Impacts of Hurricane Rita on the beaches of western Louisiana
Hilary F. Stockdon, Laura A. Fauver, Sallenger Jr., C. Wayne Wright
2007, Circular 1306-5D
Hurricane Rita made landfall as a category 3 storm in western Louisiana in late September 2005, 1 month following Hurricane Katrina's devastating landfall in the eastern part of the State. Large waves and storm surge inundated the lowelevation coastline, destroying many communities and causing extensive coastal change including beach, dune,...
Impacts of Hurricane Katrina on floodplain forests of the Pearl River
Stephen Faulkner, Wylie Barrow, Brady R. Couvillion, William Conner, Lori Randall, Michael Baldwin
2007, Circular 1306-6A
Floodplain forests are an important habitat for Neotropical migratory birds. Hurricane Katrina passed through the Pearl River flood plain shortly after making landfall. Field measurements on historical plots and remotely sensed data were used to assess the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the structure of floodplain forests of the Pearl...
Wind damage and salinity effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on coastal baldcypress forests of Louisiana
Thomas W. Doyle, William H. Conner, Richard H. Day, Ken W. Krauss, Christopher M. Swarzenski
2007, Circular 1306-6F
The frequency of hurricane landfall in a given coastal stretch may play a more important role in the ecology of coastal forests than previously thought because of direct and indirect impacts of fallen trees and the introduction of salt water that lingers long after the storm passes. Findings show that...
Characterization of flood sediments from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and potential implications for human health and the environment
Geoffrey S. Plumlee, William T. Foreman, Dale W. Griffin, John K. Lovelace, Gregory P. Meeker, Charles R. Demas
2007, Circular 1306-7I
The flooding in the greater New Orleans, La., area that resulted from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in August and September 2005 left behind accumulations of sediments up to many centimeters thick on streets, lawns, parking lots, and other flat surfaces (fig. 1). During the flood dewatering and subsequent cleanup, there...
Major and Trace-Element Data from Stream-Sediment and Rock Samples Collected in the Taylor Mountains 1:250,000-Scale Quadrangle, Alaska
Elizabeth A. Bailey, Gregory K. Lee, Seth H. Mueller, Bronwen Wang, Zoe Ann Brown, Greg A. Beischer
2007, Open-File Report 2007-1196
In the summers of 2004, 2005, and 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a reconnaissance geochemical survey of the drainage basins throughout most of the Taylor Mountains 1:250,000-scale quadrangle, in southwestern Alaska. The purpose of the study was to locate areas of potential interest for ore minerals, provide data that...
Contaminated salmon and the public's trust
Samuel N. Luoma, Ragnar E. Lofstedt
2007, Environmental Science & Technology (41) 1811-1814
Scientific uncertainties often make it difficult for environmental policy makers to determine how to communicate risks to the public. A constructive, holistic, multisectoral dialogue about an issue can improve understanding of uncertainties from different perspectives and clarify options for risk communication. Many environmental issues could benefit from explicit promotion of...
Biodegradation of organic chemicals in soil/water microcosms system: Model development
L. Liu, J.A. Tindall, M.J. Friedel, W. Zhang
2007, Water, Air, & Soil Pollution (178) 131-143
The chemical interactions of hydrophobic organic contaminants with soils and sediments may result in strong binding and slow subsequent release rates that significantly affect remediation rates and endpoints. In order to illustrate the recalcitrance of chemical to degradation on sites, a sorption mechanism of intraparticle sequestration was postulated to operate...
Twenty-four years of Great Lakes lichen studies provide park biomonitoring baselines
J. P. Bennett
2007, Report D-1859
Brown-headed cowbird, Molothrus ater, parasitism and abundance in the northern Great Plains
L.D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson
2007, Canadian Field-Naturalist (121) 239-255
The Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) reaches its highest abundance in the northern Great Plains, but much of our understanding of cowbird ecology and host-parasite interactions comes from areas outside of this region. We examine cowbird brood parasitism and densities during two studies of breeding birds in the northern Great Plains...
