Assessing the magnitude and timing of anthropogenic warming of a shallow aquifer: example from Virginia Beach, USA
John R. Eggleston, Kurt J. McCoy
2015, Hydrogeology Journal (23) 105-120
Groundwater temperature measurements in a shallow coastal aquifer in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA, suggest groundwater warming of +4.1 °C relative to deeper geothermal gradients. Observed warming is related to timing and depth of influence of two potential thermal drivers—atmospheric temperature increases and urbanization. Results indicate that up to 30 % of groundwater...
Propagation of hybrid Devils Hole Pupfish × Ash Meadows Amargosa Pupfish
Olin Feuerbacher, Justin A. Mapula, Scott A. Bonar
2015, North American Journal of Aquaculture (77) 513-523
Recent censuses of Devils Hole Pupfish Cyprinodon diabolis revealed that fewer than 100 individuals currently remain in the wild. Captive propagation is among actions being considered to prevent their extinction, but no pure-strain Devils Hole Pupfish were available for broodstock. To help provide emergency information, we investigated techniques to propagate their most...
Variations in population vulnerability to tectonic and landslide-related tsunami hazards in Alaska
Nathan J. Wood, Jeff Peters
2015, Natural Hazards (75) 1811-1831
Effective tsunami risk reduction requires an understanding of how at-risk populations are specifically vulnerable to tsunami threats. Vulnerability assessments primarily have been based on single hazard zones, even though a coastal community may be threatened by multiple tsunami sources that vary locally in terms of inundation extents and wave arrival...
Incorporating climate change and morphological uncertainty into coastal change hazard assessments
Heather M. Baron, Peter Ruggiero, Nathan J. Wood, Erica L. Harris, Jonathan Allan, Paul D. Komar, Patrick Corcoran
2015, Natural Hazards (75) 2081-2102
Documented and forecasted trends in rising sea levels and changes in storminess patterns have the potential to increase the frequency, magnitude, and spatial extent of coastal change hazards. To develop realistic adaptation strategies, coastal planners need information about coastal change hazards that recognizes the dynamic temporal and spatial scales of...
Age and growth of round gobies in Lake Michigan, with preliminary mortality estimation
Bin Huo, Charles P. Madenjian, Cong X. Xie, Yingming Zhao, Timothy P. O’Brien, Sergiusz J. Czesny
2015, Journal of Great Lakes Research (40) 712-720
The round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) is a prevalent invasive species throughout Lake Michigan, as well as other Laurentian Great Lakes, yet little information is available on spatial variation in round goby growth within one body of water. Age and growth of round goby at three areas of Lake Michigan were...
Modeling long-term trends of chlorinated ethene contamination at a public supply well
Francis H. Chapelle, Leon J. Kauffman, Mark A. Widdowson
2015, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (51) 1-13
A mass-balance solute-transport modeling approach was used to investigate the effects of dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) volume, composition, and generation of daughter products on simulated and measured long-term trends of chlorinated ethene (CE) concentrations at a public supply well. The model was built by telescoping a calibrated regional three-dimensional...
Trophic state in Voyageurs National Park lakes before and after implementation of a revised water-level management plan
Victoria G. Christensen, Ryan P. Maki
2015, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (51) 99-111
We compiled Secchi depth, total phosphorus, and chlorophyll a (Chla) data from Voyageurs National Park lakes and compared datasets before and after a new water-level management plan was implemented in January 2000. Average Secchi depth transparency improved (from 1.9 to 2.1 m, p = 0.020) between 1977-1999 and 2000-2011 in...
The role of citzens in detecting and responding to a rapid marine invasion
Stephen B. Scyphers, Sean P. Powers, J. Lad Akins, J. Marcus Drymon, Charles M. Martin, Zeb H. Schobernd, Pamela J. Schofield, Robert L. Shipp, Theodore S. Switzer
2015, Conservation Letters (8) 242-250
Documenting and responding to species invasions requires innovative strategies that account for ecological and societal complexities. We used the recent expansion of Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles) throughout northern Gulf of Mexico coastal waters to evaluate the role of stakeholders in documenting and responding to a rapid marine invasion. We coupled...
Biogeochemical environments of streambed-sediment pore waters with and without arsenic enrichment in a sedimentary rock terrain, New Jersey Piedmont, USA
Adam C. Mumford, Julia L. Barringer, Pamela A. Reilly, Dennis D. Eberl, Alex E. Blum, Lily Y. Young
2015, Science of the Total Environment (505) 1350-1360
Release of arsenic (As) from sedimentary rocks has resulted in contamination of groundwater in aquifers of the New Jersey Piedmont Physiographic Province, USA; the contamination also may affect the quality of the region's streamwater to which groundwater discharges. Biogeochemical mechanisms involved in the release process were investigated in the streambeds...
