Timescale methods for simplifying, understanding and modeling biophysical and water quality processes in coastal aquatic ecosystems: A review
Lisa Lucas, Eric Deleersnijder
2020, Water (12)
In this article, we describe the use of diagnostic timescales as simple tools for illuminating how aquatic ecosystems work, with a focus on coastal systems such as estuaries, lagoons, tidal rivers, reefs, deltas, gulfs, and continental shelves. Intending this as a tutorial as well as a review, we discuss relevant...
Potentiometric surfaces, 2011–12, and water-level differences between 1995 and 2011–12, in wells of the “200-foot,” “500-foot,” and “700-foot” sands of the Lake Charles area, southwestern Louisiana
Vincent E. White, Jason M. Griffith
2020, Scientific Investigations Map 3460
Water levels were determined in 90 wells to prepare 2011–12 potentiometric surfaces focusing primarily on the “200-foot,” 500-foot,” and “700-foot” sands of the Lake Charles area, which are part of the Chicot aquifer system underlying Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes of southwestern Louisiana. These three aquifers provided 34 percent of the...
The collection and analysis of Bay of Fundy sediment under contract between the association of US delegates to the Gulf of Maine Council on the marine environment and eastern Charlotte waterways for contaminant monitoring and analysis
James S Latimer, David Page, Adria Elskus, Lawrence A LeBlanc, Gareth Harding, Peter G Wells
2020, Report
This report presents data obtained through the EcoSystem Indicator Partnership (ESIP) which was established in 2006 to improve understanding and to inform researchers, managers, and citizens about the status and trends of ecosystem health in the Gulf of Maine (http://www.gulfofmaine.org/2/esip-homepage/). In its efforts to compile information on contaminant indicators in...
Effects of dewatering on behavior, distribution, and abundance of larval lampreys
Julianne E. Harris, Joseph J. Skalicky, Theresa L. Liedtke, Lisa K. Weiland, Benjamin J. Clemens, Ann E. Gray
2020, River Research and Applications (36) 2001-2012
Anthropogenic dewatering of aquatic habitats can cause stranding and mortality of burrowed larval lampreys; however, the effects of dewatering have not been quantified. We assessed: (a) changes in spatial distribution, abundance, and emergence of larvae dewatered at Leaburg Reservoir (OR); (b) emergence and mortality of larvae dewatered in a laboratory;...
Modeling soil porewater salinity in mangrove forests (Everglades, Florida, USA) impacted by hydrological restoration and a warming climate
Xiaochen Zhao, Victor H. Rivera-Monroy, Hongqing Wang, Zuo Xue, Cheng-Feng Tsai, C. S. Willson, E. Castañeda-Moya, Robert R. Twilley
2020, Ecological Modelling (436)
Hydrology is a critical driver controlling mangrove wetlands structural and functional attributes at different spatial and temporal scales. Yet, human activities have negatively affected hydrology, causing mangrove diebacks and coverage loss worldwide. In fact, the assessment of mangrove water budgets, impacted by natural and human disturbances, is limited due to...
From lava to water: A new era at Kīlauea
Patricia A. Nadeau, Angela K. Diefenbach, Shaul Hurwitz, Donald A. Swanson
2020, Eos, Earth and Space Science News
No abstract available....
Integrating physical and economic data into experimental water accounts for the United States: Lessons and opportunities
Kenneth J. Bagstad, Zachary H. Ancona, Julie L. Hass, Pierre D. Glynn, Scott Wentland, Michael Vardon, John P. Fay
2020, Ecosystem Services (45)
Water management increasingly involves tradeoffs, making its accounting highly relevant in our interconnected world. Physical and economic data about water in many nations are becoming more widely integrated through application of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounts for Water (SEEA-Water), which enables...
Field evaluation of the Sequoia Scientific LISST-ABS acoustic backscatter sediment sensor
Adam E. Manaster, Timothy D. Straub, Molly S. Wood, Joseph M. Bell, Daniel E. Dombroski, Christopher A. Curran
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1096
Sequoia Scientific’s LISST-ABS is a submersible acoustic instrument that measures the acoustic backscatter sensor (ABS) concentration at a point within a river, stream, or creek. Compared to traditional physical methods for measuring suspended-sediment concentration (SSC), sediment surrogates like the LISST-ABS offer continuous data that can be calibrated with physical SSC...
