Geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Cherokee Platform area of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri
Ronald M. Drake II, Joseph R. Hatch
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5110
In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey completed a geology-based assessment to estimate the volumes of undiscovered, technically recoverable petroleum resources in the Cherokee Platform Province area of southeastern Kansas, northeastern Oklahoma, and southwestern Missouri. The U.S. Geological Survey identified four stratigraphic intervals that contain petroleum source rocks: (1) thin shales...
Does taxonomic and numerical resolution affect the assessment of invertebrate community structure in New World freshwater wetlands?
Mateus M. Pires, Marta G. Grech, Cristina Stenert, Leonardo Maltchik, Luis B. Epele, Kyle McLean, Jamie M. Kneitel, Douglas A. Bell, Hamish S. Greig, Chase R. Gagne, Darold P. Batzer
2021, Ecological Indicators (125)
The efficiency of biodiversity assessments and biomonitoring studies is commonly challenged by limitations in taxonomic identification and quantification approaches. In this study, we assessed the effects of different taxonomic and numerical resolutions on a range of community structure metrics in invertebrate compositional data sets from six regions distributed across North...
Improving the ability of a BACI design to detect impacts within a kelp‐forest community
Andrew Rassweiler, Daniel K Okamoto, Daniel C. Reed, David J Kushner, Donna M Schroeder, Kevin D. Lafferty
2021, Ecological Applications (31)
Distinguishing between human impacts and natural variation in abundance remains difficult because most species exhibit complex patterns of variation in space and time. When ecological monitoring data are available, a before‐after‐control‐impact (BACI) analysis can control natural spatial and temporal variation to better identify an impact and estimate its magnitude. However,...
Cloud-native repositories for big scientific data
Ryan Abernathey, Tom Augspurger, Anderson Banihirwe, Charles C. Blackmon-Luca, Timothy Crone, Chelle Gentemann, Joseph Hamman, Naomi Henderson, Chiara Lepore, Theo McCaie, Niall Robinson, Richard P. Signell
2021, Computing in Science and Engineering (23) 26-35
Scientific data have traditionally been distributed via downloads from data server to local computer. This way of working suffers from limitations as scientific datasets grow toward the petabyte scale. A “cloud-native data repository,” as defined in this article, offers several advantages over traditional data repositories—performance, reliability,...
Estimating the survival of unobservable life stages for a declining frog with a complex life-history
Jonathan P. Rose, Sarah Kupferberg, Clara A Wheeler, Patrick M. Kleeman, Brian J. Halstead
2021, Ecosphere (12)
Demographic models enhance understanding of drivers of population growth and inform conservation efforts to prevent population declines and extinction. For species with complex life histories, however, parameterizing demographic models is challenging because some life stages can be difficult to study directly. Integrated population models (IPMs) empower...
Historical data provide important context for understanding declines in Cutthroat Trout
Brittany J. Nordberg, Elizabeth G. Mandeville, Annika W. Walters, Jason C. Burckhardt, Catherine E. Wagner
2021, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (41) 809-819
We used historical stocking and population survey records of Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri and other salmonids in the North Fork Shoshone River drainage, Wyoming to summarize fish stocking history and population trends. Based on 98 years of historical records, we found that despite extensive stocking of Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout and minimal...
Would you like to know more? The effect of personalized wildfire risk information and social comparisons on information-seeking behavior in the wildland–urban interface
James R. Meldrum, Hannah Brenkert-Smith, Patricia A. Champ, Jamie Gomez, Hilary Byerly, Lilia C. Falk, Christopher M. Barth
2021, Natural Hazards (106) 2139-2161
Private landowners are important actors in landscape-level wildfire risk management. Accordingly, wildfire programs and policy encourage wildland–urban interface homeowners to engage with local organizations to properly mitigate wildfire risk on their parcels. We investigate whether parcel-level wildfire risk assessment data, commonly used to inform community-level planning...
