Estimates of water use associated with continuous oil and gas development in the Permian Basin, Texas and New Mexico, 2010–19, with comparisons to the Williston Basin, North Dakota and Montana
Natalie A. Houston, Grady P. Ball, Amy E. Galanter, Joshua F. Valder, Ryan R. McShane, Joanna N. Thamke, Jeremy S. McDowell
2021, Fact Sheet 2021-3053
The Permian Basin, in west Texas and southeastern New Mexico is one of the largest conventional oil and gas reservoirs in the United States and is becoming one of the world’s largest continuous oil and gas (COG) reservoirs. Advances in technology have enabled oil and gas to be...
Assessment of runoff volume reduction associated with soil amendments added to portions of highway median-strip catchments in Ohio, 2018–20
Matthew T. Whitehead, G. F. Koltun
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5114
The U.S. Geological Survey installed 10 rain gages and 12 calibrated H-flumes to measure rainfall and runoff volumes at 10 locations in Ohio Department of Transportation highway median-strip catchments. Data were collected to facilitate comparisons of rainfall and runoff volumes at study sites before and after stormwater best management practices...
Riverscape-scale modeling of fundamentally suitable habitat for mussel assemblages in an Ozark River system, Missouri
K. Keymanesh, Amanda E. Rosenberger, G. Lindner, Kristen L. Bouska, Stephen E. McMurray
2021, Freshwater Mollusk Biology and Conservation (24) 43-58
Identifying the physical habitat characteristics associated with riverine freshwater mussel assemblages is challenging but crucial for understanding the causes of mussel declines. The occurrence of mussels in multispecies beds suggests that common physical factors influence or limit their occurrence. Fine-scale geomorphic and hydraulic factors (e.g., scour, bed stability) are predictive...
Geologic and hydrogeologic characteristics of the White River Formation, Lance Formation, and Fox Hills Sandstone, northern greater Denver Basin, southeastern Laramie County, Wyoming
Timothy T. Bartos, Devin L. Galloway, Laura L. Hallberg, Marieke Dechesne, Sharon F. Diehl, Seth L. Davidson
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5020
In cooperation with the Wyoming State Engineer’s Office, the U.S. Geological Survey studied the geologic and hydrogeologic characteristics of Cenozoic and Upper Cretaceous strata at a location in southeastern Laramie County within the Wyoming part of the Cheyenne Basin, the northern subbasin of the greater Denver Basin. The study aimed...
Invasive black carp as a reservoir host for the freshwater mollusk parasite Aspidogaster conchicola: Further evidence of mollusk consumption and implications for parasite dispersal
Barry C. Poulton, Jennifer Bailey, Patrick Kroboth, Amy E. George, Duane Chapman
2021, Freshwater Mollusk Biology and Conservation (24) 114-123
Black Carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) has invaded the Mississippi River and is a potential threat to native mollusks. During prior diet research, we discovered that the fluke Aspidogaster conchicola, a mollusk parasite, occurs regularly in the gastrointestinal tract of Black Carp. The fluke remains in fish intestines for extended periods after the...
Telemetry reveals migratory drivers and disparate space use across seasons and age-groups in American horseshoe crabs
Justin J. Bopp, Matthew Sclafani, Michael G. Frisk, Kim McKown, Catherine Zeigler, David R. Smith, Robert Cerrato
2021, Ecosphere (12)
Identifying mechanisms that underpin animal migration patterns and examining variability in space use within populations is crucial for understanding population dynamics and management implications. In this study, we quantified the migration rates, seasonal changes in migratory connectivity, and residency across population demographics (age and sex) to...
Sustaining transmission in different host species: The emblematic case of Sarcoptes scabiei
E Browne, MM Driessen, Paul C. Cross, L. E. Escobar, Janet E. Foley, Lopez-Olvera, KD Niedringhaus, Liza Rossi, Scott Carver
2021, BioScience
Some pathogens sustain transmission in multiple different host species, but how this epidemiologically important feat is achieved remains enigmatic. Sarcoptes scabiei is among the most host generalist and successful of mammalian parasites. We synthesize pathogen and host traits that mediate sustained transmission and present cases illustrating three transmission mechanisms...
Diagenetic barite-pyrite-wurtzite formation and redox signatures in Triassic mudstone, Brooks Range, northern Alaska
John F. Slack, Ryan J. McAleer, Wayne (Pat) Shanks, Julie A. Dumoulin
2021, Chemical Geology (585)
Mineralogical and geochemical studies of interbedded black and gray mudstones in the Triassic part of the Triassic-Jurassic Otuk Formation (northern Alaska) document locally abundant barite and pyrite plus diverse redox signatures. These strata, deposited in an outer shelf setting at paleolatitudes of ~45 to 60°N, show widespread sedimentological evidence for...
