Habitat use by a freshwater dolphin in the low-water season
Gill T. Braulik, Albert P. Reichert, Tahir Ehsan, Samiullah Khan, Simon P. Northridge, Jason S. Alexander, Richard Garstang
2012, Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (22) 533-546
1. Many river dolphin populations are most vulnerable during the low-water season when habitat is limited. Indus River dolphin habitat selection in the dry season was investigated using Generalized Linear Models of dolphin distribution and abundance in relation to physical features of river geomorphology and channel geometry in cross-section. 2....
Diversity of active aerobic methanotrophs along depth profiles of arctic and subarctic lake water column and sediments
Ruo He, Matthew J. Wooller, John W. Pohlman, John Quensen, James M. Tiedje, Mary Beth Leigh
2012, ISME Journal (6) 1937-1948
Methane (CH4) emitted from high-latitude lakes accounts for 2–6% of the global atmospheric CH4 budget. Methanotrophs in lake sediments and water columns mitigate the amount of CH4 that enters the atmosphere, yet their identity and activity in arctic and subarctic lakes are poorly understood. We used stable isotope probing (SIP),...
Elk migration patterns and human activity influence wolf habitat use in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Abigail Nelson, Matthew J. Kauffman, Arthur D. Middleton, Mike Jimenez, Douglas McWhirter, Jarrett Barber, Ken Gerow
2012, Ecological Applications (22) 2293-2307
Identifying the ecological dynamics underlying human–wildlife conflicts is important for the management and conservation of wildlife populations. In landscapes still occupied by large carnivores, many ungulate prey species migrate seasonally, yet little empirical research has explored the relationship between carnivore distribution and ungulate migration strategy. In this study, we evaluate...
Field information links permafrost carbon to physical vulnerabilities of thawing
Jennifer W. Harden, Charles Koven, Chien-Lu Ping, Gustaf Hugelius, A. David McGuire, P. Camill, Torre Jorgenson, Peter Kuhry, Gary Michaelson, Jonathan A. O’Donnell, Edward A.G. Schuur, Charles Tamocai, Kevin Johnson, G. Grosse
2012, Geophysical Research Letters (39)
Deep soil profiles containing permafrost (Gelisols) were characterized for organic carbon (C) and total nitrogen (N) stocks to 3m depths. Using the Community Climate System Model (CCSM4) we calculate cumulative probability functions (PDFs) for active layer depths under current and future climates. The difference in PDFs over time was multiplied...
Heterogeneous redox conditions, arsenic mobility, and groundwater flow in a fractured-rock aquifer near a waste repository site in New Hampshire, USA
Philip T. Harte, Joseph D. Ayotte, Andrew Hoffman, Kinga M. Revesz, Marcel Belaval, Steven Lamb, J.K. Böhlke
2012, Hydrogeology Journal (20) 1189-1201
Anthropogenic sources of carbon from landfill or waste leachate can promote reductive dissolution of in situ arsenic (As) and enhance the mobility of As in groundwater. Groundwater from residential-supply wells in a fractured crystalline-rock aquifer adjacent to a Superfund site in Raymond, New Hampshire, USA, showed evidence of locally enhanced...
Flood risk awareness during the 2011 floods in the central United States: showcasing the importance of hydrologic data and interagency collaboration
Robert R. Holmes Jr., Noreen O. Schwein, Charles E. Shadie
2012, Leadership and Management in Engineering (12) 101-110
Floods have long had a major impact on society and the environment, evidenced by the more than 1,500 federal disaster declarations since 1952 that were associated with flooding. Calendar year 2011 was an epic year for floods in the United States, from the flooding on the Red River of the...
The U.S. Geological Survey Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative-2011 Annual Update
M.J. Adams, E. Muths, E.H.C. Grant, David A. Miller, J.H. Waddle, L.C. Ball
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3090
Welcome to the inaugural issue of ARMI's Annual Update. This update provides highlights and significant milestones of this innovative program. ARMI is uniquely qualified to provide research and monitoring results that are scalable from local to national levels, and are useful to resource managers. ARMI has produced nearly 400 peer-reviewed...
