Desert tortoise annotated bibliography, 1991-2015
Kristin H. Berry, Lisa M. Lyren, Jeremy S. Mack, L. Arriana Brand, Dustin A. Wood
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1023
Introduction Agassiz’s desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, was considered a single species for 150 years after its discovery by James Cooper (1861), with a geographic range extending from southeastern California, southern Nevada, and southwestern Utah southward into northern Sinaloa, Mexico (Murphy and others, 2011). What was once G. agassizii is now...
Preliminary characterization of nitrogen and phosphorus in groundwater discharging to Lake Spokane, northeastern Washington, using stable nitrogen isotopes
Andrew S. Gendaszek, Stephen E. Cox, Andrew R. Spanjer
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1029
Lake Spokane, locally referred to as Long Lake, is a 24-mile-long section of the Spokane River impounded by Long Lake Dam that has, in recent decades, experienced water-quality problems associated with eutrophication. Consumption of oxygen by the decomposition of aquatic plants that have proliferated because of high nutrient concentrations has...
LANDFIRE 2010—Updates to the national dataset to support improved fire and natural resource management
Kurtis J. Nelson, Donald G. Long, Joel A. Connot
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1010
The Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools (LANDFIRE) 2010 data release provides updated and enhanced vegetation, fuel, and fire regime layers consistently across the United States. The data represent landscape conditions from approximately 2010 and are the latest release in a series of planned updates to maintain currency of...
Physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of selected headwater streams along the Allegheny Front, Blair County, Pennsylvania, July 2011–September 2013
Dennis J. Low, Robin A. Brightbill, Heather L. Eggleston, Jeffrey J. Chaplin
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1173
The Altoona Water Authority (AWA) obtains all of its water supply from headwater streams that drain western Blair County, an area underlain in part by black shale of the Marcellus Formation. Development of the shale-gas reservoirs will require new access roads, stream crossing, drill-pad construction, and pipeline installation, activities that...
Ecoregions of California
Glenn E. Griffith, James M. Omernik, David W. Smith, Terry D. Cook, Ed Tallyn, Kendra Moseley, Colleen B. Johnson
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1021
Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ecosystems and in the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. They are designed to serve as a spatial framework for the research, assessment, management, and monitoring of ecosystems and ecosystem components. By recognizing the spatial differences in the capacities and potentials of...
Flood-Inundation Maps of Selected Areas Affected by the Flood of October 2015 in Central and Coastal South Carolina
Jonathan W. Musser, Kara M. Watson, Jaime A. Painter, Anthony J. Gotvald
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1019
Heavy rainfall occurred across South Carolina during October 1–5, 2015, as a result of an upper atmospheric low-pressure system that funneled tropical moisture from Hurricane Joaquin into the State. The storm caused major flooding in the central and coastal parts of South Carolina. Almost 27 inches of rain fell near...
The Laramide Caborca orogenic gold belt of northwestern Sonora, Mexico; white mica 40Ar/39Ar geochronology from gold-rich quartz veins
Aldo Izaguirre, Michael J. Kunk, Alexander Iriondo, Ryan J. McAleer, Juan Antonio Caballero-Martinez, Enrique Espinosa-Aramburu
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1008
Introduction This report contains reduced 40Ar/39Ar geochronological data from 63 hydrothermal white mica samples separated from orogenic gold-rich quartz veins in the Laramide Caborca orogenic gold belt (COGB) of northwestern Sonora, Mexico. The main objective of this report is to present the sample locations, 40Ar/39Ar experimental methodology, and 40Ar/39Ar isotopic data....
Visual Basic, Excel-based fish population modeling tool - The pallid sturgeon example
Edward H. Moran, Mark L. Wildhaber, Nicholas S. Green, Janice L. Albers
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1009
The model presented in this report is a spreadsheet-based model using Visual Basic for Applications within Microsoft Excel (http://dx.doi.org/10.5066/F7057D0Z) prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It uses the same model structure and, initially, parameters as used by Wildhaber...
A seasonal comparison of surface sediment characteristics in Chincoteague Bay, Maryland and Virginia, USA
Alisha M. Ellis, Marci E. Marot, Cathryn J. Wheaton, Julie Bernier, Christopher G. Smith
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1219
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted a seasonal collection of surficial sediments from Chincoteague Bay and Tom's Cove, between Assateague Island and the Delmarva Peninsula in late March/early April 2014 and October 2014. The sampling efforts were part of a larger U.S....
