Dendrochronology of a rare long-lived mediterranean shrub
Ellis Q. Margolis, Keith Lombardo, Andrew E. Smith
2020, Tree-Ring Research (2) 61-73
Ceanothus verrucosus (CEVE) is a globally rare, long-lived, chaparral shrub endemic to coastal southern California (CA) and northern Mexico. There is concern for CEVE persistence because of habitat loss, fire, and climate change, yet little is known about basic features of the plant, including whether it...
Genetic diversity targets and indicators in the CBD post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework must be improved
Sean M. Hoban, Michael W. Bruford, Josephine D’Urban Jackson, Margarida Lopes-Fernandes, Myriam Heuertz, Paul A. Hohenlohe, Per Sjogren-Gulve, Gernot Segelbacher, Cristiano Vernesi, Sally Aitken, Laura D. Bertola, Paulette Bloomer, Martin Breed, Hernando Rodriguez-Correa, W. Chris Funk, Catherine E. Grueber, Margaret Hunter, Rodolfo Jaffe, Libby Liggins, Joachim Mergeay, Farideh Moharrek, David O'Brien, Rob Ogden, Clarisse Palma-Silva, Ivan Paz-Vinas, Jennifer Pierson, Uma Ramakrishnan, Murielle Simo-Droissart, Naoki Tani, Lisette Waits, Linda Laikre
2020, Biological Conservation (248)
The 196 parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will soon agree to a post-2020 global framework for conserving the three elements of biodiversity (genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity) while ensuring sustainable development and benefit sharing. As the most significant global conservation policy mechanism, the new CBD framework has...
Combined seismic and geodetic analysis before, during and after the 2018 Mt. Etna eruption
M. Mattia, V. Bruno, Emily K. Montgomery-Brown, D. Patane, G. Barberi, M. Coltelli
2020, Journal of Geophysical Research (21)
In December 2018, Etna volcano experienced one of the largest episodes of unrest since the installation of geophysical monitoring networks in 1970. The unrest culminated in a short eruption with a small volume of lava erupted, a significant seismic crisis and deformation of the entire volcanic...
Coarse sediment dynamics in a large glaciated river system: Holocene history and storage dynamics dictate contemporary climate sensitivity
Scott W. Anderson, Kristin L. Jaeger
2020, Geological Society of America Bulletin
The gravel-bedded White River drains a 1279 km2 basin in Washington State, with lowlands sculpted by continental glaciation and headwaters on an actively glaciated stratovolcano. Chronic aggradation along an alluvial fan near the river’s mouth has progressively reduced flood conveyance. In order to better understand how forecasted climate change may influence...
Investigating apparent misalignment of predator-prey dynamics: Great Lakes lake trout and sea lampreys
Jean V. Adams, Michael L. Jones, James R. Bence
2020, Fisheries Research (232)
Interpreting ecological dynamics is challenging when observed patterns are not aligned with presumed models. Investigating possible sources of uncertainty is critical to understand the underlying system and ultimately inform management decisions. In this study, we used simulation to investigate the hypothesis that observed inconsistencies in...
Permafrost hydrogeology
Barret L. Kurylyk, Michelle A. Walvoord
2020, Book chapter, Arctic hydrology, permafrost and ecosystems
Groundwater processes are often overlooked in permafrost environments, but subsurface storage and routing can strongly influence water and biogeochemical cycling in northern catchments. Groundwater flow in permafrost regions is controlled by the temporal and spatial distribution of frozen ground, causing the hydrogeologic framework to be temperature-dependent. Most flow...
Use of boosted regression trees to quantify cumulative instream flow resulting from curtailment of irrigation in the Sprague River basin, Oregon
Tamara M. Wood
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5130
A boosted regression trees (BRT) approach was used to estimate the amount by which streamflow is increased when irrigation is regulated (curtailed) upstream of a streamgage on the Sprague River in southern-central Oregon. The BRT approach differs from most other approaches that require baseline conditions for comparison, where those baseline...
Compositional layering in Io driven by magmatic segregation and volcanism
Dan C Spencer, Richard F. Katz, Ian J. Hewitt, David A. May, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi
2020, Journal of Geophysical Research (125)
The compositional evolution of volcanic bodies like Io is not well understood. Magmatic segregation and volcanic eruptions transport tidal heat from Io's interior to its surface. Several observed eruptions appear to be extremely high temperature (≥ 1600 K), suggesting either very high degrees of melting, refractory source regions, or intensive...
