Effects of climate change and population growth on the transboundary Santa Cruz aquifer
Christopher A. Scott, Sharon Megdal, Lucas Antonio Oroz, James Callegary, Prescott Vandervoet
2012, Climate Research (51) 159-170
The USA and Mexico have initiated comprehensive assessment of 4 of the 18 aquifers underlying their 3000 km border. Binational management of groundwater is not currently proposed. University and agency researchers plus USA and Mexican federal, state, and local agency staff have collaboratively identified key challenges facing the Santa Cruz...
Fire clay
R.L. Virta
2012, Mining Engineering (64) 50-51
Five companies mined fire clay in four states in 2011. Production, based on a preliminary survey of the fire clay industry, was estimated to be 240 kt (265,000 st), valued at $7.68 million, an increase from 216 kt (238,000 st), valued at $6.12 million in 2010. Missouri was the leading...
Water-resources data for the United States: water year 2012
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2012, Water Data Report 2012
Water resources data are published annually for use by engineers, scientists, managers, educators, and the general public. These archival products supplement direct access to current and historical water data provided by NWISWeb. Beginning with Water Year 2006, annual water data reports are available as individual electronic Site Data Sheets for...
Estrogenic compounds decrease growth hormone receptor abundance and alter osmoregulation in Atlantic salmon
Darren T. Lerner, Mark A. Sheridan, Stephen D. McCormick
2012, General and Comparative Endocrinology (179) 196-204
Exposure of Atlantic salmon smolts to estrogenic compounds is shown to compromise several aspects of smolt development. We sought to determine the underlying endocrine mechanisms of estrogen impacts on the growth hormone (GH)/insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) axis. Smolts in freshwater (FW) were either injected 3 times over 10 days...
Deep Arctic Ocean warming during the last glacial cycle
T. M. Cronin, G. S. Dwyer, J. Farmer, H.A. Bauch, R.F. Spielhagen, M. Jakobsson, J. Nilsson, W. M. Briggs Jr., A. Stepanova
2012, Nature Geoscience (5) 631-634
In the Arctic Ocean, the cold and relatively fresh water beneath the sea ice is separated from the underlying warmer and saltier Atlantic Layer by a halocline. Ongoing sea ice loss and warming in the Arctic Ocean have demonstrated the instability of the halocline, with implications for further sea ice...
Effects of low-density feeding on elk–fetus contact rates on Wyoming feedgrounds
Tyler G. Creech, Paul C. Cross, Brandon M. Scurlock, Eric Maichak, Jared D. Rogerson, John C. Henningsen, Scott Creel
2012, Journal of Wildlife Management (76) 877-886
High seroprevalance for Brucella abortus among elk on Wyoming feedgrounds suggests that supplemental feeding may influence parasite transmission and disease dynamics by altering the rate at which elk contact infectious materials in their environment. We used proximity loggers and video cameras to estimate rates of elk-to-fetus contact (the primary source...
Identifying potential areas for biofuel production and evaluating the environmental effects: a case study of the James River Basin in the Midwestern United States
Yiping Wu, Shu-Guang Liu, Zhengpeng Li
2012, GCB Bioenergy (4) 875-888
Biofuels are now an important resource in the United States because of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Both increased corn growth for ethanol production and perennial dedicated energy crop growth for cellulosic feedstocks are potential sources to meet the rising demand for biofuels. However, these measures may...
Shale Gas Development and Brook Trout: Scaling Best Management Practices to Anticipate Cumulative Effects
David Smith, Craig D. Snyder, Nathaniel P. Hitt, John A. Young, Stephen P. Faulkner
2012, Environmental Practice (14) 366-381
Shale gas development may involve trade-offs between energy development and benefits provided by natural ecosystems. However, current best management practices (BMPs) focus on mitigating localized ecological degradation. We review evidence for cumulative effects of natural gas development on brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and conclude that BMPs should account for potential...
A horizon scanning assessment of current and potential future threats to migratory shorebirds
William J. Sutherland, José A. Alves, Tatsuya Amano, Charlotte H. Chang, Nicholas C. Davidson, C. Max Finlayson, Jennifer A. Gill, Robert E. Gill Jr., Patricia M. González, Tomas Gretar Gunnarsson, David Kleijn, Chris J. Spray, Tamás Székely, Des B.A. Thompson
2012, Ibis (154) 663-679
We review the conservation issues facing migratory shorebird populations that breed in temperate regions and use wetlands in the non-breeding season. Shorebirds are excellent model organisms for understanding ecological, behavioural and evolutionary processes and are often used as indicators of wetland health. A global team of experienced shorebird researchers identified...
