Estimating pole/zero errors in GSN-IRIS/USGS network calibration metadata
A. T. Ringler, C. R. Hutt, R. Aster, H. Bolton, L.S. Gee, T. Storm
2012, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (102) 836-841
Mapping the digital record of a seismograph into true ground motion requires the correction of the data by some description of the instrument's response. For the Global Seismographic Network (Butler et al., 2004), as well as many other networks, this instrument response is represented as a Laplace domain pole–zero model...
Factors affecting incubation patterns and sex roles of black oystercatchers in Alaska
Caleb S. Spiegel, Susan M. Haig, Michael I. Goldstein, Manuela M. P. Huso
2012, The Condor (114) 123-134
Studies examining the effects of human disturbance on avian parental behavior and reproductive success are fundamental to bird conservation. However, many such studies fail to also consider the influence of natural threats, a variable environment, and parental roles. Our work examines interactive relationships of cyclical (time of day, tide, temperature,...
Effects of urban stormwater-management strategies on stream-water quantity and quality
J.V. Loperfido, Dianna M. Hogan
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3079
Urbanization results in elevated stormwater runoff, greater and more intense streamflow, and increased delivery of pollutants to local streams and downstream aquatic systems such as the Chesapeake Bay. Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) are used to mitigate these effects of urban land use by retaining large volumes of stormwater runoff...
Glaciation and regional groundwater flow in the Fennoscandian shield
A.M. Provost, C.I. Voss, C. E. Neuzil
2012, Geofluids (12) 79-96
Regional-scale groundwater flow modeling of the Fennoscandian shield suggests that groundwater flow can be strongly affected by future climate change and glaciation. We considered variable-density groundwater flow in a 1500-km-long and approximately 10-km-deep cross-section through southern Sweden. Groundwater flow and shield brine transport in the cross-sectional model were analyzed under...
Forty years of vegetation change on the Missouri River floodplain
W. Carter Johnson, Mark D. Dixon, Michael L. Scott, Lisa Rabbe, Gary Larson, Malia Volke, Brett Werner
2012, BioScience (62) 123-135
Comparative inventories in 1969 and 1970 and in 2008 of vegetation from 30 forest stands downstream of Garrison Dam on the Missouri River in central North Dakota showed (a) a sharp decline in Cottonwood regeneration; (b) a strong compositional shift toward dominance by green ash; and (c) large increases in...
February 2012 workshop jumpstarts the Mekong Fish Monitoring Network
Matthew E. Andersen, Shaara M. Ainsley
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3081
The Mekong River in Southeast Asia travels through a basin rich in natural resources. The river originates on the northern slope of the world's tallest mountains, the Himalaya Range, and then drops elevation quickly through steep mountain gorges, tumbling out of China into Myanmar (Burma) and the Lao People's Democratic...
Future of groundwater modeling
Christian D. Langevin, Sorab Panday
2012, Ground Water (50) 334-339
With an increasing need to better manage water resources, the future of groundwater modeling is bright and exciting. However, while the past can be described and the present is known, the future of groundwater modeling, just like a groundwater model result, is highly uncertain and any prediction is probably not...
A zonal evaluation of intrinsic susceptibility in selected principal aquifers of the United States
Tristan P. Wellman, Leon Kauffman, Brian Clark
2012, Journal of Hydrology (440-441) 36-51
A method was developed to evaluate intrinsic groundwater susceptibility in 11 study areas across the United States. Calibrated groundwater-flow models and a variable-advection particle-tracking scheme that accounts for uncertainty were used to derive ranges of conservative solute concentration and groundwater age within spatially defined zones from solute loading to the...
Temporal genetic monitoring of hybridization between native westslope cutthroat trout and introduced rainbow trout in the Stehekin River, Washington
Carl O. Ostberg, Dorothy M. Chase
2012, Northwest Science (86) 198-211
Introgressive hybridization with introduced rainbow trout (RBT) (Oncorhynchus mykiss) has led to the loss of native cutthroat trout species (O. clarkii) throughout their range, creating conservation concerns. Monitoring temporal hybridization trends provides resource managers with a tool for determining population status and information for establishing conservation goals for native cutthroat...
