Igneous activity, metamorphism, and deformation in the Mount Rogers area of SW Virginia and NW North Carolina: A geologic record of Precambrian tectonic evolution of the southern Blue Ridge Province
Richard P. Tollo, John N. Aleinikoff, Roland Mundil, C. Scott Southworth, Michael A. Cosca, Douglas W. Rankin, Allison E. Rubin, Adrienne Kentner, Christopher A. Parendo, Molly S. Ray
2012, Book chapter, From the Blue Ridge to the Coastal Plain: Field Excursions in the Southeastern United States
Mesoproterozoic basement in the vicinity of Mount Rogers is characterized by considerable lithologic variability, including major map units composed of gneiss, amphibolite, migmatite, meta-quartz monzodiorite and various types of granitoid. SHRIMP U-Pb geochronology and field mapping indicate that basement units define four types of occurrences, including (1) xenoliths of ca....
Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources
Peter D. Warwick, M.D. Corum, editor(s)
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1024
The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (Public Law 110–140) directs the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a national assessment of potential geologic storage resources for carbon dioxide (CO2) and to consult with other Federal and State agencies to locate the pertinent geological data needed for the assessment. The...
Step-changes in the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the Gulf of Maine, as documented by the GNATS time series
William M. Balch, D.T. Drapeau, B.C. Bowler, Thomas G. Huntington
2012, Marine Ecology Progress Series (450) 11-35
We identify step-changes in the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the Gulf of Maine (GoM) using the Gulf of Maine North Atlantic Time Series (GNATS), a series of oceanographic measurements obtained between September 1998 and December 2010 along a transect in the GoM running from Portland, ME, to Yarmouth,...
Integrated characterization of the geologic framework of a contaminated site in West Trenton, New Jersey
Karl J. Ellefsen, William C. Burton, Pierre J. Lacombe
2012, Journal of Applied Geophysics (79) 71-81
Fractured sedimentary bedrock and groundwater at the former Naval Air Warfare Center in West Trenton, New Jersey (United States of America) are contaminated with chlorinated solvents. Predicting contaminant migration or removing the contaminants requires an understanding of the geology. Consequently, the geologic framework near the site was characterized with four...
Gravity fluctuations induced by magma convection at Kilauea Volcano, Hawai'i
Daniele Carbone, Michael P. Poland
2012, Geology (40) 803-806
Convection in magma chambers is thought to play a key role in the activity of persistently active volcanoes, but has only been inferred indirectly from geochemical observations or simulated numerically. Continuous microgravity measurements, which track changes in subsurface mass distribution over time, provide a potential method for characterizing convection in...
Passage of American shad: paradigms and realities
Alex Haro, Theodore Castro-Santos
2012, Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science (4) 252-261
Despite more than 250 years of development, the passage of American shad Alosa sapidissima at dams and other barriers frequently remains problematic. Few improvements in design based on knowledge of the swimming, schooling, and migratory behaviors of American shad have been incorporated into passage structures. Large-scale technical fishways designed for...
Extraordinary distance limits of landslides triggered by the 2011 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake
Randall W. Jibson, Edwin L. Harp
2012, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (102) 2368-2377
The 23 August 2011 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake (Mw 5.8) was the largest to strike the eastern U.S. since 1897 and was felt over an extraordinarily large area. Although no large landslides occurred, the shaking did trigger many rock and soil falls from steep river banks and natural cliffs in the...
Short-term impacts of a 4-lane highway on black bears in eastern North Carolina
Frank T. van Manen, Matthew F. McCollister, Jeremy M. Nicholson, Laura M. Thompson, Jason L. Kindall, Mark D. Jones
2012, Wildlife Monographs (181) 1-35
Among numerous anthropogenic impacts on terrestrial landscapes, expanding transportation networks represent one of the primary challenges to wildlife conservation worldwide. Larger mammals may be particularly vulnerable because of typically low densities, low reproductive rates, and extensive movements. Although numerous studies have been conducted to document impacts of road networks on...
