An attention U-Net model for detection of fine-scale hydrologic streamlines
Zewei Xu, Shaowen Wang, Larry Stanislawski, Zhe Jiang, Nattapon Jaroenchai, Arpan Man Sainju, Ethan J. Shavers, E. Lynn Usery, Li Chen, Zhiyu Li, Bin Su
2021, Environmental Modelling & Software (140)
Surface water is an irreplaceable resource for human survival and environmental sustainability. Accurate, finely detailed cartographic representations of hydrologic streamlines are critically important in various scientific domains, such as assessing the quantity and quality of present and future water resources, modeling...
Feral swine as sources of fecal contamination in recreational waters
Anna M. McKee, Paul M. Bradley, David Shelley, Shea McCarthy, Marirosa Molina
2021, Scientific Reports (11)
Recreational waters are primary attractions at many national and state parks where feral swine populations are established, and thus are possible hotspots for visitor exposure to feral swine contaminants. Microbial source tracking (MST) was used to determine spatial and temporal patterns of fecal contamination in Congaree...
The imminent calving retreat of Taku Glacier
Christopher J. McNeil, Jason Amundson, Shad O’Neel, Roman Motyka, Louis C. Sass, Martin Truffer, Jenna Ziemann, Seth Campbell
2021, Eos, American Geophysical Union
Along the rugged Southeast Alaska coast, 30 kilometers northeast of the state capital Juneau, a tidewater glacier has largely defied global trends by steadily advancing for most of the past century while most glaciers on Earth retreated. This 55-kilometer-long and nearly 1,500-meter-thick tidewater glacier, named Taku Glacier, or T'aaḵú Ḵwáan Sít'i in...
A 100-km wide slump along the upper slope of the Canadian Arctic was likely preconditioned for failure by brackish pore water flushing
C. K. Paull, S.R. Dallimore, D.W. Caress, R. Gwiazda, E. Lundsten, K. Anderson, H. Melling, Y.K. Jin, M.J. Duchesne, Kang S-G., S. Kim, M. Riedel, E.L. King, Thomas Lorenson
2021, Marine Geology (435)
Exploration of the continental slope of the Canadian Beaufort Sea has revealed a remarkable coalescence of slide scars with headwalls between 130 and 1100 m water depth (mwd). With increased depth, the scars widen and merge into one gigantic regional slide...
Ungaged inflow and loss patterns in urban and agricultural sub‐reaches of the Logan River Observatory
Hyrum Tennant, Bethany Neilson, Matthew P. Miller, Tianfang Xu
2021, Hydrological Processes (35)
Streams in semi‐arid urban and agricultural environments are often heavily diverted for anthropogenic purposes. However, they simultaneously receive substantial inflows from a variety of ungaged sources including stormwater returns, tile drainage, and irrigation runoff that help sustain flow during dry periods. Due to the inability to...
Documentation of methods and inventory of irrigation information collected for the 2015 U.S. Geological Survey estimated use of water in the United States
Jaime A. Painter, Justin T. Brandt, Rodney R. Caldwell, Jonathan V. Haynes, Amy L. Read
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5139
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Use Science Project strives to report water-use estimates using the best available information for the period of the estimates. The information available on water used for irrigation activities varies from State to State and in some areas from county to county within a State,...
Evolution of fluid transmissivity and strength recovery of shear fractures under hydrothermal conditions
Tamara Nicole Jeppson, David A. Lockner, Brian D. Kilgore, Nicholas M. Beeler, Joshua M. Taron
2021, Conference Paper, Proceedings, 46th Workshop on geothermal reservoir engineering
Geothermal systems rely on the presence of long-lived and high-volume, permeable fracture systems. The creation, reactivation, and sustainability of these systems depend on complex coupling among thermal, hydraulic, mechanical, and chemical (THMC) processes occurring in geothermal reservoirs. In part due to a paucity of experimental data, the evolution of fractures...
Changes in rocky intertidal community structure during a marine heatwave in the northern Gulf of Alaska
Ben Weitzman, Brenda Konar, Katrin Iken, Heather Coletti, Daniel Monson, Robert M. Suryan, Thomas Dean, D. Hondolero, Mandy Lindeberg
2021, Frontiers in Marine Science (8)
Marine heatwaves are global phenomena that can have major impacts on the structure and function of coastal ecosystems. By mid-2014, the Pacific Marine Heatwave (PMH) was evident in intertidal waters of the northern Gulf of Alaska and persisted for multiple years. While offshore marine ecosystems are known to...
