Antecedent flow conditions and nitrate concentrations in the Mississippi River basin
Jennifer C. Murphy, Robert M. Hirsch, Lori A. Sprague
2014, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 967-979
The relationship between antecedent flow conditions and nitrate concentrations was explored at eight sites in the 2.9 million square kilometers (km2) Mississippi River basin, USA. Antecedent flow conditions were quantified as the ratio between the mean daily flow of the previous year and the mean daily flow from the period...
Geologic map of the Kechumstuk fault zone in the Mount Veta area, Fortymile mining district, east-central Alaska
Warren C. Day, J. Michael O’Neill, Cynthia Dusel-Bacon, John N. Aleinikoff, Christopher R. Siron
2014, Scientific Investigations Map 3291
This map was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Resources Program to depict the fundamental geologic features for the western part of the Fortymile mining district of east-central Alaska, and to delineate the location of known bedrock mineral prospects and their relationship to rock types and structural features.This geospatial...
An analysis of monthly home range size in the critically endangered California Condor Gymnogyps californianus
James W. Rivers, Matthew J. Johnson, Susan M. Haig, Carl J. Schwarz, Joseph Burnett, Joseph Brandt, Daniel George, Jesse Grantham
2014, Bird Conservation International (24) 492-504
Condors and vultures comprise the only group of terrestrial vertebrates in the world that are obligate scavengers, and these species move widely to locate ephemeral, unpredictable, and patchily-distributed food resources. In this study, we used high-resolution GPS location data to quantify monthly home range size of the critically endangered California...
Evaluation of the expected moments algorithm and a multiple low-outlier test for flood frequency analysis at streamgaging stations in Arizona
Nicholas V. Paretti, Jeffrey R. Kennedy, Timothy A. Cohn
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5026
Flooding is among the costliest natural disasters in terms of loss of life and property in Arizona, which is why the accurate estimation of flood frequency and magnitude is crucial for proper structural design and accurate floodplain mapping. Current guidelines for flood frequency analysis in the United States are described...
Atrazine reduces reproduction in fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas): raw data report
Donald E. Tillitt, Diana M. Papoulias, Jeffrey J. Whyte, Cathy A. Richter
2014, Data Series 805
The herbicide, atrazine, routinely is observed in surface and groundwaters, particularly in the “corn belt” region, a high-use area of the United States. Atrazine has demonstrated effects on reproduction in mammals and amphibians, but the characterization of endocrine-related effects in fish has received only limited attention. Peak concentrations of atrazine...
Quality of surface water in Missouri, water year 2012
Miya N. Barr
2014, Data Series 818
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, designed and operates a series of monitoring stations on streams and springs throughout Missouri known as the Ambient Water-Quality Monitoring Network. During the 2012 water year (October 1, 2011, through September 30, 2012), data were collected at...
Geophysical logging of bedrock wells for geothermal gradient characterization in New Hampshire, 2013
James R. Degnan, Gregory Barker, Neil Olson, Leland Wilder
2014, Data Series 823
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New Hampshire Geological Survey, measured the fluid temperature of groundwater and other geophysical properties in 10 bedrock wells in the State of New Hampshire in order to characterize geothermal gradients in bedrock. The wells selected for the study were deep (five ranging...
The 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake and tsunamis: a modern perspective and enduring legacies
Thomas M. Brocher, John R. Filson, Gary S. Fuis, Peter J. Haeussler, Thomas L. Holzer, George Plafker, J. Luke Blair
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3018
The magnitude 9.2 Great Alaska Earthquake that struck south-central Alaska at 5:36 p.m. on Friday, March 27, 1964, is the largest recorded earthquake in U.S. history and the second-largest earthquake recorded with modern instruments. The earthquake was felt throughout most of mainland Alaska, as far west as Dutch Harbor in...
Passage and survival probabilities of juvenile Chinook salmon at Cougar Dam, Oregon, 2012
John W. Beeman, Scott D. Evans, Philip V. Haner, Hal C. Hansel, Amy C. Hansen, Collin D. Smith, Jamie M. Sprando
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1038
This report describes studies of juvenile-salmon dam passage and apparent survival at Cougar Dam, Oregon, during two operating conditions in 2012. Cougar Dam is a 158-meter tall rock-fill dam used primarily for flood control, and passes water through a temperature control tower to either a powerhouse penstock or to a...
