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...
ARRA-funded VS30 measurements using multi-technique approach at strong-motion stations in California and central-eastern United States
Alan Yong, Antony Martin, Kenneth Stokoe, John Diehl
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1102
Funded by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), we conducted geophysical site characterizations at 191 strong-motion stations: 187 in California and 4 in the Central-Eastern United States (CEUS). The geophysical methods used at each site included passive and active surface-wave and body-wave techniques. Multiple techniques were used at...
A volcanic activity alert-level system for aviation: Review of its development and application in Alaska
Marianne C. Guffanti, Thomas Miller
2013, Natural Hazards (69) 1519-1533
An alert-level system for communicating volcano hazard information to the aviation industry was devised by the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) during the 1989–1990 eruption of Redoubt Volcano. The system uses a simple, color-coded ranking that focuses on volcanic ash emissions: Green—normal background; Yellow—signs of unrest; Orange—precursory unrest or minor ash...
Estimates of the volume of water in five coal aquifers, Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, southeastern Montana
L.K. Tuck, Daniel K. Pearson, M. R. Cannon, DeAnn M. Dutton
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5209
The Tongue River Member of the Tertiary Fort Union Formation is the primary source of groundwater in the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in southeastern Montana. Coal beds within this formation generally contain the most laterally extensive aquifers in much of the reservation. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the...
Genomic analysis of avian influenza viruses from waterfowl in Western Alaska, USA
Andrew B. Reeves, John M. Pearce, Andrew M. Ramey, Craig R. Ely, Joel A. Schmutz, Paul L. Flint, Dirk V. Derksen, S. Ip, Kimberly A. Trust
2013, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (49) 600-610
The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (Y-K Delta) in western Alaska is an immense and important breeding ground for waterfowl. Migratory birds from the Pacific Americas, Central Pacific, and East Asian-Australasian flyways converge in this region, providing opportunities for intermixing of North American- and Eurasian-origin hosts and infectious agents, such as avian influenza...
Linking phenology and biomass productivity in South Dakota mixed-grass prairie
Matthew Rigge, Alexander Smart, Bruce Wylie, Tagir Gilmanov, Patricia Johnson
2013, Rangeland Ecology and Management (66) 579-587
Assessing the health of rangeland ecosystems based solely on annual biomass production does not fully describe plant community condition; the phenology of production can provide inferences on species composition, successional stage, and grazing impacts. We evaluate the productivity and phenology of western South Dakota mixed-grass prairie using 2000 to 2008...
Dynamic deformation of Seguam Island, Alaska, 1992--2008, from multi-interferogram InSAR processing
Chang-Wook Lee, Zhong Lu, Joong-Sun Won, Hyung-Sup Jung, Daniel Dzurisin
2013, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (260) 43-51
We generated a time-series of ERS-1/2 and ENVISAT interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) images to study ground surface deformation at Seguam Island from 1992 to 2008. We used the small baseline subset (SBAS) technique to reduce artifacts associated with baseline uncertainties and atmospheric delay anomalies, and processed images from two...
Determination of diffusion coefficients of carbon dioxide in water between 268 and 473 K in a high-pressure capillary optical cell with in situ Raman spectroscopic measurements
Wanjun Lu, Huirong Guo, I.-M. Chou, R.C. Burruss, Lanlan Li
2013, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (115) 183-204
Accurate values of diffusion coefficients for carbon dioxide in water and brine at reservoir conditions are essential to our understanding of transport behavior of carbon dioxide in subsurface pore space. However, the experimental data are limited to conditions at low temperatures and pressures. In this study, diffusive transfer of carbon...
Geologic map of the east half of the Lime Hills 1:250,000-scale quadrangle, Alaska
Bruce M. Gamble, Bruce L. Reed, Donald H. Richter, Marvin A. Lanphere
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1090
This map is compiled from geologic mapping conducted between 1985 and 1992 by the U.S. Geological Survey as part of the Alaska Mineral Resource Assessment Program. That mapping built upon previous USGS work (1963–1988) unraveling the magmatic history of the Alaska–Aleutian Range batholith. Quaternary unit contacts depicted on this map...
