Premature mortality observations among Alaska’s Pacific salmon during record heat and drought in 2019
Vanessa R. von Biela, Christopher J. Sergeant, Michael P. Carey, Zachary Liller, Charles M. Russell, Stephanie Quinn-Davidson, Peter S. Rand, P. A. H. Westley, Christian E. Zimmerman
2022, Fisheries (47) 157-168
Widespread mortality of Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. returning to spawn in Alaska coincided with record-breaking air temperatures and prolonged drought in summer 2019. Extreme environmental conditions are expected to happen more frequently with rapid climate change and challenge the notion that Alaska could indefinitely provide abundant, cool freshwater habitat for Pacific salmon....
Potential effects of climate change on snail kites (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus) in Florida
Marta P. Lyons, Olivia E. LeDee, Ryan Boyles
2022, Open-File Report 2021-1104-A
The snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus), an endangered, wetland-dependent raptor, is highly sensitive to changes in hydrology. Climate-driven changes in water level will likely affect snail kite populations—altering reproductive success and survival rates. Identifying the mechanisms mediating the direct and indirect effects of climate on snail kite populations and the...
High abundance of a single taxon (amphipods) predicts aquatic macrophyte biodiversity in prairie wetlands
Danelle M. Larson, Demmey DeJong, Michael J. Anteau, Megan J. Fitzpatrick, Breanna R. Keith, Emily G. Schilling, Barry Thoele
2022, Conservation Biology (31) 1073-1093
Conservation programs often aim to protect the abundance of individual species and biodiversity simultaneously. We quantified relations between amphipod densities and aquatic macrophyte (large plants and algae) diversity to test a hypothesis that biodiversity can support high abundance of a single taxonomic group. Amphipods (Gammarus lacustris and Hyalella...
Fishway Entrance Palisade
Kevin Mulligan, Richard Palmer, Brett Towler, Alexander Haro, Bjorn Lake, Marcia Rojas, Elizabeth Lotter
2022, Report
This technical report summarizes the work that was conducted by the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the United States Geological Survey (USGS), along with other project partners, on the Fishway Entrance Palisade (EP), a projected funded through the Department of Energy’s (DOE) funding opportunity titled ‘Innovative Solutions for Fish Passage...
A statistical framework for integrating nonparametric proxy distributions into geological reconstructions of relative sea level
Erica L. Ashe, Nicole S. Khan, Lauren T. Toth, Andrea Dutton, Robert E. Kopp
2022, Advances in Statistical Climatology, Meteorology and Oceanography (8) 1-29
Robust, proxy-based reconstructions of relative sea-level (RSL) change are critical to distinguishing the processes that drive spatial and temporal sea-level variability. The relationships between individual proxies and RSL can be complex and are often poorly represented by traditional methods that assume Gaussian likelihood distributions. We develop a new statistical framework...
NWTOPT — A hyperparameter optimization approach for selection of environmental model solver settings
Max William Newcomer, Randall J. Hunt
2022, Environmental Modelling and Software (147) 1-7
Hyperparameter optimization approaches were applied to improve performance and accuracy of groundwater flow models. Freely available new software, NWTOPT, is described that uses Tree of Parzen Estimators (TPE) and Random Search algorithms to optimize MODFLOW-NWTs solver settings. We ran 3500 trials on a steady-state and transient model. To quantify the...
Light and flow regimes regulate the metabolism of rivers
Emily. S Bernhardt, Philip Savoy, Michael J Vlah, Alison Paige Appling, Lauren E Koenig, Robert O Hall Jr., Maite Arroita, Joanna Blaszczak, Alice M. Carter, Matthew J. Cohen, Judson Harvey, James B. Heffernan, Ashley M. Helton, J.D. Hosen, Lily Kirk, William H. McDowell, Emily H. Stanley, Charles B. Yackulic, Nancy B. Grimm
2022, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (119)
Mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation drive much of the variation in productivity across Earth's terrestrial ecosystems but do not explain variation in gross primary productivity (GPP) or ecosystem respiration (ER) in flowing waters. We document substantial variation in the magnitude and seasonality of GPP and ER across 222...
Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics simulations of reef surf zone processes driven by plunging irregular waves
Ryan J. Lowe, C. Altomare, Mark L. Buckley, Renan F. da Silva, Jeff E. Hansen, Dirk P. Rijnsdorp, J.M. Dominguez, A.J.C. Crespo
2022, Ocean Modelling (171)
As waves interact with the slopes of coral reefs and other steep bathymetry profiles, plunging breaking usually occurs where the free surface overturns and violent water motion is triggered. Resolving these surf zone processes pose significant challenges for conventional mesh-based hydrodynamic models, due to the rapidly-deforming nature of...