Quality of surface-water supplies in the Triangle area of North Carolina, water years 2010-11
C.A. Pfeifle, J.L. Cain, R.B. Rasmussen
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1002
Surface-water supplies are important sources of drinking water for residents in the Triangle area of North Carolina, which is located within the upper Cape Fear and Neuse River Basins. Since 1988, the U.S. Geological Survey and a consortium of local governments have tracked water-quality conditions and trends in several of...
The Integrated Landscape Modeling partnership - Current status and future directions
David M. Mushet, Eric J. Scherff
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1006
The Integrated Landscape Modeling (ILM) partnership is an effort by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to identify, evaluate, and develop models to quantify services derived from ecosystems, with a focus on wetland ecosystems and conservation effects. The ILM partnership uses the Integrated Valuation of...
A multidimensional representation model of geographic features
E. Lynn Usery, George Timson, Mark Coletti
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1241
A multidimensional model of geographic features has been developed and implemented with data from The National Map of the U.S. Geological Survey. The model, programmed in C++ and implemented as a feature library, was tested with data from the National Hydrography Dataset demonstrating the capability to handle changes in feature...
Survival, movement, and health of hatchery-raised juvenile Lost River suckers within a mesocosm in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon
Danielle M. Hereford, Summer M. Burdick, Diane G. Elliott, Amari Dolan-Caret, Carla M. Conway, Alta C. Harris
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1012
The recovery of endangered Lost River suckers (Deltistes luxatus) in Upper Klamath Lake is limited by poor juvenile survival and failure to recruit into the adult population. Poor water quality, degradation of rearing habitat, and toxic levels of microcystin are hypothesized to contribute to low juvenile survival. Studies of wild...
A plan for study of hexavalent chromium, CR(VI) in groundwater near a mapped plume, Hinkley, California, 2016
John A. Izbicki, Krishangi D. Groover
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1004
The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Hinkley compressor station, in the Mojave Desert 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, is used to compress natural gas as it is transported through a pipeline from Texas to California. Between 1952 and 1964, cooling water used at the compressor station was treated...
Ecological requirements for pallid sturgeon reproduction and recruitment in the Missouri River—Annual report 2013
Aaron J. DeLonay, Robert B. Jacobson, Kimberly A. Chojnacki, Patrick J. Braaten, Kevin J. Buhl, Brandon L Eder, Caroline M. Elliott, Susannah O. Erwin, David B. Fuller, Tyler M. Haddix, Hallie L.A. Ladd, Gerald E. Mestl, Diana M. Papoulias, Jason C. Rhoten, Christopher J. Wesolek, Mark L. Wildhaber
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1197
The Comprehensive Sturgeon Research Project is a multiyear, multiagency collaborative research framework developed to provide information to support pallid sturgeon recovery and Missouri River management decisions. The project strategy integrates field and laboratory studies of pallid sturgeon reproductive ecology, early life history, habitat requirements, and physiology. The project scope of...
Development of working hypotheses linking management of the Missouri River to population dynamics of Scaphirhynchus albus (pallid sturgeon)
Robert B. Jacobson, Michael J. Parsley, Mandy L. Annis, Michael E. Colvin, Timothy L. Welker, Daniel A. James
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1236
This report documents a process of filtering of hypotheses that relate Missouri River Scaphirhynchus albus (pallid sturgeon) population dynamics to management actions including flow alterations, channel reconfigurations, and pallid sturgeon population augmentation. The filtering process was a partnership among U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and U.S. Fish...
Bivalve effects on the food web supporting delta smelt - A long-term study of bivalve recruitment, biomass, and grazing rate patterns with varying freshwater outflow
Jeff S. Crauder, Janet K. Thompson, Francis Parchaso, Rosa I. Anduaga, Sarah A. Pearson, Karen Gehrts, Heather Fuller, Elizabeth Wells
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1005
Executive Summary Phytoplankton is an important and limiting food source in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (the Delta) and San Francisco Bay; the decline of phytoplankton biomass is one possible factor in the pelagic organism decline and specifically in the decline of the protected delta smelt. The bivalves Corbicula fluminea andPotamocorbula amurensis...