Crustal seismicity and the earthquake catalog maximum moment magnitudes (Mcmax) in stable continental regions (SCRs): Correlation with the seismic velocity of the lithosphere
Walter D. Mooney, Jeroen Ritsema, Yong Keun Hwang
2012, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (357-358) 78-83
A joint analysis of global seismicity and seismic tomography indicates that the seismic potential of continental intraplate regions is correlated with the seismic properties of the lithosphere. Archean and Early Proterozoic cratons with cold, stable continental lithospheric roots have fewer crustal earthquakes and a lower maximum earthquake catalog moment magnitude...
Thresholds of flow-induced bed disturbances and their effects on stream metabolism in an agricultural river
Ben L. O’Connor, Judson W. Harvey, Lauren E. McPhillips
2012, Water Resources Research (48)
Storm-driven flow pulses in rivers destroy and restructure sediment habitats that affect stream metabolism. This study examined thresholds of bed disturbances that affected patch- and reach-scale sediment conditions and metabolism rates. A 4 year record of discharge and diel changes in dissolved oxygen concentrations (ΔDO) was analyzed for disturbances and...
Hydromechanical effects of continental glaciation on groundwater systems
C. E. Neuzil
2012, Geofluids (12) 22-37
Hydromechanical effects of continental ice sheets may involve considerably more than the widely recognized direct compression of overridden terrains by ice load. Lithospheric flexure, which lags ice advance and retreat, appears capable of causing comparable or greater stress changes. Together, direct and flexural loading may increase fluid pressures by tens...
Developing spatially explicit footprints of plausible land-use scenarios in the Santa Cruz Watershed, Arizona and Sonora
Laura M. Norman, Mark Feller, Miguel L. Villarreal
2012, Landscape and Urban Planning (107) 225-235
The SLEUTH urban growth model is applied to a binational dryland watershed to envision and evaluate plausible future scenarios of land use change into the year 2050. Our objective was to create a suite of geospatial footprints portraying potential land use change that can be used to aid binational decision-makers...
Monitoring subsurface hydrologic response for precipitation-induced shallow landsliding in the San Francisco Bay area, California, USA
Brian D. Collins, Jonathan D. Stock, Lisa C. Weber, K. Whitman, N. Knepprath
2012, Conference Paper, Landslides and engineered slopes: Protecting society through improved understanding, Proceedings of the 11th International Symposium on Landslides
Intense winter storms in the San Francisco Bay area (SFBA) of California, USA often trigger shallow landslides. Some of these landslides mobilize into potentially hazardous debris flows. A growing body of research indicates that rainfall intensity-duration thresholds are insufficient for accurate prediction of landslide occurrence. In response, we have begun...
Fluid‐driven seismicity response of the Rinconada fault near Paso Robles, California, to the 2003 M 6.5 San Simeon earthquake
Jeanne L. Hardebeck
2012, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (102) 377-390
The 2003 M 6.5 San Simeon, California, earthquake caused significant damage in the city of Paso Robles and a persistent cluster of aftershocks close to Paso Robles near the Rinconada fault. Given the importance of secondary aftershock triggering in sequences of large events, a concern is whether this cluster of...
Enterococci in the environment
Muruleedhara N. Byappanahalli, Meredith B. Nevers, Asja Korajkic, Zachery R. Staley, Valerie J. Harwood
2012, Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews (76) 685-706
Enterococci are common, commensal members of gut communities in mammals and birds, yet they are also opportunistic pathogens that cause millions of human and animal infections annually. Because they are shed in human and animal feces, are readily culturable, and predict human health risks from exposure to polluted recreational waters,...
The resilience and functional role of moss in boreal and arctic ecosystems
M. Turetsky, B. Bond-Lamberty, E.S. Euskirchen, J. J. Talbot, S. Frolking, A. D. McGuire, E.S. Tuittila
2012, New Phytologist (196) 49-67
Mosses in northern ecosystems are ubiquitous components of plant communities, and strongly influence nutrient, carbon and water cycling. We use literature review, synthesis and model simulations to explore the role of mosses in ecological stability and resilience. Moss community responses to disturbance showed all possible responses (increases, decreases, no change)...
