Instrumental record of debris flow initiation during natural rainfall: Implications for modeling slope stability
D. R. Montgomery, K. M. Schmidt, W. E. Dietrich, J. McKean
2009, Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface (114)
The middle of a hillslope hollow in the Oregon Coast Range failed and mobilized as a debris flow during heavy rainfall in November 1996. Automated pressure transducers recorded high spatial variability of pore water pressure within the area that mobilized as a debris flow, which initiated...
Synergistic use of optical and InSAR data for urban impervious surface mapping: A case study in Hong Kong
L. Jiang, M. Liao, H. Lin, L. Yang
2009, International Journal of Remote Sensing (30) 2781-2796
A wide range of urban ecosystem studies, including urban hydrology, urban climate, land use planning and watershed resource management, require accurate and up‐to‐date geospatial data of urban impervious surfaces. In this study, the potential of the synergistic use of optical and InSAR data in urban impervious surface mapping at the...
Mercury isotopic composition of hydrothermal systems in the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field and Guaymas Basin sea-floor rift
L.S. Sherman, J.D. Blum, D. Kirk Nordstrom, R. Blaine McCleskey, T. Barkay, C. Vetriani
2009, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (279) 86-96
To characterize mercury (Hg) isotopes and isotopic fractionation in hydrothermal systems we analyzed fluid and precipitate samples from hot springs in the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field and vent chimney samples from the Guaymas Basin sea-floor rift. These samples provide an initial indication of the variability in Hg isotopic composition among...
Greenhouse gas flux from cropland and restored wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region
R.A. Gleason, B.A. Tangen, B.A. Browne, N.H. Euliss Jr.
2009, Soil Biology and Biochemistry (41) 2501-2507
It has been well documented that restored wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America do store carbon. However, the net benefit of carbon sequestration in wetlands in terms of a reduction in global warming forcing has often been questioned because of potentially greater emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs)...
Relationship between body condition of American alligators and water depth in the Everglades, Florida
Ikuko Fujisaki, Kenneth G. Rice, Leonard G. Pearlstine, Frank J. Mazzotti
2009, Hydrobiologia (635) 329-338
Feeding opportunities of American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) in freshwater wetlands in south Florida are closely linked to hydrologic conditions. In the Everglades, seasonally and annually fluctuating surface water levels affect populations of aquatic organisms that alligators consume. Since prey becomes more concentrated when water depth decreases, we hypothesized an inverse...
Newly recognized hosts for uranium in the Hanford Site vadose zone
J.E. Stubbs, L.A. Veblen, D.C. Elbert, J.M. Zachara, J.A. Davis, D.R. Veblen
2009, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (73) 1563-1576
Uranium contaminated sediments from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hanford Site have been investigated using electron microscopy. Six classes of solid hosts for uranium were identified. Preliminary sediment characterization was carried out using optical petrography, and electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) was used to locate materials that host uranium. All of...
A simulation of historic hydrology and salinity in Everglades National Park: Coupling paleoecologic assemblage data with regression models
Frank E. Marshall, G. Lynn Wingard, Patrick A. Pitts
2009, Estuaries and Coasts (32) 37-53
Restoration of Florida’s Everglades requires scientifically supportable hydrologic targets. This study establishes a restoration baseline by developing a method to simulate hydrologic and salinity conditions prior to anthropogenic changes. The method couples paleoecologic data on long-term historic ecosystem conditions with statistical models derived from observed meteorologic and hydrologic data that...
Analysis of hydromechanical well tests in fractured sedimentary rock at the NAWC site, New Jersey
L.C. Murdoch, D.B. Hisz, J.F. Ebenhack, D.E. Fowler, C. R. Tiedeman, L.N. Germanovich
2009, Conference Paper, 43rd U.S. Rock Mechanics Symposium and 4th U.S.-Canada Rock Mechanics Symposium
No abstract available....
