Monitoring suspended sediments and associated chemical constituents in urban environments: Lessons from the city of Atlanta, Georgia, USA Water Quality Monitoring Program
Arthur J. Horowitz
2009, Journal of Soils and Sediments (9) 342-363
Background, aim, and scopeThe City of Atlanta, Georgia (COA) is part of the ninth largest metropolitan area in the USA and one of the fastest growing (e.g., >24% between 2000 and 2007). Since 2003, the US Geological Survey has been operating an extensive long-term water-quantity and water-quality monitoring...
Development and Implementation of a Transport Method for the Transport and Reaction Simulation Engine (TaRSE) based on the Godunov-Mixed Finite Element Method
Andrew I. James, James W. Jawitz, Rafael Munoz-Carpena
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5034
A model to simulate transport of materials in surface water and ground water has been developed to numerically approximate solutions to the advection-dispersion equation. This model, known as the Transport and Reaction Simulation Engine (TaRSE), uses an algorithm that incorporates a time-splitting technique where the advective part of the equation...
Hydrologic and Water-Quality Conditions During Restoration of the Wood River Wetland, Upper Klamath River Basin, Oregon, 2003-05
Kurt D. Carpenter, Daniel T. Snyder, John H. Duff, Frank J. Triska, Karl K. Lee, Ronald J. Avanzino, Steven Sobieszczyk
2009, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5004
Restoring previously drained wetlands is a strategy currently being used to improve water quality and decrease nutrient loading into Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon. In this 2003-05 study, ground- and surface-water quality and hydrologic conditions were characterized in the Wood River Wetland. Nitrogen and phosphorus levels, primarily as dissolved organic nitrogen...
A spatial model to assess the effects of hydropower operations on Columbia River fall Chinook Salmon spawning habitat
James R. Hatten, Kenneth F. Tiffan, Donald R. Anglin, Steven L. Haeseker, Joseph J. Skalicky, Howard Schaller
2009, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (29) 1379-1405
Priest Rapids Dam on the Columbia River produces large daily and hourly streamflow fluctuations throughout the Hanford Reach during the period when fall Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha are selecting spawning habitat, constructing redds, and actively engaged in spawning. Concern over the detrimental effects of these fluctuations prompted us to quantify...
Does mobility explain variation in colonisation and population recovery among stream fishes?
Paul L. Angermeier, Brett Albanese, James T. Peterson
2009, Freshwater Biology (54) 1444-1460
1. Colonisation and population recovery are crucial to species persistence in environmentally variable ecosystems, but are poorly understood processes. After documenting movement rates for several species of stream fish, we predicted that this variable would influence colonisation rates more strongly than local abundance, per cent occupancy, body size and...
Nickel recycling in the United States in 2004
Thomas G. Goonan
2009, Circular 1196-Z
As one of a series of reports that describe the recycling of metal commodities in the United States, this report discusses the flow of nickel from production through distribution and use, with particular emphasis on the recycling of industrial scrap (new scrap) and used products (old scrap) in 2004. This...
Bycatch of the endangered pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) in a commercial fishery for shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus)
Phillip William Bettoli, M. Casto-Yerty, G.D. Scholten, Edward J. Heist
2009, Journal of Applied Ichthyology (25) 1-4
We quantified the bycatch of pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus in Tennessee's shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus) fishery by accompanying commercial fishers and monitoring their catch on five dates in spring 2007. Fishers were free to keep or discard any sturgeon they collected in their gillnets and trotlines and we were afforded...
Interacción termal entre magmas graníticos laramídicos y rocas encajonantes mesoproterozoicas: Historia de enfriamiento de intrusivos de la sierrita blanca, NW Sonora
Monica A. Enriquez-Castillo, Alexander Iriondo, Gabriel Chavez-Cabello, Michael J. Kunk
2009, Boletin de la Sociedad Geologica Mexicana (61) 451-483
A semi-quantitative thermochronological study, combining U-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology, has allowed assessment of the crystallization and cooling history of the Laramide Sierrita Blanca granite as well as the thermal effects resulting from the intrusion into the Mesoproterozoic host rocks (~1.1 Ga Murrieta granite). The U-Pb zircon age discrepancy between two samples...