GFDL's ESM2 global coupled climate-carbon Earth System Models. Part I: physical formulation and baseline simulation characteristics
John P. Dunne, Jasmin G. John, Alistair J. Adcroft, Stephen M. Griffies, Robert W. Hallberg, Elena Shevalikova, Ronald J. Stouffer, William Cooke, Krista A. Dunne, Matthew J. Harrison, John P. Krasting, Sergey L. Malyshev, P. C. D. Milly, Peter J. Phillipps, Lori A. Sentman, Bonita L. Samuels, Michael J. Spelman, Michael Winton, Andrew T. Wittenberg, Niki Zadeh
2012, Journal of Climate (25) 6646-6665
We describe the physical climate formulation and simulation characteristics of two new global coupled carbon-climate Earth System Models, ESM2M and ESM2G. These models demonstrate similar climate fidelity as the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory's previous CM2.1 climate model while incorporating explicit and consistent carbon dynamics. The two models differ exclusively in...
Evaluating changes in matrix based, recovery-adjusted concentrations in paired data for pesticides in groundwater
Tammy M. Zimmerman, Kevin J. Breen
2012, Journal of Environmental Quality (41) 1238-1245
Pesticide concentration data for waters from selected carbonate-rock aquifers in agricultural areas of Pennsylvania were collected in 1993–2009 for occurrence and distribution assessments. A set of 30 wells was visited once in 1993–1995 and again in 2008–2009 to assess concentration changes. The data include censored matched pairs (nondetections of a...
Water Resources of Beauregard Parish
Lawrence B. Prakken, Jason M. Griffith, Robert B. Fendick Jr.
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3065
In 2005, about 30.6 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water was withdrawn in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana, including about 30.4 Mgal/d from groundwater sources and 0.1 Mgal/d from surface water sources. Industrial use, primarily for wood products, accounted for about 72 percent (22.0 Mgal/d) of the total water withdrawn. Other...
Designs and test results for three new rotational sensors
P. Jedlicka, J.T. Kozak, J.R. Evans, C. R. Hutt
2012, Journal of Seismology (16) 639-647
We discuss the designs and testing of three rotational seismometer prototypes developed at the Institute of Geophysics, Academy of Sciences (Prague, Czech Republic). Two of these designs consist of a liquid-filled toroidal tube with the liquid as the proof mass and providing damping; we tested the piezoelectric and pressure transduction...
Temperature and petroleum generation history of the Wilcox Formation, Louisiana
Janet K. Pitman, Elisabeth L. Rowan
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1046
A one-dimensional petroleum system modeling study of Paleogene source rocks in Louisiana was undertaken in order to characterize their thermal history and to establish the timing and extent of petroleum generation. The focus of the modeling study was the Paleocene and Eocene Wilcox Formation, which contains the youngest source rock...
Effects of soil-engineering properties on the failure mode of shallow landslides
Jonathan Peter McKenna, Paul Michael Santi, Xavier Amblard, Jacquelyn Negri
2012, Landslides (9) 215-228
Some landslides mobilize into flows, while others slide and deposit material immediately down slope. An index based on initial dry density and fine-grained content of soil predicted failure mode of 96 landslide initiation sites in Oregon and Colorado with 79% accuracy. These material properties can be used to identify potential...
Groundwater quality in the Columbia Plateau, Snake River Plain, and Oahu basaltic-rock and basin-fill aquifers in the Northwestern United States and Hawaii, 1992-2010
Lonna M. Frans, Michael G. Rupert, Charles D. Hunt Jr., Kenneth D. Skinner
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5123
This assessment of groundwater-quality conditions of the Columbia Plateau, Snake River Plain, and Oahu for the period 1992–2010 is part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program. It shows where, when, why, and how specific water-quality conditions occur in groundwater of the three study areas and...
ArxA, a new clade of arsenite oxidase within the DMSO reductase family of molybdenum oxidoreductases
Kamrun Zargar, Alison Conrad, David L. Bernick, Todd M. Lowe, Viktor Stolc, Shelley Hoeft, Ronald S. Oremland, John Stolz, Chad W. Saltikov
2012, Environmental Microbiology (14) 1635-1645
Arsenotrophy, growth coupled to autotrophic arsenite oxidation or arsenate respiratory reduction, occurs only in the prokaryotic domain of life. The enzymes responsible for arsenotrophy belong to distinct clades within the DMSO reductase family of molybdenum-containing oxidoreductases: specifically arsenate respiratory reductase, ArrA, and arsenite oxidase, AioA (formerly referred to as AroA...
Carbon and sediment accumulation in the Everglades (USA) during the past 4000 years: rates, drivers, and sources of error
Paul H. Glaser, John C. Volin, Thomas J. Givnish, Barbara C. S. Hansen, Craig A. Stricker
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research G: Biogeosciences (117) G03026
Tropical and sub-tropical wetlands are considered to be globally important sources for greenhouse gases but their capacity to store carbon is presumably limited by warm soil temperatures and high rates of decomposition. Unfortunately, these assumptions can be difficult to test across long timescales because the chronology, cumulative mass, and completeness...
