A comparison of hydrocarbon-related landscape disturbance patterns along the New York-Pennsylvania border, 2004–2013
Coral M. Howe, Lesley E. Milheim, E. Terrence Slonecker, Siddiq Kalaly, Joseph Chestnut
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5096
Executive SummaryThe New York-Pennsylvania area has a long history of hydrocarbon extraction, and the addition of shale gas extraction methods contributes to landscape disturbance borne by previously developed oil and non-shale gas resources. The main unconventional extraction method used to extract shale gas from the Marcellus Shale located in New...
Alkalinity in tidal tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay
Raymond G. Najjar, Maria Herrmann, Jaclyn R. Friedman, Marjorie A. M. Friedrichs, Lora A. Harris, Elizabeth H. Shadwick, Edward G. Stets, Ryan J. Woodland
2019, Journal of Geophysical Research C: Oceans (125)
Despite the important role of alkalinity in estuarine carbon cycling, the seasonal and decadal variability of alkalinity, particularly within multiple tidal tributaries of the same estuary, is poorly understood. Here we analyze more than 26,000 alkalinity measurements, mostly from the 1980s and 1990s, in the major tidal tributaries of the...
Slug-test analysis of selected wells at an earthen dam site in southern Westchester County, New York
Michael L. Noll, Anthony Chu, William D. Capurso
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1102
In 2005, the U.S. Geological Survey began a cooperative study with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection to characterize the local groundwater-flow system and identify potential sources of seeps on the southern embankment of the Hillview Reservoir in southern Westchester County, New York. The earthen embankment comprises low-permeability...
Pesticide mixtures in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, 2016–17: Results from year 2 of the Delta Regional Monitoring Program
Matthew D. De Parsia, Emily E. Woodward, James L. Orlando, Michelle L. Hladik
2019, Data Series 1120
The Delta Regional Monitoring Program was developed by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board in response to the decline of pelagic fish species in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta that was observed in the early 2000s. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Delta Regional Monitoring Program, has...
Flood-frequency comparison from 1995 to 2016 and trends in peak streamflow in Arkansas, water years 1930–2016
Paul A. Ensminger, Brian K. Breaker
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5131
In 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, began a study in Arkansas to investigate possible increasing trends in annual peak streamflow data and the possible resulting increase in the annual exceedance probability flood (AEPF) predictions. Temporal...
Hydrogeologic framework of the Virginia Eastern Shore
E. Randolph McFarland, Todd A. Beach
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5093
The Yorktown-Eastover aquifer system of the Virginia Eastern Shore consists of upper, middle, and lower confined aquifers overlain by correspondingly named confining units and underlain by the Saint Marys confining unit. Miocene- to Pliocene-age marine-shelf sediments observed in 205 boreholes include medium- to coarse-grained sand and shells that compose the...
Identifying and characterizing extrapolation in multivariate response data
Meridith L. Bartley, Ephraim M. Hanks, Erin M. Schliep, Patricia A. Soranno, Tyler Wagner
2019, PLoS ONE (14)
Faced with limitations in data availability, funding, and time constraints, ecologists are often tasked with making predictions beyond the range of their data. In ecological studies, it is not always obvious when and where extrapolation occurs because of the multivariate nature of the data. Previous work on identifying extrapolation has...
Evaluation of stormwater treatment vault with Coanda-effect screen for removal of solids and phosphorus in urban runoff
Nicolas Buer, William R. Selbig
2019, Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment (6)
Catch basins commonly are used by cities as part of a stormwater management plan to remove sediment and associated contaminants from stormwater, keeping them in compliance with regulations. Recently, the city of Madison, Wisconsin modified traditional catch basins by incorporating a fine-mesh (1-mm) Coanda-effect screen into the design with the...
Improving predictions of fine particle immobilization in streams
Jennifer D. Drummond, Noah Schmadel, Christa Kelleher, Aaron I. Packman, Adam S Ward
2019, Geophysical Research Letters (46) 13,853-13,861
Fine particles are critical to stream ecosystem functioning, influencing in-stream processes from pathogen transmission to carbon cycling, all of which depend on particle immobilization. However, our ability to predict particle immobilization is limited by: (1) availability of combined solute and particle tracer data and (2) identifying parameters that appropriately...
