Record-high specific conductance and water temperature in San Francisco Bay during water year 2015
Paul A. Work, Maureen A. Downing-Kunz, Daniel N. Livsey
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1022
The San Francisco estuary is commonly defined to include San Francisco Bay (bay) and the adjacent Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta (delta). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has operated a high-frequency (15-minute sampling interval) water-quality monitoring network in San Francisco Bay since the late 1980s (Buchanan and others, 2014). This network...
Electrical guidance efficiency of downstream-migrating juvenile Sea Lamprey decreases with increasing water velocity
Scott M. Miehls, Nicholas S. Johnson, Alexander Haro
2017, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (146) 299-307
We tested the efficacy of a vertically oriented field of pulsed direct current (VEPDC) created by an array of vertical electrodes for guiding downstream-moving juvenile Sea Lampreys Petromyzon marinus to a bypass channel in an artificial flume at water velocities of 10–50 cm/s. Sea Lampreys were more likely to be...
Characterization of streamflow, suspended sediment, and nutrients entering Galveston Bay from the Trinity River, Texas, May 2014–December 2015
Zulimar Lucena, Michael T. Lee
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5177
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Texas Water Development Board and the Galveston Bay Estuary Program, collected streamflow and water-quality data at USGS streamflow-gaging stations in the lower Trinity River watershed from May 2014 to December 2015 to characterize and improve the current understanding of the quantity...
Analysis of trends of water quality and streamflow in the Blackstone, Branch, Pawtuxet, and Pawcatuck Rivers, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, 1979 to 2015
Jennifer G. Savoie, John R. Mullaney, Gardner C. Bent
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5178
Trends in long-term water-quality and streamflow data from six water-quality-monitoring stations within three major river basins in Massachusetts and Rhode Island that flow into Narragansett Bay and Little Narragansett Bay were evaluated for water years 1979–2015. In this study, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Rhode...
Species interactions and the effects of climate variability on a wetland amphibian metacommunity
Courtney L. Davis, David A.W. Miller, Susan C. Walls, William J. Barichivich, Jeffrey W. Riley, Mary E. Brown
2017, Ecological Applications (27) 285-296
Disentangling the role that multiple interacting factors have on species responses to shifting climate poses a significant challenge. However, our ability to do so is of utmost importance to predict the effects of climate change on species distributions. We examined how populations of three species of wetland-breeding amphibians, which varied...
Early detection monitoring for larval dreissenid mussels: How much plankton sampling is enough?
Timothy D. Counihan, Stephen M. Bollens
2017, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (189) 1-14
The development of quagga and zebra mussel (dreissenids) monitoring programs in the Pacific Northwest provides a unique opportunity to evaluate a regional invasive species detection effort early in its development. Recent studies suggest that the ecological and economic costs of a dreissenid infestation in the Pacific Northwest of the USA...
A river-scale Lagrangian experiment examining controls on phytoplankton dynamics in the presence and absence of treated wastewater effluent high in ammonium
Tamara E. C. Kraus, Kurt D. Carpenter, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Alexander Parker, Elizabeth B. Stumpner, Bryan D. Downing, Nicole Travis, Frances Wilkerson, Carol Kendall, Timothy Mussen
2017, Limnology and Oceanography (62) 1234-1253
Phytoplankton are critical component of the food web in most large rivers and estuaries, and thus identifying dominant controls on phytoplankton abundance and species composition is important to scientists, managers, and policymakers. Recent studies from a variety of systems indicate that ammonium ( NH+4) in treated wastewater effluent decreases primary...
Saltwater intrusion in the Floridan aquifer system near downtown Brunswick, Georgia, 1957–2015
Gregory S. Cherry, Michael Peck
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1010
IntroductionThe Floridan aquifer system (FAS) consists of the Upper Floridan aquifer (UFA), an intervening confining unit of highly variable properties, and the Lower Floridan aquifer (LFA). The UFA and LFA are primarily composed of Paleocene- to Oligocene-age carbonate rocks that include, locally, Upper Cretaceous rocks. The FAS extends from coastal...