Contaminants of emerging concern in the lower Stillaguamish River Basin, Washington, 2008-11
Richard J. Wagner, Patrick W. Moran, Steven D. Zaugg, Jennifer M. Sevigny, Judy M. Pope
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1028
A series of discrete water-quality samples were collected in the lower Stillaguamish River Basin near the city of Arlington, Washington, through a partnership with the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians. These samples included surface waters of the Stillaguamish River, adjacent tributary streams, and paired inflow and outflow sampling at three wastewater...
Evaluation of juvenile salmonid behavior near a prototype weir box at Cowlitz Falls Dam, Washington, 2013
Tobias J. Kock, Theresa L. Liedtke, Brian K. Ekstrom, Ryan G. Tomka, Dennis W. Rondorf
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1042
Collection of juvenile salmonids at Cowlitz Falls Dam is a critical part of the effort to restore salmon in the upper Cowlitz River because the majority of fish that are not collected at the dam pass downstream and enter a large reservoir where they become landlocked and lost to the...
A deposit model for carbonatite and peralkaline intrusion-related rare earth element deposits
Philip L. Verplanck, Bradley S. Van Gosen, Robert R. Seal II, Anne E. McCafferty
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5070-J
Carbonatite and alkaline intrusive complexes, as well as their weathering products, are the primary sources of rare earth elements. A wide variety of other commodities have been exploited from carbonatites and alkaline igneous rocks including niobium, phosphate, titanium, vermiculite, barite, fluorite, copper, calcite, and zirconium. Other elements enriched in these...
Estimating movement and survival rates of a small saltwater fish using autonomous antenna receiver arrays and passive integrated transponder tags
Paul J. Rudershausen, Jeffery A. Buckel, Todd Dubreuil, Matthew J. O’Donnell, Joseph E. Hightower, Steven J. Poland, Benjamin H. Letcher
2014, Marine Ecology Progress Series (499) 177-192
We evaluated the performance of small (12.5 mm long) passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags and custom detection antennas for obtaining fine-scale movement and demographic data of mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus in a salt marsh creek. Apparent survival and detection probability were estimated using a Cormack Jolly Seber (CJS) model fitted to...
The U. S. Geological Survey carbon dioxide storage efficiency value methodology: Results and observations
Sean T. Brennan
2014, Energy Procedia (63) 5123-5129
In order to complete the 2013 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment of carbon dioxide (CO2) storage resources, a methodology was needed to determine the CO2storage efficiency of individual rock strata. The method that was used involved a storage efficiency approximation by MacMinn et al., combined with a brine viscosity model...
Significance of carbon dioxide density estimates for basin-scale storage resource assessments
Marc L. Buursink
2014, Energy Procedia (63) 5130-5140
The geologic carbon dioxide (CO2) storage resource size is a function of the density of CO2 in the subsurface. The pressure and temperature of the storage reservoir at depth affect the CO2 density. Therefore, knowing these subsurface conditions allows for improved resource estimates of potential geologic CO2 storage capacity. In 2012, the U.S....
ASPRS research on quantifying the geometric quality of lidar data
Aparajithan Sampath, Hans K. Heidemann, Gregory L. Stensaas, Jon Christopherson
2014, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 201-205
The ASPRS Lidar Cal/Val (calibration/validation) Working Group led by the US Geological Survey (USGS) to establish “Guidelines on Geometric Accuracy and Quality of Lidar Data” has made excellent progress via regular teleconferences and meetings. The group is focused on identifying data quality metrics and establishing a set of guidelines for...
Getting the message across: using ecological integrity to communicate with resource managers
Brian R. Mitchell, Geraldine L. Tierney, E. William Schweiger, Kathryn M. Miller, Don Faber-Langendoen, James B. Grace
2014, Book chapter, Application of threshold concepts in natural resource decision making
This chapter describes and illustrates how concepts of ecological integrity, thresholds, and reference conditions can be integrated into a research and monitoring framework for natural resource management. Ecological integrity has been defined as a measure of the composition, structure, and function of an ecosystem in relation to the system’s natural...