Concentrations of selected metals in Quaternary-age fluvial deposits along the lower Cheyenne and middle Belle Fourche Rivers, western South Dakota, 2009-10
John F. Stamm, Galen K. Hoogestraat
2012, Data Series 695
The headwaters of the Cheyenne and Belle Fourche Rivers drain the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming, an area that has been affected by mining and ore-milling operations since the discovery of gold in 1875. A tributary to the Belle Fourche River is Whitewood Creek, which drains the area...
Changes in permeability caused by transient stresses: field observations, experiments, and mechanisms
Michael Manga, Igor Beresnev, Emily E. Brodsky, Jean E. Elkhoury, Derek Elsworth, Steve E. Ingebritsen, David C. Mays, Chi-Yuen Wang
2012, Reviews of Geophysics (50)
Oscillations in stress, such as those created by earthquakes, can increase permeability and fluid mobility in geologic media. In natural systems, strain amplitudes as small as 10–6 can increase discharge in streams and springs, change the water level in wells, and enhance production from petroleum reservoirs. Enhanced permeability typically recovers...
By the numbers: how is recovery defined by the U.S. Endangered Species Act?
Maile C. Neel, Allison K. Leidner, Aaron Haines, Dale D. Goble, J. Michael Scott
2012, BioScience (62) 646-657
Nearly 40 years after passage of the US Endangered Species Act, the prospects for listed species remain dim because they are too severely imperiled by the time they receive the act's protection. Even if threats are abated, the low abundances required for recovery often preclude a high probability of persistence....
Combined sewer overflows: an environmental source of hormones and wastewater micropollutants
P. J. Phillips, A.T. Chalmers, J.L. Gray, D.W. Kolpin, W.T. Foreman, G. R. Wall
2012, Environmental Science & Technology (46) 5336-5343
Data were collected at a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Burlington, Vermont, USA, (serving 30,000 people) to assess the relative contribution of CSO (combined sewer overflow) bypass flows and treated wastewater effluent to the load of steroid hormones and other wastewater micropollutants (WMPs) from a WWTP to a lake. Flow-weighted...
Integrated monitoring of ecological conditions in wetland-upland landscapes
Alisa Gallant, Walt Sadinski
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3103
Landscapes of interwoven wetlands and uplands offer a rich set of ecosystem goods and services. Managing lands to maximize ecosystem services requires information that distinguishes change caused by local actions from broader-scale shifts in climate, land use, and other forms of global change. Satellite and airborne sensors collect valuable data...
Assessment of undiscovered, conventional oil and gas resources of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, 2012
Christopher J. Schenk, Michael E. Brownfield, Ronald R. Charpentier, Troy A. Cook, Timothy R. Klett, Janet K. Pitman, Richard M. Pollastro, Jean N. Weaver
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3069
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated means of 19 billion barrels of oil and 83 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas resources in 10 geologic provinces of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize....
Flood-inundation maps for the West Branch Delaware River, Delhi, New York, 2012
William F. Coon, Brian K. Breaker
2012, Scientific Investigations Map 3216
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 5-mile reach of the West Branch Delaware River through the Village and part of the Town of Delhi, New York, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Village of Delhi, the Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District, and the...
Development of regional skews for selected flood durations for the Central Valley Region, California, based on data through water year 2008
Jonathan R. Lamontagne, Jery R. Stedinger, Charles Berenbrock, Andrea G. Veilleux, Justin C. Ferris, Donna L. Knifong
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5130
Flood-frequency information is important in the Central Valley region of California because of the high risk of catastrophic flooding. Most traditional flood-frequency studies focus on peak flows, but for the assessment of the adequacy of reservoirs, levees, other flood control structures, sustained flood flow (flood duration) frequency data are needed....
Coal-tar-based pavement sealcoat and PAHs: implications for the environment, human health, and stormwater management
Barbara Mahler, Peter C. Van Metre, Judy L. Crane, Alison W. Watts, Mateo Scoggins, E. Spencer Williams
2012, Environmental Science & Technology (46) 3039-3045
Coal-tar-based sealcoat products, widely used in the central and eastern U.S. on parking lots, driveways, and even playgrounds, are typically 20−35% coal-tar pitch, a known human carcinogen that contains about 200 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds. Research continues to identify environmental compartments—including stormwater runoff, lake sediment, soil, house dust, and...
