Landslide hazard mitigation in North America
G. F. Wieczorek, P.P. Leahy
2008, Environmental & Engineering Geoscience (14) 133-144
Active landslides throughout the states and territories of the United States result in extensive property loss and 25-50 deaths per year. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has a long history of detailed examination of landslides since the work of Howe (1909) in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. In the...
Soil sedimentology at Gusev Crater from Columbia Memorial Station to Winter Haven
N.A. Cabrol, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, R. Greeley, E.A. Grin, C. Schroder, C. d’Uston, C. Weitz, R.A. Yingst, B. A. Cohen, Jeff Moore, A. Knudson, B. Franklin, R. C. Anderson, R. Li
2008, Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets (113)
A total of 3140 individual particles were examined in 31 soils along Spirit's traverse. Their size, shape, and texture were quantified and classified. They represent a unique record of 3 years of sedimentologic exploration from landing to sol 1085 covering the Plains Unit to Winter Haven where Spirit spent the...
Satellite-derived aerosol radiative forcing from the 2004 British Columbia wildfires
Song Guo, H. Leighton
2008, Atmosphere - Ocean (46) 203-212
The British Columbia wildfires of 2004 was one of the largest wildfire events in the last ten years in Canada. Both the shortwave and longwave smoke aerosol radiative forcing at the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) are investigated using data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Clouds and the Earth's...
Anticorrelated seismic velocity anomalies from post-perovskite in the lowermost mantle
Alexander R. Hutko, T. Lay, Justin Revenaugh, E.J. Garnero
2008, Science (320) 1070-1074
Earth's lowermost mantle has thermal, chemical, and mineralogical complexities that require precise seismological characterization. Stacking, migration, and modeling of over 10,000 P and S waves that traverse the deep mantle under the Cocos plate resolve structures above the core-mantle boundary. A small -0.07 ?? 0.15% decrease of P wave velocity...
Paleoclimatic significance of chemical weathering in loess-derived paleosols of subarctic central Alaska
D.R. Muhs, T. A. Ager, G. Skipp, J. Beann, J. Budahn, J. P. McGeehin
2008, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research (40) 396-411
Chemical weathering in soils has not been studied extensively in high-latitude regions. Loess sequences with modern soils and paleosols are present in much of subarctic Alaska, and allow an assessment of present and past chemical weathering. Five sections were studied in detail in the Fairbanks, Alaska, area. Paleosols likely date...
Distribution of glacial deposits, soils, and permafrost in Taylor Valley, Antarctica
James G. Bockheim, M.L. Prentice, M. McLeod
2008, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research (40) 279-286
We provide a map of lower and central Taylor Valley, Antarctica, that shows deposits from Taylor Glacier, local alpine glaciers, and grounded ice in the Ross Embayment. From our electronic database, which includes 153 sites from the coast 50 km upvalley to Pearse Valley, we show the distribution of permafrost...
Spatial and temporal variability in sedimentation rates associated with cutoff channel infill deposits: Ain River, France
H. Piégay, C.R. Hupp, A. Citterio, S. Dufour, B. Moulin, D.E. Walling
2008, Water Resources Research (44)
Floodplain development is associated with lateral accretion along stable channel geometry. Along shifting rivers, the floodplain sedimentation is more complex because of changes in channel position but also cutoff channel presence, which exhibit specific overflow patterns. In this contribution, the spatial and temporal variability of sedimentation rates in cutoff channel...
Relative abundance of mesopredators and size of oak patches in the cross-timbers ecoregion
M.R. Disney, E. C. Hellgren, C.A. Davis, David M. Leslie Jr., David M. Engle
2008, Southwestern Naturalist (53) 214-223
Mesopredators (e.g., raccoon Procyon lotor, Virginia opossum Didelphis virginiana, striped skunk Mephitis mephitis) have received considerable attention because of links to population declines in birds via increased nest predation, especially in landscapes fragmented by anthropogenic forces. Relationships of abundance of mesopredators to size of habitat patches have received less attention...
Small nonnative fishes as predators of larval razorback suckers
J. Carpenter, G.A. Mueller
2008, Southwestern Naturalist (53) 236-242
The razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus), an endangered big-river fish of the Colorado River basin, has demonstrated no sustainable recruitment in 4 decades, despite presence of spawning adults and larvae. Lack of adequate recruitment has been attributed to several factors, including predation by nonnative fishes. Substantial funding and effort has been...
