Soil greenhouse gas fluxes during wetland forest retreat along the Lower Savannah River, Georgia (USA)
Ken W. Krauss, Julie L. Whitbeck
2012, Wetlands (32) 73-81
Tidal freshwater forested wetlands (tidal swamps) are periodically affected by salinity intrusion at seaward transitions with marsh, which, along with altered hydrology, may affect the balance of gaseous carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) losses from soils. We measured greenhouse gas emissions (CO2, CH4, N2O) from healthy, moderately degraded, and degraded...
Evaluation of NDVI to assess avian abundance and richness along the upper San Pedro River
T.M. McFarland, Charles van Riper III, G. E. Johnson
2012, Journal of Arid Environments (77) 45-53
Remote-sensing models have become increasingly popular for identifying, characterizing, monitoring, and predicting avian habitat but have largely focused on single bird species. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) has been shown to positively correlate with avian abundance and richness and has been successfully applied to southwestern riparian systems which are...
Vulnerability of riparian ecosystems to elevated CO2 and climate change in arid and semiarid western North America
Laura G. Perry, Douglas C. Andersen, Lindsay V. Reynolds, S. Mark Nelson, Patrick B. Shafroth
2012, Global Change Biology (18) 821-842
Riparian ecosystems, already greatly altered by water management, land development, and biological invasion, are being further altered by increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations ([CO2]) and climate change, particularly in arid and semiarid (dryland) regions. In this literature review, we (1) summarize expected changes in [CO2], climate, hydrology, and water management in...
A brief history and summary of the effects of river engineering and dams on the Mississippi River system and delta
Jason S. Alexander, Richard C. Wilson, W. Reed Green
2012, Circular 1375
The U.S. Geological Survey Forecast Mekong project is providing technical assistance and information to aid management decisions and build science capacity of institutions in the Mekong River Basin. A component of this effort is to produce a synthesis of the effects of dams and other engineering structures on large-river hydrology,...
Is science in danger of sanctifying the wolf?
L. David Mech
2012, Biological Conservation (150) 143-149
Historically the wolf (Canis lupus) was hated and extirpated from most of the contiguous United States. The federal Endangered Species Act fostered wolf protection and reintroduction which improved the species' image. Wolf populations reached biological recovery in the Northern Rocky Mountains and upper Midwest, and the animal has been delisted...
Hydrologic conditions controlling runoff generation immediately after wildfire
Brian A. Ebel, John A. Moody, Deborah A. Martin
2012, Water Resources Research (48)
We investigated the control of postwildfire runoff by physical and hydraulic properties of soil, hydrologic states, and an ash layer immediately following wildfire. The field site is within the area burned by the 2010 Fourmile Canyon Fire in Colorado, USA. Physical and hydraulic property characterization included ash thickness, particle size...
Factors controlling nitrate fluxes in groundwater in agricultural areas
Lixia Liao, Christopher T. Green, Barbara A. Bekins, J.K. Böhlke
2012, Water Resources Research (48)
The impact of agricultural chemicals on groundwater quality depends on the interactions of biogeochemical and hydrologic factors. To identify key processes affecting distribution of agricultural nitrate in groundwater, a parsimonious transport model was applied at 14 sites across the U.S. Simulated vertical profiles of NO3-, N2 from denitrification, O2, Cl-,...
Modelling rating curves using remotely sensed LiDAR data
Marcus Nathanson, Jason W. Kean, Thomas J. Grabs, Jan Seibert, Hjalmar Laudon, Steve W. Lyon
2012, Hydrological Processes (26) 1427-1434
Accurate stream discharge measurements are important for many hydrological studies. In remote locations, however, it is often difficult to obtain stream flow information because of the difficulty in making the discharge measurements necessary to define stage-discharge relationships (rating curves). This study investigates the feasibility of defining rating curves by using...