Long-term changes in kelp forests in an inner basin of the Salish Sea
H.D. Berry, T.F. Mumford, M. Calloway, L. Ferrier, B. Christiaen, P. Dowty, Eric E. Grossman, Nathan R. vanArendonk
2021, PLoS (16)
Kelp forests form an important biogenic habitat that responds to natural and human drivers. Global concerns exist about threats to kelp forests, yet long-term information is limited and research suggests that trends are geographically distinct. We examined distribution of the bull kelp Nereocystis luetkeana over 145 years in South Puget Sound (SPS),...
Stewardship and management of freshwater ecosystems: From Leopold's land ethic to a freshwater ethic
Steven J. Cooke, Abigail J. Lynch, John J. Piccolo, Julian D. Olden, Andrea J. Reid, Steve J. Ormerod
2021, Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (6) 1499-1511
In 1949, Aldo Leopold formalized the concept of the ‘land ethic’, in what emerged as a foundational and transformational way of thinking about natural resource management, biodiversity conservation, and stewardship in terrestrial systems. Yet, the land ethic has inherent linkages to aquatic ecosystems; Leopold himself conducted research on rivers...
Drought stress and hurricane defoliation influence mountain clouds and moisture recycling in a tropical forest
Martha A. Scholl, Maoya Bassiouni, Angel J. Torres-Sanchez
2021, PNAS (118)
Mountain ranges generate clouds, precipitation, and perennial streamflow for water supplies, but the role of forest cover in mountain hydrometeorology and cloud formation is not well understood. In the Luquillo Experimental Forest of Puerto Rico, mountains are immersed in clouds nightly, providing a steady precipitation source to support the tropical...
Multilevel groundwater monitoring of hydraulic head, water temperature, and chemical constituents in the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, 2014–18
Brian V. Twining, Roy C. Bartholomay, Jason C. Fisher, Calvin Anderson
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5002
Radiochemical and chemical wastewater discharged to infiltration ponds and disposal wells since the early 1950s at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), southeastern Idaho, has affected the water quality of the eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) aquifer. In 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of...
Spatial and temporal variability of nutrients and algae in the Republican River and Milford Lake, Kansas, June through November 2017 and May through November 2018
Brianna M. Leiker, Justin R. Abel, Jennifer L. Graham, Guy M. Foster, Lindsey R. King, Tom C. Stiles, Riley P. Buley
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5135
Milford Lake has been listed as impaired and designated hypereutrophic because of excessive nutrient loading, specifically biologically available orthophosphate. It is the largest lake by surface area in Kansas and is a reservoir built for purposes including water supply and recreation. In 2015, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment...
Shade, light, and stream temperature responses to riparian thinning in second-growth redwood forests of northern California
David Roon, Jason B. Dunham, Jeremiah D Groom
2021, PLoS ONE (16)
Resource managers in the Pacific Northwest (USA) actively thin second-growth forests to accelerate the development of late-successional conditions and seek to expand these restoration thinning treatments into riparian zones. Riparian forest thinning, however, may impact stream temperatures–a key water quality parameter often regulated to protect stream habitat and aquatic organisms....
The role of hydrates, competing chemical constituents, and surface composition on CLNO2 formation
Haley M. Royer, Dhruv Mitroo, Sarah M. Hayes, Savannah Haas, Kerri A Pratt, Patricia Blackwelder, Thomas E. Gill, Cassandra J. Gaston
2021, Environmental Science Technology (55) 2869-2877
Atomic chlorine (Cl•) affects air quality and atmospheric oxidizing capacity. Nitryl chloride (ClNO2) – a common Cl• source–forms when chloride-containing aerosols react with dinitrogen pentoxide (N2O5). A recent study showed that saline lakebed (playa) dust is an inland source of particulate chloride (Cl–)...
Evidence of preferential flow activation in the vadose zone via geophysical monitoring
Lorenzo De Carlo, Kimberlie Perkins, Maria Clementina Caputo
2021, Sensors (21)
Preferential pathways allow rapid and non-uniform water movement in the subsurface due to strong heterogeneity of texture, composition, and hydraulic properties. Understanding the importance of preferential pathways is crucial, because they have strong impact on flow and transport hydrodynamics in the unsaturated zone. Particularly, improving knowledge of...
The contribution of currents, sea-swell waves, and infragravity waves to suspended-sediment transport across a coral reef-lagoon system.
Andrew Pomeroy, Curt D. Storlazzi, Kurt J. Rosenberger, Ryan Lowe, Jeff Hansen, Mark L. Buckley
2021, JGR Oceans (126)
Coral reefs generate substantial volumes of carbonate sediment, which is redistributed throughout the reef‐lagoon system. However, there is little understanding of the specific processes that transport this sediment produced on the outer portions of coral reefs throughout a reef‐lagoon system. Furthermore, the separate contributions of currents, sea‐swell waves, and infragravity...
