Water-balance techniques for determining available soil-water storage for selected sandy and clay soil study sites in Cass County, North Dakota, 2016–17
Kevin C. Vining
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5141
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, collected field and remotely sensed data on precipitation, evapotranspiration (ET), and soil-water content to determine available soil-water storage (AWS) at six study sites on sandy and clay soils in Cass County, North Dakota. Data...
Fluxes of agricultural nitrogen and metolachlor metabolites are highly correlated in a first order stream in Maryland, USA
Cliff Rice, W. Dean Hively, Gregory W. McCarty, Cathleen Hapeman
2020, Science of the Total Environment (716)
Nitrogen pollution in watersheds containing significant cropland area is generally problematic. Conservation practices intended to reduce nitrate-N (NO3--N) export from watersheds are being implemented by many regions without necessary tools to assess effectiveness of these abatement tools. A commonly used herbicide metolachlor degrades in the vadose zone of croplands to form two metabolites (metolachlor ethane sulfonic...
Characterization of the genetic structure of four sucker species in the Klamath River. Final Report
Matt Smith, Jennifer Von Bargen, Christian A. Smith, Michael A. Miller, Josh Rasmussen, David A. Hewitt
2020, Report
Four species of suckers (family Catostomidae) inhabit the Klamath River Basin of Oregon and California: Lost River suckers (LRS; Deltistes luxatus), shortnose suckers (SNS; Chasmistes brevirostris), Klamath largescale suckers (KLS; Catostomus snyderi), and Klamath smallscale suckers (KSS; Catostomus rimiculus). All but Klamath smallscale suckers are endemic and restricted to the...
Spatiotemporal variability of modeled watershed scale surface-depression storage and runoff for the conterminous United States
Jessica M. Driscoll, Lauren Hay, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Roland J. Viger
2020, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (56) 16-29
This study uses the explores the viability of a proxy model calibration strategy through assessment of the spatiotemporal variability of surface-depression storage and runoff generated with the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Hydrologic Model (NHM) infrastructure for hydrologic response units (HRUs; n=109,951) across the conterminous United States (CONUS). Simulated values for...
Resolving small-scale forest snow patterns using an energy-balance snow model with a 1-layer canopy
Giulia Mazzotti, Richard Essery, C. David Moeser, Tobias Jonas
2020, Water Resources Research (56)
Modelling spatiotemporal dynamics of snow in forests is challenging, as involved processes are strongly dependent on small-scale canopy properties. In this study, we explore how local canopy structure information can be integrated in a medium-complexity energy-balance snow model to replicate observed snow patterns at very high spatial resolutions. Snow depth...
Biotic interactions help explain variation in elevational range limits of birds among Bornean mountains
Ryan C. Burner, Andy J. Boyce, David Bernasconi, Alison R. Styring, Subir B. Shakya, Chandradewana Boer, Mustafa Abdul Rahman, Thomas E. Martin, Frederick H. Sheldon
2020, Journal of Biogeography (47) 760-771
AimPhysiological tolerances and biotic interactions along habitat gradients are thought to influence species occurrence. Distributional differences caused by such forces are particularly noticeable on tropical mountains, where high species turnover along elevational gradients occurs over relatively short distances and elevational distributions of particular species can shift among...
Habitat of the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris) in San Francisco Bay
Bruce G. Marcot, Isa Woo, Karen M. Thorne, Chase M. Freeman, Glenn R. Guntenspergen
2020, Ecology and Evolution (0) 662-677
Understanding habitat associations is vital for conservation of at‐risk marsh‐endemic wildlife species, particularly those under threat from sea level rise. We modeled environmental and habitat associations of the marsh‐endemic, Federally endangered salt marsh harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris, RERA) and co‐occurrence with eight associated small mammal species from annual trap data,...
Remnant hardwood forest mapping within the Upper Mississippi River floodplain
Jenny L. Hanson, Rich King, Erin E. Hoy
2020, Open-File Report 2019-1089
Executive SummaryThe primary objective of the project was to locate previously unknown stands of mast-producing hardwood forest trees in the Upper Mississippi River floodplain using existing information. We located and mapped 399 previously unknown hardwood forest stands within the Mississippi River floodplain area of navigation pools 9, 10, and 11....
Zircon-hosted melt inclusion record of silicic magmatism in the Mesoproterozoic St. Francois Mountains terrane, Missouri: Origin of the Pea Ridge iron oxide-apatite rare earth element deposit and implications for regional crustal pathways of mineralization
Kathryn E. Watts, Celestine N. Mercer
2020, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (272) 54-77
Voluminous silicic magmatism was coeval with iron ore mineralization in the St. Francois Mountains terrane in southeast Missouri, part of the broader Mesoproterozoic Granite-Rhyolite province along the eastern margin of Laurentia. Some of the iron deposits contain extraordinary endowments of critical elements, such as the Pea Ridge iron oxide-apatite (IOA) deposit, which has an...
