Hydration free energies of cyanide and hydroxide ions from molecular dynamics simulations with accurate force fields
Myung W. Lee, M. Meuwly
2013, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (15) 20303-20312
The evaluation of hydration free energies is a sensitive test to assess force fields used in atomistic simulations. We showed recently that the vibrational relaxation times, 1D- and 2D-infrared spectroscopies for CN(-) in water can be quantitatively described from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with multipolar force fields and slightly enlarged...
Functional diversity supports the physiological tolerance hypothesis for plant species richness along climatic gradients
Marko J. Spasojevic, James B. Grace, Susan Harrison, Ellen Ingman Damschen
2013, Journal of Ecology (102) 447-455
1. The physiological tolerance hypothesis proposes that plant species richness is highest in warm and/or wet climates because a wider range of functional strategies can persist under such conditions. Functional diversity metrics, combined with statistical modeling, offer new ways to test whether diversity-environment relationships are consistent with this hypothesis. 2....
Distribution and movement of Big Spring spinedace (Lepidomeda mollispinis pratensis) in Condor Canyon, Meadow Valley Wash, Nevada
Ian G. Jezorek, Patrick J. Connolly
2013, Western North American Naturalist (3) 323-336
Big Spring spinedace (Lepidomeda mollispinis pratensis) is a cyprinid whose entire population occurs within a section of Meadow Valley Wash, Nevada. Other spinedace species have suffered population and range declines (one species is extinct). Managers, concerned about the vulnerability of Big Spring spinedace, have considered habitat restoration actions or translocation,...
Land subsidence and relative sea-level rise in the southern Chesapeake Bay region
Jack Eggleston, Jason Pope
2013, Circular 1392
The southern Chesapeake Bay region is experiencing land subsidence and rising water levels due to global sea-level rise; land subsidence and rising water levels combine to cause relative sea-level rise. Land subsidence has been observed since the 1940s in the southern Chesapeake Bay region at rates of 1.1 to 4.8...
Circulation, mixing, and transport in nearshore Lake Erie in the vicinity of Villa Angela Beach and Euclid Creek, Cleveland, Ohio, September 11-12, 2012
P. Ryan Jackson
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5198
Villa Angela Beach, on the Lake Erie lakeshore near Cleveland, Ohio, is adjacent to the mouth of Euclid Creek, a small, flashy stream draining approximately 23 square miles and susceptible to periodic contamination from combined sewer overflows (CSOs) (97 and 163 CSO events in 2010 and 2011, respectively). Concerns over...
Tensor-guided fitting of subduction slab depths
Farhad Bazargani, Gavin P. Hayes
2013, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (103) 2657-2669
Geophysical measurements are often acquired at scattered locations in space. Therefore, interpolating or fitting the sparsely sampled data as a uniform function of space (a procedure commonly known as gridding) is a ubiquitous problem in geophysics. Most gridding methods require a model of spatial correlation for data. This spatial correlation...
National assessment of shoreline change: historical shoreline change along the Pacific Northwest coast
Peter Ruggerio, Meredith G. Kratzmann, Emily A. Himmelstoss, David Reid, Jonathan Allan, George Kaminsky
2013, Open-File Report 2012-1007
Beach erosion is a chronic problem along most open ocean shores of the United States. As coastal populations continue to increase and infrastructure is threatened by erosion, there is increased demand for accurate information regarding past and present trends and rates of shoreline movement. There is also a need for...
The National assessment of shoreline shange—A GIS compilation of vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the Pacific Northwest coast
Meredith G. Kratzmann, Emily A. Himmelstoss, Peter Ruggiero, E. Robert Thieler, David Reid
2013, Open-File Report 2012-1008
Sandy ocean beaches are a popular recreational destination and are often surrounded by communities that consist of valuable real estate. Development along sandy coastal areas is increasing despite the fact that coastal infrastructure may be repeatedly subjected to flooding and erosion. As a result, the demand for accurate information regarding...
Satellite images of the September 2013 flood event in Lyons, Colorado
Christopher J. Cole, Beverly A. Friesen, Stanley Wilds, Suzanne Noble, Harumi Warner, Earl M. Wilson
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1286
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Special Applications Science Center (SASC) produced an image base map showing high-resolution remotely sensed data over Lyons, Colorado—a city that was severely affected by the flood event that occurred throughout much of the Colorado Front Range in September of 2013. The 0.5-meter WorldView-2 data products...