Sandhill crane abundance and nesting ecology at Grays Lake, Idaho
J. E. Austin, A.R. Henry, I.J. Ball
2007, Journal of Wildlife Management (71) 1067-1079
We examined population size and factors influencing nest survival of greater sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) at Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Idaho, USA, during 1997-2000. Average local population of cranes from late April to early May, 1998-2000, was 735 cranes, 34% higher than that reported for May 1970-1971. We...
Chromosome painting in the manatee supports Afrotheria and Paenungulata
Margaret E. Kellogg, Sandra Burkett, Thomas R. Dennis, Gary Stone, Brian A. Gray, Peter M. McGuire, Roberto T. Zori, Roscoe Stanyon
2007, BMC Evolutionary Biology (7)
Background Sirenia (manatees, dugongs and Stellar's sea cow) have no evolutionary relationship with other marine mammals, despite similarities in adaptations and body shape. Recent phylogenomic results place Sirenia in Afrotheria and with elephants and rock hyraxes in Paenungulata. Sirenia and Hyracoidea are the two afrotherian orders as...
Qualitative evaluation of rock weir field performance and failure mechanisms
David M. Mooney, Christopher L. Holmquist-Johnson, Elaina Holburn
2007, Report
River spanning loose-rock structures provide sufficient head for irrigation diversion, permit fish passage over barriers, protect banks, stabilize degrading channels, activate side channels, reconnect floodplains, and create in-channel habitat. These structures are called by a variety of names including rock weirs, alphabet (U-, A-, V-, W-) weirs, Jhooks, and rock...
Mammal inventories for eight National Parks in the Southern Colorado Plateau Network
Michael A. Bogan, Keith Geluso, Shauna Haymond, Ernest W. Valdez
2007, Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/SCPN/NRTR-2007/054
Historically, the Colorado Plateau has been the subject of many geological and biological explorations. J. W. Powell explored and mapped the canyon country of the Colorado River in 1869 (Powell 1961). C. H. Merriam, V. Bailey, M. Cary, and other employees of the Bureau of Biological Survey conducted biological explorations...
The oxygen-18 isotope approach for measuring aquatic metabolism in high-productivity waters
Craig R. Tobias, John Karl Bohlke, Judson W. Harvey
2007, Limnology and Oceanography (52) 1439-1453
We examined the utility of δ18O2 measurements in estimating gross primary production (P), community respiration (R), and net metabolism (P : R) through diel cycles in a productive agricultural stream located in the midwestern U.S.A. Large diel swings in O2(±200 µmol L−1) were accompanied by large diel variation in δ18O2 (±10‰). Simultaneous...
USGS National Wildlife Health Center's Quarterly Wildlife Mortality Report (United States)
M. Jankowski, K. Schuler, Rachel Guy
2007, Supplement to the Journal of Wildlife Diseases (43)
Biological effects of anthropogenic contaminants in the San Francisco Estuary
B. Thompson, T. Adelsbach, Cynthia L. Brown, J. Hunt, James S. Kuwabara, J. Neale, H. Ohlendorf, Steven E. Schwarzbach, R. Spies, K. Taberski
2007, Environmental Research (105) 156-174
Concentrations of many anthropogenic contaminants in the San Francisco Estuary exist at levels that have been associated with biological effects elsewhere, so there is a potential for them to cause biological effects in the Estuary. The purpose of this paper is to...
Improved outgassing models for the Landsat-5 thematic mapper
E. Micijevic, G. Chander, R. W. Hayes
2007, Conference Paper, International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS)
The Landsat-5 (L5) Thematic Mapper (TM) detectors of the short wave infrared (SWIR) bands 5 and 7 are maintained on cryogenic temperatures to minimize thermal noise and allow adequate detection of scene energy. Over the instrument's lifetime, gain oscillations are observed in these bands that are caused by an ice-like...
