Experimental study on the impact of thermal maturity on shale microstructures using hydrous pyrolysis
Kouqi Liu, M. Ostadhassan, Paul C. Hackley, T. Gentzis, J. Zou, Y. Yuan, H. Carvajal-Ortiz, R. Rezaee, B. Bubach
2019, Energy & Fuels (33) 9702-9719
Hydrous pyrolysis was applied to four low-maturity aliquots from the Utica, Excello, Monterey, and Niobrara Shale Formations in North America to create artificial maturation sequences, which could be used to study the impact of maturation on geochemical and microstructural properties. Modified Rock-Eval pyrolysis, reflectance, organic petrology, and Fourier transform infrared...
Map of the approximate inland extent of saltwater at the base of the Biscayne aquifer in Miami-Dade County, Florida, 2018
Scott T. Prinos
2019, Scientific Investigations Map 3438
The inland extent of saltwater at the base of the Biscayne aquifer in eastern Miami-Dade County, Florida, was mapped in 2011, and it was mapped in the Model Land Area in 2016. The saltwater interface has continued to move inland in some areas and is now near several active well...
Tidal variation in cohesive sediment distribution in an idealized, partially-mixed estuary
D. Tarpley, Courtney K. Harris, Carl T. Friedrichs, Christopher R. Sherwood
2019, Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (7)
Particle settling velocity and erodibility are key factors that govern the transport of sediment through coastal environments including estuaries. These are difficult to parameterize in models that represent mud, whose properties can change in response to many factors, including tidally varying suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and shear...
Regional-scale associations between indicators of biological integrity and indicators of streamflow modification
Daren M. Carlisle, Theodore E. Grantham, Ken Eng, David M. Wolock
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1088
Although streamflow is widely recognized as a controlling factor in stream health, empirical relations between indicators of anthropogenic modification of streamflow and ecological indicators have been elusive. The objective of this report is to build upon specific findings reported in recent publications by providing a library of empirical models that...
Contaminants in linked aquatic–terrestrial ecosystems: Predicting effects of aquatic pollution on adult aquatic insects and terrestrial insectivores
Johanna M. Kraus
2019, Freshwater Science (38) 919-927
Organisms that move across ecosystem boundaries connect food webs in apparently disparate locations. As part of their life cycle, aquatic insects transition from aquatic larvae to terrestrial adults, thereby linking freshwater ecosystem processes and terrestrial insectivore dynamics. These linkages are strongly affected by contamination of freshwater ecosystems, which can reduce...
Growth drivers of Bakken oil well productivity
Emil D. Attanasi, Philip A. Freeman
2019, Natural Resources Research (29) 1471-1486
This paper identifies the drivers of the phenomenal growth in productivity in hydraulically fractured horizontal oil wells producing from the middle member of the Bakken Formation in North Dakota. The data show a strong underlying spatial component and somewhat weaker temporal component. Drivers of the spatial component are favorable...
Where’s the rock: Using convolutional neural networks to improve land cover classification
Helen Petlyak, Corina Cerovski-Darriau, Vadim Zaliva, Jonathan D. Stock
2019, Remote Sensing (11)
While machine learning techniques have been increasingly applied to land cover classification problems, these techniques have not focused on separating exposed bare rock from soil covered areas. Therefore, we built a convolutional neural network (CNN) to differentiate exposed bare rock (rock) from soil cover (other). We made a...
Leptospirosis in Northern Sea Otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) from Washington
Susan Knowles, Deanna Lynch, Nancy J. Thomas
2019, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (56) 466-471
We diagnosed leptospirosis in six northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) that stranded on beaches in Washington, US in 2002. Significant gross findings included cyanotic oral mucous membranes, renal swelling, congestion or pale streaks on the cut surface of the lobules, hematuria, dehydration, lymphadenopathy, pulmonary congestion and rarely adrenal hemorrhage...
Water priorities for the nation—The U.S. Geological Survey next generation water observing system
Sandra M. Eberts, Chad R. Wagner, Michael D. Woodside
2019, Fact Sheet 2019-3046
The challenges of providing safe and sustainable water supplies for human and ecological uses and protecting lives and property during water emergencies are well recognized. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) plays an essential role in meeting these challenges through its observational networks and renowned water science and research activities (National...
