Extraordinary sediment delivery and rapid geomorphic response following the 2008–2009 eruption of Chaitén Volcano, Chile
Jon J. Major, Daniel Bertin, Thomas C. Pierson, Alvaro Amigo, Andres Iroume, Hector Ulloa, Jonathan M. Castro
2016, Water Resources Research (52) 5075-5094
The 10 day explosive phase of the 2008–2009 eruption of Chaitén volcano, Chile, draped adjacent watersheds with a few cm to >1 m of tephra. Subsequent lava-dome collapses generated pyroclastic flows that delivered additional sediment. During the waning phase of explosive activity, modest rainfall triggered an extraordinary sediment flush which...
A framework for effective use of hydroclimate models in climate-change adaptation planning for managed habitats with limited hydrologic response data
Rachel A. Esralew, Lorraine E. Flint, James H. Thorne, Ryan Boynton, Alan L. Flint
2016, Environmental Management (58) 60-75
Climate-change adaptation planning for managed wetlands is challenging under uncertain futures when the impact of historic climate variability on wetland response is unquantified. We assessed vulnerability of Modoc National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) through use of the Basin Characterization Model (BCM) landscape hydrology model, and six global climate models, representing projected...
Hepatic insulin-like growth-factor binding protein (igfbp) responses tofood restriction in Atlantic salmon smolts
Jason P. Breves, Silas K. Phipps-Costin, Chelsea K. Fujimoto, Ingibjorg E. Einarsdottir, Amy M. Regish, Björn Thrandur Björnsson, Stephen D. McCormick
2016, General and Comparative Endocrinology (233) 79-87
The growth hormone (Gh)/insulin-like growth-factor (Igf) system plays a central role in the regulation of growth in fishes. However, the roles of Igf binding proteins (Igfbps) in coordinating responses to food availability are unresolved, especially in anadromous fishes preparing for seaward migration. We assayed plasma Gh, Igf1, thyroid hormones and...
Anadromous salmonids in the Delta: New science 2006–2016
Russell W. Perry, Rebecca A. Buchanan, Patricia L. Brandes, Jon R. Burau, Joshua A Israel
2016, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science (14)
As juvenile salmon enter the Sacramento–SanJoaquin River Delta (“the Delta”) they disperse among its complex channel network where they are subject to channel-specific processes that affect their rate of migration, vulnerability to predation, feeding success, growth rates, and ultimately, survival. In the decades...
Assessing landslide potential on coastal bluffs near Mukilteo, Washington—Geologic site characterization for hydrologic monitoring
Benjamin B. Mirus, Joel B. Smith, Benjamin Stark, York Lewis, Abigail Michel, Rex L. Baum
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1082
During the summer 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey collected geologic and geotechnical data for two sites on coastal bluffs along the eastern shore of Puget Sound, Washington. The U.S. Geological Survey also installed hydrologic instrumentation at the sites and collected specimens for laboratory testing. The two sites are located on...
Large wind ripples on Mars: A record of atmospheric evolution
M. G. A. Lapotre, R. C. Ewing, M. P. Lamb, W. W. Fischer, J. P. Grotzinger, D. M. Rubin, K. W. Lewis, M. J. Ballard, Mitch D. Day, S. Gupta, S. G. Banham, N. T. Bridges, D. J. Des Marais, A. A. Fraeman, J. A. Grant, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, D. W. Ming, M. A. Mischna, M. S. Rice, D. Y. Sumner, A. R. Vasavada, R. A. Yingst
2016, Science (353) 55-58
Wind blowing over sand on Earth produces decimeter-wavelength ripples and hundred-meter– to kilometer-wavelength dunes: bedforms of two distinct size modes. Observations from the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal that Mars hosts a third stable wind-driven bedform, with meter-scale wavelengths. These bedforms are spatially uniform...
A water balance model to estimate flow through the Old and Middle River corridor
Stephen W. Andrews, Edward S. Gross, Paul H. Hutton
2016, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science (14)
We applied a water balance model to predict tidally averaged (subtidal) flows through the Old River and Middle River corridor in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta. We reviewed the dynamics that govern subtidal flows and water levels and adopted a simplified representation. In this water balance approach, we estimated...
Decision-making for foot-and-mouth disease control: Objectives matter
William J. M. Probert, Katriona Shea, Christopher J. Fonnesbeck, Michael C. Runge, Tim E. Carpenter, Salome Durr, M. Graeme Garner, Neil Harvey, Mark A. Stevenson, Colleen T. Webb, Marleen Werkman, Michael J. Tildesley, Matthew J. Ferrari
2016, Epidemics (15) 10-19
Formal decision-analytic methods can be used to frame disease control problems, the first step of which is to define a clear and specific objective. We demonstrate the imperative of framing clearly-defined management objectives in finding optimal control actions for control of disease outbreaks. We illustrate an analysis that can be...
