Landscape prediction and mapping of game fish biomass, an ecosystem service of Michigan rivers
Peter C. Esselman, R. Jan Stevenson, Frank Lupi, Catherine M. Riseng, Michael J. Wiley
2015, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (35) 302-320
The increased integration of ecosystem service concepts into natural resource management places renewed emphasis on prediction and mapping of fish biomass as a major provisioning service of rivers. The goals of this study were to predict and map patterns of fish biomass as a proxy for the availability of catchable...
Water quality in the Cambridge, Massachusetts, drinking-water source area, 2005-8
Kirk P. Smith, Marcus C. Waldron
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3030
During 2005-8, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Cambridge, Massachusetts, Water Department, measured concentrations of sodium and chloride, plant nutrients, commonly used pesticides, and caffeine in base-flow and stormwater samples collected from 11 tributaries in the Cambridge drinking-water source area. These data were used to characterize current water-quality...
Physical subdivision and description of the water-bearing sediments of the Santa Clara Valley, California
Carl M. Wentworth, Robert C. Jachens, Robert A. Williams, John C. Tinsley III, Randall T. Hanson
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5017
A thick Quaternary alluvial section fills a sedimentary basin beneath the Santa Clara Valley, California, located within the San Andreas Fault system at the south end of San Francisco Bay. This section consists of an upper sequence about 1,000 feet thick containing eight sedimentary cycles and a lower fine-grained unit...
EAARL-B coastal topography: Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, 2012: seamless (bare earth and submerged)
C. Wayne Wright, Emily S. Klipp, Christine J. Kranenburg, Rodolfo J. Troche, Xan Fredericks, Melanie L. Masessa, David B. Nagle
2015, Data Series 913
These remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation measurements of light detection and ranging (lidar)-derived seamless (bare-earth and submerged) topography datasets were produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, Florida. This project provides datasets acquired on August...
Potential groundwater recharge for the State of Minnesota using the Soil-Water-Balance model, 1996-2010
Erik A. Smith, Stephen M. Westenbroek
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5038
Groundwater recharge is one of the most difficult components of a water budget to ascertain, yet is an important boundary condition necessary for the quantification of water resources. In Minnesota, improved estimates of recharge are necessary because approximately 75 percent of drinking water and 90 percent of agricultural irrigation water...
Multilevel groundwater monitoring of hydraulic head and temperature in the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, 2011-13
Brian V. Twining, Jason C. Fisher
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5042
From 2011 to 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Project Office, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, collected depth-discrete measurements of fluid pressure and temperature in 11 boreholes located in the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer. Each borehole was instrumented with a multilevel monitoring system...
An evaluation of the accuracy of modeled and computed streamflow time-series data for the Ohio River at Hannibal Lock and Dam and at a location upstream from Sardis, Ohio
G. F. Koltun
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1058
Between July 2013 and June 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) made 10 streamflow measurements on the Ohio River about 1.5 miles (mi) downstream from the Hannibal Lock and Dam (near Hannibal, Ohio) and 11 streamflow measurements near the USGS Sardis gage (station number 03114306) located approximately 2.4 mi upstream...
Managing habitat to slow or reverse population declines of the Columbia spotted frog in the Northern Great Basin
David S. Pilliod, Richard D. Scherer
2015, Journal of Wildlife Management (79) 579-590
Evaluating the effectiveness of habitat management actions is critical to adaptive management strategies for conservation of imperiled species. We quantified the response of a Great Basin population of the Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris) to multiple habitat improvement actions aimed to reduce threats and reverse population declines. We used mark-recapture...
A sea-level database for the Pacific coast of central North America
Simon E. Engelhart, Matteo Vacchi, Benjamin P. Horton, Alan R. Nelson, Robert E. Kopp
2015, Quaternary Science Reviews (113) 78-92
A database of published and new relative sea-level (RSL) data for the past 16 ka constrains the sea-level histories of the Pacific coast of central North America (southern British Columbia to central California). Our reevaluation of the stratigraphic context and radiocarbon age of sea-level indicators from geological and archaeological investigations yields...
