Lattice Boltzmann methods applied to large-scale three-dimensional virtual cores constructed from digital optical borehole images of the karst carbonate Biscayne aquifer in southeastern Florida
Michael Sukop, Kevin J. Cunningham
2014, Water Resources Research 2015-1133
Digital optical borehole images at approximately 2 mm vertical resolution and borehole caliper data were used to create three-dimensional renderings of the distribution of (1) matrix porosity and (2) vuggy megaporosity for the karst carbonate Biscayne aquifer in southeastern Florida. The renderings based on the borehole data were used as...
An 8700 year paleoclimate reconstruction from the southern Maya lowlands
David B. Wahl, Roger Byrne, Lysanna Anderson
2014, Quaternary Science Reviews (103) 19-25
Analysis of a sediment core from Lago Puerto Arturo, a closed basin lake in northern Peten, Guatemala, has provided an ∼8700 cal year record of climate change and human activity in the southern Maya lowlands. Stable isotope, magnetic susceptibility, and pollen analyses were used to reconstruct environmental change in the region. Results...
Geological controls on the occurrence of gas hydrate from core, downhole log, and seismic data in the Shenhu area, South China Sea
Myung W. Lee, Xiujuan Wang, Timothy S. Collett, Shengxiong Yang, Yiqun Guo, Shiguo Wu
2014, Marine Geology (357) 272-292
Multi-channel seismic reflection data, well logs, and recovered sediment cores have been used in this study to characterize the geologic controls on the occurrence of gas hydrate in the Shenhu area of the South China Sea. The concept of the "gas hydrate petroleum system" has allowed for the systematic analysis...
Reply to: Turner, R.E., 2014. Discussion of: Olea, R.A. and Coleman, J.L., Jr., 2014. A synoptic examination of causes of land loss in southern Louisiana as related to the exploitation of subsurface geologic resources, Journal of Coastal Research, 30(5), 1025–1044; Journal of Coastal Research, 30(6), 1330–1334.
Ricardo A. Olea, James L. Coleman
2014, Journal of Coastal Research (30) 1335-1337
To a large extent, geology is a science of solving inverse problems based on some data and scientific principles. Solutions to these types of problems are not unique, especially when using different data, invoking different principles, or both. It is not surprising that the discussant and we have reached different...
Wave-driven sediment mobilization on a storm-controlled continental shelf (Northwest Iberia)
Ferdinand Oberle, Curt D. Storlazzi, Till Hanebuth
2014, Journal of Marine Systems (139) 362-372
Seafloor sediment mobilization on the inner Northwest Iberian continental shelf is caused largely by ocean surface waves. The temporal and spatial variability in the wave height, wave period, and wave direction has a profound effect on local sediment mobilization, leading to distinct sediment mobilization scenarios. Six grain-size specific sediment mobilization...
Does lake size matter? Combining morphology and process modeling to examine the contribution of lake classes to population-scale processes
Luke A. Winslow, Jordan S. Read, Paul C. Hanson, Emily H. Stanley
2014, Inland Waters (5) 7-14
With lake abundances in the thousands to millions, creating an intuitive understanding of the distribution of morphology and processes in lakes is challenging. To improve researchers’ understanding of large-scale lake processes, we developed a parsimonious mathematical model based on the Pareto distribution to describe the distribution of lake morphology (area,...
Energy demands for maintenance, growth, pregnancy, and lactation of female Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens)
Shawn R. Noren, Mark S. Udevitz, Chadwick V. Jay
2014, Physiological and Biochemical Zoology (87) 837-854
Decreases in sea ice have altered habitat use and activity patterns of female Pacific walruses Odobenus rosmarus divergens and could affect their energetic demands, reproductive success, and population status. However, a lack of physiological data from walruses has hampered efforts to develop the bioenergetics models required for fully understanding potential...
On-orbit performance of the Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager
Esad Micijevic, Kelly Vanderwerff, Pat Scaramuzza, Ron Morfitt, Julia A. Barsi, Raviv Levy
2014, Conference Paper, Proc. SPIE 9218, Earth Observing Systems XIX
The Landsat 8 satellite was launched on February 11, 2013, to systematically collect multispectral images for detection and quantitative analysis of changes on the Earth’s surface. The collected data are stored at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center and continue the longest archive of...
