Standard operating protocol for mark and recapture monitoring of Brook Floater in streams
Sean Sterrett, Allison H. Roy, Peter Hazelton, Beth Swartz, Ethan Nedeau, Jason Carmignani, Ayla Skorupa
2022, Cooperator Science Series CSS-142-2022
The Brook Floater (Alasmidonta varicosa) is a small (<100 mm) freshwater mussel (Family: Unionidae) found in streams of the eastern United States (U.S.) (Nedeau 2008). While there has been limited effort to document the status of Brook Floater across its range, there is evidence of Brook Floater range contraction and...
Over a third of groundwater in USA public-supply aquifers is Anthropocene-age and susceptible to surface contamination
Bryant Jurgens, Kirsten Faulkner, Peter B. McMahon, Andrew G. Hunt, Gerolamo C. Casile, Megan B. Young, Kenneth Belitz
2022, Nature Communications Earth & Environment (2)
The distribution of groundwater age is useful for evaluating the susceptibility and sustainability of groundwater resources. Here, we compute the aquifer-scale cumulative distribution function to characterize the age distribution for 21 Principal Aquifers that account for ~80% of public-supply pumping in the United States. The aquifer-scale...
Hydrogeology and simulation of groundwater flow in the Lucerne Valley groundwater basin, California
Christina Stamos-Pfeiffer, Joshua Larsen, Robert E. Powell, Jonathan C. Matti, Peter Martin
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5048
The Lucerne Valley is in the southwestern part of the Mojave Desert and is about 75 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. The Lucerne Valley groundwater basin encompasses about 230 square miles and is separated from the Upper Mojave Valley groundwater basin by splays of the Helendale Fault. Since its...
The role of organic matter diversity on the Re-Os systematics of organic-rich sedimentary units: Insights into the controls of isochron age determinations from the lacustrine Green River Formation
Jeffrey T Pietras, Abby Dennett, David Selby, Justin E. Birdwell
2022, Chemical Geology (604)
The range of 187Re/188Os values measured from samples of five organic-rich lacustrine mudstones units in the Eocene Green River Formation in the...
Potential for critical mineral deposits in Maine, USA
John F. Slack, F.M. Beck, D.C. Bradley, M. M. Felch, Robert G. Marvinney, A.T.H. Whittaker
2022, Atlantic Geoscience (58) 155-191
An analysis of the potential for deposits of critical minerals and elements in Maine presented here includes data and discussions for antimony, beryllium, cesium, chromium, cobalt, graphite, lithium, manganese, niobium, platinum group elements, rhenium, rare earth elements, tin, tantalum, tellurium, titanium, uranium, vanadium, tungsten, and zirconium. Deposits are divided into...
Speciation with gene flow in a narrow endemic West Virginia cave salamander (Gyrinophilus subterraneus)
Evan H. Campbell Grant, Kevin P. Mulder, Adrianne B. Brand, Douglas B. Chambers, Addison H. Wynn, Grace Capshaw, Matthew L. Niemiller, John G. Phillips, Jeremy F. Jacobs, Shawn R. Kuchta, Rayna C. Bell
2022, Conservation Genetics (23) 727-744
Due to their limited geographic distributions and specialized ecologies, cave species are often highly endemic and can be especially vulnerable to habitat degradation within and surrounding the cave systems they inhabit. We investigated the evolutionary history of the West Virginia Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus subterraneus), estimated the population trend from historic...
Prioritizing habitats based on abundance and distribution of molting waterfowl in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area of the National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska
Paul L. Flint, Vijay P. Patil, Bradley Shults, Sarah J. Thompson
2022, Global Ecology and Conservation (38)
The National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) encompasses more than 9.5 million hectares of federally managed land on the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska, where it supports a diversity of wildlife, including millions of migratory birds. Within the NPR-A, Teshekpuk Lake and the surrounding area provide important habitat for...
Satellite remote sensing of crop water use across the Missouri River Basin for 1986–2018 period
Arun Bawa, Gabriel B. Senay, Sandeep Kumar
2022, Agricultural Water Management (271)
Understanding historical crop water use (CWU) dynamics is important to improve land and water management. In this study, well-validated (coefficient of determination = 0.91, percent bias = 4%, and percent root mean square error = 11.8%) Landsat-based actual evapotranspiration (ETa) time-series estimations were used...
Revisions to the Virginia Coastal Plain hydrogeologic framework southwest of the James River
Samuel H. Caldwell, E. Randolph McFarland
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5049
New drilling information reveals that altitudes of some hydrogeologic units of the Virginia Coastal Plain aquifer system differ by as much as 50 feet (ft) from those previously known, namely the Aquia and Potomac aquifers, the Potomac confining zone, and the Nanjemoy-Marlboro and Saint Marys confining units. In addition, the...