Changes in prey, turbidity, and competition reduce somatic growth and cause the collapse of a fish population
Josh Korman, Michael D. Yard, Maria C. Dzul, Charles B. Yackulic, Michael J. Dodrill, Bridget R. Deemer, Theodore Kennedy
2020, Ecological Monographs (91)
Somatic growth exerts strong control on patterns in the abundance of animal populations via effects on maturation, fecundity, and survival rates of juveniles and adults. In this paper, we quantify abiotic and biotic drivers of rainbow trout growth in the Colorado River, AZ, and the resulting impact on spatial and...
Spatiotemporal modeling of dengue fever risk in Puerto Rico
Gavino Puggioni, Jannelle Couret, Emily Serman, Ali S Akanda, Howard S. Ginsberg
2020, Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology (35)
Dengue Fever (DF) is a mosquito vector transmitted flavivirus and a reemerging global public health threat. Although several studies have addressed the relation between climatic and environmental factors and the epidemiology of DF, or looked at purely spatial or time series analysis,...
Grade and tonnage model for tungsten skarn deposits—2020 update
Carlin J. Green, Graham W. Lederer, Heather L. Parks, Michael L. Zientek
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5085
This report presents an updated grade and tonnage model for tungsten skarn deposits. As a critical component of the U.S. Geological Survey’s three-part form of quantitative mineral resource assessment, robust grade and tonnage models are essential to transforming mineral resource assessments into effective tools for decision makers. Using the best...
Drones provide a better method to find nests and estimate nest survival for colonial waterbirds: A demonstration with Western Grebes
Deo Lachman, Courtney J. Conway, Kerri Vierling, Ty Matthews
2020, Wetlands Ecology and Management (28) 837-845
Drone use in wildlife biology has greatly increased as they become cheaper and easier to deploy in the field. In this paper we describe a less invasive method of using drones and exploring their limitations for studying colonial nesting waterbirds. Western Grebes, like most colonial nesting waterbirds, can be very...
Assessment of dissolved-selenium concentrations and loads in the Lower Gunnison River Basin, Colorado, as part of the Selenium Management Program, 2011–17
Mark F. Henneberg
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1078
The Gunnison Basin Selenium Management Program implemented a water-quality monitoring network in 2011 to measure concentrations of selenium in the lower Gunnison River Basin in Colorado. Selenium is a trace element that bioaccumulates in aquatic food chains. Selenium is essential for life, but elevated amounts can cause reproductive failure, deformities,...
Immune and sex-biased gene expression in the threatened Mojave desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii
Cindy Xu, Greer A. Dolby, K. Kristina Drake, Todd Esque, Kenro Kusumi
2020, PLoS ONE (15)
The immune system of ectotherms, particularly non-avian reptiles, remains poorly characterized regarding the genes involved in immune function, and their function in wild populations. We used RNA-Seq to explore the systemic response of Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) gene expression to three levels of Mycoplasma infection to better understand the host response...
Flood-frequency estimation for very low annual exceedance probabilities using historical, paleoflood, and regional information with consideration of nonstationarity
Karen R. Ryberg, Kelsey A. Kolars, Julie E. Kiang, Meredith L. Carr
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5065
Streamflow estimates for floods with an annual exceedance probability of 0.001 or lower are needed to accurately portray risks to critical infrastructure, such as nuclear powerplants and large dams. However, extrapolating flood-frequency curves developed from at-site systematic streamflow records to very low annual exceedance probabilities (less than 0.001) results in...
Development of regional skew coefficients for selected flood durations in the Columbia River Basin, northwestern United States and British Columbia, Canada
Greg D. Lind, Jonathan R. Lamontagne, Adam J. Stonewall
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5073
Flood-frequency (hereinafter frequency) estimates provide information used to design, operate, and maintain hydraulic structures such as bridges and dams. Failures of these structures could cause catastrophic loss of property, life, or both. In addition to frequency estimates that use annual peak streamflow, frequency estimates of flood durations are required to...
Reducing water scarcity by improving water productivity in the United States
Landon Marston, Gambhir Lamsal, Zachary H. Ancona, Peter V Caldwell, Brian Richter, Benjamin Ruddell, Richard Rushforth, Kyle F. Davis
2020, Environmental Research Letters (15)
Nearly one-sixth of U.S. river basins are unable to consistently meet societal water demands while also providing sufficient water for the environment. Water scarcity is expected to intensify and spread as populations increase, new water demands emerge, and climate changes. Improving water productivity by meeting realistic benchmarks for all water...
