Empirical critical loads of atmospheric nitrogen deposition for nutrient enrichment and acidification of sensitive US lakes
Jill Baron, C. T. Driscoll, J.L. Stoddard, E.E. Richer
2011, BioScience (61) 602-613
The ecological effects of elevated atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition on high-elevation lakes of the western and northeastern United States include nutrient enrichment and acidification. The nutrient enrichment critical load for western lakes ranged from 1.0 to 3.0 kilograms (kg) of N per hectare (ha) per year, reflecting the nearly nonexistent...
Updated paleomagnetic pole from Cretaceous plutonic rocks of the Sierra Nevada, California: Tectonic displacement of the Sierra Nevada block
John W. Hillhouse, Sherman Gromme
2011, Lithosphere (3) 275-288
We report remanent magnetization measurements from 13 sites in Cretaceous plutonic rocks in the northern Sierra Nevada (38°N–39.5°N). By increasing the number of available paleomagnetic sites, the new data tighten constraints on the displacement history of the Sierra Nevada block and its pre-extensional position relative to interior North America. We...
Early growth of Kohala volcano and formation of long Hawaiian rift zones
Peter W. Lipman, Andrew T. Calvert
2011, Geology (39) 659-662
Transitional-composition pillow basalts from the toe of the Hilo Ridge, collected from outcrop by submersible, have yielded the oldest ages known from the Island of Hawaii: 1138 ± 34 to 1159 ± 33 ka. Hilo Ridge has long been interpreted as a submarine rift zone of Mauna Kea, but the...
The dazed and confused identity of Agassiz's land tortoise, Gopherus agassizii (Testudines, Testudinidae) with the description of a new species, and its consequences for conservation
R. W. Murphy, K.H. Berry, T. Edwards, A.E. Leviton, A. Lathrop, J.D. Riedle
2011, ZooKeys (113) 39-41
We investigate a cornucopia of problems associated with the identity of the desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii (Cooper). The date of publication is found to be 1861, rather than 1863. Only one of the three original cotypes exists, and it is designated as the lectotype of...
Connecting the Yakima fold and thrust belt to active faults in the Puget Lowland, Washington
R.J. Blakely, B.L. Sherrod, C.S. Weaver, R.E. Wells, A.C. Rohay, E. A. Barnett, N.E. Knepprath
2011, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (116)
High-resolution aeromagnetic surveys of the Cascade Range and Yakima fold and thrust belt (YFTB), Washington, provide insights on tectonic connections between forearc and back-arc regions of the Cascadia convergent margin. Magnetic surveys were measured at a nominal altitude of 250 m above terrain and along flight lines spaced 400 m...
Sibship reconstruction for inferring mating systems, dispersal and effective population size in headwater brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) populations
Yoichiro Kanno, Jason C. Vokoun, Benjamin H. Letcher
2011, Conservation Genetics (12) 619-628
Brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis populations have declined in much of the native range in eastern North America and populations are typically relegated to small headwater streams in Connecticut, USA. We used sibship reconstruction to infer mating systems, dispersal and effective population size of resident (non-anadromous) brook trout in two...
Whole-edifice ice volume change A.D. 1970 to 2007/2008 at Mount Rainier, Washington, based on LiDAR surveying
T. W. Sisson, J.E. Robinson, D.D. Swinney
2011, Geology (39) 639-642
Net changes in thickness and volume of glacial ice and perennial snow at Mount Rainier, Washington State, have been mapped over the entire edifice by differencing between a highresolution LiDAR (light detection and ranging) topographic survey of September-October 2007/2008 and the 10 m lateral resolution U.S. Geological Survey digital elevation...
Location and agricultural practices influence spring use of harvested cornfields by cranes and geese in Nebraska
Michael J. Anteau, Mark H. Sherfy, A.A. Bishop
2011, Journal of Wildlife Management (75) 1004-1011
Millions of ducks, geese, and sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis; hereafter cranes) stop in the Central Platte River Valley (CPRV) of Nebraska to store nutrients for migration and reproduction by consuming corn remaining in fields after harvest. We examined factors that influence use of cornfields by cranes and geese (all mid‐continent...
