Towards improving an Area of Concern: Main-channel habitat rehabilitation priorities for the Maumee River
Keith D. Shane, Melissa J. Oubre, Todd D. Crail, Jeffrey G. Miner, Christine M. Mayer, Taylor E. Sasak, Robin L. DeBruyne, Joshua Miller, Edward F. Roseman, William D. Hintz
2021, Journal of Great Lakes Research (47) 1429-1436
The Maumee River watershed in the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin has been impacted by decades of pollution and habitat modification due to human settlement and development. As such, the lower 35 km of the Maumee River and several smaller adjacent watersheds comprising...
Development and evaluation of habitat suitability criteria for native fishes in three Arizona streams
Zach C. Nemec, Larissa N. Lee, Scott A. Bonar
2021, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (41) 661-677
Habitat loss is a main contributor to fish fauna declines in the southwestern USA. Several studies have defined stream-specific habitat conditions that support the growth and survival of native fish in Arizona to inform stream restoration efforts, yet general habitat use of most individual species across the region is not...
Minimal stratigraphic evidence for coseismic coastal subsidence during 2000 yr of megathrust earthquakes at the central Cascadia subduction zone
Alan Nelson, Andrea D. Hawkes, Yuki Sawai, Ben P. Hotron, Robert C. Witter, Lee-Ann Bradley, Niamh Cahill
2021, Geosphere (Geological Society of America) (17) 171-200
Lithology and microfossil biostratigraphy beneath the marshes of a central Oregon estuary limit geophysical models of Cascadia megathrust rupture during successive earthquakes by ruling out >0.5 m of coseismic coastal subsidence for the past 2000 yr. Although the stratigraphy in cores and outcrops includes as many as 12 peat-mud contacts,...
Habitat associations of breeding conifer-associated birds in managed and regenerating forested stands
Brian W. Rolek, Daniel J. Harrison, Daniel W. Linden, Cyndy Loftin, Petra B. Wood
2021, Forest Ecology and Management (502) 1-15
Forests are often affected by management that could influence demographics of breeding and post-breeding birds that reside within. Numerous studies have focused on immediate effects from management on wildlife soon after forestry treatment (e.g., 0–5 years), however, fewer studies have examined changes in focal species abundance over longer durations as...
Fisheries research and monitoring activities of the Lake Erie Biological Station, 2021
Mark Richard Dufour, Corbin David Hilling, Kevin R. Keretz, Richard T. Kraus, Richard Cole Oldham, James Roberts, Joseph Schmitt
2021, Report
A comprehensive understanding of fish populations and their interactions is the cornerstone of modern fishery management and the basis for Lake Erie’s Fish Community Goals and Objectives (FCOs) developed in 2020 (Francis et al. 2020). The 2021 USGS Lake Erie Biological Station annual report is responsive to these FCOs and...
Improved wetland soil organic carbon stocks of the conterminous U.S. through data harmonization
Bergit Rose Uhran, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Norman B. Bliss, Amanda M. Nahlik, Eric T. Sundquist, Camille L. Stagg
Benjamin N. Sulman, editor(s)
2021, Frontiers in Soil Science (1) 1-16
Wetland soil stocks are important global repositories of carbon (C) but are difficult to quantify and model due to varying sampling protocols, and geomorphic/spatio-temporal discontinuity. Merging scales of soil-survey spatial extents with wetland-specific point-based data offers an explicit, empirical and updatable improvement for regional and continental scale soil C stock...
Precipitation-driven flood-inundation mapping of the Little Blue River at Grandview, Missouri
David C. Heimann, Jonathon D. Voss, Paul H. Rydlund Jr.
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5068
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the City of Grandview, Missouri, assessed flooding of the Little Blue River at Grandview resulting from varying precipitation magnitudes and durations and expected land-cover changes. The precipitation scenarios were used to develop a library of flood-inundation maps that included a 3.5-mile reach...
Concentrations, loads, and associated trends of nutrients entering the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California
Dina Saleh, Joseph L. Domagalski
2021, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science (19) 1-25
Statistical modeling of water-quality data collected at the Sacramento River at Freeport and San Joaquin River near Vernalis, California, USA, was used to examine trends in concentrations and loads of various forms of dissolved and particulate nitrogen and phosphorus that entered the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta (Delta) from upstream sources...
Dominant Sonoran Desert plant species have divergent phenological responses to climate change
Luke J Zachmann, John F. Wiens, Kim Franklin, Shelley D. Crausbay, Vincent A. Landau, Seth M. Munson
2021, Madroño - A West American Journal of Botany (68) 473-486
The southwestern U.S. is a global hotspot of climate change. Models project that temperatures will continue to rise through the end of the 21st century, accompanied by significant changes to the hydrological cycle. Within the Sonoran Desert, a limited number of studies have documented climate...