Evaluating remedial alternatives for an acid mine drainage stream: A model post audit
Robert L. Runkel, Briant A. Kimball, Katherine Walton-Day, Philip L. Verplanck, Robert E. Broshears
2012, Environmental Science & Technology (46) 340-347
A post audit for a reactive transport model used to evaluate acid mine drainage treatment systems is presented herein. The post audit is based on a paired synoptic approach in which hydrogeochemical data are collected at low (existing conditions) and elevated (following treatment) pH. Data obtained under existing, low-pH conditions...
Evaluating a fish monitoring protocol using state-space hierarchical models
Robin E. Russell, David A. Schmetterling, Chris S. Guy, Bradley B. Shepard, Robert McFarland, Donald Skaar
2012, Open Fish Science Journal (5) 1-8
Using data collected from three river reaches in Montana, we evaluated our ability to detect population trends and predict fish future fish abundance. Data were collected as part of a long-term monitoring program conducted by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to primarily estimate rainbow (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and brown trout (Salmo...
Fine scale relationships between sex, life history, and dispersal of masu salmon
Shigeru Kitanishi, Toshiaki Yamamoto, Itsuro Koizumi, Jason B. Dunham, Seigo Higashi
2012, Ecology and Evolution (2) 920-929
Identifying the patterns and processes driving dispersal is critical for understanding population structure and dynamics. In many organisms, sex-biased dispersal is related to the type of mating system. Considerably less is known about the influence of life history variability on dispersal. Here we investigated patterns of dispersal in masu salmon...
The potential effects of sodium bicarbonate, a major constituent from coalbed natural gas production, on aquatic life
Aida M. Farag, David D. Harper
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5008
The production water from coalbed natural gas (CBNG) extraction contains many constituents. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established aquatic life criteria for some of these constituents, and it is therefore possible to evaluate their risk to aquatic life. However, of the major ions associated with produced waters, chloride is...
Effects of sample size, number of markers, and allelic richness on the detection of spatial genetic pattern
Erin L. Landguth, Bradley C. Gedy, Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Andrew L. Garey, Sarah L. Emel, Matthew Mumma, Helene H. Wagner, Marie-Josée Fortin, Samuel A. Cushman
2012, Molecular Ecology Resources (12) 276-284
The influence of study design on the ability to detect the effects of landscape pattern on gene flow is one of the most pressing methodological gaps in landscape genetic research. To investigate the effect of study design on landscape genetics inference, we used a spatially-explicit, individual-based program to simulate gene...
The role of genetics in chronic wasting disease of North American cervids
Stacie J. Robinson, Michael D. Samuel, Katherine O’Rourke, Chad J. Johnson
2012, Prion (6) 153-162
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a major concern for the management of North American cervid populations. This fatal prion disease has led to declines in populations which have high CWD prevalence and areas with both high and low infection rates have experienced economic losses in wildlife recreation and fears of...
Data resources for range-wide assessment of livestock grazing across the sagebrush biome
T.J. Assal, K.E. Veblen, M.A. Farinha, Cameron L. Aldridge, Michael L. Casazza, D.A. Pyke
2012, Data Series 690
The data contained in this series were compiled, modified, and analyzed for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) report "Range-Wide Assessment of Livestock Grazing Across the Sagebrush Biome." This report can be accessed through the USGS Publications Warehouse (online linkage: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1263/). The dataset contains spatial and tabular data related to Bureau...
Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity
Bradley J. Cardinale, J. Emmett Duffy, Andrew Gonzalez, David U. Hooper, Charles Perrings, Patrick Venail, Anita Narwani, Georgina M. Mace, David Tilman, David A. Wardle, Ann P. Kinzig, Gretchen C. Daily, Michel Loreau, James B. Grace, Anne Larigauderie, Diane S. Srivastava, Shahid Naeem
2012, Nature (486) 59-67
The most unique feature of Earth is the existence of life, and the most extraordinary feature of life is its diversity. Approximately 9 million types of plants, animals, protists and fungi inhabit the Earth. So, too, do 7 billion people. Two decades ago, at the first Earth Summit, the vast...
