Cinnamon gulch revisited: Another look at separating natural and mining-impacted contributions to instream metal load
Robert L. Runkel, Philip L. Verplanck, Briant Kimball, Katherine Walton-Day
2018, Applied Geochemistry (95) 206-217
Baseline, premining data for streams draining abandoned mine lands is virtually non existent, and indirect methods for estimating premining conditions are needed to establish realistic, cost effective cleanup goals. One such indirect method is the proximal analog approach, in which premining conditions are estimated using data from nearby mineralized areas...
Before-after, control-impact analysis of evidence for the impacts of water level on Walleye, Northern Pike and Yellow Perch in lakes of the Rainy-Namakan complex (MN, USA and ON, CA)
James H. Larson, Ryan P. Maki, Benjamin A. Vondra, Kevin E. Peterson
2018, PLoS ONE (13)
Water level (WL) fluctuations in lakes influence many aspects of ecosystem processes. Concern about the potential impact of WL fluctuations on fisheries was one of the factors that motivated the decision in 2000 to alter the management of WL in the Rainy-Namakan reservoir complex (on the border between the U.S. state of Minnesota...
Combining conflicting Bayesian models to develop paleoseismic records—An example from the Wasatch Fault Zone, Utah
Christopher DuRoss, Scott E.K. Bennett, Richard W. Briggs, Stephen Personius, Ryan D. Gold, Nadine G. Reitman, Adam I. Hiscock, Shannon A. Mahan
2018, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (108) 3180-3201
Bayesian statistical analyses of paleoseismic data result in the probabilistic determination of earthquake times using geochronological data evaluated in the context of a stratigraphic model. However, a fundamental problem in paleoseismology is how to use the Bayesian approach to model sparse and/or conflicting geochronological datasets, such as those derived from...
Local topography increasingly influences the mass balance of a retreating cirque glacier
Caitlyn Florentine, Joel T. Harper, Daniel B. Fagre, Johnnie Moore, Erich H. Peitzsch
2018, The Cryosphere (12) 2109-2122
Local topographically driven processes – such as wind drifting, avalanching, and shading – are known to alter the relationship between the mass balance of small cirque glaciers and regional climate. Yet partitioning such local effects from regional climate influence has proven difficult, creating uncertainty in the climate representativeness of some...
Using stereo satellite imagery to account for ablation, entrainment, and compaction in volume calculations for rock avalanches on Glaciers: Application to the 2016 Lamplugh Rock Avalanche in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska
Erin Bessette-Kirton, Jeffrey A. Coe, Wendy Zhou
2018, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (123) 622-641
The use of preevent and postevent digital elevation models (DEMs) to estimate the volume of rock avalanches on glaciers is complicated by ablation of ice before and after the rock avalanche, scour of material during rock avalanche emplacement, and postevent ablation and compaction of the rock avalanche deposit. We present...
Estimates of water use and trends in the Colorado River Basin, Southwestern United States, 1985–2010
Molly A. Maupin, Tamara I. Ivahnenko, Breton Bruce
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5049
The Colorado River Basin (CRB) drains 246,000 square miles and includes parts of California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, and all of Arizona (Basin States). This report contains water-use estimates by category of use for drainage basins (Hydrologic Unit Code 8; HUC‑8) within the CRB from 1985...
Sediment supply to San Francisco Bay, water years 1995 through 2016: Data, trends, and monitoring recommendations to support decisions about water quality, tidal wetlands, and resilience to sea level rise
David H. Schoellhamer, Lester McKee, Sarah Pearce, Pete Kauhanen, Micha Saloman, Scott Dusterhoff, J. Letitia Grenier, Mathieu D. Marineau, Philip Trowbridge
2018, Report
Knowledge of the status and trends of sediment supply to San Francisco Bay is critically important for management decisions about dredging, marsh restoration, flood control, contaminants, water clarity (in relation to primary production), and sea level rise. Several sitespecific studies of sediment supply to San Francisco Bay have been conducted, but no synthesis of...
Tracing enhanced oil recovery signatures in casing gases from the Lost Hills oil field using noble gases
Peter H. Barry, Justin T. Kulongoski, Matthew K. Landon, R. L. Tyne, Janice M. Gillespie, Michael J. Stephens, D.J. Hillegonds, D.J. Byrne, C.J. Ballentine
2018, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (496) 57-67
Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and hydraulic fracturing practices are commonly used methods to improve hydrocarbon extraction efficiency; however the environmental impacts of such practices remain poorly understood. EOR is particularly prevalent in oil fields throughout California where water resources are in high demand and disposal of high volumes of produced...
