On the brink of change: Plant responses to climate on the Colorado Plateau
Seth M. Munson, Jayne Belnap, Charles D. Schelz, Mary Moran, Tara W. Carolin
2011, Ecosphere (2)
The intensification of aridity due to anthropogenic climate change in the southwestern U.S. is likely to have a large impact on the growth and survival of plant species that may already be vulnerable to water stress. To make accurate predictions of plant responses to climate change, it is essential to...
Energy and conservation benefits from managed prairie biomass
Jacob M. Jungers, Jared J. Trost, Clarence L. Lehman, David Tilman
Elaine Booth, editor(s)
2011, Conference Paper, Biomass and energy crops IV
Marginally productive land, such as that enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), may provide acreage and economic incentives for cellulosic energy production. Improving the yields from these lands will help establish a biomass producer's position in the marketplace. The effects of water and nitrogen on biomass yields were investigated...
Optimal timing for managed relocation of species faced with climate change
Eve McDonald Madden, Michael C. Runge, Hugh P. Possingham, Tara G. Martin
2011, Nature Climate Change (1) 261-265
Managed relocation is a controversial climate-adaptation strategy to combat negative climate change impacts on biodiversity. While the scientific community debates the merits of managed relocation1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12, species are already being moved to new areas predicted to be more suitable under climate change13,14. To inform these moves, we construct a quantitative decision...
Occupancy and abundance of wintering birds in a dynamic agricultural landscape
Mark W. Miller, Elise V. Pearlstine, Robert M. Dorazio, Frank J. Mazzotti
2011, Journal of Wildlife Management (75) 836-847
Assessing wildlife management action requires monitoring populations, and abundance often is the parameter monitored. Recent methodological advances have enabled estimation of mean abundance within a habitat using presence–absence or count data obtained via repeated visits to a sample of sites. These methods assume populations are closed and intuitively assume habitats...
A geographic information system tool for aquatic resource conservation in the Red and Sabine River Watersheds of the southeast United States
J. A. Jenkins, S. B. Hartley, J. Carter, D. J. Johnson, J. B. Alford
2011, Article
Our goal was to build a geographic information system (GIS) tool to enhance modeling and hypothesis testing relevant to watersheds and fish fauna of the Red and Sabine Rivers in the southeastern United States. Species of concern were identified from wildlife action plans and Web sites. Spatial distributions of fish...
Developing an institutional framework to incorporate ecosystem services into decision making-Proceedings of a workshop
Dianna Hogan, Greg Arthaud, David Brookshire, Tom Gunther, Stephanie Pincetl, Carl Shapiro, Bea Van Horne
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1221
The routine and effective incorporation of ecosystem services information into resource management decisions requires a careful consideration of the value of goods and services provided by natural systems. A multidisciplinary workshop was held in October 2008 on "Developing an Institutional Framework to Incorporate Ecosystem Services into Decision Making." This report...
Survival and harvest-related mortality of white-tailed deer in Massachusetts
John E. Mcdonald Jr., Stephen DeStefano, Christopher Gaughan, Michael Mayer, William A. Woytek, Sonja Christensen, Todd K. Fuller
2011, Wildlife Society Bulletin (35) 209-219
We monitored 142 radiocollared adult (≥1.0 yr old) white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in 3 study areas of Massachusetts, USA, to estimate annual survival and mortality due to legal hunting. We then applied these rates to deer harvest information to estimate deer population trends over time, and compared these to trends...
Hydrogeologic framework and groundwater/surface-water interactions of the Chehalis River basin, Washington
Andrew S. Gendaszek
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5160
The Chehalis River has the largest drainage basin of any river entirely contained within the State of Washington with a watershed of approximately 2,700 mi2 and has correspondingly diverse geology and land use. Demands for water resources have prompted the local citizens and governments of the Chehalis River basin to...
Simulated changes in salinity in the York and Chickahominy Rivers from projected sea-level rise in Chesapeake Bay
Karen C. Rice, Mark Bennett, Jian Shen
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1191
As a result of climate change and variability, sea level is rising throughout the world, but the rate along the east coast of the United States is higher than the global mean rate. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Newport News, Virginia, conducted a study to...