Indicators of volcanic eruptions revealed by global M4+ earthquakes
Jeremy D. Pesicek, Sarah E. Ogburn, Stephanie G. Prejean
2021, Journal of Geophysical Research (126)
Determining whether seismicity near volcanoes is due primarily to tectonic or magmatic processes is a challenging but critical endeavor for volcanic eruption forecasting and detection, especially at poorly monitored volcanoes. Global statistics on the occurrence and timing of earthquakes near volcanoes both within and outside of eruptive periods reveal patterns...
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...
Partial migration and spawning movements of humpback chub in the Little Colorado River are better understood using data from autonomous PIT tag antennas
Maria C. Dzul, William Louis Kendall, Charles B. Yackulic, Dana L. Winkelman, David Randall Van Haverbeke, Michael D. Yard
2021, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (78) 1057-1072
Choosing whether or not to migrate is an important life history decision for many fishes. Here we combine data from physical captures and detections on autonomous passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag antennas to study migration in an endangered fish, the humpback chub (Gila cypha). We develop hidden Markov mark-recapture models...
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...
Aeromagnetic map of Burney and the surrounding area, northeastern California
Victoria E. Langenheim
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1006
An aeromagnetic survey was conducted to improve understanding of the geology and structure in the area around Burney, northeastern California. The new data are a substantial improvement over existing data and reveal a prominent north northwest-trending magnetic grain that allows extension of mapped faults, delineation of plutons within the Mesozoic...
Using machine learning to develop a predictive understanding of the impacts of extreme water cycle perturbations on river water quality
Charuleka Varadharajan, Vipin Kumar, Jared Willard, Jacob Aaron Zwart, Jeffrey Michael Sadler, Helen Weierbach, Talita Perciano, Juliane Mueller, Valerie Hendrix, Danielle Christianson
2021, Report
This whitepaper addresses to two focal areas – (3) Insight gleaned from complex data using Artificial Intelligence (AI), and other advanced techniques (primary), and (2) Predictive modeling through the use of AI techniques and AI-derived model components (secondary). This topic is directly relevant to four DOE Earth and Environmental Systems...
Biological and anthropogenic influences on macrophage aggregates in white perch Morone americana from Chesapeake Bay, USA
Mark A Matsche, Vicki S. Blazer, Erin Pulster, Patricia M. Mazik
2021, Diseases of Aquatic Organisms (143) 79-100
The response of macrophage aggregates in fish to a variety of environmental stressors has been useful as a biomarker of exposure to habitat degradation. Total volume of macrophage aggregates (MAV) was estimated in the liver and spleen of white perch Morone americana from Chesapeake Bay using stereological approaches. Hepatic and splenic MAV...
Linking decomposition rates of soil organic amendments to their chemical composition
Jeffrey R Baldock, Courtney Creamer, Steve Szarvas, Janine McGowan, T. Carter, Mark Farrell
2021, Soil Research (59) 630-643
The stock of organic carbon contained within a soil represents the balance between inputs and losses. Inputs are defined by the ability of vegetation to capture and retain carbon dioxide, effects that management practices have on the proportion of captured carbon that is added to soil and the...
Evaluation of streamflow extent and hydraulic characteristics of a restored channel at Soldier Meadows, Black Rock Desert–High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area, Nevada
Christopher M. Morris
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5143
The Soldier Meadows spring complex provides habitat for the desert dace, an endemic and threatened fish. The spring complex has been altered with the construction of irrigation ditches that remove water from natural stream channels. Irrigation ditches generally provide lower quality habitat for the desert dace. Land and wildlife...
Dynamics of the seasonal migration of Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus, Pallas 1814) and implications for the Lake Ontario food web
Chris Pennuto, Knut Mehler, Brian Weidel, Brian F. Lantry, Eric Bruestle
2021, Ecology of Freshwater Fish (30) 151-161
Seasonal migrations of fish populations can have large effects on lake nutrient budgets and food web dynamics, but the addition of a migrating non‐native species may alter these dynamics. The Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus) arrived in Lake Ontario (USA/Canada) about 20 years ago with a documented history of annual offshore–inshore migrations...
