Reducing leaf litter contributions of phosphorus and nitrogen to urban stormwater through municipal leaf collection and street cleaning practices
William R. Selbig, Nicolas H. Buer, Roger T. Bannerman, Phillip Gaebler
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5109
As the boundaries of urban land use continue to expand, environmental managers are looking for innovative ways to reduce export of nutrients from urban sources. Municipal services such as leaf collection and street cleaning have the potential to reduce nutrient pollution at its source while continuing to offer services valued...
Arsenic and uranium occurrence in private wells in Connecticut, 2013–18—A spatially weighted and bedrock geology assessment
Eliza L. Gross, Craig J. Brown
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1111
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Connecticut Department of Public Health, conducted a study to determine the presence of arsenic and uranium in private drinking water wells in Connecticut. Samples were collected during 2013–18 from wells completed in 115 geologic units, with 2,433 samples analyzed for arsenic and...
Improving the ability to include freshwater wetland plants in process-based models
Amber S. Williams, David M. Mushet, Megan Lang, Gregory W. McCarty, Jill A. Shaffer, Sharon N. Kahara, Mari-Vaughn V. Johnson, James R. Kiniry
2020, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (75) 704-712
Considerable effort and resources have been placed into conservation programs designed to reduce or alleviate negative environmental effects of crop production and into evaluation of the benefits of these programs. Wetlands are an important source of ecosystem services, but modeling wetland plants is an emerging science....
Contemporary fire regimes provide a critical perspective on restoration needs in the Mexico-United States borderlands
Miguel L. Villarreal, Jose M. Iniguez, Aaron D. Flesch, Jamie S. Sanderlin, Citlali Cortes Montano, Caroline Rose Conrad, Sandra L. Haire
2020, Air, Soil and Water Research (13) 1-18
The relationship between people and wildfire has always been paradoxical: fire is an essential ecological process and management tool, but can also be detrimental to life and property. Consequently, fire regimes have been modified throughout history through both intentional burning to promote benefits and active suppression to reduce risks. Reintroducing...
Recent and projected precipitation and temperature changes in the Grand Canyon area with implications for groundwater resources
Fred D. Tillman, Subhrendu Gangopadhyay, Tom Pruitt
2020, Scientific Reports (10)
Groundwater is a critical resource in the Grand Canyon region, supplying nearly all water needs for residents and millions of visitors. Additionally, groundwater discharging at hundreds of spring locations in and near Grand Canyon supports important ecosystems in this mostly arid environment. The security of groundwater supplies is of critical...
Quality assurance/quality control procedure for New Jersey’s water-use data for the New Jersey Water Transfer Data System (NJWaTr)
Jennifer L. Shourds
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1085
This report is an instructional reference document that describes methods developed and used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) New Jersey Water Science Center (NJWSC) to assure the quality and completeness of water-use data as provided by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Bureau of Water Allocation. These...
Trends in recent historical and projected climate data for the Colorado River Basin and potential effects on groundwater availability
Fred D. Tillman, Subhrendu Gangopadhyay, Tom Pruitt
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5107
Understanding recent historical and projected trends in precipitation and temperature in the Colorado River Basin, and estimating what the projected changes in these climate parameters may mean for groundwater resources in the region, is important for water managers and policymakers to sustainably manage water resources in the basin. Historical (1896–2019)...
Alkalic-type epithermal gold deposit model
Karen D. Kelley, Paul G. Spry, Virginia T. McLemore, David L. Fey, Eric D. Anderson
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5070-R
This report summarizes the primary characteristics of alkalic-type epithermal gold (Au) deposits and provides an updated descriptive model. These deposits, primarily of Mesozoic to Neogene age, are among the largest epithermal gold deposits in the world. Considered a subset of low-sulfidation epithermal deposits, they are spatially and genetically linked to...