Stable isotopes provide insight into sources and cycling of N compounds in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, USA
Joseph K. Fackrell, Tamara E. C. Kraus, Megan B. Young, Carol Kendall, Sara Peek
2022, Science of the Total Environment (816)
River deltas and their diverse array of aquatic environments are increasingly impacted by anthropogenic inputs of nitrogen (N). These inputs can alter the N biogeochemistry of these systems and promote undesirable phenomena including harmful algae blooms and invasive aquatic macrophytes. To examine N sources and biogeochemical processes in the...
Colorado and Landsat
U.S. Geological Survey
2022, Fact Sheet 2022-3004
Colorado’s geography seems designed to impress. Although the Rocky Mountains takes up only one-half of the State, more than 50 of its peaks rise at least 14,000 feet above sea level—far more “fourteeners” than any other State. Many of these mountains receive hundreds of inches of snow annually. The Rocky...
Report of the River Master of the Delaware River for the period December 1, 2011–November 30, 2012
Vincent J. DiFrenna, William J. Andrews, Kendra L. Russell, J. Michael Norris, Mason Jr.
2022, Open-File Report 2021-1095
A Decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, entered June 7, 1954, established the position of Delaware River Master within the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, the Decree authorizes diversion of water from the Delaware River Basin and requires compensating releases from certain reservoirs, owned by New York...
Yucaipa valley integrated hydrological model
Ayman H. Alzraiee, John A. Engott, Geoffrey Cromwell, Linda R. Woolfenden
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5118-B
IntroductionThe hydrologic system in the Yucaipa Valley watershed (YVW) was simulated using the coupled Groundwater and Surface-water FLOW model (GSFLOW; Markstrom and others, 2008). This study uses version 2.0 of GSFLOW, which is a combination of the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS; Markstrom and others, 2015), and the Newton-Raphson formulation of...
Performance of a carbon dioxide injection system at a navigation lock to control the spread of aquatic invasive species
Thomas J. Zolper, David Smith, P. Ryan Jackson, Aaron R. Cupp
2022, Journal of Environmental Engineering (148)
Natural resource agencies need effective strategies to control the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) such as invasive fish, which can expand their range using rivers as hydrological pathways to access new areas. Lock and dam structures within major rivers are prospective locations to deploy techniques, such...
Hydrogeologic characterization of the Yucaipa groundwater subbasin
Geoffrey Cromwell, John A. Engott, Ayman H. Alzraiee, Christina Stamos-Pfeiffer, Gregory Mendez, Meghan C. Dick, Sandra Bond
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5118-A
IntroductionWater management in the Santa Ana River watershed in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties in southern California (fig. A1) is complex with various water purveyors navigating geographic, geologic, hydrologic, and political challenges to provide a reliable water supply to stakeholders. As the population has increased throughout southern California, so has...
In situ enhancement and isotopic labeling of biogenic coalbed methane
Elliott P. Barnhart, Leslie F. Ruppert, Randy Heibert, Heidi J. Smith, Hannah Schweitzer, Arthur Clark, Edwin Weeks, William H. Orem, Matthew S. Varonka, George A. Platt, Jenna L. Shelton, Katherine J Davis, Robert Hyatt, Jennifer C. McIntosh, Kilian Ashley, Shuhei Ono, Anna M. Martini, Keith Hackley, Robin Gerlach, Lee Spangler, Adrienne Phillips, Mark Barry, Alfred B. Cunningham, Matthew W. Fields
2022, Environmental Science and Technology (56) 3225-3233
Subsurface microbial (biogenic) methane production is an important part of the global carbon cycle that has resulted in natural gas accumulations in many coal beds worldwide. Laboratory studies suggest that complex carbon-containing nutrients (e.g., yeast or algae extract) can stimulate methane production, yet the effectiveness of these nutrients within coal...
Seed treatments containing neonicotinoids and fungicides reduce aquatic insect richness and abundance in midwestern USA–managed floodplain wetlands
K.J. Kuechle, Elisabeth B. Webb, D. Mengel, A.R. Main
2022, Environmental Science and Pollution Research (29) 45261-45275
Agrochemicals including neonicotinoid insecticides and fungicides are frequently applied as seed treatments on corn, soybeans, and other common row crops. Crops grown from pesticide-treated seed are often directly planted in managed floodplain wetlands and used as a soil disturbance or food resource for wildlife. We quantified invertebrate communities within mid-latitude...
