Abundance and productivity of marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) off central California during the 2017 breeding season
Jonathan J. Felis, Josh Adams, Emily C. Kelsey
2018, Data Series 1093
Marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) have been listed as “Endangered” by the State of California and “Threatened” by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service since 1992 in California, Oregon, and Washington. Information regarding marbled murrelet abundance, distribution, population trends, and habitat associations is critical for risk assessment, effective management and...
Community for Data Integration 2017 annual report
Leslie Hsu, Madison L. Langseth
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1110
The Community for Data Integration (CDI) is a group that helps members grow their expertise on all aspects of working with scientific data. The CDI’s activities advance data and information integration capabilities in the U.S. Geological Survey and in the wider Earth and biological sciences. This annual report describes the...
UFINCH: A method for simulating unit and daily flows in networks of channels described by NHDPlus using continuous flow data at U.S. Geological Survey streamgages
David J. Holtschlag
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5074
The UFINCH (Unit Flows In Networks of Channels) computer application can be used to simulate daily and unit flows in networks of streams based on geospatial data in the National Hydrography Dataset NHDPlus (with value added attributes), and U.S. Geoogical Survey daily streamflow data from a downstream (or base) streamgage....
Tools for measuring, modelling, and valuing ecosystem services: guidance for Key Biodiversity Areas, natural World Heritage sites, and protected areas
Rachel A Neugarten, Penny F Langhammer, Elena Osipova, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Nirmal Bhagabati, Stuart H M Butchart, Nigel Dudley, Vittoria Elliott, Leah R. Gerber, Claudia Gutierrez-Arrellano, Kasandra-Zoica Ivanic, Marianne Kettunen, Lisa Mandle, Jennifer C Merriman, Mark Mulligan, Kelvin S-H Peh, Ciara Raudsepp-Hearne, Darius J. Semmens, Sue Stolton, Simon Willcock, Craig Groves
2018, Report
Increasing interest in measuring, modelling and valuing ecosystem services (ES), the benefits that ecosystems provide to people, has resulted in the development of an array of ES assessment tools in recent years. Selecting an appropriate tool for measuring and modelling ES can be challenging. This document provides guidance for practitioners...
Temporal evaluation of estrogenic endocrine disruption markers in smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) reveals seasonal variability in intersex
Luke R. Iwanowicz, A.E. Pinkney, C.P. Guy, A.M. Major, K. Munney, Vicki S. Blazer, David Alvarez, Heather L. Walsh, Adam J. Sperry, Lakyn R. Sanders, D. R. Smith
2018, Science of the Total Environment (646) 245-256
A reconnaissance project completed in 2009 identified intersex and elevated plasma vitellogenin in male smallmouth bass inhabiting the Missisquoi River, VT. In an attempt to identify the presence and seasonality of putative endocrine disrupting chemicals or other factors associated with these observations, a comprehensive reevaluation was conducted between September 2012...
KG²B, a collaborative benchmarking exercise for estimating the permeability of the Grimsel granodiorite - Part 2: modeling, microstructures and complementary data
Christian David, J. Wassermann, F. Amann, J.M. Klaver, C. Davy, J. Sarout, L. Esteban, E.H. Rutter, Q. Hu, L. Louis, P. Delage, David A. Lockner, A.P.S. Selvadurai, T Vanorio, A. Amann Hildenbrand, P.G. Meredith, J. Browning, T.M. Mitchell, C. Madonna, J. Billiotte, T. Reuschle, D. Lasseux, J. Fortin, R. Lenormand, D. Loggia, F. Nono, G. Boitnott, E. Jahns, Fleury. M., G. Berthe, P. Braun, D. Gregoire, L. Perrier, P. Polito, Y. Jannot, A. Sommier, B. Krooss, R. Fink, A. Clark
2018, Geophysical Journal International (215) 825-843
Measuring and modelling the permeability of tight rocks remains a challenging task. In addition to the traditional sources of errors that affect more permeable formations (e.g. sample selection, non-representative specimens, disturbance introduced during sample acquisition and preparation), tight rocks can be particularly prone to solid–fluid interactions and thus more sensitive...
Lactation and resource limitation affect stress responses, thyroid hormones, immune function, and antioxidant capacity of sea otters (Enhydra lutris)
Sarah M. Chinn, Daniel Monson, M. Tim Tinker, Michelle M. Staedler, Daniel E. Crocker
2018, Ecology and Evolution (8) 8433-8447
Lactation is the most energetically demanding stage of reproduction in female mammals. Increased energetic allocation toward current reproduction may result in fitness costs, although the mechanisms underlying these trade‐offs are not well understood. Trade‐offs during lactation may include reduced energetic allocation to cellular maintenance, immune response, and survival and may...
