Assessment of coal mine methane (CMM) and abandoned mine methane (AMM) resource potential of longwall mine panels: example from Northern Appalachian Basin, USA
C. Ozgen Karacan, Peter D. Warwick
2019, International Journal of Coal Geology (208) 37-53
"Coal mine methane (CMM) and abandoned mine methane (AMM), are by-products of underground coal mining. The quantity and the emission rate of CMM and AMM may vary depending on the type of mine, gas content of the mined coal seam, and gas sourced from strata and coal beds in overlying...
Relationships between regional coastal land cover distributions and elevation reveal data uncertainty in a sea-level rise impacts model
Erika E. Lentz, Nathaniel G. Plant, E. Robert Thieler
2019, Earth Surface Dynamics (7) 429-438
Understanding land loss or resilience in response to sea-level rise (SLR) requires spatially extensive and continuous datasets to capture landscape variability. We investigate sensitivity and skill of a model that predicts dynamic response likelihood to SLR across the northeastern U.S. by exploring several data inputs and outcomes....
A unified catalog of earthquake hypocenters and magnitudes at volcanoes in Alaska—1989 to 2018
John Power, Paul A. Friberg, Matthew M. Haney, Thomas Parker, Scott D. Stihler, James P. Dixon
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5037
The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) has maintained an earthquake catalog since 1989 that now contains over 120,000 hypocenters and magnitudes that occurred near Alaskan volcanoes. Since 1989 the seismic instrumentation and data acquisition and processing techniques have undergone numerous changes as computer systems and seismic processing software have advanced and...
Tools to understand seasonality in health: quantification of microbe loads and analyses of compositional ecoimmunological data reveal complex patterns in Mojave Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) populations
F. C. Sandmeier, K. L. Leonard, C. R. Tracy, K. Kristina Drake, Todd Esque, K. E. Nussear, J Germano
2019, Canadian Journal of Zoology (97) 841-848
Using data from six wild Mojave Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii (Cooper, 1861)) populations, we quantified seasonal differences in immune system measurements and microbial load in the respiratory tract, pertinent to this species’ susceptibility to upper respiratory tract disease. We quantified bacteria-killing activity of blood plasma and differential leukocyte counts to detect...
Data management plan for the U.S. Geological Survey Washington Water Science Center
Kathleen E. Conn, Mark C. Mastin, Andrew J. Long, Richard S. Dinicola, Cynthia Barton
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1049
The primary mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Mission Area is to collect and disseminate reliable, impartial, and timely information needed to understand the water resources of the Nation, including data on streamflow, groundwater, water quality, water use, and availability. Management of data throughout the entire data lifecycle...
Selecting ecological models using multi-objective optimization
Perry J. Williams, William L. Kendall, Mevin Hooten
2019, Ecological Modelling (404) 21-26
Choices in ecological research and natural resource management require balancing multiple, often competing objectives. Examples include maximizing species persistence in a wildlife conservation context, while minimizing cost, or balancing opposing stakeholder objectives when managing wildlife populations. Multiple-objective optimization (MOO) provides a unifying framework for solving multiple...
GLASS3: A standalone multi-scale seismic detection associator
William L. Yeck, John Patton, Caryl E. Johnson, David Kragness, Harley M. Benz, Paul S. Earle, Michelle M. Guy, Nicholas Ambruz
2019, BSSA (4) 1469-1478
The automated global real-time association of phase picks into seismic sources comes with unique challenges when simultaneously monitoring at local, regional and global scales. High spatial variability in seismic station density, transitory seismic data availability, and time-varying noise characteristics of individual stations must be considered in the design of...
Relaxation response of critically stressed macroscale surficial rock sheets
Brian D. Collins, Greg M. Stock, Martha-Cary Eppes
2019, Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (52) 5013-5023
Rock environments both underground and on Earth’s surface show indications of energetic macroscale fracture. In tunnels and excavations, these manifest as rockbursts—energetic explosions of rock that can damage engineering projects, and may pose ongoing financial and safety risk as rock stresses adjust during post-failure relaxation. In...