Strategic directions for U.S. Geological Survey water science, 2012-2022 - Observing, understanding, predicting, and delivering water science to the Nation
Eric J. Evenson, Randall C. Orndorff, Charles D. Blome, John Karl Böhlke, Paul K. Hershberger, Victoria E. Langenheim, Gregory J. McCabe, Scott E. Morlock, Howard W. Reeves, James P. Verdin, Holly S. Weyers, Tamara M. Wood
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1066
Executive Summary This report expands the Water Science Strategy that was begun in the USGS Science Strategy, “Facing Tomorrow’s Challenges—U.S. Geological Survey Science in the Decade 2007–2017” (U.S. Geological Survey, 2007). The report looks at the relevant issues facing society and develops a strategy built around observing, understanding, predicting, and delivering...
Optimizing bankfull discharge and hydraulic geometry relations for streams in New York state
Christiane I. Mulvihill, Barry P. Baldigo
2012, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (48) 449-463
This study analyzes how various data stratification schemes can be used to optimize the accuracy and utility of regional hydraulic geometry (HG) models of bankfull discharge, width, depth, and cross-sectional area for streams in New York. Topographic surveys and discharge records from 281 cross sections at 82 gaging stations with...
Natural hazards science strategy
Robert R. Holmes Jr., Lucile M. Jones, Jeffery C. Eidenshink, Jonathan W. Godt, Stephen H. Kirby, Jeffrey J. Love, Christina A. Neal, Nathaniel G. Plant, Michael L. Plunkett, Craig S. Weaver, Anne Wein, Suzanne C. Perry
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1088
The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in natural hazards is to develop and apply hazard science to help protect the safety, security, and economic well-being of the Nation. The costs and consequences of natural hazards can be enormous, and each year more people and infrastructure are at risk....
Dam-breach analysis and flood-inundation mapping for Lakes Ellsworth and Lawtonka near Lawton, Oklahoma
Samuel H. Rendon, Chad E. Ashworth, S. Jerrod Smith
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5026
Dams provide beneficial functions such as flood control, recreation, and reliable water supplies, but they also entail risk: dam breaches and resultant floods can cause substantial property damage and loss of life. The State of Oklahoma requires each owner of a high-hazard dam, which the Federal Emergency Management Agency defines...
Spatially telescoping measurements for improved characterization of groundwater-surface water interactions
Colin Kikuchi, Ty P.A. Ferre, Jeffery M. Welker
2012, Journal of Hydrology (446-447) 1-12
The suite of measurement methods available to characterize fluxes between groundwater and surface water is rapidly growing. However, there are few studies that examine approaches to design of field investigations that include multiple methods. We propose that performing field measurements in a spatially telescoping sequence improves measurement flexibility and accounts...
Reconstruction of past methane availability in an Arctic Alaska wetland indicates climate influenced methane release during the past ~12,000 years
Matthew J. Wooller, John W. Pohlman, Benjamin V. Gaglioti, Peter Langdon, Miriam Jones, Katey M. Walter Anthony, Kevin W. Becker, Kai-Uwe Hinrichs, Marcus Elvert
2012, Journal of Paleolimnology (48) 27-42
Atmospheric contributions of methane from Arctic wetlands during the Holocene are dynamic and linked to climate oscillations. However, long-term records linking climate variability to methane availability in Arctic wetlands are lacking. We present a multi-proxy ~12,000 year paleoecological reconstruction of intermittent methane availability from a radiocarbon-dated sediment core (LQ-West) taken...
Invertebrate response to changes in streamflow hydraulics in two urban areas in the United States
Rodney R. Knight, Thomas F. Cuffney
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5035
Stream hydrology is foundational to aquatic ecosystems and has been shown to be a structuring element for fish and invertebrates. The relations among urbanization, hydraulics, and invertebrate communities were investigated by the U.S. Geological Survey, National Water-Quality Assessment Program by using measures of stream hydraulics in two areas of the...
Biological assessment of environmental flows for Oklahoma
William L. Fisher, Titus S. Seilheimer, Jason M. Taylor
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1114
Large-scale patterns in fish assemblage structure and functional groups are influenced by alterations in streamflow regime. In this study, we defined an objective threshold for alteration for Oklahoma streams using a combination of the expected range of 27 flow indices and a discriminant analysis to predict flow regime group. We...