Age and tectonic setting of the Mesozoic McCoy Mountains Formation in western Arizona, USA
J.E. Spencer, S.M. Richard, G. E. Gehrels, J.D. Gleason, W.R. Dickinson
2011, Geological Society of America Bulletin (123) 1258-1274
The McCoy Mountains Formation consists of Upper Jurassic to Upper Cretaceous siltstone, sandstone, and conglomerate exposed in an east-west–trending belt in southwestern Arizona and southeastern California. At least three different tectonic settings have been proposed for McCoy deposition, and multiple tectonic settings are likely over the ∼80 m.y. age range...
Changes in monoterpene mixing ratios during summer storms in rural New Hampshire (USA)
Karl B. Haase, C. Jordan, E. Mentis, L. Cottrell, H.R. Mayne, R. Talbot, B.C. Sive
2011, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (11) 11465-11476
Monoterpenes are an important class of biogenic hydrocarbons that influence ambient air quality and are a principle source of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Emitted from vegetation, monoterpenes are a product of photosynthesis and act as a response to a variety of environmental factors. Most parameterizations of monoterpene emissions are based...
Formulation of a correlated variables methodology for assessment of continuous gas resources with an application to the Woodford play, Arkoma Basin, eastern Oklahoma
Ricardo A. Olea, D.W. Houseknecht, C.P. Garrity, T. A. Cook
2011, Boletin Geologico y Minero (122) 483-496
Shale gas is a form of continuous unconventional hydrocarbon accumulation whose resource estimation is unfeasible through the inference of pore volume. Under these circumstances, the usual approach is to base the assessment on well productivity through estimated ultimate recovery (EUR). Unconventional resource assessments that consider uncertainty are typically done by...
Causes of systematic over- or underestimation of low streamflows by use of index-streamgage approaches in the United States
K. Eng, J.E. Kiang, Y.-Y. Chen, D.M. Carlisle, G.E. Granato
2011, Hydrological Processes (25) 2211-2220
Low-flow characteristics can be estimated by multiple linear regressions or the index-streamgage approach. The latter transfers streamflow information from a hydrologically similar, continuously gaged basin ('index streamgage') to one with a very limited streamflow record, but often results in biased estimates. The application of the index-streamgage approach can be generalized...
Barrier island response to late Holocene climate events, North Carolina, USA
D. J. Mallinson, C. W. Smith, S. Mahan, S.J. Culver, K. McDowell
2011, Quaternary Research (76) 46-57
The Outer Banks barrier islands of North Carolina, USA, contain a geologic record of inlet activity that extends from ca. 2200 cal yr BP to the present, and can be used as a proxy for storm activity. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating (26 samples) of inlet-fill and flood tide delta...
An overview of the petroleum geology of the Arctic
A.M. Spencer, A.F. Embry, Donald L. Gautier, A.V. Stoupakova, K. Sorensen
2011, Geological Society Memoir 1-15
Nine main petroleum provinces containing recoverable resources totalling 61 Bbbl liquids+269 Bbbloe of gas are known in the Arctic. The three best known major provinces are: West Siberia–South Kara, Arctic Alaska and Timan–Pechora. They have been sourced principally from, respectively, Upper Jurassic, Triassic and Devonian marine source rocks and their...
Age, composition, and areal distribution of the Pliocene Lawlor Tuff, and three younger Pliocene tuffs, California and Nevada
Andrei M. Sarna-Wojcicki, Alan L. Deino, Robert J. Fleck, Robert J. McLaughlin, David Wagner, Elmira Wan, David B. Wahl, John W. Hillhouse, Michael Perkins
2011, Geosphere (7) 599-628
The Lawlor Tuff is a widespread dacitic tephra layer produced by Plinian eruptions and ash flows derived from the Sonoma Volcanics, a volcanic area north of San Francisco Bay in the central Coast Ranges of California, USA. The younger, chemically similar Huichica tuff, the tuff of Napa, and the...
Wave climate and trends along the eastern Chukchi Arctic Alaska coast
L. H. Erikson, C. D. Storlazzi, R. E. Jensen
2011, Conference Paper, Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2011 - Proceedings of the 2011 Solutions to Coastal Disasters Conference
Due in large part to the difficulty of obtaining measurements in the Arctic, little is known about the wave climate along the coast of Arctic Alaska. In this study, numerical model simulations encompassing 40 years of wave hind-casts were used to assess mean and extreme wave conditions. Results indicate that...
