Integrating airborne and mobile lidar data with UAV photogrammetry for rapid assessment of changing forest snow depth and cover
Jonathon Donager, Temuulen Sankey, Andrew Sanchez-Meador, Joel B. Sankey, Abraham E. Springer
2021, Science of Remote Sensing (4)
Forest structure and topography can influence the ecohydrologic function and resiliency to drought and changing climate. It is, therefore, important to understand how forest restoration treatments alter snowpack distribution and design the treatments accordingly. We use a combination of aerial lidar, multi-temporal terrestrial mobile...
Female persistence during toxicant treatment predicts survival probability of offspring in invasive brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis)
Brenna A Levine, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Marlis Douglas, Michael Douglas, Melia Gail Nafus
2021, Global Ecology and Conservation (31)
Assessing the long-term efficacy of control methods is a critical component of invasive species management. For example, if traits related to control have significant heritability or are influenced by maternal effects, control methods may lose efficacy over time. The potential for these effects can be evaluated...
Time-fractional flow equations (t-FFEs) to upscale transient groundwater flow characterized by temporally non-darcian flow due to medium heterogeneity
Yuan Xia, Yong Zhang, Christopher Green, Graham Fogg
2021, Water Resources Research (57)
Upscaling groundwater flow is a fundamental challenge in hydrogeology. This study proposed time-fractional flow equations (t-FFEs) for upscaling long-term, transient groundwater flow and propagation of pressure heads in heterogeneous media. Monte Carlo simulations showed that, with increasing variance and correlation of the hydraulic conductivity (K), flow dynamics gradually deviated from...
Estimating invertebrate response to changes in total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and specific conductance at sites where invertebrate data are unavailable
Robert E. Zuellig, Daren M. Carlisle
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5070
The purpose of this report is to describe a possible approach to estimate changes in invertebrate taxa richness at sites with known water-quality trends but no invertebrate data. In this study, data from 1,322 sites were used to describe invertebrate response to changes in total nitrogen, total phosphorus, or specific...
Waterborne gradient Self-Potential (WaSP) logging in the Rio Grande to map localized and regional surface and groundwater exchanges across the Mesilla Valley
Scott Ikard, Andrew Teeple
2021, FastTIMES (26)
The Rio Grande is the primary source of recharge to the Mesilla Basin/Conejos-Médanos aquifer system (“Mesilla Basin aquifer system”) in the Mesilla Valley of New Mexico and Texas. The Mesilla Basin aquifer system is the primary source of water supply to several large cities along the United States–Mexico border. Identifying...
Monthly river temperature trends across the US confound annual changes
Christa Kelleher, Heather E. Golden, Stacey A. Archfield
2021, Environmental Research Letters (16)
Climate variations and human modifications of the water cycle continue to alter the Earth's surface water and energy exchanges. It is therefore critical to ascertain how these changes impact water quality and aquatic ecosystem habitat metrics such as river temperatures. Though river temperature trend analyses exist in...
Kelp forest monitoring at Naval Base Ventura County, San Nicolas Island, California—Fall 2019, sixth annual repor
Michael C. Kenner, Joseph A. Tomoleoni
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1081
The U.S. Geological Survey conducts ecological monitoring of rocky subtidal communities at four permanent sites around San Nicolas Island. The sites—Nav Fac 100, West End, Dutch Harbor, and Daytona 100—were based on ones that had been monitored since 1980 by the U.S. Geological Survey and, in cooperation with the U.S....
Evaluation of hydrologic simulation models for fields with subsurface drainage to mitigated wetlands in Barnes, Dickey, and Sargent Counties, North Dakota
Joel M. Galloway, Wyatt S. Tatge, Spencer L. Wheeling
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5091
Proper identification of wetlands, along with a better understanding of the hydrology of mitigated wetlands, is needed to assist with conservation efforts aimed at maintaining the productivity and ecological function (wetland mitigation) of agricultural lands. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation...
Forest resistance to extended drought enhanced by prescribed fire in low elevation forests of the Sierra Nevada
Phillip J. van Mantgem, Anthony C. Caprio, Nathan L. Stephenson, Adrian Das
2021, Forests (12)
Prescribed fire reduces fire hazards by removing dead and live fuels (small trees and shrubs). Reductions in forest density following prescribed fire treatments (often in concert with mechanical treatments) may also lessen competition so that residual trees might be more likely to survive when confronted with additional stressors, such as...
