Methods to quality assure, plot, summarize, interpolate, and extend groundwater-level information—Examples for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer
William H. Asquith, Ronald C. Seanor, Virginia L. McGuire, Wade Kress
2020, Journal of Environmental Modelling and Software (134)
Large-scale computational investigations of groundwater levels are proposed to accelerate science delivery through a workflow spanning database assembly, statistics, and information synthesis and packaging. A water-availability study of the Mississippi River alluvial plain, and particularly the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer...
Biological assessment of a proposed vegetation management program to benefit tribes in eastern Oklahoma
Benjamin R. Harms, Heidi L. Bencin, Natasha B. Carr
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1013
Tribal communities may benefit from land management activities that enhance their use of resources on tribal lands. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is implementing a 5-year vegetation management program to provide support for projects that develop and use natural and cultural resources and improve opportunities for agricultural activities to benefit...
In situ observations of wave transformation and infragravity bore development across reef flats of varying geomorphology
Olivia M. Cheriton, Curt D. Storlazzi, Kurt J. Rosenberger
2020, Frontiers in Marine Science (7)
The character and energetics of infragravity (IG, 25 s 250 s) waves over coral reef flats can enhance shoreline erosion or accretion, and also govern extreme shoreline events such as runup, overwash, and flooding on coral reef-lined coasts. Here...
Prioritizing river basins for intensive monitoring and assessment by the US Geological Survey
Peter C. Van Metre, Sharon L. Qi, Jeffrey R. Deacon, Cheryl A. Dieter, Jessica M. Driscoll, Michael N. Fienen, Terry A. Kenney, Patrick M. Lambert, David P. Lesmes, Christopher Allen Mason, Anke Mueller-Solger, MaryLynn Musgrove, Jaime A. Painter, Donald O. Rosenberry, Lori A. Sprague, Anthony J. Tesoriero, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, David M. Wolock
2020, Environmental Modeling & Assessment (192)
The US Geological Survey (USGS) is currently (2020) integrating its water science programs to better address the nation’s greatest water resource challenges now and into the future. This integration will rely, in part, on data from 10 or more intensively monitored river basins from across the USA. A team of...
Urban stream syndrome and contaminant uptake in salamanders of Central Texas
Peter H. Diaz, Erik L. Orsak, Floyd W. Weckerly, Mike A. Montagne, David A. Alvarez
2020, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (11) 287-299
We studied the ecological health of springs experiencing varying levels of urban development to assess impacts to rare endemic salamanders (Eurycea spp.) of Central Texas. We evaluated measures of invertebrate species richness, water quality, and contaminant uptake by salamanders to determine how springs and their inhabitants were being affected by urban...
Climate-change refugia in boreal North America: What, where, and for how long?
Diana Stralberg, Dominique Arseneault, Jennifer Baltzer, Quinn Barber, Erin Bayne, Yan Boulanger, Carissa Brown, Hilary Cooke, Kevin Devito, Jason Edwards, Cesar Estevo, Nadele Flynn, Lee Frelich, E. H. Hogg, Mark Johnston, Travis Logan, Steven M. Matsuoka, Paul Moore, Toni Lyn Morelli, Julienne Morissette, Elizabeth Nelson, Hedvig Nenzen, Scott Nielsen, Marc-André Parisien, John Pedlar, David Price, Fiona Schmiegelow, Stuart Slattery, Oliver Sonnentag, Daniel Thompson, Ellen Whitman
2020, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (18) 261-270
TThe vast boreal biome plays an important role in the global carbon cycle but is experiencing particularly rapid climate warming, threatening the integrity of valued ecosystems and their component species. We developed a framework and taxonomy to identify climate‐change refugia potential in the North American boreal region, summarizing current knowledge...
Wildfire-driven changes in hydrology mobilize arsenic and metals from legacy mine waste
Sheila F. Murphy, R. Blaine McCleskey, Deborah A. Martin, JoAnn M. Holloway, Jeffrey H. Writer
2020, Science of the Total Environment (743)
Wildfires burning in watersheds that have been mined and since revegetated pose unique risks to downstream water supplies. A wildfire near Boulder, Colorado that burned a forested watershed recovering from mining disturbance that occurred 80-160 years ago allowed us to 1) assess arsenic and metal contamination in streams draining the...
Fish growth rates and lake sulphate explain variation in mercury levels in ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius) on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska
Samantha M. Burke, Christian E. Zimmerman, Sarah M. Laske, Joshua C. Koch, Allison M. Derry, Stephanie Guernon, Brian A. Branfireun, Heidi K. Swanson
2020, Science of the Total Environment (743)
Mercury concentrations in freshwater food webs are governed by complex biogeochemical and ecological interactions that spatially vary and are often mediated by climate. The Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska (ACP) is a heterogeneous, lake-rich landscape where variability in mercury accumulation is poorly understood. Earlier...