Evaluation of the applicability of the dual‐domain mass transfer model in porous media containing connected high‐conductivity channels
Gaisheng Liu, Chunmiao Zheng, Steven M. Gorelick
2007, Water Resources Research (43)
This paper evaluates the dual‐domain mass transfer (DDMT) model to represent transport processes when small‐scale high‐conductivity (K) preferential flow paths (PFPs) are present in a homogenous porous media matrix. The effects of PFPs upon solute transport were examined through detailed numerical experiments involving different realizations of PFP networks, PFP/matrix conductivity...
Topography-based analysis of Hurricane Katrina inundation of New Orleans
Dean Gesch
2007, Circular 1306-3G
The ready availability of high-resolution, high-accuracy elevation data proved valuable for development of topographybased products to determine rough estimates of the inundation of New Orleans, La., from Hurricane Katrina. Because of its high level of spatial detail and vertical accuracy of elevation measurements, light detection and ranging (lidar) remote sensing...
Research on the impacts of past and future hurricanes on the endangered Florida manatee
Catherine A. Langtimm, M. Dennis Krohn, Bradley Stith, James P. Reid, C.A. Beck, Susan M. Butler
2007, Circular 1306-6J
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research on Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) from 1982 through 1998 identified lower apparent survival rates for adult manatees during years when Hurricane Elena (1985), the March "Storm of the Century"(1993), and Hurricane Opal (1995) hit the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Although our...
Characteristics of vesicomyid clams and their environment at the Blake Ridge cold seep, South Carolina, USA
Taylor P. Heyl, William P. Gilhooly III, Randolph M. Chambers, George W. Gilchrist, Stephen A. Macko, Carolyn D. Ruppel, Cindy L. Van Dover
2007, Marine Ecology Progress Series (339) 169-184
Spatial distributions and patchiness of dominant megafaunal invertebrates in deep-sea seep environments may indicate heterogeneities in the flux of reduced chemical compounds. At the Blake Ridge seep off South Carolina, USA, the invertebrate assemblage includes dense populations of live vesicomyid clams (an undescribed species) as well as extensive clam shell...
Upper triassic continental margin strata of the central alaska range: Implications for paleogeographic reconstruction
A.B. Till, A. G. Harris, B. R. Wardlaw, M. Mullen
2007, Special Paper of the Geological Society of America (431) 191-205
Remnants of a Late Triassic continental margin and ocean basin are scattered across central and southern Alaska. Little is known about the fundamental nature of the margin because most remnants have not been studied in detail and a protracted period of terrane accretion and margin-parallel translation has disrupted original...
Smallmouth bass and largemouth bass predation on juvenile Chinook salmon and other salmonids in the Lake Washington basin
R.A. Tabor, B.A. Footen, K.L. Fresh, M.T. Celedonia, F. Mejia, D.L. Low, L. Park
2007, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (27) 1174-1188
We assessed the impact of predation by smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu and largemouth bass M. salmoides on juveniles of federally listed Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha and other anadromous salmonid populations in the Lake Washington system. Bass were collected with boat electrofishing equipment in the south end of Lake Washington (February-June)...
High rates of energy expenditure and water flux in free-ranging Point Reyes mountain beavers Aplodontia rufa phaea
D.E. Crocker, N. Kofahl, G.D. Fellers, N.B. Gates, D.S. Houser
2007, Physiological and Biochemical Zoology (80) 635-642
We measured water flux and energy expenditure in free-ranging Point Reyes mountain beavers Aplodontia rufa phaea by using the doubly labeled water method. Previous laboratory investigations have suggested weak urinary concentrating ability, high rates of water flux, and low basal metabolic rates in this species. However, free-ranging measurements from hygric...
Downhole receiver function: A case study
K. Mehta, R. Snieder, V. Graizer
2007, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (97) 1396-1403
Receiver function is defined as the spectral ratio of the radial component and the vertical component of the ground motion. It is used to characterize converted waves. We extend the use of the receiver function to downhole data using waves recorded in a borehole, excited by an earthquake of magnitude...
