Shoreline surveys of oil-impacted marsh in southern Louisiana, July to August 2010
Raymond F. Kokaly, David Heckman, JoAnn Holloway, Sarai C. Piazza, Brady R. Couvillion, Gregory D. Steyer, Christopher T. Mills, Todd M. Hoefen
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1022
This report describes shoreline surveys conducted in the marshes of Louisiana in areas impacted by oil spilled from the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Three field expeditions were conducted on July 7-10, August 12-14, and August 24-26, 2010, in central Barataria Bay and the...
Self-potential investigations of a gravel bar in a restored river corridor
N. Linde, J. Doetsch, D. Jougnot, O. Genoni, Y. Durst, Burke J. Minsley, T. Vogt, N. Pasquale, J. Luster
2011, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (15) 729-742
Self-potentials (SP) are sensitive to water fluxes and concentration gradients in both saturated and unsaturated geological media, but quantitative interpretations of SP field data may often be hindered by the superposition of different source contributions and time-varying electrode potentials. Self-potential mapping and close to two months of SP monitoring on...
Keeping Hawai’i’s forest birds one step ahead of avian diseases in a warming world: a focus on Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge. A case study from the National Conservation and Training Center Structured Decision Making Workshop
Eben H. Paxton, Jeff Burgett, Eve McDonald-Fadden, Ellen Bean, Carter T. Atkinson, Donna L. Ball, Colleen Cole, Lisa H. Crampton, Jim Kraus, Dennis A. LaPointe, Loyal Mehrhoff, Michael D. Samuel, Donna Brewer, Sarah J. Converse, Steve Morey
2011, Conference Paper
This report is a product of a one-week workshop on using Structured Decision Making to identify and prioritize conservation actions to address the threat of climate change on Hawaii‟s native forest bird community. Specifically, t his report addresses the issue of global warming ‟s likely role in increasing disease prevalence...
Conceptual model and numerical simulation of the groundwater-flow system of Bainbridge Island, Washington
Lonna M. Frans, Matthew P. Bachmann, Steve S. Sumioka, Theresa D. Olsen
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5021
Groundwater is the sole source of drinking water for the population of Bainbridge Island. Increased use of groundwater supplies on Bainbridge Island as the population has grown over time has created concern about the quantity of water available and whether saltwater intrusion will occur as groundwater usage increases. A groundwater-flow...
Development and assessment of a landscape-scale ecological threat index for the Lower Colorado River Basin
Craig P. Paukert, K.L. Pitts, Joanna B. Whittier, Julian D. Olden
2011, Ecological Indicators (11) 3014-310
Anthropogenic disturbances impact freshwater biota but are rarely incorporated into conservation planning due to the difficulties in quantifying threats. There is currently no widely accepted method to quantify disturbances, and determining how to measure threats to upstream catchments using disturbance metrics can be time consuming and subjective. We compared four...
Linking microbial and ecosystem ecology using ecological stoichiometry: a synthesis of conceptual and empirical approaches
E. K. Hall, F. Maixner, O. Franklin, H. Daims, A. Richter, T. Battin
2011, Ecosystems (14) 261-273
Currently, one of the biggest challenges in microbial and ecosystem ecology is to develop conceptual models that organize the growing body of information on environmental microbiology into a clear mechanistic framework with a direct link to ecosystem processes. Doing so will enable development of testable hypotheses to better direct future...
Introduction: Special issue on earthquake ground-motion selection and modification for nonlinear dynamic analysis of structures
Erol Kalkan, Nico Luco
2011, Journal of Structural Engineering (137) 277
No abstract available....
Halloysite nanotubes and bacteria at the saprolite-bedrock interface, Rio Icacos watershed, Puerto Rico
Morgan L. Minyard, Mary Ann Bruns, Carmen E. Martinez, Laura Liermann, Heather L. Buss, Susan L. Brantley
2011, Soil Science Society of America Journal (75) 348-356
Quartz diorite bedrock underlying the Luquillo Mountains of eastern Puerto Rico undergoes weathering at one of the fastest documented rates for granitic rocks in the world. Although tropical temperatures and precipitation promote rapid weathering in this location, increased bacterial densities in the regolith immediately above the bedrock suggest that microorganisms...
Interspecific exchange of avian influenza virus genes in Alaska: The influence of trans-hemispheric migratory tendency and breeding ground sympatry
John M. Pearce, Andrew B. Reeves, Andrew M. Ramey, Jerry W. Hupp, S. Ip, M. Bertram, M.J. Petrula, B.D. Scotton, K.A. Trust, Brandt W. Meixell, J.A. Runstadler
2011, Molecular Ecology (20) 1015-1025
The movement and transmission of avian influenza viral strains via wild migratory birds may vary by host species as a result of migratory tendency and sympatry with other infected individuals. To examine the roles of host migratory tendency and species sympatry on the movement of Eurasian low-pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI)...
Three-dimensional model of the geologic framework for the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington
Erick R. Burns, David S. Morgan, Rachael S. Peavler, Sue C. Kahle
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5246
No abstract available....
Elevation of the March-April 2010 flood high water in selected river reaches in Rhode Island
Phillip J. Zarriello, Gardner C. Bent
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1029
A series of widespread, large, low-pressure systems in southern New England in late February through late March 2010 resulted in record, or near record, rainfall and runoff. The total rainfall in the region during this period ranged from about 19 to 25 inches, which coupled with seasonal low evaporation, resulted...