Mapping the altitude of the top of the Dockum Group and paleochannel analysis using surface geophysical methods on and near Cannon Air Force Base in Curry County, New Mexico, 2020
Jason D. Payne, Andrew P. Teeple, Jeremy McDowell, David Wallace, Walker A. Hancock
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5050
The hydrogeology on and near Cannon Air Force Base (AFB) in eastern New Mexico was assessed to gain a better understanding of preferential groundwater flow paths through paleochannels. In and near the study area, paleochannels incised the top surface of the Dockum Group (Chinle Formation) and were subsequently filled in...
Population genetics reveals bidirectional fish movement across the Continental Divide via an interbasin water transfer
Audrey Harris, Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Jennifer A. Fike, Matthew P Fairchild, Christopher M Kennedy, Harry J Crockett, Dana L. Winkelman, Yoichiro Kanno
2022, Conservation Genetics (23) 839-851
Interbasin water transfers are becoming an increasingly common tool to satisfy municipal and agricultural water demand, but their impacts on movement and gene flow of aquatic organisms are poorly understood. The Grand Ditch is an interbasin water transfer that diverts water from tributaries of the upper Colorado River on the...
Characterizing mauka-to-makai connections for aquatic ecosystem conservation on Maui, Hawaiʻi
Ella Wilmot, Jesse P. Wong, Yinphan Tsang, Abigail J. Lynch, Dana M. Infante, Kirsten L. L. Oleson, Ayron Strauch, Hannah Clilverd
2022, Ecological Informatics (70)
Mauka-to-makai (mountain to sea in the Hawaiian language) hydrologic connectivity – commonly referred to as ridge-to-reef – directly affects biogeochemical processes and socioecological functions across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems. The supply of freshwater to estuarine and nearshore environments in a ridge-to-reef system supports the food,...
Projected resurgence of COVID-19 in the United States in July—December 2021 resulting from the increased transmissibility of the Delta variant and faltering vaccination
Shaun Truelove, Claire P. Smith, Michelle Qin, Luke Mullany, Rebecca K. Borchering, Justin Lessler, Katriona Shea, Emily Howerton, Lucie Contamin, John Levander, J. Kerr, Harry Hochheiser, Matt Kinsey, Kate Tallaksen, Shelby Wilson, Lauren Shin, Kaitlin Rainwater-Lovett, Joseph Lemaitre, Juan Dent, Joshua Kaminsky, Elizabeth C. Lee, Javier Perez-Saez, Alison Hill, Dean Karlen, Matteo Chinazzi, Jessica Davis, Kunpeng Mu, Xinyue Xiong, Ana Pastore y Piontti, Alessandro Vespignani, Ajitesh Srivastava, Przemyslaw Porebski, Srinivasan Venkatramanan, Aniruddha Adiga, Bryan Lewis, Brian Klahn, Joseph Outten, M. Orr, G. Harrison, Benjamin Hurt, Jiangzhuo Chen, Anil Vullikanti, Madhav Marathe, Stefan Hoops, Parantapa Bhattacharya, Dustin Machi, Shi Chen, Rajib Paul, Daniel Janies, Jean-Claude Thill, Marta Galanti, Teresa Yamana, Sen Pei, Jeffrey L. Shaman, Jessica Healy, Rachel B. Slayton, Matthew Biggerstaff, Michael A Johansson, Michael C. Runge, Cecile Viboud
2022, eLife (11)
In Spring 2021, the highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant began to cause increases in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in parts of the United States. At the time, with slowed vaccination uptake, this novel variant was expected to increase the risk of pandemic resurgence in the US in summer and fall...
Geoenvironmental model for roll-type uranium deposits in the Texas Gulf Coast
Katherine Walton-Day, Johanna Blake, Robert R. Seal, II, Tanya J. Gallegos, Jean Dupree, Kent D Becher
2022, Minerals (12)
Geoenvironmental models were formulated by the U.S. Geological Survey in the 1990s to describe potential environmental effects of extracting different types of ore deposits in different geologic and climatic regions. This paper presents a geoenvironmental model for roll-front (roll-type) uranium deposits in the Texas Coastal Plain. The model reviews...
Assessing wave attenuation with rising sea levels for sustainable oyster reef-based living shorelines
Reza Salatin, Hongqing Wang, Q. Chen, Ling Zhu
2022, Frontiers in Built Environment (8)
In densely populated coastal areas with sea-level rise (SLR), protecting the shorelines against erosion due to the wave impact is crucial. Along with many engineered structures like seawalls and breakwaters, there are also green structures like constructed oyster reefs (CORs) that can not only attenuate the incident waves...
Assessment of streamflow trends in the eastern Dakotas, water years 1960–2019
Parker A. Norton, Gregory C. Delzer, Joshua F. Valder, Wyatt S. Tatge, Karen R. Ryberg
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5055
Hydrologic extremes, whether periods of drought or flooding, are occurring more frequently with greater severity and can have substantial economic impacts. Along with flooding, the timing and volume of streamflow also is changing across the United States. The focus of this report is to characterize a unique trend in mean...
