Producing fractional rangeland component predictions in a sagebrush ecosystem, a Wyoming sensitivity analysis
George Xian, Collin G. Homer, Brian Granneman, Debra K. Meyer
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1239
Remote sensing information has been widely used to monitor vegetation condition and variations in a variety of ecosystems, including shrublands. Careful application of remotely sensed imagery can provide additional spatially explicit, continuous, and extensive data on the composition and condition of shrubland ecosystems. Historically, the most widely available remote sensing...
Approaches to the simulation of unconfined flow and perched groundwater flow in MODFLOW
Vivek Bedekar, Richard G. Niswonger, Kenneth Kipp, Sorab Panday, Matthew Tonkin
2012, Ground Water (50) 187-198
Various approaches have been proposed to manage the nonlinearities associated with the unconfined flow equation and to simulate perched groundwater conditions using the MODFLOW family of codes. The approaches comprise a variety of numerical techniques to prevent dry cells from becoming inactive and to achieve a stable solution focused on...
One year of migration data for a western yellow-billed cuckoo
Juddson D. Sechrist, Eben H. Paxton, Darrell D. Ahlers, Robert H. Doster, Vicky M. Ryan
2012, Western Birds (43) 2-11
In 2009, we studied the migration of the Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo by capturing 13 breeding birds on the middle Rio Grande, New Mexico, and attaching a 1.5-g Mk 14-S British Antarctic Survey geolocator to each bird. In 2010, we recaptured one of the cuckoos, enabling us to download its geolocation...
A barrier to upstream migration in the fish passage of Itaipu Dam (Canal da Piracema), Paraná River basin
Theodore R. Castro-Santos, Helio Martins Fontes, Sergio Makrakis, Luiz Carlos Gomes, Joao Dirco Latini
2012, Neotropical Ichthyology (10) 697-704
The majority of the fish passages built in the Neotropical region are characterised by low efficiency and high selectivity; in many cases, the benefits to fish populations are uncertain. Studies conducted in the Canal da Piracema at Itaipu dam on the Parana River indicate that the system component designated as...
Water-level altitudes and continuous and discrete water quality at and near an aquifer storage and recovery site, Bexar, Atascosa, and Wilson Counties, Texas, June 2004-September 2011
Cassi L. Crow
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5260
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the San Antonio Water System (SAWS), collected data during 2004–11 to characterize the quality of native groundwater from the San Antonio segment of the Edwards aquifer (hereinafter, Edwards aquifer) and preinjection and postinjection water from the Carrizo aquifer (informal name commonly applied...
Redox reaction rates in shallow aquifers: Implications for nitrate transport in groundwater and streams
Anthony J. Tesoriero
2012, Conference Paper, Abstracts with Programs, Geological Society of America Annual Meeting
Groundwater age and water chemistry data along flow paths from recharge areas to streams were used to evaluate the trends and transformations of agricultural chemicals. Results from this analysis indicate that median nitrate recharge concentrations in these agricultural areas have increased markedly over the last 50 years from 4 mg...
Low-flow characteristics of streams under natural and diversion conditions, Waipiʻo Valley, Island of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi
Richard A. Fontaine
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5118
Over the past 100 years, natural streamflow in Waipiʻo Valley has been reduced by the transfer of water out of the valley by Upper and Lower Hāmākua Ditches. The physical condition and diversion practices along the two ditch systems have varied widely over the years, and as a result, so...
Remote sensing of sagebrush canopy nitrogen
Jessica J. Mitchell, Nancy F. Glenn, Temuulen T. Sankey, DeWayne R. Derryberry, Matthew J. Germino
2012, Remote Sensing of Environment (124) 217-223
This paper presents a combination of techniques suitable for remotely sensing foliar Nitrogen (N) in semiarid shrublands – a capability that would significantly improve our limited understanding of vegetation functionality in dryland ecosystems. The ability to estimate foliar N distributions across arid and semi-arid environments could help answer process-driven questions...
Spatial distribution of damage around faults in the Joe Lott Tuff Member of the Mount Belknap Volcanics, Utah: A mechanical analog for faulting in pyroclastic deposits on Mars
Chris H. Okubo
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets (117)
Volcanic ash is thought to comprise a large fraction of the Martian equatorial layered deposits and much new insight into the process of faulting and related fluid flow in these deposits can be gained through the study of analogous terrestrial tuffs. This study identifies a set of fault-related processes that...
