An Automated Cropland Classification Algorithm (ACCA) for Tajikistan by combining Landsat, MODIS, and secondary data
Prasad S. Thenkabail, Zhuoting Wu
2012, Remote Sensing (4) 2890-2918
The overarching goal of this research was to develop and demonstrate an automated Cropland Classification Algorithm (ACCA) that will rapidly, routinely, and accurately classify agricultural cropland extent, areas, and characteristics (e.g., irrigated vs. rainfed) over large areas such as a country or a region through combination of multi-sensor remote sensing and...
Ecological context for the North Pacific Landscape Conservation Cooperative
Andrea Woodward, Audrey Taylor, Anne Weekes
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1211
The North Pacific Landscape Conservation Cooperative (NPLCC) encompasses the temperate coastal rainforest and extends from the coastal mountains to the near-shore from the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska to Bodega Bay, California. The area spans multiple agency, state, and international boundaries over more than 22 degrees of latitude, including a wide range...
Fort Collins Science Center-Fiscal year 2011 science accomplishments
Juliette T. Wilson (compiler)
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1169
The Fort Collins Science Center (FORT) is a multi-disciplinary research and development center of the U.S. Geological Survey located in Fort Collins, Colorado. FORT research focuses on the needs of land- and water-management bureaus within the U.S. Department of the Interior, other Federal agencies, and State, Tribal, and non-government organizations....
Approaches in highly parameterized inversion-PESTCommander, a graphical user interface for file and run management across networks
Marinko Karanovic, Christopher T. Muffels, Matthew J. Tonkin, Randall J. Hunt
2012, Techniques and Methods 7-C8
Models of environmental systems have become increasingly complex, incorporating increasingly large numbers of parameters in an effort to represent physical processes on a scale approaching that at which they occur in nature. Consequently, the inverse problem of parameter estimation (specifically, model calibration) and subsequent uncertainty analysis have become increasingly computation-intensive...
Population-level impact of white-nose syndrome on the endangered Indiana bat
Wayne E. Thogmartin, R. Andrew King, Patrick C. McKann, Jennifer A. Szymanski, Lori Pruitt
2012, Journal of Mammalogy (93) 1086-1098
Establishing status and trend for an endangered species is critical to recovery, especially when it is faced with a nascent extinction agent. We calculated, with hierarchical log-linear change-point models, hibernaculum-level population trends between 1983 and 2009 for the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) now subjected to the fast-spreading fungal disease...
Genetic research for wildlife and fisheries management - A primer
Rachel J. Pawlitz, Margaret E. Hunter, Nathan A. Johnson
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3110
Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) use a range of research approaches to investigate the genetics of native and non-native species that are being managed. This Fact Sheet outlines those approaches and explains the type of information they provide....
The influence of reservoirs, climate, land use and hydrologic conditions on loads and chemical quality of dissolved organic carbon in the Colorado River
Matthew P. Miller
2012, Water Resources Research (48)
Longitudinal patterns in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) loads and chemical quality were identified in the Colorado River from the headwaters in the Rocky Mountains to the United States-Mexico border from 1994 to 2011. Watershed- and reach-scale climate, land use, river discharge and hydrologic modification conditions that contribute to patterns in...
Subsurface gas hydrates in the northern Gulf of Mexico
Ray Boswell, Timothy S. Collett, Matthew Frye, William Shedd, Daniel R. McConnell, Dianna Shelander
2012, Marine and Petroleum Geology (34) 4-30
The northernGulf of Mexico (GoM) has long been a focus area for the study of gashydrates. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, work focused on massive gashydrates deposits that were found to form at and near the seafloor in association with hydrocarbon seeps. However, as global scientific and industrial interest in...
Geologic map of the Cochetopa Park and North Pass Calderas, northeastern San Juan Mountains, Colorado
Peter W. Lipman
2012, Scientific Investigations Map 3123
The San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado have long been known as a site of exceptionally voluminous mid-Tertiary volcanism, including at least 22 major ignimbrite sheets (each 150-5,000 km3) and associated caldera structures active at 33-23 Ma. Recent volcanologic and petrologic studies in the San Juan region have focused mainly...