Fish response to successive clearcuts in a second-growth forest from the central Coast range of Oregon
D. S. Bateman, Nathan Chelgren, Robert E. Gresswell, Jason B. Dunham, David Hockman-Wert, D. W. Leer, K. D. Bladon
2021, Forest Ecology and Management (496)
Research dating back to the 1950 s has documented negative effects from harvesting of primeval forests on stream ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest. By the early 1990 s, state and federal forest practice rules governing timber harvest were modified throughout North America to better protect aquatic habitats and biotic resources, principally salmonids. These rules...
Could climate change benefit invasive snakes? Modelling the potential distribution of the California Kingsnake in the Canary Islands
Julien C Piquet, Dan L Warren, Jorge Fernando Saavedra Bolanos, Jose Miguel Sanchez Rivero, Ramon Gallo-Barneto, Miguel Angel Cabrera-Perez, Robert N. Fisher, Sam R Fisher, Carlton J. Rochester, Brian Hinds, Manuel Nogales, Marta Lopez-Darias
2021, Journal of Environmental Management (294)
The interaction between climate change and biological invasions is a global conservation challenge with major consequences for invasive species management. However, our understanding of this interaction has substantial knowledge gaps; this is particularly relevant for invasive snakes on islands because they...
Modeling moose habitat use by age, sex, and season in Vermont, USA using high-resolution lidar and national land cover data
Joshua Blouin, Jacob Debow, Elias Rosenblatt, Cedric Alexander, Katherina Gieder, Nicholas Fortin, James Murdoch, Therese M. Donovan
2021, Alces (57) 71-98
Moose (Alces alces) populations have experienced unprecedented declines along the southern periphery of their range, including Vermont, USA. Habitat management may be used to improve the status of the population and health of individuals. To date, however, Vermont wildlife managers have been challenged to effectively use this important tool due...
An eddy-resolving numerical model to study turbulent flow, sediment and bed evolution using detached eddy simulation in a lateral separation zone at the field-scale
Laura V. Alvarez, Paul E. Grams
2021, Journal of Geophysical Research Earth Surface (126)
Turbulence-resolving simulations elucidate key elements of fluid dynamics and sediment transport in fluvial environments. This research presents a feasible strategy for applying state-of-the-art computational fluid mechanics to the study of sediment transport and morphodynamic processes in lateral separation zones, which are common features in canyon rivers where...
Storage capacity and sedimentation characteristics of Loch Lomond Reservoir, California, 2019
Daniel R. Whealdon-Haught, Scott Wright, Mathieu D. Marineau
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5081
In May of 2019, Loch Lomond Reservoir was surveyed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the city of Santa Cruz to assess the current storage capacity and sedimentation rates in the reservoir. Survey methods combined sonar soundings to measure bathymetry and lidar scans with GPS data to...
Assessment of multiple ecosystem metabolism methods in an estuary
Luke C. Loken, Erwin E Van Nieuwenhuyse, Randy A Dahlgren, Leah Kammel, Paul Stumpner, Jon R. Burau, Steven Sadro
2021, Limnology & Oceanography: Methods (19) 741-757
Ecosystem metabolism is a key ecological attribute and easy to describe, but quantifying metabolism in estuaries is challenging. Properly scaling measurements through time and space requires consideration of hydrodynamics and mixing water from heterogeneous sources, making any estimation uncertain. Here, we compared three methods for modeling...
Modeling watershed carbon dynamics as affected by land cover change and soil erosion
Jinxun Liu, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Paul C. Selmants, Jiaojiao Diao, Qiang Zhou, Bruce Worstell, Monica Mei Jeen Moritsch
2021, Ecological Modelling (459)
Process-based ecosystem carbon cycle models typically incorporate vegetation growth, vegetation mortality, and soil respiration as well as the biotic and environmental drivers that influence these variables. However, few spatially explicit process models can efficiently incorporate the influence of land cover change and carbon lateral movement at regional scales or high...
Forecasting drought probabilities for streams in the northeastern United States
Samuel H. Austin
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5084
Maximum likelihood logistic regression (MLLR) models for the northeastern United States forecast drought probability estimates for water flowing in rivers and streams using methods previously identified and developed. Streamflow data from winter months are used to estimate chances of hydrological drought during summer months. Daily streamflow data collected from 1,143...
A petrological and conceptual model of Mayon volcano (Philippines) as an example of an open-vent volcano
Dawn Catherine Sweeney Ruth, Fidel Costa
2021, Bulletin of Volcanology (83)
Mayon is a basaltic andesitic, open-vent volcano characterized by persistent passive degassing from the summit at 2463 m above sea level. Mid-size (<0.1 km3) and mildly explosive eruptions and occasional phreatic eruptions have occurred approximately every 10 years for over a hundred years. Mayon’s plumbing system structure, processes, and time scales driving...
