Mercury and methylmercury stream concentrations in a Coastal Plain watershed: A multi-scale simulation analysis
Christopher D. Knightes, Heather E. Golden, Celeste A. Journey, Gary M. Davis, Paul Conrads, Mark Marvin-DiPasquale, Mark E. Brigham, Paul M. Bradley
2014, Environmental Pollution (187) 182-192
Mercury is a ubiquitous global environmental toxicant responsible for most US fish advisories. Processes governing mercury concentrations in rivers and streams are not well understood, particularly at multiple spatial scales. We investigate how insights gained from reach-scale mercury data and model simulations can be applied at broader watershed scales using...
Ongoing drought-induced uplift in the western United States.
Adrian Antal Borsa, Duncan Carr Agnew, Daniel R. Cayan
2014, Science (345) 1587-1590
The western United States has been experiencing severe drought since 2013. The solid earth response to the accompanying loss of surface and near-surface water mass should be a broad region of uplift. We use seasonally adjusted time series from continuously operating global positioning system stations to measure this uplift, which...
Contaminants of legacy and emerging concern in largescale suckers (Catostomus macrocheilus) and the foodweb in the lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, USA
Elena B. Nilsen, Steven D. Zaugg, David A. Alvarez, Jennifer L. Morace, Ian R. Waite, Timothy D. Counihan, Jill M. Hardiman, Leticia Torres, Reynaldo Patino, Matthew G. Mesa, Robert Grove
2014, Science of the Total Environment (484) 344-352
We investigated occurrence, transport pathways, and effects of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants and other endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in aquatic media and the foodweb in the lower Columbia River. In 2009 and 2010, foodweb sampling at three sites along a gradient of contaminant exposure near Skamania (Washington), Columbia...
Effects of low and high salinity regimes on seasonal gametogenesis of the ribbed mussel Geukensia granosissima in coastal Louisiana, USA
Aaron Honig, Megan K. LaPeyre, John Supan
2014, Sexuality and Early Development in Aquatic Organisms (1) 75-82
Benthic intertidal bivalves play an essential role in estuarine ecosystems by contributing to habitat provision, water filtration, and host vegetation productivity. As such, ecosystem level changes that impact population distributions and persistence of local bivalve populations may have large ecosystem level consequences, making it important to better understand the population...
One hundred volatile years of volcanic gas studies at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
A.J. Sutton, Tamar Elias
Michael P. Poland, T. Jane Takahashi, Claire M. Landowski, editor(s)
2014, Professional Paper 1801-7
The first volcanic gas studies in Hawai‘i, beginning in 1912, established that volatile emissions from Kīlauea Volcano contained mostly water vapor, in addition to carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. This straightforward discovery overturned a popular volatile theory of the day and, in the same action, helped affirm Thomas A. Jaggar,...
Space use and resource selection by foraging Indiana bats at the northern edge of their distribution
David S. Jachowski, Joshua B. Johnson, Christopher A. Dobony, John W. Edwards, W. Mark Ford
2014, Endangered Species Research (24) 149-157
Despite 4 decades of conservation concern, managing endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) populations remains a difficult wildlife resource issue facing natural resource managers in the eastern United States. After small signs of population recovery, the recent emergence of white-nose syndrome has led to concerns of local and/or regional extirpation of...
Host heterogeneity influences the impact of a non-native disease invasion on populations of a foundation tree species
Erik S. Jules, Allyson L. Carroll, Andrea M. Garcia, Christopher M. Steenbock, Matthew Kauffman
2014, Ecosphere (5) 1-17
Invasive pathogens are becoming increasingly important in forested ecosystems, yet they are often difficult to study because of their rapid transmission. The rate and extent of pathogen spread are thought to be partially controlled by variation in host characteristics, such as when host size and location influence susceptibility. Few host-pathogen...
