A multiple-point geostatistical method for characterizing uncertainty of subsurface alluvial units and its effects on flow and transport
C. Cronkite-Ratcliff, G. A. Phelps, A. Boucher
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1065
This report provides a proof-of-concept to demonstrate the potential application of multiple-point geostatistics for characterizing geologic heterogeneity and its effect on flow and transport simulation. The study presented in this report is the result of collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Stanford University. This collaboration focused on improving...
Determination of the δ2H and δ18O of soil water and water in plant matter; RSIL lab code 1700
Kinga M. Revesz, Bryan Buck, Tyler B. Coplen
2012, Techniques and Methods 10-C19
The purpose of the Reston Stable Isotope Laboratory lab code 1700 is to determine the δ2H/1H), abbreviated as δ2H, and the δ18O/16O), abbreviated as δ18O, of soil water and water in plant matter. This method is based on the observation that water and toluene form an azeotropic mixture at 84.1...
Estimates of tracer-based piston-flow ages of groundwater from selected sites: National Water-Quality Assessment Program, 2006-2010
Stephanie D. Shapiro, Niel Plummer, Eurybiades Busenberg, Peggy K. Widman, Gerolamo C. Casile, Julian E. Wayland, Donna L. Runkle
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5141
Piston-flow age dates were interpreted from measured concentrations of environmental tracers from 812 National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program groundwater sites from 27 Study Units across the United States. The tracers of interest include chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), and tritium/helium-3 (3H/3He). Tracer data compiled for this analysis were collected from...
Influence of salinity and prey presence on the survival of aquatic macroinvertebrates of a freshwater marsh
Sung-Ryong Kang, Sammy L. King
2012, Aquatic Ecology (46) 411-420
Salinization of coastal freshwater environments is a global issue. Increased salinity from sea level rise, storm surges, or other mechanisms is common in coastal freshwater marshes of Louisiana, USA. The effects of salinity increases on aquatic macroinvertebrates in these systems have received little attention, despite the importance of aquatic macroinvertebrates...
Regression modeling of particle size distributions in urban stormwater: Advancements through improved sample collection methods
William R. Selbig, Michael N. Fienen
2012, Journal of Environmental Engineering (138) 1186-1193
A new sample collection system was developed to improve the representation of sediment entrained in urban storm water by integrating water quality samples from the entire water column. The depth-integrated sampler arm (DISA) was able to mitigate sediment stratification bias in storm water, thereby improving the characterization...
Land-use and land-cover scenarios and spatial modeling at the regional scale
Terry L. Sohl, Benjamin M. Sleeter
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3091
Land-use and land-cover (LULC) change has altered a large part of the earth's surface. Scenarios of potential future LULC change are required in order to better manage potential impacts on biodiversity, carbon fluxes, climate change, hydrology, and many other ecological processes. The U.S. Geological Survey is analyzing potential future LULC...
Control-structure ratings on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Lockport, Illinois
Timothy D. Straub, Kevin K. Johnson, Jon Hortness, James J. Duncker
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5131
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago regulate flows through control structures along the Lake Michigan lakefront and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) for Lake Michigan diversion accounting, flood control, sanitary, and navigation purposes. This report documents the measurement and...
Groundwater quality in the Genesee River Basin, New York, 2010
James E. Reddy
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1135
Water samples collected from eight production wells and eight private residential wells in the Genesee River Basin from September through December 2010 were analyzed to characterize the groundwater quality in the basin. Eight of the wells were completed in sand and gravel aquifers, and eight were finished in bedrock aquifers....
Simulation of climate change in San Francisco Bay Basins, California: Case studies in the Russian River Valley and Santa Cruz Mountains
Lorraine E. Flint, Alan L. Flint
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5132
As a result of ongoing changes in climate, hydrologic and ecologic effects are being seen across the western United States. A regional study of how climate change affects water resources and habitats in the San Francisco Bay area relied on historical climate data and future projections of climate, which were...