Evaluating the effects of replacing septic systems with municipal sewers on groundwater quality in a densely developed coastal neighborhood, Falmouth, Massachusetts, 2016–19
Timothy D. McCobb, Jeffrey R. Barbaro, Denis R. LeBlanc, Marcel Belaval
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5130
Land disposal of sewage wastewater through septic systems and cesspools is a major cause of elevated concentrations of nitrogen in the shallow coastal aquifers of southern New England. The discharge of nitrogen from these sources at the coast is affecting the environmental health of coastal saltwater bodies. In response, local,...
Technique to estimate generalized skew coefficients of annual peak streamflow for natural watershed conditions in Texas, Oklahoma, and eastern New Mexico
William H. Asquith, Monica Veale Yesildirek, Raven N. Landers, Theodore G Cleveland, Zheng N. Fang, Jiaqi Zhang
2021, Book chapter, Generalized skew update and regional study of distribution shape for Texas flood frequency analyses
Reliable information about the frequency of annual peak streamflow is needed for floodplain management, objective assessment of flood risk, and cost-effective design of dams, levees, other flood-control structures, and roads, bridges, and culverts. Generalized skew coefficients are among the data needed for log-Pearson type III peak-streamflow frequency analyses of annual...
Bayesian updating of seismic ground failure estimates via causal graphical models and satellite imagery
S. Xu, J. Dimasaka, David J. Wald, H. Noh
2021, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 17th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering
Earthquake-induced secondary ground failure hazards, such as liquefaction and landslides, result in catastrophic building and infrastructure damage as well as human fatalities. To facilitate emergency responses and mitigate losses, the U.S. Geological Survey provides a rapid hazard estimation system for earthquake-triggered landslides and liquefaction using geospatial susceptibility proxies and ShakeMap...
Multi-period response spectra
Sanaz Rezaeian, Nico Luco, C. A. Kircher
2021, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 2021 Los Angeles tall buildings confrerence
Multi-period response spectra (MPRS) are incorporated in the development of seismic design ground motions in the 2020 edition of the NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions for New Buildings and Other Structures (2020 NEHRP Provisions) and are approved for adoption in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Standard, Minimum Design Loads...
A desert tortoise-common raven viable conflict threshold
Kerry L. Holcomb, Peter S. Coates, Brian G. Prochazka, Timothy Shields, William I. Boarman
2021, Human–Wildlife Interactions (15) 405-421
Since 1966, common raven (Corvus corax; raven) abundance has increased throughout much of this species’ Holarctic distribution, fueled by an ever-expanding supply of anthropogenic resource subsidies (e.g., water, food, shelter, and nesting substrate) to ecoregion specific raven population carrying capacities. Consequently, ravens are implicated in declines of both avian and...
Exploring probabilistic seismic risk assessment to monitor the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction
V. Silva, A. Calderon, C. Costa, J. Dabbeek, L. Martins, A. Rao, Catalina Yepes-Estrada, A. Acevedo, H. Crowley, M. Journeay, M. Pittore
2021, Extramural-Authored Publication Paper
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) calls upon the systematic collection of damage and loss data between 2015 and 2030 to monitor a number of disaster indicators. These indicators include the number of deaths, number of injured people, number of people affected by disasters, and direct economic losses....
Near real-time updating of pager loss estimates
Davis Engler, Kishor S. Jaiswal, Hae Young Noh, David J. Wald
2021, Conference Paper
Initial alerts by PAGER (Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response) within minutes following an earthquake include several uncertainties, mainly due to potential inaccuracies in location, depth, fault delineation, and shaking estimates. We enhance an updating framework by incorporating early reports of fatalities within the first 24 hours, or so,...
Numerical modelling of mine pollution to inform remediation decision-making in watersheds
Patrick Byrne, Patrizia Onnis, Robert L. Runkel, Ilaria Frau, Sarah F. L. Lynch, Aaron M. L. Brown, Iain Robertson, Paul Edwards
2021, Conference Paper, Proceedings of international mine water association 2021
Prioritisation of mine pollution sources for remediation is a key challenge facing environmental managers. This paper presents a numerical modelling methodology to evaluate potential improvements in stream water quality from remediation of important mine pollution sources. High spatial resolution synoptic sampling data from a Welsh watershed were used to calibrate...
