Detailed interpretation of aeromagnetic data from the Patagonia Mountains area, southeastern Arizona
Mark W. Bultman
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5029
The induced magnetic field and the remanent magnetic field of rock masses are important to geologic modeling based on Earth’s magnetic field data. The orientation of the induced magnetic field is approximately parallel to the orientation of Earth’s geomagnetic field and its intensity can be derived from measured magnetic susceptibilities...
Wide-area ratios of evapotranspiration to precipitation in monsoon-dependent semiarid vegetation communities
Edward P. Glenn, Russell L. Scott, Uyen Nguyen, Pamela L. Nagler
2015, Journal of Arid Environments (117) 84-95
Evapotranspiration (ET) and the ratio of ET to precipitation (PPT) are important factors in the water budget of semiarid rangelands and are in part determined by the dominant plant communities. Our goal was to see if landscape changes such as tree or shrub encroachment and replacement of native grasses by...
Recovery of a mining-damaged stream ecosystem
Christopher A. Mebane, Robert J. Eakins, Brian G. Fraser, William J. Adams
2015, Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene (3) 1-34
This paper presents a 30+ year record of changes in benthic macroinvertebrate communities and fish populations associated with improving water quality in mining-influenced streams. Panther Creek, a tributary to the Salmon River in central Idaho, USA suffered intensive damage from mining and milling operations at the Blackbird Mine that released...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for West Virginia
William J. Carswell Jr.
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3017
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 West Virginia, elevation data are critical for natural resources conservation, flood risk management, forest resources management, infrastructure and construction management, agriculture and...
Book review: Analysis of capture–recapture data
J. Andrew Royle
2015, Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics (20) 431-432
Analysis of Capture–Recapture Data by McCrea and Morgan is an excellent, easy to read monograph about capture–recapture models. In this book, the authors provide a concise overview of traditional closed population capture–recapture models (Models M0, Mb, Mh, etc.), individual covariate models, and open population models such as the...
Geophysical log analysis of selected test and residential wells at the Shenandoah Road National Superfund Site, East Fishkill, Dutchess County, New York
Richard J. Reynolds, J. Alton Anderson, John Williams
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5228
The U.S. Geological Survey collected and analyzed geophysical logs from 20 test wells and 23 residential wells at the Shenandoah Road National Superfund Site in East Fishkill, New York, from 2006 through 2010 as part of an Interagency Agreement to provide hydrogeologic technical support to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,...
Chemical variations in Yellowknife Bay formation sedimentary rocks analyzed by ChemCam on board the Curiosity rover on Mars
Nicolas Mangold, Olivier Forni, G. Dromart, K.M. Stack, Roger C. Wiens, Olivier Gasnault, Dawn Y. Sumner, Marion Nachon, Pierre-Yves Meslin, Ryan B. Anderson, Bruce Barraclough, J.F. Bell III, G. Berger, D.L. Blaney, J.C. Bridges, F. Calef, Brian R. Clark, Samuel M. Clegg, Agnes Cousin, L. Edgar, Kenneth S. Edgett, B.L. Ehlmann, Cecile Fabre, M. Fisk, John P. Grotzinger, S.C. Gupta, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, J.A. Hurowitz, J. R. Johnson, Linda C. Kah, Nina L. Lanza, Jeremie Lasue, S. Le Mouélic, Eric Lewin, Michael Malin, Scott M. McLennan, S. Maurice, Noureddine Melikechi, Alissa Mezzacappa, Ralph E. Milliken, H.L. Newsome, A. Ollila, Scott K. Rowland, Violaine Sautter, M.E. Schmidt, S. Schroder, C. D'Uston, Dave Vaniman, R. A. Williams
2015, Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets (120) 452-482
The Yellowknife Bay formation represents a ~5 m thick stratigraphic section of lithified fluvial and lacustrine sediments analyzed by the Curiosity rover in Gale crater, Mars. Previous works have mainly focused on the mudstones that were drilled by the rover at two locations. The present study focuses on the sedimentary...