Feedback of land subsidence on the movement and conjunctive use of water resources
Wolfgang Schmid, Randall T. Hanson, Stanley A. Leake, Joseph D. Hughes, Richard G. Niswonger
2014, Environmental Modelling and Software (62) 253-270
The dependency of surface- or groundwater flows and aquifer hydraulic properties on dewatering-induced layer deformation is not available in the USGS's groundwater model MODFLOW. A new integrated hydrologic model, MODFLOW-OWHM, formulates this dependency by coupling mesh deformation with aquifer transmissivity and storage and by linking land subsidence/uplift with deformation-dependent flows...
Characterizing lentic freshwater fish assemblages using multiple sampling methods
Jesse R. Fischer, Michael C. Quist
2014, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (186) 4461-4474
Characterizing fish assemblages in lentic ecosystems is difficult, and multiple sampling methods are almost always necessary to gain reliable estimates of indices such as species richness. However, most research focused on lentic fish sampling methodology has targeted recreationally important species, and little to no information is available regarding the influence...
A depth-averaged debris-flow model that includes the effects of evolving dilatancy: II. Numerical predictions and experimental tests.
David L. George, Richard M. Iverson
2014, Proceedings of the Royal Society A (470)
We evaluate a new depth-averaged mathematical model that is designed to simulate all stages of debris-flow motion, from initiation to deposition. A companion paper shows how the model’s five governing equations describe simultaneous evolution of flow thickness, solid volume fraction, basal pore-fluid pressure, and two components of flow momentum. Each...
The effects of harvest on waterfowl populations
Evan G. Cooch, Matthieu Guillemain, G Scott Boomer, Jean-Dominique Lebreton, James D. Nichols
2014, Wildfowl (Special Issue 4) 220-276
Change in the size of populations over space and time is, arguably, the motivation for much of pure and applied ecological research. The fundamental model for the dynamics of any population is straightforward: the net change in the abundance is the simple difference between the number of individuals entering the population and the number...
The critical role of islands for waterbird breeding and foraging habitat in managed ponds of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, South San Francisco Bay, California
Joshua T. Ackerman, C. Alex Hartman, Mark P. Herzog, Lacy M. Smith, Stacy M. Moskal, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Julie L. Yee, John Y. Takekawa
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1263
The South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project aims to restore 50–90 percent of former salt evaporation ponds into tidal marsh in South San Francisco Bay, California. However, large numbers of waterbirds use these ponds annually as nesting and foraging habitat. Islands within ponds are particularly important habitat for nesting, foraging,...
Northwest
Philip W. Mote, Amy K. Snover, Susan M. Capalbo, Sanford D. Eigenbrode, Patricia Glick, Jeremy S. Littell, Richard Raymondi, Spencer Reeder
2014, Book chapter, National Climate Assessment
Key Messages 1. Changes in the timing of streamflow related to changing snowmelt are already observed and will continue, reducing the supply of water for many competing demands and causing far-reaching ecological and socioeconomic consequences. 2. In the coastal zone, the effects of sea level rise, erosion, inundation, threats to...
Yellowstone River Compact Commission sixty-third annual report, 2014
Wayne R. Berkas
2014, Report
No abstract available....
Using dissolved organic matter age and composition to detect permafrost thaw in boreal watersheds of interior Alaska
Jonathan A. O’Donnell, George R. Aiken, Michelle Ann Walvoord, Peter A. Raymond, Kenna D. Butler, Mark M. Dornblaser, Katherine Heckman
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (119) 2155-2170
Recent warming at high latitudes has accelerated permafrost thaw, which can modify soil carbon dynamics and watershed hydrology. The flux and composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from soils to rivers are sensitive to permafrost configuration and its impact on subsurface hydrology and groundwater discharge. Here, we evaluate the utility...
Optimally managing water resources in large river basins for an uncertain future
Jr. Edwin A. Roehl, Paul Conrads
2014, Book
Managers of large river basins face conflicting needs for water resources such as wildlife habitat, water supply, wastewater assimilative capacity, flood control, hydroelectricity, and recreation. The Savannah River Basin for example, has experienced three major droughts since 2000 that resulted in record low water levels in its reservoirs, impacting local...