Pore characteristics of Wilcox Group Coal, U.S. Gulf Coast Region: Implications for the occurrence of coalbed gas
Sharon M. Swanson, Maria D. Mastalerz, Mark Engle, Brett J. Valentine, Peter D. Warwick, Paul C. Hackley, Harvey E. Belkin
2015, International Journal of Coal Geology (139) 80-94
Pore characteristics of 27 subbituminous coal samples (16 mesh splits) from the Paleocene–Eocene Wilcox Group of north Louisiana (Ouachita and Caldwell Parishes) and south Texas (Zavala County) were examined in relation to desorbed gas content. Coal gas of the Wilcox Group is primarily biogenic in origin; thermogenic gas also may be present...
Predicted effects of future climate warming on thermal habitat suitability for Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens, Rafinesque, 1817) in rivers in Wisconsin, USA
John D. Lyons, Jana S. Stewart
2015, Journal of Applied Ichthyology (30) 1508-1513
The Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens, Rafinesque, 1817) may be threatened by future climate warming. The purpose of this study was to identify river reaches in Wisconsin, USA, where they might be vulnerable to warming water temperatures. In Wisconsin, A. fulvescens is known from 2291 km of large-river habitat that has...
Evaluating the predictive performance of empirical estimators of natural mortality rate using information on over 200 fish species
Amy Y. Then, John M Hoenig, Norman G. Hall, David A. Hewitt
2015, ICES Journal of Marine Science (72) 82-92
Many methods have been developed in the last 70 years to predict the natural mortality rate, M, of a stock based on empirical evidence from comparative life history studies. These indirect or empirical methods are used in most stock assessments to (i) obtain estimates of M in the absence of direct information, (ii)...
Contrasting long-term survival of two outplanted Mojave Desert perennials for post-fire revegetation
Sara J. Scoles-Sciulla, Lesley A. Defalco, Todd C. Esque
2015, Arid Land Research and Management (29) 110-124
Post-fire recovery of arid shrublands is typically slow, and planting greenhouse-raised seedlings may be a means of jump-starting this process. Recovery can be further accelerated by understanding the factors controlling post-planting survival. In fall 2007 and 2009, we outplanted seedlings of two contrasting native evergreen shrubs—fast-growing Nevada jointfir and slow-growing...
The economic viability of smallholder timber production under expanding açaí palm production in the Amazon Estuary
Lucas B. Fortini, Douglas R. Carter
2015, Journal of Forest Economics (20) 223-235
Relatively little attention has been paid to the economic potentials and limitations of tropical timber production and management at smallholder scales, with the most relevant research focusing on community forestry efforts. As a rare tropical example of long-lasting small-scale timber production, in this study we explore the economics of smallholder...
Event sedimentation in low-latitude deep-water carbonate basins, Anegada passage, northeast Caribbean
Jason D. Chaytor, Uri S. ten Brink
2015, Basin Research (27) 310-335
The Virgin Islands and Whiting basins in the Northeast Caribbean are deep, structurally controlled depocentres partially bound by shallow-water carbonate platforms. Closed basins such as these are thought to document earthquake and hurricane events through the accumulation of event layers such as debris flow and turbidity current deposits and the...
Rapid removal of nitrobenzene in a three-phase ozone loaded system with gas-liquid-liquid
Shiyin Li, Jiangpeng Zhu, Guoxiang Wang, Lixiao Ni, Yong Zhang, Christopher T. Green
2015, Chemical Engineering Communications (202) 799-805
This study explores the removal rate of nitrobenzene (NB) using a new gas-liquid-liquid (G-L-L) three-phase ozone loaded system consisting of a gaseous ozone, an aqueous solvent phase, and a fluorinated solvent phase (perfluorodecalin, or FDC). The removal rate of NB was quantified in relation to six factors including 1) initial...
Predicted avian responses to bioenergy development scenarios in an intensive agricultural landscape
Daniel R. Uden, Craig R. Allen, Rob B. Mitchell, Tim D. McCoy, Qingfeng Guan
2015, GCB Bioenergy (7) 717-726
Conversion of native prairie to agriculture has increased food and bioenergy production but decreased wildlife habitat. However, enrollment of highly erodible cropland in conservation programs has compensated for some grassland loss. In the future, climate change and production of second-generation perennial biofuel crops could further transform agricultural landscapes and increase...