Methods of practice and guidelines for using survey-grade global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) to establish vertical datum in the United States Geological Survey
Paul H. Rydlund Jr., Brenda K. Densmore
2012, Techniques and Methods 11-D1
Geodetic surveys have evolved through the years to the use of survey-grade (centimeter level) global positioning to perpetuate and post-process vertical datum. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) uses Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) technology to monitor natural hazards, ensure geospatial control for climate and land use change, and gather data...
Quantification of aquifer properties with surface nuclear magnetic resonance in the Platte River valley, central Nebraska, using a novel inversion method
Trevor P. Irons, Christopher M. Hobza, Gregory V. Steele, Jared D. Abraham, James C. Cannia, Duane D. Woodward
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5189
Surface nuclear magnetic resonance, a noninvasive geophysical method, measures a signal directly related to the amount of water in the subsurface. This allows for low-cost quantitative estimates of hydraulic parameters. In practice, however, additional factors influence the signal, complicating interpretation. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Central Platte...
Storm-induced inner-continental shelf circulation and sediment transport: Long Bay, South Carolina
John C. Warner, Brandy N. Armstrong, Charlene S. Sylvester, George Voulgaris, Tim Nelson, William C. Schwab, Jane F. Denny
2012, Continental Shelf Research (42) 51-63
Long Bay is a sediment-starved, arcuate embayment located along the US East Coast connecting both South and North Carolina. In this region the rates and pathways of sediment transport are important because they determine the availability of sediments for beach nourishment, seafloor habitat, and navigation. The impact of storms...
Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Haji-Gak mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter C in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan
Philip A. Davis, Laura E. Cagney, Scott A. Arko, Michelle L. Harbin
2012, Data Series 709-C
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the...
Use of expert judgment elicitation to estimate seismic vulnerability of selected building types
K. S. Jaiswal, W. Aspinall, D. Perkins, D. Wald, K.A. Porter
2012, Book, Proceedings of the 15th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Lisbon, Portugal, 24-28 Sep 2012
Pooling engineering input on earthquake building vulnerability through an expert judgment elicitation process requires careful deliberation. This article provides an overview of expert judgment procedures including the Delphi approach and the Cooke performance-based method to estimate the seismic vulnerability of a building category....
Nearshore morphology, benthic structure, hydrodynamics, and coastal groundwater discharge near Kahekili Beach Park, Maui, Hawaii
Peter W. Swarzenski, Curt D. Storlazzi, M. Katherine Presto, Ann E. Gibbs, Christopher G. Smith, Natasha T. Dimova, Meghan L. Dailer, Joshua B. Logan
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1166
This report presents a brief summary of recent fieldwork conducted off Kahekili Beach Park, Maui, Hawaii, the site of the newly established U.S. Coral Reef Task Force priority study area at Kaanapali and the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources, Kahekili Herbivore Fisheries Management Area...
Sylvatic plague vaccine: A new tool for conservation of threatened and endangered species?
Rachel C. Abbott, Jorge E. Osorio, Christine M. Bunck, Tonie E. Rocke
2012, EcoHealth (9) 243-250
Plague, a disease caused by Yersinia pestis introduced into North America about 100 years ago, is devastating to prairie dogs and the highly endangered black-footed ferret. Current attempts to control plague in these species have historically relied on insecticidal dusting of prairie dog burrows to kill the fleas that spread...
Comparison of no-purge and pumped sampling methods for monitoring concentrations of ordnance-related compounds in groundwater, Camp Edwards, Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2009-2010
Jennifer G. Savoie, Denis R. LeBlanc
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5084
Field tests were conducted near the Impact Area at Camp Edwards on the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to determine the utility of no-purge groundwater sampling for monitoring concentrations of ordnance-related explosive compounds and perchlorate in the sand and gravel aquifer. The no-purge methods included (1) a diffusion sampler...
