Sediment transport in the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River near Stanley, Idaho, water years 2012–19
Gregory M. Clark, Scott D. Ducar
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5111
Placer and dredging operations in the Yankee Fork Basin, Idaho, have left more than 5 miles of the lower Yankee Fork of the Salmon River (Yankee Fork) in a highly altered fluvial condition, resulting in poor habitat quantity and quality for native fish species. Since 2011, the Bureau of...
A comparison of Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager and Provisional Aquatic Reflectance science product, Sentinel–2B, and WorldView–3 imagery for empirical satellite-derived bathymetry, Unalakleet, Alaska
Sandra K. Poppenga, Jeffrey J. Danielson
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5097
Satellite-derived bathymetry (SDB) based upon an empirical band ratio method is a cost-effective means for mapping nearshore bathymetry in coastal areas vulnerable to natural hazards. This is particularly important for the low-lying coastal community of Unalakleet, Alaska, that has been negatively affected not only by flooding, storm surge, and historically...
Acute mortality in California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense) and Santa Cruz long-toed salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum croceum) caused by Ribeiroia ondatrae (Class: Trematoda)
Saskia Keller, Constance Roderick, Christopher Caris, Daniel A. Grear, Rebecca A. Cole
2021, International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife (16) 255-261
In early September 2019, a morbidity and mortality event affecting California tiger salamanders (Ambystoma californiense) and Santa Cruz long-toed salamanders (Ambystoma macrodactylum croceum) in late stages of metamorphosis was reported at a National Wildlife Refuge in Santa Cruz County, California, U.S.A. During the postmortem disease investigation, severe integumentary metacercarial (Class:...
Machine learning predictions of nitrate in groundwater used for drinking supply in the conterminous United States
Katherine Marie Ransom, Bernard T. Nolan, Paul E. Stackelberg, Kenneth Belitz, Miranda S. Fram
2021, Science of the Total Environment
Groundwater is an important source of drinking water supplies in the conterminous United State (CONUS), and presence of high nitrate concentrations may limit usability of groundwater in some areas because of the...
Active virus-host interactions at sub-freezing temperatures in Arctic peat soil
Gareth Trubl, Jeffrey A Kimbrel, Jose Liquet-Gonzalez, Erin E. Nuccio, Peter K. Weber, Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Janet K. Jansson, Mark Waldrop, Steve Blazewicz
2021, Microbiome (9)
BackgroundWinter carbon loss in northern ecosystems is estimated to be greater than the average growing season carbon uptake and is primarily driven by microbial decomposers. Viruses modulate microbial carbon cycling via induced mortality and metabolic controls, but it is unknown whether viruses are active under winter conditions (anoxic and...
Effects of hydrologic variability and remedial actions on first flush and metal loading from streams draining the Silverton caldera, 1992–2014
Tanya N Petach, Robert L. Runkel, Rory M. Cowie, Diane M. McKnight
2021, Hydrological Processes (35)
This study examined water quality in the upper Animas River watershed, a mined watershed that gained notoriety following the 2015 Gold King mine release of acid mine drainage to downstream communities. Water-quality data were used to evaluate trends in metal concentrations and loads over a two-decade...
Similarities and differences between two deadly Caribbean coral diseases: White plague and stony coral tissue loss disease
Aldo Cróquer, Ernesto Weil, Caroline Rogers
2021, Frontiers in Marine Science (8)
For several decades, white plagues (WPDs: WPD-I, II and III) and more recently, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) have significantly impacted Caribbean corals. These diseases are often difficult to separate in the field as they produce similar gross signs. Here we aimed to compare what we know...
Influence of permafrost type and site history on losses of permafrost carbon after thaw
Kristen L. Manies, Miriam C. Jones, Mark Waldrop, Mary-Catherine Leewis, Christopher C. Fuller, Robert S. Cornman, Kristen Hoefke
2021, Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences (126)
We quantified permafrost peat plateau and post-thaw carbon (C) stocks across a chronosequence in Interior Alaska to evaluate the amount of C lost with thaw. Macrofossil reconstructions revealed three stratigraphic layers of peat: (1) a base layer of fen/marsh peat, (2) peat from a forested peat plateau...
