Dynamics of submarine groundwater discharge and associated fluxes of dissolved nutrients, carbon, and trace gases to the coastal zone (Okatee River estuary, South Carolina)
W.P. Porubsky, N.B. Weston, W.S. Moore, C. Ruppel, S.B. Joye
2014, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (131) 81-97
Multiple techniques, including thermal infrared aerial remote sensing, geophysical and geological data, geochemical characterization and radium isotopes, were used to evaluate the role of groundwater as a source of dissolved nutrients, carbon, and trace gases to the Okatee River estuary, South Carolina. Thermal infrared aerial remote sensing surveys illustrated the...
Undersampling power-law size distributions: effect on the assessment of extreme natural hazards
Eric L. Geist, Thomas E. Parsons
2014, Natural Hazards (72) 565-595
The effect of undersampling on estimating the size of extreme natural hazards from historical data is examined. Tests using synthetic catalogs indicate that the tail of an empirical size distribution sampled from a pure Pareto probability distribution can range from having one-to-several unusually large events to appearing depleted, relative to...
National requirements for improved elevation data
Gregory I. Snyder, Larry J. Sugarbaker, Allyson L. Jason, David F. Maune
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1237
This report presents the results of surveys, structured interviews, and workshops conducted to identify key national requirements for improved elevation data for the United States and its territories, including coastlines. Organizations also identified and reported the expected economic benefits that would be realized if their requirements for improved elevation were...
Trends in major-ion constituents and properties for selected sampling sites in the Tongue and Powder River watersheds, Montana and Wyoming, based on data collected during water years 1980-2010
Steven K. Sando, Aldo V. Vecchia, Elliott P. Barnhart, Roy Sando, Melanie L. Clark, David L. Lorenz
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5179
The primary purpose of this report is to present information relating to flow-adjusted temporal trends in major-ion constituents and properties for 16 sampling sites in the Tongue and Powder River watersheds based on data collected during 1980–2010. In association with this primary purpose, the report presents background information on major-ion...
Simulated and observed 2010 flood-water elevations in selected river reaches in the Moshassuck and Woonasquatucket River Basins, Rhode Island
Phillip J. Zarriello, David E. Straub, Stephen M. Westenbroek
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5191
Heavy persistent rains from late February through March 2010 caused severe flooding and set, or nearly set, peaks of record for streamflows and water levels at many long-term U.S. Geological Survey streamgages in Rhode Island. In response to this flood, hydraulic models were updated for selected reaches covering about 33...
Simulated and observed 2010 floodwater elevations in the Pawcatuck and Wood Rivers, Rhode Island
Phillip J. Zarriello, David E. Straub, Thor E. Smith
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5193
Heavy, persistent rains from late February through March 2010 caused severe flooding that set, or nearly set, peaks of record for streamflows and water levels at many long-term U.S. Geological Survey streamgages in Rhode Island. In response to this flood, hydraulic models of Pawcatuck River (26.9 miles) and Wood River...
Simulated and observed 2010 floodwater elevations in selected river reaches in the Pawtuxet River Basin, Rhode Island
Phillip J. Zarriello, Scott A. Olson, Robert H. Flynn, Kellan R. Strauch, Elizabeth A. Murphy
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5192
Heavy, persistent rains from late February through March 2010 caused severe flooding that set, or nearly set, peaks of record for streamflows and water levels at many long-term streamgages in Rhode Island. In response to this event, hydraulic models were updated for selected reaches covering about 56 river miles in...
Validation of adipose lipid content as a body condition index for polar bears
Melissa A. McKinney, Todd C. Atwood, Rune Dietz, Christian Sonne, Sara J. Iverson, Elizabeth L. Peacock
2014, Ecology and Evolution (4) 516-527
Body condition is a key indicator of individual and population health. Yet, there is little consensus as to the most appropriate condition index (CI), and most of the currently used CIs have not been thoroughly validated and are logistically challenging. Adipose samples from large datasets of capture biopsied, remote biopsied,...
Linkage of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool and the Texas Water Availability Model to simulate the effects of brush management on monthly storage of Canyon Lake, south-central Texas, 1995-2010
William H. Asquith, Johnathan R. Bumgarner
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5239
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, developed and applied an approach to create a linkage between the published upper Guadalupe River Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) brush-management (ashe juniper [Juniperus ashei]) model and the full authorization version Guadalupe River Water...