Measurement of cyanobacteria bloom magnitude using satellite remote sensing
Sachidananda Mishra, Richard P. Stumpf, Blake Schaeffer, P. Jeremy Werdell, Keith A. Loftin, Andrew Meredith
2019, Scientific Reports
Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) are a serious environmental, water quality and public health issue worldwide because of their ability to form dense biomass and produce toxins. Models and algorithms have been developed to detect and quantify cyanoHABs biomass using remotely sensed data but not for quantifying bloom magnitude, information...
Environmental and biological factors influence migratory Sea Lamprey catchability: Implications for tracking abundance in the Laurentian Great Lakes
Sean A. Lewandoski, Gale A Bravener, Peter J. Hrodey, Scott M. Miehls
2019, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (11) 68-79
Sea Lamprey Petromyzon marinus population trends in the Great Lakes are tracked by trapping migratory adults in tributaries and using mark and recapture techniques to estimate abundance. Understanding what environmental and biological factors influence Sea Lamprey capture in tributaries is crucial to developing efficient trapping methods and reliable abundance...
Observations of the spawning ecology of the imperiled Clear Lake Hitch Lavinia exilicauda chi
Frederick V. Feyrer
2019, California Fish and Game (105) 225-232
Migrations for the purposes of reproduction are widely documented across the animal kingdom and are particularly common in fishes and other aquatic organisms (Dingle 2014). One important migration strategy in fishes is potamodromy, which is the movement from one location to another entirely within freshwater (Morais and Daverat 2016)....
Reach-scale monitoring and modeling of rivers--Expanding hydraulic data collection beyond the cross section
Brandon T. Forbes, Claire E. Bunch, Geoffrey DeBenedetto, Corey J. Shaw, Bruce Gungle
2019, Fact Sheet 2019-3073
For over 125 years, the U.S. Geological Survey streamgage network has provided important hydrologic information about rivers and streams throughout the Nation. Traditional streamgage methods provide reliable stage and streamflow data but typically only monitor stage at a single location in a river and require frequent calibration streamflow measurements. Direct measurements are...
A leg-hold noose capture method for Brent Geese Branta bernicla at staging or wintering sites
Yusuke Sawa, Chieko Tamura, Toshio Ikeuchi, Kaoru Fujii, Aisa Ishioroshi, T. Shimada, David H. Ward
2019, Wildfowl (69) 230-241
Effective and efficient capture methods are needed for marking and monitoring individuals in studies of demography, migration and habitat use. We describe a novel use of leg-hold nooses aligned on lines and mats to capture non-breeding Brent Geese Branta bernicla in water at a staging and wintering site in Japan....
Preliminary status of Lake Ontario Alewife based on the 2019 spring trawl survey
Brian Weidel, Jeremy P. Holden, Michael J. Connerton
2019, Report
-The 2019 spring prey fish trawl survey was the most extensive fish survey ever conducted on Lake Ontario with 252 bottom trawls collecting 214,569 fish from 39 species, in main-lake and embayment habitats, at depths ranging from 5 to 225 meters (16.5 – 742.5 feet).-Alewife distribution was similar in U.S....
Asian swamp eels in North America linked to the live-food trade and prayer-release rituals
Leo Nico, Jay V. Kilian, Andrew J. Ropicki, Matthew Harper
2019, Aquatic Invasions (14) 775-814
We provide a history of swamp eel (family Synbranchidae) introductions around the globe and report the first confirmed nonindigenous records of Amphipnous cuchia in the wild. The species, native to Asia, is documented from five sites in the USA: the Passaic River, New Jersey (2007), Lake Needwood, Maryland (2014), a...
Aquatic cycling of mercury
William H. Orem, David P. Krabbenhoft, Brett Poulin, George A Aiken
2019, Book chapter, Mercury and the Everglades. A synthesis and model for complex ecosystem restoration
This chapter examines crucial processes in the aquatic cycling of mercury (Hg) that may lead to microbial production of neurotoxic and bioaccumulative methylmercury (MeHg), and highlights environmental conditions in the Everglades that make it ideal for MeHg production and bioaccumulation. The role of complexation of Hg2+ in surface water, especially by...
Sulfur contamination in the Everglades, a major control on mercury methylation
William H. Orem, David P. Krabbenhoft, Brett Poulin, George Aiken
2019, Book chapter, Mercury and the Everglades. A Synthesis and Model for Complex Ecosystem Restoration
In this chapter sulfur contamination of the Everglades and its role as a major control on methylmercury (MeHg) production is examined. Sulfate concentrations over large portions of the Everglades (60% of the ecosystem) are elevated or greatly elevated compared to background conditions of <1 mg/L. Land and water management...