Paleoseismic targets, seismic hazard, and urban areas in the Central and Eastern United States
R. L. Wheeler
2008, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (98) 1572-1580
Published geologic information from the central and eastern United States identifies 83 faults, groups of sand blows, named seismic zones, and other geological features as known or suspected products of Quaternary tectonic faulting. About one fifth of the features are known to contain faulted Quaternary materials or seismically induced liquefaction...
Method for estimating spatially variable seepage loss and hydraulic conductivity in intermittent and ephemeral streams
R.G. Niswonger, David E. Prudic, G.E. Fogg, David A. Stonestrom, E.M. Buckland
2008, Water Resources Research (44)
A method is presented for estimating seepage loss and streambed hydraulic conductivity along intermittent and ephemeral streams using streamflow front velocities in initially dry channels. The method uses the kinematic wave equation for routing streamflow in channels coupled to Philip's equation for infiltration. The coupled model considers variations in seepage...
Habitat use of juvenile pallid sturgeon and shovelnose sturgeon with implications for water-level management in a downstream reservoir
Paul C. Gerrity, C.S. Guy, W.M. Gardner
2008, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (28) 832-843
Natural recruitment of pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus has not been observed in the Missouri River above Fort Peck Reservoir, Montana, for at least 20 years. To augment the population, age-1 hatchery-reared juvenile pallid sturgeon were released in 1998. The objective of this study was to evaluate the habitat use of...
Late orogenic mafic magmatism in the North Cascades, Washington: Petrology and tectonic setting of the Skymo layered intrusion
D.L. Whitney, J.H. Tepper, M.M. Hirschmann, H. A. Hurlow
2008, Geological Society of America Bulletin (120) 531-542
The Skymo Complex in the North Cascades, Washington, is a layered mafic intrusion within the Ross Lake fault zone, a major orogen-parallel structure at the eastern margin of the Cascades crystalline core. The complex is composed dominantly of troctolite and gabbro, both with inclusions of primitive olivine gabbro. Low-pressure minerals...
Contaminant levels in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, and their diets from Missouri coldwater hatcheries
M.J. McKee, G.B. Kromrey, T.W. May, C.E. Orazio
2008, Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (80) 450-454
Organochlorine and metal contaminants often occur in commercial fish diets and can accumulate in fish to levels of concern for human consumption. Contaminant levels were investigated in diet and rainbow trout fillets from Missouri coldwater hatcheries used in 'put and take' fisheries. The average fillet:diet ratio was <0.1 for lead...
Flow unit modeling and fine-scale predicted permeability validation in Atokan sandstones: Norcan East Kansas
S. Bhattacharya, A.P. Byrnes, W.L. Watney, J.H. Doveton
2008, American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin (92) 709-732
Characterizing the reservoir interval into flow units is an effective way to subdivide the net-pay zone into layers for reservoir simulation. Commonly used flow unit identification techniques require a reliable estimate of permeability in the net pay on a foot-by-foot basis. Most of the wells do not have cores, and...
Landuse legacies and small streams: Identifying relationships between historical land use and contemporary stream conditions
K.O. Maloney, J.W. Feminella, R.M. Mitchell, S.A. Miller, P. J. Mulholland, J.N. Houser
2008, Journal of the North American Benthological Society (27) 280-294
The concept of landscape legacies has been examined extensively in terrestrial ecosystems and has led to a greater understanding of contemporary ecosystem processes. However, although stream ecosystems are tightly coupled with their catchments and, thus, probably are affected strongly by historical catchment conditions, few studies have directly examined the importance...
Induced dynamic nonlinear ground response at Gamer Valley, California
Z. Lawrence, P. Bodin, C.A. Langston, F. Pearce, J. Gomberg, P.A. Johnson, F.-Y. Menq, T. Brackman
2008, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (98) 1412-1428
We present results from a prototype experiment in which we actively induce, observe, and quantify in situ nonlinear sediment response in the near surface. This experiment was part of a suite of experiments conducted during August 2004 in Garner Valley, California, using a large mobile shaker truck from the Network...
