Nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay watershed—A century of change, 1950–2050
John W. Clune, Paul D. Capel, Matthew P. Miller, Douglas A. Burns, Andrew J. Sekellick, Peter R. Claggett, Richard H. Coupe, Rosemary M. Fanelli, Ana Maria Garcia, Jeff P. Raffensperger, Silvia Terziotti, Gopal Bhatt, Joel D. Blomquist, Kristina G. Hopkins, Jennifer L. Keisman, Lewis C. Linker, Gary W. Shenk, Richard A. Smith, Alexander M. Soroka, James S. Webber, David M. Wolock, Qian Zhang
2021, Circular 1486
ForewordSustaining the quality of the Nation’s water resources and the health of our diverse ecosystems depends on the availability of sound water-resources data and information to develop effective, science-based policies. Effective management of water resources also brings more certainty and efficiency to important economic sectors. Taken together, these actions lead...
Continuous monitoring and Bayesian estimation of nutrient and sediment loads from Illinois watersheds, for water years 2016–2020
Timothy O. Hodson, Paul J. Terrio, Colin S. Peake, David J. Fazio
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5092
The State of Illinois is one of the leading contributors of nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended sediment to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. During water years 2016–20, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, operated continuous monitoring stations on eight major rivers in...
Preliminary geohydrologic assessment of Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, Altar Valley, southeastern Arizona
Sandra J. Owen-Joyce, James B. Callegary, Amy Elizabeth Rosebrough
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5050
The Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge is located in the southern part of Altar Valley, southwest of Tucson in southeastern Arizona. The primary water-supply well at the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge has experienced a two-decade decrease in groundwater levels in the well, as have other wells in the southern...
Bottom-up and top-down control on hydrothermal resources in the Great Basin: An example from Gabbs Valley, Nevada
Jared R. Peacock, Drew L. Siler
2021, Geophysical Research Letters (48)
The Great Basin in the western United States hosts various hydrothermal systems, including both active geothermal systems and ancient systems preserved as mineral deposits. New magnetotelluric and structural geologic data were collected in the Gabbs Valley area of western Nevada to demonstrate the advantage of imaging the...
Multilayer perceptrons (MLPs)
C. Ozgen Karacan
2021, Book chapter, Encyclopedia of Mathematical Geosciences
Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are adaptable systems that can solve problems that are difficult to describe with a mathematical relationship. They seek relationships between different types of datasets with their abilities to learn either with supervision or without. ANNs recognize patterns between input and output space...
Strong evidence for two disjunct populations of Black Scoters Melanitta americana in North America
Timothy D. Bowman, Scott G. Gilliland, Jason L Schamber, Paul L. Flint, Daniel Esler, W. Sean Boyd, Daniel H. Rosenberg, Jean-Pierre L. Savard, Matthew Perry, Jason E. Osenkowski
2021, Wildfowl (71) 179-192
Black Scoters Melanitta americana were marked with satellite transmitters on Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America to examine continental-scale population delineation. Scoters marked on the different coasts did not overlap at any stage of the annual cycle, suggesting that birds in the two regions could be monitored and managed as separate...
Decision-support framework for linking regional-scale management actions to continental-scale conservation of wide-ranging species
Erik E. Osnas, G. Scott Boomer, James H. Devries, Michael C. Runge
2021, Open-File Report 2020-1084
Anas acuta (Northern pintail; hereafter pintail) was selected as a model species on which to base a decision-support framework linking regional actions to continental-scale population and harvest objectives. This framework was then used to engage stakeholders, such as Landscape Conservation Cooperatives’ (LCCs’) habitat management partners within areas of importance to...
Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) version 5.1 user guide
Emily A. Himmelstoss, Rachel E. Henderson, Meredith G. Kratzmann, Amy S. Farris
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1091
The Digital Shoreline Analysis System version 5 software is an add-in to Esri ArcGIS Desktop version 10.4–10.7 that enables a user to calculate rate-of-change statistics from a time series of vector shoreline positions. The Digital Shoreline Analysis System provides an automated method for establishing measurement locations, performs rate calculations, provides...
Morphometric sex identification of nestling and free-flying Tasmanian Wedge-tailed Eagles (Aquila audax fleayi)
James M. Pay, Todd E. Katzner, Jason M Wiersma, William E. Brown, Clare E. Hawkins, Kirstin M Proft, Elissa Z. Cameron
2021, Journal of Raptor Research (55) 539-551
The endangered Tasmanian Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax fleayi) is the focus of continued research and conservation efforts. A tool for accurate and efficient identification of the sex of individuals would be a valuable aid to research and management. However, plumages are monomorphic between the sexes,...
