Locations and attributes of wind turbines in Colorado, 2011
Natasha B. Carr, James E. Diffendorfer, Tammy S. Fancher, Sarah J. Hawkins, Natalie Latysh, Kenneth J. Leib, Anne Marie Matherne
2013, Data Series 782
This dataset represents an update to U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 597. Locations and attributes of wind turbines in Colorado, 2009 (available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/597/). This updated Colorado wind turbine Data Series provides geospatial data for all 1,204 wind turbines established within the State of Colorado as of September 2011, an...
Using multi-species occupancy models in structured decision making on managed lands
John R. Sauer, Peter J. Blank, Elise F. Zipkin, Jane E. Fallon, Frederick W. Fallon
2013, Journal of Wildlife Management (77) 117-127
Land managers must balance the needs of a variety of species when manipulating habitats. Structured decision making provides a systematic means of defining choices and choosing among alternative management options; implementation of a structured decision requires quantitative approaches to predicting consequences of management on the relevant species. Multi-species...
Impacts of an ethanol-blended fuel release on groundwater and fate of produced methane: simulation of field observations
Ehsan Rasa, Barbara A. Bekins, Douglas M. Mackay, Nicholas R. de Sieyes, John T. Wilson, Kevin P. Feris, Isaac A. Wood, Kate M. Scow
2013, Water Resources Research (49) 4907-4926
In a field experiment at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) designed to mimic the impact of a small-volume release of E10 (10% ethanol and 90% conventional gasoline), two plumes were created by injecting extracted groundwater spiked with benzene, toluene, and o-xylene, abbreviated BToX (No-Ethanol Lane) and BToX plus ethanol (With-Ethanol...
Simulated impacts of mountain pine beetle and wildfire disturbances on forest vegetation composition and carbon stocks in the Southern Rocky Mountains
Megan K. Caldwell, Todd Hawbaker, Jenny S. Briggs, P.W. Cigan, Susan Stitt
2013, Biogeosciences Discussions (10) 12919-12965
Forests play an important role in sequestering carbon and offsetting anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, but changing disturbance regimes may compromise the capability of forests to store carbon. In the Southern Rocky Mountains, a recent outbreak of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae; MPB) has caused levels of tree mortality that are...
Summary of the Third International Planetary Dunes Workshop: remote sensing and image analysis of planetary dunes
Lori K. Fenton, Rosalyn K. Hayward, Briony H.N. Horgan, David M. Rubin, Timothy N. Titus, Mark A. Bishop, Devon M. Burr, Matthew Chojnacki, Cynthia L. Dinwiddie, Laura Kerber, Alice Le Gall, Timothy I. Michaels, Lynn Neakrase, Claire E. Newman, Daniela Tirsch, Hezi Yizhaq, James R. Zimbelman
2013, Aeolian Research (8) 29-38
The Third International Planetary Dunes Workshop took place in Flagstaff, AZ, USA during June 12–15, 2012. This meeting brought together a diverse group of researchers to discuss recent advances in terrestrial and planetary research on aeolian bedforms. The workshop included two and a half days of oral and poster presentations,...
Flood hydrology and dam-breach hydraulic analyses of five reservoirs in Colorado
Michael R. Stevens, Galen K. Hoogestraat
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5097
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service has identified hazard concerns for areas downstream from five Colorado dams on Forest Service land. In 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Forest Service, initiated a flood hydrology analysis to estimate the areal extent of potential downstream flood inundation and...
Adaptation to climate change: changes in farmland use and stocking rate in the U.S.
Jianhong E. Mu, Bruce A. McCarl, Anne M. Wein
2013, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change (18) 713-730
This paper examines possible adaptations to climate change in terms of pasture and crop land use and stocking rate in the United States (U.S.). Using Agricultural Census and climate data in a statistical model, we find that as temperature and precipitation increases agricultural commodity producers respond by reducing crop land...