Quaternary incision rates and drainage evolution of the Uncompahgre and Gunnison Rivers, western Colorado, as calibrated by the Lava Creek B ash
Andrew L. Darling, Karl E. Karlstrom, Andres Aslan, Rex D. Cole, Charles Betton, Elmira Wan
2009, Rocky Mountain Geology (44) 71-83
The Quaternary erosional history of western Colorado is documented in terraces of the Colorado, Gunnison, and Uncompahgre Rivers that contain the Lava Creek B ash (0.64 Ma). This paper reports an important new ash locality that dates ca. 100-m-high river gravels associated with the paleo-confluence of the Gunnison and Uncompahgre...
Calibrating biomonitors to ecological disturbance: a new technique for explaining metal effects in natural waters
Samuel N. Luoma, Daniel J. Cain, Philip S. Rainbow
2009, Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management (6) 199-209
Bioaccumulated toxic metals in tolerant biomonitors are indicators of metal bioavailability and can be calibrated against metal‐specific responses in sensitive species, thus creating a tool for defining dose–response for metals in a field setting. Dose–response curves that define metal toxicity in natural waters are rare. Demonstrating cause and effect under...
Fire rehabilitation effectiveness: a chronosequence approach for the Great Basin
David A. Pyke, David S. Pilliod, Jeanne C. Chambers, Matthew L. Brooks, James Grace
2009, Report
Federal land management agencies have invested heavily in seeding vegetation for emergency stabilization and rehabilitation (ES&R) of non-forested lands. ES&R projects are implemented to reduce post-fire dominance of non-native annual grasses, minimize probability of recurrent fire, quickly recover lost habitat for sensitive species, and ultimately result in plant communities with...
A water-leach procedure for estimating bioaccessibility of elements in soils from transects across the United States and Canada
Robert G. Garrett, G.E.M. Hall, J.E. Vaive, P. Pelchat
2009, Applied Geochemistry (24) 1438-1453
An objective of the North American Soil Geochemical Landscapes Project is to provide relevant data concerning bioaccessible concentrations of elements in soil to government and other institutions undertaking environmental studies. A protocol was developed that employs a 1-g soil sample agitated overnight with 40 mL of reverse-osmosis de-ionized water for...
Exploratory and spatial data analysis (EDA-SDA) for determining regional background levels and anomalies of potentially toxic elements in soils from Catorce-Matehuala, Mexico
J.A. Chipres, J. Castro-Larragoitia, M.G. Monroy
2009, Applied Geochemistry (24) 1579-1589
The threshold between geochemical background and anomalies can be influenced by the methodology selected for its estimation. Environmental evaluations, particularly those conducted in mineralized areas, must consider this when trying to determinate the natural geochemical status of a study area, quantifying human impacts, or establishing soil restoration values for contaminated...
Coral reefs and ocean acidification
Joan A. Kleypas, Kimberly K Yates
2009, Oceanography (22) 108-117
Coral reefs were one of the first ecosystems to be recognized as vulnerable to ocean acidification. To date, most scientific investigations into the effects of ocean acidification on coral reefs have been related to the reefs’ unique ability to produce voluminous amounts of calcium carbonate. It has been estimated that...
Search without Boundaries Using Simple APIs
Qi Tong
2009, Computers in Libraries (29) 26-30
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Library, where the author serves as the digital services librarian, is increasingly challenged to make it easier for users to find information from many heterogeneous information sources. Information is scattered throughout different software applications (i.e., library catalog, federated search engine, link resolver, and vendor websites),...
Applications of a broad-spectrum tool for conservation and fisheries analysis: Aquatic gap analysis
James E. McKenna Jr., Paul J. Steen, John Lyons, Jana S. Stewart
2009, Gap Analysis Bulletin 44-51
Natural resources support all of our social and economic activities, as well as our biological existence. Humans have little control over most of the physical, biological, and sociological conditions dictating the status and capacity of natural resources in any particular area. However, the most rapid and threatening influences on natural...
Approaches to modeling weathered regolith
Susan L. Brantley, Arthur F. White
2009, Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry (70) 435-484
Sustainable soils are a requirement for maintaining human civilizations (Carter and Dale 1974; Lal 1989). However, as the “most complicated biomaterial on the planet” (Young and Crawford 2004), soils represent...