Tropical forest carbon balance in a warmer world: a critical review spanning microbial- to ecosystem-scale processes
Tana E. Wood, Molly A. Cavaleri, Sasha C. Reed
2012, Biological Reviews (87) 912-927
Tropical forests play a major role in regulating global carbon (C) fluxes and stocks, and even small changes to C cycling in this productive biome could dramatically affect atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations. Temperature is expected to increase over all land surfaces in the future, yet we have a surprisingly...
Changes to dryland rainfall result in rapid moss mortality and altered soil fertility
Sasha C. Reed, Kirsten K. Coe, Jed P. Sparks, David C. Housman, Tamara J. Zelikova, Jayne Belnap
2012, Nature Climate Change (2) 752-755
Arid and semi-arid ecosystems cover ~40% of Earth’s terrestrial surface, but we know little about how climate change will affect these widespread landscapes. Like many drylands, the Colorado Plateau in southwestern United States is predicted to experience elevated temperatures and alterations to the timing and amount of annual precipitation. We...
Spatial patterns of March and September streamflow trends in Pacific Northwest Streams, 1958-2008
Heejun Chang, Il-Won Jung, Madeline Steele, Marshall Gannett
2012, Geographical Analysis (44) 177-201
Summer streamflow is a vital water resource for municipal and domestic water supplies, irrigation, salmonid habitat, recreation, and water-related ecosystem services in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) in the United States. This study detects significant negative trends in September absolute streamflow in a majority of 68 stream-gauging stations located on unregulated...
Porphyry copper assessment of the Tibetan Plateau, China: Chapter F in Global mineral resource assessment
Steve Ludington, Jane M. Hammarstrom, Gilpin R. Robinson Jr., John L. Mars, Robert J. Miller
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5090-F
The U.S. Geological Survey collaborated with the China Geological Survey to conduct a mineral-resource assessment of resources in porphyry copper deposits on the Tibetan Plateau in western China. This area hosts several very large porphyry deposits, exemplified by the Yulong and Qulong deposits, each containing at least 7,000,000 metric tons...
Rapid, low-cost photogrammetry to monitor volcanic eruptions: An example from Mount St. Helens, Washington, USA
Angela K. Diefenbach, Juliet G. Crider, Steve P. Schilling, Daniel Dzurisin
2012, Bulletin of Volcanology (74) 579-587
We describe a low-cost application of digital photogrammetry using commercially available photogrammetric software and oblique photographs taken with an off-the-shelf digital camera to create sequential digital elevation models (DEMs) of a lava dome that grew during the 2004–2008 eruption of Mount St. Helens (MSH) volcano. Renewed activity at MSH provided...
Gold deposits of the Carolina Slate Belt, southeastern United States--Age and origin of the major gold producers
Nora K. Foley, Robert A. Ayuso
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1179
Gold- and iron sulfide-bearing deposits of the southeastern United States have distinctive mineralogical and geochemical features that provide a basis for constructing models of ore genesis for exploration and assessment of gold resources. The largest (historic) deposits, in approximate million ounces of gold (Moz Au), include those in the Haile...
Characterization of the hydrologic resources of San Miguel County, New Mexico, and identification of hydrologic data gaps, 2011
Anne Marie Matherne, Anne M. Stewart
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5238
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with San Miguel County, New Mexico, conducted a study to assess publicly available information regarding the hydrologic resources of San Miguel County and to identify data gaps in that information and hydrologic information that could aid in the management of available water resources....
Comparing modern and presettlement forest dynamics of a subboreal wilderness: Does spruce budworm enhance fire risk?
Brian R. Sturtevant, Brian R. Miranda, Douglas J. Shinneman, Eric J. Gustafson, Peter T. Wolter
2012, Ecological Applications (22) 1278-1296
Insect disturbance is often thought to increase fire risk through enhanced fuel loadings, particularly in coniferous forest ecosystems. Yet insect disturbances also affect successional pathways and landscape structure that interact with fire disturbances (and vice-versa) over longer time scales. We applied a landscape succession and disturbance model (LANDIS-II) to evaluate...