Risk-informed levee erosion countermeasure site selection and design in the Sacramento area part 2: Probabilistic numerical simulation of bank erosion
Todd M. Rivas, Jonathan AuBuchon, Anna Shidlovskaya, Eddy J. Langendoen, Paul A. Work, Daniel N. Livsey, Anna Timchenko, Kellie Jemes, Jean-Louis Briaud
2021, Conference Paper
USACE partnered with the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, United States Geological Survey, and Texas A&M University to evaluate the erodibility of the river banks and levees to inform probabilistic numerical simulations using the Bank Stability and Toe Erosion Model (BSTEM). This paper, the second of two...
Risk-informed levee erosion countermeasure site selection and design in the Sacramento area part 1: Soil sampling, testing, and data processing
Todd M. Rivas, Jonathan AuBuchon, Anna Shidlovskaya, Eddy J. Langendoen, Paul A. Work, Daniel N. Livsey, Anna Timchenko, Jean-Louis Briaud
2021, Conference Paper
USACE partnered with the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, United States Geological Survey, and Texas A&M University to evaluate the erodibility of the river banks and levees to inform probabilistic numerical simulations using the Bank Stability and Toe Erosion Model (BSTEM). This paper discusses the measurement of...
Estimating trends of common raven populations in North America, 1966—2018
Seth M. Harju, Peter S. Coates, Seth J. Dettenmaier, Jonathan B. Dinkins, Pat J. Jackson, Michael P. Chenaille
2021, Human-Wildlife Interactions (15) 248-269
Over the last half century, common raven (Corvus corax; raven) populations have increased in abundance across much of North America. Ravens are generalist predators known to depredate the eggs and young of several sensitive species. Quantifying raven population increases at multiple spatial scales across North America will help wildlife resource managers...
Aplicación de un modelo basado en procesos de patrones de sismicidad pre – eruptiva al volcán Ubinas, episodio eruptivo 2019
Mayra A. Ortega, Wendy McCausland, Randall A. White, Rosa M. Anccasi, Beto Ccallata
2021, Incasciences, Revista del Instituto Geológico, Minero y Metalúrgico (1) 53-61
Using a volcanic monitoring data set from Ubinas volcano, we applied a process-based model of pre-eruptive seismic patterns to the 2019 eruptive episode with the goal of identifying possible seismic precursors in order to help forecast future eruptions. This conceptual model, based on geologic processes, is divided into four seismicity...
Evaluating common raven take for greater sage-grouse in Oregon’s Baker County Priority Conservation Area and Great Basin Region
Frank F. Rivera-Milan, Peter S. Coates, Jacqueline B. Cupples, Michael Greenfield, Patrick K. Devers
2021, Human–Wildlife Interactions (15) 544-555
The common raven (Corvus corax; raven) is a nest predator of species of conservation concern, such as the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). Reducing raven abundance by take requires authorization under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. To support U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s take decisions (e.g., those that authorize killing a...
Geologic map of the Middendorf quadrangle, Chesterfield County, South Carolina
Christopher S. Swezey, Bradley A. Fitzwater, G. Richard Whittecar
2021, South Carolina Geological Survey Geologic Quadrangle Map GQM-56
The Middendorf 7.5-minute quadrangle is located entirely within the Carolina Sandhills region of the upper Atlantic Coastal Plain province in Chesterfield County, South Carolina. The Carolina Sandhills, which has been recognized as a separate region for a long time (e.g., McGee, 1890, 1891; Holmes, 1893), extends from central North Carolina...
Revising the marine range of the endangered black-capped petrel Pterodroma hasitata: occurrence in the northern Gulf of Mexico and exposure to conservation threats
Patrick G.R. Jodice, P.E. Michael, J.S. Gleason, J.C. Haney, Y.G. Satge
2021, Endangered Species Research (46) 49-65
The black-capped petrel Pterodroma hasitata is an Endangered seabird endemic to the western North Atlantic. Although estimated at ~1000 breeding pairs, only ~100 nests have been located at 2 sites in Haiti and 3 sites in the Dominican Republic. At sea, the species primarily occupies waters of the western Gulf Stream...
Can we prove that an undetected species is absent? Evaluating whether brown treesnakes are established on the island of Saipan using surveillance and expert opinion
Amy A. Yackel Adams, Patrick D Barnhart, Gordon H. Rodda, Eric T. Hileman, Melia Gail Nafus, Robert Reed
2021, Management of Biological Invasions (12) 901-926
Detection of invasive species and decisions centered around early detection and rapid response (EDRR) are notorious challenges for decision makers. Detection probability is low for cryptic species, resources are limited, and ecological harm (especially for island ecosystems) can result from...