Dike intrusions into bituminous coal, Illinois Basin: H, C, N, O isotopic responses to rapid and brief heating
A. Schimmelmann, Maria Mastalerz, L. Gao, P.E. Sauer, K. Topalov
2009, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (73) 6264-6281
Unlike long-term heating in subsiding sedimentary basins, the near-instantaneous thermal maturation of sedimentary organic matter near magmatic intrusions is comparable to artificial thermal maturation in the laboratory in terms of short duration and limited extent. This study investigates chemical and H, C, N, O isotopic changes in high volatile bituminous...
Arsenic in the evolution of earth and extraterrestrial ecosystems
R.S. Oremland, C.W. Saltikov, Felisa Wolfe-Simon, J.F. Stolz
2009, Geomicrobiology Journal (26) 522-536
If you were asked to speculate about the form extra-terrestrial life on Mars might take, which geomicrobial phenomenon might you select as a model system, assuming that life on Mars would be ‘primitive’? Give your reasons.At the end of my senior year at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1968, I...
Hydrologic control of nitrogen removal, storage, and export in a mountain stream
R.O. Hall, M. A. Baker, C.D. Arp, B.J. Kocha
2009, Limnology and Oceanography (54) 2128-2142
Nutrient cycling and export in streams and rivers should vary with flow regime, yet most studies of stream nutrient transformation do not include hydrologic variability. We used a stable isotope tracer of nitrogen (15N) to measure nitrate (NO3−) uptake, storage, and export in a mountain stream, Spring Creek, Idaho, U.S.A....
Two statistics for evaluating parameter identifiability and error reduction
John Doherty, Randall J. Hunt
2009, Journal of Hydrology (366) 119-127
Two statistics are presented that can be used to rank input parameters utilized by a model in terms of their relative identifiability based on a given or possible future calibration dataset. Identifiability is defined here as the capability of model calibration to constrain parameters used by a model. Both statistics...
Shallow water processes govern system-wide phytoplankton bloom dynamics: A modeling study
L.V. Lucas, Jeffrey R. Koseff, Stephen G. Monismith, J.K. Thompson
2009, Journal of Marine Systems (75) 70-86
A pseudo-two-dimensional numerical model of estuarine phytoplankton growth and consumption, vertical turbulent mixing, and idealized cross-estuary transport was developed and applied to South San Francisco Bay. This estuary has two bathymetrically distinct habitat types (deep channel, shallow shoal) and associated differences in local net rates of phytoplankton growth and consumption,...
Salinity tolerance and mycorrhizal responsiveness of native xeroriparian plants in semi-arid western USA
Vanessa B. Beauchamp, C. Walz, P.B. Shafroth
2009, Applied Soil Ecology (43) 175-184
Restoration of salt-affected soils is a global concern. In the western United States, restoration of salinized land, particularly in river valleys, often involves control of Tamarix, an introduced species with high salinity tolerance. Revegetation of hydrologically disconnected floodplains and terraces after Tamarix removal is often difficult because of limited knowledge...
Spatially detailed quantification of metal loading for decision making: Metal mass loading to American fork and Mary Ellen Gulch, Utah
B. A. Kimball, R.L. Runkel
2009, Mine Water and the Environment (28) 274-290
Effective remediation requires an understanding of the relative contributions of metals from all sources in a catchment, and that understanding must be based on a spatially detailed quantification of metal loading. A traditional approach to quantifying metal loading has been to measure discharge and chemistry at a catchment outlet. This...
Hydrograph separation for karst watersheds using a two-domain rainfall-discharge model
Andrew J. Long
2009, Journal of Hydrology (364) 249-256
Highly parameterized, physically based models may be no more effective at simulating the relations between rainfall and outflow from karst watersheds than are simpler models. Here an antecedent rainfall and convolution model was used to separate a karst watershed hydrograph into two outflow components: one originating from focused recharge in...
Urban streams across the USA: Lessons learned from studies in 9 metropolitan areas
Larry R. Brown, Thomas F. Cuffney, James F. Coles, Faith A. Fitzpatrick, Gerard McMahon, Jeffrey Steuer, Amanda H. Bell, Jason T. May
2009, Journal of the North American Benthological Society (28) 1051-1069
Studies of the effects of urbanization on stream ecosystems have usually focused on single metropolitan areas. Synthesis of the results of such studies have been useful in developing general conceptual models of the effects of urbanization, but the strength of such generalizations is enhanced by applying consistent study designs and...
