U.S. Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Forum—Summary of remaining data and science needs and next steps
Leon M. Carl, Jon Hortness, Russell M. Strach
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1096
A U.S. Geological Survey-led assessment of data gaps and science needs across the Great Lakes ecosystem indicated the following:• Expanded data collection or monitoring would provide basic ecosystem, social, and public health data to manage the Great Lakes system and to develop and test models and decision support tools.• New...
Optimization of salt marsh management at the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, Maine, through use of structured decision making
Hilary A. Neckles, James E. Lyons, Jessica L. Nagel, Susan C. Adamowicz, Toni Mikula, Kathleen M. O’Brien, Bri Benvenuti, Ryan Kleinert
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1080
Structured decision making is a systematic, transparent process for improving the quality of complex decisions by identifying measurable management objectives and feasible management actions; predicting the potential consequences of management actions relative to the stated objectives; and selecting a course of action that maximizes the total benefit achieved and balances...
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...
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...
Kelp forest monitoring at Naval Base Ventura County, San Nicolas Island, California—Fall 2019, sixth annual repor
Michael C. Kenner, Joseph A. Tomoleoni
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1081
The U.S. Geological Survey conducts ecological monitoring of rocky subtidal communities at four permanent sites around San Nicolas Island. The sites—Nav Fac 100, West End, Dutch Harbor, and Daytona 100—were based on ones that had been monitored since 1980 by the U.S. Geological Survey and, in cooperation with the U.S....
Effect of the emergency drought barrier on the distribution, biomass, and grazing rate of the bivalves Corbicula fluminea and Potamocorbula amurensis, False River, California
Francis Parchaso, Emily L. Zierdt Smith, Janet K. Thompson
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1088
Executive SummaryBenthic samples were collected from the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta of northern California to examine the effect of the changing hydrologic flow on the bivalves Potamocorbula and Corbicula before, during, and after the False River Barrier (hereafter, barrier) was in operation (May–November 2015). Potamocorbula moved upstream in the Sacramento...
Rigorously valuing the coastal hazard risks reduction provided by potential coral reef restoration in Florida and Puerto Rico
Curt D. Storlazzi, Borja G. Reguero, Kristen A. Cumming, Aaron Cole, James B. Shope, Camila Gaido L., T. Shay Viehman, Barry A. Nickel, Michael W. Beck
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1054
The restoration of coastal habitats, particularly coral reefs, can reduce risks by decreasing the exposure of coastal communities to flooding hazards. In the United States, the protective services provided by coral reefs were recently assessed in social and economic terms, with the annual protection provided by U.S. coral reefs off...
Rigorously valuing the impact of projected coral reef degradation on coastal hazard risk in Florida
Curt D. Storlazzi, Borja G. Reguero, Kimberly K. Yates, Kristen A. Cumming, Aaron Cole, James B. Shope, Camila Gaido L., David G. Zawada, Stephanie R. Arsenault, Zachery W. Fehr, Barry A. Nickel, Michael W. Beck
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1055
The degradation of coastal habitats, particularly coral reefs, raises risks by increasing the exposure of coastal communities to flooding hazards. In the United States, the physical protective services provided by coral reefs were recently assessed, in social and economic terms, with the annual protection provided by U.S. coral reefs off...
Rigorously valuing the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on coastal hazard risks in Florida and Puerto Rico
Curt D. Storlazzi, Borja G. Reguero, T. Shay Viehman, Kristen A. Cumming, Aaron Cole, James B. Shope, Sarah H. Groves, Camila Gaido L., Barry A. Nickel, Michael W. Beck
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1056
The degradation of coastal habitats, particularly coral reefs, raises risks by increasing the exposure of coastal communities to flooding hazards. In the United States, the physical protective services provided by coral reefs were recently assessed in social and economic terms, with the annual protection provided by U.S. coral reefs off...
Using ALOS-2 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and interferometric SAR to detect landslides on the mountainous island of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia
Elijah W. Ramsey III, Amina Rangoonwala
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1084
This study was undertaken by the U.S. Geological Survey to assess the detectability of landslides in the densely forested and mountainous island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. The study used existing field-observed land-cover changes and landslides visible on Google Earth (GE) images. A limited number of ALOS-2...