Caldera life-cycles of the Yellowstone hotspot track: Death and rebirth of the Heise Caldera
Marlon M. Jean, Eric H. Christiansen, Duane E. Champion, Scott K. Vetter, William M. Phillips, Stephan Schuth, John W. Shervais
2018, Journal of Petrology (59) 1643-1670
As one of the most geochemically unique drill cores recovered within the Yellowstone–Snake River Plain (YSRP) province, the Sugar City geothermal test well was drilled into intra-caldera rhyolite lavas and tuffs erupted during the middle to late Pliocene and the resurgent basaltic volcanism erupted during the Pleistocene. This sequence...
Geochemistry and microbiology of groundwater and solids from extraction and monitoring wells and their relation to well efficiency at a Federally operated confined disposal facility, East Chicago, Indiana
Randall E. Bayless, Travis R. Cole, David C. Lampe, R. E. Travis, Marjorie S. Schulz, Paul M. Buszka
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5073
In cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District, the U.S. Geological Survey investigated the processes affecting water quality, geochemistry, and microbiology in representative extraction and monitoring wells at a confined disposal facility (CDF) in East Chicago, Indiana. The CDF is a 140-acre Federally-managed facility that was the...
Decomposing leftovers: Event, path, and site residuals for a small magnitude ANZA region GMPE
Valerie Jean Sahakian, Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Thomas C. Hanks, Janine S. Buehler, Frank L. Vernon, Deborah L. Kilb
2018, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (108) 2478-2492
Ground‐motion prediction equations (GMPEs) are critical elements of probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA), as well as for other applications of ground motions. To isolate the path component for the purpose of building nonergodic GMPEs, we compute a regional GMPE using a large dataset of peak ground accelerations (PGAs) from small‐magnitude...
Refinement of a regression-based method for prediction of flow-duration curves of daily streamflow in the conterminous United States
Thomas M. Over, William H. Farmer, Amy M. Russell
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5072
Regional regression is a common tool used to estimate daily flow-duration curves (FDCs) at ungaged locations. In this report, several refinements to a particular implementation of the regional regression method for estimating FDCs are evaluated by consideration of different methodological options through a leave-one-out cross-validation procedure in the 19 major...
The influence of different deep-sea coral habitats on sediment macrofaunal community structure and function
Jill R. Bourque, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos
2018, PeerJ (6) 1-32
Deep-sea corals can create a highly complex, three-dimensional structure that facilitates sediment accumulation and influences adjacent sediment environments through altered hydrodynamic regimes. Infaunal communities adjacent to different coral types, including reef-building scleractinian corals and individual colonies of octocorals, are known to exhibit higher macrofaunal densities and distinct community structure when...
Findings from a preliminary investigation of the effects of aquatic habitat (water) availability on giant gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) demography in the Sacramento Valley, California, 2014–17
Jonathan P. Rose, Julia S. M. Ersan, Gabriel A. Reyes, K. Benjamin Gustafson, Alexandria M. Fulton, Kristen J. Fouts, Raymund F. Wack, Glenn D. Wylie, Michael L. Casazza, Brian J. Halstead
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1114
The giant gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) is a semi-aquatic species of snake precinctive to the Central Valley of California. Because the Central Valley has experienced a substantial loss of wetland habitat, giant gartersnake populations are largely found in aquatic habitats associated with rice agriculture. In dry years, less water may be...
Prioritization of oil and gas fields for regional groundwater monitoring based on a preliminary assessment of petroleum resource development and proximity to California’s groundwater resources
Tracy Davis, Matthew K. Landon, George L. Bennett V
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5065
The California State Water Resources Control Board initiated a regional monitoring program in July 2015 to determine where and to what degree groundwater quality may be adversely impacted by oil and gas development activities. A key issue in the implementation of the regional groundwater monitoring program is that each year,...
Geoelectric hazard maps for the Pacific Northwest
Jeffrey J. Love, Greg M. Lucas, Anna Kelbert, Paul A. Bedrosian
2018, Space Weather (16) 1114-1127
Maps of extreme value, horizontal component geoelectric field amplitude are constructed for the Pacific Northwest United States (and parts of neighboring Canada). Multidecade long geoelectric field time series are calculated by convolving Earth surface impedance tensors from 71 discrete magnetotelluric survey sites across the region with historical 1‐min (2‐min Nyquist)...
Modeling managed flows in the Sacramento/San Joaquin watershed, California, under scenarios of future change for CASCaDE2
Noah Knowles, Collin Cronkite-Ratcliff
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1101
Projections of managed flows from the Sacramento River/San Joaquin River watershed, California, into the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta under scenarios of future climate change are needed for evaluations of potential impacts on water supply and estuarine ecosystems. A new, multiple-model approach for achieving this is described. First,...