ShakeMap-based prediction of earthquake-induced mass movements in Switzerland calibrated on historical observations
Carlo Cauzzi, Donat Fah, David J. Wald, John Clinton, Stephane Losey, Stefan Wiemer
2018, Natural Hazards (92) 1211-1235
In Switzerland, nearly all historical Mw ~ 6 earthquakes have induced damaging landslides, rockslides and snow avalanches that, in some cases, also resulted in damage to infrastructure and loss of lives. We describe the customisation to Swiss conditions of a globally calibrated statistical approach originally developed to rapidly assess earthquake-induced landslide...
Stability of mercury concentration measurements in archived soil and peat samples
Tomas Navratil, Douglas A. Burns, Tereza Novakova, Jiri Kana, Jan Rohovec, Michal Roll, Vojtech Ettler
2018, Chemosphere (208) 707-711
Archived soil samples can provide important information on the history of environmental contamination and by comparison with recently collected samples, temporal trends can be inferred. Little previous work has addressed whether mercury (Hg) concentrations in soil samples are stable with long-term storage under standard laboratory conditions. In this study, we...
Shoreline erosion at selected areas along Lake Sharpe on the Lower Brule Reservation in South Dakota, 1966–2015
Ryan F. Thompson, John F. Stamm
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5058
The Lower Brule Reservation in central South Dakota is losing land because of shoreline erosion along Lake Sharpe, a reservoir on the Missouri River, which has caused detrimental effects for the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe including losses of cultural sites, recreation access points, wildlife habitat, irrigated cropland, and landmass. To...
Use of Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia) burrows as shelter by Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) chicks
Peter C. McGowan, Kaitlyn Reintsma, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Katie P. DeVoss, Jennifer L. Wall, Mia D. Zimnik, Carl R. Callahan, Bill Schultz, Diann J. Prosser
2018, Waterbirds (41) 179-182
The availability of shelter to avoid predation and ameliorate physiologically stressful conditions is often important to the survival of avian hatchlings. However, as changes in habitat availability force birds to nest in nontraditional locations, young must quickly adapt to using novel sources of shelter. Two Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) colonies...
Analysis of the impact of African dust storms on the presence of enteric viruses in the atmosphere in Tenerife, Spain
Cristina Gonzalez-Martin, Nieves Coronado-Alvarez, Nuria Teigell-Perez, Raquel Diaz-Solano, Francisco Exposito, Juan Diaz, Dale W. Griffin, Basilio Valladares
2018, Aerosol and Air Quality Research (18) 1863-1873
Airborne viruses and their relation to dust storms, as a possible route for dispersion, have not been widely investigated. There are, however, studies that have described the airborne dispersal of pathogenic viruses and their potential impact on public and agronomical health. Atmospheric samples were collected in an urban area of...
Landscape composition mediates movement and habitat selection in bobcats (Lynx rufus): Implications for conservation planning
Hanem G. Abouelezz, Therese M. Donovan, Ruth M. Mickey, James D. Murdoch, Mark Freeman, Kimberly Royar
2018, Landscape Ecology (33) 1301-1318
ContextThe analysis of individual movement choices can be used to better understand population-level resource selection and inform management.ObjectivesWe investigated movements and habitat selection of 13 bobcats in Vermont, USA, under the assumption individuals makes choices based upon their current location. Results were used to identify “movement-defined”...
Avian keratin disorder of Alaska black-capped chickadees is associated with Poecivirus infection
Maxine Zylberberg, Caroline R. Van Hemert, Colleen M. Handel, Joseph L. DeRisi
2018, Virology Journal (15)
BackgroundAvian keratin disorder (AKD) is an epizootic of debilitating beak deformities, first documented in black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) in Alaska during the late 1990s. Similar deformities have now been recorded in dozens of species of birds across multiple continents. Despite this, the etiology of AKD has remained elusive, making it...
Analysis of mean seismic ground motion and its uncertainty based on the UCERF3 geologic slip rate model with uncertainty for California
Yuehua Zeng
2018, Seismological Research Letters (89) 1410-1419
The Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast v.3 (UCERF3) model (Field et al., 2014) considers epistemic uncertainty in fault‐slip rate via the inclusion of multiple rate models based on geologic and/or geodetic data. However, these slip rates are commonly clustered about their mean value and do not reflect the broader distribution...
Bathymetric contour map, surface area and capacity table, and bathymetric difference map for Clearwater Lake near Piedmont, Missouri, 2017
Joseph M. Richards, Richard J. Huizinga
2018, Scientific Investigations Map 3409
Clearwater Lake, on the Black River near Piedmont in Reynolds County, Missouri, was constructed in 1948 and is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for flood-risk reduction, recreation, and fish and wildlife habitat. The lake area is about 1,800 acres with about 34 miles of shoreline at the...
