Groundwater and surface-water data from the C-aquifer monitoring program, Northeastern Arizona, 2012–2019
Casey J.R. Jones, Michael J. Robinson
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1051
The Coconino aquifer (C aquifer) is a regionally extensive multiple-aquifer system supplying water for municipal, agricultural, and industrial use in northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. This report focuses on the C aquifer in the arid to semi-arid area between St. Johns, Ariz., and Flagstaff, Ariz., along the...
Seismic and geodetic analysis of rupture characteristics of the 2020 Mw 6.5 Monte Cristo Range, Nevada, earthquake
Chengli Liu, Thorne Lay, Frederick Pollitz, Jiao Xu, Xiong Xiong
2021, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (111) 3226-3236
The largest earthquake since 1954 to strike the state of Nevada, United States, ruptured on 15 May 2020 along the Monte Cristo range of west‐central Nevada. The Mw 6.5 event involved predominantly left‐lateral strike‐slip faulting with minor normal components on three aligned east–west‐trending faults that vary in strike by 23°....
NGA-East Ground-Motion Characterization model part I: Summary of products and model development
Christine A. Goulet, Yousef Bozorgnia, Nicolas Kuehn, Linda Al Atik, Robert Youngs, Robert Graves, Gail M. Atkinson
2021, Earthquake Spectra (37) 1231-1282
In this article, we present an overview of the research project NGA-East, Next Generation Attenuation for Central and Eastern North America (CENA), and summarize the key methodology and products. The project was tasked with developing a new ground motion characterization (GMC) model for CENA. The final NGA-East...
Forecasting the distribution of a range-expanding bat reveals future response to climate change and habitat
Michael C. True, Roger W. Perry, W. Mark Ford
2021, Acta Chiropterologica (23) 139-152
Many terrestrial vertebrate species are exhibiting geographic distribution changes including poleward range limit shifts in response to increases in regional temperature. Bats are a highly mobile taxa capable of rapid responses to changes in abiotic or biotic conditions. In North America, recent extralimital records of the non-hibernating Lasiurus seminolus (Seminole...
Optimization of salt marsh management at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey, through use of structured decision making
Hilary A. Neckles, James E. Lyons, Jessica L. Nagel, Susan C. Adamowicz, Toni Mikula, Paul M. Castelli, Virginia Rettig
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1037
Structured decision making is a systematic, transparent process for improving the quality of complex decisions by identifying measurable management objectives and feasible management actions; predicting the potential consequences of management actions relative to the stated objectives; and selecting a course of action that maximizes the total benefit achieved and balances...
Rapid assessment indicates context-dependent mitigation for amphibian disease risk
Riley F Bernard, Evan H. Campbell Grant
2021, Wildlife Society Bulletin (45) 290-299
Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) is a fungal pathogen that can cause the emerging infectious disease Bsal chytridiomycosis in some amphibians and is currently causing dramatic declines in European urodeles. To date, Bsal has not been detected in North America but has the potential to cause severe declines in naïve hosts if introduced. Therefore, it is critical...
Evaluating spectral ratio methods for characterizing fundamental resonance peaks on flat sediments: An example from the Atlantic Coastal Plain, Eastern United States
Lisa Sue Schleicher, Thomas L. Pratt
2021, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (111) 1824-1848
Damaging ground motions from the 2011 Mw">Mw 5.8 Virginia earthquake were likely increased due to site amplification from the unconsolidated sediments of the Atlantic Coastal Plain (ACP), highlighting the need to understand site response...
The petrologic and degassing behavior of sulfur and other magmatic volatiles from the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea, Hawaiʻi: Melt concentrations, magma storage depths, and magma recycling
Allan Lerner, Paul J. Wallace, Thomas Shea, Adrien Mourey, Peter J. Kelly, Patricia A. Nadeau, Tamar Elias, Christoph Kern, Laura E. Clor, Cheryl Gansecki, R. Lopaka Lee, Lowell Moore, Cynthia A. Werner
2021, Bulletin of Volcanology (83)
Kīlauea Volcano’s 2018 lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) eruption produced exceptionally high lava effusion rates and record-setting SO2 emissions. The eruption involved a diverse range of magmas, including primitive basalts sourced from Kīlauea’s summit reservoirs. We analyzed LERZ matrix glasses, melt inclusions, and host minerals to identify...