Dynamic hyporheic exchange at intermediate timescales: testing the relative importance of evapotranspiration and flood pulses
Laurel G. Larsen, Judson W. Harvey, Morgan M. Maglio
2014, Water Resources Research (50) 318-335
Hyporheic fluxes influence ecological processes across a continuum of timescales. However, few studies have been able to characterize hyporheic fluxes and residence time distributions (RTDs) over timescales of days to years, during which evapotranspiration (ET) and seasonal flood pulses create unsteady forcing. Here we present a data-driven, particle-tracking piston model...
Characteristic length scales and time-averaged transport velocities of suspended sediment in the mid-Atlantic Region, USA
James Pizzuto, Edward R. Schenk, Cliff R. Hupp, Allen Gellis, Greg Noe, Elyse Williamson, Diana L. Karwan, Michael O'Neal, Julia Marquard, Rolf E. Aalto, Denis Newbold
2014, Water Resources Research (50) 790-805
Watershed Best Management Practices (BMPs) are often designed to reduce loading from particle-borne contaminants, but the temporal lag between BMP implementation and improvement in receiving water quality is difficult to assess because particles are only moved downstream episodically, resting for long periods in storage between transport events. A theory is...
Retrospective analysis of associations between water quality and toxic blooms of golden alga (Prymnesium parvum) in Texas reservoirs: Implications for understanding dispersal mechanisms and impacts of climate change
Reynaldo Patino, D. Dawson, Matthew M. VanLandeghem
2014, Harmful Algae (33) 1-11
Toxic blooms of golden alga (GA, Prymnesium parvum) in Texas typically occur in winter or early spring. In North America, they were first reported in Texas in the 1980s, and a marked range expansion occurred in 2001. Although there is concern about the influence of climate change on the future...
Using natural range of variation to set decision thresholds: a case study for great plains grasslands
Amy J. Symstad, Jayne L. Jonas
Glenn R. Guntenspergen, editor(s)
2014, Book chapter, Application of threshold concepts in natural resource decision making
Natural range of variation (NRV) may be used to establish decision thresholds or action assessment points when ecological thresholds are either unknown or do not exist for attributes of interest in a managed ecosystem. The process for estimating NRV involves identifying spatial and temporal scales that adequately capture the heterogeneity...
Distribution and transmission of the highly pathogenic parasite Ichthyophonus in marine fishes of Alaska
Jacob L. Gregg, Courtney A. Grady, Rachel L. Thompson, Maureen K. Purcell, Carolyn S. Friedman, Paul K. Hershberger
2014, Report
A combination of field surveys, molecular typing, and laboratory experiments were used to improve our understanding of the distribution and transmission mechanisms of fish parasites in the genus Ichthyophonus. Ichthyophonus spp. infections were detected from the Bering Sea to the coast of Oregon in 10 of 13 host species surveyed....
A Bayesian network approach to predicting nest presence of thefederally-threatened piping plover (Charadrius melodus) using barrier island features
Katherina D. Gieder, Sarah M. Karpanty, James D. Fraser, Daniel H. Catlin, Benjamin T. Gutierrez, Nathaniel G. Plant, Aaron M. Turecek, E. Robert Thieler
2014, Ecological Modelling (276) 38-50
Sea-level rise and human development pose significant threats to shorebirds, particularly for species that utilize barrier island habitat. The piping plover (Charadrius melodus) is a federally-listed shorebird that nests on barrier islands and rapidly responds to changes in its physical environment, making it an excellent species with which to...
Influence of landscape characteristics on retention of expandable radiocollars on young ungulates
Troy W. Grovenburg, Robert W. Klaver, Christopher N. Jacques, Todd J. Brinkman, Christopher C. Swanson, Christopher S. DePerno, Kevin L. Monteith, Jaret D. Sievers, Vernon C. Bleich, John G. Kie, Jonathan A. Jenks
2014, Wildlife Society Bulletin (38) 89-95
One tool used for wildlife management is the deployment of radiocollars to gain knowledge of animal populations. Understanding the influence of individual factors (e.g., species, collar characteristics) and landscape characteristics (e.g., forested cover, shrubs, and fencing) on retention of expandable radiocollars for ungulates is important for obtaining empirical data on...
A conceptual framework for clutch size evolution in songbirds
Thomas E. Martin
2014, American Naturalist (183) 313-324
Causes of evolved differences in clutch size among songbird species remain debated. I propose a new conceptual framework that integrates aspects of traditional life history theory, while including novel elements, to explain evolution of clutch size among songbirds. I review evidence that selection by nest predation on length of time...