Salamander chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans) in the United States—Developing research, monitoring, and management strategies
Evan H. Campbell Grant, Erin L. Muths, Rachel A. Katz, Stefano Canessa, M. J. Adams, Jennifer R. Ballard, Lee Berger, Cheryl J. Briggs, Jeremy T. H. Coleman, Matthew J. Gray, M. Camille Harris, Reid N. Harris, Blake R. Hossack, Kathryn P. Huyvaert, Jonathan E. Kolby, Karen R. Lips, Robert E. Lovich, Hamish I. McCallum, Joseph R. Mendelson III, Priya Nanjappa, Deanna H. Olson, Jenny G. Powers, Katherine L. D. Richgels, Robin E. Russell, Benedikt R. Schmidt, Annemarieke Spitzen-van der Sluijs, Mary Kay Watry, Douglas C. Woodhams, C. LeAnn White
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1233
The recently (2013) identified pathogenic chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), poses a severe threat to the distribution and abundance of salamanders within the United States and Europe. Development of a response strategy for the potential, and likely, invasion of Bsal into the United States is crucial to protect global salamander...
Hydrologic conditions in the South Coast aquifer, Puerto Rico, 2010–15
Sigfredo Torres-Gonzalez, Jose M. Rodriguez
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1215
In 1958, the U.S. Geological Survey began documenting hydrologic conditions, including groundwater levels, groundwater withdrawals for agricultural irrigation and public water supply, and water quality, in the South Coast aquifer, Puerto Rico. This information has improved the understanding of the water resources of the region. The hydrologic data indicate that...
Assessing the impact of Hurricanes Irene and Sandy on the morphology and modern sediment thickness on the inner continental shelf offshore of Fire Island, New York
William C. Schwab, Wayne E. Baldwin, Jane F. Denny
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1238
This report documents the changes in seabed morphology and modern sediment thickness detected on the inner continental shelf offshore of Fire Island, New York, before and after Hurricanes Irene and Sandy made landfall. Comparison of acoustic backscatter imagery, seismic-reflection profiles, and bathymetry collected in 2011 and in 2014 show that...
Identify potential lock treatment options to prevent movement of aquatic invasive species through the Chicago Area Waterways System (CAWS)
Terrance D. Hubert, Michael A. Boogaard, Kim T. Fredricks
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1001
Introduction The Illinois River is a primary tributary of the Mississippi River, connecting with the Mississippi at Grafton, Illinois. The headwaters of the river are at the confluence of the Des Plaines and Kankakee Rivers in eastern Grundy County, Illinois. Approximately 273 miles long, it runs through the heart of Illinois...
Reconnaissance sediment budget for selected watersheds of West Maui, Hawai‘i
Jonathan D. Stock, Kim A. Falinski, Tova Callender
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1190
Episodic runoff brings suspended sediment to the nearshore waters of West Maui, Hawaiʻi. Even small rainfalls create visible plumes over a few hours. We used mapping, field experiments, and analysis of recent (July 19–20, 2014) and historic rainfall to estimate sources of land-based pollution for two watersheds in West...
Evaluation of the hydraulic and biological performance of the portable floating fish collector at Cougar Reservoir and Dam, Oregon, 2014
John W. Beeman, Scott D. Evans, Philip V. Haner, Hal C. Hansel, Amy C. Hansen, Gabriel S. Hansen, Tyson W. Hatton, Jamie M. Sprando, Collin D. Smith, Noah S. Adams
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1003
The biological and hydraulic performance of a new portable floating fish collector (PFFC) located in a cul-de-sac within the forebay of Cougar Dam, Oregon, was evaluated during 2014. The purpose of the PFFC was to explore surface collection as a means to capture juvenile salmonids at one or more sites...
USGS lidar science strategy—Mapping the technology to the science
Jason M. Stoker, John Brock, Christopher E. Soulard, Kernell G. Ries, Larry J. Sugarbaker, Wesley E. Newton, Patricia K. Haggerty, Kathy Lee, John A. Young
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1209
Summary The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) utilizes light detection and ranging (lidar) and enabling technologies to support many science research activities. Lidar-derived metrics and products have become a fundamental input to complex hydrologic and hydraulic models, flood inundation models, fault detection and geologic mapping, topographic and land-surface mapping, landslide and volcano...
Evaluation of the 8310-N-S manufactured by Sutron–Results of bench, temperature, and field deployment testing
Gerald A. Kunkle
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1210
The Sutron 8310-N-S (8310) data collection platform (DCP) manufactured by Sutron Corporation was evaluated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF) for conformance to the manufacturer’s specifications for recording and transmitting data. The 8310-N-S is a National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)-enclosed DCP with a built-in Geostationary Operational...
