Short- and long-term responses of riparian cottonwoods (Populus spp.) to flow diversion: Analysis of tree-ring radial growth and stable carbon isotopes
Derek M. Schook, Jonathan M. Friedman, Craig A. Stricker, Adam Z. Csank, David J. Cooper
2020, Science of the Total Environment (735)
Long duration tree-ring records with annual precision allow for the reconstruction of past growing conditions. Investigations limited to the most common tree-ring proxy of ring width can be difficult to interpret, however, because radial growth is affected by multiple environmental processes. Furthermore, studies of living trees may miss important effects...
Effects of climate and land-use changes on fish catches across lakes at a global scale
Y. Kao, Mark W. Rogers, David Bunnell, I. G. Cowx, S. S. Qian, O. Anneville, Beard Jr., A. Brinker, J. R. Britton, R. Chura-Crusz, N. J. Gownaris, J. R. Jackson, K. Kangur, J. Kolding, A.A. Lukin, Abigail Lynch, N. Mercado-Silva, R. Moncayo-Estrada, F. J. Njaya, I. Ostrovsky, L.G. Rudstam, A. L. E. Sandstrom, Y. Sato, Humberto Siguayro-Mamani, A. Thorpe, P. A. M. van Zwieten, P. Volta, Y. Q. Wang, A. Weiperth, O. L. F. Weyl, Joelle D. Young
2020, Nature Communications (11)
Globally, our knowledge on lake fisheries is still limited despite their importance to food security and livelihoods. Here we show that fish catches can respond either positively or negatively to climate and land-use changes, by analyzing time-series data (1970–2014) for 31 lakes across five continents. We find that effects of...
Precipitation runoff modeling system (PRMS) as part of an integrated hydrologic model for the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1915–2014
Joseph A. Hevesi, Randall T. Hanson, Jason R. Masoner
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5030
Executive SummaryThe Osage Nation lacks a comprehensive tribal water plan to describe the quality and quantity of water resources in the Osage Nation, a 2,304-square-mile (mi2) area of rolling pastures, tallgrass prairie, and mixed woodlands in northeastern Oklahoma. A tribal water plan can be used to help manage the sustainable...
Hydrothermal activity in the southwest Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field
Shaul Hurwitz, R. Blaine McCleskey, Deborah Bergfeld, Sara Peek, David Susong, David A. Roth, Jefferson Hungerford, Erin B White, Lauren Harrison, Behnaz Hosseini, R. Greg Vaughan, Andrew G. Hunt, James B. Paces
2020, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (21)
In the past two decades, the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service have studied hydrothermal activity across the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field (YPVF) to improve the understanding of the magmatic-hydrothermal system and to provide a baseline for detecting future anomalous activity. In 2017 and 2018 we sampled water...
Quantifying trends in arsenic, nitrate, and dissolved solids from selected wells in Utah
Olivia L. Miller
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5047
Groundwater makes up a primary portion of the water supply in many parts of Utah, with annual withdrawals estimated at more than 1,000,000 acre-feet per year. Increases to groundwater withdrawal and land use may negatively impact water availability. Ensuring availability of clean water requires understanding how water quality has changed...
Hydro-morphological characterization of coral reefs for wave runup prediction
Fred Scott, Jose A.A. Antolinez, Robert T. McCall, Curt D. Storlazzi, Ad Reiners, Stuart Pearson
2020, Frontiers in Marine Science (7)
Many coral reef-lined coasts are low-lying with elevations <4 m above mean sea level. Climate-change-driven sea-level rise, coral reef degradation, and changes in storm wave climate will lead to greater occurrence and impacts of wave-driven flooding. This poses a significant threat to their coastal communities. While greatly at risk, the...
The water-year water balance of the Colorado River Basin
Gregory J. McCabe, David M. Wolock
2020, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (56) 724-737
Model‐estimated monthly water balance components (i.e., potential evapotranspiration, actual evapotranspiration, and runoff (R)) for 146 United States (U.S.) Geological Survey 8‐digit hydrologic units located in the Colorado River Basin (CRB) are used to examine the temporal and spatial variability of the CRB water balance for water...
Estimating the effect of winter cover crops on nitrogen leaching using cost-share enrollment data, satellite remote sensing, and Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) modeling
W. Dean Hively, Sangchul Lee, Ali M. Sadeghi, Gregory W. McCarty, Brian T. Lamb, Alexander M. Soroka, Jason Keppler, In-Young Yeo, Glenn E. Moglen
2020, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (75) 362-375
This study employed a novel combination of data (winter cover crop cost-share enrollment records, satellite remote sensing of wintertime vegetation, and results of Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) water quality simulations) to estimate the environmental performance of winter cover crops (WCC) at the watershed scale, from 2008 through 2017,...