Behavior and survival of hatchery rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the upper Cowlitz River Basin, Washington, 2013 and 2017
Amy C. Hansen, Tobias J. Kock, Brian K. Ekstrom, Theresa L. Liedtke
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1085
A two-year study (2013 and 2017) was conducted to determine if annual releases of hatchery rainbow trout (resident Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the upper Cowlitz River Basin, Washington adversely affected anadromous fish in the basin. Rainbow trout tagged with radio transmitters were monitored after release to describe movement patterns, entrainment...
Water quality, instream habitat, and the distribution of suckers in the upper Lost River watershed of Oregon and California, summer 2018
Barbara A. Martin, Summer M. Burdick, Stephen T. Staiger, Caylen M. Kelsey
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1077
Executive SummaryEndangered Lost River (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose (Chasmistes brevirostris) suckers primarily use lotic habitats during the spring spawning season in the Upper Klamath Lake watershed. However, summer-time surveys of the upper Lost River watershed in 1972, 1975 and 1989–90 indicated that adults of both endangered species use tributaries...
Evaluation of movement and survival of juvenile steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in the Klickitat River, Washington, 2018–2019
Scott D. Evans, David S. Lindley, Tobias J. Kock, Amy C. Hansen, Russell W. Perry, Joseph S Zendt, Nicolas Romero
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1083
A 2-year telemetry study was conducted April–July in 2018 and 2019 to evaluate migration behavior and survival of juvenile steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and coho salmon (O. kisutch) in the Klickitat River, Washington. A total of 612 natural-origin steelhead, collected in a smolt trap on the Klickitat River, were tagged,...
Development of demographic models to analyze populations with multi-year data—Using Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) as a case study
Kristin H. Berry, Julie L. Yee
2021, Open-File Report 2018-1094
We developed a model for analyzing multi-year demographic data for long-lived animals and used data from a population of Agassiz’s desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) at the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area in the western Mojave Desert of California as a case study. The study area was 7.77 square kilometers and...
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...
Assessment of barrier island morphological change in northern Alaska
Anna I. Hamilton, Ann E. Gibbs, Li H. Erikson, Anita C. Engelstad
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1074
Arctic barriers islands are highly dynamic features influenced by a variety of oceanographic, geologic, and environmental factors. Many Alaskan barrier islands and spits serve as habitat and protection for native species, as well as shelter the coast from waves and storms that cause flooding and degradation of coastal villages. This...
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...
A geologic field guide to S P Mountain and its lava flow, San Francisco Volcanic Field, Arizona
Amber L. Gullikson, M. Elise Rumpf, Lauren A. Edgar, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, James A. Skinner Jr., Lisa Thompson
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1072
IntroductionWe created this guide to introduce the user to the San Francisco Volcanic Field as a terrestrial analog site for planetary volcanic processes. For decades, the San Francisco Volcanic Field has been used to teach scientists to recognize the products of common types of volcanic eruptions and associated volcanic features....
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...
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...
Mineral resource inventory of North Dakota
Stephen E. Box, Pamela M. Cossette
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1057
Aside from construction aggregate materials, the value of nonfuel mineral commodities that have been produced in North Dakota is small, although there is potential for the existence of several mineral resource deposit types which are not economically viable at this time. In this report, we present a mineral resource inventory...
Optimization of salt marsh management at the Long Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex, New York, through use of structured decision making
Hilary A. Neckles, James E. Lyons, Jessica L. Nagel, Susan C. Adamowicz, Toni Mikula, Monica R. Williams
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1070
Structured decision making is a systematic, transparent process for improving the quality of complex decisions by identifying measurable management objectives and feasible management actions; predicting the potential consequences of management actions relative to the stated objectives; and selecting a course of action that maximizes the total benefit achieved and balances...
System characterization report on Planet’s Dove-R
Minsu Kim, Seonkyung Park, Cody Anderson, Gregory L. Stensaas
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1030-D
Executive SummaryThis report addresses system characterization of Planet’s Dove-R 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. These reports present and detail the methodology and procedures for characterization; present technical and...
Reconnaissance study of the major and trace element content of bauxite deposits in the Arkansas bauxite region, Saline and Pulaski Counties, central Arkansas
Bradley S. Van Gosen, LaDonna M. Choate
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1073
The Arkansas bauxite district, which comprises about 275 square miles (710 square kilometers) of central Arkansas, produced an order of magnitude more bauxite and alumina than the other bauxite districts in the United States combined. Bauxite was mined in the region continuously from 1898 to 1982. These bauxites are laterite...
