Mineral resource of the month: nickel
Peter H. Kuck
2006, Geotimes (2006)
Together with chromium, nickel makes steel more resistant to corrosion. Stainless steel thus accounts for more than 65 percent of primary nickel consumption in the world. One of the more common grades of stainless steel is Type 304, which contains 18 to 20 percent chromium and 10.5 to 12 percent...
Phylogeography and spatial genetic structure of the southern torrent salamander: Implications for conservation and management
Mark P. Miller, Susan M. Haig, R.S. Wagner
2006, Journal of Heredity (97) 561-570
The Southern torrent salamander (Rhyacotriton variegatus) was recently found not warranted for listing under the US Endangered Species Act due to lack of information regarding population fragmentation and gene flow. Found in small-order streams associated with late-successional coniferous forests of the US Pacific Northwest, threats to their persistence include disturbance...
Growth history of Kilauea inferred from volatile concentrations in submarine-collected basalts
Michelle L. Coombs, Thomas W. Sisson, Peter W. Lipman
2006, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (151) 19-49
Major-element and volatile (H2O, CO2, S) compositions of glasses from the submarine flanks of Kilauea Volcano record its growth from pre-shield into tholeiite shield-stage. Pillow lavas of mildly alkalic basalt at 2600–1900 mbsl on the upper slope of the south flank are an intermediate link...
Modeling canopy turbulent flow over complex terrain
C. Yi, Russell K. Monson, Z. Zhai, D.E. Anderson, A.A. Turnipseed, Sean P. Burns, B. Lamb
2006, Conference Paper, 17th Symposium on Boundary Layers and Turbulence, 27th Conference on Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 17th Conference on Biometeorology and Aerobiology
[No abstract available]...
Geology of the Yucca Mountain region
J. S. Stuckless, Dennis W. O’Leary
2006, Memoir of the Geological Society of America (199) 9-50
Yucca Mountain has been proposed as the site for the nation's first geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste. This chapter provides the geologic framework for the Yucca Mountain region. The regional geologic units range in age from late Precambrian through Holocene, and these are described briefly. Yucca Mountain is composed...
Water-quality characteristics and contaminants in the rural karst-dominated Spring Mill Lake watershed, southern Indiana
N.R. Hasenmueller, M.A. Buehler, N.C. Krothe, J.B. Comer, T.D. Branam, M.V. Ennis, R.T. Smith, D.D. Zamani, L. Hahn, J.P. Rybarczyk
2006, Special Paper of the Geological Society of America 153-167
The Spring Mill Lake watershed is located in the Mitchell Plateau, a karst area that developed on Mississippian carbonates in southern Indiana. Spring Mill Lake is a reservoir built in the late 1930s and is located in Spring Mill State Park. Within the park, groundwater from subsurface conduits issues as...
An integrated chronostratigraphic data system for the twenty-first century
P.J. Sikora, James G. Ogg, A. Gary, C. Cervato, Felix Gradstein, B.T. Huber, C. Marshall, J.A. Stein, B. Wardlaw
2006, Special Paper of the Geological Society of America 53-59
Research in stratigraphy is increasingly multidisciplinary and conducted by diverse research teams whose members can be widely separated. This developing distributed-research process, facilitated by the availability of the Internet, promises tremendous future benefits to researchers. However, its full potential is hindered by the absence of a development strategy for the...
Incubation period and immune function: A comparative field study among coexisting birds
M.G. Palacios, T. E. Martin
2006, Oecologia (146) 505-512
Developmental periods are integral components of life history strategies that can have important fitness consequences and vary enormously among organisms. However, the selection pressures and mechanisms causing variation in length of developmental periods are poorly understood. Particularly puzzling are prolonged developmental periods, because their selective advantage is unclear. Here we...
Accumulation of contaminants in fish from wastewater treatment wetlands
L. B. Barber, S.H. Keefe, Ronald C. Antweiler, Howard E. Taylor, R.D. Wass
2006, Environmental Science & Technology (40) 603-611
Increasing demands on water resources in arid environments make reclamation and reuse of municipal wastewater an important component of the water budget. Treatment wetlands can be an integral part of the water-reuse cycle providing both water-quality enhancement and habitat functions. When used for habitat, the bioaccumulation potential...