Geologic framework and hydrostratigraphy of the Edwards and Trinity aquifers within northern Medina County, Texas
Allan K. Clark, Robert E. Morris, Diana E. Pedraza
2020, Scientific Investigations Map 3461
The karstic Edwards and Trinity aquifers are classified as major sources of water in south-central Texas by the Texas Water Development Board. During 2018–20 the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Edwards Aquifer Authority, mapped and described the geologic framework and hydrostratigraphy of the rocks composing the Edwards and...
The pathogenesis of a North American H5N2 clade 2.3.4.4 group A highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in surf scoters (Melanitta perspicillata)
Jasmine M. Luczo, Diann Prosser, Mary J. Pantin-Jackwood, Alicia Berlin, Erica Spackman
2020, BMC Veterinary Research (16)
BackgroundAquatic waterfowl, particularly those in the order Anseriformes and Charadriiformes, are the ecological reservoir of avian influenza viruses (AIVs). Dabbling ducks play a recognized role in the maintenance and transmission of AIVs. Furthermore, the pathogenesis of highly pathogenic AIV (HPAIV) in dabbling ducks is well characterized. In contrast, the role of...
Does the Darcy-Buckingham Law apply to flow through unsaturated porous rock?
Antonietta C. Turturro, Maria C. Caputo, Kimberlie Perkins, John R. Nimmo
2020, Water (12)
The Darcy–Buckingham (DB) law, critical to the prediction of unsaturated flow, is widely used but has rarely been experimentally tested, and therefore may not be adequate in certain conditions. Failure of this law would imply that the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity is not constant for a given water...
Soft sediment deformation in dry pyroclastic deposits at Ubehebe Crater, Death Valley, California
Greg A. Valentine, Judith E. Fierstein, James D.L. White
2020, Geology (49) 211-215
Soft sediment deformation structures are common in fine-grained pyroclastic deposits and are often taken, along with other characteristics, to indicate that deposits were emplaced in a wet and cohesive state. At Ubehebe Crater (Death Valley, California, USA), deposits were emplaced by multiple explosions,...
Total water level data from the January and March 2018 nor’easters for coastal areas of New England
Gardner C. Bent, Nicholas J. Taylor
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5048
During winter 2017–18 coastal areas of New England were impacted by the January 4, and March 2–4, 2018, nor’easters. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), under an interagency agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), collected total water level data (the combination of tide, storm surge, wave runup and setup,...
Observed and modeled mercury and dissolved organic carbon concentrations and loads at control structure S-12D, Florida Everglades, 2013–17
Amanda Booth, Brett A. Poulin, David P. Krabbenhoft
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1092
Mercury (Hg) has been a contaminant of concern for several decades in South Florida, particularly in the Florida Everglades. The transport and bioavailability of Hg in aquatic systems is intimately linked to dissolved organic carbon (DOC). In aquatic systems, Hg can be converted to methylmercury (MeHg), which is the form...
Phytoremediation of slightly brackish, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon‐contaminated groundwater from 250 ft below land surface: A pilot‐scale study using salt‐tolerant, endophyte‐enhanced hybrid poplar trees at a Superfund site in the Central Valley of California, April‒November 2019
James E. Landmeyer, Steven Rock, John Freeman, Greg Nagle, Mark Samolis, Herb Levine, Anna-Marie Cook, Harry O’Neill
2020, Remediation Journal (31) 73-89
Slightly brackish groundwater contaminated by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at a Superfund site in the Central Valley of California was pumped from 250 feet below land surface to a water storage tank using solar power and then gravity‐fed into 18, 330‐gallon intermediate bulk containers (totes) as follows:(1)Five totes...
Occurrence and spatiotemporal dynamics of pharmaceuticals in a temperate-region wastewater effluent-dominated stream: Variable inputs and differential attenuation yield evolving complex exposure mixtures
Hui Zhi, Dana W. Kolpin, R. D. Klaper, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Shannon M. Meppelink, Gregory H. LeFevre
2020, Environmental Science & Technology (54) 12967-12978
Effluent-dominated streams are becoming increasingly common in temperate regions and generate complex pharmaceutical mixture exposure conditions that may impact aquatic organisms via drug–drug interactions. Here, we quantified spatiotemporal pharmaceutical exposure concentrations and composition mixture dynamics during baseflow conditions at four sites...