Computational methodology to analyze the effect of mass transfer rate on attenuation of leaked carbon dioxide in shallow aquifers
Radek Fucik, Jakub Solovsky, Michelle R. Plampin, Hao Wu, Jiri Mikyska, Tissa H. Illangasekare
2021, Acta Polytechnica (61)
Exsolution and re-dissolution of CO2 gas within heterogeneous porous media are investigated using experimental data and mathematical modeling. In a set of bench-scale experiments, water saturated with CO2 under a given pressure is injected into a 2-D water-saturated porous media system, causing CO2 gas to exsolve and migrate upwards. A layer of fine...
Multi-taxa database data dictionary
Elise Watson, Carlton J. Rochester, Chris W. Brown, Donn A. Holmes, Stacie A. Hathaway, Robert N. Fisher
2021, Techniques and Methods 16-B1
The conservation of biological resources relies on the successful management of ecological and physiological research data. The Western Ecological Research Center of the U.S. Geological Survey is working with researchers, land managers, and decision makers from non-government organizations and city, county, state, and federal resource agencies to develop data...
Using high resolution satellite and telemetry data to track flooded habitats, their use by waterfowl, and evaluate effects of drought on waterfowl and shorebird bioenergetics in California
Elliott Matchett, Matthew Reiter, Cory T. Overton, Dennis Jongsomjit, Michael L. Casazza
2021, Open-File Report 2020-1102
Wetland managers in the Central Valley of California, a dynamic hydrological landscape, require information regarding the amount and location of existing wetland habitat to make decisions on how to best use water resources to support multiple wildlife objectives, particularly during drought. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological...
Enhancing the application of Earth observations for improved environmental decision-making using the Early Warning eXplorer (EWX)
Shraddhanand Shukla, Martin Landsfeld, Michelle Anthony, Michael Budde, Greg Husak, James Rowland, Chris Funk
2021, Frontiers in Climate (2)
The mitigation of losses due to extreme climate events and long-term climate adaptation requires climate informed decision-making. In the past few decades, several remote sensing and modeled-based Earth observations (EOs) have been developed to provide an unprecedented global overview and routine monitoring of climate and its impacts on vegetation and...
Landsat 8 thermal infrared sensor scene select mechanism open loop operations
Michael J. Choate, R. Rengarajan, James C. Storey, Tim Beckmann
2021, MDPI Remote Sensing (13)
The Landsat 8 (L8) spacecraft and its two instruments, the operational land imager (OLI) and thermal infrared sensor (TIRS), have been consistently characterized and calibrated since its launch in February 2013. These performance metrics and calibration updates are determined through the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Landsat image assessment system...
Improving remotely sensed river bathymetry by image-averaging
Carl J. Legleiter, Paul J. Kinzel
2021, Water Resources Research (57)
Basic data on river bathymetry is critical for numerous applications in river research and management and is increasingly obtained via remote sensing, but the noisy, pixelated appearance of image‐derived depth maps can compromise subsequent analyses. We hypothesized that this noise originates from reflectance from an irregular...
Estimation of suspended sediment at a discontinued streamgage on the lower Minnesota River at Fort Snelling State Park, Minnesota
Joel T. Groten, Jon S. Hendrickson, Linda R. Loomis
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1005
In the spring of 2019, ice sheets transported down-stream during a large streamflow rise event in the lower Minnesota River destroyed an index-velocity streamgage at the Minnesota River at Fort Snelling State Park, Minnesota (U.S. Geological Survey station 05330920; hereafter referred to as “Ft. Snelling”). The streamgage previously used an...
The critical minerals initiative of the U.S. Geological Survey’s mineral deposit database project: USMIN
Jeffrey L. Mauk, Nick A Karl, Carma A. San Juan, Liam Dandurand Knudsen, German Schmeda, Clayton Robert Forbush, Bradley S. Van Gosen, Morgan Mullins, Patrick Christopher Scott
2021, Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (MME) (38) 775-797
The objective of the US Geological Survey’s mineral deposit database project (USMIN) is to develop a comprehensive twenty-first century geospatial database that is the authoritative source of the most important mines, mineral deposits, and mineral districts of the US. Since May 2017, the project has focused...