Carbon fluxes and potential soil accumulation within Greater Everglades cypress and pine forested wetlands
W. Barclay Shoemaker, Frank E. Anderson, Andre Daniels, Matt Sirianni
Zhiliang Zhu, Ken W. Krauss, Camille L. Stagg, editor(s)
2021, Book chapter, Wetland carbon and environmental management
In forested wetlands, accumulation of organic matter in soil is partly governed by carbon fluxes where photosynthesis, respiration, lateral advection of waterborne carbon, fire-derived carbon emissions, and methanogenesis are balanced by changes in stored carbon. Stored carbon can eventually accumulate as soil over time if net primary productivity exceeds biomass...
Modeling the impacts of hydrology and management on carbon balance at the Great Dismal Swamp, Virginia and North Carolina, USA
Rachel Sleeter
Ken W. Krauss, Zhiliang Zhu, Camille L. Stagg, editor(s)
2021, Book chapter, Wetland carbon and environmental management
The impact of drainage on the stability of peatland carbon sinks is well known; however, much less is understood regarding the way active management of the water-table affects carbon balance. In this study, we determined the carbon balance in the Great Dismal Swamp, a large, forested peatland in the southeastern...
Summary of wetland carbon and environmental management: Path forward
Zhiliang Zhu, Ken Krauss, Camille Stagg, Eric Ward, Victoria Woltz
Zhiliang Zhu, Ken W. Krauss, Camille L. Stagg, editor(s)
2021, Book chapter, Wetland carbon and environmental management
Wetlands around the world are under pressure from both anthropogenic sources such as land-use change and accelerating climate change (Erwin, 2009; Moomaw et al., 2018). Storage of carbon resources is a key ecosystem service of wetlands and offer natural solutions to climate change mitigation; policies and management actions could determine...
Ecosystem service co-benefits provided through wetland carbon management
Emily Pindilli
Ken W. Krauss, Zhiliang Zhu, Camille L. Stagg, editor(s)
2021, Book chapter, Wetland carbon and environmental management
What is the role of wetland carbon management in providing ecosystem services? Ecosystem services are the benefits that nature provides to people, and they are often categorized as: provisioning (e.g., food and water), regulating (e.g., climate mitigation and flood protection), cultural (e.g., cultural and recreational), and supporting (e.g., nutrient cycling)...
A 40-year story of river sediment at Mount St. Helens
Mark A. Uhrich, Kurt R. Spicer, Adam R. Mosbrucker, Dennis R. Saunders, Tami S. Christianson
2021, Fact Sheet 2021-3004
The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington State unleashed one of the largest debris avalanches (landslide) in recorded history. The debris avalanche deposited 3.3 billion cubic yards of material into the upper North Fork Toutle River watershed and obstructed the Columbia River shipping channel downstream. From the eruption...
Developing climate resilience in aridlands using rock detention structures as green infrastructure
Laura M. Norman, Benjamin L. Ruddell, Deborah Tosline, Michael Fell, Blair P. Greimann, Jay Cederberg
2021, Sustainability (13)
The potential of ecological restoration and green infrastructure has been long suggested in the literature as adaptation strategies for a changing climate, with an emphasis on revegetation and, more recently, carbon sequestration and stormwater management. Tree planting and “natural” stormwater detention structures such as bioswales, stormwater detention...
Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Rano Raraku crater lake basin: Geochemical characterization and implications for the Ahu-Moai Period
Elena Argiriadis, Mara Bortolini, Natalie Kehrwald, Marco Roman, Clara Turetta, Shahpara Hanif, Evans Osayuki Erhendi, Jose Miguel Ramirez Aliaga, David B. McWethy, Amy E. Myrbo, Anibal Pauchard, Carlo Barbante, Dario Battistel
2021, PLoS ONE (10)
Rano Raraku, the crater lake constrained by basaltic tuff that served as the primary quarry used to construct the moai statues on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), has experienced fluctuations in lake level over the past centuries. As one of the only freshwater sources on the island, understanding the...
Hydrogeology and gain/loss assessment of two lakes contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, vicinity of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, 2020–21
Alex R. Fiore, Christopher M. Witzigman, Robert G. Reiser
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5107
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been identified in two lakes near Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL) in New Jersey—Little Pine Lake in Pemberton Township and Pine Lake in Manchester Township. The streams that enter these lakes begin in or near JBMDL where sources of PFAS contamination are located. The U.S....
