Hydrologic conditions in Kansas, water year 2020
Chantelle Davis
2021, Fact Sheet 2021-3045
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Federal, State, and local agencies, maintains a long-term network of hydrologic monitoring stations in Kansas. This network included 219 real-time streamgages, 12 real-time reservoir-level monitoring stations, and 20 groundwater monitoring stations in water year (WY) 2020. A WY is a 12-month period from...
System characterization report on the China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite-4A (CBERS–4A)
James C. Vrabel, Gregory L. Stensaas, Cody Anderson, Jon Christopherson, Minsu Kim, Seonkyung Park, Simon J. Cantrell
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1030-J
Executive SummaryThis report addresses system characterization of the China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite-4A (CBERS–4A) multispectral remote sensing satellite and is part of a series of system characterization reports produced and delivered by the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Cal/Val Center of Excellence in 2021. These reports present and...
Changes in forest connectivity from beech bark disease in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
Stephanie R. Sattler
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1069
Within the forests of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, biologists are trying to understand the effects beech bark disease has on wildlife species, especially species that need forest connectivity to thrive. This project used aerial imagery collected in 2005, shortly after beech bark disease infestation, and satellite imagery from 2018. The...
When Punjab cried wolf: How a rumor triggered an “earthquake” in India
S.S. Martin, Remy Bossu, R. Steed, Matthieu Landes, D. Srinagesh, D. Srinivas, Susan E. Hough
2021, Seismological Research Letters (92) 3887-3898
In recent years, earthquake felt reports contributed via online systems have provided increasingly valuable sources of data to characterize earthquakes and their effects. Contributed felt reports are accompanied by increases in website traffic, which are themselves potentially useful for the early detection of seismic events. In February 2017 the European‐Mediterranean...
Coalescent methods reconstruct contributions of natural colonization and stocking to origins of Michigan inland Cisco (Coregonus artedi)
Jared J. Homola, John D Robinson, Jeannette Kanefsky, Wendylee Stott, Gary Whelan, Kim T Scribner
2021, Journal of Great Lakes Research (47) 1781-1792
Fish population structure in previously glaciated regions is often influenced by natural colonization processes and human-mediated dispersal, including fish stocking. Endemic populations are of conservation interest because they may contain rare and unique genetic variation. While coregonines are native to certain Michigan inland lakes, some were stocked with fish from...
Exploring environmental factors that drive diel variations in tree water storage using wavelet analysis
Ryan Harmon, Holly Barnard, Frederick Day-Lewis, Deqiang Mao, Kamini Singha
2021, Frontiers in Water (3)
Internal water storage within trees can be a critical reservoir that helps trees overcome both short- and long-duration environmental stresses. We monitored changes in internal tree water storage in a ponderosa pine on daily and seasonal scales using moisture probes, a dendrometer, and time-lapse electrical resistivity imaging (ERI). These...
Evaluation of actual evapotranspiration rates from the Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop) model in Florida and parts of Alabama and Georgia, 2000–17
Nicasio Sepulveda
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5072
Evapotranspiration (ET) is the water-vapor flux transported from the surface of the Earth into the atmosphere and is the sum of surface water directly evaporated and subsurface water transpired by plants. ET rates are commonly estimated by using potential or reference ET, which might differ from actual ET rates. Actual...
Estimation of dissolved-solids concentrations using continuous water-quality monitoring and regression models at four sites in the Yuma area, Arizona and California, January 2017 through March 2019
Jay R. Cederberg, Nicholas V. Paretti, Alissa L. Coes, Edyth Hermosillo, Lucia Andrade
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5080
Multiple linear regression models were developed to estimate dissolved-solids concentrations in water at four sites in the Yuma area between Imperial Dam, Arizona and California and the southerly international boundary with Mexico at San Luis, Arizona. Continuous and discrete water-quality data were collected at gaging stations in the Colorado River...
A ground motion model for GNSS peak ground displacement
Dara Elyse Goldberg, Diego Melgar, Gavin P. Hayes, Valerie J. Sahakian, Brendan W. Crowell
2021, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (111) 2393-2407
We present an updated ground‐motion model (GMM) for Mw">MwMw 6–9 earthquakes using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) observations of the peak ground displacement (PGD). Earthquake GMMs inform a range of Earth science and...