Effects of sea ice decline and summer land use on polar bear home range size in the Beaufort Sea
Anthony M. Pagano, George M. Durner, Todd C. Atwood, David C. Douglas
2021, Ecosphere (12)
Animals responding to habitat loss and fragmentation may increase their home ranges to offset declines in localized resources or they may decrease their home ranges and switch to alternative resources. In many regions of the Arctic, polar bears (Ursus maritimus) exhibit some of the largest home ranges of any quadrupedal...
Grassification and fast-evolving fire connectivity and risk in the Sonoran Desert, United States
Benjamin T. Wilder, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Elizabeth Baldwin, Joseph S. Black, Kim A. Franklin, Perry Grissom, Katherine Hovanes, Aaryn Olsson, Jim Malusa, Abu S.M.G. Kibria, Yue M. Li, Aaron M. Lien, Alejandro Ponce, Julia A. Rowe, Jose Soto, Maya Stahl, Nicholas Young, Julio L. Betancourt
2021, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (9)
In the southwestern United States, non-native grass invasions have increased wildfire occurrence in deserts and the likelihood of fire spread to and from other biomes with disparate fire regimes. The elevational transition between desertscrub and montane grasslands, woodlands, and forests generally occurs at ∼1,200 masl and has experienced...
Quantifying non-thermal silicate weathering using Ge/Si and Si isotopes in rivers draining the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field, USA
Francois Gaspard, Sophie Opfergelt, Catherine Hirst, Shaul Hurwitz, R. Blaine McCleskey, Petra Zahajska, Daniel J. Conley, Pierre Delmelle
2021, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (22)
In active volcanic regions, high-temperature chemical reactions in the hydrothermal system consume CO2 sourced from magma or from the deep crust, whereas reactions with silicates at shallow depths mainly consume atmospheric CO2. Numerous studies have quantified the load of dissolved solids in rivers that drain volcanic regions to...
Effects of culvert construction on streams and macroinvertebrate communities at selected sites in the East Gulf Coastal Plain of Alabama, 2010–19
Aaron L. Pugh, Amy C. Gill
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5096
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Alabama Department of Transportation, evaluated the role of culvert construction in altering streams and habitats of benthic macroinvertebrate communities at selected study sites in the northern East Gulf Coastal Plain of Alabama during 2011–19. Analysis included examinations of changes in stream channel...
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum)
Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Melvin P. Nenneman, Travis L. Wooten, Betty R. Euliss
2021, Professional Paper 1842-GG
The key to Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum) management is providing large areas of contiguous grassland of intermediate height with moderately deep litter and low shrub density. Grasshopper Sparrows have been reported to use habitats with 8–166 centimeters (cm) average vegetation height, 4–80 cm visual obstruction reading, 12–95 percent grass cover,...
Tracking secondary lahar flow paths and characterizing pulses and surges using infrasound array networks at Volcán de Fuego, Guatemala
Ashley Bosa, Jeffery Johnson, Silvio DeAngelis, John J. Lyons, Amilcar Roca, Jacob F. Anderson, Armando Pineda
2021, Volcanica (4) 239-256
Lahars are one of the greatest hazards at many volcanoes, including Volcán de Fuego (Guatemala). On 1 December 2018 at 8:00pm local Guatemala time (2:00:00 UTC), an hour-long lahar event was detected at Volcán de Fuego by two permanent seismo-acoustic stations along the Las Lajas channel on the southeast side....
Establishing the foundation for the global observing system for marine life
Erin V. Satterthwaite, Nicholas J. Bax, Patricia Miloslavich, Lavenia Ratnarajah, Gabrielle Canonico, Daniel Dunn, Samantha E. Simmons, Roxanne J. Carini, Karen Evans, Valerie Allain, Ward Appeltans, Sonia Batten, Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi, Anthony T. F. Bernard, R. Sky Bristol, Abigail Benson, Pier Luigi Buttigieg, Leopoldo Cavaleri Gerhardinger, Sanae Chiba, Tammy E. Davies, J. Emmett Duffy, Alfredo Giron-Nava, Astrid J. Hsu, Alexandra C. Kraberg, Raphael M. Kudela, Dan Lear, Enrique Montes, Frank Muller-Karger, Todd D. O’Brien, David Obura, Pieter Provoost, Sara Pruckner, Lisa-Maria Rebelo, Elizabeth R. Selig, Olav Sigurd Kjesbu, Craig Starger, Rick D. Stuart-Smith, Marjo Vierros, John S. Waller, Lauren V. Weatherdon, Tristan Wellman, Anna Zivian
2021, Frontiers in Marine Science (8)
Maintaining healthy, productive ecosystems in the face of pervasive and accelerating human impacts including climate change requires globally coordinated and sustained observations of marine biodiversity. Global coordination is predicated on an understanding of the scope and capacity of existing monitoring programs, and the extent to which they use standardized, interoperable...
Evaluation of a “trace” plant density score in LTRM vegetation monitoring
Deanne C. Drake, Eric Lund, Kyle Bales
Carol Lowenberg, editor(s)
2021, Long Term Resource Monitoring Technical Report LTRM-2018BI03a
The Long Term Resource Monitoring (LTRM) element of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration program employs a harvest method for sampling submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) whereby a rake is dragged ~1.5 m over the substrate and plant materials are retrieved. “Plant density” (PD) scores indicate SAV abundance and are based on...