Effects of distributed and centralized stormwater best management practices and land cover on urban stream hydrology at the catchment scale
John V. Loperfido, Gregory B. Noe, S. Taylor Jarnagin, Dianna M. Hogan
2014, Journal of Hydrology (519) 2584-2595
Urban stormwater runoff remains an important issue that causes local and regional-scale water quantity and quality issues. Stormwater best management practices (BMPs) have been widely used to mitigate runoff issues, traditionally in a centralized manner; however, problems associated with urban hydrology have remained. An emerging trend is implementation of BMPs...
Transcriptomic analysis of the mussel Elliptio complanata identifies candidate stress-response genes and an abundance of novel or noncoding transcripts
Robert S. Cornman, Laura S. Robertson, Heather S. Galbraith, Carrie J. Blakeslee
2014, PLoS ONE (9)
Mussels are useful indicator species of environmental stress and degradation, and the global decline in freshwater mussel diversity and abundance is of conservation concern. Elliptio complanata is a common freshwater mussel of eastern North America that can serve both as an indicator and as an experimental model for understanding mussel...
Last interglacial plant macrofossils and climates from Ziegler Reservoir, Snowmass Village, Colorado, USA
Laura E. Strickland, Richard G. Baker, Robert S. Thompson, Dane M. Miller
2014, Quaternary Research (82) 553-566
Ninety plant macrofossil taxa from the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site near Snowmass Village, Colorado, record environmental changes at high elevation (2705 m asl) in the Rocky Mountains during the Last Interglacial Period. Present-day vegetation is aspen forest (Populus tremuloides) intermixed with species of higher (Picea, Abies) and lower (Artemisia, Quercus) elevations. Stratigraphic units 4–13...
Estimates of natural salinity and hydrology in a subtropical estuarine ecosystem: implications for Greater Everglades restoration
Frank E. Marshall, G. Lynn Wingard, Patrick A. Pitts
2014, Estuaries and Coasts (37) 1449-1466
Disruption of the natural patterns of freshwater flow into estuarine ecosystems occurred in many locations around the world beginning in the twentieth century. To effectively restore these systems, establishing a pre-alteration perspective allows managers to develop science-based restoration targets for salinity and hydrology. This paper describes a process to develop...
Inland capture fishery contributions to global food security and threats to their future
So-Jung Youn, William W. Taylor, Abigail J. Lynch, Ian G. Cowx, T. Douglas Beard Jr., Devin Bartley, Felicia Wu
2014, Global Food Security (3) 142-148
Inland fish and fisheries play important roles in ensuring global food security. They provide a crucial source of animal protein and essential micronutrients for local communities, especially in the developing world. Data concerning fisheries production and consumption of freshwater fish are generally inadequately assessed, often leading decision makers to undervalue...
A systematic approach towards the identification and protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems
Jeff A. Ardron, Malcolm R. Clark, Andrew J. Penney, Thomas F. Hourigan, Ashley A. Rowden, Piers K. Dunstan, Les Watling, Timothy M. Shank, Di M. Tracey, Matthew R. Dunn, Steven J. Parker
2014, Marine Science (49) 146-154
The United Nations General Assembly in 2006 and 2009 adopted resolutions that call for the identification and protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) from significant adverse impacts of bottom fishing. While general criteria have been produced, there are no guidelines or protocols that elaborate on the process from initial identification through to...
MTpy: A Python toolbox for magnetotellurics
Lars Krieger, Jared R. Peacock
2014, Computers & Geosciences (72) 167-175
We present the software package MTpy that allows handling, processing, and imaging of magnetotelluric (MT) data sets. Written in Python, the code is open source, containing sub-packages and modules for various tasks within the standard MT data processing and handling scheme. Besides the independent definition of classes and functions, MTpy provides wrappers and...
Influence of nonnative and native ungulate biomass and seasonal precipitation on vegetation production in a Great Basin ecosystem
Linda Zeigenfuss, Kathryn A. Schoenecker, Jason I. Ransom, Drew A. Ignizio, Tracy Mask
2014, Western North American Naturalist (74) 286-298
The negative effects of equid grazers in semiarid ecosystems of the American West have been considered disproportionate to the influence of native ungulates in these systems because of equids' large body size, hoof shape, and short history on the landscape relative to native ungulates. Tools that can analyze the degree...
Population viability of Pediocactus brady (Cactaceae) in a changing climate
Daniel F. Shryock, Todd C. Esque, Lee Huges
2014, American Journal of Botany (101) 1944-1953
• Premise of the study: A key question concerns the vulnerability of desert species adapted to harsh, variable climates to future climate change. Evaluating this requires coupling long-term demographic models with information on past and projected future climates. We investigated climatic drivers of population growth using a 22-yr demographic model for Pediocactus bradyi,...