Flood resilience in paired US–Mexico border cities: A study of binational risk perceptions
Christopher A. Freimund, Gregg M. Garfin, Laura M. Norman, Larry A. Fisher, James Buizer
2022, Natural Hazards (112) 1247-1271
Disastrous floods in the twin cities of Nogales, Arizona, USA, and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico (collectively referred to as Ambos Nogales) occur annually in response to monsoonal summer rains. Flood-related hazards include property damage, impairment to sewage systems, sewage discharge, water contamination, erosion, and loss of life. Flood risk, particularly in...
Baseline gene expression levels in Falkland-Malvinas Island penguins: Towards a new monitoring paradigm
Lizabeth Bowen, Shannon C. Waters-Dynes, Jeffrey L Stott, Ann Duncan, Randi Meyerson, Sarah Woodhouse
2022, Life (12)
Health diagnostics of wildlife have historically relied on the evaluation of select serum biomarkers and the identification of a contaminant or pathogen burden within specific tissues as an indicator of a level of insult. However, these approaches fail to measure the physiological reaction of the individual to...
Combining tangential flow filtration and size fractionation of mesocosm water as a method for the investigation of waterborne coral diseases
James S. Evans, Valerie J. Paul, Blake Ushijima, Christina A. Kellogg
2022, Biology Methods and Protocols (7)
The causative agents of most coral diseases today remain unknown, complicating disease response and restoration efforts. Pathogen identifications can be hampered by complex microbial communities naturally associated with corals and seawater, which create complicating “background noise” that can potentially obscure a pathogen’s signal. Here, we outline an approach to investigate...
Shoaling wave shape estimates from field observations and derived bedload sediment rates
Tarandeep S. Kalra, Steven E. Suttles, Christopher R. Sherwood, John C. Warner, Alfredo Aretxabaleta, Gibson Robert Scott Leavitt
2022, Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (10)
The shoaling transformation from generally linear deep-water waves to asymmetric shallow-water waves modifies wave shapes and causes near-bed orbital velocities to become asymmetrical, contributing to net sediment transport. In this work, we used two methods to estimate the asymmetric wave shape from data at three sites. The first method converted...
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in groundwater used as a source of drinking water in the eastern United States
Peter B. McMahon, Andrea K. Tokranov, Laura M. Bexfield, Bruce D. Lindsey, Tyler D. Johnson, Melissa A. Lombard, Elise Watson
2022, Environmental Science & Technology (56) 2279-2288
In 2019, 254 samples were collected from five aquifer systems to evaluate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) occurrence in groundwater used as a source of drinking water in the eastern United States. The samples were analyzed for 24 PFAS, major ions, nutrients, trace elements, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), volatile organic...
Nutrient improvements in Chesapeake Bay: Direct effect of load reductions and implications for coastal management
Rebecca R. Murphy, Jennifer L. D. Keisman, Jon Harcum, Renee Karrh, Michael F. Lane, Elgin S. Perry, Qian Zhang
2022, Environmental Science & Technology (56) 260-270
In Chesapeake Bay in the United States, decades of management efforts have resulted in modest reductions of nutrient loads from the watershed, but corresponding improvements in estuarine water quality have not clearly materialized. Generalized additive models were used to directly link river flows and nutrient loads from the watershed to...
Assessment of cereal grain waste densities to aid waterfowl conservation planning in the Klamath Basin
Daniel A. Skalos, Joseph P. Fleskes, Jeffery D. Kohl, Mark P. Herzog, Michael L. Casazza
2022, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (13) 3-16
Postharvest waste seed from cereal grains is a major dietary component of waterfowl in the Klamath Basin in northeastern California and southeastern Oregon, a region that plays host to over a million waterfowl annually. Understanding food abundance is critical to local waterfowl management; therefore, we conducted a study in 2008...
Bathymetric map, surface area, and stage-capacity for the U.S. part of Lake Koocanusa, Lincoln County, Montana, 2016–18
Ryan L. Fosness, Taylor J. Dudunake
2022, Scientific Investigations Map 3485
The U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers collected high-resolution multibeam sonar data during 2016–18 to compute stage-area and stage-capacity tables for the U.S. part of Koocanusa Reservoir in Lincoln County, northwestern Montana. Koocanusa Reservoir is a transboundary reservoir extending about 48 miles from Libby Dam upstream to...
The role of hydraulic and geomorphic complexity in predicting invasive carp spawning potential: St. Croix River, Minnesota and Wisconsin, United States
Alan Kasprak, P. Ryan Jackson, Evan M. Lindroth, J. William Lund, Jeffrey R. Ziegeweid
2022, PLoS ONE (17)
Since they were first introduced to the United States more than 50 years ago, invasive carp have rapidly colonized rivers of the Mississippi River Basin, with detrimental effects on native aquatic species. Their continued range expansion, and potential for subsequent invasion of the Great Lakes, has led to increased concern...