Food habits of American Kestrels in the Southern High Plains of Texas
Clint W. Boal, M.A. Thornely, S.D. Mullican
2021, Journal of Raptor Research (55) 574-583
The American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) is in general decline across its North American distribution. In contrast to widespread patterns of decline, kestrel populations appear stable in the southern Great Plains region. Historically, this region had a very low occurrence of kestrels, and their current abundance...
U.S. Geological Survey invasive species research—Improving detection, awareness, decision support, and control
Cindy Kolar Tam, Wesley M. Daniel, Earl Campbell, James J. English, Suzanna C. Soileau
2021, Circular 1485
More than 6,500 nonindigenous species are now established in the United States, posing risks to human and wildlife health, native plants and animals, and our valued ecosystems. The annual environmental, economic, and health-related costs of invasive species are substantial. Invasive species can drive native species onto the endangered species list,...
Setting and tracking suppression targets for sea lampreys in the Great Lakes
Ted Treska, Mark P. Ebener, Gavin Christie, Jean V. Adams, Michael J Siefkes
2021, Journal of Great Lakes Research (47) S357-S367
In response to invasive species, the course of action taken by management agencies often evolves over a range of options from a do-nothing approach to suppression to complete eradication. As a case study of suppression targets, we explore the history of...
Hydrogeomorphic recovery and temporal changes in rainfall thresholds for debris flows following wildfire
Olivia J. Hoch, Luke A. McGuire, Ann M. Youberg, Francis K. Rengers
2021, JGR Earth Surface (126)
Wildfire-induced changes to soil and vegetation promote runoff-generated debris flows in steep watersheds. Postfire debris flows are most commonly observed in steep watersheds during the first wet season following a wildfire, but it is unclear how long the elevated threat of debris flow persists and why debris-flow...
Carbon and ecohydrological priorities in managing woody encroachment: UAV perspective 63 years after a control treatment
Temuulen T. Sankey, Jackson Leonard, Margaret Moore, Joel B. Sankey, Adam Belmonte
2021, Environmental Research Letters
Woody encroachment, including both woody species expansion and density increase, is a globally observed phenomenon that deteriorates arid and semi-arid rangeland health, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. Mechanical and chemical control treatments are commonly performed to reduce woody cover and restore ecohydrologic function. While the immediate impacts of...
Shoreface and Holocene sediment thickness offshore of Rockaway Peninsula, New York
Emily A. Wei, Jennifer L. Miselis, Arnell S. Forde
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1100
During September and October 2019, the U.S. Geological Survey mapped the shoreface and inner continental shelf offshore of the Rockaway Peninsula in New York using high-resolution chirp seismic reflection and single-beam bathymetry geophysical techniques. The results from this study are important for assessing the Quaternary evolution of the Rockaway Peninsula...
Exposure of predatory and scavenging birds to anticoagulant rodenticides in France: Exploration of data from French surveillance programs
Meg-Anne Moriceau, Sebastien Lefebvre, Isabelle Fourel, Etienne Benoit, Florence Buronfosse, Pascal Orabi, Barnett A. Rattner, Virginie Lattard
2021, Science of the Total Environment (810)
Wild raptors are widely used to assess exposure to different environmental contaminants, including anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs). ARs are used on a global scale for rodent control, and act by disruption of the vitamin K cycle that results in haemorrhage usually accompanied by death within...
Viral-like particles are associated with endosymbiont pathology in Florida corals affected by stony coral tissue loss disease
Thierry M. Work, Tina M. Weatherby, Jan H. Landsberg, Yasunaru Kiryu, Samantha M. Cook, Esther C. Peters
2021, Frontiers in Marine Science (8)
Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) was first documented in 2014 near the Port of Miami, Florida, and has since spread north and south along Florida’s Coral Reef, killing large numbers of more than 20 species of coral and leading to the functional extinction of at least one...
Testing models of Laramide orogenic initiation by investigation of Late Cretaceous magmatic-tectonic evolution of the central Mojave sector of the California arc
R.C Economos, Andrew P. Barth, J.L. Wooden, S. R Paterson, Brody Friesenhahn, B.A Weigand, J.L. Anderson, J.L. Roell, E.F. Palmer, A.J. Ianno, Keith A. Howard
2021, Geosphere (17) 2042-2061
The Mojave Desert region is in a critical position for assessing models of Laramide orogenesis, which is hypothesized to have initiated as one or more seamounts subducted beneath the Cretaceous continental margin. Geochronological and geochemical characteristics of Late Cretaceous magmatic products provide the opportunity to test the validity of Laramide...
