwater Science (32) 39-55
Temperature is a primary driver of the structure and function of stream ecosystems. However, the lack of stream temperature (ST) data for the vast majority of streams and rivers severely compromises our ability to describe patterns of thermal variation among streams, test hypotheses regarding the effects of temperature on macroecological...
Approaches in highly parameterized inversion: bgaPEST, a Bayesian geostatistical approach implementation with PEST: documentation and instructions
Michael N. Fienen, Marco D'Oria, John E. Doherty, Randall J. Hunt
2013, Techniques and Methods 7-C9
The application bgaPEST is a highly parameterized inversion software package implementing the Bayesian Geostatistical Approach in a framework compatible with the parameter estimation suite PEST. Highly parameterized inversion refers to cases in which parameters are distributed in space or time and are correlated with one another. The Bayesian aspect of...
Tamarix as wildlife habitat
Heather L. Bateman, Eben H. Paxton, William S. Longland
Anna Sher, Martin F. Quigley, editor(s)
2013, Book chapter, Tamarix: a case study of ecological change in the American West
Effects of best-management practices in Bower Creek in the East River priority watershed, Wisconsin, 1991-2009
Steven R. Corsi, Judy A. Horwatich, Troy D. Rutter, Roger T. Bannerman
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5217
Hydrologic and water-quality data were collected at Bower Creek during the periods before best-management practices (BMPs), and after BMPs were installed for evaluation of water-quality improvements. The monitoring was done between 1990 and 2009 with the pre-BMP period ending in July 1994 and the post-BMP period beginning in October 2006....
A review of episodes of zinc phosphide toxicosis in wild geese (Branta spp.) in Oregon (2004−2011)
Rob J. Bildfell, Wilson K. Rumbeiha, Krysten L. Schuler, Carol U. Meteyer, Peregrine L. Wolff, Colin M. Gillin
2013, Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation (25) 162-167
Epizootic mortality in several geese species, including cackling geese (Branta hutchinsii) and Canada geese (Branta canadensis), has been recognized in the Willamette Valley of Oregon for over a decade. Birds are generally found dead on a body of water or are occasionally observed displaying neurologic clinical signs such as an...
The coming megafloods
Michael D. Dettinger, B. Lynn Ingram
2013, Scientific American (308) 64-71
Geologic evidence shows that truly massive floods, caused by rainfall alone, have occurred in California about every 200 years. The most recent was in 1861, and it bankrupted the state. Such floods were most likely caused by atmospheric rivers: narrow bands of water vapor about a mile above the ocean...
An automated digital imaging system for environmental monitoring applications
Rian Bogle, Miguel Velasco, John Vogel
2013, Open-File Report 2012-1271
Recent improvements in the affordability and availability of high-resolution digital cameras, data loggers, embedded computers, and radio/cellular modems have advanced the development of sophisticated automated systems for remote imaging. Researchers have successfully placed and operated automated digital cameras in remote locations and in extremes of temperature and humidity, ranging from...
The ongoing Puʻu ʻŌʻō eruption of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi: 30 years of eruptive activity
Tim R. Orr, Christina Heliker, Matthew R. Patrick
2013, Fact Sheet 2012-3127
The Puʻu ʻŌʻō eruption of Kīlauea Volcano is its longest rift-zone eruption in more than 500 years. Since the eruption began in 1983, lava flows have buried 48 square miles (125 square kilometers) of land and added about 500 acres (200 hectares) of new land to the Island of Hawaiʻi....
GPS location history data mining and anomalous detection: the scenario of bar-headed geese migration
Ze Luo, Yan Xiong, Baoping Yan, Diann J. Prosser, John Y. Takekawa
W. Lu, G. Cai, W. Liu, W. Xing, editor(s)
2013, Book chapter, Proceedings of the 2012 International Conference on Information Technology and Software Engineering
It is important to discover common movement sequences and uncommon behaviors during the migration of wild birds. In this paper, we propose a new approach to analyze the GPS location history data of migratory birds. The stopover sites are first extracted from the location history data of birds, and their...
Distribution and environmental persistence of the causative agent of white-nose syndrome, Geomyces destructans, in bat hibernacula of the eastern United States
Jeffrey M. Lorch, Laura K. Muller, Robin E. Russell, Michael O’Connor, Daniel L. Lindner, David S. Blehert
2013, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (79) 1293-1301
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emerging disease of hibernating bats caused by the recently described fungus Geomyces destructans. First isolated in 2008, the origins of this fungus in North America and its ability to persist in the environment remain undefined. To investigate the correlation between manifestation of WNS and distribution...
Comparison of water consumption in two riparian vegetation communities along the central Platte River, Nebraska, 2008–09 and 2011
Brent M. Hall, David L. Rus
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5203
The Platte River is a vital natural resource for the people, plants, and animals of Nebraska. A recent study quantified water use by riparian woodlands along central reaches of the Platte River, Nebraska, finding that water use was mainly regulated below maximum predicted levels. A comparative study was launched through...
Mississippi River streamflow measurement techniques at St. Louis, Missouri
Chester C. Wastson, Robert R. Holmes Jr., David S. Biedenham
2013, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering (139) 1062-1070
Streamflow measurement techniques of the Mississippi River at St. Louis have changed through time (1866–present). In addition to different methods used for discrete streamflow measurements, the density and range of discrete measurements used to define the rating curve (stage versus streamflow) have also changed. Several authors have utilized published water...