Biogeographical patterns of tunicates utilizing eelgrass as substrate in the western North Atlantic between 39o and 47o north latitude (New Jersey to Newfoundland)
Mary R. Carman, Philip D. Colarusso, Hilary A. Neckles, Paul Bologna, Scott Caines, John D. P. Davidson, N. Tay Evans, Sophia Fox, David W. Grunden, Sarah Hoffman, Kevin C. K. Ma, Kyle Matheson, Cynthia McKenzie, Eric P. Nelson, Holly Plaisted, Emily Reddington, Stephen Schott, Melisa C. Wong
2019, Management of Biological Invasions (10) 602-616
Colonization of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) by tunicates can lead to reduced plant growth and survival. Several of the tunicate species that are found on eelgrass in the northwest Atlantic are highly aggressive colonizers, and range expansions are predicted in association with climate-change induced increases in seawater temperature. In 2017, we...
Population characteristics and the potential suppression of common carp in Lake Spokane, Washington
Stacey Feeken, Zachary B. Klein, Michael C. Quist, Ned Horner
2019, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (10) 362-374
Common Carp Cyprinus carpio is a nonnative species that often has deleterious effects on aquatic systems. As such, there is interest in suppressing nonnative Common Carp populations in areas where humans have introduced them. The objectives of this study were to 1) provide insight on efficient techniques...
Managing effects of drought in Hawai’i and U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands
Abby G. Frazier, Jonathan Deenik, Neal Fujii, Greg Funderburk, Thomas Giambelluca, Christian Giardina, David A. Helweg, Victoria Keener, Donald Mair, John Marra, Sierra McDaniel, Lenore Ohye, Delwyn S. Oki, Elliott Parsons, Ayron Strauch, Clay Trauernicht
2019, General Technical Report WO-98-5
How is drought expressed in Hawai‘i & USAPI? Drought is a significant climate feature in Hawai‘i and the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI), at times causing severe impacts across multiple sectors. Below average precipitation anomalies are often accompanied by higher than average temperatures and reduced cloud cover. The resulting higher insolation...
Frequent use of upland habitats by the endangered Hawaiian stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni)
Martha Kawasaki, Patrick J. Hart, Eben H. Paxton
2019, Waterbirds (42) 431-438
The Hawaiian Stilt, or Ae’o (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni), is an endangered waterbird endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Loss of suitable wetland habitats due to anthropogenic development is a leading cause for decline, as well as the introduction of non-native predators and invasive wetland plants. This study fitted four Hawaiian...
Assessing North American multimodel ensemble (NMME) seasonal forecast skill to assist in the early warning of hydrometeorological extremes over East Africa
Shraddhanand Shukla, Jason B. Roberts, Hoell. Andrew, Chris Funk, Franklin R. Robertson, Benjamin Kirtmann
2019, Climate Dynamics (15) 7411-7427
The skill of North American multimodel ensemble (NMME) seasonal forecasts in East Africa (EA), which encompasses one of the most food and water insecure areas of the world, is evaluated using deterministic, categorical, and probabilistic evaluation methods. The skill is estimated for all three primary growing seasons: March–May...
Wave-current interaction between Hurricane Matthew wave fields and the Gulf Stream
Christie Hegermiller, John C. Warner, Maitane Olabarrieta, Christopher R. Sherwood
2019, Journal of Physical Oceanography (49) 2883-2900
Hurricanes interact with the Gulf Stream in the South Atlantic Bight (SAB) through a wide variety of processes, which are crucial to understand for prediction of open-ocean and coastal hazards during storms. However, it remains unclear how waves are modified by large-scale ocean currents under storm conditions, when waves are...
Separating sea and slow slip signals on the seafloor
Joan S. Gomberg, Susan Hautala, Paul Johnson, Steve Chiswell
2019, Journal of Geophysical Research- Solid Earth (124) 13486-13503
Seafloor pressure measurements hold promise for estimating vertical displacements from transient slow slip events on submarine faults. We assess the accuracy of pressure offset estimates that evolve over days to weeks and the confidence with which they may be attributed to tectonic deformation or to the ocean...