Chapter 13 Petrogenesis of the Campanian Ignimbrite: Implications for crystal-melt separation and open-system processes from major and trace elements and Th isotopic data
W.A. Bohrson, F. J. Spera, S. J. Fowler, H. E. Belkin, B. de Vivo, G. Rolandi
2006, Developments in Volcanology (9) 249-288
The Campanian Ignimbrite is a large-volume trachytic to phonolitic ignimbrite that was deposited at ≈39.3 ka and represents one of a number of highly explosive volcanic events that have occurred in the region near Naples, Italy. Thermodynamic modeling using the MELTS algorithm reveals that major element variations are dominated by...
Diurnal variation in rates of calcification and carbonate sediment dissolution in Florida Bay
K. K. Yates, R. B. Halley
2006, Estuaries and Coasts (29) 24-39
Water quality and criculation in Florida Bay (a shallow, subtropical estuary in south Florida) are highly dependent upon the development and evolution of carbonate mud banks distributed throughout the Bay. Predicting the effect of natural and anthropogenic perturbations on carbonate sedimentation requires an understanding of annual,...
Methanogenic calcite, 13C-depleted bivalve shells, and gas hydrate from a mud volcano offshore southern California
J.R. Hein, W. R. Normark, B.R. McIntyre, T.D. Lorenson, C.L. Powell II
2006, Geology (34) 109-112
Methane and hydrogen sulfide vent from a cold seep above a shallowly buried methane hydrate in a mud volcano located 24 km offshore southern California in?? 800 m of water. Bivalves, authigenic calcite, and methane hydrate were recovered in a 2.1 m piston core. Aragonite shells of two bivalve species...
In situ study of mass transfer in aqueous solutions under high pressures via Raman spectroscopy: A new method for the determination of diffusion coefficients of methane in water near hydrate formation conditions
W.J. Lu, I.-M. Chou, R.C. Burruss, M.Z. Yang
2006, Applied Spectroscopy (60) 122-129
A new method was developed for in situ study of the diffusive transfer of methane in aqueous solution under high pressures near hydrate formation conditions within an optical capillary cell. Time-dependent Raman spectra of the solution at several different spots along the one-dimensional diffusion path were collected and thus the...
A regional classification scheme for estimating reference water quality in streams using land-use-adjusted spatial regression-tree analysis
Dale M. Robertson, D. A. Saad, D.M. Heisey
2006, Environmental Management (37) 209-229
Various approaches are used to subdivide large areas into regions containing streams that have similar reference or background water quality and that respond similarly to different factors. For many applications, such as establishing reference conditions, it is preferable to use physical characteristics that are not affected by human activities to...
Aqueous processes at Gusev crater inferred from physical properties of rocks and soils along the Spirit traverse
N.A. Cabrol, J.D. Farmer, E.A. Grin, L. Ritcher, L. Soderblom, R. Li, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, G. A. Landis, R. E. Arvidson
2006, Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets (111)
Gusev crater was selected as the landing site for Spirit on the basis of morphological evidence of long-lasting water activity, including possibly fluvial and lacustrine episodes. From the Columbia Memorial Station to the Columbia Hills, Spirit's traverse provides a journey back in time, from relatively recent volcanic plains showing little...
Influence of landscape-scale factors in limiting brook trout populations in Pennsylvania streams
P.M. Kocovsky, R.F. Carline
2006, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (135) 76-88
Landscapes influence the capacity of streams to produce trout through their effect on water chemistry and other factors at the reach scale. Trout abundance also fluctuates over time; thus, to thoroughly understand how spatial factors at landscape scales affect trout populations, one must assess the changes in populations over time...
Yucca Mountain, Nevada - A proposed geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste
R.A. Levich, J. S. Stuckless
2006, Memoir of the Geological Society of America (199) 1-7
Yucca Mountain in Nevada represents the proposed solution to what has been a lengthy national effort to dispose of high-level radioactive waste, waste which must be isolated from the biosphere for tens of thousands of years. This chapter reviews the background of that national effort and includes some discussion of...