Arkansas and Landsat
U.S. Geological Survey
2022, Fact Sheet 2022-3042
Scenic Arkansas certainly lives up to its nickname, “The Natural State.” The Ozark Plateau and Ouachita Mountains boast stunning views, vast resources, and recreation. Hardwood and pine forests cover one-half of the State. The major rivers—Arkansas, Ouachita, Red, and White—offer recreation and navigation as they drain toward the Mississippi River,...
Spectral mixture analysis for surveillance of harmful algal blooms (SMASH): A field-, laboratory-, and satellite-based approach to identifying cyanobacteria genera from remotely sensed data
Carl J. Legleiter, Tyler V. King, Kurt D. Carpenter, Natalie Celeste Hall, Adam C. Mumford, E. Terrence Slonecker, Jennifer L. Graham, Victoria G. Stengel, Nancy Simon, Barry H. Rosen
2022, Remote Sensing of Environment (279)
Algal blooms around the world are increasing in frequency and severity, often with the possibility of adverse effects on human and ecosystem health. The health and economic impacts associated with harmful algal blooms, or HABs, provide compelling rationale for developing new methods for monitoring these...
Analysis of surface water trends for the conterminous United States using MODIS satellite data, 2003–2019
Roy Petrakis, Christopher E. Soulard, Eric K. Waller, Jessica J. Walker
2022, Water Resources Research (58)
Satellite imagery is commonly used to map surface water extents over time, but many approaches yield discontinuous records resulting from cloud obstruction or image archive gaps. We applied the Dynamic Surface Water Extent (DSWE) model to downscaled (250-m) daily Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data in Google...
A novel method for conducting a geoenvironmental assessment of undiscovered ISR-amenable uranium Resources: Proof-of-concept in the Texas Coastal Plain
Tanya J. Gallegos, Victoria G. Stengel, Katherine Walton-Day, Johanna Blake, Andrew Teeple, Delbert G Humberson, Steven M. Cahan, Douglas Yager, Kent D Becher
2022, Minerals (12)
A geoenvironmental assessment methodology was developed to estimate waste quantities and disturbances that could be associated with the extraction of undiscovered uranium resources and identify areas on the landscape where uranium and other constituents of potential concern (COPCs) that may co-occur with uranium deposits in this region are likely...
U-Pb and fission-track data from zircon and apatite resolve latest- and post-Alleghanian thermal histories along the Fall Line of the Atlantic margin of the southeastern United States
William H. Craddock, Paul O'Sullivan, Ryan J. McAleer
2022, Geosphere (18) 1330-1353
Although the Atlantic continental margin of the eastern United States is an archetypal passive margin, episodes of rejuvenation following continental breakup are increasingly well documented. To better constrain this history of rejuvenation along the southern portion of this continental margin, we present zircon...
Dissolved organic matter within oil and gas associated wastewaters from U.S. unconventional petroleum plays: Comparisons and consequences for disposal and reuse
Bonnie McDevitt, Aaron M. Jubb, Matthew S. Varonka, Madalyn S. Blondes, Mark A Engle, Tanya J. Gallegos, Jenna L. Shelton
2022, Science of the Total Environment (838)
Wastewater generated during petroleum extraction (produced water) may contain high concentrations of dissolved organics due to their intimate association with organic-rich source rocks, expelled petroleum, and organic additives to fluids used for hydraulic fracturing of unconventional (e.g., shale) reservoirs. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) within...
Decadal-scale phenology and seasonal climate drivers of migratory baleen whales in a rapidly warming marine ecosystem
Dan Pendleton, Morgan Tingley, Laura Ganley, Kevin Friedland, Charlie Mayo, Moria Brown, Brigid McKenna, Adrian Jordaan, Michelle Staudinger
2022, Global Change Biology (28) 4989-5005
Species' response to rapid climate change can be measured through shifts in timing of recurring biological events, known as phenology. The Gulf of Maine is one of the most rapidly warming regions of the ocean, and thus an ideal system to study phenological and biological responses to climate change. A...
Can’t see the flowers for the trees: Factors driving floral abundance within early-successional forests in the central Appalachian Mountains
Codey L. Mathis, Daren J. McNeil Jr., Monica R. Lee, Christina M. Grozinger, Clint Otto, Jeffery L. Larkin
2022, Canadian Journal of Forest Research (52) 1002-1013
Silviculture can be a powerful tool for restoring and enhancing habitat for forest-dependent wildlife. In eastern North America, regenerating timber harvests support abundant wildflowers that provide essential forage for native pollinators. Factors driving floral resource availability within regenerating forests remain almost entirely unstudied. Recent efforts to increase the area of...
Regional walrus abundance estimate in the United States Chukchi Sea in autumn
Anthony S. Fischbach, Rebecca L. Taylor, Chadwick V. Jay
2022, Journal of Wildlife Management (86)
Human activities (e.g., shipping, tourism, oil, gas development) have increased in the Chukchi Sea because of declining sea ice. The declining sea ice itself and these activities may affect Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) abundance; however, previous walrus abundance estimates have been notably imprecise. When sea...