Waterbird nest monitoring program in San Francisco Bay (2005-10)
Joshua T. Ackerman, Mark P. Herzog
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1145
Historically, Forster’s Terns (Sterna forsteri), American Avocets (Recurvirostra americana), and Black-necked Stilts (Himantopus mexicanus) were uncommon residents of San Francisco Bay, California (Grinnell and others, 1918; Grinnell and Wythe, 1927; Sibley, 1952). Presently, however, avocets and stilts are the two most abundant breeding shorebirds in San Francisco Bay (Stenzel and...
Selected historic agricultural data important to environmental quality in the United States
Katia M. Grey, Paul D. Capel, Nancy T. Baker, Gail P. Thelin
2012, Data Series 689
This report and the accompanying tables summarize some of the important changes in American agriculture in the form of a timeline and a compilation of selected annual time-series data that can be broadly related to environmental quality. Although these changes have been beneficial for increasing agricultural production, some of them...
Occurrence of pharmaceuticals, hormones, and organic wastewater compounds in Pennsylvania waters, 2006-09
Andrew G. Reif, J. Kent Crawford, Connie A. Loper, Arianne Proctor, Rhonda Manning, Robert Titler
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5106
Concern over the presence of contaminants of emerging concern, such as pharmaceutical compounds, hormones, and organic wastewater compounds (OWCs), in waters of the United States and elsewhere is growing. Laboratory techniques developed within the last decade or new techniques currently under development within the U.S. Geological Survey now allow these...
Emergence of fatal avian influenza in New England harbor seals
S.J. Anthony, J. A. St. Leger, K. Pugliares, Hon S. Ip, J.M. Chan, Z.W. Carpenter, I. Navarrete-Macias, M. Sanchez-Leon, J.T. Saliki, J. Pedersen, W. Karesh, P. Daszak, R. Rabadan, T. Rowles, W.I. Lipkin
2012, mBio (3)
From September to December 2011, 162 New England harbor seals died in an outbreak of pneumonia. Sequence analysis of postmortem samples revealed the presence of an avian H3N8 influenza A virus, similar to a virus circulating in North American waterfowl since at least 2002 but with mutations that indicate recent...
An at-grade stabilization structure impact on runoff and suspended sediment
Kyle R. Minks, Birl Lowery, Fred W. Madison, Matthew Ruark, Dennis R. Frame, Todd D. Stuntebeck, Matthew J. Komiskey
2012, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (67) 237-248
In recent years, agricultural runoff has received more attention as a major contributor to surface water pollution. This is especially true for the unglaciated area of Wisconsin, given this area's steep topography, which makes it highly susceptible to runoff and soil loss. We evaluated the ability of an at-grade stabilization...
Nematomorph parasites indirectly alter the food web and ecosystem function of streams through behavioural manipulation of their cricket hosts.
T. Sato, T. Egusa, K. Fukushima, T. Oda, N. Ohte, Naoko Tokuchi, Katsutoshi Watanabe, Minoru Kanaiwa, Isaya Murakami, Kevin D. Lafferty
2012, Ecology Letters (15) 786-793
Nematomorph parasites manipulate crickets to enter streams where the parasites reproduce. These manipulated crickets become a substantial food subsidy for stream fishes. We used a field experiment to investigate how this subsidy affects the stream community and ecosystem function. When crickets were available, predatory fish ate fewer benthic invertebrates. The...
Updating the debate on model complexity
Craig T. Simmons, Randall J. Hunt
2012, GSA Today (22) 28-29
As scientists who are trying to understand a complex natural world that cannot be fully characterized in the field, how can we best inform the society in which we live? This founding context was addressed in a special session, “Complexity in Modeling: How Much is Too Much?” convened at the...
Identifying the decision to be supported: a review of papers from environmental modelling and software
Richard S. Sojda, Serena H. Chen, Sondoss Elsawah, Joseph H.A. Guillaume, A.J. Jakeman, Sven Lautenbach, Brian S. McIntosh, A.E. Rizzoli, Ralf Seppelt, Peter Struss, Alexey Voinov, Martin Volk
2012, Conference Paper, International Environmental Modelling and Software Society (iEMSs) 2012 International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software. Managing resources of a limited planet: pathways and visions under uncertainty, sixth biennial meeting, Leipzig, Germany
Two of the basic tenets of decision support system efforts are to help identify and structure the decisions to be supported, and to then provide analysis in how those decisions might be best made. One example from wetland management would be that wildlife biologists must decide when to draw down...