Targeting climate diversity in conservation planning to build resilience to climate change
Nicole E. Heller, Jason R. Kreitler, David Ackerly, Stuart Weiss, Amanda Recinos, Ryan Branciforte, Lorraine E. Flint, Alan L. Flint, Elisabeth Micheli
2015, Ecosphere (6) 1-20
Climate change is raising challenging concerns for systematic conservation planning. Are methods based on the current spatial patterns of biodiversity effective given long-term climate change? Some conservation scientists argue that planning should focus on protecting the abiotic diversity in the landscape, which drives patterns of biological diversity, rather than focusing...
Terrestrial ecology of semi-aquatic giant gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas)
Brian J. Halstead, Shannon M. Skalos, Glenn D. Wylie, Michael L. Casazza
2015, Herpetological Conservation and Biology (10) 633-644
Wetlands are a vital component of habitat for semiaquatic herpetofauna, but for most species adjacent terrestrial habitats are also essential. We examined the use of terrestrial environments by Giant Gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas) to provide behavioral information relevant to conservation of this state and federally listed threatened species. We used radio...
Hydrologic conditions in Massachusetts during water year 2014
Richard J. Verdi
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1056
Hydrologic data and conditions throughout Massachusetts during water year 2014 (October 1, 2013, to September 30, 2014) are presented in this report. Stream discharge and groundwater levels during water year 2014 varied geographically across the State. The data are described as being above, below, or near normal in relation to...
Radar attenuation and temperature within the Greenland Ice Sheet
Joseph A MacGregor, Jilu Li, John D Paden, Ginny A Catania, Gary D. Clow, Mark A Fahnestock, Prasad S. Gogineni, Robert E. Grimm, Mathieu Morlighem, Soumyaroop Nandi, Helene Seroussi, David E Stillman
2015, Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface (120) 1-26
The flow of ice is temperature-dependent, but direct measurements of englacial temperature are sparse. The dielectric attenuation of radio waves through ice is also temperature-dependent, and radar sounding of ice sheets is sensitive to this attenuation. Here we estimate depth-averaged radar-attenuation rates within the Greenland Ice Sheet from airborne radar-sounding...
Evaluation of the Ott Hydromet Qliner for measuring discharge in laboratory and field conditions
Jason C. McVay
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1052
The U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with the University of Iowa IIHR – Hydroscience and Engineering, evaluated the use of the Ott Hydromet Qliner using laboratory flume tests along with field validation tests. Analysis of the flume testing indicates the velocities measured by the Qliner at a 40-second exposure time...
Geologic control on the evolution of the inner shelf morphology offshore of the Mississippi barrier islands, northern Gulf of Mexico, USA
James G. Flocks, Jack L. Kindinger, Kyle W. Kelso
2015, Continental Shelf Research (101) 59-70
Between 2008 and 2013, high-resolution geophysical surveys were conducted around the Mississippi barrier islands and offshore. The sonar surveys included swath and single-beam bathymetry, sidescan, and chirp subbottom data collection. The geophysical data were groundtruthed using vibracore sediment collection. The results provide insight into the evolution of the inner shelf...
Foraging range movements of the endangered Hawaiian hoary bat, Lasiurus cinereus semotus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)
Frank J. Bonaccorso, Christopher M. Todd, Adam C. Miles, P. Marcos Gorresen
2015, Journal of Mammalogy (96) 64-71
We documented nightly movements of Hawaiian hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) on the island of Hawai’i. Based on data from 28 radiotagged individuals mean foraging range (FR) was 230.7±72.3 ha, core-use area (CUA) was 25.5±6.9 ha (or 11.1% of mean FR), and the mean long axis (LAX) across the FR...
Clutch size declines with elevation in tropical birds
A.J. Boyce, Benjamin G. Freeman, Adam E. Mitchell, Thomas E. Martin
2015, The Auk (132) 424-432
Clutch size commonly decreases with increasing elevation among temperate-zone and subtropical songbird species. Tropical songbirds typically lay small clutches, thus the ability to evolve even smaller clutch sizes at higher elevations is unclear and untested. We conducted a comparative phylogenetic analysis using data gathered from the literature to test whether...
The Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN) surface-water model, version 2
Pamela A. Telis, Zhixiao Xie, Zhongwei Liu, Yingru Li, Paul Conrads
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5209
The Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN) is an integrated network of water-level gages, interpolation models that generate daily water-level and water-depth data, and applications that compute derived hydrologic data across the freshwater part of the greater Everglades landscape. The U.S. Geological Survey Greater Everglades Priority Ecosystems Science provides support for...
Post-White-nose syndrome trends in Virginia’s cave bats, 2008-2013
Karen E. Powers, Richard J. Reynolds, Wil Orndorff, W. Mark Ford, Christopher S. Hobson
2015, Journal of Ecology and the Natural Environment (7) 113-123
Since its 2009 detection in Virginia hibernacula, the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans causing White-nose Syndrome (WNS) has had a marked impact on cave bats locally. From 2008-2013, we documented numeric and physiologic changes in cave bats through fall swarm (FS), early hibernation (EH), and late hibernation (LH) capture and banding...
Using larval fish community structure to guide long-term monitoring of fish spawning activity
Jeremy J. Pritt, Edward F. Roseman, Jason E. Ross, Robin L. DeBruyne
2015, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (35) 241-252
Larval fishes provide a direct indication of spawning activity and may therefore be useful for long-term monitoring efforts in relation to spawning habitat restoration. However, larval fish sampling can be time intensive and costly. We sought to understand the spatial and temporal structure of larval fish communities in the St....
Slab melting beneath the Cascades Arc driven by dehydration of altered oceanic peridotite
Kristina J Walowski, Paul J. Wallace, E.H. Hauri, I. Wada, Michael A. Clynne
2015, Nature Geoscience (8) 404-408
Water is returned to Earth’s interior at subduction zones. However, the processes and pathways by which water leaves the subducting plate and causes melting beneath volcanic arcs are complex; the source of the water—subducting sediment, altered oceanic crust, or hydrated mantle in the downgoing plate—is debated; and the role of...
Evaluating physical habitat and water chemistry data from statewide stream monitoring programs to establish least-impacted conditions in Washington State
Siri K. Wilmoth, Kathryn M. Irvine, Chad Larson
2015, Report
Various GIS-generated land-use predictor variables, physical habitat metrics, and water chemistry variables from 75 reference streams and 351 randomly sampled sites throughout Washington State were evaluated for effectiveness at discriminating reference from random sites within level III ecoregions. A combination of multivariate clustering and ordination techniques were used. We describe average...
Simulated high-latitude soil thermal dynamics during the past four decades
S. Peng, P. Ciais, T. Wang, I. Gouttevin, A. D. McGuire, D. Lawrence, E. Burke, X. Chen, C. Delire, C. Koven, A. MacDougall, A. Rinke, K. Saito, W. Zhang, R. Alkama, T. J. Bohn, B. Decharme, T. Hajima, D. Ji, D.P. Lettenmaier, P.A. Miller, J.C. Moore, B. Smith, T. Sueyoshi
2015, Cryosphere Discussions (9) 2301-2337
Soil temperature (Ts ) change is a key indicator of the dynamics of permafrost. On seasonal and inter-annual time scales, the variability of Ts determines the active layer depth, which regulates hydrological soil properties and biogeochemical processes. On the multi-decadal scale, increasing T 5 s not only drives permafrost thaw/retreat,...
Testing a small UAS for mapping artisanal diamond mining sites in Africa
Katherine C. Malpeli, Peter G. Chirico
2015, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing (81) 258-263
Remote sensing technology is advancing at an unprecedented rate. At the forefront of the new technological developments are unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The advent of small, lightweight, low-cost, and user-friendly UAS is greatly expanding the potential applications of remote sensing technology and improving the set of tools available to researchers...
Seismic source dynamics of gas-piston activity at Kı̄lauea Volcano, Hawai‘i
Bernard A. Chouet, Phillip B. Dawson
2015, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (120) 2525-2560
Since 2008, eruptive activity at the summit of Kı̄lauea Volcano, Hawai‘i has been confined to the new Overlook pit crater within the Halema‘uma‘u Crater. Among the broad range of magmatic processes observed in the new pit are recurring episodes of gas pistoning. The gas-piston activity is accompanied by seismic signals...