Persistent nitrate in alpine waters with changing atmospheric deposition and warming trends
Sydney C. Clark, Rebecca T. Barnes, Isabella A. Oleksy, Jill S. Baron, Meredith G. Hastings
2021, Environmental Science and Technology (55) 14946-14956
Nitrate concentrations in high-elevation lakes of the Colorado Front Range remain elevated despite declining trends in atmospherically deposited nitrate since 2000. The current source of this elevated nitrate in surface waters remains elusive, given shifts in additional nitrogen sources via glacial inputs and atmospheric ammonium deposition. We present the complete...
USGS CEOS analysis ready data for land achievements and future plans
Christopher Barnes, Andreia Siqueira, Steven T. Labahn
2021, Conference Paper
The efforts of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) to bring CEOS Analysis Ready Data for Land (CARD4L) products to countries and international organizations quickly and easily continues to receive important support from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). As part of its engagement with CARD4L, the USGS worked to...
A comprehensive statewide spatiotemporal stream assessment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in an agricultural region of the United States
Dana W. Kolpin, Laura E. Hubbard, D.M. Cwiertny, Shannon M. Meppelink, D.A. Thompson, James L. Gray
2021, Environmental Science & Technology Letters (8) 981-988
Public concern regarding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has grown substantially in recent years. In addition, research has documented multiple potential agriculture-related release pathways for PFAS (e.g., biosolids and livestock manure). Nevertheless, little research on the environmental prevalence of PFAS has...
Disentangling stationary and dynamic estuarine fish habitat to inform conservation: Species-specific responses to physical habitat and water quality in San Francisco Estuary
Frederick V. Feyrer, Matthew J. Young, Brock Huntsman, Larry R. Brown
2021, Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science (13) 548-563
Estuaries represent critical aquatic habitat that connects surface water distributed between Earth’s landmasses and oceans. They are dynamic transitional ecosystems, which provide important habitat for fishes and other aquatic organisms. Effective conservation of species inhabiting estuaries requires knowledge of the habitat features that drive their abundance...
Hierarchical functional response of a forager on a wetland landscape
Don DeAngelis, Simeon Yurek, Stephen Tennenbaum, Hyo Won Lee
2021, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (9)
We show that for some foragers the form that a functional response takes depends on the temporal and spatial scales considered. In representing the consumption rate of an organism, it may be necessary to use a hierarchy of functional responses. Consider, for example, a wading bird foraging in...
Characterizing downstream migration timing of American Eels using commercial catch data in the Penobscot and Delaware rivers
Daniel M. Weaver, Douglas B. Sigourney, Mari-Beth Delucia, Joseph D. Zydlewski
2021, Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science (13) 534-547
Adult “silver-phase” American Eels Anguilla rostrata were a focus of commercial fisheries in the 1970s and 1980s, but stocks have been depleted due to many anthropogenic factors. One significant source of mortality occurs during the downstream migration of eels when passing through turbines at hydroelectric facilities. We sought to construct a model...
A new analysis of caldera unrest through the integration of geophysical data and FEM modeling: The Long Valley caldera case study
Fabio Pulvirenti, Francesca Silverii, Maurizio Battaglia
2021, Remote Sensing (13)
The Long Valley Caldera, located at the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada range in California, has been in a state of unrest since the late 1970s. Seismic, gravity and geodetic data strongly suggest that the source of unrest is an intrusion beneath the caldera resurgent dome....
Spatio-temporal analysis of hypoxia in the Central Basin of Lake Erie of North America
Wenzhao Xu, Paris D. Collingsworth, Richard Kraus, Barbara Minsker
2021, Water Resources Research
We develop a spatio-temporal geostatistical interpolation framework to estimate hypoxia extent (dissolved oxygen [DO] concentrations below 2 mg/L) with data from a network of DO loggers. The framework uses empirical orthogonal functions and Bayesian kriging to identify the spatially varying temporal pattern and estimate the distribution of hypoxia, including estimation uncertainty....
Impact of precipitation and increasing temperatures on drought trends in eastern Africa
Sarah F. Kew, Sjoukje Y. Philip, Mathias Hauser, Michael Hobbins, Niko Wanders, Ted Veldkamp, Gert von Oldenburgh, Karin van der Wiel, Ted I. E. Veldkamp, Joyce Kimutai, Chris Funk, Friederike Otto
2021, Earth Systems Science Dynamics (12) 17-35
In eastern Africa droughts can cause crop failure and lead to food insecurity. With increasing temperatures, there is an a priori assumption that droughts are becoming more severe. However, the link between droughts and climate change is not sufficiently understood. Here we investigate trends in long-term agricultural drought and...