Advancements in understanding the aeromagnetic expressions of basin-margin faults—An example from San Luis Basin, Colorado
V. J. Grauch, Paul A. Bedrosian, Benjamin J. Drenth
2013, The Leading Edge (32) 882-891
Advancements in aeromagnetic acquisition technology over the past few decades have led to greater resolution of shallow geologic sources with low magnetization, such as intrasedimentary faults and paleochannels. Detection and mapping of intrasedimentary faults in particular can be important for understanding the overall structural setting of...
The LANDFIRE Refresh strategy: updating the national dataset
Kurtis J. Nelson, Joel A. Connot, Birgit E. Peterson, Charley Martin
2013, Fire Ecology (9) 80-101
The LANDFIRE Program provides comprehensive vegetation and fuel datasets for the entire United States. As with many large-scale ecological datasets, vegetation and landscape conditions must be updated periodically to account for disturbances, growth, and natural succession. The LANDFIRE Refresh effort was the first attempt to consistently update these products nationwide....
2011 floods of the central United States
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2013, Professional Paper 1798
The Central United States experienced record-setting flooding during 2011, with floods that extended from headwater streams in the Rocky Mountains, to transboundary rivers in the upper Midwest and Northern Plains, to the deep and wide sand-bedded lower Mississippi River. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as part of its mission, collected...
Instrumental neutron activation analysis data for cloud-water particulate samples, Mount Bamboo, Taiwan
Neng-Huei Lin, Guey-Rong Sheu, Gregory A. Wetherbee, Timothy M. Debey
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1147
Cloud water was sampled on Mount Bamboo in northern Taiwan during March 22-24, 2002. Cloud-water samples were filtered using 0.45-micron filters to remove particulate material from the water samples. Filtered particulates were analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) at the U.S. Geological Survey National Reactor Facility in Denver, Colorado,...
An interactive web application for visualizing climate data
J. Alder, S. Hostetler, D. Williams
2013, Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union (94) 197-198
Massive volumes of data are being created as modeling centers from around the world finalize their submission of climate simulations for the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, phase 5 (CMIP5), in preparation for the forthcoming Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). Scientists, resource managers, and other potential...
The quality of our Nation's waters: factors affecting public-supply-well vulnerability to contamination: understanding observed water quality and anticipating future water quality
Sandra M. Eberts, Mary Ann Thomas, Martha L. Jagucki
2013, Circular 1385
As part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program, a study was conducted from 2001 to 2011 to shed light on factors that affect the vulnerability of water from public-supply wells to contamination (referred to hereafter as “public-supply-well vulnerability”). The study was designed as a follow-up to...
Continuous resistivity profiling data from Great South Bay, Long Island, New York
V.A. Cross, J.F. Bratton, K.D. Kroeger, John Crusius, C.R. Worley
2013, Open-File Report 2011-1040
An investigation of submarine aquifers adjacent to the Fire Island National Seashore and Long Island, New York was conducted to assess the importance of submarine groundwater discharge as a potential nonpoint source of nitrogen delivery to Great South Bay. Over 200 kilometers of continuous resistivity profiling data were collected to...
Nitrous oxide emissions from cropland: a procedure for calibrating the DayCent biogeochemical model using inverse modelling
Rashad Rafique, Michael N. Fienen, Timothy B. Parkin, Robert P. Anex
2013, Water, Air, & Soil Pollution (224) 1-15
DayCent is a biogeochemical model of intermediate complexity widely used to simulate greenhouse gases (GHG), soil organic carbon and nutrients in crop, grassland, forest and savannah ecosystems. Although this model has been applied to a wide range of ecosystems, it is still typically parameterized through a traditional “trial and error”...
An expanded map of vegetation communities at Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge
Matthew A. Struckhoff
2013, Data Series 785
In 2012, a map of vegetation communities on Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge was expanded based on interpretation of aerial photographs and field data. National Agricultural Imagery Program aerial photographs were used to identify distinct communities on previously unmapped refuge units and newly acquired parcels. Newly mapped polygons...
Springs, streams, and gas vent on and near Mount Adams volcano, Washington
Manuel Nathenson, Robert H. Mariner
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5097
Springs and some streams on Mount Adams volcano have been sampled for chemistry and light stable isotopes of water. Spring temperatures are generally cooler than air temperatures from weather stations at the same elevation. Spring chemistry generally reflects weathering of volcanic rock from dissolved carbon dioxide. Water in some springs...