Geomorphic and vegetation processes of the Willamette River floodplain, Oregon: current understanding and unanswered science questions
J. Rose Wallick, Krista L. Jones, Jim E. O'Connor, Mackenzie K. Keith, David Hulse, Stanley V. Gregory
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1246
This report summarizes the current understanding of floodplain processes and landforms for the Willamette River and its major tributaries. The area of focus encompasses the main stem Willamette River above Newberg and the portions of the Coast Fork Willamette, Middle Fork Willamette, McKenzie, and North, South and main stem Santiam...
Estimation of traveltime and longitudinal dispersion in streams in West Virginia
Jeffrey B. Wiley, Terence Messinger
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5182
Traveltime and dispersion data are important for understanding and responding to spills of contaminants in waterways. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with West Virginia Bureau for Public Health, Office of Environmental Health Services, compiled and evaluated traveltime and longitudinal dispersion data representative of many West Virginia waterways. Traveltime...
Bathymetry and acoustic backscatter: Estero Bay, California
Stephen R. Hartwell, David P. Finlayson, Peter Dartnell, Samuel Y. Johnson
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1225
Between July 30 and August 9, 2012, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center (PCMSC), acquired bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data from Estero Bay, San Luis Obispo, California, under PCMSC Field Activity ID S-05-12-SC. The survey was done using the R/V Parke Snavely outfitted with a...
Streamflow monitoring and statistics for development of water rights claims for Wild and Scenic Rivers, Owyhee Canyonlands Wilderness, Idaho, 2012
Molly S. Wood, Ryan L. Fosness
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5212
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), collected streamflow data in 2012 and estimated streamflow statistics for stream segments designated "Wild," "Scenic," or "Recreational" under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System in the Owyhee Canyonlands Wilderness in southwestern Idaho. The streamflow statistics were...
Integrated carbon budget models for the Everglades terrestrial-coastal-oceanic gradient: Current status and needs for inter-site comparisons
Tiffany G. Troxler, Evelyn Gaiser, Jordan Barr, Jose D. Fuentes, Rudolf Jaffe, Daniel L. Childers, Ligia Collado-Vides, Victor H. Rivera-Monroy, Edward Castañeda-Moya, William Anderson, Randy Chambers, Meilian Chen, Carlos Coronado-Molina, Stephen E. Davis, Victor C. Engel, Carl Fitz, James Fourqurean, Tom Frankovich, John Kominoski, Chris Madden, Sparkle L. Malone, Steve F. Oberbauer, Paulo Olivas, Jennifer Richards, Colin Saunders, Jessica Schedlbauer, Leonard J. Scinto, Fred Sklar, Thomas J. Smith III, Joseph M. Smoak, Gregory Starr, Robert Twilley, Kevin Whelan
2013, Oceanography (26) 98-107
Recent studies suggest that coastal ecosystems can bury significantly more C than tropical forests, indicating that continued coastal development and exposure to sea level rise and storms will have global biogeochemical consequences. The Florida Coastal Everglades Long Term Ecological Research (FCE LTER) site provides an excellent subtropical system for examining...
Genetic characterization of the Pacific sheath-tailed bat (Emballonura semicaudata rotensis) using mitochondrial DNA sequence data
Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Ernest W. Valdez, Thomas J. O’Shea, Jennifer A. Fike
2013, Journal of Mammalogy (94) 1030-1036
Emballonura semicaudata occurs in the southwestern Pacific and populations on many islands have declined or disappeared. One subspecies (E. semicaudata rotensis) occurs in the Northern Mariana Islands, where it has been extirpated from all but 1 island (Aguiguan). We assessed genetic similarity between the last population of E. s....
Origin and characteristics of discharge at San Marcos Springs, south-central Texas
MaryLynn Musgrove, Cassi L. Crow
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3080
The Edwards aquifer in south-central Texas is one of the most productive aquifers in the Nation and is the primary source of water for the rapidly growing San Antonio area. Springs issuing from the Edwards aquifer provide habitat for several threatened and endangered species, serve as locations for recreational activities,...