Characterizing benthic macroinvertebrate and algal biological condition gradient models for California wadeable Streams, USA
Michael J. Paul, Ben Jessup, Larry R. Brown, James Carter, Marco Cantonati, Donald F. Charles, Jeroen Gerritsen, Dave Herbst, Rosalina Stancheva, Jeanette K. Howard, Bill Isham, Rex Lowe, Raphael D Mazor, Patina K. Mendez, Peter R Ode, Alison O’Dowd, Yangdong Pan, Andrew C. Rehn, Sarah A. Spaulding, Martha Sutula, Susanna Theroux
2020, Ecological Indicators (117)
The Biological Condition Gradient (BCG) is a conceptual model that describes changes in aquatic communities under increasing levels of anthropogenic stress. The BCG helps decision-makers connect narrative water quality goals (e.g., maintenance of natural structure and function) to quantitative measures of...
Combining ash analyses with remote sensing to identify juvenile magma involvement and fragmentation mechanisms during the 2018/19 small eruption of Peteroa volcano (Southern Andes)
Jorge E Romero, Felipe Aguilera, Francisco Delgado, Danny Guzman, Alexa R. Van Eaton, Nicolas Luengo, Javiera Caro, Jorge Bustillos, Alicia Guevara, Sven Holbik, Daniel Tormey, Iver Zegarra
2020, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (405)
The Planchón Peteroa Volcanic Complex (PPVC) is located on the border of Chile and Argentina, and is one of the most active volcanic systems in the Andes. Holocene activity has included magma-water interaction with an evolving series of crater lakes, mainly...
Living on the edge: Multi-scale analyses of bird habitat use in coastal marshes of Barataria Basin, Louisiana, USA
Brett Patton, J. A. Nyman, Megan K. La Peyre
2020, Wetlands (40) 2041-2054
Coastal marsh loss, combined with expected sea-level rise, will cause inundation and extensive shifts to vegetation and salinity regimes that may affect the bird species dependent on coastal ecosystems worldwide. Within coastal marsh habitats, birds provide key targets for coastal management goals. However, limited information on bird-habitat relationships within coastal...
Regionally continuous Miocene rhyolites beneath the eastern Snake River Plain reveal localized flexure at its western margin: Idaho National Laboratory and vicinity
Kyle L. Schusler, David M. Pearson, Michael J. McCurry, Roy C. Bartholomay, Mark H. Anders
2020, The Mountain Geologist (57) 241-270
The eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) is a northeast-trending topographic basin interpreted to be the result of the time-transgressive track of the North American plate above the Yellowstone hotspot. The track is defined by the age progression of silicic volcanic rocks exposed along the margins of the ESRP. However, the...
A summary of water-quality monitoring in San Francisco Bay in water year 2017
Daniel N. Livsey, Maureen A. Downing-Kunz
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5064
This report summarizes the activities of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) San Francisco Bay Water-Quality Monitoring and Sediment Transport Project during water year 2017, including an explanation of methods employed, stations operated, and a graphical summary of data for the period of record for stations operational in water year 2017....
Projected climate and land use changes drive plant community composition in agricultural wetlands
Rachel K. Owen, Elisabeth B. Webb, David A. Haukos, Keith W. Goyne
2020, Environmental and Experimental Botany (175) 1-12
Playa wetlands in the Great Plains, USA support a wide variety of plant species not found elsewhere in this agriculturally-dominated region due to the ephemeral presence of standing water and hydric soils within playas. If longer dry periods occur due to climate change or if changes in surrounding land...
Leachable phosphorus from senesced green ash and Norway mapleleaves in urban watersheds
Yi Wang, Anita Thompson, William R. Selbig
2020, Science of the Total Environment (743)
In urban watersheds, street tree leaf litter is a critical biogenic source of phosphorus (P) in stormwater runoff. Stormwater extracts P from leaf litter and transports it, through the storm sewer network, to a receiving waterbody potentially causing downstream eutrophication. The goal of this study is to understand P leaching dynamics of...
Genetic structure of Smallmouth Bass in the Lake Michigan and Upper Mississippi River drainages relates to habitat, distance, and drainage boundaries: Smallmouth bass population genetic structure
Peter T. Euclide, Jenna Ruzich, Scott P. Hansen, David Rowe, Troy G. Zorn, Wesley Larson
2020, Transaction of the American Fisheries Society (149) 383-397
Analysis of genetic connectivity helps to define stock boundaries and provides information on interpopulation dynamics, such as migration and spawning site fidelity. We used 16 microsatellite loci to describe the genetic population structure of 1,215 Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu from 32 sites throughout the upper Mississippi River and Lake Michigan watersheds. We...