The Boreal-Arctic Wetland and Lake Dataset (BAWLD)
David Olefeldt, Mikael Hovemyr, M.A. Kuhn, D Bastviken, T.J. Bohn, J. Connolly, P.M. Crill, E.S. Euskirchen, S.A. Finkelstein, H. Genet, G. Grosse, L.I. Harris, L. Heffernan, M. Helbig, G. Hugelium, R. Hutchins, S. Juutinen, M.J. Lara, A. Malhotra, Kristen L. Manies, A.D. McGuire, S.M. Natali, J. A. O’Donnell, F-J.W. Parmentier, A. Rasanen, C. Schaedel, O. Sonnentag, M. Strack, S.E. Tank, C. C. Treat, R.K. Varner, T. Virtanen, J.D. Watts, R.K. Warren
2021, Earth System Science Data (13) 5127-5149
Methane emissions from boreal and arctic wetlands, lakes, and rivers are expected to increase in response to warming and associated permafrost thaw. However, the lack of appropriate land cover datasets for scaling field-measured methane emissions to circumpolar scales has contributed to a large uncertainty for our understanding of present-day and...
Regression models for estimating sediment, nutrient concentrations and loads at School Branch at Brownsburg, Indiana, June 2015 through February 2019
Myles S. Downhour, Aubrey R. Bunch, Timothy R. Lathrop
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5099
Sediment and nutrient transport in the School Branch watershed (in central Indiana west of Indianapolis) is considered to be heavily affected by agricultural land use throughout the watershed. In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, deployed continuous water-quality monitors and began collecting...
Groundwater/surface-water interactions in the Partridge River Basin and evaluation of hypothetical future mine pits, Minnesota
Megan J. Haserodt, Randall J. Hunt, Michael N. Fienen, Daniel T. Feinstein
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5038
The Partridge River Basin (PRB) covers 156 square miles in northeastern Minnesota with headwaters in the Mesabi Iron Range. The basin is characterized by extensive wetlands, lakes, and streams in poorly drained and often thin glacial material overlying Proterozoic bedrock. To better understand the interaction between these extensive surface water...
Monitoring and modeling tree bat (Genera: Lasiurus, Lasionycteris) occurrence using acoustics on structures off the mid-Atlantic coast—Implications for offshore wind development
Michael C. True, Richard J. Reynolds, W. Mark Ford
2021, Animals (11)
In eastern North America, “tree bats” (Genera: Lasiurus and Lasionycteris) are highly susceptible to collisions with wind energy turbines and are known to fly offshore during migration. This raises concern about ongoing expansion of offshore wind-energy development off the Atlantic Coast. Season, atmospheric conditions, and site-level characteristics such...
Olfactory lures in predator control do not increase predation risk to birds in areas of conservation concern
Page E. Klug, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Robert Reed
2021, Wildlife Research (49) 183-192
Context: Lethal control of predators is often undertaken to protect species of conservation concern. Traps are frequently baited to increase capture efficacy, but baited traps can potentially increase predation risk by attracting predators to protected areas. This is especially important if targeted predators can escape capture due to low trap success....
Groundwater hydrology and chemistry of Jamestown Island, Virginia—Potential effects of tides, storm surges, and sea-level rise on archaeological, cultural, and ecological resources
Kurt J. McCoy, Karen C. Rice, Ellyn Rickles, Dave Frederick, Jennifer Cramer, Dorothy Geyer
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5117
As the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America in 1607, Jamestown Island, Colonial National Historical Park (COLO), Virginia, contains a rich archaeological record that extends from the Paleoindian period (15,000 to 8,000 years ago) through the 20th century. The island is located on the lower James...
Method for compiling temporally and spatially aggregated data on hydraulic fracturing—Treatments and wells
Brian A. Varela, Tanya J. Gallegos
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1090
This report provides a step-by-step method for compiling hydraulic fracturing data in the United States from the IHS Markit, 2019, U.S. Well History and Production Relational Database. Data on hydraulically fractured wells include their location (geologic province, State, county), well type (oil or gas), orientation (directional, horizontal, or vertical), spud...
