Parameter estimation for the 4-parameter Asymmetric Exponential Power distribution by the method of L-moments using R
William H. Asquith
2014, Computational Statistics and Data Analysis (71) 955-970
The implementation characteristics of two method of L-moments (MLM) algorithms for parameter estimation of the 4-parameter Asymmetric Exponential Power (AEP4) distribution are studied using the R environment for statistical computing. The objective is to validate the algorithms for general application of the AEP4 using R. An algorithm was introduced in...
Historic changes in fish assemblage structure in midwestern nonwadeable rivers
Timothy P. Parks, Michael C. Quist, Clay L. Pierce
2014, American Midland Naturalist (171) 27-53
Historical change in fish assemblage structure was evaluated in the mainstems of the Des Moines, Iowa, Cedar, Wapsipinicon, and Maquoketa rivers, in Iowa. Fish occurrence data were compared in each river between historical and recent time periods to characterize temporal changes among 126 species distributions and assess spatiotemporal patterns in...
Regression models of discharge and mean velocity associated with near-median streamflow conditions in Texas: utility of the U.S. Geological Survey discharge measurement database
William H. Asquith
2014, Journal of Hydrologic Engineering (19) 108-122
A database containing more than 16,300 discharge values and ancillary hydraulic attributes was assembled from summaries of discharge measurement records for 391 USGS streamflow-gauging stations (streamgauges) in Texas. Each discharge is between the 40th- and 60th-percentile daily mean streamflow as determined by period-of-record, streamgauge-specific, flow-duration curves. Each discharge therefore is...
Streamflow, water quality, and constituent loads and yields, Scituate Reservoir drainage area, Rhode Island, water year 2012
Kirk P. Smith
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1274
Streamflow and concentrations of sodium and chloride estimated from records of specific conductance were used to calculate loads of sodium and chloride during water year (WY) 2012 (October 1, 2011, through September 30, 2012), for tributaries to the Scituate Reservoir, Rhode Island. Streamflow and water-quality data used in the study...
Identification of evolutionary hotspots based on genetic data from multiple terrestrial and aquatic taxa and gap analysis of hotspots in protected lands encompassed by the South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative.
J. Robinson, M. Snider, J. Duke, G.R. Moyer
2014, Report
The southeastern United States is a recognized hotspot of biodiversity for a variety of aquatic taxa, including fish, amphibians, and mollusks. Unfortunately, the great diversity of the area is accompanied by a large proportion of species at risk of extinction . Gap analysis was employed to assess the representation of...
Flood-inundation maps for the East Fork White River near Bedford, Indiana
Kathleen K. Fowler
2014, Scientific Investigations Map 3274
Digital flood-inundation maps for an 1.8-mile reach of the East Fork White River near Bedford, Indiana (Ind.) were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Indiana Department of Transportation. The inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science Web site at...
Physiographic and land cover attributes of the Puget Lowland and the active streamflow gaging network, Puget Sound Basin
Christopher Konrad, Maria Sevier
2014, Data Series 815
Geospatial information for the active streamflow gaging network in the Puget Sound Basin was compiled to support regional monitoring of stormwater effects to small streams. The compilation includes drainage area boundaries and physiographic and land use attributes that affect hydrologic processes. Three types of boundaries were used to tabulate attributes:...
Residence time control on hot moments of net nitrate production and uptake in the hyporheic zone
Martin A. Briggs, Laura K. Lautz, Danielle K. Hare
2014, Hydrological Processes (28) 3741-3751
The retention capacity for biologically available nitrogen within streams can be influenced by dynamic hyporheic zone exchange, a process that may act as either a net source or net sink of dissolved nitrogen. Over 5 weeks, nine vertical profiles of streambed chemistry (NO3- and NH4+) were collected above two beaver...