A suggestion for computing objective function in model calibration
Yiping Wu, Shuguang Liu
2014, Ecological Informatics (24) 107-111
A parameter-optimization process (model calibration) is usually required for numerical model applications, which involves the use of an objective function to determine the model cost (model-data errors). The sum of square errors (SSR) has been widely adopted as the objective function in various optimization procedures. However, ‘square error’ calculation was...
Evaluation of a model framework to estimate soil and soil organic carbon redistribution by water and tillage using 137Cs in two U.S. Midwest agricultural fields
Claudia J. Young, Shuguang Liu, Joseph A. Schumacher, Thomas E. Schumacher, Thomas C. Kaspar, Gregory W. McCarty, Darrell Napton, Dan B. Jaynes
2014, Geoderma (232-234) 437-448
Cultivated lands in the U.S. Midwest have been affected by soil erosion, causing soil organic carbon (SOC) redistribution in the landscape and other environmental and agricultural problems. The importance of SOC redistribution on soil productivity and crop yield, however, is still uncertain. In this study, we used a model framework,...
A cross comparison of spatiotemporally enhanced springtime phenological measurements from satellites and ground in a northern U.S. mixed forest
Li Li, Mark D. Schwartz, Zhuosen Wang, Feng Gao, Crystal B. Schaaf, Bin Tan, Jeffrey T. Morisette, Xiaoyang Zhang
2014, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing (52) 7513-7526
Cross comparison of satellite-derived land surface phenology (LSP) and ground measurements is useful to ensure the relevance of detected seasonal vegetation change to the underlying biophysical processes. While standard 16-day and 250-m Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) vegetation index (VI)-based springtime LSP has been evaluated in previous studies, it remains...
Understanding the hydrologic sources and sinks in the Nile Basin using multisource climate and remote sensing data sets
Gabriel B. Senay, Naga Manohar Velpuri, Stefanie Bohms, Yonas Demissie, Mekonnen Gebremichael
2014, Water Resources Research (50) 8625-8650
In this study, we integrated satellite-drived precipitation and modeled evapotranspiration data (2000–2012) to describe spatial variability of hydrologic sources and sinks in the Nile Basin. Over 2000–2012 period, 4 out of 11 countries (Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda) in the Nile Basin showed a positive water balance while three downstream...
Aquifers of Arkansas: protection, management, and hydrologic and geochemical characteristics of groundwater resources in Arkansas
Timothy M. Kresse, Phillip D. Hays, Katherine R. Merriman, Jonathan A. Gillip, D. Todd Fugitt, Jane L. Spellman, Anna M. Nottmeier, Drew A. Westerman, Joshua M. Blackstock, James L. Battreal
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5149
Sixteen aquifers in Arkansas that currently serve or have served as sources of water supply are described with respect to existing groundwater protection and management programs, geology, hydrologic characteristics, water use, water levels, deductive analysis, projections of hydrologic conditions, and water quality. State and Federal protection and management programs are...
Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Williston Basin, Central Montana Basins, and Montana Thrust Belt study areas
Marc L. Buursink, Matthew D. Merrill, William H. Craddock, Tina L. Roberts-Ashby, Sean T. Brennan, Madalyn S. Blondes, P.A. Freeman, Steven M. Cahan, Christina A. DeVera, Celeste D. Lohr
Peter D. Warwick, M.D. Corum, editor(s)
2014, Open-File Report 2012-1024-J
The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act directs the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a national assessment of potential geologic storage resources for carbon dioxide (CO2). The methodology used by the USGS for the national CO2 assessment follows that of previous USGS work. This methodology is non-economic and is...
A geologic and mineral exploration spatial database for the Stillwater Complex, Montana
Michael L. Zientek, Heather L. Parks
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5183
The Stillwater Complex is a Neoarchean, ultramafic to mafic layered intrusion exposed in the Beartooth Mountains in south-central Montana. This igneous intrusion contains magmatic mineralization that is variably enriched in strategic and critical commodities such as chromium, nickel, and the platinum-group elements. One deposit, the J-M Reef, is the sole...
Groundwater-flow and land-subsidence model of Antelope Valley, California
Adam J. Siade, Tracy Nishikawa, Diane L. Rewis, Peter Martin, Steven P. Phillips
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5166
Antelope Valley, California, is a topographically closed basin in the western part of the Mojave Desert, about 50 miles northeast of Los Angeles. The Antelope Valley groundwater basin is about 940 square miles and is separated from the northern part of Antelope Valley by faults and low-lying hills. Prior to...
