Strategic conservation for lesser prairie-chickens among landscapes of varying anthropogenic influence
Daniel S. Sullins, David A. Haukos, Joseph M. Lautenbach, Jonathan Lautenbach, Samantha G. Robinson, Mindy B. Rice, Brett K. Sandercock, John D. Kraft, Reid T. Plumb, Jonathan H. Reitz, J. M. Shawn Hutchinson, Christian A. Hagen
2019, Biological Conservation (238)
For millennia grasslands have provided a myriad of ecosystem services and have been coupled with human resource use. The loss of 46% of grasslands worldwide necessitates the need for conservation that is spatially, temporally, and socioeconomically strategic. In the Southern Great Plains of the United States, conversion of native grasslands...
Influence of climate change and postdelisting management on long-term population viability of the conservation-reliant Kirtland's Warbler
Donald J. Brown, Deahn M. Donner, Christine Ribic, Carol I. Bocetti
2019, Ecology and Evolution (9) 10263-10276
Rapid global climate change is resulting in novel abiotic and biotic conditions and interactions. Identifying management strategies that maximize probability of long-term persistence requires an understanding of the vulnerability of species to environmental changes. We sought to quantify the vulnerability of Kirtland's Warbler (Setophaga kirtlandii), a...
Temporally adaptive acoustic sampling to maximize detection across a suite of focal wildlife species
Cathleen Balantic, Therese M. Donovan
2019, Ecology and Evolution (9) 10582-10600
Acoustic recordings of the environment can produce species presence–absence data for characterizing populations of sound-producing wildlife over multiple spatial scales. If a species is present at a site but does not vocalize during a scheduled audio recording survey, researchers may incorrectly conclude that the species is absent (“false negative”)....
Tsunamis: Stochastic models of generation, propagation, and occurrence
Eric L. Geist, David Oglesby, Kenny Ryan
2019, Book chapter, Encyclopedia of complexity and systems science
The devastating consequences of the 2004 Indian Ocean and 2011 Tohoku-oki tsunamis have led to increased research into many different aspects of the tsunami phenomenon. In this paper, we review research related to the observed complexity and uncertainty associated with tsunami generation, propagation, and occurrence described and analyzed using...
Paleoclimate of the subtropical Andes during the latest Miocene, Lauca Basin, Chile
Melina Feitl, Andrea Kern, Amanda Jones, Sherilyn Fritz, Paul E. Baker, Joeckel . R.M., Wout Salenbien, Debra A. Willard
2019, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (534)
Uplift of the Andean Cordillera during the Miocene and Pliocene produced large-scale changes in regional atmospheric circulation that impacted local ecosystems. The Lauca Basin (northern Chilean Altiplano) contains variably fluvial and lacustrine sedimentary sequences spanning the interval from 8.7 to 2.3 Ma....
Mechanisms of methane hydrate formation in geological systems
Kehua You, Peter B. Flemings, Alberto Malinverno, Timothy Collett, Kristopher Darnell
2019, Reviews of Geophysics (57) 1146-1196
Natural gas hydrates are ice-like mixtures of gas (mostly methane) and water that are widely found in sediments along the world’s continental margins and within and beneath permafrost in a near-surface depth interval where the pressure is sufficiently high and temperature sufficiently low for gas hydrate to be stable. Beneath...
Small ponds in headwater catchments are a dominant influence on regional nutrient and sediment budgets
Noah Schmadel, Judson Harvey, Gregory E. Schwarz, Richard Alexander, Jesus D. Gomez-Velez, Durelle Scott, Scott W. Ator
2019, Geophysical Research Letters (46) 9669-9677
Small ponds—farm ponds, detention ponds, or impoundments below 0.01 km2—serve important human needs throughout most large river basins. Yet the role of small ponds in regional nutrient and sediment budgets is essentially unknown, currently making it impossible to evaluate their management potential to achieve water quality objectives. Here we used...
SUTRA, a model for saturated-unsaturated, variable-density groundwater flow with solute or energy transport—Documentation of generalized boundary conditions, a modified implementation of specified pressures and concentrations or temperatures, and the lake capability
Alden M. Provost, Clifford I. Voss
2019, Techniques and Methods 6-A52
Version 3.0 of the SUTRA groundwater modeling program offers three new capabilities: generalized boundary conditions, a modified implementation of specified pressures and concentrations or temperatures, and lakes. Two new types of “generalized” boundary conditions facilitate simulation of a wide range of hydrologic processes that interact with the groundwater model, such...