Simulating daily water temperatures of the Klamath River under dam removal and climate change scenarios
Russell W. Perry, John C. Risley, Scott J. Brewer, Edward C. Jones, Dennis W. Rondorf
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1243
A one-dimensional daily averaged water temperature model was used to simulate Klamath River temperatures for two management alternatives under historical climate conditions and six future climate scenarios. The analysis was conducted for the Secretarial Determination on removal of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River. In 2012, the Secretary of...
Vegetation assessment of forests of Pagan Island, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Linda W. Pratt
2011, Technical Report HCSU-023
As part of the Marianas Expedition Wildlife Surveys-2010, the forest vegetation of the island of Pagan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), was sampled with a series of systematic plots along 13 transects established for monitoring forest bird populations. Shrubland and grassland were also sampled in the northern half...
Nutrient and sediment concentrations and corresponding loads during the historic June 2008 flooding in eastern Iowa
L. Hubbard, D.W. Kolpin, S. J. Kalkhoff, Dale M. Robertson
2011, Journal of Environmental Quality (40) 166-175
A combination of above-normal precipitation during the winter and spring of 2007-2008 and extensive rainfall during June 2008 led to severe flooding in many parts of the midwestern United States. This resulted in transport of substantial amounts of nutrients and sediment from Iowa basins into the Mississippi River. Water samples...
Nutrient fluxes and the recent collapse of coastal California salmon populations
Jonathan W. Moore, Sean A. Hayes, Walter Duffy, Sean Gallagher, Cyril J. Michel, David Wright
2011, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (68) 1161-1170
Migratory salmon move nutrients both in and out of fresh waters during the different parts of their life cycle. We used a mass-balance approach to quantify recent changes in phosphorus (P) fluxes in six coastal California, USA, watersheds that have recently experienced dramatic decreases in salmon populations. As adults, semelparous...
Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of Libya and Tunisia, 2010
Katherine J. Whidden, Michael Lewan, Christopher J. Schenk, Rondald R. Charpentier, Troy A. Cook, Timothy R. Klett, Janet K. Pitman
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3105
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated means of 3.97 billion barrels of undiscovered oil, 38.5 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas, and 1.47 billion barrels of undiscovered natural gas liquids in two provinces of North Africa....
Water-level altitudes 2011 and water-level changes in the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifers and compaction 1973-2010 in the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers, Houston-Galveston region, Texas
Michaela R. Johnson, Jason K. Ramage, Mark C. Kasmarek
2011, Scientific Investigations Map 3174
Most of the subsidence in the Houston–Galveston region has occurred as a direct result of groundwater withdrawals for municipal supply, industrial use, and irrigation that depressured and dewatered the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers causing compaction of the clay layers of the aquifer sediments. This report, prepared by the U.S. Geological...
Analysis of methods to determine storage capacity of, and sedimentation in, Loch Lomond Reservoir, Santa Cruz County, California, 2009
Kelly R. McPherson, Lawrence A. Freeman, Lorraine E. Flint
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5141
In 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Santa Cruz, conducted bathymetric and topographic surveys to determine the water storage capacity of, and the loss of capacity owing to sedimentation in, Loch Lomond Reservoir in Santa Cruz County, California. The topographic survey was done as a...
Hydrogeology and simulation of groundwater flow at the Green Valley reclaimed coal refuse site near Terre Haute, Indiana
E. Randall Bayless, Leslie D. Arihood, Kathleen K. Fowler
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5116
The Green Valley reclaimed coal refuse site, near Terre Haute, Ind., was mined for coal from 1948 to 1963. Subsurface coal was cleaned and sorted at land surface, and waste material was deposited over the native glacial till. Approximately 2.7 million cubic yards of waste was deposited over 159 acres...