Hydrologic lag effects on wetland greenhouse gas fluxes
Brian Tangen, Sheel Bansal
2019, Atmosphere (10)
Hydrologic margins of wetlands are narrow, transient zones between inundated and dry areas. As water levels fluctuate, the dynamic hydrology at margins may impact wetland greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes that are sensitive to soil saturation. The Prairie Pothole Region of North America consists of millions of seasonally-ponded wetlands that are...
Groundwater quality of a public supply aquifer in proximity to oil development, Fruitvale Oil Field, Bakersfield, California
Michael Wright, Peter B. McMahon, Matthew K. Landon, Justin T. Kulongoski
2019, Applied Geochemistry (106) 82-95
Due to concerns over the effects of oil production activities on groundwater quality in California, chemical, isotopic, dissolved gas and age-dating tracers were analyzed in samples collected from public-supply wells and produced-water sites in the Fruitvale oil field (FVOF). A combination of newly collected and historical data was used to...
Monitoring live vegetation in semiarid and arid rangeland environments with satellite remote sensing in northern Kenya
Amina Rangoonwala, Elijah W. Ramsey III
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1037
As part of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) commitment to provide technical assistance to the Kenyan Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT), the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with the DOI International Technical Assistance Program and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s regional mission in East Africa, created a high...
Analysis for agreement of the Northern Gulf of Mexico topobathymetric digital elevation model with 3-Dimensional Elevation Program 1/3 arc-second digital elevation models
Cynthia Miller-Corbett
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1016
Topographical differencing and edge-matching analyses were used to evaluate agreement of the Coastal National Elevation Database Applications Project’s Northern Gulf of Mexico topobathymetric digital elevation model (TBDEM) with The National Map 3-Dimensional Elevation Program (3DEP) 1/3 arc-second digital elevation models (DEMs). In addition to topographic map products provided through the...
A comparative analysis of common methods to identify waterbird hotspots
Allison L. Sussman, Beth Gardner, Evan M. Adams, Leo Salas, Kevin P. Kenow, David R. Luukkonen, Michael J. Monfils, William P. Mueller, Kate A. Williams, Michelle Leduc-Lapierre, Elise F. Zipkin
2019, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (10) 1454-1468
1. Hotspot analysis is a commonly used method in ecology and conservation to identify areas of high biodiversity or conservation concern. However, delineating and mapping hotspots is subjective and various approaches can lead to different conclusions with regard to the classification of particular areas as hotspots, complicating long-term conservation planning...
Emperor geese (Anser canagicus) are exposed to a diversity of influenza A viruses, are infected during the non-breeding period and contribute to intercontinental viral dispersal
Andrew M. Ramey, Brian D. Uher-Koch, Andrew B. Reeves, Joel A. Schmutz, Rebecca L. Poulson, David E. Stallknecht
2019, Transboundary and Emerging Diseases (66) 1958-1970
Emperor geese (Anser canagicus) are endemic to coastal areas within Beringia and have previously been found to have antibodies to or to be infected with influenza A viruses (IAVs) in Alaska. In this study, we use virological, serological and tracking data to further elucidate the role of emperor geese in...
A comparison of chlorophyll a values obtained from an autonomous underwater vehicle to satellite-based measures for Lake Michigan
David Bennion, David Warner, Peter C. Esselman, Brett Hobson, Brian Kieft
2019, Journal of Great Lakes Research (45) 726-734
Accurate methods to track changes in lake productivity through time and space are critical to fisheries management. Chlorophyll a is the most widely studied proxy for ecosystem primary production, and has been the topic of many studies. The main sources of chlorophyll a measurements are ship-based measures or multi-spectral satellite...
A field evaluation of the growth and survival of age-0 Oncorhynchus mykiss tagged with 8-mm passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags
Kenneth Tiffan, Ian Jezorek, Russell Perry
2019, Animal Biotelemetry (7)
BackgroundIn fish tagging studies, tag size limits the size of fish that can be tagged, the fraction of a population that can be represented, and ultimately inferences that can be made about the study population, particularly when juvenile fish are the subject of interest. Introduction of an...
oSCR: A spatial capture–recapture R package for inference about spatial ecological processes
Chris Sutherland, J. Andrew Royle, Dan Linden
2019, Ecography (42) 1459-1469
Spatial capture–recapture (SCR) methods have become widely applied in ecology. The immediate adoption of SCR is due to the fact that it resolves some major criticisms of traditional capture–recapture methods related to heterogeneity in detectabililty, and the emergence of new technologies (e.g. camera traps, non‐invasive genetics) that have vastly improved...
