Predicting animal home-range structure and transitions using a multistate Ornstein-Uhlenbeck biased random walk
Greg A. Breed, Emily A. Golson, M. Tim Tinker
2017, Ecology (98) 32-47
The home‐range concept is central in animal ecology and behavior, and numerous mechanistic models have been developed to understand home range formation and maintenance. These mechanistic models usually assume a single, contiguous home range. Here we describe and implement a simple home‐range model that can accommodate multiple...
Simulation of earthquake ground motions in the eastern United States using deterministic physics‐based and site‐based stochastic approaches
Sanaz Rezaeian, Stephen H. Hartzell, Xiaodan Sun, Carlos Mendoza
2017, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (107) 149-168
Earthquake ground‐motion recordings are scarce in the central and eastern United States (CEUS) for large‐magnitude events and at close distances. We use two different simulation approaches, a deterministic physics‐based method and a site‐based stochastic method, to simulate ground motions over a wide range of magnitudes. Drawing...
Evaluating simplistic methods to understand current distributions and forecast distribution changes under climate change scenarios: An example with coypu (Myocastor coypus)
Catherine S. Jarnevich, Nicholas E. Young, Trevor R. Sheffels, Jacoby Carter, Mark D. Systma, Colin Talbert
2017, NeoBiota (32) 107-125
Invasive species provide a unique opportunity to evaluate factors controlling biogeographic distributions; we can consider introduction success as an experiment testing suitability of environmental conditions. Predicting potential distributions of spreading species is not easy, and forecasting potential distributions with changing climate is even more difficult. Using the globally invasive coypu...
Expanding the role of reactive transport models in critical zone processes
Li Li, Kate Maher, Alexis Navarre-Sitchler, Jennifer Druhan, Christof Meile, Corey Lawrence, Joel Moore, Julia Perdrial, Pamela Sullivan, Aaron Thompson, Lixin Jin, Edward W. Bolton, Susan L. Brantley, William E. Dietrich, K. Ulrich Mayer, Carl Steefel, Albert J. Valocchi, John M. Zachara, Benjamin D. Kocar, Jennifer McIntosh, Benjamin M. Tutolo, Mukesh Kumar, Eric Sonnenthal, Chen Bao, Joe Beisman
2017, Earth-Science Reviews (165) 280-301
Models test our understanding of processes and can reach beyond the spatial and temporal scales of measurements. Multi-component Reactive Transport Models (RTMs), initially developed more than three decades ago, have been used extensively to explore the interactions of geothermal, hydrologic, geochemical, and geobiological processes in subsurface systems. Driven by extensive...
Dynamic strains for earthquake source characterization
Andrew J. Barbour, Brendan W. Crowell
2017, Seismological Research Letters (88) 354-370
Strainmeters measure elastodynamic deformation associated with earthquakes over a broad frequency band, with detection characteristics that complement traditional instrumentation, but they are commonly used to study slow transient deformation along active faults and at subduction zones, for example. Here, we analyze dynamic strains at Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) borehole strainmeters...
Flood-inundation maps for the St. Joseph River at Elkhart, Indiana
Zachary W. Martin
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5179
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 6.6-mile reach of the St. Joseph River at Elkhart, Indiana, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science Web site...
Compartmentalization of the Coso East Flank geothermal field imaged by 3-D full-tensor MT inversion
Nathaniel J. Lindsey, J. Ole Kaven, Nicholas C. Davatzes, Gregory A. Newman
2017, Geophysical Journal International (208) 652-662
Previous magnetotelluric (MT) studies of the high-temperature Coso geothermal system in California identified a subvertical feature of low resistivity (2–5 Ohm m) and appreciable lateral extent (>1 km) in the producing zone of the East Flank field. However, these models could not reproduce gross 3-D effects in the recorded data. We perform...
Pectoral fin contact as a mechanism for social bonding among dolphins
Kathleen Dudzinski, Christine Ribic
2017, Animal Behavior and Cognition (4) 30-48
Bottlenose dolphins are large-brained social mammals residing in a fission-fusion society with relationships that are established and maintained over decades. We examined a decade-long data set of inter-individual pectoral fin contact exchanges to better understand how dolphins share information via tactile contact. Sex and age are significant factors in pectoral...
Generation of 3-D hydrostratigraphic zones from dense airborne electromagnetic data to assess groundwater model prediction error
Nikolaj K Christensen, Burke J. Minsley, Steen Christensen
2017, Water Resources Research (53) 1019-1038
We present a new methodology to combine spatially dense high-resolution airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data and sparse borehole information to construct multiple plausible geological structures using a stochastic approach. The method developed allows for quantification of the performance of groundwater models built from different geological realizations of structure. Multiple structural realizations...