Geochemistry of hydrothermal alteration at the Qolqoleh gold deposit, northern Sanandaj–Sirjan metamorphic belt, northwestern Iran: Vectors to high-grade ore bodies
Farhang Aliyari, Ebrahim Rastad, Richard J. Goldfarb, Jafar Abdollah Sharif
2014, Journal of Geochemical Exploration (140) 111-125
The Qolqoleh orogenic gold deposit in the northern part of the Sanandaj–Sirjan metamorphic belt in northwestern Iran is hosted by a steeply dipping sequence of greenschist facies Cretaceous volcano–sedimentary rocks, including mafic to intermediate metavolcanic rocks, sericite and chlorite schist, and marble. Geochemical and petrochemical data including the ∑ REE, (La/Yb)N and Eu/Eu* ratios were obtained from...
Sedimentation survey of Lago Loíza, Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, July 2009
Luis R. Soler-Lopez, N.A. Licha-Soler
2014, Scientific Investigations Map 3219
Lago Loíza is a reservoir formed at the confluence of Río Gurabo and Río Grande de Loíza in the municipality of Trujillo Alto in central Puerto Rico, about 10 kilometers (km) north of the town of Caguas, about 9 km northwest of Gurabo, and about 3 km south of Trujillo...
Global surface displacement data for assessing variability of displacement at a point on a fault
Suzanne Hecker, Robert Sickler, Leah Feigelson, Norman Abrahamson, Will Hassett, Carla Rosa, Ann Sanquini
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1305
This report presents a global dataset of site-specific surface-displacement data on faults. We have compiled estimates of successive displacements attributed to individual earthquakes, mainly paleoearthquakes, at sites where two or more events have been documented, as a basis for analyzing inter-event variability in surface displacement on continental faults. An earlier version...
Response of Global Navigation Satellite System receivers to known shaking between 0.2 and 20 Hertz
John O. Langbein, John R. Evans, Fredrick Blume, Ingrid Johanson
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1308
Over the past decade, several technological advances have allowed Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) receivers to have the capability to record displacements at high frequencies, with sampling rates approaching 100 samples per second (sps). In addition, communication and computer hardware and software have allowed various institutions, including the U.S. Geological...
Lesser prairie-chicken nest site selection, microclimate, and nest survival in association with vegetation response to a grassland restoration program
Clint W. Boal, Blake A. Grisham, David A. Haukos, Jennifer C. Zavaleta, Charles Dixon
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1235
Climate models predict that the region of the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GPLCC) will experience increased maximum and minimum temperatures, reduced frequency but greater intensity of precipitation events, and earlier springs. These climate changes along with different landscape management techniques may influence the persistence of the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus...
Island history affects faunal composition: the treeshrews (Mammalia: Scandentia: Tupaiidae) from the Mentawai and Batu Islands, Indonesia
Eric J. Sargis, Neal Woodman, Natalie C. Morningstar, Aspen T. Reese, Link E. Olson
2014, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society (111) 290-304
The Mentawai and Batu Island groups off the west coast of Sumatra have a complicated geological and biogeographical history. The Batu Islands have shared a connection with the Sumatran ‘mainland’ during periods of lowered sea level, whereas the Mentawai Islands, despite being a similar distance from Sumatra, have remained isolated...
Ground motion in the presence of complex topography: Earthquake and ambient noise sources
Stephen H. Hartzell, Mark Meremonte, Leonardo Ramírez-Guzmán, Daniel McNamara
2014, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (104) 451-466
To study the influence of topography on ground motion, eight seismic recorders were deployed for a period of one year over Poverty Ridge on the east side of the San Francisco Bay Area, California. This location is desirable because of its proximity to local earthquake sources and the significant topographic...
Investigation of off-site airborne transport of lead from a superfund removal action site using lead isotope ratios and concentrations
Michael J. Pribil, Mark A. Maddaloni, Kimberly Staiger, Eric Wilson, Nick Magriples, Mustafa Ali, Dennis Santella
2014, Applied Geochemistry (41) 89-94
Lead (Pb) concentration and Pb isotopic composition of surface and subsurface soil samples were used to investigate the potential for off-site air transport of Pb from a former white Pb processing facility to neighboring residential homes in a six block area on Staten Island, NY. Surface and subsurface soil samples...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for South Dakota
William J. Carswell Jr.
2014, Fact Sheet 2013-3084
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of South Dakota, elevation data are critical for agriculture and precision farming, natural resources conservation, water supply and quality, infrastructure and construction management,...
