Preliminary assessment of the geometric improvements to the Landsat Collection-2 archive
Mark Lubke, Rajagopalan Rengarajan, Michael J. Choate
2021, Conference Paper, SPIE proceedings volume 11829, earth observing systems XXVI
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has completed processing of the historical Landsat archive to Collection-2 as of December of 2020 and has released it to the public. As part of Collection-2, several geometric changes have been implemented, including changes to the ground control points (GCPs) and elevation datasets. These datasets...
Climate change and other factors influencing the saguaro cactus
Don E. Swann, Daniel E. Winkler, Joshua L. Conver, Theresa Foley
2021, Newsletter
The saguaro cacti (Carnegiea gigantea [Engelm.] Britton & Rose) is one of the world’s most iconic plants and a symbol of the desert Southwest. It is the namesake of Saguaro National Park, which was created (initially as a national monument) in 1933 to study, interpret, and protect the “giant cactus” and...
Brown treesnake mortality after aerial application of toxic baits
Scott Michael Goetz, Eric T. Hileman, Melia G. Nafus, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Amanda R Bryant, Robert Reed, Shane R. Siers
2021, Journal of Wildlife Management (85) 1507-1514
Quantitative evaluation of control tools for managing invasive species is necessary to assess overall effectiveness and individual variation in treatment susceptibility. Invasive brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) on Guam have caused severe ecological and economic effects, pose a risk of accidental introduction to other islands, and are the...
Assessment of water-quality constituents monitored for total maximum daily loads in Johnson County, Kansas, January 2015 through December 2018
Brianna M. Leiker, Teresa J. Rasmussen, Patrick J. Eslick-Huff, Colin C. Painter
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5041
Stormwater discharges from municipalities are regulated by provisions in the Clean Water Act of 1972 to protect the Nation’s water resources from harmful pollutants. In 2014, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued new stormwater discharge permits for 17 municipalities in Johnson County, Kansas, in the northeastern part of...
Quaternary reelfoot fault deformation in the Obion River Valley, Tennessee, USA
Jaime Delano, Richard W. Briggs, Jessica Ann Thompson Jobe, Ryan D. Gold, Simon E. Engelhart
2021, Tectonics (40)
Blind reverse faults are challenging to detect, and earthquake records can be elusive because deep fault slip does not break the surface along readily recognized scarps. The blind Reelfoot fault in the New Madrid seismic zone in the central United States has been the subject of extensive...
Improving inferences about private land conservation by accounting for incomplete reporting
Matthew A. Williamson, Brett G. Dickson, Mevin Hooten, Rose A. Graves, Mark N. Lubell, Mark W. Schwartz
2021, Conservation Biology (35) 1174-1185
Private lands provide key habitat for imperiled species and are core components of function protected area networks; yet, their incorporation into national and regional conservation planning has been challenging. Identifying locations where private landowners are likely to participate in conservation initiatives can help avoid conflict and clarify trade-offs between ecological...
Reconnaissance study of the major and trace element content of bauxite deposits in the Arkansas bauxite region, Saline and Pulaski Counties, central Arkansas
Bradley S. Van Gosen, LaDonna M. Choate
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1073
The Arkansas bauxite district, which comprises about 275 square miles (710 square kilometers) of central Arkansas, produced an order of magnitude more bauxite and alumina than the other bauxite districts in the United States combined. Bauxite was mined in the region continuously from 1898 to 1982. These bauxites are laterite...
Concentration addition and independent action assessments of the binary mixtures of four toxicants on zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) mortality
Matthew Barbour, Justin Schueller, Todd J. Severson, Jeremy K. Wise, Matthew J Meulemans, James A. Luoma, Diane L. Waller
2021, Aquatic Toxicology (238)
Researchers most often focus on individual toxicants when identifying effective chemical control agents for aquatic invasive species; however, toxicant mixtures may elicit synergistic effects. Synergistic effects may decrease required concentrations and shorten exposure durations for treatments. We investigated four toxicants (EarthTec QZ,...
SSA task force on diversity, equity, and inclusion: Toward a changing, inclusive future in earthquake science
Aaron A. Velasco, Kasey Aderhold, Richard Alfaro-Diaz, Wesley Brown, Mike Brudzinski, Margaret Fraiser, Monique M. Holt, Jim Mori, Gabriela Noriega, Katherine M. Scharer, Denise Templeton, Fabia Terra, Sherilyn Williams-Stroud
2021, Seismological Research Letters (92) 3267-3275
In the United States, a wide variety of studies show that the geoscience community does not reflect the broader societal makeup (e.g., Velasco and Jaurrieta de Velasco, 2010; Dutt, 2020; Howley, 2020). In fact, only about 10% of all Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Ph.D. degrees are awarded to...