Distribution of mineral phases in the Eocene Green River Formation, Piceance Basin, Colorado – Implications for the evolution of Lake Uinta
Justin E. Birdwell, Ronald C. Johnson, Michael E. Brownfield
2019, Mountain Geologist (56) 73-141
The mineralogy of the Eocene Green River Formation in the Piceance Basin, Colorado, has been the subject of numerous studies since the 1920s. Most previous work has focused on the resource potential of these lacustrine mudrocks, which in addition to substantial oil shale potential (in-place resources of 353 billion barrels...
Spatial integration of biological and social objectives to identify priority landscapes for waterfowl habitat conservation
Anastasia Krainyk, James E. Lyons, Michael G. Brasher, Dale D. Humburg, Greg J. Souilliere, John M. Coluccy, Mark J. Petrie, David W. Howerter, Stuart M. Slattery, Mindy B. Rice, Joe C. Fuller
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1029
Waterfowl population management and habitat conservation compose one of the oldest and most successful adaptive management frameworks in the world. Since its inception, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) has emphasized strategically targeted conservation investments in regions that most affect waterfowl population dynamics. By 2012, regional conservation had progressively...
Rapid station and network quality analysis for temporary deployments
David C. Wilson, Adam T. Ringler, Tyler Storm, Robert Anthony
2019, Seismological Research Letters (90) 1494-1501
Seismic station data quality is commonly defined by metrics such as data completeness or background seismic noise levels in specific frequency bands. However, for temporary networks such as aftershock deployments or induced seismicity monitoring, the most critical metric is often how well the station performs when recording events of...
Basin, climatic, and irrigation factors associated with median summer water yields for streams in Southwestern Michigan, 1945-2015
David J. Holtschlag
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5071
Median summer water yields and resultant flows for streams are used in Michigan to regulate large water withdrawals to help prevent negative effects on characteristic fish populations. Large water withdrawals commonly are associated with irrigation in rural areas. In an earlier statewide report, an index-flow statistic for the period of...
Global patterns of tree stem growth and stand aboveground wood production in mangrove forests
Yanmei Xiong, Roxelane Cakir, Sang Minh Phan, Anne Ola, Ken Krauss, Catherine E. Lovelock
2019, Forest Ecology and Management (444) 382-392
Mangrove forests provide important ecological and economic services including carbon sequestration and storage. The conservation and restoration of mangroves are expected to play an important role in mitigating climate change, and understanding the factors influencing mangrove stem growth and wood production are important in predicting and improving mangrove carbon sequestration...
Resilience of benthic macroinvertebrates to extreme floods in a Catskill Mountain river, New York, USA: Implications for water quality monitoring and assessment
Alexander J. Smith, Barry P. Baldigo, Brian T Duffy, Scott D. George, Brian Dresser
2019, Ecological Indicators (104) 107-115
Changes in the timing, magnitude, frequency, and duration of extreme hydrologic events are becoming apparent and could disrupt species assemblages and stream ecosystems across the Northeastern United States. Between August 28 and 29 of 2011, an average of 31 cm of rain from Tropical Storm Irene fell across Eastern New...
Integrated modeling reveals shifts in waterfowl population dynamics under climate change
Qing Zhao, Scott Boomer, J. Andrew Royle
2019, Ecography (42) 1470-1481
1. Climate change has been identified as one of the most important drivers of wildlife populations. The development of appropriate conservation strategies relies on reliable predictions of population responses to climate change, which require in-depth understanding of the complex relationships between climate and population dynamics through density dependent demographic processes....
Flood-inundation maps for the Amite and Comite Rivers from State Highway 64 to U.S. Highway 190 at Central, Louisiana
John B. Storm
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5028
Flood-inundation maps for a 14.5-mile reach of the Amite River and a 20.2-mile reach of the Comite River from State Highway 64 to U.S. Highway 190 were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the City of Central, Louisiana. These maps, which can be accessed through an...