Assessment of the geoavailability of trace elements from selected zinc minerals
Rhonda L. Driscoll, Phillip L. Hageman, William Benzel, Sharon F. Diehl, Suzette Morman, LaDonna M. Choate, Heather Lowers
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1309
This assessment focused on five zinc-bearing minerals. The minerals were subjected to a number of analyses including quantitative X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, leaching tests, and bioaccessibility and toxicity studies. Like a previous comprehensive assessment of five copper-bearing minerals, the purpose of this assessment was to obtain structural and chemical information...
Hydrologic monitoring of a landslide-prone hillslope in the Elliott State Forest, Southern Coast Range, Oregon, 2009-2012
Joel B. Smith, Jonathan W. Godt, Rex L. Baum, Jeffrey A. Coe, William J. Burns, Michael M. Morse, Basak Sener-Kaya, Murat Kaya
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1283
The Oregon Coast Range is dissected by numerous unchanneled headwater basins, which can generate shallow landslides and debris flows during heavy or prolonged rainfall. An automated monitoring system was installed in an unchanneled headwater basin to measure rainfall, volumetric water content, groundwater temperature, and pore pressures at 15-minute intervals. The...
An enhanced archive facilitating climate impacts analysis
E.P. Maurer, L. Brekke, T. Pruitt, B. Thrasher, J. Long, P. Duffy, M. Dettinger, D. Cayan, J. Arnold
2014, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (95) 1011-1019
We describe the expansion of a publicly available archive of downscaled climate and hydrology projections for the United States. Those studying or planning to adapt to future climate impacts demand downscaled climate model output for local or regional use. The archive we describe attempts to fulfill this need by providing...
The Tetracorder user guide: version 4.4
Keith Eric Livo, Roger N. Clark
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1300
Imaging spectroscopy mapping software assists in the identification and mapping of materials based on their chemical properties as expressed in spectral measurements of a planet including the solid or liquid surface or atmosphere. Such software can be used to analyze field, aircraft, or spacecraft data; remote sensing datasets; or laboratory...
Implementation of a non-lethal biopsy punch monitoring program for mercury in smallmouth bass, Micropterus dolomieu Lacepede, from the Eleven Point River, Missouri
J. R. Ackerson, M. J. McKee, C. J. Schmitt, William G. Brumbaugh
2014, Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (92) 125-131
A non-lethal biopsy method for monitoring mercury (Hg) concentrations in smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu; smallmouth) from the Eleven Point River in southern Missouri USA was evaluated. A biopsy punch was used to remove a muscle tissue plug from the area immediately below the anterior dorsal fin of 31...
Bathymetric surveys and area/capacity tables of water-supply reservoirs for the city of Cameron, Missouri, July 2013
Richard J. Huizinga
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1005
Years of sediment accumulation and dry conditions in recent years have led to the decline of water levels and capacities for many water-supply reservoirs in Missouri, and have caused renewed interest in modernizing outdated area/capacity tables for these reservoirs. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of...
Evaluating the efficiency of environmental monitoring programs
Carrie R. Levine, Ruth D. Yanai, Gregory G. Lampman, Douglas A. Burns, Charles T. Driscoll, Gregory B. Lawrence, Jason Lynch, Nina Schoch
2014, Ecological Indicators (39) 94-101
Statistical uncertainty analyses can be used to improve the efficiency of environmental monitoring, allowing sampling designs to maximize information gained relative to resources required for data collection and analysis. In this paper, we illustrate four methods of data analysis appropriate to four types of environmental monitoring designs. To analyze a...
Seismicity within a propagating ice shelf rift: the relationship between icequake locations and ice shelf structure
David S. Heeszel, Helen A. Fricker, Jeremy N. Bassis, Shad O’Neel, Fabian Walter
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface (119) 731-744
Iceberg calving is a dominant mass loss mechanism for Antarctic ice shelves, second only to basal melting. An important known process involved in calving is the initiation and propagation of through-penetrating fractures called rifts; however, the mechanisms controlling rift propagation remain poorly understood. To investigate the mechanics of ice-shelf rifting,...
Inferences about population dynamics from count data using multi-state models: A comparison to capture-recapture approaches
Evan H. Campbell Grant, Elise Zipkin, Sillett T. Scott, Richard Chandler, J. Andrew Royle
2014, Ecology and Evolution (4) 417-426
Wildlife populations consist of individuals that contribute disproportionately to growth and viability. Understanding a population's spatial and temporal dynamics requires estimates of abundance and demographic rates that account for this heterogeneity. Estimating these quantities can be difficult, requiring years of intensive data collection. Often, this is accomplished through the capture...