Local to landscape-level controls of water fluxes through Hawaiian forests: Effects of invasive animals and plants on soil infiltration capacity across substrate and moisture gradients
Lucas B. Fortini, Christina Leopold, Kimberlie Perkins, Oliver A. Chadwick, Stephanie G. Yelenik, James D. Jacobi, Kaiena Bishaw, Makani Gregg, Sarah N. Rosa
2020, Report
Given the potential effect of invasive plants and animals to water fluxes through forests, the invasive-driven degradation of native ecosystems is a topic of great concern for many downstream land and water managers. The infiltration rate determines the partitioning between runoff and infiltration into soil in Hawaiian forests and beyond....
Specialized meltwater biodiversity persists despite widespread deglaciation
Clint C. Muhlfeld, Timothy Joseph Cline, J. Joseph Giersch, Erich H. Peitzsch, Caitlyn Florentine, Dean Jacobsen, Scott Hotaling
2020, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (117) 12208-12214
Glaciers are important drivers of environmental heterogeneity and biological diversity across mountain landscapes. Worldwide, glaciers are receding rapidly due to climate change, with important consequences for biodiversity in mountain ecosystems. However, the effects of glacier loss on biodiversity have never been quantified across a mountainous region, primarily due to a...
Aligning climate models with stakeholder needs: Advances in communicating future rainfall uncertainties for south Florida decision makers
Johnna Infanti, Ben P. Kirtman, Nicholas Aumen, John F. Stamm, Colin Polsky
2020, Earth and Space Science (7)
Changes in future precipitation are of great importance to climate data users in South Florida. A recent U.S. Geological Survey workshop, “Increasing Confidence in Precipitation Projections for Everglades Restoration,” highlighted a gap between standard climate model outputs and the climate information needs of some key Florida...
Poultry litter as potential source of pathogens and other contaminants in groundwater and surface water proximal to large-scale confined poultry feeding operations
Laura E. Hubbard, Carrie E. Givens, Dale W. Griffin, Luke Iwanowicz, Michael T. Meyer, Dana W. Kolpin
2020, Science of the Total Environment (735)
Manure from livestock production has been associated with the contamination of water resources. To date, research has primarily focused on runoff of these contaminants from animal operations into surface water, and the introduction of poultry-derived pathogenic zoonoses and other contaminants into groundwater is under-investigated. We characterized pathogens and other microbial...
Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring Program: Mapping habitats in beach, dune, and intertidal environments along the Louisiana Gulf of Mexico shoreline, 2008 and 2015–16
Nicholas M. Enwright, William M. SooHoo, Jason L. Dugas, Craig P. Conzelmann, Claudia Laurenzano, Darin M. Lee, Kelly Mouton, Spencer J. Stelly
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1030
Barrier islands, headlands, and coastal shorelines provide numerous valuable ecosystem goods and services, including storm protection and erosion control for the mainland, habitat for fish and wildlife, salinity regulation in estuaries, carbon sequestration in marshes, and areas for recreation and tourism. These coastal features are dynamic environments because of their...
Natural and anthropogenic processes affecting radon releases during mining and early stage reclamation activities, Pinenut uranium mine, Arizona, USA
David L. Naftz, Katherine Walton-Day, W. Payton Gardner, Michael C. Duniway, Donald J. Bills
2020, Journal of Environmental Radioactivity (220–221)
Radon (Rnair) was monitored in open air in publicly accessible areas surrounding the Pinenut uranium (U) mine during mining and reclamation activities in 2015–16 to address concerns about mining related effects to areas surrounding Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) in Arizona, USA. During July 2015, Rnair concentrations associated with the...
Good prospects: High-resolution telemetry data suggests novel brood-site selection behavior in waterfowl
Michael L. Casazza, Fiona McDuie, Austen Lorenz, David A. Keiter, Julie L. Yee, Cory T. Overton, Sarah H. Peterson, Cliff L. Feldheim, Joshua T. Ackerman
2020, Animal Behavior and Cognition (164) 163-172
Breeding success should increase with prior knowledge of the surrounding environment, which is dependent upon an animal’s ability to evaluate habitat. Prospecting for nesting locations and migratory stop-over sites are well-established behaviors among bird species. We assessed whether ducks in Suisun Marsh, California, USA, a brackish marsh, prospect for suitable...
Experimental shifts of hydrologic residence time in a sandy urban stream sediment-water interface alter nitrate removal and nitrous oxide fluxes
T. Hampton, J. Zarnetske, Martin A. Briggs, F. M. P. Dehkordy, K. Singha, Frederick Day-Lewis, Judson Harvey, S. R. Chowdhury, John W. Lane
2020, Biogeochemistry (149) 195-219
The sediment–water interfaces (SWI) of streams serve as important biogeochemical hotspots in watersheds and contribute to whole-catchment reactive nitrogen budgets and water-quality conditions. Recently, the SWI has been identified as an important source of nitrous oxide (N2O) produced in streams, with SWI residence time among the principal controls on its...