A review of the global relationship among freshwater fish, autotrophic activity, and regional climate
Andrew M. Deines, David B. Bunnell, Mark W. Rogers, T. Douglas Beard Jr., William W. Taylor
2015, Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries (25) 323-336
The relationship between autotrophic activity and freshwater fish populations is an important consideration for ecologists describing trophic structure in aquatic communities, fisheries managers tasked with increasing sustainable fisheries development, and fish farmers seeking to maximize production. Previous studies of the empirical relationships of autotrophic activity and freshwater fish yield have...
Bahamas connection: residence areas selected by breeding female loggerheads tagged in Dry Tortugas National Park, USA
Kristen M. Hart, Autumn R. Sartain-Iverson, Ikuko Fujisaki
2015, Animal Biotelemetry (3)
Background Delineation of home ranges, residence and foraging areas, and migration corridors is important for understanding the habitat needs for a given species. Recently, many population segments of Northwest Atlantic loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) were designated as endangered or threatened; the smallest subpopulation is in the Dry Tortugas. Foraging and...
Sample descriptions and geophysical logs for cored well BP-3-USGS, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Alamosa County, Colorado
V. J. S. Grauch, Gary L. Skipp, Jonathan V. Thomas, Joshua K. Davis, Mary Ellen Benson
2015, Data Series 918
The BP-3-USGS well was drilled at the southwestern corner of Great Sand Dunes National Park in the San Luis Valley, south-central Colorado, 68 feet (ft, 20.7 meters [m]) southwest of the National Park Service’s boundary-piezometer (BP) well 3. BP-3-USGS is located at latitude 37°43ʹ18.06ʺN. and longitude 105°43ʹ39.30ʺW., at an elevation...
An assessment of two methods for identifying undocumented levees using remotely sensed data
Christiana R. Czuba, Byron K. Williams, Jack Westman, Keith LeClaire
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5009
Many undocumented and commonly unmaintained levees exist in the landscape complicating flood forecasting, risk management, and emergency response. This report describes a pilot study completed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to assess two methods to identify undocumented levees by using remotely...
Chromosomal damage and EROD induction in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) along the Upper Mississippi River, Minnesota, USA
Emilie Bigorgne, Thomas W. Custer, Paul M. Dummer, Richard A. Erickson, Natalie K. Karouna-Renier, Sandra L. Schultz, Christine M. Custer, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Cole W. Matson
2015, Ecotoxicology (24) 1028-1039
The health of tree swallows, Tachycineta bicolor, on the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) was assessed in 2010 and 2011 using biomarkers at six sites downriver of Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN metropolitan area, a tributary into the UMR, and a nearby lake. Chromosomal damage was evaluated in nestling blood by...
Sea-floor morphology and sedimentary environments in western Block Island Sound, offshore of Fishers Island, New York
Katherine Y. McMullen, Lawrence J. Poppe, William W. Danforth, Dann S. Blackwood, William G. Winner, Castle E. Parker
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1224
Multibeam-bathymetric and sidescan-sonar data, collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in a 114-square-kilometer area of Block Island Sound, southeast of Fishers Island, New York, are combined with sediment samples and bottom photography collected by the U.S. Geological Survey from 36 stations in this area in order to interpret...
Modeling climate change, urbanization, and fire effects on Pinus palustris ecosystems of the southeastern U.S.
Jennifer Costanza, Adam J. Terando, Alexa McKerrow, Jaime A. Collazo
2015, Journal of Environmental Management (151) 186-199
Managing ecosystems for resilience and sustainability requires understanding how they will respond to future anthropogenic drivers such as climate change and urbanization. In fire-dependent ecosystems, predicting this response requires a focus on how these drivers will impact fire regimes. Here, we use scenarios of climate change, urbanization and management to...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Pennsylvania
William J. Carswell Jr.
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3019
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 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, elevation data are critical for natural resources conservation (including the effects of drilling for oil and natural gas), agriculture and precision...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Iowa
William J. Carswell Jr.
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3018
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 Iowa, elevation data are critical for agriculture and precision farming, infrastructure and construction management, natural resources conservation, flood risk management, water supply...