Linking demographic rates to local environmental conditions: Empirical data to support climate adaptation strategies for Eleutherodactylus frogs
A.C. Rivera-Burgos, Jaime A. Collazo, Adam Terando, Krishna Pacifici
2021, Global Ecology and Conservation (28)
Conducting managed species translocations and establishing climate change refugia are adaptation strategies to cope with projected consequences of global warming, but successful implementation requires on-the-ground validation of demographic responses to transient climate conditions. Here we estimated the effect of nine...
Distribution and abundance of Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus) on the upper San Luis Rey River, San Diego County, California—2020 data summary
Scarlett L. Howell, Barbara E. Kus
2021, Data Series 1140
We surveyed for Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus; flycatcher) along the upper San Luis Rey River, near Lake Henshaw, in Santa Ysabel, California, in 2020. Surveys were completed at four locations: three downstream from Lake Henshaw, where nest monitoring occurred from 2015 to 2019 (Rey River Ranch [RRR], Cleveland...
Physics-guided recurrent graph model for predicting flow and temperature in river networks
Xiaowei Jia, Jacob Aaron Zwart, Jeffrey Michael Sadler, Alison P. Appling, Samantha K. Oliver, Steven L. Markstrom, Jared Willard, Shaoming Xu, Michael Steinbach, Jordan Read, Vipin Kumar
2021, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 2021 SIAM International Conference on Data Mining (SDM)
This paper proposes a physics-guided machine learning approach that combines machine learning models and physics-based models to improve the prediction of water flow and temperature in river networks. We first build a recurrent graph network model to capture the interactions among multiple segments in the river network....
Assessment of diel cycling in nutrients and trace elements in the Eagle River Basin, 2017–18
Rodney J. Richards, Mark F. Henneberg
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5066
Diel cycles are known to occur in all types of waters, and increasing studies indicate routine water samples may not provide an accurate snapshot in concentrations of trace elements and nutrients. Diel behavior in neutral to alkaline pH ranges is independent of streamflow variability and concentration. Extensive historical U.S. Geological...
Structured decision making and optimal bird monitoring in the northern Gulf of Mexico
Auriel Fournier, R. Randy Wilson, James E. Lyons, Jeffrey S. Gleason, Evan M. Adams, Laurel M. Barnhill, Janell M. Brush, Robert J. Cooper, Stephen J. DeMaso, Melanie J.L. Driscoll, Mitchell J. Eaton, Peter C. Frederick, Michael G. Just, Michael A. Seymour, John M. Tirpak, Mark S. Woodrey
2021, Open-File Report 2020-1122
The avian conservation community struggles to design and implement large scale, long-term coordinated bird monitoring programs within the northern Gulf of Mexico due to the complexity of the conservation enterprise in the region; this complexity arises from the diverse stakeholders, multiple jurisdictions, complex ecological processes, myriad habitats, and over 500...
Regional regression equations based on channel-width characteristics to estimate peak-flow frequencies at ungaged sites in Montana using peak-flow frequency data through water year 2011
Katherine J. Chase, Roy Sando, Daniel W. Armstrong, Peter McCarthy
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5142
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Montana Department of Transportation, developed regression equations based on channel width to estimate peak-flow frequencies at ungaged sites in Montana. The equations are based on peak-flow data at streamgages through September 2011 (end of water year 2011), and channel widths measured in...
Validation of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Land Change Monitoring, Assessment and Projection (LCMAP) collection 1.0 annual land cover products 1985–2017
Stephen V. Stehman, Bruce Pengra, Josephine Horton, Danika F. Wellington
2021, Remote Sensing of Environment (265)
The U.S. Geological Survey Land Change Monitoring, Assessment and Projection (USGS LCMAP) has released a suite of annual land cover and land cover change products for the conterminous United States (CONUS). The accuracy of these products was assessed using an independently collected land cover reference sample dataset produced by analysts...