Months-long spike in aqueous Arsenic following domestic well installation and disinfection: Short- and long-term drinking water quality implications
Melinda L. Erickson, Elizabeth D. Swanner, Brady A. Ziegler, Jeffrey R. Havig
2021, Journal of Hazardous Materials (414)
Exposure to high concentration geogenic arsenic via groundwater is a worldwide health concern. Well installation introduces oxic drilling fluids and hypochlorite (a strong oxidant) for disinfection, thus inducing geochemical disequilibrium. Well installation causes changes in geochemistry lasting 12 + months, as illustrated in a recent study of 250 new...
Estimates of energy partitioning, evapotranspiration, and net ecosystem exchange of CO2 for an urban lawn and a tallgrass prairie in the Denver metropolitan area under contrasting conditions
Thomas Thienelt, Dean E. Anderson
2021, Urban Ecosystems (24) 1201-1220
Lawns as a landcover change substantially alter evapotranspiration, CO2, and energy exchanges and are of rising importance considering their spatial extent. We contrast eddy covariance (EC) flux measurements collected in the Denver, Colorado, USA metropolitan area in 2011 and 2012 over a lawn and a xeric...
Heatwave-induced synchrony within forage fish portfolio disrupts energy flow to top pelagic predators
Mayumi L. Arimitsu, John F. Piatt, Scott Hatch, Robert M. Suryan, Sonia Batten, Mary Anne Bishop, Rob W. Campbell, Heather Coletti, Dan Cushing, Kristen Gorman, Russell R. Hopcroft, Kathy J. Kuletz, Caitlin Elizabeth Marsteller, Caitlin McKinstry, David McGowan, John Moran, W. Scott Pegau, Anne Schaefer, Sarah K. Schoen, Jan Straley, Vanessa R. von Biela
2021, Global Change Biology (27) 1859-1878
During the Pacific marine heatwave of 2014–2016, abundance and quality of several key forage fish species in the Gulf of Alaska were simultaneously reduced throughout the system. Capelin (Mallotus catervarius), sand lance (Ammodytes personatus), and herring (Clupea pallasii) populations were at historically low levels, and within this community abrupt declines...
Phylogeographic genetic diversity in the white sucker hepatitis B Virus across the Great Lakes Region and Alberta, Canada
Cynthia R Adams, Vicki S. Blazer, Jim Sherry, Robert S. Cornman, Luke R. Iwanowicz
2021, Viruses (13)
Hepatitis B viruses belong to a family of circular, double-stranded DNA viruses that infect a range of organisms, with host responses that vary from mild infection to chronic infection and cancer. The white sucker hepatitis B virus (WSHBV) was first described in the white sucker (Catostomus commersonii), a freshwater teleost,...
Airborne geophysical imaging of weak zones on Iliamna Volcano, Alaska: Implications for slope stability
Dana E. Peterson, Carol A. Finn, Paul A. Bedrosian
2021, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth (126)
Water‐saturated, hydrothermally altered rocks reduce the strength of volcanic edifices and increase the potential for sector collapses and far‐traveled mass flows of unconsolidated debris. Iliamna Volcano is an andesitic stratovolcano located on the western side of the Cook Inlet, ∼225 km southwest of Anchorage and is a...
Nutrients and warming alter mountain lake benthic algal structure and function
Isabella A. Oleksy, Jill S. Baron, Whitney S. Beck
2021, Freshwater Science (40) 87-102
In recent years, benthic algae have been increasing in abundance in the littoral zones of oligotrophic lakes, but causality has been hard to assign. We used field and laboratory experiments to explore the implications of increasing water temperature and nutrient availability for benthic algal assemblages and ecosystem...
Nutrient concentrations, loads, and yields in the Middle Iowa River Basin, Iowa
Jessica D. Garrett, Stephen J. Kalkhoff
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5148
Concentrations, loads, and yields of nitrate plus nitrite, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus were assessed in the Iowa River upstream from the Coralville Reservoir in east-central Iowa. The results of this study describe baseline nutrient transport during two historical reference periods, 1980–96 and 2006–10, that can be used to evaluate...
Precipitation, peak streamflow, and inundation in the Bynum Run and Winters Run watersheds in Harford County, Maryland
Christopher W. Nealen, Edward J. Doheny
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5007
The Harford County Department of Public Works and the U.S. Geological Survey have been working cooperatively to monitor continuous streamflow at several streamgages in Harford County, Maryland, including Bynum Run and Winters Run. A perceived recent uptick in the number of flooding events in the Bynum Run and Winters Run...