A community effort to construct a gravity database for the United States and an associated Web portal
Gordon R. Keller, T.G. Hildenbrand, R. Kucks, M. Webring, A. Briesacher, K. Rujawitz, A.M. Hittleman, D.R. Roman, D. Winester, R. Aldouri, J. Seeley, J. Rasillo, R. Torres, W. J. Hinze, A. Gates, V. Kreinovich, L. Salayandia
2006, Special Paper of the Geological Society of America 21-34
Potential field data (gravity and magnetic measurements) are both useful and costeffective tools for many geologic investigations. Significant amounts of these data are traditionally in the public domain. A new magnetic database for North America was released in 2002, and as a result, a cooperative effort between government agencies, industry,...
CO2 outgassing in a combined fracture and conduit karst aquifer near lititz spring, Pennsylvania
L. Toran, E. Roman
2006, Special Paper of the Geological Society of America 275-282
Lititz Spring in southeastern Pennsylvania and a nearby domestic well were sampled for 9 months. Although both locations are connected to conduits (as evidenced by a tracer test), most of the year they were saturated with respect to calcite, which is more typical of matrix flow. Geochemical modeling (PHREEQC) was...
Tectonic models for Yucca Mountain, Nevada
Dennis W. O’Leary
2006, Memoir of the Geological Society of America (199) 105-153
Performance of a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain hinges partly on long-term structural stability of the mountain, its susceptibility to tectonic disruption that includes fault displacement, seismic ground motion, and igneous intrusion. Because of the uncertainty involved with long-term (10,000 yr minimum) prediction of tectonic events (e.g., earthquakes)...
Habitat-based adaptive management at Mount Haggin Wildlife Management Area
R.B. Keigley, C.W. Fager
2006, Alces (42) 49-54
The 22,743-hectare Mount Haggin Wildlife Management Area was purchased in 1976, in part for moose (Alces alces) winter range. Observed moose populations climbed from a low of 7 in 1976 to a high of 56 in 2000. A 4-step management program was initiated in 2000 consisting of definition of management...
Distribution of boreal toad populations in relation to estimated UV-B dose in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA
B. R. Hossack, S. A. Diamond, P.S. Corn
2006, Canadian Journal of Zoology (84) 98-107
A recent increase in ultraviolet B radiation is one hypothesis advanced to explain suspected or documented declines of the boreal toad (Bufo boreas Baird and Girard, 1852) across much of the western USA, where some experiments have shown ambient UV-B can reduce embryo survival. We examined B. boreas occupancy relative...
Chemical loading into surface water along a hydrological, biogeochemical, and land use gradient: A holistic watershed approach
L. B. Barber, S.F. Murphy, P. L. Verplanck, Mark W. Sandstrom, Howard E. Taylor, E. T. Furlong
2006, Environmental Science & Technology (40) 475-486
Identifying the sources and impacts of organic and inorganic contaminants at the watershed scale is a complex challenge because of the multitude of processes occurring in time and space. Investigation of geochemical transformations requires a systematic evaluation of hydrologic, landscape, and anthropogenic factors. The 1160 km2 Boulder Creek...
Impacts of the 2004 tsunami on groundwater resources in Sri Lanka
Tissa H. Illangasekare, Scott W. Tyler, T. Prabhakar Clement, Karen G. Villholth, A.P.G.R.L. Perera, Jayantha Obeysekera, Ananda Gunatilaka, C.R. Panabokke, David W. Hyndman, Kevin J. Cunningham, Jagath J. Kaluarachchi, William W.-G. Yeh, Martinus T. van Van Genuchten, Karsten H. Jensen
2006, Water Resources Research (42)
The 26 December 2004 tsunami caused widespread destruction and contamination of coastal aquifers across southern Asia. Seawater filled domestic open dug wells and also entered the aquifers via direct infiltration during the first flooding waves and later as ponded seawater infiltrated through the permeable sands that are typical of coastal...
The effect of creosote on vitellogenin production in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
J.P. Sherry, J.J. Whyte, N.A. Karrow, A. Gamble, H.J. Boerman, N.C. Bol, D.G. Dixon, K.R. Solomon
2006, Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (50) 65-68
As part of a broader investigation into the effects of creosote treatments on the aquatic biota in pond microcosms, we examined the possible implications for vitellogenin (Vtg) production in Oncorhynchus mykiss [rainbow trout (RT)]. Vtg is the precursor of egg yolk protein and has emerged as a useful biomarker of...