Preferential flow occurs in unsaturated conditions
John R. Nimmo
2012, Hydrological Processes (26) 786-789
Because it commonly generates high-speed, high-volume flow with minimal exposure to solid earth materials, preferential flow in the unsaturated zone is a dominant influence in many problems of infiltration, recharge, contaminant transport, and ecohydrology. By definition, preferential flow occurs in a portion of a medium – that is, a preferred...
Analyzing legacy U.S. Geological Survey geochemical databases using GIS: applications for a national mineral resource assessment
Douglas B. Yager, Albert H. Hofstra, Matthew Granitto
2012, Techniques and Methods 11-C5
This report emphasizes geographic information system analysis and the display of data stored in the legacy U.S. Geological Survey National Geochemical Database for use in mineral resource investigations. Geochemical analyses of soils, stream sediments, and rocks that are archived in the National Geochemical Database provide an extensive data source for...
Well network installation and hydrogeologic data collection, Assateague Island National Seashore, Worcester County, Maryland, 2010
William S.L. Banks, John P. Masterson, Carole D. Johnson
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5079
The U.S. Geological Survey, as part of its Climate and Land Use Change Research and Development Program, is conducting a multi-year investigation to assess potential impacts on the natural resources of Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland that may result from changes in the hydrologic system in response to projected sea-level...
Stable isotope evidence for glacial lake drainage through the St. Lawrence Estuary, eastern Canada, ~13.1-12.9 ka
T. M. Cronin, J.A. Rayburn, J.-P. Guilbault, R. Thunell, D.A. Franzi
2012, Quaternary International (260) 55-65
Postglacial varved and rhythmically-laminated clays deposited during the transition from glacial Lake Vermont (LV) to the Champlain Sea (CS) record hydrological changes in the Champlain-St. Lawrence Valley (CSLV) at the onset of the Younger Dryas ∼13.1–12.9 ka linked to glacial lake drainage events. Oxygen isotope (δ18O) records of three species...
Fecal-indicator bacteria concentrations in the Illinois River between Hennepin and Peoria, Illinois: 2007-08
David H. Dupre, Jon Hortness, Paul J. Terrio, Jennifer B. Sharpe
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1075
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has designated portions of the Illinois River in Peoria, Woodford, and Tazewell Counties, Illinois, as impaired owing to the presence of fecal coliform bacteria. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, examined the water quality in the Illinois River and...
Groundwater simulation and management models for the upper Klamath Basin, Oregon and California
Marshall W. Gannett, Brian J. Wagner, Kenneth E. Lite Jr.
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5062
The upper Klamath Basin encompasses about 8,000 square miles, extending from the Cascade Range east to the Basin and Range geologic province in south-central Oregon and northern California. The geography of the basin is dominated by forested volcanic uplands separated by broad interior basins. Most of the interior basins once...
Estimated water requirements for gold heap-leach operations
Donald I. Bleiwas
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1085
This report provides a perspective on the amount of water necessary for conventional gold heap-leach operations. Water is required for drilling and dust suppression during mining, for agglomeration and as leachate during ore processing, to support the workforce (requires water in potable form and for sanitation), for minesite reclamation, and...
Stability of infinite slopes under transient partially saturated seepage conditions
Jonathan W. Godt, Başak Şener-Kaya, Ning Lu, Rex L. Baum
2012, Water Resources Research (48) 1-14
Prediction of the location and timing of rainfall‐induced shallow landslides is desired by organizations responsible for hazard management and warnings. However, hydrologic and mechanical processes in the vadose zone complicate such predictions. Infiltrating rainfall must typically pass through an unsaturated layer before reaching the irregular and usually discontinuous shallow water...
Habitat persistence for sedentary organisms in managed rivers: the case for the federally endangered dwarf wedgemussel (Alasmidonta heterodon) in the Delaware River
Kelly O. Maloney, William A. Lellis, Randy M. Bennett, Terry J. Waddle
2012, Freshwater Biology (57) 1315-1327
1. To manage the environmental flow requirements of sedentary taxa, such as mussels and aquatic insects with fixed retreats, we need a measure of habitat availability over a variety of flows (i.e. a measure of persistent habitat). Habitat suitability measures in current environmental flow assessments are measured on a ‘flow by...