CRevolution 2—Origin and evolution of the Colorado River system, workshop abstracts
L. Sue Beard, Karl E. Karlstrom, Richard A. Young, George H. Billingsley, editor(s)
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1210
A 2010 Colorado River symposium, held in Flagstaff, Arizona, involved 70 participants who engaged in intense debate about the origin and evolution of the Colorado River system. This symposium, built upon two previous decadal scientific meetings, focused on forging scientific consensus, where possible, while articulating continued controversies regarding the Cenozoic...
Transient surface liquid in Titan's south polar region from Cassini
A. G. Hayes, O. Aharonson, J. I. Lunine, R. L. Kirk, H. A. Zebker, L. C. Wye, R. D. Lorenz, E. P. Turtle, P. Paillou, Giuseppe Mitri, S. D. Wall, E. R. Stofan, K. L. Mitchell, C. Elachi
2011, Icarus (211) 655-671
Cassini RADAR images of Titan’s south polar region acquired during southern summer contain lake features which disappear between observations. These features show a tenfold increases in backscatter cross-section between images acquired one year apart, which is inconsistent with common scattering models without invoking temporal variability. The morphologic boundaries are...
Aqueous geochemical data from the analysis of stream-water samples collected in June and August 2008—Taylor Mountains 1:250,000- and Dillingham D-4 1:63,360-scale quadrangles, Alaska
Bronwen Wang, Victoria Owens, Elizabeth Bailey, Greg Lee
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1100
We report on the chemical analysis of water samples collected from the Taylor Mountains 1:250,000- and Dillingham D-4 1:63,360-scale quadrangles, Alaska. Reported parameters include pH, conductivity, water temperature, major cation and anion concentrations, and trace-element concentrations. We collected the samples as part of a multiyear U.S. Geological Survey project entitled...
Observations of debris flows at Chalk Cliffs, Colorado, USA: Part 1, in-situ measurements of flow dynamics, tracer particle movement and video imagery from the summer of 2009
Scott W. McCoy, Jeffrey A. Coe, Jason W. Kean, Greg E. Tucker, Dennis M. Staley, Thad A. Wasklewicz
2011, Italian Journal of Engineering Geology and Environment 715-726
Debris flows initiated by surface-water runoff during short duration, moderate- to high-intensity rainfall are common in steep, rocky, and sparsely vegetated terrain. Yet large uncertainties remain about the potential for a flow to grow through entrainment of loose debris, which make formulation of accurate mechanical models of debris-flow routing difficult....
Groundwater-quality data in the northern Coast Ranges study unit, 2009: Results from the California GAMA Program
Timothy M. Mathany, Barbara J. Dawson, Jennifer L. Shelton, Kenneth Belitz
2011, Data Series 609
Groundwater quality in the 633-square-mile Northern Coast Ranges (NOCO) study unit was investigated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) from June to November 2009, as part of the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program's Priority Basin Project (PBP) and the U.S. Geological...
The future of rare earth elements—will these high-tech industry elements continue in short supply?
Keith R. Long
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1189
* REE will continue to find increasing use due to their unique properties. * There is a realistic possibility around 2015-2016 of sufficient REE capacity to meet demand under conditions of healthy price competition. * REE supplies will be tight and prices high for a few years. * There is...
Land-cover change research at the U.S. Geological Survey-assessing our nation's dynamic land surface
Tamara S. Wilson
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3080
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an unprecedented, 27-year assessment of land-use and land-cover change for the conterminous United States. For the period 1973 to 2000, scientists generated estimates of change in major types of land use and land cover, such as development, mining, agriculture, forest, grasslands, and wetlands....
Four studies on effects of environmental factors on the quality of National Atmospheric Deposition Program measurements
Gregory A. Wetherbee, Natalie E. Latysh, Christopher M.B. Lehmann, Mark F. Rhodes
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1170
Selected aspects of National Atmospheric Deposition Program / National Trends Network (NADP/NTN) protocols are evaluated in four studies. Meteorological conditions have minor impacts on the error in NADP/NTN sampling. Efficiency of frozen precipitation sample collection is lower than for liquid precipitation samples. Variability of NTN measurements is higher for relatively...