Catalog of earthquake parameters and description of seismograph and infrasound stations at Alaskan volcanoes—January 1, 2013, through December 31, 2017
James P. Dixon, Scott D. Stihler, Matthew M. Haney, John J. Lyons, Dane M. Ketner, Katherine M. Mulliken, Thomas Parker, John Power
2019, Data Series 1115
Between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2017, the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) located a total of 28,172 earthquakes at volcanoes in Alaska. The annual totals are 3,840, 5,819, 5,297, 6,151, and 7,065 earthquakes for the years 2013 through 2017, respectively. This represents an average of 5,634 earthquakes per year,...
A space-time geostatistical model for probabilistic estimation of harmful algal bloom biomass and areal extent
Shiqi Fang, Dario Del Giudice, Donald Scavia, Caren E. Binding, Thomas B. Bridgeman, Justin D. Chaffin, Mary Anne Evans, Joseph Guinness, Thomas H. Johengen, Daniel R Obenour
2019, Science of the Total Environment (695)
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) have been increasing in intensity across many waterbodies worldwide, including the western basin of Lake Erie. Substantial efforts have been made to track these blooms using in situ sampling and remote sensing. However, such measurements do not fully capture HAB spatial and temporal dynamics due to...
Molecular identification of fecal contamination in the Elks Run Watershed, Jefferson County, West Virginia, 2016–17
W. Bane Schill, Deborah D. Iwanowicz
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1064
The U.S. Geological Survey conducted a study using modern methods of molecular analysis aimed at attempting to identify the source(s) of fecal contamination that had been identified in previous studies conducted by the West Virginia Conservation Agency in the Elk Run watershed, Jefferson County, West Virginia. Water samples from multiple...
Spatial distribution of water level impact to back-barrier bays
Alfredo Aretxabaleta, Neil K. Ganju, Zafer Defne, Richard P. Signell
2019, Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (19) 1823-1838
Water level in semi-enclosed bays, landward of barrier islands, is mainly driven by offshore sea level fluctuations that are modulated by bay geometry and bathymetry, causing spatial variability in the ensuing response (transfer). Local wind setup can have a secondary role that depends on wind speed, fetch, and relative orientation...
Evaluating the temperature difference parameter in the SSEBop model with satellite observed land surface temperature data
Lei Ji, Gabriel B. Senay, Naga Manohar Velpuri, Stefanie Kagone
2019, Remote Sensing (11)
The Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop) model uses the principle of satellite psychrometry to produce spatially explicit actual evapotranspiration (ETa) with remotely sensed and weather data. The temperature difference (dT) in the model is a predefined parameter quantifying the difference between surface temperature at bare soil and air...
Estimates of long-term mean daily streamflow and annual nutrient and suspended-sediment loads considered for use in regional SPARROW models of the Conterminous United States, 2012 base year
David A. Saad, Gregory E. Schwarz, Denise M. Argue, David W. Anning, Scott A. Ator, Anne B. Hoos, Stephen D. Preston, Dale M. Robertson, Daniel Wise
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5069
Streamflow, nutrient, and sediment concentration data needed to estimate long-term mean daily streamflow and annual constituent loads were compiled from Federal, State, Tribal, and regional agencies, universities, and nongovernmental organizations. The streamflow and loads are used to develop Spatially Referenced Regressions on Watershed Attributes (SPARROW) models. SPARROW models help describe...
Water-quality and geochemical variability in the Little Arkansas River and Equus Beds aquifer, south-central Kansas, 2001–16
Mandy L. Stone, Brian J. Klager, Andrew C. Ziegler
2019, Fact Sheet 2019-3017
This fact sheet describes water quality and geochemistry of the Little Arkansas River and Equus Beds aquifer during 2001 through 2016 as part of the City of Wichita’s Equus Beds aquifer storage and recovery project in south-central Kansas. The Equus Beds aquifer storage and recovery project was developed to help...
Development and implementation of an empirical habitat change model and decision support tool for estuarine ecosystems
Melanie J. Davis, Isa Woo, Susan E.W. De La Cruz
2019, Ecological Modelling (410)
Widespread land use change in coastal ecosystems has led to a decline in the amount of habitat available for fish and wildlife, lower production of ecosystem goods and services, and loss of recreational and aesthetic value. This has prompted global efforts to...