Spatial variability in seasonal snowpack trends across the Rio Grande headwaters (1984 - 2017)
Graham A. Sexstone, Colin A. Penn, Glen Liston, Kelly Gleason, C. David Moeser, David W. Clow
2020, Journal of Hydrometeorology (21) 2713-2733
This study evaluated the spatial variability of trends in simulated snowpack properties across the Rio Grande headwaters of Colorado using the SnowModel snow evolution modeling system. SnowModel simulations were performed using a grid resolution of 100 m and 3-hourly time step over a 34-yr period (1984–2017). Atmospheric forcing was provided...
A synthesis of patterns of environmental mercury inputs, exposure and effects in New York State
David C. Evers, Amy K. Sauer, Douglas A. Burns, Nicholas S Fisher, Diane Bertok, Evan M. Adams, Mark E H Burton, Charles T. Driscoll
2020, Ecotoxicology (29) 1565-1589
Mercury (Hg) pollution is an environmental problem that adversely affects human and ecosystem health at local, regional, and global scales—including within New York State. More than two-thirds of the Hg currently released to the environment originates, either directly or indirectly, from human activities. Since the early...
Trihalomethane precursors: Land use hot spots, persistence during transport, and management options
Robert S. Eckard, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Brian A. Pellerin, Tamara E. C. Kraus, Peter J. Hernes
2020, Science of the Total Environment (742)
To meet drinking water regulations, rather than investing in costly treatment plant operations, managers can look for ways to improve source water quality; this requires understanding watershed sources and fates of constituents of concern. Trihalomethanes (THMs) are one of the major classes of regulated disinfection byproducts, formed when a specific fraction of the organic...
The INI North American Regional Nitrogen Center: 2011–2015 nitrogen activities in North America
Jill S. Baron, Eric A. Davidson
2020, Book chapter, Just enough nitrogen
The North American Nitrogen Center (NANC) carries out three main charges: (1) conducting assessments on nitrogen (N) flows within North America and the consequences for human health, water resources, biodiversity, and greenhouse gas emissions; (2) facilitating efforts to develop solutions to the problem of excess nitrogen in agricultural,...
Diets of double-crested cormorants in the Winnebago System, Wisconsin
Ryan P. Koenigs, Daniel J. Dembkowski, Charles D. Lovell, Daniel A. Isermann, Adam Nickel
2020, Fisheries Management and Ecology (28) 183-193
Double-crested cormorant Phalacrocorox auritus Lesson (cormorant) populations have increased throughout the Great Lakes region of North America causing concern related to the impact of cormorant predation on fish communities. A recent decline in yellow perch Perca flavescens (Mitchill) abundance within the Lake Winnebago System, Wisconsin, USA, prompted an assessment of cormorant diets to evaluate...
Bedrock geologic map of the 15' Sleetmute A-2 quadrangle, southwestern Alaska
Robert Blodgett, Frederic H. Wilson, Nora B. Shew, James G. Clough
2020, Scientific Investigations Map 3450
Twelve unnamed, bedrock stratigraphic units are recognized within the Sleetmute A-2 1:63,360-scale quadrangle of southwestern Alaska. These units range in age from late(?) Proterozoic through Devonian and can be divided into two distinct facies belts: (1) a southern facies of dominantly shallow-water platform carbonate and minor siliciclastic rocks (including Early...
Literature reviewed estimates of riparian consumptive water use in the drylands of Northeast Arizona, USA
Pamela L. Nagler
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1129
This report provides the best estimates of riparian area evapotranspiration (ET) on the rivers and streams of the Navajo Nation by (1) quantifying the natural riparian vegetation water use within the Little Colorado River watershed using a literature search for comparable riparian ET estimates, and (2) in conjunction with the...
Shorebird research at the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center
Dan Ruthrauff, T. Lee Tibbitts, John Pearce
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3056
Shorebirds—which include sandpipers, plovers, and oystercatchers—are perhaps best known by their presence on sandy beaches, running along the water’s edge while they probe for food. But they are probably less recognized for their impressive long-distance migrations. Millions of individuals travel from across the globe to breed throughout Alaska each spring,...