A framework for quantifying resilience to forest disturbance
Timothy Bryant, Kristen Waring, Meador Sanchez, John B. Bradford
2019, Frontiers in Forests and Global Change (2)
(Bradford) The concept of ecological resilience is an invaluable tool to assess the risk of state transitions and predict the impact of management on an ecosystem’s response to future disturbances. However, resilience is difficult to quantify and the factors contributing to resilience are often unknown in systems subject to multiple...
Length-scale-dependent relationships between VS30 and topographic slopes in southern California
Jessica Lin, Seulgi Moon, Alan Yong, Lingseng Meng, Paul Davies
2019, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (109) 2614-2625
In engineering seismology, the time‐averaged shear‐wave velocity (VS) of the upper 30 m of the crust (VS30) is the primary parameter used in ground‐motion models to predict seismic site effects. VS30 is typically derived from in situ recordings of VS, although proxy‐based approaches (using geologic and/or geomorphometric...
Sediment and organic carbon transport and deposition driven by internal tides along Monterey Canyon, offshore California
Katherine L. Maier, Kurt J. Rosenberger, Charles K. Paull, Roberto Gwiazda, Jenny Gales, Thomas Lorenson, James P. Barry, Peter J. Talling, Mary McGann, Jingping Xu, Eve M. Lundsten, Krystle Anderson, Steven Litvin, Daniel Parsons, Michael Clare, Stephen Simmons, Esther J. Sumner, Matthieu J.B. Cartigny
2019, Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers (153)
Submarine canyons provide globally important conduits for sediment and organic carbon transport into the deep-sea. Using a novel dataset from Monterey Canyon, offshore central California, that includes an extensive array of water column sampling devices, we address how fine-grained sediment and organic carbon are transported, mixed, fractionated, and buried along...
Reporting the limits of detection and quantification for environmental DNA assays
Katy E. Klymus, Christopher M. Merkes, Michael J. Allison, Caren S. Goldberg, Caren C. Helbing, Margaret Hunter, Craig Jackson, Richard F. Lance, Anna M. Mangan, Emy M. Monroe, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Joel P. Stokdyk, Chris C. Wilson, Catherine A. Richter
2019, Environmental DNA (2) 271-282
BackgroundEnvironmental DNA (eDNA) analysis is increasingly being used to detect the presence and relative abundance of rare species, especially invasive or imperiled aquatic species. The rapid progress in the eDNA field has resulted in numerous studies impacting conservation and management actions. However, standardization of eDNA...
Monitoring plans for Louisiana’s system-wide assessment and monitoring program (SWAMP). Version IV
Scott Hemmerling, Melissa M. Baustian, Harris Bienn, Alyssa Dausman, Alaina Grace, Lauren Grimley, Adrian McInnis, Michael Vingiello, Huy Vu, Shaye Sable, Britt Gentile, Phillip Lafargue, Ann Hijuelos, Sarai Piazza, Camille Stagg, Richard C Raynie, Edward Haywood, Syed Khalid
2019, Report
The System-Wide Assessment and Monitoring Program (SWAMP) has been envisioned as a long-term monitoring program to ensure a comprehensive network of coastal data collection activities is in place to support the development, implementation, and adaptive management of the coastal protection and restoration program within coastal Louisiana. The Coastwide Reference Monitoring...
Assessing beach and island habitat loss in the Chesapeake Bay and Delmarva coastal bay region, USA, through processing of Landsat TM and OLI imagery: A case study
Paul R. Marban, Jennifer M. Mullinax, Jonathan P. Resop, Diann J. Prosser
2019, Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment (16)
Beaches and islands provide economic value to humans and critical habitat for breeding and foraging wildlife. These ecosystems, however, are being severely impacted by global climate change and sea level rise through increased erosion and frequency of inundation. The case study presented here aimed to document island loss in the...
The first 3D conductivity model of the contiguous US: Reflections on geologic structure and application to induction hazards
Anna Kelbert, Paul A. Bedrosian, Benjamin S. Murphy
2019, Book chapter, Geomagnetically induced currents from the Sun to the power grid
Estimation of ground level geoelectric fields has been identified by the National Space Weather Action Plan as a key component of assessment and mitigation of space weather impacts on critical infrastructure. Estimates of spatially and temporally variable electric fields are used to generate statistically based hazard maps and show promise...