A comparison of methods to estimate seismic phase delays--Numerical examples for coda wave interferometry
T. Dylan Mikesell, Alison E. Malcolm, Di Yang, Matthew M. Haney
2015, Geophysical Journal International (202) 347-360
Time-shift estimation between arrivals in two seismic traces before and after a velocity perturbation is a crucial step in many seismic methods. The accuracy of the estimated velocity perturbation location and amplitude depend on this time shift. Windowed cross correlation and trace stretching are two techniques commonly used to estimate...
A comparison of methods to predict historical daily streamflow time series in the southeastern United States
William H. Farmer, Stacey A. Archfield, Thomas M. Over, Lauren E. Hay, Jacob H. LaFontaine, Julie E. Kiang
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5231
Effective and responsible management of water resources relies on a thorough understanding of the quantity and quality of available water. Streamgages cannot be installed at every location where streamflow information is needed. As part of its National Water Census, the U.S. Geological Survey is planning to provide streamflow predictions for...
Wyoming greater sage-grouse habitat prioritization: A collection of multi-scale seasonal models and geographic information systems land management tools
Michael S. O’Donnell, Cameron L. Aldridge, Kevin E. Doherty, Bradley C. Fedy
2015, Data Series 891
With rapidly changing landscape conditions within Wyoming and the potential effects of landscape changes on sage-grouse habitat, land managers and conservation planners, among others, need procedures to assess the location and juxtaposition of important habitats, land-cover, and land-use patterns to balance wildlife requirements with multiple human land uses. Biologists frequently...
Water-quality trends for selected sites in the Boulder River and Tenmile Creek watersheds, Montana, based on data collected during water years 1997-2013
Steven K. Sando, Melanie L. Clark, Tom Cleasby, Elliott P. Barnhart
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5008
In the Boulder River and Tenmile Creek watersheds in southwestern Montana, there was intensive mining during a 40-year period after the discovery of gold in the early 1860s. Potential effects from the historic mining activities include acid-mine drainage and elevated concentrations of potentially toxic trace elements from mining remnants such...
Modelling non-Euclidean movement and landscape connectivity in highly structured ecological networks
Christopher Sutherland, Angela K. Fuller, J. Andrew Royle
2015, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (6) 169-177
Movement is influenced by landscape structure, configuration and geometry, but measuring distance as perceived by animals poses technical and logistical challenges. Instead, movement is typically measured using Euclidean distance, irrespective of location or landscape structure, or is based on arbitrary cost surfaces. A recently proposed extension of spatial...
Quantifying avian predation on fish populations: integrating predator-specific deposition probabilities in tag-recovery studies
Nathan J. Hostetter, Allen F. Evans, Bradley M. Cramer, Ken Collis, Donald E. Lyons, Daniel D. Roby
2015, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (144) 410-422
Accurate assessment of specific mortality factors is vital to prioritize recovery actions for threatened and endangered species. For decades, tag recovery methods have been used to estimate fish mortality due to avian predation. Predation probabilities derived from fish tag recoveries on piscivorous waterbird colonies typically reflect minimum estimates of predation...
Geochemical maps of stream sediments in central Colorado, from New Mexico to Wyoming
Robert G. Eppinger, Stuart A. Giles, Terry L. Klein
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1025
The U.S. Geological Survey has completed a series of geologic, mineral resource, and environmental assessment studies in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado, from Leadville eastward to the range front and from New Mexico to the Wyoming border. Regional stream-sediment geochemical maps, useful for assessing mineral resources and environmental effects...
A multipurpose camera system for monitoring Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai'i
Matthew R. Patrick, Tim R. Orr, Lopaka Lee, Cyril J. Moniz
2015, Techniques and Methods 13-A2
We describe a low-cost, compact multipurpose camera system designed for field deployment at active volcanoes that can be used either as a webcam (transmitting images back to an observatory in real-time) or as a time-lapse camera system (storing images onto the camera system for periodic retrieval during field visits). The...
UCERF3: A new earthquake forecast for California's complex fault system
Edward H. Field, 2014 Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3009
With innovations, fresh data, and lessons learned from recent earthquakes, scientists have developed a new earthquake forecast model for California, a region under constant threat from potentially damaging events. The new model, referred to as the third Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast, or "UCERF" (http://www.WGCEP.org/UCERF3), provides authoritative estimates of...