Evaluation of nature-like and technical fishways for the passage of alewives at two coastal streams in New England
Abigail E. Franklin, Alex Haro, Theodore R. Castro-Santos, John Noreika
2012, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (141) 624-637
Nature-like fishways have been designed with the intent to reconnect river corridors and provide passage for all species occurring in a system. The approach is gaining popularity both in Europe and North America, but performance of these designs has not been quantitatively evaluated in a field setting for any North...
Identifying grasslands suitable for cellulosic feedstock crops in the Greater Platte River Basin: dynamic modeling of ecosystem performance with 250 m eMODIS
Yingxin Gu, Stephen P. Boyte, Bruce K. Wylie, Larry L. Tieszen
2012, GCB Bioenergy (4) 96-106
This study dynamically monitors ecosystem performance (EP) to identify grasslands potentially suitable for cellulosic feedstock crops (e.g., switchgrass) within the Greater Platte River Basin (GPRB). We computed grassland site potential and EP anomalies using 9-year (2000–2008) time series of 250 m expedited moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer Normalized Difference Vegetation Index...
Assessing confidence in Pliocene sea surface temperatures to evaluate predictive models
Harry J. Dowsett, Marci M. Robinson, Alan M. Haywood, Daniel J. Hill, Aisling M. Dolan, Danielle K. Stoll, Wing-Le Chan, Ayako Abe-Ouchi, Mark A. Chandler, Nan A. Rosenbloom, Bette L. Otto-Bliesner, Fran J. Bragg, Daniel J. Lunt, Kevin M. Foley, Christina R. Riesselman
2012, Nature Climate Change (2) 365-371
In light of mounting empirical evidence that planetary warming is well underway, the climate research community looks to palaeoclimate research for a ground-truthing measure with which to test the accuracy of future climate simulations. Model experiments that attempt to simulate climates of the past serve to identify both similarities and...
Fold-to-fault progression of a major thrust zone revealed in horses of the North Mountain fault zone, Virginia and West Virginia, USA
Randall C. Orndorff
2012, Journal of Geological Research (2012)
The method of emplacement and sequential deformation of major thrust zones may be deciphered by detailed geologic mapping of these important structures. Thrust fault zones may have added complexity when horse blocks are contained within them. However, these horses can be an important indicator of the fault development holding information...
Dinocyst taphonomy, impact craters, cyst ghosts, and the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM)
Lucy E. Edwards
2012, Palynology (36) 80-95
Dinocysts recovered from sediments related to the Chesapeake Bay impact structure in Virginia and the earliest Eocene suboxic environment in Maryland show strange and intriguing details of preservation. Features such as curled processes, opaque debris, breakage, microborings and cyst ghosts, among others, invite speculation about catastrophic depositional processes, rapid burial...
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,...
Discussion of “Deglacial paleoclimate in the southwestern United States: an abrupt 18.6 cold event and evidence for a North Atlantic forcing of Termination I” by M.S. Lachniet, Y. Asmerom and V. Polyak
Isaac J. Winograd
2012, Quaternary Science Reviews (45) 126-128
Utilizing a stable isotopic time series obtained from a speleothem (PC-1), which grew between 20.1 and 15.6 ka, Lachniet, Asmeron and Polyak (2011; hereafter LAP) present evidence for a significant cold event in the southern Great Basin at 18.6 ka, a finding that we accept. Supplementing this short record with...
Nuclear and mitochondrial markers reveal evidence for genetically segregated cryptic speciation in giant Pacific octopuses from Prince William Sound, Alaska
Rebecca K. Toussaint, David Scheel, G. Kevin Sage, Sandra L. Talbot
2012, Conservation Genetics (13) 1483-1497
Multiple species of large octopus are known from the north Pacific waters around Japan, however only one large species is known in the Gulf of Alaska (the giant Pacific octopus, Enteroctopus dofleini). Current taxonomy of E. dofleini is based on geographic and morphological characteristics, although with advances in genetic technology...
An exploration hydrogeochemical study at the giant Pebble porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposit, Alaska, USA, using high-resolution ICP-MS
Robert G. Eppinger, David L. Fey, Stuart A. Giles, Karen D. Kelley, Steven M. Smith
2012, Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis (12) 211-226
A hydrogeochemical study using high resolution ICP-MS was undertaken at the giant Pebble porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposit and surrounding mineral occurrences. Surface water and groundwater samples from regional background and the deposit area were collected at 168 sites. Rigorous quality control reveals impressive results at low nanogram per litre (ng/l) levels....