Insights on geochemical, isotopic, and volumetric compositions of produced water from hydraulically fractured Williston Basin oil wells
Tanya J. Gallegos, Colin A. Doolan, Rodney R. Caldwell, Mark A Engle, Matthew S. Varonka, Justin E. Birdwell, Glenn D. Jolly, Tyler B. Coplen, Thomas A. Oliver
2021, Environmental Science and Technology (55) 10025-10034
Tracing produced water origins from wells hydraulically fractured with freshwater-based fluids is sometimes predicated on assumptions that (1) each geological formation contains compositionally unique brine and (2) produced water from recently hydraulically fractured wells resembles fresher meteoric water more so than produced water from older wells. These assumptions are not...
Bottom trawl assessment of benthic preyfish community in Lake Ontario
Brian O’Malley, Jessica Goretzke, Jeremy P. Holden
2021, Report, NYSDEC Lake Ontario annual report 2020
Since 1978, the Lake Ontario benthic preyfish survey has provided information on the status and trends of the benthic preyfish community related to Lake Ontario Fish Community Objectives that include understanding preyfish population dynamics and community diversity. Beginning in 2015, the benthic preyfish survey expanded from US-only to incorporate lake-wide...
Borehole sampling of surficial sediments in Northern Virginia and Southern Maryland
Peter G. Chirico, Jessica D. DeWitt, Sarah E. Bergstresser
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1038
From 2014 to 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Florence Bascom Geoscience Center (FBGC) entered into an inter-agency agreement with the Federal Highway Administration’s Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) to assist in field site selection and auger drilling fieldwork. The TFHRC was developing a device to measure the erosional properties of...
Appendix E. Water quality and hydrology of Green Lake, Wisconsin, and the response in its near-surface water-quality and metalimnetic dissolved oxygen minima to changes in phosphorus loading
Dale M. Robertson, Benjamin J. Siebers, Robert Ladwig, David P. Hamilton, Paul Reneau, Cory P. McDonald, Stephanie Prellwitz, Richard C Lathrop
2021, Report, Diagnostic and feasibility study findings: Water quality improvements for Green Lake, Wisconsin
Green Lake is the deepest natural inland lake in Wisconsin, USA, with a maximum depth of about 72 meters (m). In the early 1900’s, the lake was believed to have very good water quality (low nutrient concentrations and good water clarity), with low dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations only in the...
Characterizing ground motion amplification by extensive flat sediments: The seismic response of the eastern U.S. Atlantic Coastal Plain strata
Thomas L. Pratt, Lisa Sue Schleicher
2021, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (111) 1795-1823
We examine the effects that Atlantic Coastal Plain (ACP) strata have on ground motions in the eastern and southeastern United States. The ACP strata consist of widespread, nearly flat‐lying sediments, the upper portions of which are unconsolidated or semiconsolidated. The ACP sediments are deposited primarily...
Distribution of chlorinated volatile organic compounds and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in monitoring wells at the former Naval Air Warfare Center, West Trenton, New Jersey, 2014–17
Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, Alex R. Fiore
2021, Open-File Report 2020-1105
A study was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Navy (the Navy) to determine the status of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in groundwater at the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) in West Trenton, New Jersey. Wells contaminated with...
Borehole analysis, single-well aquifer testing, and water quality for the Burnpit well, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota
William G. Eldridge, Galen K. Hoogestraat, Steven E. Rice
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5059
Mount Rushmore National Memorial (hereafter referred to as “the memorial”), in western South Dakota, is maintained by the National Park Service (NPS) and includes 1,278 acres of land in the east-central part of the Black Hills. An ongoing challenge for NPS managers at the memorial is providing water from sustainable...
Metal accumulation varies with life history, size, and development of larval amphibians
Kelly L. Smalling, Emily Bea Oja, Danielle M. Cleveland, Jon D Davenport, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Patrick M. Kleeman, Brian J. Halstead, Kenzi M Stemp, Brian J. Tornabene, Zachary J Bunnell, Blake R. Hossack
2021, Environmental Pollution (287)
Amphibian larvae are commonly used as indicators of aquatic ecosystem health because they are susceptible to contaminants. However, there is limited information on how species characteristics and trophic position influence contaminant loads in larval amphibians. Importantly, there remains a...
Probabilistic methodology for the assessment of original and recoverable coal resources, illustrated with an application to a coal bed in the Fort Union Formation, Wyoming
Ricardo A. Olea, Brian N. Shaffer, Jon E. Haacke, James A. Luppens
2021, Techniques and Methods 6-G1
Executive SummaryThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been using its Circular 891 for evaluating uncertainty in coal resource assessments for more than 35 years. Calculated cell tonnages are assigned to four qualitative reliability classes depending exclusively on distance to the nearest drill hole. The main appeal of this methodology, simplicity,...