Frequent vocalizing is negatively associated with brood parasitism in a host of the brown-headed cowbird
Sonya E. Steckler, Courtney J. Conway
2012, The Condor (114) 219-226
Brood parasitism by the Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) can substantially affect host species' reproductive success. The "host-activity" hypothesis suggests that parasites eavesdrop on conspicuous behaviors to locate and parasitize hosts, and several studies of cowbird hosts support this hypothesis. In contrast, a recent study of the Least Bell's Vireo (Vireo...
Point sources of emerging contaminants along the Colorado River Basin: Source water for the arid Southwestern United States
Tammy L. Jones-Lepp, Charles Sanchez, David A. Alvarez, Doyle C. Wilson, Randi-Laurant Taniguchi-Fu
2012, Science of the Total Environment (430) 237-245
Emerging contaminants (ECs) (e.g., pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, personal care products) have been detected in waters across the United States. The objective of this study was to evaluate point sources of ECs along the Colorado River, from the headwaters in Colorado to the Gulf of California. At selected locations in the...
Bottom sediment as a source of organic contaminants in Lake Mead, Nevada, USA
David A. Alvarez, Michael R. Rosen, Stephanie D. Perkins, Walter L. Cranor, Vickie L. Schroeder, Tammy L. Jones-Lepp
2012, Chemosphere (88) 605-611
Treated wastewater effluent from Las Vegas, Nevada and surrounding communities' flow through Las Vegas Wash (LVW) into the Lake Mead National Recreational Area at Las Vegas Bay (LVB). Lake sediment is a likely sink for many hydrophobic synthetic organic compounds (SOCs); however, partitioning between the sediment and the overlying water...
Bacterial communities associated with healthy and Acropora white syndrome-affected corals from American Samoa
Bryan Wilson, Greta S. Aeby, Thierry M. Work, David G. Bourne
2012, FEMS Microbiology Ecology (80) 509-520
Acropora white syndrome (AWS) is characterized by rapid tissue loss revealing the white underlying skeleton and affects corals worldwide; however, reports of causal agents are conflicting. Samples were collected from healthy and diseased corals and seawater around American Samoa and bacteria associated with AWS characterized using both culture-dependent and culture-independent...
Recent explosive eruptions and volcano hazards at Soputan volcano—a basalt stratovolcano in north Sulawesi, Indonesia
Kushendratno, John S. Pallister, Kristianto, Farid Ruskanda Bina, Wendy McCausland, Simon Carn, Julia P. Griswold, Ronald H. Keeler
2012, Bulletin of Volcanology (74) 1581-1609
Soputan is a high-alumina basalt stratovolcano located in the active North Sulawesi-Sangihe Islands magmatic arc. Although immediately adjacent to the still geothermally active Quaternary Tondono Caldera, Soputan’s magmas are geochemically distinct from those of the caldera and from other magmas in the arc. Unusual for a...
Scaling the Teflon Peaks: Rock type and the generation of extreme relief in the glaciated western Alaska Range
Dylan J. Ward, Robert S. Anderson, Peter J. Haeussler
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface (117)
Parts of the Alaska Range (Alaska, USA) stand in prominent exception to the “glacial buzzsaw hypothesis,” which postulates that terrain raised above the ELA is rapidly denuded by glaciers. In this paper, we discuss the role of a strong contrast in rock type in the development of this exceptional terrain....
Groundwater-well data of San Miguel County, New Mexico, 1970-2010
Anne Marie Matherne, Anne M. Stewart
2012, Data Series 686
The hydrologic resources of San Miguel County, New Mexico, are increasingly relied upon to meet growing domestic, livestock, and agricultural needs. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with San Miguel County, conducted a study during 2010-11 to assess current publicly available information regarding the hydrologic resources of San Miguel County....
Reformatted data sets used in the Cooperative LACSD/USGS Palos Verdes Flow Study, 2000--2008
Todd Anderson, Kurt J. Rosenberger, Anne L. Gartner
2012, Open-File Report 2010-1253
Beginning in 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defined a contaminated section of the Palos Verdes shelf in southern California as a Superfund site, initiating a continuing investigation of this area. A number of agencies, including the EPA, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), conducted two...
