Cordilleran subduction initiation: Retro-arc timing and basinal response in the Inyo Mountains, eastern California
Emma Lodes, Nancy R. Riggs, Michael E. Smith, Paul Stone
2020, Lithosphere (2020)
Subduction zones drive plate tectonics on Earth, yet subduction initiation and the related upper plate depositional and structural kinematics remain poorly understood because upper plate records are rare and often strongly overprinted by magmatism and deformation. During the late Paleozoic time, Laurentia’s western margin was...
Assessing native fish restoration potential in Catoctin Mountain Park
Nathaniel P. Hitt, Karmann G. Kessler, Zachary A. Kelly, Karli M. Rogers, Hannah E. Macmillan, Heather L. Walsh
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1137
Biological conservation is a fundamental purpose of the National Park system, and Catoctin Mountain Park (CATO) supports high-quality habitat for native fishes in the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay watershed in eastern North America. However, native Blue Ridge sculpin (Cottus caeruleomentum) have been extirpated in Big Hunting Creek above Cunningham...
Environmental data associated with sites infected with white-nose syndrome (WNS) before October 2011 in North America
Christopher S. Swezey, Christopher P. Garrity
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1117
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emerging infectious disease of hibernating bats caused by a fungus previously known as Geomyces destructans and reclassified as Pseudogymnoascus destructans. The disease was first documented in 2006 in New York, has since spread across much of eastern North America, and as of January 2012, had...
Cretaceous to Oligocene magmatic and tectonic evolution of the western Alaska Range: Insights from U-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology
James V. Jones III, Erin Todd, Stephen E. Box, Peter J. Haeussler, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Susan M. Karl, Garth E. Graham, Dwight Bradley, Andrew R.C. Kylander-Clark, Richard M. Friedman, Paul W. Layer
2020, Geosphere (17) 118-153
New U-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar ages integrated with geologic mapping and observations across the western Alaska Range constrain the distribution and tectonic setting of Cretaceous to Oligocene magmatism along an evolving accretionary plate margin in south-central Alaska. These rocks were emplaced across basement domains that include Neoproterozoic...
Occupancy and detectability of northern long-eared bats in the Lake States Region
Brenna A. Hyzy, Robin E. Russell, Alexander Silvis, W. Mark Ford, Jason D. Riddle, Kevin R. Russell
2020, Wildlife Society Bulletin (44) 732-740
The northern long‐eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) is one of the bat species most affected by white‐nose syndrome. Population declines attributed to white‐nose syndrome contributed to the species’ listing as federally threatened under the 1973 Endangered Species Act. Although one of the most abundant Myotine bats in eastern North America prior...
Western purple martin (Progne subis arboricola) occurrence on the Siuslaw National Forest, Summer 2019
Joan Hagar, Eric Branch
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1130
The western subspecies of the purple martin (Progne subis arboricola) is currently listed as a “critically” sensitive species in four ecoregions of western Oregon: Coast Range, Klamath Mountains, West Cascades, and Willamette Valley (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2019). Importantly distinct from the abundant and widespread eastern subspecies (Progne...
Compilation of mercury data and associated risk to human and ecosystem health, Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Wisconsin
Douglas A. Burns
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1095
Mercury is an environmentally ubiquitous neurotoxin, and its methylated form presents health risks to humans and other biota, primarily through dietary intake. Because methylmercury bioaccumulates and biomagnifies in living tissue, concentrations progressively increase at higher trophic positions in ecosystem food webs. Therefore, the greatest health risks are for organisms at...
Bioaccumulation of the pesticide imidacloprid in stream organisms and sublethal effects on salamanders
Sara M. Crayton, Petra B. Wood, Donald J. Brown, Alice R. Millikin, Terence J. McManus, Tyler J. Simpson, Kang-Mo Ku, Yong-Lak Park
2020, Global Ecology and Conservation (24) 1-15
Neonicotinoids are one of the most widely used classes of insecticides in the world. The neonicotinoid imidacloprid is commonly applied to hemlock (Tsuga spp.) stands in eastern North America to reduce tree mortality from infestations of the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA; Adelges tsugae). While laboratory and mesocosm studies have determined...