Climate impacts on the Gulf of Maine ecosystem: A review of observed and expected changes in 2050 from rising temperatures
Andrew J. Pershing, Michael A. Alexander, Damian C. Brady, David Brickman, Enrique N. Curchitser, Anthony W. Diamond, Loren McClenachan, Kathy Mills, Owen Nichols, Daniel Pendleton, Nicholas Record, James Scott, Michelle Staudinger, Yanjun Wang
2021, Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene (9)
The Gulf of Maine has recently experienced its warmest 5-year period (2015–2020) in the instrumental record. This warming was associated with a decline in the signature subarctic zooplankton species, Calanus finmarchicus. The temperature changes have also led to impacts on commercial species such as Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and American lobster...
Groundwater quality and age of secondary bedrock aquifers in the glaciated portion of eastern Nebraska, 2016–18
Christopher M. Hobza, Amanda T. Flynn
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5055
The Eastern Nebraska Water Resources Assessment (ENWRA) project was initiated in 2006 to assist water managers by developing a hydrogeologic framework and water budget for the glaciated portion of eastern Nebraska. Within the ENWRA area, the primary groundwater sources for municipal, domestic, and irrigation water needs are provided by withdrawals...
Dynamic selection for forage quality and quantity in response to phenology and insects in an Arctic ungulate
Heather E. Johnson, Trevor Golden, Layne G. Adams, David Gustine, Elizabeth A. Lenart, Perry Barboza
2021, Ecology and Evolution (11) 11664-11688
Spatiotemporal variation in forage is a primary driver of ungulate behavior, yet little is known about the nutritional components they select, and how selection varies across the growing season with changes in forage quality and quantity. We addressed these uncertainties in barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus), which...
Spatiotemporal methane emission from global reservoirs
Matthew S Johnson, E Matthews, D Bastviken, Bridget Deemer, Jinyang Du, V Genovese
2021, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (126)
Inland aquatic systems, such as reservoirs, contribute substantially to global methane (CH4) emissions; yet are among the most uncertain components of the total CH4 budget. Reservoirs have received recent attention as they may generate high CH4 fluxes. Improved quantification of these CH4 fluxes, particularly their spatiotemporal distribution, is key to...
Temporal variations of de facto wastewater reuse and disinfection by-products in public water systems in the Shenandoah River watershed, USA
Richard J Weisman, Larry B. Barber, Kaycee E. Faunce, Jennifer Rapp, Celso M Ferreira
2021, Water Practice &Technology (16) 1434-1445
Temporal variations of de facto wastewater reuse are relevant to public drinking water systems (PWSs) that obtain water from surface sources. Variations in wastewater discharge flows, streamflow, de facto reuse, and disinfection by-products (DBPs – trihalomethane-4 [THM4] and haloacetic acid-5 [HAA5]) over an 18-year period were examined at...
Geologic controls of slow-moving landslides near the U.S. West Coast
Yuankun Xu, William H. Schulz, Zhong Lu, Jinwook Kim, Kelli Wadsworth Baxstrom
2021, Landslides (18) 3353-3365
Slow-moving landslides, often with nearly imperceptible creeping motion, are an important landscape shaper and a dangerous natural hazard across the globe, yet their spatial distribution and geologic controls are still poorly known owing to a paucity of detailed, large-area observations. Here, we use interferometry of L-band satellite radar images to...
Vermont and Landsat
U.S. Geological Survey
2021, Fact Sheet 2021-3038
The Green Mountain State of Vermont is known for its vast swaths of deciduous forest, patches of evergreen, and the Green Mountains that run through its center.Valuable insight into the forests and landscape features of Vermont can be gleaned from the 50-year historical record of Landsat satellite imagery. The archive...
Exposure and transport of alkaloids and phytoestrogens from soybeans to agricultural soils and streams in the Midwestern United States
J. R. Hama, Dana W. Kolpin, G. H. LeFevre, Laura E. Hubbard, M. M. Powers, B. W. Strobel
2021, Environmental Science & Technology (55) 11029-11039
Phytotoxins are naturally produced toxins with potencies similar/higher than many anthropogenic micropollutants. Nevertheless, little is known regarding their environmental fate and off-field transport to streams. To fill this research gap, a network of six basins in the Midwestern United States with substantial soybean production was selected for the study. Stream...
