Managing water resources on Long Island, New York, with integrated, multidisciplinary science
Robert F. Breault, John P. Masterson, Christopher Schubert, Liv M. Herdman
2021, Fact Sheet 2021-3044
Nutrients, harmful algal blooms, and synthetic chemicals like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and 1,4-dioxane threaten Long Island’s water resources by affecting the quality of drinking water and ecologically sensitive habitats that support the diverse wildlife throughout the island. Understanding the occurrence, fate, and transport of these potentially harmful chemicals...
Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic events west of the Waterbury Dome: Results of new mapping in the western Connecticut Highlands
William C. Burton, William J. Devlin
2021, Book chapter, Field excursions from the 2021 GSA section meetings
This field trip highlights the results of recent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) bedrock geologic mapping in four 7.5 min quadrangles in the western Connecticut highlands near Southbury, Connecticut, USA. The rocks are broadly within what Rodgers (1985) called the Hartland and Gneiss Dome...
Methods for estimating regional skewness of annual peak flows in parts of eastern New York and Pennsylvania, based on data through water year 2013
Andrea G. Veilleux, Daniel M. Wagner
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5015
Bulletin 17C (B17C) recommends fitting the log-Pearson Type III (LP−III) distribution to a series of annual peak flows at a streamgage by using the method of moments. The third moment, the skewness coefficient (or skew), is important because the magnitudes of annual exceedance probability (AEP) flows estimated by using the...
The sensitivity of a unionid mussel (Lampsilis siliquoidea) to a permitted effluent and elevated potassium in the effluent
James L. Kunz, Ning Wang, David Martinez, Suzanne Dunn, Danielle M. Cleveland, Jeffery A. Steevens
2021, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (40) 3410-3420
Freshwater mussels are one of the most imperiled groups of animals in the world and are among the most sensitive species to a variety of chemicals. However, little is known about the sensitivity of freshwater mussels to wastewater effluents. The objectives of the present study were to (1) assess the...
Upper Grand Coulee: New views of a channeled scabland megafloods enigma
Richard B. Waitt, Brian F. Atwater, Karin Lehnigk, Isaac J. Larsen, Bruce N. Bjornstad, Michelle A. Hanson, Jim E. O'Connor
2021, Book chapter, From terranes to terrains: Geologic field guides on the construction and destruction of the Pacific Northwest
New findings about old puzzles occasion rethinking of the Grand Coulee, greatest of the scabland channels. Those puzzles begin with antecedents of current upper Grand Coulee. By a recent interpretation, the upper coulee exploited the former high-level valley of a preflood trunk stream that had drained to the southwest beside...
The Biscuit Brook and Neversink Reservoir Watersheds: Long-term investigations of stream chemistry, soil chemistry, and aquatic ecology in the Catskill Mountains, New York, USA, 1983 to 2020
Peter S. Murdoch, Douglas A. Burns, Michael McHale, Jason Siemion, Barry P. Baldigo, Gregory B. Lawrence, Scott D. George, Michael R. Antidormi, Donald B. Bonville
2021, Hydrological Processes (35)
This data note describes the Biscuit Brook and Neversink Reservoir watershed Long-Term Monitoring Data that includes: 1) stream discharge, (1983 – 2020 for Biscuit Brook and 1937 – 2020 for the Neversink Reservoir watershed), 2) stream water chemistry, 1983-2020, at 4 stations, 3) fish survey data from 16 locations in...
Evaluating the impact of watershed development and climate change on stream ecosystems: A Bayesian network modeling approach
Song S. Qian, Jonathan G. Kennen, Jason May, Mary Freeman, Thomas F Cuffney
2021, Water Research (205)
A continuous-variable Bayesian network (cBN) model is used to link watershed development and climate change to stream ecosystem indicators. A graphical model, reflecting our understanding of the connections between climate change, weather condition, loss of natural land cover, stream flow characteristics, and stream ecosystem indicators is used as the basis for...
Historical streamflow and stage data compilation for the Lower Columbia River, Pacific Northwest
Carrie L. Boudreau, Marc A. Stewart, Adam J. Stonewall
2021, Open-File Report 2020-1138
The U.S. Geological Survey mined data from a variety of national and state agencies including USGS, Oregon Water Resources Department, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Washington Department of Ecology, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Portland State University, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A comprehensive dataset of streamflow, stage, and...