Water levels and selected water-quality conditions in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer in eastern Arkansas, 2014
Kirk D. Rodgers, Amanda R. Whaling
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5123
In 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Arkansas Geological Survey and the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, determined water-level altitudes in 468 wells in eastern Arkansas and collected water-quality samples from 144 wells. Water-level altitudes were calculated based on the measured depth to water in each well and...
Behavior at short temporal scales drives dispersal dynamics and survival in a metapopulation of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)
Tyler Wagner, Shannon White
2020, Freshwater Biology (66) 278-285
1) Movement has been studied extensively in stream salmonids, and most data suggest that population-level behavior is best described by a leptokurtic distribution. This distribution emphasizes the large proportion of sedentary individuals in a population, which can implicitly lead to assumptions of low population connectivity and overlook the ecological significance...
Multiple-well monitoring site adjacent to the North and South Belridge Oil Fields, Kern County, California
Rhett R. Everett, Anthony A. Brown, Janice M. Gillespie, Adam Kjos, Nicole C. Fenton
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1116
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the California State Water Resources Control Board, is evaluating several questions about oil and gas development and groundwater resources in California, including (1) the location of groundwater resources; (2) the proximity of oil and gas operations to groundwater and the geologic materials...
Assessment of Ambystomatid salamander populations and their breeding habitats in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Craig D. Snyder, John A. Young, James T. Julian, Tim L. King, Shanon E. Julian
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5081
This report presents abundance and occurrence data for three species of ambystomad salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum, A. jeffersonianum, and A. opacum) collected over a 3-year period (2000, 2001, and 2002) at 200 potentional breeding sies within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DEWA). In addition, numerous measures of inpond, near-pond,...
Landscape and climatic influences on actual evapotranspiration and available water using the Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop) Model in eastern Bernalillo County, New Mexico, 2015
Kyle R. Douglas-Mankin, Ryan J. McCutcheon, Aurelia C. Mitchell, Gabriel B. Senay
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5095
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bernalillo County Public Works Division, conducted a 1-year study in 2015 to assess the spatial and temporal distribution of evapotranspiration (ET) and available water within the East Mountain area in Bernalillo County, New Mexico. ET and available water vary spatiotemporally because of...
Divergent movement patterns of adult and juvenile ‘Akohekohe, an endangered Hawaiian Honeycreeper
Alex X Wang, Eben H. Paxton, Hanna L. Mounce, P. Marcos Gorresen
2020, Journal of Field Ornithology (91) 346-353
The movement patterns of birds across a landscape are often highly variable and influenced by complex interactions between individuals and environments. Because periods of movement can be marked by high mortality, especially among juvenile birds, understanding these patterns may be vital for the conservation of many...
Along-margin variations in breakup volcanism at the Eastern North American Margin
John A. Greene, Masako Tominaga, Nathaniel C. Miller
2020, Journal of Geophysical Research (125)
We model the magnetic signature of rift-related volcanism to understand the distribution and volumeofmagmatic activity that occurred during the breakup of Pangaea and early Atlantic opening at the Eastern North American Margin (ENAM).Along-strike variations in the amplitude and character of the prominent East Coast Magnetic Anomaly (ECMA) suggest that the...
A synthesis of patterns of environmental mercury inputs, exposure and effects in New York State
David C. Evers, Amy K. Sauer, Douglas A. Burns, Nicholas S Fisher, Diane Bertok, Evan M. Adams, Mark E H Burton, Charles T. Driscoll
2020, Ecotoxicology (29) 1565-1589
Mercury (Hg) pollution is an environmental problem that adversely affects human and ecosystem health at local, regional, and global scales—including within New York State. More than two-thirds of the Hg currently released to the environment originates, either directly or indirectly, from human activities. Since the early...