The firn meltwater Retention Model Intercomparison Project (RetMIP): Evaluation of nine firn models at four weather station sites on the Greenland ice sheet
Baptiste Vandecrux, Ruth Mottram, Peter Langen, Robert Fausto, Martin Olesen, C. Max Stevens, Vincent Verjans, Amber Lee, Stefan Ligtenberg, Peter Kuipers Munneke, Sergey S. Marchenko, Ward van Pelt, Colin R. Meyer, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Achim Heilig, Samira Samimi, Shawn J. Marshall, Horst Machguth, Michael J. MacFerrin, Masashi Niwano, Olivia L. Miller, Clifford I. Voss, Jason E. Box
2020, The Cryosphere (14) 3785-3810
Perennial snow, or firn, covers 80 % of the Greenland ice sheet and has the capacity to retain surface meltwater, influencing the ice sheet mass balance and contribution to sea-level rise. Multilayer firn models are traditionally used to simulate firn processes and estimate meltwater retention. We present, intercompare and evaluate outputs...
Phasing of millennial-scale climate variability in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans
Maureen Walczak, Alan Mix, Ellen Cowan, Stewart Fallon, Keith Fitfield, Jay R. Alder, Jianghui Du, Brian Haley, Tim Hobern, June Padman, Summer K. Praetorius, Andreas Schmittner, Joseph Stoner, Sarah Zellers
2020, Science (370) 716-720
New radiocarbon and sedimentological results from the Gulf of Alaska document recurrent millennial-scale episodes of reorganized Pacific Ocean ventilation synchronous with rapid Cordilleran Ice Sheet discharge, indicating close coupling of ice-ocean dynamics spanning the past 42,000 years. Ventilation of the intermediate-depth North Pacific tracks strength of the Asian monsoon, supporting...
High prevalence of biliary neoplasia in white perch Morone americana: Potential roles of bile duct parasites and environmental contaminants
Mark A Matsche, Vicki S. Blazer, Erin Pulster, Patricia M. Mazik
2020, Diseases of Aquatic Organisms (141) 195-224
Recent surveys of white perch Morone americana from Chesapeake Bay, USA, revealed a high prevalence of hepatic and biliary lesions, including neoplasia, and bile duct parasites. Here, we describe lesions in the liver and gallbladder and evaluate for statistical associations among lesions, parasites, and biomarkers of chemical exposure in fish from 2...
Comparison of groundwater storage changes from GRACE satellites with monitoring and modeling of major U.S. aquifers
Ashraf Rateb, Bridget R. Scanlon, Donald R. Pool, Alexander Y. Sun, Zizhan Zhang, Jianli Chen, Brian R. Clark, Dianna M. Crilley, Connor J. Haugh, Christopher M. Hobza, Mary C Hill, Virginia L. McGuire, Meredith Reitz, Hannes Muller Schmied Schmied, Edwin H. Sutanudjaja, Sean Swenson, David Wiese, Youlong Xia, Wesley O. Zell
2020, Water Resources Research (56)
GRACE satellite data are widely used to estimate groundwater storage (GWS) changes in aquifers globally; however, comparisons with GW monitoring and modeling data are limited. Here we compared GWS changes from GRACE over 15 yr (2002–2017) in 14 major U.S. aquifers with groundwater-level (GWL) monitoring data in ~23,000...
Assessing uranium and select trace elements associated with breccia pipe uranium deposits in the Colorado River and main tributaries in Grand Canyon, USA
Fred D. Tillman, Jessica R. Anderson, Joel A. Unema, Thomas Chapin
2020, PLoS ONE (15)
Assessing chemical loading from streams in remote, difficult-to-access watersheds is challenging. The Grand Canyon area in northern Arizona, an international tourist destination and sacred place for many Native Americans, is characterized by broad plateaus divided by canyons as much as two-thousand meters deep and hosts some of the highest-grade uranium...