Holocene paleoclimate change in the western US: The importance of chronology in discerning patterns and drivers
Susan Zimmerman, David Wahl
2020, Quaternary Science Reviews (246)
Sediment in lakes and meadows forms a powerful archive that can be used to reconstruct environmental change through time. Reconstructions of lake level, of chemical, biological, and hydrological conditions, and of surrounding vegetation provide detailed information about past climate conditions, both locally and regionally. Indeed, most of our current knowledge...
Large stocks of peatland carbon and nitrogen are vulnerable to permafrost thaw
Gustaf Hugelius, Julie Loisel, Sarah Chadburn, Robert B. Jackson, Miriam C. Jones, Glen MacDonald, Maija Marushchak, David Olefeldt, Maara S. Packalen, Matthias B. Siewert, Claire C. Treat, Merritt Turetsky, Carolina Voigt, Zicheng Yu
2020, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (117) 20438-20446
Over many millennia, northern peatlands have accumulated large amounts of carbon and nitrogen, thus cooling the global climate. Over shorter timescales, peatland disturbances can trigger losses of peat and release of greenhouses gases. Despite their importance to the global climate, peatlands remain poorly mapped, and the vulnerability of...
Effects of inundation duration on southeastern Louisiana oyster reefs
Danielle A. Marshall, Megan La Peyre
2020, Experimental Results (1)
Understanding the effects of predicted rising sea levels, combined with changes in precipitation and freshwater inflow on key estuarine ecosystem engineers such as the eastern oyster would provide critical information to inform restoration design and predictive models. Using oyster ladders with shell bags placed at three heights to capture a...
Temporal and spatial variability of water quality in the San Antonio segment of the Edwards aquifer recharge zone, Texas, with an emphasis on periods of groundwater recharge, September 2017–July 2019
Stephen P. Opsahl, MaryLynn Musgrove, Keith E. Mecum
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5033
Ongoing urbanization on the Edwards aquifer recharge zone in the greater San Antonio area raises concern about the potential adverse effects on the public water supply from development. To address this concern, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of San Antonio, studied patterns of temporal and spatial...
Longer-lived tropical songbirds reduce breeding activity as they buffer impacts of drought
Thomas E. Martin, James C. Mouton
2020, Nature Climate Change (10) 953-958
Droughts are expected to increase in frequency and severity with climate change. Population impacts of such harsh environmental events are theorized to vary with life history strategies among species. However, existing demographic models generally do not consider behavioural plasticity that may modify the impact of harsh...
Hydrothermal alteration on composite volcanoes: Mineralogy, hyperspectral imaging and aeromagnetic study of Mt Ruapehu, New Zealand
Gabor Kereszturi, Lauren N. Schaefer, Craig A. Miller, Stuart Mead
2020, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (21)
Prolonged volcanic activity can induce surface weathering and hydrothermal alteration that is a primary control on edifice instability, posing a complex hazard with its challenges to accurately forecast and mitigate. This study uses a frequently active composite volcano, Mt Ruapehu, New Zealand, to develop a conceptual model of surface weathering...
2,200-Year tree-ring and lake-sediment based snowpack reconstruction for the northern Rocky Mountains highlights the historic magnitude of recent snow drought
Spruce W. Schoenemann, Justin T. Martin, Gregory T. Pederson, David B. McWethy
2020, Quaternary Science Advances (2)
In recent decades, Rocky Mountain accumulated snowpack levels have experienced rapid declines, yet long-term records of snowpack prior to the installation of snowpack observation stations in the early and mid 20th century are limited. To date, a small number of tree-ring based reconstructions of April 1 Snow Water Equivalent (SWE)...
Evaluating stereo DTM quality at Jezero Crater, Mars with HRSC, CTX, and HiRISE images
Randolph L. Kirk, Robin L. Fergason, Bonnie L. Redding, Donna M. Galuszka, Ethan Smith, David Mayer, Trent M. Hare, Klaus Gwinner
2020, Conference Paper, International archives of the photogrammetry, remote sensing, and spatial information sciences
We have used a high-precision, high-resolution digital terrain model (DTM) of the NASA Mars 2020 rover Perseverance landing site in Jezero crater based on mosaicked images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (MRO HiRISE) camera as a reference dataset to evaluate DTMs based on Mars Express High Resolution...