Integration of genetic and demographic data to assess population risk in a continuously distributed species
Bradley C. Fedy, Jeffery R. Row, Sara J. Oyler-McCance
2017, Conservation Genetics (18) 89-104
The identification and demographic assessment of biologically meaningful populations is fundamental to species’ ecology and management. Although genetic tools are used frequently to identify populations, studies often do not incorporate demographic data to understand their respective population trends. We used genetic data to define subpopulations in a continuously distributed...
Relations between some horizontal‐component ground‐motion intensity measures used in practice
David Boore, Tadahiro Kishida
2017, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (107) 334-343
Various measures using the two horizontal components of recorded ground motions have been used in a number of studies that derive ground‐motion prediction equations and construct maps of shaking intensity. We update relations between a number of these measures, including those in Boore et al. (2006) and Boore (2010), using the large...
Prior knowledge-based approach for associating contaminants with biological effects: A case study in the St. Croix River basin, MN, WI, USA
Anthony L. Schroeder, Dalma Martinovic-Weigelt, Gerald T. Ankley, Kathy Lee, Natalia Garcia-Reyero, Edward J. Perkins, Heiko L. Schoenfuss, Daniel L. Villeneuve
2017, Environmental Pollution (221) 427-436
Evaluating potential adverse effects of complex chemical mixtures in the environment is challenging. One way to address that challenge is through more integrated analysis of chemical monitoring and biological effects data. In the present study, water samples from five locations near two municipal wastewater treatment plants in the St. Croix...
Collar temperature sensor data reveal long-term patterns in southern Beaufort Sea polar bear den distribution on pack ice and land
Jay W Olson, Karyn D. Rode, Dennis L. Eggett, T. S. Smith, R. R. Wilson, George M. Durner, Anthony S. Fischbach, Todd C. Atwood, David C. Douglas
2017, Marine Ecology Progress Series (564) 211-224
In response to a changing climate, many species alter habitat use. Polar bears Ursus maritimus in the southern Beaufort Sea have increasingly used land for maternal denning. To aid in detecting denning behavior, we developed an objective method to identify polar bear denning events using temperature sensor data collected by satellite-linked transmitters...
Temporal expansion of annual crop classification layers for the CONUS using the C5 decision tree classifier
Aaron M. Friesz, Bruce K. Wylie, Daniel M. Howard
2017, Remote Sensing Letters (8) 389-398
Crop cover maps have become widely used in a range of research applications. Multiple crop cover maps have been developed to suite particular research interests. The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Cropland Data Layers (CDL) are a series of commonly used crop cover maps for the conterminous United States (CONUS)...
A land data assimilation system for sub-Saharan Africa food and water security applications
Amy McNally, Kristi Arsenault, Sujay Kumar, Shraddhanand Shukla, Pete Peterson, Shugong Wang, Chris Funk, Christa Peters-Lidard, James Verdin
2017, Scientific Data (4) 1-19
Seasonal agricultural drought monitoring systems, which rely on satellite remote sensing and land surface models (LSMs), are important for disaster risk reduction and famine early warning. These systems require the best available weather inputs, as well as a long-term historical record to contextualize current observations. This article introduces the Famine...
Terrestrial ecosystem model performance in simulating productivity and its vulnerability to climate change in the northern permafrost region
Jianyang Xia, A. David McGuire, David Lawrence, Eleanor J. Burke, Guangsheng Chen, Xiaodong Chen, Christine Delire, Charles Koven, Andrew MacDougall, Shushi Peng, Annette Rinke, Kazuyuki Saito, Wenxin Zhang, Ramdane Alkama, Theodore J. Bohn, Philippe Ciais, Bertrand Decharme, Isabelle Gouttevin, Tomohiro Hajima, Daniel J. Hayes, Kun Huang, Duoying Ji, Gerhard Krinner, Dennis P. Lettenmaier, Paul A. Miller, John C. Moore, Benjamin Smith, Tetsuo Sueyoshi, Zheng Shi, Liming Yan, Junyi Liang, Lifen Jiang, Qian Zhang, Yiqi Luo
2017, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (122) 430-446
Realistic projection of future climate-carbon (C) cycle feedbacks requires better understanding and an improved representation of the C cycle in permafrost regions in the current generation of Earth system models. Here we evaluated 10 terrestrial ecosystem models for their estimates of net primary productivity (NPP) and responses to historical climate...
Development and utilization of USGS ShakeCast for rapid post-earthquake assessment of critical facilities and infrastructure
David J. Wald, Kuo-wan Lin, C. A. Kircher, Kishor S. Jaiswal, Nico Luco, L. Turner, Daniel Slosky
2017, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 16th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering
The ShakeCast system is an openly available, near real-time post-earthquake information management system. ShakeCast is widely used by public and private emergency planners and responders, lifeline utility operators and transportation engineers to automatically receive and process ShakeMap products for situational awareness, inspection priority, or damage assessment of their own infrastructure...