Bedrock geologic map of the 15' Sleetmute A-2 quadrangle, southwestern Alaska
Robert Blodgett, Frederic H. Wilson, Nora B. Shew, James G. Clough
2020, Scientific Investigations Map 3450
Twelve unnamed, bedrock stratigraphic units are recognized within the Sleetmute A-2 1:63,360-scale quadrangle of southwestern Alaska. These units range in age from late(?) Proterozoic through Devonian and can be divided into two distinct facies belts: (1) a southern facies of dominantly shallow-water platform carbonate and minor siliciclastic rocks (including Early...
High-frequency data reveal deicing salts drive elevated specific conductance and chloride along with pervasive and frequent exceedances of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency aquatic life criteria for chloride in urban streams
Joel Moore, Rosemary M. Fanelli, Andrew J. Sekellick
2020, Environmental Science and Technology (54) 778-789
Increasing specific conductance (SC) and chloride concentrations [Cl] negatively affect many stream ecosystems. We characterized spatial variability in SC, [Cl], and exceedances of Environmental Protection Agency [Cl] criteria using nearly 30 million high-frequency observations (2–15 min intervals) for SC and modeled...
Riparian plant communities remain stable in response to a second cycle of Tamarix biocontrol defoliation
Eduardo Gonzalez, Patrick B. Shafroth, Steven R. Lee, Sasha C. Reed, Jayne Belnap
2020, Wetlands (40) 1863-1875
Reduced abundance of non-native Tamarix shrubs in western U.S. riparian systems following biological control by a defoliating beetle has led to concerns that replacement plant communities could be dominated by other invasive species and/or not provide some of the ecosystem services that Tamarix was providing. In previous studies, Tamarix decline following biocontrol...
Nitrate in streams during winter low‐flow conditions as an indicator of legacy nitrate
Henry M. Johnson, Edward G. Stets
2020, Water Resources Research (56)
Winter low‐flow (LF) conditions in streams provide a potential opportunity to evaluate the importance of legacy nitrate in catchments due to the dominance of slow‐flow transport pathways and lowered biotic activity. In this study, the concentration, flux, and trend of nitrate in streams during winter low‐flow...
Hydrogeology and groundwater flow in alluvial deposits, north Summerset, South Dakota
William G. Eldridge, Todd M. Anderson
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5097
The city of Summerset is a growing community in west South Dakota. The Sun Valley Estates subdivision in the north part of the city was developed on unconsolidated deposits surrounded by steep terrain. During years with greater than normal precipitation, particularly in 2019, groundwater levels increased in the unconsolidated deposits...
Deglaciation of the Puget Lowland, Washington
Ralph A. Haugerud
2020, GSA Special Paper 548
Recently obtained radiocarbon ages from the southern Puget Lowland and reevaluation of limiting ages from the Olympic Peninsula in the light of new light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data suggest that the...
Diverse cataclysmic floods from Pleistocene glacial Lake Missoula
Roger P. Denlinger, David L. George, Charles M. Cannon, Jim E. O'Connor, Richard B. Waitt
2020, GSA Special Volume on Pleistocene megafloods (548)
In late Wisconsin time, the Purcell Trench lobe of the Cordilleran ice sheet dammed the Clark Fork of the Columbia River in western Montana, creating glacial Lake Missoula. During part of this epoch, the Okanogan lobe also dammed the Columbia River downstream, creating glacial Lake Columbia in northeast Washington. Repeated...
Geomorphic and sedimentary effects of modern climate change: Current and anticipated future conditions in the western United States
Amy E. East, Joel B. Sankey
2020, Reviews of Geophysics (58)
Hydroclimatic changes associated with global warming over the past 50 years have been documented widely, but physical landscape responses are poorly understood thus far. Detecting sedimentary and geomorphic signals of modern climate change presents challenges owing to short record lengths, difficulty resolving signals in stochastic natural systems, influences of land...
The nature and composition of the J-M Reef, Stillwater Complex, Montana, USA
Michael Jenkins, James E. Mungall, Michael L. Zientek, Paul Holick, Kevin Butak
2020, Economic Geology (115) 1799-1826
In this contribution, we analyze 30 years of mine development data and quantitatively identify the processes that control the grade and tenor of the mineralized rock. An assay database of more than 60,000 samples was used to examine variations in ore grade and tenor of...