Constraints on the timing of Co-Cu ± Au mineralization in the Blackbird district, Idaho, using SHRIMP U-Pb ages of monazite and xenotime plus zircon ages of related Mesoproterozoic orthogneisses and metasedimentary rocks
John N. Aleinikoff, John F. Slack, Karen Lund, Karl V. Evans, C. Mark Fanning, Frank K. Mazdab, Joseph L. Wooden, Renee M. Pillers
2012, Economic Geology (107) 1143-1175
The Blackbird district, east-central Idaho, contains the largest known Co reserves in the United States. The origin of strata-hosted Co-Cu ± Au mineralization at Blackbird has been a matter of controversy for decades. In order to differentiate among possible genetic models for the deposits, including various combinations of volcanic, sedimentary,...
A prototype splitter apparatus for dividing large catches of small fish
Martin A. Stapanian, William H. Edwards
2012, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (32) 1033-1038
Due to financial and time constraints, it is often necessary in fisheries studies to divide large samples of fish and estimate total catch from the subsample. The subsampling procedure may involve potential human biases or may be difficult to perform in rough conditions. We present a prototype gravity-fed splitter apparatus...
Source characterization of near-surface chemical explosions at SAFOD
Fred F. Pollitz, Justin Rubinstein, William Ellsworth
2012, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (102) 1348-1360
A series of near‐surface chemical explosions conducted at the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) main hole were recorded by high‐frequency downhole receiver arrays in April 2005. These seismic recordings at depths ranging from the surface to 2.3 km constrain the shallow velocity and attenuation structure as well as...
Fixed recurrence and slip models better predict earthquake behavior than the time- and slip-predictable models 1: repeating earthquakes
Justin L. Rubinstein, William L. Ellsworth, Kate Huihsuan Chen, Naoki Uchida
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (117)
The behavior of individual events in repeating earthquake sequences in California, Taiwan and Japan is better predicted by a model with fixed inter-event time or fixed slip than it is by the time- and slip-predictable models for earthquake occurrence. Given that repeating earthquakes are highly regular in both inter-event time...
Does translocation influence physiological stress in the desert tortoise?
K.K. Drake, K.E. Nussear, T. C. Esque, A.M. Barber, K.M. Vittum, P.A. Medica, C.R. Tracy, K.W. Hunter
2012, Animal Conservation (15) 560-570
Wildlife translocation is increasingly used to mitigate disturbances to animals or habitat due to human activities, yet little is known about the extent to which translocating animals causes stress. To understand the relationship between physiological stress and translocation, we conducted a multiyear study (2007–2009) using a population of desert tortoises...
Using stable isotopes to test for trophic niche partitioning: a case study with stream salamanders and fish
Adam J. Sepulveda, Winsor H. Lowe, Peter P. Marra
2012, Freshwater Biology (57) 1399-1409
1. Stream salamanders and fish often co-occur even though fish prey on and outcompete salamanders. However, the mechanisms that allow palatable salamanders to coexist with fish are unknown. 2. We tested mechanisms in the field that promote coexistence between Idaho giant salamanders (Dicamptodon aterrimus) and stream salmonid fishes in headwater streams. Previous research...
Bulk rock composition and geochemistry of olivine-hosted melt inclusions in the Grey Porri Tuff and selected lavas of the Monte dei Porri volcano, Salina, Aeolian Islands, southern Italy
Angela L. Doherty, Robert J. Bodnar, Benedetto De Vivo, Wendy A. Bohrson, Harvey E. Belkin, Antonia Messina, Robert J. Tracy
2012, Central European Journal of Geosciences (4) 338-355
The Aeolian Islands are an arcuate chain of submarine seamounts and volcanic islands, lying just north of Sicily in southern Italy. The second largest of the islands, Salina, exhibits a wide range of compositional variation in its erupted products, from basaltic lavas to rhyolitic pumice. The Monte dei Porri eruptions...
Evolution of the chemistry of Fe bearing waters during CO2 degassing
J.N. Geroni, C.A. Cravotta III, D.J. Sapsford
2012, Applied Geochemistry (27) 2335-2347
The rates of Fe(II) oxidation and precipitation from groundwater are highly pH dependent. Elevated levels of dissolved CO2 can depress pH and cause difficulty in removing dissolved Fe and associated metals during treatment of ferruginous water. This paper demonstrates interdependent changes in pH, dissolved inorganic C species, and Fe(II) oxidation...