Incorporating uncertainty and risk into decision making to reduce nitrogen inputs to impaired waters
David M. Martin, Fred Johnson
2019, Journal of Environmental Management (249)
This article aims to understand decision making under uncertainty and risk, with a case study on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Decision makers need to consider imperfect information on the cost and effectiveness of advanced nitrogen-removing on-site wastewater treatment systems as options to mitigate water quality degradation. Research included modeling nitrogen load...
Air pollution and respiratory hospital admissions in Shiraz, Iran, 2009 to 2015
Zahra Soleimani, Ali Darvishi Boloorani, Reza Khalifeh, Pari Teymouri, Alireza Mesdaghinia, Dale W. Griffin
2019, Atmospheric Environment (209) 233-239
Air pollution has been identified as one of the most challenging health issues in urban areas worldwide.The aim of this study was to investigate the association between short-term exposure to ambient air pollution and respiratory disease over a long-term period in Shiraz, one of the largest cities in Iran....
Measurement method has a larger impact than spatial scale for plot-scale field-saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs) after wildfire and prescribed fire in forests
Brian A. Ebel
2019, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms (44) 1945-1956
Abstract Wildfires raise risks of floods, debris flows, major geomorphologic and sedimentologic change, and water quality and quantity shifts. A principal control on the magnitude of these changes is field-saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs), which dictates surface runoff generation and is a key input into numerical models. This work synthesizes 73...
Variable hybridization outcomes in trout are predicted by historical fish stocking and environmental context
Elizabeth G. Mandeville, Annika W. Walters, Brittany J. Nordberg, Karly H. Higgins, Jason C. Burckhardt, Catherine E. Wagner
2019, Molecular Ecology (28) 3738-3755
Hybridization can profoundly affect the genomic composition and phenotypes of closely related species, and provides an opportunity to identify mechanisms that maintain reproductive isolation between species. Recent evidence suggests that hybridization outcomes within a species pair can vary across locations. However, we still don’t know how extensive variation in outcomes...
Flood-inundation maps for Joachim Creek, De Soto, Missouri, 2018
David C. Heimann, Jonathan D. Voss, Paul H. Rydlund Jr.
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5068
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 6.7-mile reach of Joachim Creek, De Soto, Missouri, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the city of De Soto and Jefferson County, Missouri. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Program website at <a...
Estimated groundwater recharge from a water-budget model incorporating selected climate projections, Island of Maui, Hawai‘i
Alan Mair, Adam G. Johnson, Kolja Rotzoll, Delwyn S. Oki
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5064
Demand for freshwater on the Island of Maui is expected to increase by 45 percent between 2015 and 2035. Groundwater availability on Maui is affected by changes in climate and agricultural irrigation. To evaluate the availability of fresh groundwater under projected future climate conditions and changing agricultural irrigation practices, estimates...
Predicting persistence of Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout populations in an uncertain future
Mathew P. Zeigler, Kevin B. Rogers, James Roberts, Andrew Todd, Kurt D. Fausch
2019, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (39) 819-848
The Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii virginalis (RGCT ) occupies just 12% of its ancestral range. As the southernmost subspecies of Cutthroat Trout, we expect a warming climate to bring additional stressors to RGCT populations, such as increased stream temperatures, reduced streamflows, and increased incidence of wildfire. We developed a Bayesian...
Predicting surf zone injuries along the Delaware coast using a Bayesian network
Matthew Doelp, Jack A. Puleo, Nathaniel G. Plant
2019, Natural Hazards (98) 379-401
Personnel at Beebe Healthcare in Lewes, Delaware, collected surf zone injury (SZI) data for eight summer seasons from 2010 through 2017. Data include, but are not limited to, time of injury, gender, age, and activity. More than 2000 SZI events, including 196 spinal injuries and 6 fatalities, occurred at the...
Characterization of Big Chino subbasin hydrogeology near Paulden, Arizona, using controlled source audio-frequency magnetotelluric surveys
Jamie P. Macy, Bruce Gungle, Jon P. Mason
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5082
The Big Chino subbasin is located in central-northwest Arizona in the transition zone between the Colorado Plateau and the Basin and Range Province. The controlled source audio-frequency magnetotelluric (CSAMT) geophysical method, a low-impact, non-intrusive, electrical resistance sounding technique, was used to evaluate the subsurface hydrogeology of the southern third...