The potential of satellite remote sensing time series to uncover wetland phenology under unique challenges of tidal setting
Gwendolyn Joelle Miller, Iryna Dronova, Patricia Oikawa, Sara Helen Knox, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Julie Shahan, Ellen Stuart-Haëntjens
Charles R. Bostater Jr., editor(s)
2021, Remote Sensing (13) 1-28
While growth history of vegetation within upland systems is well studied, plant phenology within coastal tidal systems is less understood. Landscape-scale, satellite-derived indicators of plant greenness may not adequately represent seasonality of vegetation biomass and productivity within tidal wetlands due to limitations of cloud cover, satellite temporal frequency and attenu-ation...
The structure and volume of large geysers in Yellowstone National Park, USA and the mineralogy and chemistry of their silica sinter deposits
Dakota Churchill, Michael Manga, Shaul Hurwitz, Sara Peek, David Damby, Richard Conrey, John R. Wood, R. Blaine McCleskey, William E. Keller, Behnaz Hosseini, Jefferson D.G. Hungerford
2021, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (419)
Siliceous sinter is formed by biogenic and abiogenic opal deposition around hot springs and geysers. Using Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry we generated three-dimensional models of Giant and Castle Geysers from the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park. We use these models to calculate...
Improvements to the Third Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast ETAS Model (UCERF3‐ETAS)
Edward H. Field, Kevin R. Milner, Morgan T. Page, William H. Savran, Nicholas van der Elst
2021, The Seismic Record (1) 117-125
We describe recent improvements to the Third Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast ETAS Model (UCERF3‐ETAS), which continues to represent our most advanced and complete earthquake forecast in terms of relaxing segmentation assumptions and representing multifault ruptures, elastic‐rebound effects, and spatiotemporal clustering (the latter to...
Estimating and forecasting time-varying groundwater recharge in fractured rock: A state-space formulation with preferential and diffuse flow to the water table
Allen M. Shapiro, Frederick Day-Lewis
2021, Water Resources Research (57)
Rapid infiltration following precipitation may result in groundwater contamination from surface contaminants or pathogens. In fractured rock, contaminants can migrate rapidly to points of groundwater withdrawals. In contrast to the temporal availability of groundwater quality chemical indicators, meteorological and groundwater level observations are available in real-time to estimate time-varying recharge,...
Global drivers of avian haemosporidian infections vary across zoogeographical regions
Alan Fecchio, Nicholas J. Clark, Jeffrey A Bell, Heather Skeen, Holly L Lutz, Gabriel M De La Torre, Jefferson A Vaughan, Vasyl V. Tkach, Fabio Schunck, Francisco C Ferreira, Erika M Braga, Camile Lugarini, Wanyoike Wamiti, Janice H Dispoto, Spencer C Galen, Karin Kirchgatter, M. Cecilia Sagario, Victor R Cueto, Daniel Gonzalez-Acuna, Mizue Inumaru, Yukita Sato, Yvonne R. Schumm, Petra Quillfeldt, Irene Pellegrino, Guha Dharmarajan, Pooja Gupta, V. V. Robin, Arif Ciloglu, Alparslan Yildirim, Xi Huang, Leonardo Chapa-Vargas, Paulina Alvarez-Mendizabal, Diego Santiago-Alarcon, Sergei V. Drovetski, Olof Hellgren, Gary Voelker, Robert E Ricklefs, Shannon Hackett, Michael D Collins, Jason D Weckstein, Konstans Wells
Pauline Kamath, editor(s)
2021, Global Ecology and Biogeography (30) 2393-2406
Aim: Macroecological analyses provide valuable insights into factors that influence how parasites are distributed across space and among hosts. Amid large uncertainties that arise when generalizing from local and regional findings, hierarchical approaches applied to global datasets are required to determine whether drivers of parasite infection patterns vary across scales....
Hotspot dune erosion on an intermediate beach
Nicholas Cohn, Katherine Brodie, Bradley Johnson, Margaret L. Palmsten
2021, Coastal Engineering (170)
A large, low pressure Nor’easter storm and Hurricane Joaquin contributed to multiple weeks of sustained, elevated wave and water level conditions along the southeastern Atlantic coast of the United States in Fall 2015. Sea level anomalies in excess of 1 m and...
Detrital signals of coastal erosion and fluvial sediment supply during glacio-eustatic sea-level rise, Southern California, USA
Glenn R. Sharman, Jacob A Covault, Daniel F. Stockli, Zack Sickmann, Matthew A. Malkowski, Samuel Johnstone
2021, Geology (49) 1501-1505
Coastal erosion, including sea-cliff retreat, represents both an important component of some sediment budgets and a significant threat to coastal communities in the face of rising sea level. Despite the importance of predicting future rates of coastal erosion, few prehistoric constraints exist on the relative...