Outplanting Wyoming big sagebrush following wldfire: stock performance and economics
Eva Dettweiler-Robinson, Jonathan D. Bakker, James R. Evans, Heidi Newsome, G. Matt Davies, Troy A. Wirth, David A. Pyke, Richard T. Easterly, Debra Salstrom, Peter W. Dunwiddle
2013, Rangeland Ecology and Management (66) 657-666
Finding ecologically and economically effective ways to establish matrix species is often critical for restoration success. Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata subsp. wyomingensis) historically dominated large areas of western North America, but has been extirpated from many areas by large wildfires; its re-establishment in these areas often requires active management....
Accuracy of the Missouri River Least Tern and Piping Plover Monitoring Program: considerations for the future
Terry L. Shaffer, Mark H. Sherfy, Michael J. Anteau, Jennifer H. Stucker, Marsha A. Sovada, Erin A. Roche, Mark T. Wiltermuth, Thomas K. Buhl, Colin M. Dovichin
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1176
The upper Missouri River system provides nesting and foraging habitat for federally endangered least terns (Sternula antillarum; hereafter “terns”) and threatened piping plovers (Charadrius melodus; hereafter “plovers”). These species are the subject of substantial management interest on the Missouri River for several reasons. First, ecosystem recovery is a goal for...
Flood-inundation maps for the DuPage River from Plainfield to Shorewood, Illinois, 2013
Elizabeth A. Murphy, Jennifer B. Sharpe
2013, Scientific Investigations Map 3275
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 15.5-mi reach of the DuPage River from Plainfield to Shorewood, Illinois, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Will County Stormwater Management Planning Committee. The inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science Web site...
Large dams and alluvial rivers in the Anthropocene: The impacts of the Garrison and Oahe Dams on the Upper Missouri River
Katherine Skalak, Adam J. Benthem, Edward R. Schenk, Cliff R. Hupp, Joel M. Galloway, Rochelle A. Nustad, Gregg J. Wiche
2013, Anthropocene (2) 51-64
The Missouri River has had a long history of anthropogenic modification with considerable impacts on river and riparian ecology, form, and function. During the 20th century, several large dam-building efforts in the basin served the needs for irrigation, flood control, navigation, and the generation of hydroelectric power. The managed flow...
Ground-motion prediction from tremor
Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Gregory C. Beroza
2013, Geophysical Research Letters (40) 6340-6345
The widespread occurrence of tremor, coupled with its frequency content and location, provides an exceptional opportunity to test and improve strong ground-motion attenuation relations for subduction zones. We characterize the amplitude of thousands of individual 5 min tremor events in Cascadia during three episodic tremor and slip events to constrain the...
Winter habitat use and survival of lesser prairie-chickens in West Texas
Nicholas E. Pirius, Clint W. Boal, David A. Haukos, M.C. Wallace
2013, Wildlife Society Bulletin (37) 759-765
The lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) has experienced declines in population and occupied range since the late 1800s and is currently proposed for Federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. Populations and the distribution of lesser prairie-chickens in Texas, USA, are thought to be at or near all-time lows. Currently, there...
Raptor nesting near oil and gas development: an overview of key findings and implications for management based on four reports by HawkWatch International
Mark R. Fuller
2013, BLM Technical Note 432
The project was undertaken because of a paucity of information about the possible effects of OG operations and resource management on nesting raptors. BLM raptor management has included stipulations that restricted human activity near raptor nests during the raptor nesting season. The BLM and the Department of Energy (DOE), which...
Long-range hazard assessment of volcanic ash dispersal for a Plinian eruptive scenario at Popocatépetl volcano (Mexico): implications for civil aviation safety
Rosanna Bonasia, Chirara Scaini, Lucia Capra, Manuel Nathenson, Claus Siebe, Lilia Arana-Salinas, Arnau Folch
2013, Bulletin of Volcanology (76)
Popocatépetl is one of Mexico’s most active volcanoes threatening a densely populated area that includes Mexico City with more than 20 million inhabitants. The destructive potential of this volcano is demonstrated by its Late Pleistocene–Holocene eruptive activity, which has been characterized by recurrent Plinian eruptions of large magnitude, the last...
Insights into the latent multinomial model through mark-resight data on female grizzly bears with cubs-of-the-year
Megan D. Higgs, William A. Link, Gary C. White, Mark A. Haroldson, Daniel D. Bjornlie
2013, Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics (18) 556-577
Mark-resight designs for estimation of population abundance are common and attractive to researchers. However, inference from such designs is very limited when faced with sparse data, either from a low number of marked animals, a low probability of detection, or both. In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, yearly mark-resight data are...