Geologic map of the Snegurochka Planitia quadrangle (V-1), Venus
Debra M. Hurwitz, James W. Head
2012, Scientific Investigations Map 3178
The Snegurochka Planitia region is a predominantly low-lying terrain that covers the north polar region of Venus, extending from lat 75° N. to 90° N. and from long 0° E. to 360° E. The plains associated with Snegurochka Planitia abut the highlands of Metis Mons to the south from approximately...
Coupled atmosphere-ocean-wave simulations of a storm event over the Gulf of Lion and Balearic Sea
Lionel Renault, Jacopo Chiggiato, John C. Warner, Marta Gomez, Guillermo Vizoso, Joaquin Tintore
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research (117)
The coastal areas of the North-Western Mediterranean Sea are one of the most challenging places for ocean forecasting. This region is exposed to severe storms events that are of short duration. During these events, significant air-sea interactions, strong winds and large sea-state can have catastrophic consequences in the coastal areas....
Geologic map of the MTM 85200 quadrangle, Olympia Rupes region of Mars
James A. Skinner, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff
2012, Scientific Investigations Map 3197
The north polar region of Mars is dominated by Planum Boreum, a roughly circular, domical plateau that rises >2,500 m above the surrounding lowland. Planum Boreum is >1,500 km in diameter, contains deep, curvilinear troughs and chasmata, isolated cavi, and marginal scarps and slopes. The north polar plateau is surrounded...
Water-level altitudes 2012 and water-level changes in the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifers and compaction 1973-2011 in the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers, Houston-Galveston region, Texas
Mark C. Kasmarek, Michaela R. Johnson, Jason K. Ramage
2012, Scientific Investigations Map 3230
Most of the subsidence in the Houston–Galveston region, Texas, has occurred as a direct result of groundwater withdrawals for municipal supply, commercial and industrial use, and irrigation that depressured and dewatered the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers and caused compaction of the clay layers of the aquifer sediments. This report—prepared by...
Soil genesis on the island of Bermuda in the Quaternary: the importance of African dust transport and deposition
Daniel R. Muhs, James R. Budahn, Joseph M. Prospero, Gary Skipp, Stanley R. Herwitz
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research (117)
The origin of terra rossa, red or reddish-brown, clay-rich soils overlying high-purity carbonate substrates, has intrigued geologists and pedologists for decades. Terra rossa soils can form from accumulation of insoluble residues during dissolution of the host limestones, addition of volcanic ash, or addition of externally derived, long-range-transported (LRT) aeolian particles....
Estimating contributions of nitrate and herbicides from groundwater to headwater streams, northern Atlantic Coastal Plain, USA
Scott Ator, Judith M. Denver
2012, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (48) 1075-1090
Groundwater transport often complicates understanding of surface-water contamination. We estimated the regional flux of nitrate and selected herbicides from groundwater to nontidal headwater streams of the Atlantic Coastal Plain (New Jersey through North Carolina) based on late-winter or spring base-flow samples from 174 streams. Sampled streams were selected randomly, and...
Disparate stakeholder management: the case of elk and bison feeding in southern Greater Yellowstone
Lynne Koontz, Dana Hoag, Don DeLong
2012, Society & Natural Resources: An International Journal (26)
For resource decisions to make the most possible progress toward achieving agency mandates, managers must work with stakeholders and may need to at least partially accommodate some of their key underlying interests. To accommodate stakeholder interests, while also substantively working toward fulfilling legal mandates, managers must understand the sociopolitical factors...
Assessment of soil-gas contamination at building 310 underground storage tank area, Fort Gordon, Georgia, 2010-2011
Wladmir B. Guimaraes, W. Fred Falls, Andral W. Caldwell, W. Hagan Ratliff, John B. Wellborn, James Landmeyer
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1136
Soil gas was assessed for contaminants in the building 310 underground storage tank area adjacent to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center at Ft. Gordon, Georgia, from October 2010 to September 2011. The assessment, which also included the detection of organic compounds in soil gas, provides environmental contamination data...