Substantially greater carbon emissions estimated based on annual land-use transition data
Jiaojiao Diao, Jinxun Liu, Zhiliang Zhu, Mingshi Li, Benjamin M. Sleeter
2020, Remote Sensing (12)
Quantifying land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) effects on carbon sources and sinks has been very challenging because of the availability and quality of LULCC data. As the largest estuary in the United States, Chesapeake Bay is a rapidly changing region and is affected by human activities. A new annual land-use...
Planetary science decadal survey planetary mission concept study report: Ceres: Exploration of Ceres’ habitability
J. C. Castillo-Rogez, John Brody, Michael T. Bland, Debra Buczkowski, Robert Grimm, A. Hendrix, Kelly Miller, Thomas Prettyman, Lynnae Quick, Carol Raymond, Jennifer Scully, Michael M. Sori, Yasuhito Sekine, David Williams, Michael Zolensky
Timothy N. Titus, editor(s)
2020, Report
Dwarf planet Ceres is a compelling target as an evolved ocean world with, at least, regional brine reservoirs and potentially ongoing geological activity. As the most water-rich body in the inner solar system (in relative abundance), it is a representative of the population of planetesimals that brought volatiles and organics...
Quality Assurance Project Plan: Status and trends monitoring of small streams in the Puget Lowlands ecoregion for Stormwater Action Monitoring (SAM)
Keunyea Song, Rich W. Sheibley
2020, Report
This Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) details a long term status and trends monitoring study for small streams in the Puget Lowland as part of Stormwater Action Monitoring (SAM) program. SAM is the regional stormwater monitoring program funded by the Phase I Municipal Stormwater permit and the Western Washington Phase...
Petrophysical and geomechanical properties of gas hydrate-bearing sediments recovered from Alaska North Slope 2018 Hydrate-01 Stratigraphic Test Well
Jun Yoneda, Yusuke Jin, Michihiro Muraoka, Motoi Oshima, Kiyofumi Suzuki, Mike Walker, Donald Westacott, Satoshi Otsuki, Kenichi Kumagai, Timothy Collett, Ray Boswell, Norihiro Okinaka
2020, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 10th international conference on gas hydrates (ICGH10)
Knowledge of petrophysical and geomechanical properties of gas hydrate-bearing sediments are essential for predicting reservoir responses to gas production. The same information is also needed for the designing of production well completions such as specifications for artificial lift, test site water storage capacity, and mesh size for the sand control...
Rethinking groundwater flow on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, USA: Characterizing recharge sources and flow paths with environmental tracers
John E. Solder, Kimberly R. Beisner, Jessica R. Anderson, Donald J. Bills
2020, Hydrogeology Journal (28) 1593-1613
In the arid landscape south of the Grand Canyon, natural springs and seeps are a critical resource for endemic species and Native American tribes. Groundwater is potentially threatened by expanding populations, visitations, and mineral extraction activities. Environmental tracers including noble gases, stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen in water, tritium,...
Machine-learning models to map pH and redox conditions in groundwater in a layered aquifer system, Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain, eastern USA
Leslie A. DeSimone, Jason P. Pope, Katherine Marie Ransom
2020, Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies (30)
Study regionThe study was conducted in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system, in the eastern USA.Study focusGroundwater pH and redox conditions are fundamental chemical characteristics controlling the distribution of many contaminants of concern for drinking water or...
Frequency of extreme freeze events controls the distribution and structure of black mangroves (Avicennia germinans) near their northern range limit in coastal Louisiana
Michael Osland, Richard Day, Thomas C. Michot
2020, Diversity and Distributions (26) 1366-1382
AimClimate change is expected to result in the tropicalization of coastal wetlands in the northern Gulf of Mexico, as warming winters allow tropical mangrove forests to expand their distribution poleward at the expense of temperate salt marshes. Data limitations near mangrove range limits have hindered understanding of...
Geomorphological evidence for a dry dust avalanche origin of slope streaks on Mars
Colin M. Dundas
2020, Nature Geoscience (13) 473-476
Mars has several different types of slope feature that resemble aqueous flows. However, the current cold, dry conditions are inimical to liquid water, resulting in uncertainty about its role in modern surface processes. Dark slope streaks were among the first distinctive young slope features to be identified on Mars and...
Energy development and production in the Great Plains: Implications and restoration opportunities
Jacqueline P. Ott, Brice B. Hanberry, Mona Khalil, Mark W. Paschke, Max Post van der Burg, Anthony J. Prenni
2020, Rangeland Ecology and Management (78) 257-272
Energy is an integral part of society. The major US energy sources of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas); biofuels (ethanol); and wind are concentrated in grassland ecosystems of the Great Plains. As energy demand continues to increase, mounting pressures will be placed on North American grassland systems. In this...