A comparison of phase inversion and traveltime tomography for processing near-surface refraction traveltimes
Karl J. Ellefsen
2009, Geophysical Journal (74) WCB11-WCB24
With phase inversion, one can estimate subsurface velocities using the phases of first-arriving waves, which are the frequency-domain equivalents of the traveltimes. Phase inversion is modified to make it suitable for processing traveltimes from near-surface refraction surveys. The modifications include parameterizing the model, correcting the observed phases, and selecting the...
Alligators and crocodiles as indicators for restoration of Everglades ecosystems
Frank J. Mazzotti, G. Ronnie Best, Laura A. Brandt, Michael S. Cherkiss, Brian M. Jeffery, Kenneth G. Rice
2009, Ecological Indicators (9) S137-S149
Alligators and crocodiles integrate biological impacts of hydrological operations, affecting them at all life stages through three key aspects of Everglades ecology: (1) food webs, (2) diversity and productivity, and (3) freshwater flow. Responses of crocodilians are directly related to suitability of environmental conditions and hydrologic change. Correlations between biological...
A one-dimensional heat-transport model for conduit flow in karst aquifers
Andrew J. Long, P.C. Gilcrease
2009, Journal of Hydrology (378) 230-239
A one-dimensional heat-transport model for conduit flow in karst aquifers is presented as an alternative to two or three-dimensional distributed-parameter models, which are data intensive and require knowledge of conduit locations. This model can be applied for cases where water temperature in a well or spring receives all or part...
Preparing a population for an earthquake like Chi-Chi: The Great Southern California ShakeOut
Lucile M. Jones, The ShakeOut Team
2009, Conference Paper, Improving earthquake mitigation through innovations and applications in seismic science, engineering, communication, and response, Proceedings of a U.S.-Iran seismic workshop
The Great Southern California ShakeOut was a week of special events featuring the largest earthquake drill in United States history. On November 13, 2008, over 5 million southern Californians pretended that a magnitude-7.8 earthquake had occurred and practiced actions that could reduce its impact on their lives. The primary message...
Use of dendrochronology and dendrochemistry in environmental forensics: Does it meet the Daubert criteria?
J.-C. Balouet, K.T. Smith, D. Vroblesky, G. Oudijk
2009, Environmental Forensics (10) 268-276
Dendrochronological methods have been in use for more than 100 years, providing us a record of climate, human activities (archaeology), floods, fire, mudslides and other geological and biological events. More recently, dendrochemisty has been used to assess the time frames of the onset and existence of environmental contamination. This article...
A case study of two M~5 mainshocks in Anza, California: Is the footprint of an aftershock sequence larger than we think?
Karen R. Fritts, Debi Kilb
2009, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (99) 2721-2735
It has been traditionally held that aftershocks occur within one to two fault lengths of the mainshock. Here we demonstrate that this perception has been shaped by the sensitivity of seismic networks. The 31 October 2001 Mw 5.0 and 12 June 2005 Mw 5.2 Anza mainshocks in southern California occurred in the middle of...
Multiple dendrochronological responses to the eruption of Cinder Cone, Lassen Volcanic National Park, California
P.R. Sheppard, M.H. Ort, K.C. Anderson, M.A. Clynne, E.M. May
2009, Dendrochronologia (27) 213-221
Two dendrochronological properties – ring width and ring chemistry – were investigated in trees near Cinder Cone in Lassen Volcanic National Park, northeastern California, for the purpose of re-evaluating the date of its eruption. Cinder Cone is thought to have erupted in AD 1666 based on ring-width evidence, but interpreting...
Shifts in lake N: P stoichiometry and nutrient limitation driven by atmospheric nitrogen deposition
J.J. Elser, T. Andersen, Jill Baron, A.-K. Bergstrom, M. Jansson, M. Kyle, K. R. Nydick, L. Steger, D.O. Hessen
2009, Science (326) 835-837
Human activities have more than doubled the amount of nitrogen (N) circulating in the biosphere. One major pathway of this anthropogenic N input into ecosystems has been increased regional deposition from the atmosphere. Here we show that atmospheric N deposition increased the stoichiometric ratio of N and phosphorus (P) in...
