Macrophyte and pH buffering updates to the Klamath River water-quality model upstream of Keno Dam, Oregon
Annett B. Sullivan, Stewart A. Rounds, Jessica R. Asbill-Case, Michael L. Deas
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5016
A hydrodynamic, water temperature, and water-quality model of the Link River to Keno Dam reach of the upper Klamath River was updated to account for macrophytes and enhanced pH buffering from dissolved organic matter, ammonia, and orthophosphorus. Macrophytes had been observed in this reach by field personnel, so macrophyte field...
Monitoring storm tide and flooding from Hurricane Sandy along the Atlantic coast of the United States, October 2012
Brian E. McCallum, Shaun Wicklein, Robert G. Reiser, Ronald Busciolano, Jonathan Morrison, Richard J. Verdi, Jaime A. Painter, Eric R. Frantz, Anthony J. Gotvald
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1043
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deployed a temporary monitoring network of water-level and barometric pressure sensors at 224 locations along the Atlantic coast from Virginia to Maine to continuously record the timing, areal extent, and magnitude of hurricane storm tide and coastal flooding generated by Hurricane Sandy. These records were...
Anaerobic methane oxidation in low-organic content methane seep sediments
John W. Pohlman, Michael Riedel, James E. Bauer, Elizabeth A. Canuel, Charles K. Paull, Laura Lapham, Kenneth S. Grabowski, Richard B. Coffin, George D. Spence
2013, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (108) 184-201
Sulfate-dependent anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) is the key sedimentary microbial process limiting methane emissions from marine sediments and methane seeps. In this study, we investigate how the presence of low-organic content sediment influences the capacity and efficiency of AOM at Bullseye vent, a gas hydrate-bearing cold seep offshore of...
Global earthquake fatalities and population
Thomas L. Holzer, James C. Savage
2013, Earthquake Spectra (29) 155-175
Modern global earthquake fatalities can be separated into two components: (1) fatalities from an approximately constant annual background rate that is independent of world population growth and (2) fatalities caused by earthquakes with large human death tolls, the frequency of which is dependent on world population. Earthquakes with death tolls...
Salmon-mediated nutrient flux in selected streams of the Columbia River basin, USA
Andre E. Kohler, Paul C. Kusnierz, Timothy Copeland, David A. Venditti, Lytle Denny, Josh Gable, Bert Lewis, Ryan Kinzer, Bruce Barnett, Mark S. Wipfli
2013, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (70) 502-512
Salmon provide an important resource subsidy and linkage between marine and land-based ecosystems. This flow of energy and nutrients is not uni-directional (i.e., upstream only); in addition to passive nutrient export via stream flow, juvenile emigrants actively export nutrients from freshwater environments. In some cases, nutrient export can exceed import....
Correlation of geothermal springs with sub-surface fault terminations revealed by high-resolution, UAV-acquired magnetic data
Jonathan M.G. Glen, A.E. Egger, C. Ippolito, N.Athens
2013, Conference Paper, Proceedings Thirty-eighth Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering
There is widespread agreement that geothermal springs in extensional geothermal systems are concentrated at fault tips and in fault interaction zones where porosity and permeability are dynamically maintained (Curewitz and Karson, 1997; Faulds et al., 2010). Making these spatial correlations typically involves geological and geophysical studies in order to map...
A data-based conservation planning tool for Florida panthers
Jennifer L. Murrow, Cindy A. Thatcher, Frank T. van Manen, Joseph D. Clark
2013, Environmental Modeling & Assessment (18) 159-170
Habitat loss and fragmentation are the greatest threats to the endangered Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi). We developed a data-based habitat model and user-friendly interface so that land managers can objectively evaluate Florida panther habitat. We used a geographic information system (GIS) and the Mahalanobis distance statistic (D2) to develop...
Underestimating the effects of spatial heterogeneity due to individual movement and spatial scale: infectious disease as an example
Paul C. Cross, Damien Caillaud, Dennis M. Heisey
2013, Landscape Ecology (28) 247-257
Many ecological and epidemiological studies occur in systems with mobile individuals and heterogeneous landscapes. Using a simulation model, we show that the accuracy of inferring an underlying biological process from observational data depends on movement and spatial scale of the analysis. As an example, we focused on estimating the relationship...