Evolution of the 2015 Cotopaxi eruption revealed by combined geochemical & seismic observations
Silvana Hidalgo, Jean Battaglia, Santiago Arellano, Daniel Sierra, Benjamin Bernard, Rene Parra, Peter J. Kelly, Florian Dinger, Charlotte Barrington, Pablo Samaniego
2018, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (19) 2087-2108
Through integration of multiple data streams to monitor volcanic unrest scientists are able to make more robust eruption forecast and to obtain a more holistic interpretation of volcanic systems. We examined gas emission and gas geochemistry, seismic and petrologic data recorded during the 2015 unrest of Cotopaxi (Ecuador) in order...
A method to value nature-related webcam viewing: The value of virtual use with application to brown bear webcam viewing
John B. Loomis, Leslie Richardson, Christopher Huber, Jeffrey Skibins, Ryan Sharp
2018, Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy (7) 452-462
There are an estimated 16,000 nature related remote web cameras that provide users around the world with an opportunity to view wildlife. Because there is no monetary price to view the webcams, we utilise variations in the viewers’ opportunity cost of time to estimate consumer surplus. We apply this model...
A framework for identifying and characterising coral reef “oases” against a backdrop of degradation
James R. Guest, Peter J. Edmunds, Ruth D. Gates, Ilsa B. Kuffner, Andreas J Andersson, Brian B. Barnes, Iliana Chollett, Travis A. Courtney, Robin Elahi, Kevin Gross, Elizabeth A. Lenz, Satoshi Mitarai, Peter J. Mumby, Hannah R. Nelson, Britt A. Parker, Hollie M. Putnam, Caroline S. Rogers, Lauren T. Toth
2018, Journal of Applied Ecology (55) 2865-2875
Human activities have led to widespread ecological decline; however, the severity of degradation is spatially heterogeneous due to some locations resisting, escaping, or rebounding from disturbances.We developed a framework for identifying oases within coral reef regions using long‐term monitoring data. We calculated standardised estimates of coral cover (z‐scores) to...
Adaptation with climate uncertainty: An examination of agricultural land use in the United States
Jianhong E. Mu, Bruce A. McCarl, Benjamin M. Sleeter, John T. Abatzoglou, Hongliang Zhang
2018, Land Use Policy (77) 392-401
This paper examines adaptation responses to climate change through adjustment of agricultural land use. The climate drivers we examine are changes in long-term climate normals (e.g., 10-year moving averages) and changes in inter-annual climate variability. Using US county level data over 1982 to 2012 from Census of Agriculture, we find...
Estimating lag to peak between rainfall and peak streamflow with a mixed-effects model
Pamela J. Lombard, David Holtschlag
2018, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) (54) 949-961
We test the use of a mixed-effects model for estimating lag to peak for small basins in Maine (drainage areas from 0.8 to 78 km2). Lag to peak is defined as the time between the center of volume of the excess rainfall during a storm event and the resulting peak...
DDT and related compounds in pore water of shallow sediments on the Palos Verdes Shelf, California, USA
Robert P. Eganhouse, Erica L. DiFilippo, James Pontolillo, William H. Orem, Paul C. Hackley, Brian Edwards
2018, Marine Chemistry (203) 78-90
For nearly two and a half decades following World War II, production wastes from the world's largest manufacturer of technical DDT (1-chloro-4-[2,2,2-trichloro-1-(4-chlorophenyl)ethyl]benzene) were discharged into sewers of Los Angeles County. Following treatment, the wastes were released via a submarine outfall system to nearshore coastal waters where a portion accumulated in...
Reductive dechlorination rates of 4,4′-DDE (1-chloro-4-[2,2-dichloro-1-(4-chlorophenyl)ethenyl]benzene) in sediments of the Palos Verdes Shelf, CA
Robert P. Eganhouse, Christopher R. Sherwood, James Pontolillo, Brian Edwards, Patrick J. Dickhudt
2018, Marine Chemistry (203) 10-21
Wastes from the world's largest manufacturer of DDT (1-chloro-4-[2,2,2-trichloro-1-(4-chlorophenyl)ethyl]benzene) were released into the Los Angeles County municipal sewer system from 1947 to 1971. Following primary treatment, the effluent was discharged through a submarine outfall system whereupon a portion of the DDT and associated degradation products were deposited in sediments of...
Integrating animal movement with habitat suitability for estimating dynamic migratory connectivity
Marielle L. van Toor, Bart Kranstauber, Scott H. Newman, Diann J. Prosser, John Y. Takekawa, Georgios Technitis, Robert Weibel, Martin Wikelski, Kamran Safi
2018, Landscape Ecology (33) 879-893
ContextHigh-resolution animal movement data are becoming increasingly available, yet having a multitude of empirical trajectories alone does not allow us to easily predict animal movement. To answer ecological and evolutionary questions at a population level, quantitative estimates of a species’ potential to link patches or populations are of...