Mangrove production and carbon sinks: A revision of global budget estimates
S. Bouillon, A.V. Borges, E. Castaneda-Moya, K. Diele, T. Dittmar, N.C. Duke, E. Kristensen, S.-Y. Lee, C. Marchand, J. J. Middelburg, V. H. Rivera-Monroy, T. J. Smith III, R.R. Twilley
2008, Global Biogeochemical Cycles (22)
Mangrove forests are highly productive but globally threatened coastal ecosystems, whose role in the carbon budget of the coastal zone has long been debated. Here we provide a comprehensive synthesis of the available data on carbon fluxes in mangrove ecosystems. A reassessment of global mangrove primary production from the literature...
Drift dynamics of larval pallid sturgeon and shovelnose sturgeon in a natural side channel of the Upper Missouri River, Montana
P.J. Braaten, D.B. Fuller, L.D. Holte, R.D. Lott, W. Viste, T.F. Brandt, R.G. Legare
2008, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (28) 808-826
The drift dynamics of larval shovelnose sturgeon Scaphirhynchus platorynchus (1, 2, 6, and 10 d posthatch [dph]) and pallid sturgeon S. albus (1, 2, 5, 9, 11, and 17 dph) were examined in a natural side channel of the Missouri River to quantify the vertical drift location of larvae in...
Low reservoir ages for the surface ocean from mid-Holocene Florida corals
E.R.M. Druffel, L.F. Robinson, S. Griffin, R. B. Halley, J. R. Southon, J.F. Adkins
2008, Paleoceanography (23)
The 14C reservoir age of the surface ocean was determined for two Holocene periods (4908-4955 and 3008-3066 calendar (cal) B.P.) using U/Th-dated corals from Biscayne National Park, Florida, United States. We found that the average reservoir ages for these two time periods (294 ?? 33 and 291 ?? 27 years,...
Climatically driven loss of calcium in steppe soil as a sink for atmospheric carbon
A.G. Lapenis, G.B. Lawrence, S.W. Bailey, B.F. Aparin, A.I. Shiklomanov, N.A. Speranskaya, M.S. Torn, M. Calef
2008, Global Biogeochemical Cycles (22)
During the last several thousand years the semi-arid, cold climate of the Russian steppe formed highly fertile soils rich in organic carbon and calcium (classified as Chernozems in the Russian system). Analysis of archived soil samples collected in Kemannaya Steppe Preserve in 1920, 1947, 1970, and fresh samples collected in...
Evaluating the effects of historical land cover change on summertime weather and climate in New Jersey: Land cover and surface energy budget changes
P. S. Wichansky, L. T. Steyaert, R. L. Walko, C. P. Waever
2008, Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres (113)
The 19th-century agrarian landscape of New Jersey (NJ) and the surrounding region has been extensively transformed to the present-day land cover by urbanization, reforestation, and localized areas of deforestation. This study used a mesoscale atmospheric numerical model to investigate the sensitivity of the warm season climate of NJ to these...
Rock magnetic characterization of faulted sediments with associated magnetic anomalies in the Albuquerque Basin, Rio Grande rift, New Mexico
M.R. Hudson, V. J. S. Grauch, S.A. Minor
2008, Geological Society of America Bulletin (120) 641-658
Variations in rock magnetic properties are responsible for the many linear, short-wavelength, low-amplitude magnetic anomalies that are spatially associated with faults that cut Neogene basin sediments in the Rio Grande rift, including the San Ysidro normal fault, which is well exposed in the northern part of the Albuquerque Basin. Magnetic-susceptibility...
Determining Titan's spin state from Cassini RADAR images
B.W. Stiles, Randolph L. Kirk, R. D. Lorenz, S. Hensley, E. Lee, S.J. Ostro, M.D. Allison, P.S. Callahan, Y. Gim, L. Iess, Del Marmo, G. Hamilton, W.T.K. Johnson, R.D. West
2008, Astronomical Journal (135) 1669-1680
For some 19 areas of Titan's surface, the Cassini RADAR instrument has obtained synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images during two different flybys. The time interval between flybys varies from several weeks to two years. We have used the apparent misregistration (by 10-30 km) of features between separate flybys to construct...
Use of landsat ETM+ SLC-off segment-based gap-filled imagery for crop type mapping
S.K. Maxwell, M.E. Craig
2008, Geocarto International (23) 169-179
Failure of the Scan Line Corrector (SLC) on the Landsat ETM+ sensor has had a major impact on many applications that rely on continuous medium resolution imagery to meet their objectives. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Cropland Data Layer (CDL) program uses Landsat imagery as the primary source...
