Flood-inundation maps for a 6.5-mile reach of the Kentucky River at Frankfort, Kentucky
Jeremiah G. Lant
2013, Scientific Investigations Map 3278
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 6.5-mile reach of Kentucky River at Frankfort, Kentucky, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the City of Frankfort Office of Emergency Management. The inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science Web site at http://water.usgs.gov/osw/flood_inundation/,...
seawaveQ: an R package providing a model and utilities for analyzing trends in chemical concentrations in streams with a seasonal wave (seawave) and adjustment for streamflow (Q) and other ancillary variables
Karen R. Ryberg, Aldo V. Vecchia
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1255
The seawaveQ R package fits a parametric regression model (seawaveQ) to pesticide concentration data from streamwater samples to assess variability and trends. The model incorporates the strong seasonality and high degree of censoring common in pesticide data and users can incorporate numerous ancillary variables, such as streamflow anomalies. The model...
An update of hydrologic conditions and distribution of selected constituents in water, eastern Snake River Plain aquifer and perched groundwater zones, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, emphasis 2009–11
Linda C. Davis, Roy C. Bartholomay, Gordon W. Rattray
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5214
Since 1952, wastewater discharged to infiltration ponds (also called percolation ponds) and disposal wells at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has affected water quality in the eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) aquifer and perched groundwater zones underlying the INL. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department...
What happens in an estuary doesn't stay there: patterns of biotic connectivity resulting from long term ecological research
Martha E. Mather, John T. Finn, Christina G. Kennedy, Linda A. Deegan, Joseph M. Smith
2013, Oceanography (26) 168-179
The paucity of data on migratory connections and an incomplete understanding of how mobile organisms use geographically separate areas have been obstacles to understanding coastal dynamics. Research on acoustically tagged striped bass (Morone saxatilis) at the Plum Island Ecosystems (PIE) Long Term Ecological Research site, Massachusetts, documents intriguing patterns of...
Blind test of methods for obtaining 2-D near-surface seismic velocity models from first-arrival traveltimes
Colin A. Zelt, Seth Haines, Michael H. Powers, Jacob Sheehan, Siegfried Rohdewald, Curtis Link, Koichi Hayashi, Don Zhao, Hua-wei Zhou, Bethany L. Burton, Uni K. Petersen, Nedra D. Bonal, William E. Doll
2013, Journal of Environmental & Engineering Geophysics (18) 183-194
Seismic refraction methods are used in environmental and engineering studies to image the shallow subsurface. We present a blind test of inversion and tomographic refraction analysis methods using a synthetic first-arrival-time dataset that was made available to the community in 2010. The data are realistic in terms of the near-surface...
Quantitative and qualitative approaches to identifying migration chronology in a continental migrant
William S. Beatty, Dylan C. Kesler, Elisabeth B. Webb, Andrew H. Raedeke, Luke W. Naylor, Dale D. Humburg
2013, PLoS ONE 1-9
The degree to which extrinsic factors influence migration chronology in North American waterfowl has not been quantified, particularly for dabbling ducks. Previous studies have examined waterfowl migration using various methods, however, quantitative approaches to define avian migration chronology over broad spatio-temporal scales are limited, and the implications for using different...
Fifty years after Welles and Welles: Distribution and genetic structure of Desert Bighorn Sheep in Death Valley National Park
Clinton W. Epps, John D. Wehausen, William B. Sloan, Stacy Holt, Tyler G. Creech, Rachel S. Crowhurst, Jef R. Jaeger, Kathleen M. Longshore, Ryan J. Monello
2013, Conference Paper, 1st Death Valley Natural History Conference Proceedings
The status of desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) populations in the mountains around Death Valley was first evaluated in 1938, shortly after designation of Death Valley National Monument. However, the most comprehensive evaluation of bighorn sheep in the region was conducted by Ralph and Florence Welles during 1955-1961. They...
Accuracy of stream habitat interpolations across spatial scales
Kenneth R. Sheehan, Stuart A. Welsh
2013, Journal of Geographic Information System (5) 606-612
Stream habitat data are often collected across spatial scales because relationships among habitat, species occurrence, and management plans are linked at multiple spatial scales. Unfortunately, scale is often a factor limiting insight gained from spatial analysis of stream habitat data. Considerable cost is often expended to collect data at several...