Hydrologic response to valley-scale structure in alpine headwaters
Anne A. Weekes, Christian E. Torgersen, David R. Montgomery, Andrea Woodward, Susan M. Bolton
2015, Hydrological Processes (29) 356-372
Few systematic studies of valley-scale geomorphic drivers of streamflow regimes in complex alpine headwaters have compared response between catchments. As a result, little guidance is available for regional-scale hydrological research and monitoring efforts that include assessments of ecosystem function. Physical parameters such as slope, elevation range, drainage area and bedrock...
High-resolution paleoclimatology of the Santa Barbara Basin during the Medieval Climate Anomaly and early Little Ice Age based on diatom and silicoflagellate assemblages in Kasten core SPR0901-02KC
John A. Barron, David B. Bukry, Ingrid L. Hendy
2015, Quaternary International (387) 13-22
Diatom and silicoflagellate assemblages documented in a high-resolution time series spanning 800 to 1600 AD in varved sediment recovered in Kasten core SPR0901-02KC (34°16.845’ N, 120°02.332’ W, water depth 588 m) from the Santa Barbara Basin (SBB) reveal that SBB surface water conditions during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) and...
Demographic changes following mechanical removal of exotic brown trout in an Intermountain West (USA), high-elevation stream
W. Carl Saunders, Phaedra E. Budy, Gary P. Thiede
2015, Ecology of Freshwater Fish (24) 252-263
Exotic species present a great threat to native fish conservation; however, eradicating exotics is expensive and often impractical. Mechanical removal can be ineffective for eradication, but nonetheless may increase management effectiveness by identifying portions of a watershed that are strong sources of exotics. We used mechanical removal to understand processes...
Trend analyses with river sediment rating curves
Jonathan A. Warrick
2015, Hydrological Processes (29) 936-949
Sediment rating curves, which are fitted relationships between river discharge (Q) and suspended-sediment concentration (C), are commonly used to assess patterns and trends in river water quality. In many of these studies it is assumed that rating curves have a power-law form (i.e., C = aQb, where a and b...
Simulation of water-table aquifers using specified saturated thickness
Rodney A. Sheets, Mary C. Hill, Henk M. Haitjema, Alden M. Provost, John P. Masterson
2015, Ground Water (53) 151-157
Simulating groundwater flow in a water-table (unconfined) aquifer can be difficult because the saturated thickness available for flow depends on model-calculated hydraulic heads. It is often possible to realize substantial time savings and still obtain accurate head and flow solutions by specifying an approximate saturated thickness a priori, thus linearizing...
Evidence of low genetic variation and rare alleles in a bottlenecked endangered island endemic, the Lasan Teal (Anas laysanensis)
Michelle H. Reynolds, John M. Pearce, Philip Lavretsky, Peters Jeffrey L, Karen Courtot, Pedro P. Seixas
2015, Technical Report HCSU-063
Genetic diversity is assumed to reflect the evolutionary potential and adaptability of populations, and thus quantifying the genetic diversity of endangered species is useful for recovery programs. In particular, if conservation strategies include reintroductions, periodic genetic assessments are useful to evaluate whether management efforts have resulted in the maximization or...
Survey of intersex largemouth bass from impoundments in Georgia USA
Kristen A. Kellock, Brittany E. Trushel, Patrick C. Ely, Cecil A. Jennings, Robert B. Bringolf
2015, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (143) 565-572
Intersex fish are increasingly being reported worldwide, primarily in rivers that receive treated wastewater, but few studies have investigated intersex in waters that do not receive wastewater. In a recent reconnaissance survey of intersex fish in North America, a high rate of intersex was reported for Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides in some...
Hydrogeologic characterization and assessment of bioremediation of chlorinated benzenes and benzene in wetland areas, Standard Chlorine of Delaware, Inc. Superfund Site, New Castle County, Delaware, 2009-12
Michelle M. Lorah, Charles W. Walker, Anna C. Baker, Jessica A. Teunis, Emily Majcher, Michael J. Brayton, Jeff P. Raffensperger, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5140
Wetlands at the Standard Chlorine of Delaware, Inc. Superfund Site (SCD) in New Castle County, Delaware, are affected by contamination with chlorobenzenes and benzene from past waste storage and disposal, spills, leaks, and contaminated groundwater discharge. In cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Geological Survey began an...