Moving at the speed of flight: Dabbling duck-movement rates and the relationship with electronic tracking interval
Fiona McDuie, Michael L. Casazza, David A. Keiter, Cory T. Overton, Mark P. Herzog, Cliff L. Feldheim, Joshua T. Ackerman
2019, Wildlife Research (46) 533-543
Context. Effective wildlife management requires information on habitat and resource needs, which can be estimated with movement information and modelling energetics. One necessary component of avian models is flight speeds at multiple temporal scales. Technology has limited the ability to accurately assess flight speeds, leading to estimates of questionable accuracy,...
Characterizing large earthquakes before rupture is complete
Diego Melgar, Gavin P. Hayes
2019, Science Advances (5)
Whether large and very large earthquakes are distinguishable from each other early on in the rupture process has been a subject often debated over the past several decades. Studies have shown that the frequency content of radiated seismic energy in the first few seconds of an earthquake scales with the...
Global earthquake response with imaging geodesy: recent examples from the USGS NEIC
William D. Barnhart, Gavin P. Hayes, David J. Wald
2019, Remote Sensing (11)
The U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center leads real-time efforts to provide rapid and accurate assessments of the impacts of global earthquakes, including estimates of ground shaking, ground failure, and the resulting human impacts. These efforts primarily rely on analysis of the seismic wavefield to characterize the source of...
Characterization and evaluation of controls on post-fire streamflow response across western U.S. watersheds
Samuel Saxe, Terri S. Hogue, Lauren E. Hay
2019, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (22) 1221-1237
This research investigates the impact of wildfires on watershed flow regimes, specifically focusing on evaluation of fire events within specified hydroclimatic regions in the western United States, and evaluating the impact of climate and geophysical variables on response. Eighty-two watersheds were identified with at least 10 years of continuous pre-fire...
A process-based model of pre-eruption seismicity patterns and its use for eruption forecasting at dormant stratovolcanoes
Randall A. White, Wendy A. McCausland
2019, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (382) 267-297
Using long-term data sets, the eruptive size, timing and style can typically be successfully forecast for dormant volcanoes using current monitoring data and knowledge of precursory eruptive patterns. The USAID-USGS Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (VDAP) utilizes seismic data over multiple eruption cycles and across volcano types to successfully forecast eruption...
Relations of dissolved-oxygen variability, selected field constituents, and metabolism estimates to land use and nutrients in high-gradient Boston Mountain streams, Arkansas
Billy Justus, Lucas Driver, J.J. Green, Nathan Wentz
2019, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (10)
Continuous monitoring data can be extremely useful for assessing water quality conditions particularly for variables that exhibit dynamic diel swings such as dissolved oxygen. As a means of evaluating dissolved oxygen criteria used by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) for assessing this stream class, we compared continuous dissolved...
Physically based estimation of rainfall thresholds triggering shallow landslides in volcanic slopes of southern Italy
F. Fusco, P. De Vita, Benjamin B. Mirus, Rex L. Baum, V. Allocca, R. Tufano, D. Calcaterra
2019, Water (11)
On the 4th and 5th of March 2005, about 100 rainfall-induced landslides occurred along volcanic slopes of Camaldoli Hill in Naples, Italy. These started as soil slips in the upper substratum of incoherent and welded volcaniclastic deposits, then evolved downslope according to debris avalanche and debris flow mechanisms. This specific...
Energetic status and bioelectrical impedance modeling of Arctic grayling Thymallus arcticus in interior Alaska Rivers
Jeffrey A. Falke, Lauren T. Bailey, Kevin M. Fraley, Michael J. Lunde, Andrew D. Gryska
2019, Environmental Biology of Fishes (102) 1337-1349
The energetic status of fishes represents energy stored as protein and lipids and reflects the ability of an individual to reproduce, migrate, and transition through life stages, ultimately influencing survival. However, traditional measurement methods, while highly accurate, are time consuming, expensive, and lethal, and nonlethal methods...
Putative mitochondrial sex determination in the Bivalvia: Insights from a hybrid transcriptome assembly in freshwater mussels
Charlotte Capt, Sebastien Renaut, Donald Stewart, Nathan A. Johnson, Sophie Breton
2019, Frontiers in Genetics (10)
Bivalves exhibit an astonishing diversity of sexual systems, with genetic and environmental determinants of sex, and possibly the only example of mitochondrial genes influencing sex determination pathways in animals. In contrast to all other animal species in which strict maternal inheritance (SMI) of mitochondria is the rule, bivalves possess a...