USGS National Wildlife Health Center quarterly mortality report – July 2012 to September 2012
Anne Ballmann, C. Leann White, Barbara L. Bodenstein, Jennifer Buckner
2013, Wildlife Disease Association Newsletter 16-19
No abstract available....
Methylmercury is the predominant form of mercury in bird eggs: a synthesis
Joshua T. Ackerman, Mark P. Herzog, Steven E. Schwarzbach
2013, Environmental Science & Technology (47) 2052-2060
Bird eggs are commonly used in mercury monitoring programs to assess methylmercury contamination and toxicity to birds. However, only 6% of >200 studies investigating mercury in bird eggs have actually measured methylmercury concentrations in eggs. Instead, studies typically measure total mercury in eggs (both organic and inorganic forms of mercury),...
Environmental impact of the landslides caused by the 12 May 2008, Wenchuan, China earthquake
Lynn M. Highland, Ping Sun
Claudio Margottini, Paolo Canuti, Kyoji Sassa, editor(s)
2013, Book chapter, Landslide Science and Practice
The magnitude 7.9 (Mw) Wenchuan, China, earthquake of May 12, 2008 caused at least 88,000 deaths of which one third are estimated to be due to the more than 56,000 earthquake-induced landslides. The affected area is mountainous, featuring densely-vegetated, steep slopes through which narrowly confined rivers and streams flow. Numerous...
A support system for assessing local vulnerability to weather and climate
Alex Coletti, Peter D. Howe, Brent Yarnal, Nathan J. Wood
2013, Natural Hazards (65) 999-1008
The changing number and nature of weather- and climate-related natural hazards is causing more communities to need to assess their vulnerabilities. Vulnerability assessments, however, often require considerable expertise and resources that are not available or too expensive for many communities. To meet the need for an easy-to-use, cost-effective vulnerability assessment...
New species of Parapharyngodon (Nematoda: Pharyngodonidae) in Rhinella marina (Anura: Bufonidae) from Grenada, West Indies
Charles Bursey, Michael Drake, Rebecca Cole, Mauritz Sterner III, Rhonda Pinckney, Ulrike Zieger
2013, Journal of Parasitology (99) 475-479
Parapharyngodon grenadaensis n. sp. (Nematoda: Pharyngodonidae) from the large intestine of the cane toad, Rhinella marina, is described and illustrated. Parapharyngodon grenadaensis n. sp. is the 48th species assigned to the genus and the 16th species from the Neotropical region. It differs from other species in the genus by possessing...
Testing the use of microfossils to reconstruct great earthquakes at Cascadia
S. E. Engelhart, B. P Horton, Alan R. Nelson, A. D. Hawkes, Robert C. Witter, K. Wang, P.-L. Wang, C. H. Vane
2013, Geology (41) 1067-1070
Coastal stratigraphy from the Pacific Northwest of the United States contains evidence of sudden subsidence during ruptures of the Cascadia subduction zone. Transfer functions (empirical relationships between assemblages and elevation) can convert microfossil data into coastal subsidence estimates. Coseismic deformation models use the subsidence values to constrain earthquake magnitudes. To...
2011 monitoring and tracking wet nitrogen deposition at Rocky Mountain National Park
Kristi Morris, Alisa Mast, Greg Wetherbee, Jill Baron, Curt Taipale, Tamara Blett, David Gay, Jared Heath
2013, Natural Resource Report NPS/NRSS/ARD/NRR-2013/701
No abstract available....
Quantifying landscape change in an arctic coastal lowland using repeat airborne LiDAR
Benjamin M. Jones, Jason M. Stoker, Ann E. Gibbs, Guido Grosse, Vladimir E. Romanovsky, Thomas A. Douglas, Nichole E.M. Kinsman, Bruce M. Richmond
2013, Environmental Research Letters (8)
Increases in air, permafrost, and sea surface temperature, loss of sea ice, the potential for increased wave energy, and higher river discharge may all be interacting to escalate erosion of arctic coastal lowland landscapes. Here we use airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data acquired in 2006 and 2010 to...
Status of a reconnaissance field study of the Susitna basin, 2011
Robert J. Gillis, Richard G. Stanley, David L. LePain, David J. Mauel, Trystan M. Herriott, Kenneth P. Helmold, C. Shaun Peterson, Marwan A. Wartes, Diane P. Shellenbaum
2013, Report
The Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) and Alaska Division of Oil and Gas (DOG), in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) performed reconnaissance field studies for ten days in late June 2011, in the Susitna basin, directly north of Cook Inlet, south-central Alaska (fig. 1). The purpose of our...
Operational Group Sandy technical progress report
Department of the Interior Strategic Science Group
2013, Report
Hurricane Sandy made US landfall near Atlantic City, NJ on 29 October 2012, causing 72 direct deaths, displacing thousands of individuals from damaged or destroyed dwellings, and leaving over 8.5 million homes without power across the northeast and mid-Atlantic. To coordinate federal rebuilding activities in the affected region, the President...
Sculpin and round goby assessment, Lake Ontario 2012
Brian Weidel, Maureen G. Walsh, M.J. Connerton
2013, Report, 2012 Annual Report
Historically slimy sculpin Cottus cognatus were the most abundant native, benthic prey fish in Lake Ontario and important prey for juvenile lake trout. Over the past 34 years, slimy sculpin abundance has fluctuated, but generally decreased, with a substantial decline occurring in the past 10 years. The 2012 slimy sculpin mean density (0.005...