Staggered-entry analysis of breeding phenology and occupancy dynamics of Arizona toads from historically occupied habitats of New Mexico, USA
MJ Forzley, Mason J. Ryan, IM Latella, JT Giermakowski, Erin L. Muths, Brent H. Sigafus, Blake R. Hossack
2021, Ichthyology & Herpetology 851-859
For species with variable phenology, it is often challenging to produce reliable estimates of population dynamics or changes in occupancy. The Arizona Toad (Anaxyrus microscaphus) is a southwestern USA endemic that has been petitioned for legal protection, but status assessments are limited by a lack of information...
Hypogenic karst of the Great Basin
Louise D. Hose, Harvey R. DuChene, Daniel Jones, Gretchen M. Baker, Zoe Havlena, Donald S. Sweetkind, Doug Powell
2021, Book chapter, Field Excursions from the 2021 GSA Section Meetings
Discoveries in the 1980s greatly expanded speleologists’ understanding of the role that hypogenic groundwater flow can play in developing caves at depth. Ascending groundwater charged with carbon dioxide and, especially, hydrogen sulfide can readily dissolve carbonate bedrock just below and above the water table. Sulfuric acid speleogenesis, in which anoxic,...
Satellites for long-term monitoring of inland U.S. lakes: The MERIS time series and application for chlorophyll-a
Bridget Seegers, P. Jeremy Werdell, Ryan Vandermeulen, Wilson Salls, Richard Stumpf, Blake Schaeffer, Tommy Owens, Sean Bailey, Joel Scott, Keith A. Loftin
2021, Remote Sensing of the Environment (266)
Lakes and other surface fresh waterbodies provide drinking water, recreational and economic opportunities, food, and other critical support for humans, aquatic life, and ecosystem health. Lakes are also productive ecosystems that provide habitats and influence global cycles. Chlorophyll concentration provides a common metric of water quality, and is frequently used...
Discharge and dissolved-solids characteristics of Blacks Fork above Smiths Fork, Wyoming, April 2018 through September 2019
Cheryl A. Eddy-Miller, Jerrod D. Wheeler, Ruth M. Law, Shaun W. Moran
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5095
The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum was formed in 1973 to coordinate salinity control efforts among the States in the Colorado River Basin, including Wyoming. The Colorado River Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Public Law 93–320) authorized “the construction, operation, and maintenance of certain works in the Colorado River...
Hydrogeologic framework of the Big Lost River Basin, south-central Idaho, chap. A of Zinsser, L.M., ed., Characterization of water resources in the Big Lost River Basin, south-central Idaho
Lauren M. Zinsser
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5078-A
Surface-water and groundwater resources in the Big Lost River Basin of south-central Idaho are extensively interconnected; this interchange affects and is affected by water-resource management for irrigated agriculture and other uses in the basin. Concerns from water users regarding declining groundwater levels, declining streamflows, and drought helped motivate an...
Long-term epilimnetic temperature trends in Lake Mendota and Trout Lake, Wisconsin
Richard C Lathrop, Dale M. Robertson
2021, Report
Warming of lake surface waters has become a concern to limnologists and water managers because air temperatures, which directly affect near-surface water temperatures, are projected to increase in Wisconsin (WICCI 2011) as well as globally (IPCC 2018). This projected increase is in addition to the changes in air temperatures that...
Economic assessment of surface water in the Harney Basin, Oregon
Lucas S. Bair, Matthew Flyr, Christopher Huber
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1087
Executive SummaryThe Harney Basin is a closed river basin in southeastern Oregon. Surface water in the basin is used for a variety of social, economic, and ecological benefits. While some surface water uses compete with one another, others are complementary or jointly produce multiple beneficial outcomes. The objective of this...
Informing future condition scenario planning for habitat specialists of the imperiled pine rockland ecosystem of South Florida
Susan C. Walls
2021, Report
This project evaluated habitat conditions for two species found in the imperiled pine rockland ecosystem—the Rim Rock Crowned Snake (Tantilla oolitica) and the Key Ring-Necked Snake (Diadophis punctatus acricus). The Rim Rock Crowned Snake historically occurred in eastern Miami-Dade County (hereafter, mainland) as well as throughout the Florida Keys, whereas...
Evaluating streamwater dissolved organic carbon dynamics in context of variable flowpath contributions with a tracer-based mixing model
James E. Saiers, Jennifer H. Fair, James B. Shanley, J.D. Hosen, Serena Matt, Kevin A Ryan, P.A. Raymond
2021, Water Resources Research (57) 1-23
This study focuses on characterizing the contributions of key terrestrial pathways that deliver dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to streams during hydrological events and on elucidating factors governing variation in water and DOC fluxes from these pathways. We made high-frequency measurements of discharge, specific conductance (SC), and...