Growth and survival of Apache Trout under static and fluctuating temperature regimes
Matthew S. Recsetar, Scott A. Bonar, Olin Feuerbacher
2014, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (143) 1247-1254
Increasing stream temperatures have important implications for arid-region fishes. Little is known about effects of high water temperatures that fluctuate over extended periods on Apache Trout Oncorhynchus gilae apache, a federally threatened species of southwestern USA streams. We compared survival and growth of juvenile Apache Trout held for 30 d in...
Effects of urbanization on mercury deposition and accumulation in New England
Ann T. Chalmers, David P. Krabbenhoft, Peter C. Van Metre, Mark A. Nilles
2014, Environmental Pollution (192) 104-112
We compare total mercury (HgT) loading and methylmercury (MeHg) accumulation in streams and lakes from an urbanized area (Boston, Massachusetts) to rural regions of southern New Hampshire and Maine. The maximum HgT loading, as indicated by HgT atmospheric deposition, HgT emissions, and sediment HgT concentrations, did not coincide with maximum MeHg concentrations in...
Chemical mixtures in potable water in the U.S.
Sarah J. Ryker
2014, Book chapter, Comprehensive water quality and purification
In recent years, regulators have devoted increasing attention to health risks from exposure to multiple chemicals. In 1996, the US Congress directed the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to study mixtures of chemicals in drinking water, with a particular focus on potential interactions affecting chemicals' joint toxicity. The task is...
A multiple-tracer approach to understanding regional groundwaterflow in the Snake Valley area of the eastern Great Basin, USA
Philip M. Gardner
2014, Applied Geochemistry (45) 33-49
Groundwater in Snake Valley and surrounding basins in the eastern Great Basin province of the western United States is being targeted for large-scale groundwater extraction and export. Concern about declining groundwater levels and spring flows in western Utah as a result of the proposed groundwater withdrawals has led to efforts that have improved...
Magmatism, metasomatism, tectonism, and mineralization in the Humboldt Range, Pershing County, Nevada
Peter G. Vikre
2014, Book
Introduction The Humboldt Range, Pershing County, Nevada, predominantly consists of Mesozoic igneous and sedimentary rocks that were modified several times by magmatism, metasomatism, and tectonism, and contain a variety of metallic (Ag, Au, Pb, Zn, Sb, W, Hg) and non-metallic (dumortierite, pinite, fluorite) mineral deposits (Knopf, 1924; Kerr and Jenney,...
A large mantle water source for the northern San Andreas Fault System: A ghost of subduction past
Stephen H. Kirby, Kelin Wang, Thomas M. Brocher
2014, Earth, Planets and Space (66-67)
Recent research indicates that the shallow mantle of the Cascadia subduction margin under near-coastal Pacific Northwest U.S. is cold and partially serpentinized, storing large quantities of water in this wedge-shaped region. Such a wedge probably formed to the south in California during an earlier period of subduction. We show by...
Importance of understanding landscape biases in USGS gage locations: Implications and solutions for managers
Tyler Wagner, Jefferson Tyrell DeWeber, Yin-Phan Tsang, Damon Krueger, Joanna B. Whittier, Dana M. Infante, Gary Whelan
2014, Fisheries (39) 155-163
Flow and water temperature are fundamental properties of stream ecosystems upon which many freshwater resource management decisions are based. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) gages are the most important source of streamflow and water temperature data available nationwide, but the degree to which gages represent landscape attributes of the larger population...
Comparison of fishes in nearshore areas of the St. Lawrence River, New York over 35 years
Douglas M. Carlson, James E. McKenna Jr.
2014, NYSDEC Lake Ontario Annual Report 2013-21
Fishes of the nearshore waters of the St. Lawrence River provide forage for valuable sport fisheries and are important biological indicators of condition and change. This fish community differs slightly among various reaches of the St. Lawrence River from New York to Quebec (Carlson et al. 2006, Eckert and Hanlon...
The USGS-National Park Service Water Quality Partnership
Alan C. Ellsworth, Mark A. Nilles, Gary Rosenlieb
2014, The George Wright Forum (31) 191-197
No abstract available....