Biodegradation of 17β-estradiol, estrone, and testosterone in stream sediments
P. M. Bradley, F. H. Chapelle, L. B. Barber, P.B. McMahon, J.L. Gray, D.W. Kolpin
2009, Conference Paper, In Situ and On-Site Bioremediation-2009: Proceedings of the 10th International In Situ and On-Site Bioremediation Symposium
The release of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent poses a significant threat to the ecology of surface water receptors, due to impacts on the hormonal control, sexual development, reproductive success and community structure of the indigenous aquatic organisms and associated wildlife. Among the EDCs commonly observed...
Case study of a full-scale evapotranspiration cover
Patrick E. McGuire, Brian J. Andraski, Ryan E. Archibald
2009, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering (135) 316-332
The design, construction, and performance analyses of a 6.1ha evapotranspiration (ET) landfill cover at the semiarid U.S. Army Fort Carson site, near Colorado Springs, Colo. are presented. Initial water-balance model simulations, using literature reported soil hydraulic data, aided selection of borrow-source soil type(s) that resulted in predictions...
Groundwater's significance to changing hydrology, water chemistry, and biological communities of a floodplain ecosystem, Everglades, South Florida, USA
J. W. Harvey, P.V. McCormick
2009, Hydrogeology Journal (17) 185-201
The Everglades (Florida, USA) is one of the world's larger subtropical peatlands with biological communities adapted to waters low in total dissolved solids and nutrients. Detecting how the pre-drainage hydrological system has been altered is crucial to preserving its functional attributes. However, reliable tools for hindcasting historic conditions in the...
Kootenai River velocities, depth, and white sturgeon spawning site selection – A mystery unraveled?
V.L. Paragamian, R. McDonald, G.J. Nelson, G. Barton
2009, Journal of Applied Ichthyology (25) 640-646
The Kootenai River white sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus population in Idaho, US and British Columbia (BC), Canada became recruitment limited shortly after Libby Dam became fully operational on the Kootenai River, Montana, USA in 1974. In the USA the species was listed under the Endangered Species Act in September of 1994. Kootenai River...
Relating groundwater to seasonal wetlands in southeastern Wisconsin, USA
J.D. Skalbeck, D.M. Reed, R. J. Hunt, J.D. Lambert
2009, Hydrogeology Journal (17) 215-228
Historically, drier types of wetlands have been difficult to characterize and are not well researched. Nonetheless, they are considered to reflect the precipitation history with little, if any, regard for possible relation to groundwater. Two seasonal coastal wetland types (wet prairie, sedge meadow) were investigated during three growing seasons at...
Concentrations and loads of suspended sediment-associated pesticides in the San Joaquin River, California and tributaries during storm events
M.L. Hladik, Joseph L. Domagalski, K.M. Kuivila
2009, Science of the Total Environment (408) 356-364
Current-use pesticides associated with suspended sediments were measured in the San Joaquin River, California and its tributaries during two storm events in 2008. Nineteen pesticides were detected: eight herbicides, nine insecticides, one fungicide and one insecticide synergist. Concentrations for the herbicides (0.1 to 3000 ng/g; median of 6.1 ng/g) were...
Local-scale variability of seepage and hydraulic conductivity in a shallow gravel-bed river
D.O. Rosenberry, J. Pitlick
2009, Hydrological Processes (23) 3306-3318
Seepage rate and direction measured with a seepage metre modified for use in flowing water were greatly variable along a 300-m reach of a shallow, gravel-bed river and depended primarily on the local-scale bed topography. The median value of seepage measured at 24 locations was 24 cm/day, but seepage measured...
Modeling nitrate-nitrogen load reduction strategies for the des moines river, iowa using SWAT
K. E. Schilling, C.F. Wolter
2009, Environmental Management (44) 671-682
The Des Moines River that drains a watershed of 16,175 km2 in portions of Iowa and Minnesota is impaired for nitrate-nitrogen (nitrate) due to concentrations that exceed regulatory limits for public water supplies. The Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was used to model streamflow and nitrate loads and evaluate...