Bioenergy potential of the United States constrained by satellite observations of existing productivity
W. Kolby Smith, Cory C. Cleveland, Sasha C. Reed, Norman L. Miller, Steven W. Running
2012, Environmental Science & Technology (46) 3536-3544
United States (U.S.) energy policy includes an expectation that bioenergy will be a substantial future energy source. In particular, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) aims to increase annual U.S. biofuel (secondary bioenergy) production by more than 3-fold, from 40 to 136 billion liters ethanol, which implies...
The utility of harvest recoveries of marked individuals to assess polar bear (Ursus maritimus) survival
Elizabeth L. Peacock, Jeff Laake, Kristin L. Laidre, Erik W. Born, Stephen N. Atkinson
2012, Arctic (65) 391-400
Management of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) populations requires the periodic assessment of life history metrics such as survival rate. This information is frequently obtained during short-term capture and marking efforts (e.g., over the course of three years) that result in hundreds of marked bears remaining in the population after active...
Impact of reduced near-field entrainment of overpressured volcanic jets on plume development
Farhad Saffaraval, Stephen A. Solovitz, Darcy E. Ogden, Larry G. Mastin
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research (117)
Volcanic plumes are often studied using one-dimensional analytical models, which use an empirical entrainment ratio to close the equations. Although this ratio is typically treated as constant, its value near the vent is significantly reduced due to flow development and overpressured conditions. To improve the accuracy of these models, a...
Insights from fumarole gas geochemistry on the origin of hydrothermal fluids on the Yellowstone Plateau
Giovanni Chiodini, Stefano Caliro, Jacob B. Lowenstern, William C. Evans, D. Bergfeld, Franco Tassi, Dario Tedesco
2012, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (89) 265-278
The chemistry of Yellowstone fumarole gases shows the existence of two component waters, type MC, influenced by the addition of deep mantle fluid, and type CC, influenced by crustal interactions (CC). MC is high in 3He/4He (22 Ra) and low in 4He/40Ar (∼1), reflecting input of deep mantle components. The other water is...
Linking the historic 2011 Mississippi River flood to coastal wetland sedimentation
Federico Falcini, Nicole S. Khan, Leonardo Macelloni, Benjamin P. Horton, Carol B. Lutken, Karen L. McKee, Rosalia Santoleri, Simone Colella, Chunyan Li, Gianluca Volpe, Marco D’Emidio, Alessandro Salusti, Douglas J. Jerolmack
2012, Nature Geoscience (5) 803-807
Wetlands in the Mississippi River deltaic plain are deteriorating in part because levees and control structures starve them of sediment. In Spring of 2011 a record-breaking flood brought discharge on the lower Mississippi River to dangerous levels, forcing managers to divert up to 3500 m3/s-1 of water to the Atchafalaya...
Improving the accuracy of S02 column densities and emission rates obtained from upward-looking UV-spectroscopic measurements of volcanic plumes by taking realistic radiative transfer into account
Christoph Kern, Tim Deutschmann, Cynthia Werner, A. Jeff Sutton, Tamar Elias, Peter J. Kelly
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research D: Atmospheres (117)
Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is monitored using ultraviolet (UV) absorption spectroscopy at numerous volcanoes around the world due to its importance as a measure of volcanic activity and a tracer for other gaseous species. Recent studies have shown that failure to take realistic radiative transfer into account during the spectral retrieval...
Estimating recruitment dynamics and movement of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon using an integrated assessment model
Josh Korman, Steven Martell, Carl J. Walters, Andrew S. Makinster, Lewis G. Coggins, Michael D. Yard, William R. Persons
2012, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (69) 1827-1849
We used an integrated assessment model to examine effects of flow from Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona, USA, on recruitment of nonnative rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Colorado River and to estimate downstream migration from Glen Canyon to Marble Canyon, a reach used by endangered native fish. Over a 20-year...
Yield of bedrock wells in the Nashoba terrane, central and eastern Massachusetts
Leslie A. DeSimone, Jeffrey R. Barbaro
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5155
The yield of bedrock wells in the fractured-bedrock aquifers of the Nashoba terrane and surrounding area, central and eastern Massachusetts, was investigated with analyses of existing data. Reported well yield was compiled for 7,287 wells from Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. Geological Survey databases. Yield of these wells...