Transport of ARS-labeled hydroxyapatite nanoparticles in saturated granular media is influenced by surface charge variability even in the presence of humic acid
Dengjun Wang, Scott A. Bradford, Ronald W. Harvey, Xiuzhen Hao, Dongmei Zhou
2012, Journal of Hazardous Materials (229-230) 170-176
Hydroxyapatite nanoparticle (nHAP) is increasingly being used to remediate soils and water polluted by metals and radionuclides. The transport and retention of Alizarin red S (ARS)-labeled nHAP were investigated in water-saturated granular media. Experiments were carried out over a range of ionic strength (Ic, 0–50 mM NaCl) conditions in the presence...
Time-specific patterns of nest survival for ducks and passerines breeding in North Dakota
Terry L. Shaffer, Todd A. Grant
2012, The Auk (129) 319-328
In many bird species, survival can vary with the age of the nest, with the date a nest was initiated, or among years within the same nesting area. A literature review showed that patterns of survival vary in relation to nest age and date and are often contradictory. Inconsistencies could...
Archive eggs: a research and management tool for avian conservation breeding
Des Smith, Axel Moehrenschlager, Nancy Christensen, Dwight Knapik, Keith Gibson, Sarah J. Converse
2012, Wildlife Society Bulletin (36) 342-349
Worldwide, approximately 168 bird species are captive-bred for reintroduction into the wild. Programs tend to be initiated for species with a high level of endangerment. Depressed hatching success can be a problem for such programs and has been linked to artificial incubation. The need for artificial incubation is driven by...
Coal-tar pavement sealants might substantially increase children's PAH exposures
E. Spencer Williams, Barbara Mahler, Peter C. Van Metre
2012, Environmental Pollution (164) 40-41
Dietary ingestion has been identified repeatedly as the primary route of human exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), seven of which are classified as probable human carcinogens (B2 PAHs) by the U.S. EPA. Humans are exposed to PAHs through ingestion of cooked and uncooked foods, incidental ingestion of soil and...
Shallow groundwater mercury supply in a coastal plain stream
Paul M. Bradley, Celeste A. Journey, Mark A. Lowery, Mark E. Brigham, Douglas A. Burns, Daniel T. Button, Francis H. Chapelle, Michelle A. Lutz, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Karen Riva-Murray
2012, Environmental Science & Technology (46) 7503-7511
Fluvial methylmercury (MeHg) is attributed to methylation in up-gradient wetland areas. This hypothesis depends on efficient wetland-to-stream hydraulic transport under nonflood and flood conditions. Fluxes of water and dissolved (filtered) mercury (Hg) species (FMeHg and total Hg (FTHg)) were quantified in April and July of 2009 in a reach at...
Experimental investigation of false positive errors in auditory species occurrence surveys
David A.W. Miller, Linda A. Weir, Brett T. McClintock, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Larissa L. Bailey, Theodore R. Simons
2012, Ecological Applications (22) 1665-1674
False positive errors are a significant component of many ecological data sets, which in combination with false negative errors, can lead to severe biases in conclusions about ecological systems. We present results of a field experiment where observers recorded observations for known combinations of electronically broadcast calling anurans under conditions...
PAH volatilization following application of coal-tar-based pavement sealant
Peter C. Van Metre, Michael S. Majewski, Barbara Mahler, William T. Foreman, Christopher L. Braun, Jennifer T. Wilson, Teresa L. Burbank
2012, Atmospheric Environment (51) 108-115
Coal-tar-based pavement sealants, a major source of PAHs to urban water bodies, have recently been identified as a source of volatile PAHs to the atmosphere. We tracked the volatilization of PAHs for 1 year after application of a coal-tar-based pavement sealant by measuring gas-phase PAH concentrations above the pavement surface...
Dam removal increases American eel abundance in distant headwater streams
Nathaniel P. Hitt, Sheila Eyler, John E. B. Wofford
2012, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (141) 1171-1179
American eel Anguilla rostrata abundances have undergone significant declines over the last 50 years, and migration barriers have been recognized as a contributing cause. We evaluated eel abundances in headwater streams of Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, to compare sites before and after the removal of a large downstream dam in...