Epistemic uncertainty in California-wide synthetic seismicity simulations
Fred F. Pollitz
2011, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (101) 2481-2498
The generation of seismicity catalogs on synthetic fault networks holds the promise of providing key inputs into probabilistic seismic-hazard analysis, for example, the coefficient of variation, mean recurrence time as a function of magnitude, the probability of fault-to-fault ruptures, and conditional probabilities for foreshock–mainshock triggering. I employ a seismicity simulator...
Geologic map of the Chisos Mountains, Big Bend National Park, Texas
Robert G. Bohannon
2011, Scientific Investigations Map 3140
The Chisos Mountains form some of the highest ground in Texas, second only to Guadalupe Peak near the New Mexico border. The northern half of the range is mostly above 5,500 feet with Emory Peak the high point at 7,825 feet. The mountains are centrally located in Big Bend National...
Enhancing the Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEB) Approach for Estimating Landscape ET: Validation with the METRIC model
Gabriel B. Senay, Michael E. Budde, James P. Verdin
2011, Agricultural Water Management (98) 606-618
Evapotranspiration (ET) can be derived from satellite data using surface energy balance principles. METRIC (Mapping EvapoTranspiration at high Resolution with Internalized Calibration) is one of the most widely used models available in the literature to estimate ET from satellite imagery. The Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEB) model is much easier...
Pesticides in Wyoming's rivers, 2006-10
Cheryl A. Eddy-Miller
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3011
In 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey completed a study in cooperation with the Wyoming Department of Agriculture to determine the occurrence of pesticides in four major rivers within the Bighorn and North Platte River Basins in Wyoming. Surface-water samples were collected at five sites during three different times of the...
Gas hydrate characterization and grain-scale imaging of recovered cores from the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope
Laura A. Stern, T.D. Lorenson, John C. Pinkston
2011, Marine and Petroleum Geology (28) 394-403
Using cryogenic scanning electron microscopy (CSEM), powder X-ray diffraction, and gas chromatography methods, we investigated the physical states, grain characteristics, gas composition, and methane isotopic composition of two gas-hydrate-bearing sections of core recovered from the BPXA–DOE–USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well situated on the Alaska North Slope. The...
Cumuilative Effects of Impoundments on the Hydrology of Riparian Wetlands along the Marmaton River, west-central Missouri
David C. Heimann, Heather M. Krempa
2011, Wetlands (31) 135-146
The effects of proposed impoundments and resulting streamflow regulation on riparian wetlands in the Marmaton River Basin, Missouri, USA were determined using measurements and numerical simulations of wetland water budgets. Calibrated and validated Soil-Plant-Air-Water (SPAW) models were used to simulate daily water depths of four riparian wetlands for Current (model...
Effects of spatial disturbance on common loon nest site selection and territory success
Kyle P. McCarthy, Stephen DeStefano
2011, Journal of Wildlife Management (75) 289-296
The common loon (Gavia immer) breeds during the summer on northern lakes and water bodies that are also often desirable areas for aquatic recreation and human habitation. In northern New England, we assessed how the spatial nature of disturbance affects common loon nest site selection and territory success. We found...
Monitoring plan for vegetation responses to elk management in Rocky Mountain National Park
Linda Zeigenfuss, Therese L. Johnson, Zachary Wiebe
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1013
Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) in north-central Colorado supports numerous species of wildlife, including several large ungulate species among which Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus) are the most abundant. Elk are native to RMNP but were extirpated from the area by the late 1800s. They were reintroduced to the area...
The users, uses, and value of Landsat and other moderate-resolution satellite imagery in the United States-Executive report
Holly M. Miller, Natalie R. Sexton, Lynne Koontz, John Loomis, Stephen R. Koontz, Caroline Hermans
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1031
Moderate-resolution imagery (MRI), such as that provided by the Landsat satellites, provides unique spatial information for use by many people both within and outside of the United States (U.S.). However, exactly who these users are, how they use the imagery, and the value and benefits derived from the information are,...
FishTraits: a database of ecological and life-history traits of freshwater fishes of the United States
Paul L. Angermeier, Emmanuel A. Frimpong
2011, Fisheries (34) 487-495
The need for integrated and widely accessible sources of species traits data to facilitate studies of ecology, conservation, and management has motivated development of traits databases for various taxa. In spite of the increasing number of traits-based analyses of freshwater fishes in the United States, no consolidated database of traits...
Hydrogeology and simulation of groundwater flow in fractured rock in the Newark basin, Rockland County, New York
Richard M. Yager, Nicholas M. Ratcliffe
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5250
Groundwater in the Newark basin aquifer flows primarily through discrete water-bearing zones parallel to the strike and dip of bedding, whereas flow perpendicular to the strike is restricted, thereby imparting anisotropy to the groundwater flow field. The finite-element model SUTRA was used to represent bedrock structure in the aquifer by...
Simulation of hydraulic conditions and observed and potential geomorphic changes in a reconfigured reach of Muddy Creek, north-central Colorado, 2001-2008
J. G. Elliott, K.R. Schaffrath, R. R. McDonald, C.A. Williams, K.C. Davis
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5183
Simulated effects of water withdrawals and land-use changes on streamflows and groundwater levels in the Pawcatuck River Basin, southwestern Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut
Gardner C. Bent, Phillip J. Zarriello, Gregory E. Granato, John P. Masterson, Donald A. Walter, Andrew M. Waite, Peter E. Church
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5127
Crims Island-Restoration and monitoring of juvenile salmon rearing habitat in the Columbia River Estuary, Oregon, 2004-10
Craig A. Haskell, Kenneth F. Tiffan
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5022
Under the 2004 Biological Opinion for operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System released by the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), and the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) were directed to restore more than 4,047 hectares (10,000 acres) of...