Using satellite imagery to estimate consumptive water use from irrigated lands in the Milk River Basin, United States and Canada
Roy Sando, MacKenzie Friedrichs, Gabriel B. Senay
2021, Fact Sheet 2021-3042
The U.S. Geological Survey, with the support of the International Joint Commission, and in cooperation with Alberta Environment and Parks, Blackfeet Nation, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, is leading a project that should improve information available to apportion water between Canada and...
Oyster model inventory: Identifying critical data and modeling approaches to support restoration of oyster reefs in coastal U.S. Gulf of Mexico waters
Megan K. La Peyre, Danielle A. Marshall, Shaye E. Sable
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1063
Executive SummaryAlong the coast of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) plays important ecological and economic roles. Commercial landings from this region account for more than 50 percent of all U.S. landings; these oyster reefs also provide varied ecosystem services, including nursery habitat for many fish...
Strandlines from large floods on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Thomas A. Sabol, Ronald E. Griffiths, David J. Topping, Erich R. Mueller, Robert B. Tusso, Joseph E. Hazel Jr.
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5048
Strandlines of peak-stage indicators (such as driftwood logs, woody debris, and trash) provide valuable data for understanding the maximum stage and extent of inundation during floods. A series of seven strandlines have been preserved along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA. A survey and analysis of...
Urban heat island and its regional impacts using remotely sensed thermal data – A review of recent developments and methodology
Hua Shi, George Z. Xian, Roger F. Auch, Kevin Gallo, Qiang Zhou
2021, Land (10)
Many novel research algorithms have been developed to analyze urban heat island (UHI) and UHI regional impacts (UHIRIP) with remotely sensed thermal data tables. We present a comprehensive review of some important aspects of UHI and UHIRIP studies that use remotely sensed thermal data, including concepts, datasets,...
Can Landsat 7 preserve its science capability with a drifting orbit?
Shirley Qiu, Zhe Zhu, Rong Shang, Christopher J. Crawford
2021, Science of Remote Sensing (4)
Since 2017, the orbit of Landsat 7 has drifted outside its nominal mission requirement toward an earlier acquisition time because of limited onboard fuel resources. This makes quantitative analyses from Landsat 7 data potentially unreliable for many scientific studies. To comprehensively understand the effect of...
Noble gas signatures constrain oil-field water as the carrier phase of hydrocarbons occurring in shallow aquifers in the San Joaquin Basin, USA
Ruta Karolyte, Peter H. Barry, Andrew G. Hunt, Justin T. Kulongoski, R. L. Tyne, Tracy Davis, Michael Wright, Peter B. McMahon, C. J. Ballentine
2021, Chemical Geology (584)
Noble gases record fluid interactions in multiphase subsurface environments through fractionation processes during fluid equilibration. Water in the presence of hydrocarbons at the subsurface acquires a distinct elemental signature due to the difference in solubility between these two fluids. We find...
General water-quality conditions, long-term trends, and network analysis at selected sites within the Ambient Water-Quality Monitoring Network in Missouri, water years 1993–2017
Joseph M. Richards, Miya N. Barr
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5079
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, collects data pertaining to the surface-water resources of Missouri. Established in 1964, the Ambient Water-Quality Monitoring Network (AWQMN) consisted of 69 sites in 2017. Two additional sites from the National Water-Quality Program are included with the AWQMN...
Warmer winters increase the biomass of phytoplankton in a large floodplain river
Kathi Jo Jankowski, Jeffrey N. Houser, Mark D. Schuerell, Adrianne P Smits
2021, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (126)
Winters are changing rapidly across the globe but the implications for aquatic productivity and food webs are not well understood. In addition, the degree to which winter dynamics in aquatic systems respond to large-scale climate versus ecosystem-level factors is unclear but important for understanding and managing potential...
An integrated population model for southern sea otters
M. Tim Tinker, Lilian P. Carswell, Joseph A. Tomoleoni, Brian B. Hatfield, Michael D. Harris, Melissa A. Miller, Megan E. Moriarty, Christine K. Johnson, Colleen Young, Laird A. Henkel, Michelle M. Staedler, A. Keith Miles, Julie L. Yee
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1076
Southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) have recovered slowly from their near extinction a century ago, and their continued recovery has been challenged by multiple natural and anthropogenic factors. Development of an integrated population model (IPM) for southern sea otters has been identified as a management priority, to help in...