Drought resistance and resilience: The role of soil moisture–plant interactions and legacies in a dryland ecosystem
Dave Hoover, Alix A. Pfennigwerth, Michael C. Duniway
2021, Journal of Ecology (109) 3280-3294
In many regions of the world, climate change is projected to reduce water availability through changes in the hydrological cycle, including more frequent and intense droughts, as well as seasonal shifts in precipitation. In water-limited ecosystems, such as drylands, lower soil water availability may exceed the adaptive capacity of...
Scale growth rates and scale circulus deposition rates of marine-stage Atlantic salmon Salmo salar raised under semi-natural conditions
Erin Peterson, Timothy F. Sheehan, Joseph D. Zydlewski
2021, Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science (52) 19-27
Scale circuli yield valuable information about the life history, age, and growth of a fish. However, because circuli formation is influenced by somatic growth, the rate at which circuli are formed and the factors influencing these rates must be taken into account for the given life stage of the study...
Migration stopover ecology of Cinnamon Teal in western North America
Desmond Alexander Mackell, Michael L. Casazza, Cory T. Overton, J. Patrick Donnelly, David Olson, Fiona McDuie, Joshua T. Ackerman, John M. Eadie
2021, Ecology and Evolution (11) 14056-14069
Identifying migration routes and fall stopover sites of Cinnamon Teal (Spatula cyanoptera septentrionalium) can provide a spatial guide to management and conservation efforts, and address vulnerabilities in wetland networks that support migratory waterbirds. Using high spatiotemporal resolution GPS-GSM transmitters, we analyzed 61 fall migration tracks across western...
Episodic nutrient addition affects water column nutrient processing rates in river-to-lake transitional zones
Nolan J.T. Pearce, James H. Larson, Mary Anne Evans, Paul C. Frost, Marguerite A. Xenopoulos
2021, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (126)
Storm-driven nutrient loading from tributaries can fuel eutrophication in nearshore and open water areas of lentic ecosystems. However, nutrient processing in river-to-lake transitional zones can substantially alter the amount and composition of nutrients transported to lakes from upstream surface waters. We measured the removal of nutrients and...
Integrating regional and local monitoring data and assessment tools to evaluate habitat conditions and inform river restoration
Francine H. Mejia, Jason M Connor, Phil R Kaufmann, Christian E. Torgersen, Eric K Berntsen, Todd Andersen
2021, Ecological Indicators
RRestoring degraded rivers requires initial assessment of the fluvial landscape to identify stressors and riverine features that can be enhanced. We associated local-scale river habitat data collected using standardized national monitoring tools with modeled regional water temperature and flow data on mid-sized northwest U.S. rivers (30–60 m wide). We grouped these rivers according...
Development of regression equations for the estimation of the magnitude and frequency of floods at rural, unregulated gaged and ungaged streams in Puerto Rico through water year 2017
Patrick J. Ryan, Anthony J. Gotvald, Cody L. Hazelbaker, Andrea G. Veilleux, Daniel M. Wagner
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5062
The methods of computation and estimates of the magnitude of flood flows were updated for the 50-, 20-, 10-, 4-, 2-, 1-, 0.5-, and 0.2-percent chance exceedance levels for 91 streamgages on the main island of Puerto Rico by using annual peak-flow data through 2017. Since the previous flood frequency...
Stable isotopes used to infer trophic position of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) from Dry Tortugas National Park, Gulf of Mexico, United States
David Roche, Michael Cherkiss, Brian J. Smith, Derek A. Burkholder, Kristen Hart
2021, Regional Studies in Marine Science (48)
Evaluating resource use patterns for imperiled species is critical for understanding what supports their populations. Here we established stable isotope (δ13">δ13C, δ15">δ15N) values for the endangered green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) population found...
A comparison of methods for the long-term harness-based attachment of radio-transmitters to juvenile Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)
Evan J Buck, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Cody M. Kent, Jennifer M. Mullinax, Diann Prosser
2021, Animal Biotelemetry (9)
BackgroundWhile the period from fledging through first breeding for waterbird species such as terns (e.g., genus Sterna, Sternula) is of great interest to researchers and conservationists, this period remains understudied due in large part to the difficulty of marking growing juveniles with radio transmitters that remain attached for...