A methodology for modeling barrier island storm-impact scenarios
Rangley C. Mickey, Joseph W. Long, Nathaniel G. Plant, David M. Thompson, P. Soupy Dalyander
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1009
A methodology for developing a representative set of storm scenarios based on historical wave buoy and tide gauge data for a region at the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey. The total water level was calculated for a 10-year period and analyzed against existing topographic data...
Flood-inundation maps for the Big Blue River at Shelbyville, Indiana
Kathleen K. Fowler
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5166
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 4.1-mile reach of the Big Blue River at Shelbyville, Indiana, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. The floodinundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science Web site...
Hypsometric control on glacier mass balance sensitivity in Alaska and northwest Canada
Daniel Mcgrath, Louis C. Sass, Shad O’Neel, Anthony A. Arendt, C. Kienholz
2017, Earth's Future (5) 324-336
Glacier hypsometry provides a first‐order approach for assessing a glacier's response to climate forcings. We couple the Randolph Glacier Inventory to a suite of in situ observations and climate model output to examine potential change for the ∼27,000 glaciers in Alaska and northwest Canada through the end of the 21st...
Evaluation of nutria (Myocastor coypus) detection methods in Maryland, USA
Margaret A. Pepper, Valentine Herrmann, James E. Hines, James D. Nichols, Stephen R Kendrot
2017, Biological Invasions (19) 831-841
Nutria (Myocaster coypus), invasive, semi-aquatic rodents native to South America, were introduced into Maryland near Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (BNWR) in 1943. Irruptive population growth, expansion, and destructive feeding habits resulted in the destruction of thousands of acres of emergent marshes at and surrounding BNWR. In 2002, a...
Refining previous estimates of groundwater outflows from the Medina/Diversion Lake system, San Antonio area, Texas
Richard N. Slattery, William H. Asquith, John D. Gordon
2017, Fact Sheet 2017-3008
IntroductionIn 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the San Antonio Water System, began a study to refine previously derived estimates of groundwater outflows from Medina and Diversion Lakes in south-central Texas near San Antonio. When full, Medina and Diversion Lakes (hereinafter referred to as the Medina/Diversion Lake...
Hydrologic, land cover, and seasonal patterns of waterborne pathogens in Great Lakes tributaries
Peter L. Lenaker, Steven R. Corsi, Mark A. Borchardt, Susan K. Spencer, Austin K. Baldwin, Michelle A. Lutz
2017, Water Research (113) 11-21
Great Lakes tributaries are known to deliver waterborne pathogens from a host of sources. To examine the hydrologic, land cover, and seasonal patterns of waterborne pathogens (i.e. protozoa (2), pathogenic bacteria (4) human viruses, (8) and bovine viruses (8)) eight rivers were monitored in the Great Lakes Basin over 29...
Water quality data for national-scale aquatic research: The Water Quality Portal
Emily K. Read, Lindsay Carr, Laura A. DeCicco, Hilary Dugan, Paul C. Hanson, Julia A. Hart, James Kreft, Jordan S. Read, Luke Winslow
2017, Water Resources Research (53) 1735-1745
Aquatic systems are critical to food, security, and society. But, water data are collected by hundreds of research groups and organizations, many of which use nonstandard or inconsistent data descriptions and dissemination, and disparities across different types of water observation systems represent a major challenge for freshwater research. To address...
Aridity increases below-ground niche breadth in grass communities
Bradley J. Butterfield, John B. Bradford, Seth M. Munson, Jennifer R. Gremer
2017, Plant Ecology (218) 385-394
Aridity is an important environmental filter in the assembly of plant communities worldwide. The extent to which root traits mediate responses to aridity, and how they are coordinated with leaf traits, remains unclear. Here, we measured variation in root tissue density (RTD), specific root length (SRL), specific leaf area (SLA),...
Lithological influences on contemporary and long-term regolith weathering at the Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory
Heather L. Buss, Maria Chapela Lara, Oliver Moore, Andrew C. Kurtz, Marjorie S. Schulz, Arthur F. White
2017, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (196) 224-251
Lithologic differences give rise to the differential weatherability of the Earth’s surface and globally variable silicate weathering fluxes, which provide an important negative feedback on climate over geologic timescales. To isolate the influence of lithology on weathering rates and mechanisms, we compare two nearby catchments in the Luquillo Critical...