Geohydrology, geochemistry, and numerical simulation of groundwater flow and land subsidence in the Bicycle Basin, Fort Irwin National Training Center, California
Jill N. Densmore, Linda R. Woolfenden, Diane L. Rewis, Peter M. Martin, Michelle Sneed, Kevin M. Ellett, Michael Solt, David M. Miller
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5067
Groundwater pumping from Bicycle Groundwater Basin (referred to as Bicycle Basin) in the Fort Irwin National Training Center, California, began in 1967. From 1967 to December 2010, about 46,000 acre-feet of water had been pumped from the basin and transported to the Irwin Basin. During this time, not only did...
Near-field receiving-water monitoring of trace metals and a benthic community near the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant in south San Francisco Bay, California—2017
Daniel J. Cain, Janet K. Thompson, Francis Parchaso, Sarah Pearson, A. Robin Stewart, Matthew A. Turner, David Barasch, Ane Slabic, Samuel N. Luoma
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1107
Trace-metal concentrations in sediment and in the clam Macoma petalum (formerly reported as Macoma balthica), clam reproductive activity, and benthic macroinvertebrate community structure were investigated in a mudflat 1 kilometer south of the discharge of the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (PARWQCP) in south San Francisco Bay, Calif....
Combining nutrient, productivity, and landscape-based regressions improves predictions of lake nutrients and provides insight into nutrient coupling at macroscales
Tyler Wagner, Erin M. Schliep
2018, Limnology and Oceanography (63) 2372-2383
Empirical nutrient models that describe lake nutrient, productivity, and water clarity relationships among lakes play a prominent role in limnology. Landscape-based regressions are also used to understand macroscale variability of lake nutrients, clarity, and productivity (hereafter referred to as nutrient-productivity). Predictions from both models are used to inform eutrophication management...
Trends in water quality of selected streams and reservoirs used for water supply in the Triangle area of North Carolina, 1989–2013
Mary J. Giorgino, Thomas F. Cuffney, Stephen L. Harden, Toby D. Feaster
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5077
As the population of the Triangle area in central North Carolina increases, the demand for good quality drinking water from streams and lakes within the upper Neuse and upper Cape Fear River Basins also increases. The Triangle area includes Raleigh, Cary, Research Triangle Park, Durham, Chapel Hill, and the surrounding...
Monitoring the water-quality response of agricultural conservation practices in the Bucks Branch watershed, Sussex County, Delaware, 2014–16
Judith M. Denver, Alexander M. Soroka, Betzaida Reyes, Todd R. Lester, Deborah A. Bringman, M.S. Brownley
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5020
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of irrigation and cover crops as conservation practices on water quality in groundwater and streams. Bucks Branch, a stream in the Nanticoke River watershed in southwestern Delaware, was identified as having one of the highest concentrations of nitrate in all...
Exploring viable geologic interpretations of gravity models using distance-based global sensitivity analysis and kernel methods
Geoffrey Phelps, Celine Scheidt, Jef Caers
2018, Geophysics (5) G79-G92
We have explored ways to integrate alternative geologic interpretations into the modeling of gravity data. These methods are applied to the Vaca Fault east of Fairfield, California, USA, where the structure across the fault is in question, and the Vaca Fault is used as a case study to demonstrate the...
Landsat time series analysis of fractional plant cover changes on abandoned energy development sites
Eric K. Waller, Miguel L. Villarreal, Travis B. Poitras, Travis W. Nauman, Michael C. Duniway
2018, International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation (73) 407-419
Oil and natural gas development in the western United States has increased substantially in recent decades as technological advances like horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have made extraction more commercially viable. Oil and gas pads are often developed for production, and then capped, reclaimed, and left to recover when no...
Simulation of potential groundwater recharge for the glacial aquifer system east of the Rocky Mountains, 1980–2011, using the Soil-Water-Balance Model
Jared J. Trost, Jason L. Roth, Stephen M. Westenbroek, Howard W. Reeves
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5080
An understanding of the spatial and temporal extent of groundwater recharge is critical for many types of hydrologic assessments involving water quality, contaminant transport, ecosystem health, and sustainable use of groundwater. Annual potential groundwater recharge was simulated at a 1-kilometer resolution with the Soil-Water-Balance (SWB) model for the glacial aquifer...
Controls on submarine canyon head evolution: Monterey Canyon, offshore central California
Katherine L. Maier, Samuel Y. Johnson, Patrick E. Hart
2018, Marine Geology (404) 24-40
The Monterey submarine canyon, incised across the continental shelf in Monterey Bay, California, provides a record of the link between onshore tectonism, fluvial transport, and deep-marine deposition. High-resolution seismic-reflection imaging in Monterey Bay reveals an extensive paleocanyon unit buried below the seafloor of the continental shelf around Monterey and Soquel...