Lagged wetland CH4 flux response in a historically wet year
Jessica Turner, Ankur R. Desai, Jonathan Thom, Kimberly Wickland
2021, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (126)
While a stimulating effect of plant primary productivity on soil carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions has been well documented, links between gross primary productivity (GPP) and wetland methane (CH4) emissions are less well investigated. Determination of the influence of primary productivity on wetland CH4 emissions (FCH4) is complicated by...
Improving the usability of Galileo and Voyager images of Jupiter’s moon, Europa
Michael T. Bland, Lynn A. Weller, Brent A. Archinal, Ethan Smith, Benjamin H Wheeler
2021, Earth and Space Science (8)
NASA's Voyager 1, Voyager 2, and Galileo spacecraft acquired hundreds of images of Jupiter's moon Europa. These images provide the only moderate- to high-resolution views of the moon's surface and are therefore a critical resource for scientific analysis and future mission planning. Unfortunately, uncertain knowledge of the...
How will baseflow respond to climate change in the Upper Colorado River Basin?
Olivia L. Miller, Matthew P. Miller, Patrick C. Longley, Jay R. Alder, Lindsay A. Bearup, Tom Pruitt, Daniel K. Jones, Annie L. Putman, Christine Rumsey, Tim S. McKinney
2021, Geophysical Research Letters (48)
Baseflow is critical to sustaining streamflow in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Therefore, effective water resources management requires estimates of baseflow response to climatic changes. This study provides the first estimates of projected baseflow changes from historical (1984 – 2012) to thirty-year periods centered around 2030, 2050,...
Increased growth rates of stream salamanders following forest harvesting
Jacquelyn C. Guzy, Brian J. Halstead, Kelly M. Halloran, Jessica A. Homyack, John D. Willson
2021, Ecology and Evolution (11) 17723-17733
Timber harvesting can influence headwater streams by altering stream productivity, with cascading effects on the food web and predators within, including stream salamanders. Although studies have examined shifts in salamander occupancy or abundance following timber harvest, few examine sublethal effects such as changes in growth and demography. To examine the...
Surface-water/groundwater boundaries affect seasonal PFAS concentrations and PFAA precursor transformations
Andrea K. Tokranov, Denis R. LeBlanc, Heidi M. Pickard, Bridger J. Ruyle, Larry B. Barber, Robert B. Hull, Elsie M. Sunderland, Chad D. Vecitis
2021, Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts (23) 1893-1905
Elevated concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking-water supplies are a major concern for human health. It is therefore essential to understand factors that affect PFAS concentrations in surface water and groundwater and the transformation of perfluoroalkyl acid (PFAA) precursors that degrade into terminal compounds. Surface-water/groundwater exchange can...
Evaluation of satellite imagery for monitoring Pacific walruses at a large coastal haulout
Anthony S. Fischbach, David C. Douglas
2021, Remote Sensing (13)
Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) are using coastal haulouts in the Chukchi Sea more often and in larger numbers to rest between foraging bouts in late summer and autumn in recent years, because climate warming has reduced availability of sea ice that historically had provided resting platforms near their...
Detection and measurement of land-surface deformation, Pajaro Valley, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, California, 2015–18
Justin T. Brandt, Marisa M. Earll, Michelle Sneed, Wesley R. Henson
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1101
Land-surface deformation (subsidence) caused by groundwater withdrawal is identified as an undesirable result in the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency’s Basin Management Plan and California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. In Pajaro Valley, groundwater provides nearly 90 percent of the total water supply. To aid the development of sustainable groundwater management...
The HayWired Earthquake Scenario—Societal Consequences
Anne M. Wein, Joseph L. Jones, Laurie A. Johnson, Cynthia Kroll, Jennifer A. Strauss, David Witkowski, Dale A. Cox
2021, Fact Sheet 2021-3054
The HayWired earthquake scenario, led by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), anticipates the impacts of a hypothetical moment magnitude 7.0 earthquake on the Hayward Fault. The fault runs along the east side of California’s San Francisco Bay and is among the most active and dangerous in the United States, passing...
Protocol for route restoration in California’s desert renewable energy conservation plan area
Todd Esque, Ka-Voka R. Jackson, Alexandrea M. Rice, Jeffery K. Childers, Caroline S. Woods, Amy Fesnock-Parker, Andrew C. Johnson, Lauren J. Price, Kristin E. Forgrave, Sara J. Scoles-Sciulla, Lesley A. DeFalco
2021, Techniques and Methods 2-A17
In the deserts of the Southwestern United States, increased off-highway vehicle use can lead to widespread vehicular damage to desert ecosystems. As the popularity and intensity of vehicle use on public lands continues, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is challenged to manage the routes used by recreationists while minimizing...