Preferential flow, diffuse flow, and perching in an interbedded fractured-rock unsaturated zone
John R. Nimmo, Kaitlyn M Creasey, Kimberlie Perkins, Benjamin B. Mirus
2017, Hydrogeology Journal (25) 421-444
Layers of strong geologic contrast within the unsaturated zone can control recharge and contaminant transport to underlying aquifers. Slow diffuse flow in certain geologic layers, and rapid preferential flow in others, complicates the prediction of vertical and lateral fluxes. A simple model is presented, designed to use limited geological site...
Enhanced coal-dependent methanogenesis coupled with algal biofuels: Potential water recycle and carbon capture
Elliott P. Barnhart, Katherine J. Davis, Matthew S. Varonka, William H. Orem, Alfred B. Cunningham, Bradley D. Ramsay, Matthew W. Fields
2017, International Journal of Coal Geology (171) 69-75
Many coal beds contain microbial communities that can convert coal to natural gas (coalbed methane). Native microorganisms were obtained from Powder River Basin (PRB) coal seams with a diffusive microbial sampler placed downhole and used as an inoculum for enrichments with different nutrients to investigate microbially-enhanced coalbed methane production (MECoM)....
Reconciling catch differences from multiple fishery independent gill net surveys
Richard T. Kraus, Christopher Vandergoot, Patrick M. Kocovsky, Mark W. Rogers, H. Andrew Cook, Travis O. Brenden
2017, Fisheries Research (188) 17-22
Fishery independent gill net surveys provide valuable demographic information for population assessment and resource management, but relative to net construction, the effects of ancillary species, and environmental variables on focal species catch rates are poorly understood. In response, we conducted comparative deployments with three unique, inter-agency, survey gill nets used...
Book review: Extreme ocean waves
Eric L. Geist
2017, Pure and Applied Geophysics (174) 1519-1519
“Extreme Ocean Waves”, edited by E. Pelinovsky and C. Kharif, second edition, Springer International Publishing, 2016; ISBN: 978-3-319-21574-7, ISBN (eBook): 978-3-319-21575-4The second edition of “Extreme Ocean Waves” published by Springer is an update of a collection of 12 papers edited by Efim Pelinovsky and Christian Kharif...
Climate change and the eco-hydrology of fire: Will area burned increase in a warming western USA?
Donald McKenzie, Jeremy S. Littell
2017, Ecological Applications (27) 26-36
Wildfire area is predicted to increase with global warming. Empirical statistical models and process-based simulations agree almost universally. The key relationship for this unanimity, observed at multiple spatial and temporal scales, is between drought and fire. Predictive models often focus on ecosystems in which this relationship appears to be particularly...
Using management to address vegetation stress related to land-use and climate change
Beth A. Middleton, Jere Boudell, Nicholas Fisichelli
2017, Restoration Ecology (25) 326-329
While disturbances such as fire, cutting, and grazing can be an important part of the conservation of natural lands, some adjustments to management designed to mimic natural disturbance may be necessary with ongoing and projected climate change. Stressed vegetation that is incapable of regeneration will be difficult to maintain if...
Hydrogeology and simulation of groundwater flow and analysis of projected water use for the Canadian River alluvial aquifer, western and central Oklahoma
John H. Ellis, Shana L. Mashburn, Grant M. Graves, Steven M. Peterson, S. Jerrod Smith, Leland T. Fuhrig, Derrick L. Wagner, Jon E. Sanford
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5180
This report describes a study of the hydrogeology and simulation of groundwater flow for the Canadian River alluvial aquifer in western and central Oklahoma conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. The report (1) quantifies the groundwater resources of the Canadian River alluvial...
Bathymetry and capacity of Shawnee Reservoir, Oklahoma, 2016
Chad E. Ashworth, S. Jerrod Smith, Kevin A. Smith
2017, Scientific Investigations Map 3374
Shawnee Reservoir (locally known as Shawnee Twin Lakes) is a man-made reservoir on South Deer Creek with a drainage area of 32.7 square miles in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma. The reservoir consists of two lakes connected by an equilibrium channel. The southern lake (Shawnee City Lake Number 1) was impounded in...
