A new approach to evaluate and reduce uncertainty of model-based biodiversity projections for conservation policy formulation
Bonnie Myers, Sarah R. Weiskopf, Alexey N. Shiklomanov, Simon Ferrier, Ensheng Weng, Kimberly Ann Casey, Michael Harfoot, Stephen Jackson, Allison K. Leidner, Timothy M. Lenton, Gordon Luikart, Hiroyuki Matsuda, Nathalie Pettorelli, Isabel M. D. Rosa, Alexander C. Ruane, Gabriel B. Senay, Shawn P. Serbin, Derek P. Tittensor, Beard Jr.
2021, BioScience (71) 1261-1273
Biodiversity projections with uncertainty estimates under different climate, land-use, and policy scenarios are essential to setting and achieving international targets to mitigate biodiversity loss. Evaluating and improving biodiversity predictions to better inform policy decisions remains a central conservation goal and challenge. A comprehensive strategy to evaluate and reduce uncertainty...
Multiscale hyperspectral imaging of hydrothermal alteration in Yellowstone National Park, USA
Todd M. Hoefen, Raymond F. Kokaly, Keith Eric Livo, John Michael Meyer, JoAnn M. Holloway
2021, Conference Paper, 2021 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) Proceedings
Imaging spectroscopy (hyperspectral imaging) data have mainly been used to map surface materials covering relatively small areas from airborne sensors over the past 20+ years. As part of the U.S. Geological Survey Integrated hyperspectral, geophysical and geochemical studies of Yellowstone National Park hydrothermal systems project, we have collected multiscale imaging...
Integrating satellite thermal imagery and global weather datasets for operational actual evapotranspiration mapping and drought early warning applications
Gabriel B. Senay, Stefanie Bohms, Claudia Young, Cheryl L. Holen, Maxwell Thomas Mcelhone, Michael Budde, James Rowland
2021, Conference Paper
The development and online access to an operational global actual evapotranspiration (ETa) is described. The global ETa is generated using the Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop) model with inputs from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land surface temperature and gridded weather datasets. Global and regional ETa, as well...
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...
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...
Acute oral toxicity and tissue residues of saxitoxin in the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Robert J. Dusek, Matthew M. Smith, Caroline R. Van Hemert, Valerie I. Shearn-Bochsler, Sherwood Hall, Clark D. Ridge, Ransome Hardison, Robert Kaler, Barbara L. Bodenstein, Erik K. Hofmeister, Jeffrey S. Hall
2021, Harmful Algae (109)
Since 2014, widespread, annual mortality events involving multiple species of seabirds have occurred in the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and Chukchi Sea. Among these die-offs, emaciation was a common finding with starvation often identified as the cause of death. However, saxitoxin...
Lessons learned from development of natural capital accounts in the United States and European Union
Kenneth J. Bagstad, Jane Carter Ingram, Carl D. Shapiro, Alessandra La Notte, Joachim Maes, Sara Vallecillo, Clyde F. Casey, Pierre D. Glynn, Mehdi Heris, Justin A. Johnson, Chris Lauer, John Matuszak, Kirsten L. L. Oleson, Stephen M. Posner, Charles Rhodes, Brian Voigt
2021, Ecosystem Services (52)
The United States and European Union (EU) face common challenges in managing natural capital and balancing conservation and resource use with consumption of other forms of capital. This paper synthesizes findings from 11 individual application papers from a special issue of Ecosystem...
Near-field receiving-water monitoring of trace metals and a benthic community near the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant in south San Francisco Bay, California—2019
Daniel J. Cain, Marie Noele Croteau, Janet K. Thompson, Francis Parchaso, A. Robin Stewart, Kelly H. Shrader, Emily L. Zierdt Smith, Samuel N. Luoma
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1079
Trace-metal concentrations in sediment and in the clam Limecola petalum (formerly reported as Macoma balthica and M. petalum), clam reproductive activity, and benthic macroinvertebrate community structure were investigated in a mudflat 1 kilometer south of the discharge of the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (PARWQCP) in south San...
Evidence that copepod biomass during the larval period regulates recruitment of Lake Erie walleye
Cassandra J. May, R. Budnik, S. Ludsin, D. O’Donnell, James M. Hood, Edward F. Roseman, E. Marschall
2021, Journal of Great Lakes Research (47) 1737-1745
Walleye (Sander vitreus) is an economically and culturally important species in Lake Erie that has experienced large interannual variability in recruitment. We examined the importance of prey biomass during the larval period to walleye recruitment while also considering the importance of temperature. Using nine years of field data over a...
Water-quality distributions in the East Branch Black River near the Chemical Recovery Systems site in Elyria, Ohio, 2021
Jordan L. Wilson, Edward G. Dobrowolski
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1086
Autonomous underwater vehicles are uniquely designed to provide spatially dense water-quality data along with bathymetry and velocimetry. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 requested technical assistance from the U.S. Geological Survey in support of ongoing investigations at the Chemical Recovery Systems site to collect spatially dense water-quality and bathymetry...
Geologic map of the Athabasca Valles region, Mars
Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Alexandra E. Huff, Windy L. Jaeger
2021, Scientific Investigations Map 3477
This 1:1,000,000-scale geologic map of the Athabasca Valles region of Mars places the best-preserved lavas on Mars into their geologic context. The map shows vigorous geologic activity in the most recent epoch of the geologic history of Mars, which is extremely unusual for the planet. In these atypically youthful terrains,...