Geologic map of southwestern Sequoia National Park, Tulare County, California
Thomas W. Sisson, James G. Moore
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1096
This map shows the geology of 675 km2 (260 mi2) on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada, California, mainly in Sequoia National Park and Sequoia National Forest. It was produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at the request of the National Park Service to complete the geologic map...
2010 Joint United States-Canadian Program to explore the limits of the Extended Continental Shelf aboard U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy--Cruise HLY1002
Brian D. Edwards, Jonathan R. Childs, Peter J. Triezenberg, William W. Danforth, Helen Gibbons
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1067
In August and September 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada, conducted bathymetric and geophysical surveys in the Beaufort Sea and eastern Arctic Ocean aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy. The principal objective of this mission to the high Arctic was...
Case study Middle Rio Grande Basin, New Mexico, USA
Niel Plummer, W. Sanford
2013, Book chapter, Isotope Methods for Dating Old Groundwater
Chemical and isotopic patterns in groundwater can record characteristics of water sources, flow directions, and groundwater-age information. This hydrochemical information can be useful in refining conceptualization of groundwater flow, in calibration of numerical models of groundwater flow, and in estimation of paleo and modern recharge rates. This case...
The giant Pebble Cu-Au-Mo deposit and surrounding region, southwest Alaska: Introduction
Karen D. Kelley, James R. Lang, Robert G. Eppinger
2013, Economic Geology (108) 397-404
The Pebble deposit is located about 320 km southwest of and 27 km northwest of the village of Iliamna in Alaska (Fig. 1A). It is one of the largest porphyry deposits in terms of contained Cu (Fig. 2A) and it has the largest Au endowment of any porphyry deposit in...
A historical perspective on precipitation, drought severity, and streamflow in Texas during 1951-56 and 2011
Karl E. Winters
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5113
The intense drought throughout Texas during 2011 resulted in substantial declines in streamflow. By April 2011, nearly all of the State was experiencing severe to extreme drought according to data from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Drought Monitor. By the end of July 2011, more than 75 percent of the State...
Database for the Geologic Map of Newberry Volcano, Deschutes, Klamath, and Lake Counties, Oregon
Joseph A. Bard, David W. Ramsey, Norman S. MacLeod, David R. Sherrod, Lawrence A. Chitwood, Robert A. Jensen
2013, Data Series 771
Newberry Volcano, one of the largest Quaternary volcanoes in the conterminous United States, is a broad shield-shaped volcano measuring 60 km north-south by 30 km east-west with a maximum elevation of more than 2 km. Newberry Volcano is the product of deposits from thousands of eruptions, including at least 25...
A national streamflow network gap analysis
Julie E. Kiang, David W. Stewart, Stacey A. Archfield, Emily B. Osborne, Ken Eng
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5013
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a gap analysis to evaluate how well the USGS streamgage network meets a variety of needs, focusing on the ability to calculate various statistics at locations that have streamgages (gaged) and that do not have streamgages (ungaged). This report presents the results of analysis...
Concentration, flux, and the analysis of trends of total and dissolved phosphorus, total nitrogen, and chloride in 18 tributaries to Lake Champlain, Vermont and New York, 1990–2011
Laura Medalie
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5021
Annual concentration, flux, and yield for total phosphorus, dissolved phosphorus, total nitrogen, and chloride for 18 tributaries to Lake Champlain were estimated for 1990 through 2011 using a weighted regression method based on time, tributary streamflows (discharges), and seasonal factors. The weighted regression method generated two series of daily estimates...
Ecology of potential West Nile virus vectors in southeastern Louisiana: enzootic transmission in the relative absence of Culex quinquefasciatus
Marvin S. Godsey Jr., Raymond J. King, Kristen Burkhalter, Mark Delorey, Leah Colton, Dawn Charnetzky, Genevieve Sutherland, Vanessa O. Ezenwa, Lawrence A. Wilson, Michelle Coffey, Lesley E. Milheim, Viki G. Taylor, Charles Palmisano, Dawn M. Wesson, Stephen C. Guptill
2013, American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (88) 986-996
A study of West Nile virus (WNV) ecology was conducted in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, from 2002 to 2004. Mosquitoes were collected weekly throughout the year using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) light traps placed at 1.5 and 6 m above the ground and gravid traps. A total...