Gapeworm (Syngamus spp.) prevalence in Wisconsin greater prairie chickens (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus)
Jacob A Shurba, Rebecca A. Cole, Matthew Broadway, Constance Roderick, Jason D. Riddle, Shelli A. Dubay, Scott D. Hull
2021, Journal of Parasitology (107) 600-605
Under Wisconsin state law, the greater prairie chicken (GRPC; Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) has been listed as a threatened species since 1976. In 2014–15, we conducted a pilot study to determine the prevalence and intensity of gapeworms (Syngamus spp.) in female Wisconsin GRPCs collected from 2 monitored populations. We captured 62 female GRPCs...
Geometry of the décollement below eastern Bangladesh and implications for seismic hazard
Paula Burgi, Juddith Hubbard, Syed Humayun Akhter, Dana E. Peterson
2021, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth (126)
Eastern Bangladesh sits on the seismically active Chittagong-Myanmar fold and thrust belt (CMFB), a north-trending accretionary wedge on the eastern side of the India-Eurasia collision. Earthquakes on the basal décollement and associated thrusts within the CMFB present a hazard to this densely populated region. In this study,...
Invader removal triggers competitive release in a threatened avian predator
David Wiens, Katie Dugger, J. Mark Higley, Damon B. Lesmeister, Alan B. Franklin, Keith A. Hamm, Gary C. White, Krista E. Dilione, David C. Simon, Robin R. Bown, Peter C. Carlson, Charles B. Yackulic, James D. Nichols, James E. Hines, Raymond J. Davis, David W. Lamphear, Christopher McCafferty, Trent L. McDonald, Stan G. Sovern
2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) (118)
Invasive species can cause extinctions of native species and widespread biodiversity loss. Invader removal is a common management response, but the use of long-term field experiments to characterize effectiveness of removals in benefitting impacted native species is rare. We used a large-scale removal experiment to investigate the demographic...
Groundwater assessment for petroleum hydrocarbon compounds associated with Fuels Area C, Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, 2014–18
David A. Bender, Joel M. Galloway, Colton J. Medler
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5060
In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey began a study in cooperation with the Defense Logistics Agency and the U.S. Air Force to estimate groundwater-flow direction, install groundwater monitoring wells, and collect soil and groundwater samples for petroleum hydrocarbon compounds to identify the presence of hydrocarbon contamination at Ellsworth Air Force...
Effects of winter ticks and internal parasites on moose survival in Vermont, USA
Jacob Debow, Joshua Blouin, Elias Rosenblatt, Cedric Alexander, Katherina D. Gieder, Walter Cottrell, James Murdoch, Therese M. Donovan
2021, Journal of Wildlife Management (85) 1423-1439
Moose (Alces alces) have experienced considerable declines along the periphery of their range in the northeastern United States. In Vermont, the population declined 45% from 2010 to 2017 despite minimal hunter harvest and adequate habitat. Similarly, nearby populations recently experienced epizootics characterized by >50% mortality. Declines have largely been associated...
Post-wildfire hydrologic recovery in Mediterranean climates: A systematic review and case study to identify current knowledge and opportunities
Joseph W. Wagenbrenner, Brian A. Ebel, Kevin D. Bladon, Alicia M. Kinoshita
2021, Journal of Hydrology (602)
Post-fire hydrologic research typically focuses on the first few years after a wildfire, leading to substantial uncertainty regarding the longevity of impacts. The time needed for hydrologic function to return to pre-fire conditions is critical information for post-fire land...
Forest area to support landbird population goals for the Mississippi Alluvial Valley
Daniel J. Twedt, Anne Mini
2021, Open-File Report 2020-1097
Historically, the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) (Partners in Flight Bird Conservation Region #26) was predominantly bottomland hardwood forest, but natural vegetation has been cleared from about 80 percent of this ecoregion and converted primarily to agriculture. Because most bird species that are of conservation concern in this region are dependent...
Chronic exposure to glyphosate in Florida manatee
Maite De María, Cecilia Silva-Sanchez, Kevin J. Kroll, Michael T. Walsh, Mohammad-Zaman Nouri, Margaret E. Hunter, Monica Ross, Tonya M. Clauss, Nancy D. Denslow
2021, Environment International (152)
Florida manatees depend on freshwater environments as a source of drinking water and as warm-water refuges. These freshwater environments are in direct contact with human activities were glyphosate-based herbicides are being used. Glyphosate is the most used herbicide worldwide and it is intensively used in Florida as a sugarcane ripener...