A discrete stage-structured model of California newt population dynamics during a period of drought
Marjorie T. Jones, William R. Milligan, Lee B. Kats, Thomas L. Vandergon, Rodney L. Honeycutt, Robert N. Fisher, Courtney L. Davis, Timothy A. Lucas
2017, Journal of Theoretical Biology (414) 245-253
We introduce a mathematical model for studying the population dynamics under drought of the California newt (Taricha torosa), a species of special concern in the state of California. Since 2012, California has experienced a record-setting drought, and multiple studies predict drought conditions currently underway will persist and even increase in...
Building the vegetation drought response index for Canada (VegDRI-Canada) to monitor agricultural drought: first results
Tsegaye Tadesse, Catherine Champagne, Brian D. Wardlow, Trevor A. Hadwen, Jesslyn F. Brown, Getachew B. Demisse, Yared A. Bayissa, Andrew M. Davidson
2017, GIScience and Remote Sensing (54) 230-257
Drought is a natural climatic phenomenon that occurs throughout the world and impacts many sectors of society. To help decision-makers reduce the impacts of drought, it is important to improve monitoring tools that provide relevant and timely information in support of drought mitigation decisions. Given that drought is a complex...
Ground motion in the presence of complex Topography II: Earthquake sources and 3D simulations
Stephen H. Hartzell, Leonardo Ramirez-Guzman, Mark Meremonte, Alena L. Leeds
2017, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (107) 344-358
Eight seismic stations were placed in a linear array with a topographic relief of 222 m over Mission Peak in the east San Francisco Bay region for a period of one year to study topographic effects. Seventy‐two well‐recorded local earthquakes are used to calculate spectral amplitude ratios relative to a reference...
Using diurnal temperature signals to infer vertical groundwater-surface water exchange
Dylan J. Irvine, Martin A. Briggs, Laura K. Lautz, Ryan P. Gordon, Jeffrey M. McKenzie, Ian Cartwright
2017, Groundwater (55) 10-26
Heat is a powerful tracer to quantify fluid exchange between surface water and groundwater. Temperature time series can be used to estimate pore water fluid flux, and techniques can be employed to extend these estimates to produce detailed plan-view flux maps. Key advantages of heat tracing include cost-effective sensors and...
Multi-year microbial source tracking study characterizing fecal contamination in an urban watershed
Rebecca N. Bushon, Amie M.G. Brady, Eric D. Christensen, Erin A. Stelzer
2017, Water Environment Research (89) 127-143
Microbiological and hydrological data were used to rank tributary stream contributions of bacteria to the Little Blue River in Independence, Missouri. Concentrations, loadings and yields of E. coli and microbial source tracking (MST) markers, were characterized during base flow and storm events in five subbasins within Independence, as well as...
Human health screening and public health significance of contaminants of emerging concern detected in public water supplies
Robert Benson, Octavia D. Conerly, William Sander, Angela L. Batt, J. Scott Boone, Edward T. Furlong, Susan T. Glassmeyer, Dana W. Kolpin, Heath Mash
2017, Science of Total Environment (579) 1643-1648
The source water and treated drinking water from twenty five drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) across the United States were sampled in 2010–2012. Samples were analyzed for 247 contaminants using 15 chemical and microbiological methods. Most of these contaminants are not regulated currently either in drinking water or in discharges...
Paleoseismic potential of sublacustrine landslide records in a high-seismicity setting (south-central Alaska)
Nore Praet, Jasper Moernaut, Maarten Van Daele, Evelien Boes, Peter J. Haeussler, Michael Strupler, Sabine Schmidt, Michael G. Loso, Marc De Batist
2017, Marine Geology (384) 103-119
Sublacustrine landslide stratigraphy is considered useful for quantitative paleoseismology in low-seismicity settings. However, as the recharging of underwater slopes with sediments is one of the factors that governs the recurrence of slope failures, it is not clear if landslide deposits can provide continuous paleoseismic records in settings of frequent strong shaking. To...
Modeling strong‐motion recordings of the 2010 Mw 8.8 Maule, Chile, earthquake with high stress‐drop subevents and background slip
Arthur D. Frankel
2017, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (107) 372-386
Strong‐motion recordings of the Mw 8.8 Maule earthquake were modeled using a compound rupture model consisting of (1) a background slip distribution with large correlation lengths, relatively low slip velocity, and long peak rise time of slip of about 10 s and (2) high stress‐drop subevents (asperities) on the deeper portion of the rupture...