Flagging versus dragging as sampling methods for nymphal Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae)
Eric L. Rulison, Isis Kuczaj, Genevieve Pang, Graham J. Hickling, Jean I. Tsao, Howard S. Ginsberg
2013, Journal of Vector Ecology (38) 163-167
The nymphal stage of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae), is responsible for most transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent of Lyme disease, to humans in North America. From 2010 to fall of 2012, we compared two commonly used techniques, flagging and dragging, as sampling methods for nymphal...
Development of a numerical model to simulate groundwater flow in the shallow aquifer system of Assateague Island, Maryland and Virginia
John P. Masterson, Michael N. Fienen, Dean B. Gesch, Carl S. Carlson
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1111
A three-dimensional groundwater-flow model was developed for Assateague Island in eastern Maryland and Virginia to simulate both groundwater flow and solute (salt) transport to evaluate the groundwater system response to sea-level rise. The model was constructed using geologic and spatial information to represent the island geometry, boundaries, and physical properties...
Landscape consequences of natural gas extraction in Fayette and Lycoming Counties, Pennsylvania, 2004–2010
E.T. Slonecker, L.E. Milheim, C.M. Roig-Silva, A.R. Malizia, B.H. Gillenwater
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1119
Increased demands for cleaner burning energy, coupled with the relatively recent technological advances in accessing unconventional hydrocarbon-rich geologic formations, have led to an intense effort to find and extract natural gas from various underground sources around the country. One of these sources, the Marcellus Shale, located in the Allegheny Plateau,...
Estimating wildfire risk on a Mojave Desert landscape using remote sensing and field sampling
Peter F. Van Linn III, Kenneth E. Nussear, Todd C. Esque, Lesley A. DeFalco, Richard D. Inman, Scott R. Abella
2013, International Journal of Wildland Fire (22) 770-779
Predicting wildfires that affect broad landscapes is important for allocating suppression resources and guiding land management. Wildfire prediction in the south-western United States is of specific concern because of the increasing prevalence and severe effects of fire on desert shrublands and the current lack of accurate fire prediction tools. We...
Global climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico: Considerations for integrated coastal management
John W. Day, Alejandro Yáñez-Arancibia, James H. Cowan, Richard H. Day, Robert R. Twilley, John R. Rybczyk
2013, Book chapter, Gulf of Mexico origin, waters, and biota, volume 4: Ecosystem-based management
Global climate change is important in considerations of integrated coastal management in the Gulf of Mexico. This is true for a number of reasons. Climate in the Gulf spans the range from tropical to the lower part of the temperate zone. Thus, as climate warms, the tropical temperate interface, which...
Use of soil-streamwater relationships to assess regional patterns of acidic deposition effects in the northeastern USA
Jason Siemion, Gregory B. Lawrence, Peter S. Murdoch
2013, Hydrological Processes (28) 3615-3626
Declines of acidic deposition levels by as much as 50% since 1990 have led to partial recovery of surface waters in the northeastern USA but continued depletion of soil calcium through this same period suggests a disconnection between soil and surface water chemistry. To investigate the role of soil-surface water...
Chronology of tectonic, geomorphic, and volcanic interactions and the tempo of fault slip near Little Lake, California
Colin B. Amos, Sarah J. Brownlee, Sylan H. Rood, G. Burch Fisher, Roland Burgmann, Paul R. Renne, Angela S. Jayko
2013, Geological Society of America Bulletin (125) 1187-1202
New geochronologic and geomorphic constraints on the Little Lake fault in the Eastern California shear zone reveal steady, modest rates of dextral slip during and since the mid-to-late Pleistocene. We focus on a suite of offset fluvial landforms in the Pleistocene Owens River channel that formed in response to periodic...