Why the 2002 Denali fault rupture propagated onto the Totschunda fault: implications for fault branching and seismic hazards
David P. Schwartz, Peter J. Haeussler, Gordon G. Seitz, Timothy E. Dawson
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (117)
The propagation of the rupture of the Mw7.9 Denali fault earthquake from the central Denali fault onto the Totschunda fault has provided a basis for dynamic models of fault branching in which the angle of the regional or local prestress relative to the orientation of the main fault and branch...
Sequential development of platform to off-platform facies of the great American carbonate bank in the central Appalachians
David K. Brezinski, John F. Taylor, John E. Repetski
2012, Book chapter, The great American carbonate bank: The geology and economic resources of the Cambrian–Ordovician Sauk megasequence of Laurentia
In the central Appalachians, carbonate deposition of the great American carbonate bank began during the Early Cambrian with the creation of initial ramp facies of the Vintage Formation and lower members of the Tomstown Formation. Vertical stacking of bioturbated subtidal ramp deposits (Bolivar Heights Member) and dolomitized microbial boundtsone (Fort...
Constraints on the history and topography of the Northeastern Sierra Nevada from a Neogene sedimentary basin in the Reno-Verdi area, Western Nevada
James Trexler, Patricia Cashman, Michael Cosca
2012, Geosphere (8) 548-561
Neogene (Miocene–Pliocene) sedimentary rocks of the northeastern Sierra Nevada were deposited in small basins that formed in response to volcanic and tectonic activity along the eastern margin of the Sierra. These strata record an early phase (ca. 11–10 Ma) of extension and rapid sedimentation of boulder conglomerates and debrites deposited...
Factors influencing geographic patterns in diversity of forest bird communities of eastern Connecticut, USA
Robert J. Craig, Robert W. Klaver
2012, Ecography (36) 599-609
At regional scales, the most important variables associated with diversity are latitudinally-based temperature and net primary productivity, although diversity is also influenced by habitat. We examined bird species richness, community density and community evenness in forests of eastern Connecticut to determine whether: 1) spatial and seasonal patterns exist in diversity,...
Evidence of late-summer mating readiness and early sexual maturation in migratory tree-roosting bats found dead at wind turbines
P.M. Cryan, J.W. Jameson, E.F. Baerwald, C.K.R. Willis, R.M.R. Barclay, E.A. Snider, E.G. Crichton
2012, PLoS ONE (7)
Understanding animal mating systems is an important component of their conservation, yet the precise mating times for many species of bats are unknown. The aim of this study was to better understand the details and timing of reproductive events in species of bats that die most frequently at wind turbines...
Capture and reproductive trends in summer bat communities in West Virginia: Assessing the impact of white-nose syndrome
Karen E. Francl, W. Mark Ford, Dale W. Sparks, Virgil Brack Jr
2012, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (3) 33-42
Although it has been widely documented that populations of cave-roosting bats rapidly decline following the arrival of white-nose syndrome (WNS), longer term reproductive effects are less well-known and essentially unexplored at the community scale. In West Virginia, WNS was first detected in the eastern portion of the state in 2009...
Unraveling Alleghanian orogenesis in southern Connecticut: The history of the Lyme Dome
Gregory J. Walsh, John N. Aleinikoff, Robert P. Wintsch
2012, Conference Paper, Guidebook for fieldtrips in Connecticut and Massachusetts
No abstract available....
Distributional changes of American martens and fishers in eastern North America, 1699-2001: Chapter 4
William B. Krohn
2012, Book chapter, Biology and Conservation of Martens, Sables, and Fishers: A New Synthesis
Contractions in the geographic distributions of the American marten ( Martes americana) and fi sher ( M. pennanti) in eastern North America south of the St. Lawrence River between Colonial times (ca. 1650–1800) and the fi sher’s recent range expansion (ca. 1930–present) are well documented, but causal factors in these...