Introduction to this special section: Geothermal energy
Joern Kaven, Dennise Templeton, Arpita P. Bathija
2020, The Leading Edge (39) 855-856
Geothermal energy is a global renewable resource that has the potential to provide a significant portion of baseload energy in many regions. In the United States, it has the potential to provide 8.5% of the electric generation capacity by the middle of the...
Sustaining Environmental Capital Initiative summary report
Christopher Huber, James R. Meldrum, Rudy Schuster, Zachary H. Ancona, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Scott M. Beck, Daren M. Carlisle, Peter R. Claggett, Fabiano Franco, Heather S. Galbraith, Michelle Haefele, Kristin R Hoelting, Dianna M. Hogan, Kristina G. Hopkins, Tim Kern, Collin B. Lawrence, Stacy Lischka, John B. Loomis, Julie M. Mueller, Gregory E. Noe, Emily Pindilli, Brian Quay, Darius J. Semmens, Wilson Sinclair, Daniel E. Spooner, Brian Voigt, Barabara St. John White
2020, Open-File Report 2019-1117
Federal agencies need credible scientific information to determine the production and value of ecosystem services in an efficient and timely manner. The U.S. Geological Survey addresses this scientific information need through the Sustaining Environmental Capital Initiative project. The project has relied on U.S. Geological Survey expertise related to water, fisheries,...
Inundation exposure assessment for Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands using a high-accuracy digital elevation model
Dean B. Gesch, Monica Palaseanu-Lovejoy, Jeffrey J. Danielson, Charles Fletcher, Maria Kottermair, Matthew Barbee, Andrea Jalandoni
2020, Remote Sensing (12)
Majuro Atoll in the central Pacific has high coastal vulnerability due to low-lying islands, rising sea level, high wave events, eroding shorelines, a dense population center, and limited freshwater resources. Land elevation is the primary geophysical variable that determines exposure to inundation in coastal settings. Accordingly, coastal elevation data (with...
Using conceptual models to relate multiparameter satellite data to subsurface volcanic processes in Latin America
Kevin Reath, Matthew Pritchard, Juliet Biggs, Ben Andrews, Susi Ebmeier, Marco Bagnardi, Tarsilo Girona, Paul Lundgren, Taryn Lopez, Michael P. Poland
2020, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (21)
Satellite data have been extensively used to identify volcanic behavior. However, the physical subsurface processes causing any individual manifestation of activity can be ambiguous. We propose a classification scheme for the cause of unrest that simultaneously considers three multiparameter satellite observations. The scheme is based on...
Integrating side-scan sonar and acoustic telemetry to estimate the annual spawning run size of Atlantic sturgeon in the Hudson River
David C. Kazyak, Amy M Flowers, Nathan J. Hostetter, John A Madsen, Matthew W. Breece, Amanda Higgs, Lori M. Brown, J. Andrew Royle, Dewayne A. Fox
2020, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (77) 1038-1048
There is considerable interest in evaluating the status and trends of sturgeon populations, yet many traditional approaches to estimating the abundance of fishes are intractable due to their biology and rarity. Side-scan sonar has recently emerged as an effective tool for censusing sturgeon in rivers, yet challenges remain for censusing...
Trends of litter decomposition and soil organic matter stocks across forested swamp environments of the southeastern US
Beth A. Middleton
2020, PLoS ONE (15)
A common idea in the discussion of soil carbon processes is that litter decomposition rates and soil carbon stocks are inversely related. To test this overall hypothesis, simultaneous studies were conducted of the relationship of environmental gradients to leaf and wood decomposition, buried cloth decomposition and percent soil organic matter...
Formation and prevention of pipe scale from acid mine drainage at Iron Mountain and Leviathan Mines, California, USA
Kate M. Campbell, Charles N. Alpers, D. Kirk Nordstrom
2020, Applied Geochemistry (115)
Pipelines carrying acid mine drainage (AMD) to treatment plants commonly form pipe scale, an Fe(III)-rich precipitate that forms inside the pipelines and requires periodic and costly cleanout and maintenance. Pipelines at Iron Mountain Mine (IMM) and Leviathan Mine (LM) in California carry acidic water from mine sources to a...