Anatomy of the lamprey ear: morphological evidence for occurrence of horizontal semicircular ducts in the labyrinth of Petromyzon marinus
Adel Maklad, Caitlyn Reed, Nicholas S. Johnson, Bernd Fritzsch
2014, Journal of Anatomy (224) 432-446
In jawed (gnathostome) vertebrates, the inner ears have three semicircular canals arranged orthogonally in the three Cartesian planes: one horizontal (lateral) and two vertical canals. They function as detectors for angular acceleration in their respective planes. Living jawless craniates, cyclostomes (hagfish and lamprey) and their fossil records seemingly lack a...
DOI/GTN-P climate and active-layer data acquired in the National Petroleum Reserve: Alaska and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 1998-2011
Frank E. Urban, Gary D. Clow
2014, Data Series 812
This report provides data collected by the climate monitoring array of the U.S. Department of the Interior on Federal lands in Arctic Alaska over the period August 1998 to July 2011; this array is part of the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost, (DOI/GTN-P). In addition to presenting data, this report...
The United States Geological Survey Science Data Lifecycle Model
John Faundeen, Thomas E. Burley, Jennifer A. Carlino, David L. Govoni, Heather S. Henkel, Sally L. Holl, Vivian B. Hutchison, Elizabeth Martín, Ellyn T. Montgomery, Cassandra Ladino, Steven Tessler, Lisa S. Zolly
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1265
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data represent corporate assets with potential value beyond any immediate research use, and therefore need to be accounted for and properly managed throughout their lifecycle. Recognizing these motives, a USGS team developed a Science Data Lifecycle Model (SDLM) as a high-level view of data—from conception through...
Phytoplankton growth balanced by clam and zooplankton grazing and net transport into the low-salinity zone of the San Francisco Estuary
Wim J. Kimmerer, Janet K. Thompson
2014, Estuaries and Coasts
We estimated the influence of planktonic and benthic grazing on phytoplankton in the strongly tidal, river-dominated northern San Francisco Estuary using data from an intensive study of the low salinity foodweb in 2006–2008 supplemented with long-term monitoring data. A drop in chlorophyll concentration in 1987 had previously been linked to...
Constraining explosive volcanism: Subjective choices during estimates of eruption magnitude
Malin Klawonn, Bruce F. Houghton, Don Swanson, Sarah A. Fagents, Paul Wessel, Cecily J. Wolfe
2014, Bulletin of Volcanology (76)
When estimating the magnitude of explosive eruptions from their deposits, individuals make three sets of critical choices with respect to input data: the spacing of sampling sites, the selection of contour intervals to constrain the field measurements, and the hand contouring of thickness/isomass data, respectively. Volcanologists make subjective calls, as...
Fluorescence-based classification of Caribbean coral reef organisms and substrates
David G. Zawada, Charles H. Mazel
2014, PLoS ONE (9)
A diverse group of coral reef organisms, representing several phyla, possess fluorescent pigments. We investigated the potential of using the characteristic fluorescence emission spectra of these pigments to enable unsupervised, optical classification of coral reef habitats. We compiled a library of characteristic fluorescence spectra through in situ and laboratory measurements...
Evaluation of toxicity to the amphipod, Hyalella azteca, and to the midge, Chironomus dilutus; and bioaccumulation by the oligochaete, Lumbriculus variegatus, with exposure to PCB-contaminated sediments from Anniston, Alabama
Christopher G. Ingersoll, Jeffery A. Steevens, Donald D. MacDonald, William G. Brumbaugh, Matthew R. Coady, J. Daniel Farrar, Guilherme R. Lotufo, Nile E. Kemble, James L. Kunz, Jacob K. Stanley, Jesse A. Sinclair
Christopher G. Ingersoll, Jeffery A. Steevens, Donald D. MacDonald, editor(s)
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5125
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) requested that as part of the remedial investigation for the Anniston, Alabama Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Site (Anniston PCB Site), that Pharmacia Corporation and Solutia Inc. (P/S) perform long-term reproduction toxicity tests with the amphipod, Hyalella azteca, and the midge, Chironomus dilutus, and bioaccumulation tests...