The statistical power to detect cross-scale interactions at macroscales
Tyler Wagner, C. Emi Fergus, Craig A. Stow, Kendra S. Cheruvelil, Patricia A. Soranno
2016, Ecosphere (7)
Macroscale studies of ecological phenomena are increasingly common because stressors such as climate and land-use change operate at large spatial and temporal scales. Cross-scale interactions (CSIs), where ecological processes operating at one spatial or temporal scale interact with processes operating at another scale, have been documented in a variety of...
Structure of high latitude currents in global magnetospheric-ionospheric models
M Wiltberger, E. J. Rigler, V Merkin, J. G Lyon
2016, Space Science Reviews (206) 575-598
Using three resolutions of the Lyon-Fedder-Mobarry global magnetosphere-ionosphere model (LFM) and the Weimer 2005 empirical model we examine the structure of the high latitude field-aligned current patterns. Each resolution was run for the entire Whole Heliosphere Interval which contained two high speed solar wind streams and modest interplanetary magnetic field...
Infrastructure system restoration planning using evolutionary algorithms
Steven Corns, Suzanna K. Long, Thomas G. Shoberg
2016, INCOSE International Symposium (26) 1947-1956
This paper presents an evolutionary algorithm to address restoration issues for supply chain interdependent critical infrastructure. Rapid restoration of infrastructure after a large-scale disaster is necessary to sustaining a nation's economy and security, but such long-term restoration has not been investigated as thoroughly as initial rescue and recovery efforts. A...
Finite-element modelling of physics-based hillslope hydrology, Keith Beven, and beyond
Keith Loague, Brian A. Ebel
2016, Hydrological Processes (30) 2432-2437
Keith Beven is a voice of reason on the intelligent use of models and the subsequent acknowledgement/assessment of the uncertainties associated with environmental simula-tion. With several books and hundreds of papers, Keith’s work is widespread, well known, and highly referenced. Four of Keith’s most notable contributions are the iconic TOPMODEL...
Bayesian nitrate source apportionment to individual groundwater wells in the Central Valley by use of elemental and isotopic tracers
Katherine M Ransom, Mark N. Grote, Amanda Deinhart, Gary Eppich, Carol Kendall, Matthew E. Sanborn, A. Kate Sounders, Joshua Wimpenny, Qing-zhu Yin, Megan B. Young, Thomas Harter
2016, Water Resources Research (52) 5577-5597
Groundwater quality is a concern in alluvial aquifers that underlie agricultural areas, such as in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Shallow domestic wells (less than 150 m deep) in agricultural areas are often contaminated by nitrate. Agricultural and rural nitrate sources include dairy manure, synthetic fertilizers, and septic waste....
Parallelization of the TRIGRS model for rainfall-induced landslides using the message passing interface
M. Alvioli, R.L. Baum
2016, Environmental Modelling and Software (81) 122-135
We describe a parallel implementation of TRIGRS, the Transient Rainfall Infiltration and Grid-Based Regional Slope-Stability Model for the timing and distribution of rainfall-induced shallow landslides. We have parallelized the four time-demanding execution modes of TRIGRS, namely both the saturated and unsaturated model with finite and infinite soil depth options, within...
Acid mine drainage
Jerry M. Bigham, Charles A. Cravotta
2016, Book chapter, Encyclopedia of Soil Science, Third Edition
Acid mine drainage (AMD) consists of metal-laden solutions produced by the oxidative dissolution of iron sulfide minerals exposed to air, moisture, and acidophilic microbes during the mining of coal and metal deposits. The pH of AMD is usually in the range of 2–6, but mine-impacted waters at circumneutral pH (5–8)...
Fault zone characteristics and basin complexity in the southern Salton Trough, California
Patricia Persaud, Yiran Ma, Joann M. Stock, John A. Hole, Gary S. Fuis, Liang Han
2016, Geology (44) 747-750
Ongoing oblique slip at the Pacific–North America plate boundary in the Salton Trough produced the Imperial Valley (California, USA), a seismically active area with deformation distributed across a complex network of exposed and buried faults. To better understand the shallow crustal structure in this region and the connectivity of faults...
Potential evapotranspiration and continental drying
Paul C.D. Milly, Krista A. Dunne
2016, Nature Climate Change (6) 946-949
By various measures (drought area and intensity, climatic aridity index, and climatic water deficits), some observational analyses have suggested that much of the Earth’s land has been drying during recent decades, but such drying seems inconsistent with observations of dryland greening and decreasing pan evaporation. ‘Offline’ analyses of climate-model...