A global ecological classification of coastal segment units to complement marine biodiversity observation network assessments
Roger Sayre, Kevin Butler, Keith Van Graafeiland, Sean Breyer, Dawn Wright, Charlie Frye, Deniz Karagulle, Madeline T. Martin, Jill Janene Cress, Tom Allen, Rebecca Allee, Rost Parsons, Bjorn Nyberg, Mark Costello, Peter Harris, Frank Muller-Karger
2021, Oceanography (34)
A new data layer provides Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) labels for global coastal segments at 1 km or shorter resolution. These characteristics are summarized for six US Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) sites and one MBON Pole to Pole of the Americas site in Argentina. The global...
Cimarron River alluvial aquifer hydrogeologic framework, water budget, and implications for future water availability in the Pawnee Nation Tribal jurisdictional area, Payne County, Oklahoma, 2016–18
Nicole Paizis, A.R. Trevisan
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5073
The Cimarron River is a free-flowing river and is a major source of water as it flows across Oklahoma. Increased demand for water resources within the Cimarron River alluvial aquifer in north-central Oklahoma (primarily in Payne County) has led to increases in groundwater withdrawals for agriculture, public, irrigation, industrial, and...
Hydrologic and ecological investigations in the School Branch watershed, Hendricks County, Indiana—Water years 2016–2018
Aubrey R. Bunch, Dawn R. McCausland, E. Randall Bayless
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5061
School Branch in Hendricks County in central Indiana, is a small stream with a variety of agricultural and suburban land uses that drains into the Eagle Creek Reservoir, a major source of drinking water for Indianapolis, Indiana. The School Branch watershed has become the focus of a collaborative partnership of...
Five-year management plan for establishing and operating NVEWS—The National Volcano Early Warning System
Peter F. Cervelli, Charlie Mandeville, Victoria F. Avery, Aleeza Wilkins
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1092
On March 12, 2019, Congress passed the John D. Dingell, Jr., Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (Public Law 116–9; 133 Stat. 580), in which Title V, §5001 (43 U.S.C. 31k) authorized the establishment of the National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System (NVEWS) within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Conceived...
Simulated atmospheric response to four projected land-use land-cover change scenarios for 2050 in the north-central United States
Paul Xavier Flanagan, Rezaul Mahmood, Terry L. Sohl, Mark Svoboda, Brian D. Wardlow, Michael Hayes, Eric Rappin
2021, Earth Interactions (25) 177-194
Land-use land-cover change (LULCC) has become an important topic of research for the central United States because of the extensive conversion of the natural prairie into agricultural...
Post-drought groundwater storage recovery in California’s Central Valley
Sarfaraz Alam, Mekonnen Gebremichael, Zhaoxin Ban, Bridget R. Scanlon, Gabriel B. Senay, D. P. Lettenmaier
2021, Water Resources Research (57)
Groundwater depletion is a major threat to agricultural and municipal water supply in California's Central Valley. Recent droughts during 2007–2009 and 2012–2016 exacerbated chronic groundwater depletion. However, it is unclear how much groundwater storage recovered from drought-related overdrafts during post-drought years, and how climatic conditions and water...
Iñupiaq knowledge of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in the southern Beaufort Sea, Alaska
Karyn D. Rode, Hannah Voorhees, Henry P. Huntington, George M. Durner
2021, Arctic (74) 239-257
Successful wildlife management depends upon coordination and consultation with local communities. However, much of the research used to inform management is often derived solely from data collected directly from wildlife. Indigenous people living in the Arctic have a close connection to their environment, which provides unique opportunities to observe...
Vulnerability assessment in and near Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota
Kristen J. Valseth
2021, Scientific Investigations Map 3479
Theodore Roosevelt National Park is in western North Dakota and was established in 1978 under the National Wilderness Preservation system to preserve and protect the qualities of the North Dakota Badlands, including the wildlife, scenery, and wilderness. The park is made up of three units (North, Elkhorn Ranch, and South)...
Utilizing multiple hydrogeologic and anthropogenic indicators to understand zones of groundwater contribution to water-supply wells near Kirtland Air Force Base Bulk Fuels Facility in southeast Albuquerque, New Mexico
Rebecca E. Travis, Meghan T. Bell, Benjamin S. Linhoff, Kimberly R. Beisner
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5076
In 1999, a jet-fuels release was discovered at the Bulk Fuels Facility on Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Contaminants had reached the water table and migrated north-northeast toward water-supply wells. Monitoring wells were installed downgradient from the facility to determine the primary zones of groundwater production for water-supply...
DAS 3DVSP survey at Stratigraphic Test Well (Hydrate-01)
Akira Fujimoto, Teck Kean Lim, Machiko Tamaki, Kyojiro Kawaguchi, Toshiaki Kobayashi, Seth S. Haines, Timothy Collett, Ray Boswell
2021, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 14th SEGJ International Symposium
This proceeding outlines the acquisition, processing, and fault interpretation of the largest known onshore distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) 3D vertical seismic profile (VSP) survey. This survey was carried out to detect the distribution of faults near the gas hydrate research well (Stratigraphic Test Well: Hydrate-01) on the North Slope of...
Resilience of native amphibian communities following catastrophic drought: Evidence from a decade of regional-scale monitoring
Wynne Moss, Travis McDevitt-Galles, Erin L. Muths, Steven Bobzien, Pieter Johnson, Jessica Purificato
2021, Biological Conservation (263)
The increasing frequency and severity of drought may exacerbate ongoing global amphibian declines. However, interactions between drought and coincident stressors, coupled with high interannual variability in amphibian abundances, can mask the extent and underlying mechanisms of drought impacts. We synthesized...