Estimating bedload from suspended load and water discharge in sand bed rivers
T.C. Ashley, B. McElroy, D. Buscombe, Paul E. Grams, M. Kaplinski
2020, Water Resources Research (56)
Estimates of fluvial sediment discharge from in situ instruments are an important component of large‐scale sediment budgets that track long‐term geomorphic change. Suspended sediment load can be reliably estimated using acoustic or physical sampling techniques; however, bedload is difficult to measure directly and can consequently be one of the largest...
A model for the growth and development of wave-dominated deltas fed by small mountainous rivers: Insights from the Elwha River delta, Washington
Julie Zurbuchen, Alexander R. Simms, Jonathan A. Warrick, Ian M. Miller, Andrew C. Ritchie
2020, Sedimentology (67) 2310-2331
Observations from ground-penetrating radar, sediment cores, elevation surveys and aerial imagery are used to understand the development of the Elwha River delta in north-western Washington, USA, which prograded as a result of two dam removals in late 2011. Swash-bar, foreshore and swale depositional elements are recognized within ground-penetrating radar profiles...
Patterns of denitrification potential in tidal freshwater forested wetlands
Alicia R. Korol, Gregory E. Noe
2020, Article
Limited evidence for spatial patterns of denitrification in tidal freshwater forested wetlands (TFFWs), seemingly due to high spatial variability in the process, is surprising considering the various spatial gradients of its biogeochemical and hydrogeomorphic controls in these ecosystems. Because certain physical environmental gradients may be useful for the prediction of...
Planktic foraminiferal test size and weight response to the late Pliocene environment
Chloe L. Todd, Daniela N. Schmidt, Marci M. Robinson, S. de Schepper
2020, Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology (35)
Atmospheric carbon dioxide (pCO2atm) is impacting the ocean and marine organisms directly via changes in carbonate chemistry and indirectly via a range of changes in physical parameters most dominantly temperature. To assess potential impacts of climate change on carbonate production in the open ocean, we measured size...
Geographic and oceanographic influences on ferromanganese crust composition along a Pacific Ocean meridional transect, 14N to 14S
Kira Mizell, James R. Hein, Phoebe J. Lam, Anthony A.P. Koppers, Hubert Staudigel
2020, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (21)
The major controls on the variability of ferromanganese (FeMn) crust composition have been generally described over the past 40 years; however, most compilation studies lack quantitative statistics and are limited to a small region of several seamounts or compare FeMn crusts from disparate areas of the global oceans. This study...
Carrying capacity of a population diffusing in a heterogeneous environment
Don DeAngelis, Bo Zhang, Wei-Ming Ni, Yuanshi Wang
2020, Mathematics and Computers in Modern Science - Acoustics and Music, Biology and Chemistry, Business and Economics (8)
The carrying capacity of the environment for a population is one of the key concepts in ecology and it is incorporated in the growth term of reaction-diffusion equations describing populations in space. Analysis of reaction-diffusion models of populations in heterogeneous space have shown that, when the maximum growth rate and...
Spatial and temporal dynamics of Pacific capelin Mallotus catervarius in the Gulf of Alaska: Implications for ecosystem-based fisheries management
David W. McGowan, Esther Goldstein, Mayumi L. Arimitsu, Alison Dreary, Olav Ormseth, Alex DeRobertis, John Horne, Lauren Rogers, Matt Wilson, Kenneth Coyle, Kris Holderied, John F. Piatt, W.T. Stockhausen, Stephani Zador
2020, Marine Ecology Progress Series (637) 117-140
Pacific capelin Mallotus catervarius are planktivorous, small pelagic fish that serve an intermediate trophic role in marine food webs. Due to the lack of a directed fishery or monitoring of capelin in the Northeast Pacific, there is limited information on their distribution and abundance, and how spatio-temporal fluctuations in capelin density affects...
Improving predictions of water supply in the Rio Grande under changing climate conditions
Ilana Renae Casarez
2020, Report
This product is a case study summarizing the original work authored by David Gutzler, Shaleene Chavarria, and Nels Bjarke. The content will be part of a collection of Case Studies shared via the Collaborative Conservation and Adaptation Strategy Toolbox (CCAST). The research featured in this case study is an analysis...
Understanding the impacts of surface-groundwater conditions on stream fishes under altered baseflow conditions
Shannon K. Brewer, G. Fox, Y. Zhou, J. Alexander
2020, Cooperator Science Series CSS-136-2020
Persistence of aquatic fauna depends on the conditions and connectivity of surface water and groundwater. In light of altered baseflows and both current and future predicted increases in stream temperatures, it is important to assess current thermal conditions, examine thermal responses of aquatic fauna, and evaluate water-management practices. Our study...