The Malthusian-Darwinian dynamic and the trajectory of civilization
Jeffrey C. Nekola, Craig D. Allen, James H. Brown, Joseph R. Burger, Ana D. Davidson, Trevor S. Fristoe, Marcus J. Hamilton, Sean T. Hammond, Astrid Kodric-Brown, Norman Mercado-Silva, Jordan G. Okie
2013, Trends in Ecology and Evolution (28) 127-130
Two interacting forces influence all populations: the Malthusian dynamic of exponential growth until resource limits are reached, and the Darwinian dynamic of innovation and adaptation to circumvent these limits through biological and/or cultural evolution. The specific manifestations of these forces in modern human society provide an important context for determining...
Estimation of evapotranspiration across the conterminous United States using a regression with climate and land-cover data
Ward E. Sanford, David L. Selnick
2013, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (49) 217-230
Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important quantity for water resource managers to know because it often represents the largest sink for precipitation (P) arriving at the land surface. In order to estimate actual ET across the conterminous United States (U.S.) in this study, a water-balance method was combined with a climate...
Assessment of coal geology, resources, and reserves in the Montana Powder River Basin
Jon E. Haacke, David C. Scott, Lee M. Osmonson, James A. Luppens, Paul E. Pierce, Jay A. Gunderson
2013, Open-File Report 2012-1113
The purpose of this report is to summarize geology, coal resources, and coal reserves in the Montana Powder River Basin assessment area in southeastern Montana. This report represents the fourth assessment area within the Powder River Basin to be evaluated in the continuing U.S. Geological Survey regional coal assessment program....
Drill hole data for coal beds in the Powder River Basin, Montana and Wyoming
Jon E. Haacke, David C. Scott
2013, Data Series 713
This report by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) of the Powder River Basin (PRB) of Montana and Wyoming is part of the U.S. Coal Resources and Reserves Assessment Project. Essential to that project was the creation of a comprehensive drill hole database that was used for coal bed correlation and...
Assessment of coal geology, resources, and reserve base in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming and Montana
David C. Scott, James A. Luppens
2013, Fact Sheet 2012-3143
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated in-place resources of 1.07 trillion short tons of coal in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming and Montana. Of that total, with a maximum stripping ratio of 10:1, recoverable coal was 162 billion tons. The estimate of economically recoverable resources was...
A comprehensive change detection method for updating the National Land Cover Database to circa 2011
Suming Jin, Limin Yang, Patrick Danielson, Collin G. Homer, Joyce Fry, George Xian
2013, Remote Sensing of Environment (132) 159-175
The importance of characterizing, quantifying, and monitoring land cover, land use, and their changes has been widely recognized by global and environmental change studies. Since the early 1990s, three U.S. National Land Cover Database (NLCD) products (circa 1992, 2001, and 2006) have been released as free downloads for users. The...
A comment on "Novel scavenger removal trials increase wind turbine-caused avian fatality estimates"
Manuela M.P. Huso, Wallace P. Erickson
2013, Journal of Wildlife Management (77) 213-215
In a recent paper, Smallwood et al. (2010) conducted a study to compare their “novel” approach to conducting carcass removal trials with what they term the “conventional” approach and to evaluate the effects of the different methods on estimated avian fatality at a wind power facility in California. A quick...
Hyperspectral surface materials map of quadrangle 3562, Khawja-Jir (403) and Murghab (404) quadrangles, Afghanistan, showing iron-bearing minerals and other materials
Trude King, Todd M. Hoefen, Raymond F. Kokaly, Keith E. Livo, Michaela R. Johnson, Stuart A. Giles
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1202-B
This map shows the spatial distribution of selected iron-bearing minerals and other materials derived from analysis of airborne HyMap™ imaging spectrometer (hyperspectral) data of Afghanistan collected in late 2007. This map is one in a series of U.S. Geological Survey/Afghanistan Geological Survey quadrangle maps covering Afghanistan. Flown at an altitude of...
Fens as whole-ecosystem gauges of groundwater recharge under climate change
Judith Z. Drexler, Donna L. Knifong, JayLee Tuil, Lorraine E. Flint, Alan L. Flint
2013, Journal of Hydrology (481) 22-34
Currently, little is known about the impact of climate change on groundwater recharge in the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range of California or other mountainous regions of the world. The purpose of this study was to determine whether small alpine peat lands called fens can be used as whole-ecosystem...