Seasonal flux and assemblage composition of planktic foraminifera from the northern Gulf of Mexico, 2008-11
Caitlin E. Reynolds, Richard Z. Poore
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1158
The U.S. Geological Survey anchored a sediment trap in the northern Gulf of Mexico to collect seasonal time-series data on the flux and assemblage composition of live planktic foraminifers. This report provides an update of the previous time-series data to include results from 2011. Ten species, or varieties, constituted ~92...
Lidar-derived estimate and uncertainty of carbon sink in successional phases of woody encroachment
Temuulen Sankey, Rupesh Shrestha, Joel B. Sankey, Stuart Hardgree, Eva Strand
2013, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (118) 1144-1155
Woody encroachment is a globally occurring phenomenon that contributes to the global carbon sink. The magnitude of this contribution needs to be estimated at regional and local scales to address uncertainties present in the global- and continental-scale estimates, and guide regional policy and management in balancing restoration activities, including removal...
Geologic occurrences of erionite in the United States: an emerging national public health concern for respiratory disease
Bradley S. Van Gosen, Thomas A. Blitz, Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Gregory P. Meeker, M. Patrick Pierson
2013, Environmental Geochemistry and Health (35) 419-430
Erionite, a mineral series within the zeolite group, is classified as a Group 1 known respiratory carcinogen. This designation resulted from extremely high incidences of mesothelioma discovered in three small villages from the Cappadocia region of Turkey, where the disease was linked to environmental exposures to fibrous forms of erionite....
The variability of California summertime marine stratus: impacts on surface air temperatures
Sam F. Iacobellis, Daniel R. Cayan
2013, Journal of Geophysical Research D: Atmospheres (118) 9105-9122
This study investigates the variability of clouds, primarily marine stratus clouds, and how they are associated with surface temperature anomalies over California, especially along the coastal margin. We focus on the summer months of June to September when marine stratus are the dominant cloud type. Data used include satellite cloud...
Comparison of age distributions estimated from environmental tracers by using binary-dilution and numerical models of fractured and folded karst: Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and West Virginia, USA
Richard M. Yager, Niel Plummer, Leon J. Kauffman, Daniel H. Doctor, David L. Nelms, Peter Schlosser
2013, Hydrogeology Journal (21) 1193-1217
Measured concentrations of environmental tracers in spring discharge from a karst aquifer in the Shenandoah Valley, USA, were used to refine a numerical groundwater flow model. The karst aquifer is folded and faulted carbonate bedrock dominated by diffuse flow along fractures. The numerical model represented bedrock structure and discrete features...
Consequences of flight height and line spacing on airborne (helicopter) gravity gradient resolution in the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado
M. Andy Kass
2013, The Leading Edge (32) 932-938
Line spacing and flight height are critical parameters in airborne gravity gradient surveys; the optimal trade-off between survey costs and desired resolution, however, is different for every situation. This article investigates the additional benefit of reducing the flight height and line spacing though a study of a survey conducted over...
On the insignificance of Herschel's sunspot correlation
Jeffrey J. Love
2013, Geophysical Research Letters (40) 4171-4176
We examine William Herschel's hypothesis that solar-cycle variation of the Sun's irradiance has a modulating effect on the Earth's climate and that this is, specifically, manifested as an anticorrelation between sunspot number and the market price of wheat. Since Herschel first proposed his hypothesis in 1801, it has been regarded...
USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database with a focus on the introduced fishes of the lower Tennessee and Cumberland drainages
Pamela L. Fuller, Matthew Cannister
Rebecca Johansen, Dwayne Estes, Steven W. Hamilton, Andrew N. Barrass, editor(s)
2013, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 14th Symposium on the Natural History of Lower Tennessee and Cumberland River Valleys
The Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) database (http://nas.er.usgs.gov) functions as a national repository and clearinghouse for occurrence data for introduced species within the United States. Included is locality information on over 1,100 species of vertebrates, invertebrates, and vascular plants introduced as early as 1850. Taxa include foreign (exotic) species and species...