Comparison of point counts and territory mapping for detecting effects of forest management on songbirds
Felicity L. Newell, James Sheehan, Petra Bohall Wood, Amanda D. Rodewald, David A. Buehler, Patrick D. Keyser, Jeffrey L. Larkin, Tiffany A. Beachy, Marja H. Bakermans, Than J. Boves, Andrea Evans, Gregory A. George, Molly E. McDermott, Kelly A. Perkins, Matthew White, T. Bently Wigley
2013, Journal of Field Ornithology (84) 270-286
Point counts are commonly used to assess changes in bird abundance, including analytical approaches such as distance sampling that estimate density. Point-count methods have come under increasing scrutiny because effects of detection probability and field error are difficult to quantify. For seven forest songbirds, we compared fixed-radii counts (50 m...
Emulating natural disturbances for declining late-successional species: A case study of the consequences for Cerulean Warblers (Setophaga cerulea)
Than J. Boves, David A. Buehler, James Sheehan, Petra Bohall Wood, Amanda D. Rodewald, Jeffrey L. Larkin, Patrick D. Keyser, Felicity L. Newell, Gregory A. George, Marja H. Bakermans, Andrea Evans, Tiffany A. Beachy, Molly E. McDermott, Kelly A. Perkins, Matthew White, T. Bently Wigley
2013, PLoS ONE (8) 1-13
Forest cover in the eastern United States has increased over the past century and while some late-successional species have benefited from this process as expected, others have experienced population declines. These declines may be in part related to contemporary reductions in small-scale forest interior disturbances such as fire, windthrow, and...
Landsat imagery reveals declining clarity of Maine’s lakes during 1995-2010
Ian M. McCullough, Cynthia S. Loftin, Steven A. Sader
2013, Freshwater Science (32) 741-752
Water clarity is a strong indicator of regional water quality. Unlike other common water-quality metrics, such as chlorophyll a, total P, or trophic status, clarity can be accurately and efficiently estimated remotely on a regional scale. Satellite-based remote sensing is useful in regions with many lakes where traditional field-sampling techniques may...
Black bear density in Glacier National Park, Montana
Jeff B. Stetz, Katherine C. Kendall, Amy C. Macleod
2013, Wildlife Society Bulletin (38) 60-70
We report the first abundance and density estimates for American black bears (Ursus americanus) in Glacier National Park (NP),Montana, USA.We used data from 2 independent and concurrent noninvasive genetic sampling methods—hair traps and bear rubs—collected during 2004 to generate individual black bear encounter histories for use in closed population mark–recapture...
Rapid chemical evolution of tropospheric volcanic emissions from Redoubt Volcano, Alaska, based on observations of ozone and halogen-containing gases
Cynthia A. Werner, Peter J. Kelly, Christoph Kern, T.J. Roberts, A. Aluppe
2013, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (259) 317-333
We report results from an observational and modeling study of reactive chemistry in the tropospheric plume emitted by Redoubt Volcano, Alaska. Our measurements include the first observations of Br and I degassing from an Alaskan volcano, the first study of O3 evolution in a volcanic plume, as well as the first...
Conflation and aggregation of spatial data improve predictive models for species with limited habitats: a case of the threatened yellow-billed cuckoo in Arizona, USA
Miguel L. Villarreal, Charles van Riper III, Roy E. Petrakis
2013, Applied Geography (47) 57-69
Riparian vegetation provides important wildlife habitat in the Southwestern United States, but limited distributions and spatial complexity often leads to inaccurate representation in maps used to guide conservation. We test the use of data conflation and aggregation on multiple vegetation/land-cover maps to improve the accuracy of habitat models for the...
Descriptive and geoenvironmental model for Co-Cu-Au deposits in metasedimentary rocks
John F. Slack, Craig A. Johnson, J. Douglas Causey, Karen Lund, Klaus J. Schulz, John E. Gray, Robert G. Eppinger
John F. Slack, editor(s)
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5070-G
IntroductionThis report is a revised model for a specific type of cobalt-copper-gold (Co-Cu-Au) deposit that will be evaluated in the next U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment of undiscovered mineral resources in the United States (see Ferrero and others, 2012). Emphasis is on providing an up-to-date deposit model that includes both...
Water-quality data of lakes and wetlands in the Yukon Flats, Alaska, 2007–2009
Douglas R. Halm, Nikki Guldager
2013, Open-File Report 2012-1208
Over a three-year period (2007–2009), in-situ measurements were taken and water-quality samples were collected from 111 lakes and wetlands located in the Yukon Flats, Alaska, during a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wetlands inventory. The U.S. Geological Survey performed the chemical analyses on the retrieved water-quality samples. Results from the...