Water quality in the Anacostia River, Maryland and Rock Creek, Washington, D.C.: Continuous and discrete monitoring with simulations to estimate concentrations and yields of nutrients, suspended sediment, and bacteria
Cherie V. Miller, Jeffrey G. Chanat, Joseph M. Bell
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1034
Concentrations and loading estimates for nutrients, suspended sediment, and E. coli bacteria were summarized for three water-quality monitoring stations on the Anacostia River in Maryland and one station on Rock Creek in Washington, D.C. Both streams are tributaries to the Potomac River in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and contribute...
Nitrate in watersheds: straight from soils to streams?
Elizabeth B. Sudduth, Steven S. Perakis, Emily S. Bernhardt
2013, Journal of Geophysical Research G: Biogeosciences (118) 291-302
Human activities are rapidly increasing the global supply of reactive N and substantially altering the structure and hydrologic connectivity of managed ecosystems. There is long-standing recognition that N must be removed along hydrologic flowpaths from uplands to streams, yet it has proven difficult to assess the generality of this removal...
An ecohydraulic model to identify and monitor moapa dace habitat
James R. Hatten, Thomas R. Batt, Gayton G. Scoppettone, Christopher J. Dixon
2013, PLoS ONE (8)
Moapa dace (Moapa coriacea) is a critically endangered thermophilic minnow native to the Muddy River ecosystem in southeastern Nevada, USA. Restricted to temperatures between 26.0 and 32.0°C, these fish are constrained to the upper two km of the Muddy River and several small tributaries fed by warm springs. Habitat alterations,...
Adjusting survival estimates for premature transmitter failure: A case study from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Christopher M. Holbrook, Russell W. Perry, Patricia L. Brandes, Noah S. Adams
2013, Environmental Biology of Fishes (96) 165-173
In telemetry studies, premature tag failure causes negative bias in fish survival estimates because tag failure is interpreted as fish mortality. We used mark-recapture modeling to adjust estimates of fish survival for a previous study where premature tag failure was documented. High rates of tag failure occurred during the Vernalis...
Potential effects of changes in temperature and food resources on life history trajectories of juvenile Oncorhynchus mykiss
Joseph R. Benjamin, Patrick J. Connolly, Jason G. Romine, Russell W. Perry
2013, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (142) 208-220
Increasing temperatures and changes in food resources owing to climate change may alter the growth and migratory behavior of organisms. This is particularly important for salmonid species like Oncorhynchus mykiss, where some individuals remain in freshwater to mature (nonanadromous Rainbow Trout) and others migrate to sea (anadromous Steelhead). Whether one...
Site preparation for switchgrass intercropping in loblolly pine plantations reduces retained trees and snags, but maintains downed woody debris
Zachary G. Loman, Samuel K. Riffell, Darrin A. Miller, James A. Martin, Francisco Vilella
2013, Forestry (86) 353-360
Within young pine (Pinus spp.) plantations, coarse woody debris (CWD) and green trees are important habitat structures that may be impacted by the production of biofuel feedstock. Therefore, we compared site preparation procedures associated with switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) intercropping to determine effects on CWD and green trees in stands...
A conceptual prototype for the next-generation national elevation dataset
Jason M. Stoker, Hans Karl Heidemann, Gayla A. Evans, Susan K. Greenlee
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1023
In 2012 the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Geospatial Program (NGP) funded a study to develop a conceptual prototype for a new National Elevation Dataset (NED) design with expanded capabilities to generate and deliver a suite of bare earth and above ground feature information over the United States. This report...
Disease in a dynamic landscape: host behavior and wildfire reduce amphibian chytrid infection
Blake R. Hossack, Winsor H. Lowe, Joy L. Ware, Paul Stephen Corn
2013, Biological Conservation (157) 293-299
Disturbances are often expected to magnify effects of disease, but these effects may depend on the ecology, behavior, and life history of both hosts and pathogens. In many ecosystems, wildfire is the dominant natural disturbance and thus could directly or indirectly affect dynamics of many diseases. To determine how probability...