The future of sediment transport and streamflow under a changing climate and the implications for long-term resilience of the San Francisco Bay-Delta
Michelle A. Stern, Lorraine E. Flint, Alan L Flint, Noah Knowles, Scott Wright
2020, Water Resources Research (56)
Sedimentation and turbidity have effects on habitat suitability in the San Francisco Bay‐Delta (Bay‐Delta), concerning key species in the bay as well as the ability of the delta marshes to keep pace with sea level rise. A daily rainfall runoff and transport model of the Sacramento River...
Projecting spatiotemporally explicit effects of climate change on stream temperature: A model comparison and implications for coldwater fishes
Yeun Lee, Aimee H. Fullerton, Ning Sun, Christian E. Torgersen
2020, Journal of Hydrology (588)
Conservation planners and resource managers seek information about how the availability and locations of cold-water habitats will change in the future and how these predictions vary among models. We used a physical process-based model to demonstrate the implications of climate change for streamflow and water temperature in two watersheds with...
Active steady-state creep on a nontectonic normal fault in southeast Utah: Implications for strain release in a rapidly deforming salt system
Katherine Kravitz, Karl Mueller, Roger Bilham, Maureen A. L. Walton
2020, Geophysical Research Letters (47)
Characterizing short-term temporal variations of fault creep provides insight into the evolution, mechanics, and strength of fault systems. Using spirit leveling and an extensome- ter, we measured surface displacement of a fault southwest of the Needles District, Canyon- lands National Park, Utah, where extension is driven by differential unloading of...
Evaluating the potential role of bioactive chemicals on the distribution of invasive Asian carp upstream and downstream from river mile 278 in the Illinois waterway
William A. Battaglin, James J. Duncker, Paul J. Terrio, Paul M. Bradley, Larry B. Barber, Laura A. DeCicco
2020, Science of the Total Environment (735)
Two non-native carp species have invaded the Illinois Waterway and are a threat to Great Lakes ecosystems. Poor water quality in the upper Illinois Waterway, may be a factor contributing to the stalling of the carp population front near river mile 278. In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey collected 4...
Testing environmental DNA from wolf snow tracks for species, sex, and individual identification
Shannon Barber-Meyer, Joseph C. Dysthe, Kristine Pilgrim
2020, Canadian Wildlife Biology and Management (9) 12-20
Monitoring elusive, relatively low-density, large predators, such as the grey wolf (Canis lupus), has often been accomplished by live-capture and radiocollaring. Increasingly, non-invasive methods are considered best practice whenever it is possible to use them. Recently, environmental DNA (eDNA) deposited in snow tracks was demonstrated as useful for identifying lynx...
Methane oxidation dynamics in a karst subterranean estuary
David Brankovits, John Pohlman
2020, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (277) 320-333
Chemical gradients between fresh, brackish and saline waters shape biogeochemical reactions and organic matter transformation within subterranean estuaries. In the Yucatán Peninsula’s karst subterranean estuary (KSE), methane and dissolved organic matter generated during the anaerobic decomposition of tropical forest vegetation are...
Spatiotemporal variability of light attenuation and net ecosystem metabolism in a back-barrier estuary
Neil Kamal Ganju, Jeremy Testa, Steven E. Suttles, Alfredo Aretxabaleta
2020, Ocean Science (16) 593-614
Quantifying system-wide biogeochemical dynamics and ecosystem metabolism in estuaries is often attempted using a long-term continuous record at a single site or short-term records at multiple sites due to sampling limitations that preclude long-term monitoring. However, differences in the dominant primary producer at a given location (e.g., phytoplankton versus benthic...
A multi-model approach toward understanding iron fouling at rock-fill drainage sites along roadways in New Hampshire, USA
Melissa A. Lombard, Pamela J. Lombard, Craig J. Brown, James R. Degnan
2020, SN Applied Sciences
Factors affecting iron fouling in wet areas adjacent to roadways were investigated by collecting field rock cut and aqueous physicochemical data; developing exploratory predictive models; and developing geochemical models. Basic data included the identification of iron fouling from aerial imagery and field visits at 374 New Hampshire rock cut locations,...
Tracking fisheries through time: The American Fisheries Society as an historical lens
G.E. Whelan, D.M Day, J. Casselman, L Gephart, C.J. Hall, J.A. Lichatowich, M. Matylewich, Leandro E. Miranda, L. Roulson, P.D. Shirey, N. Mercado-Silva, J. Waldman, D. Winters
2020, Fisheries Magazine (45) 392-426
The historical context of current environment conditions offers vital guidance to North American fisheries professionals as they strive to develop effective management plans and policies. This retrospective includes understanding the remarkable historic fisheries resource and causative reasons for establishing their public fisheries agencies and the American Fisheries Society (Society). Through...