Water column and bed-sediment core samples collected from Brownlee Reservoir near Oxbow, Oregon, 2012
Ryan L. Fosness, Jesse Naymik, Candice B. Hopkins, John F. DeWild
2013, Data Series 809
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Idaho Power Company, collected water-column and bed-sediment core samples from eight sites in Brownlee Reservoir near Oxbow, Oregon, during May 5–7, 2012. Water-column and bed-sediment core samples were collected at each of the eight sites and analyzed for total mercury and methylmercury. Additional...
Digital-image processing and image analysis of glacier ice
Joan J. Fitzpatrick
2013, Techniques and Methods 7-D1
This document provides a methodology for extracting grain statistics from 8-bit color and grayscale images of thin sections of glacier ice—a subset of physical properties measurements typically performed on ice cores. This type of analysis is most commonly used to characterize the evolution of ice-crystal size, shape, and intercrystalline spatial...
Sediment quality assessment in tidal salt marshes in northern California, USA: An evaluation of multiple lines of evidence approach
Hyun-Min Hwang, Robert S. Carr, Gary N. Cherr, Peter G. Green, Edwin G. Grosholz, Linda Judah, Steven G. Morgan, Scott Ogle, Vanessa K. Rashbrook, Wendy L. Rose, Swee J. Teh, Carol A. Vines, Susan L. Anderson
2013, Science of the Total Environment (454-455) 189-198
The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of integrating a traditional sediment quality triad approach with selected sublethal chronic indicators in resident species in assessing sediment quality in four salt marshes in northern California, USA. These included the highly contaminated (Stege Marsh) and relatively clean (China Camp)...
Characterization of hydrodynamic and sediment conditions in the lower Yampa River at Deerlodge Park, east entrance to Dinosaur National Monument, northwest Colorado, 2011
Cory A. Williams
2013, Scientific Investigations Map 3273
The Yampa River in northwestern Colorado is the largest, relatively unregulated river system in the upper Colorado River Basin. Water from the Yampa River Basin continues to be sought for a number of municipal, industrial, and energy uses. It is anticipated that future water development within the Yampa River Basin...
Preliminary estimates of annual agricultural pesticide use for counties of the conterminous United States, 2010-11
Nancy T. Baker, Wesley W. Stone
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1295
This report provides preliminary estimates of annual agricultural use of 374 pesticide compounds in counties of the conterminous United States in 2010 and 2011, compiled by means of methods described in Thelin and Stone (2013). U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) county-level data for harvested-crop acreage were used in conjunction with...
Monitoring of adult Lost River and shortnose suckers in Clear Lake Reservoir, California, 2008–2010
David A. Hewitt, Brian S. Hayes
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1301
Executive Summary In collaboration with the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Geological Survey began a consistent monitoring program for endangered Lost River suckers (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose suckers (Chasmistes brevirostris) in Clear Lake Reservoir, California, in the fall of 2004. The program was intended to develop a more complete understanding of...
Selenium in ecosystems within the mountaintop coal mining and valley-fill region of southern West Virginia-assessment and ecosystem-scale modeling
Theresa S. Presser
2013, Professional Paper 1803
Coal and associated waste rock are among environmental selenium (Se) sources that have the potential to affect reproduction in fish and aquatic birds. Ecosystems of southern West Virginia that are affected by drainage from mountaintop coal mines and valleys filled with waste rock in the Coal, Gauley, and Lower Guyandotte...
Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Arkoma Basin, Kansas Basins, and Midcontinent Rift Basin study areas
Marc L. Buursink, William H. Craddock, Madalyn S. Blondes, Phillip A. Freeman, Steven M. Cahan, Christina A. DeVera, Celeste D. Lohr
2013, Open-File Report 2012-1024-F
2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (Public Law 110–140) directs the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a national assessment of potential geologic storage resources for carbon dioxide (CO2). The methodology used by the USGS for the national CO2 assessment follows that of previous USGS work. This methodology is non-economic...
Base of the upper layer of the phase-three Elkhorn-Loup groundwater-flow model, north-central Nebraska
Jennifer S. Stanton
2013, Scientific Investigations Map 3259
The Elkhorn and Loup Rivers in Nebraska provide water for irrigation, recreation, hydropower production, aquatic life, and municipal water systems for the Omaha and Lincoln metropolitan areas. Groundwater is another important resource in the region and is extracted primarily for agricultural irrigation. Water managers of the area are interested in...