Contemporary deformation in the Yakima fold and thrust belt estimated with GPS
Robert McCaffrey, Robert W. King, Ray E. Wells, Matthew Lancaster, M. Meghan Miller
2016, Geophysical Journal International (207) 1-11
Geodetic, geologic and palaeomagnetic data reveal that Oregon (western USA) rotates clockwise at 0.3 to 1.0° Ma−1 (relative to North America) about an axis near the Idaho–Oregon–Washington border, while northeast Washington is relatively fixed. This rotation has been going on for at least 15 Ma. The Yakima fold and thrust...
Predicting arsenic in drinking water wells of the Central Valley, California
Joseph D. Ayotte, Bernard T. Nolan, JoAnn M. Gronberg
2016, Environmental Science & Technology (50) 7555-7563
Probabilities of arsenic in groundwater at depths used for domestic and public supply in the Central Valley of California are predicted using weak-learner ensemble models (boosted regression trees, BRT) and more traditional linear models (logistic regression, LR). Both methods captured major processes that affect arsenic concentrations, such as the chemical...
Design and testing of a mesocosm-scale habitat for culturing the endangered Devils Hole Pupfish
Olin Feuerbacher, Scott A. Bonar, Paul J. Barrett
2016, North American Journal of Aquaculture (78) 259-269
aptive propagation of desert spring fishes, whether for conservation or research, is often difficult, given the unique and often challenging environments these fish utilize in nature. High temperatures, low dissolved oxygen, minimal water flow, and highly variable lighting are some conditions a researcher might need to recreate to simulate their...
Spawning site fidelity of wild and hatchery lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in northern Lake Huron
Thomas Binder, Stephen C. Riley, Christopher M. Holbrook, Michael J. Hansen, Roger A. Bergstedt, Charles R. Bronte, Ji He, Charles C. Krueger
2016, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (73) 18-34
Fidelity to high-quality spawning sites helps ensure that adults repeatedly spawn at sites that maximize reproductive success. Fidelity is also an important behavioural characteristic to consider when hatchery-reared individuals are stocked for species restoration, because artificial rearing environments may interfere with cues that guide appropriate spawning site selection. Acoustic telemetry...
Geology and hydrocarbon potential of the Dead Sea Rift Basins of Israel and Jordan
James L. Coleman, Uri S. ten Brink
2016, GCSSEPM Foundation Perkins-Rosen Research Conference Proceedings (34) 521-553
Following its middle Miocene inception, numerous basins of varying lengths and depths developed along the Dead Sea fault zone, a large continental transform plate boundary. The modern day left-lateral fault zone has an accumulated left-lateral offset of 105 to 110 km (65 to 68 mi). The deepest basin along...
Slab melting and magma formation beneath the southern Cascade arc
Kristina J. Walowski, Paul J. Wallace, Michael A. Clynne, D.J. Rasmussen, D. Weis
2016, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (446) 100-112
The processes that drive magma formation beneath the Cascade arc and other warm-slab subduction zones have been debated because young oceanic crust is predicted to largely dehydrate beneath the forearc during subduction. In addition, geochemical variability along strike in the Cascades has led to contrasting interpretations about the role of...
Relating carbon and nitrogen isotope effects to reaction mechanisms during aerobic or anaerobic degradation of RDX (Hexahydro-1,3,5-Trinitro-1,3,5-Triazine) by pure bacterial cultures
Mark E. Fuller, Linnea J. Heraty, Charles W. Condee, Simon Vainberg, Neil C. Sturchio, J.K. Bohlke, Paul B. Hatzinger
2016, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (82) 3297-3309
Kinetic isotopic fractionation of carbon and nitrogen during RDX (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine) biodegradation was investigated with pure bacterial cultures under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Relatively large bulk enrichments in 15N were observed during biodegradation of RDX via anaerobic ring cleavage (ε15N = −12.7‰ ± 0.8‰) and anaerobic nitro reduction (ε15N = −9.9‰...
Preface: Impacts of extreme climate events and disturbances on carbon dynamics
Jingfeng Xiao, Shuguang Liu, Paul C. Stoy
2016, Biogeosciences (13) 3665-3675
The impacts of extreme climate events and disturbances (ECE&D) on the carbon cycle have received growing attention in recent years. This special issue showcases a collection of recent advances in understanding the impacts of ECE&D on carbon cycling. Notable advances include quantifying how harvesting activities impact forest structure, carbon pool...