Surficial geology of the northern San Luis Valley, Saguache, Fremont, Custer, Alamosa, Rio Grande, Conejos, and Costilla Counties, Colorado
Chester A. Ruleman, Theodore R. Brandt
2021, Scientific Investigations Map 3475
The San Luis Valley and associated underlying basin of south-central Colorado and north-central New Mexico is the largest structural and hydrologic basin of the Rio Grande Rift and fluvial system. The surrounding San Juan and Sangre de Cristo Mountains reveal evidence of widespread volcanism and transtensional tectonism beginning in...
Climate impacts on source contributions and evaporation to flow in the Snake River Basin using surface water isoscapes (δ2H and δ18O)
Grace Windler, J. Renee Brooks, Henry M. Johnson, Randy Comeleo, Rob Coulombe, Gabriel J. Bowen
2021, Water Resources Research (57)
Rising global temperatures are expected to decrease the precipitation amount that falls as snow, causing greater risk of water scarcity, groundwater overdraft, and fire in areas that rely on mountain snowpack for their water supply. Streamflow in large river basins varies with the amount, timing, and type of precipitation, evapotranspiration,...
The North American Breeding Bird Survey in Mexico, 2008 to 2018—A status report
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey, Mexican National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity
2021, Circular 1479
Collection of avian population data has repeatedly been identified as a high priority for bird conservation in Mexico. To meet this need, in 2008 the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), a volunteer-based survey, was expanded to include northern Mexico. The BBS in Mexico (Mexican BBS) is managed by the...
Age and tectonic setting of the Quinebaug-Marlboro belt and implications for the history of Ganderian crustal fragments in southeastern New England, USA
Gregory J. Walsh, John N. Aleinikoff, Robert A. Ayuso, Robert P. Wintsch
2021, Geosphere (4) 1038-1100
Crustal fragments underlain by high-grade rocks represent a challenge to plate reconstructions, and integrated mapping, geochronology, and geochemistry enable the unravelling of the temporal and spatial history of exotic crustal blocks. The Quinebaug-Marlboro belt (QMB) is an enigmatic fragment on the trailing edge of the...
Land-based sediment sources and transport to southwest Puerto Rico coral reefs after Hurricane Maria, May 2017 to June 2018
Renee K. Takesue, Clark E. Sherman, Aaron O. Reyes, Olivia M. Cheriton, Natalia I. Ramirez, Roberto Viqueira Rios, Curt D. Storlazzi
2021, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science (259)
The effects of runoff from land on nearshore ecosystems, including coral reef communities, are influenced by both sediment supply and removal by coastal processes. Integrated studies across the land-sea interface describing sources and transport of terrestrial sediment and its nearshore fate allow reef protection initiatives to target key onshore and offshore areas....
The marine terraces of Santa Cruz Island, California: Implications for glacial isostatic adjustment models of last-interglacial sea-level history
Daniel R. Muhs, R. Randall Schumann, Lindsey T. Groves, Kathleen R. Simmons, Christopher R. Florian
2021, Geomorphology (389)
Glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) models hypothesize that along coastal California, last interglacial (LIG, broadly from ~130 to ~115 ka) sea level could have been as high as +11 m to +13 m, relative to present, substantially higher than the commonly estimated elevation of +6 m....
Strategic testing approaches for targeted disease monitoring can be used to inform pandemic decision-making
James D. Nichols, Tiffany L. Bogich, Emily Howerton, Ottar N. Bjornstad, Rebecca K. Borchering, Matthew J. Ferrari, Murali Haran, Christopher P. Jewell, Kim M. Pepin, William J. M. Probert, Juliet R. C. Pulliam, Michael C. Runge, Michael J. Tildesley, Cecile Viboud, Katriona Shea
2021, PLoS Biology (19)
More than 1.6 million Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) tests were administered daily in the United States at the peak of the epidemic, with a significant focus on individual treatment. Here, we show that objective-driven, strategic sampling designs and analyses can maximize information gain at the population level,...
Detecting subtle change from dense landsat time series: Case studies of mountain pine beetle and spruce beetle disturbance
Su Ye, John Rogan, Zhe Zhu, Todd Hawbaker, Sarah J. Hart, Robert A. Andrus, Arjan J.H. Meddens, Jeffery A. Hicke, J. Ronald Eastman, Dominik Kulakowski
2021, Remote Sensing of Environment (263)
In contrast to abrupt changes caused by land cover conversion, subtle changes driven by a shift in the condition, structure, or other biological attributes of land often lead to minimal and slower alterations of the terrestrial surface. Accurate mapping and monitoring of subtle change are crucial for an early warning...