An assessment of the thiamine status of Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu) in the Susquehanna River watershed
Daniel E. Spooner, Dale C. Honeyfield, Kristin Laura Boggs, Dustin R. Shull, Timothy Wertz, Stephanie Sweet
2020, Northeastern Naturalist (27) 596-611
Unpredictable recruitment and physical abnormalities (sores and lesions) have been observed in populations of Micropterus dolomieu (Smallmouth Bass) throughout the Susquehanna River basin. Malnutrition has been proposed as one of among several potential stressors, yet little to no information was available to critically assess its feasibility as...
Ryder Glacier in northwest Greenland is shielded from warm Atlantic water by a bathymetric sill
Martin Jakobsson, Larry Mayer, Johan Nilsson, Christian Stranne, Brian Calder, Matthew O’Regan, J. Farrell, Thomas M. Cronin, Volker Bruchert, Julek Chawarski, Bjorn Eriksson, Jonas Fredriksson, Laura Gemery, Anna Glueder, Felicity A. Holmes, Kevin Jerram, Nina Kirchner, Alan Mix, Julia Muchowski, Abhay Prakash, Brendan Reilly, Brett Thornton, Adam Ulfsbo, Elizabeteh Weidner, Henning Akesson, Tamara Handl, Emelie Stahl, Lee-Gray Boze, Sam Reed, Gabriel West, June Padman
2020, Nature Communications (1)
The processes controlling advance and retreat of outlet glaciers in fjords draining the Greenland Ice Sheet remain poorly known, undermining assessments of their dynamics and associated sea-level rise in a warming climate. Mass loss of the Greenland Ice Sheet has increased six-fold over the last four...
Soil moisture product validation good practices protocol, version 1.0
Carsten Montzka, Michael H. Cosh, Bagher Bayat, Ahmad Al Bitar, Aaron Berg, Rajat Bindlish, Heye Reemt Bogena, John D. Bolton, Francois Cabot, Todd Caldwell, Steven Chan, Andreas Colliander, Wade Crow, Narendra Das, Gabrielle De Lannoy, Wouter Dorigo, Steven R. Evett, Alexander Gruber, Sebastian Hahn, Thomas Jagdhuber, Scott F. Jones, Yann Kerr, Seung-bum Kim, Christian Koyama, Mehmed Kurum, Ernesto Lopez-Baeza, Francesco Mattia, Kaighin A. McColl, Susanne Mecklenburg, Binayak Mohanty, Peggy O’Neill, Dani Or, Thierry Pellarin, George P. Petropoulos, Maria Piles, Rolf H. Reichle, Nemesio Rodriguez-Fernandez, Christoph Rudiger, Tracy Scanlon, Robert C. Schwartz, Daniel Spengler, Prashant K. Srivastava, Swati Suman, Robin van der Schalie, Wolfgang Wagner, Urs Wegmuller, Jean-Pierre Wigneron, Fernando Camacho, Jaime Nickeson
Carsten Montzka, Michael H. Cosh, Fernando Camacho, Jaime Nickeson, editor(s)
2020, Report
The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) included soil moisture in the list of Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) to express its important role in Earth’s water, energy and carbon cycle. Soil moisture has a major impact on agriculture, land surface hydrology, weather, and climate forecasting. This document is a community-based effort to provide recommendations...
Effects of a crude-oil recovery remediation system operated 1999–2003 on groundwater plumes and unsaturated-zone vapor concentrations at a crude-oil spill site near Bemidji, Minnesota
Geoffrey N. Delin, William N. Herkelrath, Jared J. Trost
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5111
A crude-oil spill occurred in 1979 when a pipeline burst near Bemidji, Minnesota. More than 70 percent of the 1.7 million liters of spilled crude oil was removed shortly thereafter. In response to a requirement by the State regulatory agency to remove the remaining crude to a sheen in all...