Calibration of carbonate-water triple oxygen isotope fractionation: Seeing through diagenesis in ancient carbonates
Jordan A. G. Wostbrock, Uwe Brand, Tyler B. Coplen, Peter K. Swart, Sandra J. Carlson, Adrian J. Brearley, Zachary D. Sharp
2020, Geochemica et Cosmochimica Acta (288) 369-388
High precision triple oxygen isotope measurements of carbonates can better constrain temperatures and oxygen isotope compositions of seawater through geologic time than 18O/16O measurements alone, but lack of a definitive calibration has hindered progress. In this study, we fluorinated both carbonate and water samples to measure quantitatively the triple oxygen isotope composition of...
Compounds of emerging concern detected in water samples from potable water and wastewater treatment plants and detected in water and bed-sediment samples from sites on the Trinity River, Dallas, Texas, 2009–13
Christopher J. Churchill, Stanley Baldys, Cathina L. Gunn, Craig A. Mobley, Daniel P. Quigley
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5019
The population in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area in northern Texas is rapidly growing, resulting in a rapid increase in the demand for potable water and an increase in the discharge of wastewater treatment plant effluent. An assessment of compounds of emerging concern (CECs) in samples collected at potable water...
Methods for estimating selected low-flow frequency statistics and mean annual flow for ungaged locations on streams in Alabama
Toby D. Feaster, Katharine Kolb, Jaime A. Painter, Jimmy M. Clark
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5099
Streamflow data and statistics are vitally important for proper protection and management of the water quality and water quantity of Alabama streams. Such data and statistics are generally available at U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations, also referred to as streamgages or stations, but are often needed at ungaged stream locations....
Stressor identification framework of biological impairment in Mississippi streams to support watershed restoration and TMDL development
Matthew B. Hicks, Jennifer M. Cartwright
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5098
The Clean Water Act (CWA) requires States to identify waters that are impaired for designated uses. These waters are published through a State’s §303(d) list. The CWA also requires that a total maximum daily load (TMDL) be completed for each water body to calculate the maximum amount of contaminants that...
Climate has contrasting direct and indirect effects on armed conflicts
David Helman, Benjamin F. Zaitchik, Chris Funk
2020, Environmental Research Letters (15)
There is an active debate regarding the influence that climate has on the risk of armed conflict, which stems from challenges in assembling unbiased datasets, competing hypotheses on the mechanisms of climate influence, and the difficulty of disentangling direct and indirect climate effects. We use gridded historical non-state conflict records,...
Neonicotinoid insecticide concentrations in agricultural wetlands and associations with aquatic invertebrate communities
T.J. Schepker, Elisabeth B. Webb, Donald E. Tillitt, T. LaGrange
2020, Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment (287)
Neonicotinoids are considered a superior insecticide for agricultural pest management, although their impacts on non-target insects is a rising concern. Aside from laboratory and mesocosm studies, limited research has been directed towards the role neonicotinoids may have in structuring aquatic invertebrate communities...
Ultra‐high‐resolution mapping of biocrusts with Unmanned Aerial Systems
Caroline Havrilla, Miguel L. Villarreal, Jacob DiBiase, Michael C. Duniway, Nichole Barger
2020, Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation (6) 441-456
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) occur in drylands globally where they support ecosystem functioning by increasing soil stability, reducing dust emissions and modifying soil resource availability (e.g. water, nutrients). Determining biocrust condition and extent across landscapes continues to present considerable challenges to scientists and land managers. Biocrusts...
Ecohydrological responses to surface flow across borders: Two decades of changes in vegetation greenness and water use in the riparian corridor of the Colorado River Delta
Pamela L. Nagler, Armando Barreto-Muñoz, Sattar Chavoshi Borujeni, Christopher J. Jarchow, Marth M. Gómez‐Sapiens, Hamideh Nouri, Stefanie M. Herrmann, Kamel Didan
2020, Hydrological Processes (34) 4851-4883
Hydrological and bioclimatic processes that lead to drought may stress plants and wildlife, restructure plant community type and architecture, increase monotypic stands and bare soils, facilitate the invasion of non‐native plant species and accelerate soil erosion. Our study focuses on the impact of a paucity of Colorado River surface flows...
Application of a new species-richness based flow ecology framework for assessing flow reduction effects on aquatic communities
Jennifer Rapp, Robert W. Burgholzer, Joseph D Kleiner, Durelle R Scott, Elaina M Passero
2020, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (6) 967-980
Water‐resources managers are challenged with maintaining a balance among beneficial uses throughout river networks and need robust means of assessing potential risks to aquatic life resulting from flow alterations. This study generated ecological limit functions from species‐streamflow relations to quantify potential fish richness response to flow...