Natural heat storage in a brine-filled solar pond in the Tully Valley of central New York
Brett Hayhurst, William M. Kappel
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1266
The Tully Valley, located in southern Onondaga County, New York, has a long history of unusual natural hydrogeologic phenomena including mudboils (Kappel, 2009), landslides (Tamulonis and others, 2009; Pair and others, 2000), landsurface subsidence (Hackett and others, 2009; Kappel, 2009), and a brine-filled sinkhole or “Solar pond” (fig. 1), which...
What do data used to develop ground-motion prediction equations tell us about motions near faults?
David M. Boore
2014, Pure and Applied Geophysics (171) 3023-3043
A large database of ground motions from shallow earthquakes occurring in active tectonic regions around the world, recently developed in the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Center’s NGA-West2 project, has been used to investigate what such a database can say about the properties and processes of crustal fault zones. There are a...
Comparative recruitment dynamics of Alewife and Bloater in Lakes Michigan and Huron
Paris D. Collingsworth, David B. Bunnell, Charles P. Madenjian, Stephen C. Riley
2014, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (143) 294-309
The predictive power of recruitment models often relies on the identification and quantification of external variables, in addition to stock size. In theory, the identification of climatic, biotic, or demographic influences on reproductive success assists fisheries management by identifying factors that have a direct and reproducible influence on the population...
Geographic variability in elevation and topographic constraints on the distribution of native and nonnative trout in the Great Basin
Dana R. Warren, Jason B. Dunham, David Hockman-Wert
2014, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (143) 205-218
Understanding local and geographic factors influencing species distributions is a prerequisite for conservation planning. Our objective in this study was to model local and geographic variability in elevations occupied by native and nonnative trout in the northwestern Great Basin, USA. To this end, we analyzed a large existing data set...
Deep-sea coral record of human impact on watershed quality in the Mississippi River Basin
Nancy G. Prouty, E. Brendan Roark, Alan E. Koenig, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Fabian C. Batista, Benjamin D. Kocar, David Selby, Matthew D. McCarthy, Furu Mienis
2014, Global Biogeochemical Cycles (28) 29-43
One of the greatest drivers of historical nutrient and sediment transport into the Gulf of Mexico is the unprecedented scale and intensity of land use change in the Mississippi River Basin. These landscape changes are linked to enhanced fluxes of carbon and nitrogen pollution from the Mississippi River, and persistent...
Effects of climate change and urban development on the distribution and conservation of vegetation in a Mediterranean type ecosystem
Bray Beltran, Janet Franklin, Alexandra D. Syphard, Helen M. Regan, Lorraine E. Flint, Alan L. Flint
2014, International Journal of Geographical Information Science (28) 1561-1589
Climate and land-use changes are projected to threaten biodiversity over this century. However, few studies have considered the spatial and temporal overlap of these threats to evaluate how ongoing land-use change could affect species ranges projected to shift outside conservation areas. We evaluated climate change and urban development effects on...
An ontology design pattern for surface water features
Gaurav Sinha, David Mark, Dave Kolas, Dalia Varanka, Boleslo E. Romero, Chen-Chieh Feng, E. Lynn Usery, Joshua Liebermann, Alexandre Sorokine
2014, Conference Paper, Geographic Information Science: Proceedings of the 8th International Conference, GIScience
Surface water is a primary concept of human experience but concepts are captured in cultures and languages in many different ways. Still, many commonalities exist due to the physical basis of many of the properties and categories. An abstract ontology of surface water features based only on those physical properties...
Uncertainty and extreme events in future climate and hydrologic projections for the Pacific Northwest: providing a basis for vulnerability and core/corridor assessments
Jeremy S. Littell, Guillaume S. Mauger, Eric P. Salathe, Alan F. Hamlet, Se-Yeun Lee, Matt R. Stumbaugh, Marketa Elsner, Robert Norheim, Eric R. Lutz, Nathan J. Mantua
2014, Report
The purpose of this project was to (1) provide an internally-consistent set of downscaled projections across the Western U.S., (2) include information about projection uncertainty, and (3) assess projected changes of hydrologic extremes. These objectives were designed to address decision support needs for climate adaptation and resource management actions. Specifically,...