Geology and petroleum potential of the Arctic Alaska petroleum province
Kenneth J. Bird, David W. Houseknecht
2011, Geological Society Memoir 485-499
The Arctic Alaska petroleum province encompasses all lands and adjacent continental shelf areas north of the Brooks Range–Herald Arch orogenic belt and south of the northern (outboard) margin of the Beaufort Rift shoulder. Even though only a small part is thoroughly explored, it is one of the most prolific petroleum...
Habitat fragmentation reduces nest survival in an Afrotropical bird community in a biodiversity hotspot
W.D. Newmark, T.R. Stanley
2011, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (108) 11488-11493
Ecologists have long hypothesized that fragmentation of tropical landscapes reduces avian nest success. However, this hypothesis has not been rigorously assessed because of the difficulty of finding large numbers of well-hidden nests in tropical forests. Here we report that in the East Usambara Mountains in Tanzania, which are part of...
Regional shoreline change and coastal erosion hazards in Arctic Alaska
Ann E. Gibbs, E. Lynne Harden, Bruce M. Richmond, Li H. Erikson
2011, Conference Paper, Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2011 - Proceedings of the 2011 Solutions to Coastal Disasters Conference
Historical shoreline positions along the mainland Beaufort Sea coast of Alaska were digitized and analyzed to determine the long-term rate of change. Average shoreline change rates and ranges from 1947 to the mid-2000s were determined every 50 meters between Barrow and Demarcation Point, at the U.S.-Canadian border. Results show that...
Conservation and management of crayfishes: Lessons from Pennsylvania
D.A. Lieb, R.W. Bouchard, R.F. Carline, T.R. Nuttall, J.R. Wallace, C.L. Burkholder
2011, Fisheries (36) 489-506
North America's crayfish fauna is diverse, ecologically important, and highly threatened. Unfortunately, up‐to‐date information is scarce, hindering conservation and management efforts. In Pennsylvania and nearby states, recent efforts allowed us to determine the conservation status of several native crayfishes and develop management strategies for those species. Due to rarity and...
Oligocene and Miocene arc volcanism in northeastern California: evidence for post-Eocene segmentation of the subducting Farallon plate
J.P. Colgan, A.E. Egger, D. A. John, B. Cousens, R.J. Fleck, C.D. Henry
2011, Geosphere (7) 733-755
The Warner Range in northeastern California exposes a section of Tertiary rocks over 3 km thick, offering a unique opportunity to study the long-term history of Cascade arc volcanism in an area otherwise covered by younger volcanic rocks. The oldest locally sourced volcanic rocks in the Warner Range are Oligocene...
Scale-dependent factors affecting North American river otter distribution in the midwest
Mackenzie R. Jeffress, Craig P. Paukert, Joanna B. Whittier, B. K. Sandercock, P. S. Gipson
2011, American Midland Naturalist (166) 177-193
The North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) is recovering from near extirpation throughout much of its range. Although reintroductions, trapping regulations and habitat improvements have led to the reestablishment of river otters in the Midwest, little is known about how their distribution is influenced by local- and landscape-scale habitat....
Cold-climate slope deposits and landscape modifications of the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain, Eastern USA
Wayne L. Newell, B.D. Dejong
2011, Geological Society Special Publication (354) 259-276
The effects of Pleistocene cold-climate geomorphology are distributed across the weathered and eroded Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain uplands from the Wisconsinan terminal moraine south to Tidewater Virginia. Cold-climate deposits and landscape modifications are superimposed on antecedent landscapes of old, weathered Neogene upland gravels and Pleistocene marine terraces that had been built...
Distribution and characterization of in-channel large wood in relation to geomorphic patterns on a low-gradient river
Bertrand Moulin, Edward R. Schenk, Cliff R. Hupp
2011, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms (36) 1137-1151
A 177 river km georeferenced aerial survey of in-channel large wood (LW) on the lower Roanoke River, NC was conducted to determine LW dynamics and distributions on an eastern USA low-gradient large river. Results indicate a system with approximately 75% of the LW available for transport either as detached individual...
Wintering bird response to fall mowing of herbaceous buffers
P.J. Blank, J.R. Parks, G.P. Dively
2011, Wilson Journal of Ornithology (123) 59-64
Herbaceous buffers are strips of herbaceous vegetation planted between working agricultural land and streams or wetlands. Mowing is a common maintenance practice to control woody plants and noxious weeds in herbaceous buffers. Buffers enrolled in Maryland's Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) cannot be mowed during the primary bird nesting season...
