Chemistry and age of groundwater in bedrock aquifers of the Piceance and Yellow Creek watersheds, Rio Blanco County, Colorado, 2010-12
P.B. McMahon, J.C. Thomas, A.G. Hunt
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5132
Fourteen monitoring wells completed in the Uinta and Green River Formations in the Piceance Creek and Yellow Creek watersheds in Rio Blanco County, Colorado, were sampled for chemical, isotopic, and groundwater-age tracers to provide information on the overall groundwater quality, the occurrence and distribution of chemicals that could be related...
Ranking contributing areas of salt and selenium in the Lower Gunnison River Basin, Colorado, using multiple linear regression models
Joshua I. Linard
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5075
Mitigating the effects of salt and selenium on water quality in the Grand Valley and lower Gunnison River Basin in western Colorado is a major concern for land managers. Previous modeling indicated means to improve the models by including more detailed geospatial data and a more rigorous method for developing...
Updating the planetary time scale: focus on Mars
Kenneth L. Tanaka, Cathy Quantin-Nataf
2013, Ciencias Da Terra
Formal stratigraphic systems have been developed for the surface materials of the Moon, Mars, Mercury, and the Galilean satellite Ganymede. These systems are based on geologic mapping, which establishes relative ages of surfaces delineated by superposition, morphology, impact crater densities, and other relations and features. Referent units selected from the...
SSR_pipeline: a bioinformatic infrastructure for identifying microsatellites from paired-end Illumina high-throughput DNA sequencing data
Mark P. Miller, Brian J. Knaus, Thomas D. Mullins, Susan M. Haig
2013, Journal of Heredity (104) 881-885
SSR_pipeline is a flexible set of programs designed to efficiently identify simple sequence repeats (e.g., microsatellites) from paired-end high-throughput Illumina DNA sequencing data. The program suite contains 3 analysis modules along with a fourth control module that can automate analyses of large volumes of data. The modules are used to...
A fluid-driven earthquake swarm on the margin of the Yellowstone caldera
David R. Shelly, David P. Hill, Frederick Massin, Jamie Farrell, Robert B. Smith, Taka'aki Taira
2013, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (118) 4872-4886
Over the past several decades, the Yellowstone caldera has experienced frequent earthquake swarms and repeated cycles of uplift and subsidence, reflecting dynamic volcanic and tectonic processes. Here, we examine the detailed spatial-temporal evolution of the 2010 Madison Plateau swarm, which occurred near the northwest boundary of the Yellowstone caldera. To...
Baseline monitoring of the western Arctic Ocean estimates 20% of the Canadian Basin surface waters are undersaturated with respect to aragonite
Lisa L. Robbins, Jonathan G. Wynn, John T. Lisle, Kimberly K. Yates, Paul O. Knorr, Robert H. Byrne, Xuewu Liu, Mark C. Patsavas, Kumiko Azetsu-Scott, Taro Takahashi
2013, PLoS ONE (8)
Marine surface waters are being acidified due to uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide, resulting in surface ocean areas of undersaturation with respect to carbonate minerals, including aragonite. In the Arctic Ocean, acidification is expected to occur at an accelerated rate with respect to the global oceans, but a paucity of...
Regional signatures of plant response to drought and elevated temperature across a desert ecosystem
Seth M. Munson, Esteban H. Muldavin, Jayne Belnap, Debra P.C. Peters, John P. Anderson, M. Hildegard Reiser, Kirsten Gallo, Alicia Melgoza-Castillo, Jeffrey E. Herrick, Tim A. Christiansen
2013, Ecology (94) 2030-2041
The performance of many desert plant species in North America may decline with the warmer and drier conditions predicted by climate change models, thereby accelerating land degradation and reducing ecosystem productivity. We paired repeat measurements of plant canopy cover with climate at multiple sites across the Chihuahuan Desert over the...
Characterizing regional soil mineral composition using spectroscopyand geostatistics
V.L. Mulder, S. de Bruin, J. Weyermann, Raymond F. Kokaly, M.E. Schaepman
2013, Remote Sensing of Environment (139) 415-429
This work aims at improving the mapping of major mineral variability at regional scale using scale-dependent spatial variability observed in remote sensing data. Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data and statistical methods were combined with laboratory-based mineral characterization of field samples to create maps of the distributions...
Recent (circa 1998 to 2011) channel-migration rates of selected streams in Indiana
Bret A. Robinson
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5168
An investigation was completed to document recent (circa 1998 to 2011) channel-migration rates at 970 meander bends along 38 of the largest streams in Indiana. Data collection was completed by using the Google Earth™ platform and, for each selected site, identifying two images with capture dates separated by multiple years....
Quality of groundwater and surface water, Wood River Valley, south-central Idaho, July and August 2012
Candice B. Hopkins, James R. Bartolino
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5163
Residents and resource managers of the Wood River Valley of south-central Idaho are concerned about the effects that population growth might have on the quality of groundwater and surface water. As part of a multi-phase assessment of the groundwater resources in the study area, the U.S. Geological Survey evaluated the...
Geohydrology, geochemistry, and groundwater simulation (1992-2011) and analysis of potential water-supply management options, 2010-60, of the Langford Basin, California
Lois M. Voronin, Jill N. Densmore, Peter Martin, Charles F. Brush, Carl S. Carlson, David M. Miller
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5101
Groundwater withdrawals began in 1992 from the Langford Basin within the Fort Irwin National Training Center (NTC), California. From April 1992 to December 2010, approximately 12,300 acre-feet of water (averaging about 650 acre-feet per year) has been withdrawn from the basin and transported to the adjacent Irwin Basin. Since withdrawals...
Suspended-sediment loads and reservoir sediment trap efficiency for Clinton Lake, Kansas, 2010-12
Kyle E. Juracek
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5153
Continuous streamflow and turbidity data collected from October 1, 2010, to September 30, 2012, at a site upstream and downstream from Clinton Lake, Kansas, were used to compute the total suspended-sediment load delivered to and released from the reservoir as well as the sediment trap efficiency for the reservoir. Ongoing...
Report of geomagnetic pulsation indices for space weather applications
Z. Xu, Jennifer L. Gannon, Erin J. Rigler
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1166
The phenomenon of ultra-low frequency geomagnetic pulsations was first observed in the ground-based measurements of the 1859 Carrington Event and has been studied for over 100 years. Pulsation frequency is considered to be “ultra” low when it is lower than the natural frequencies of the plasma, such as the ion...
Bedrock geology and outcrop fracture trends in the vicinity of the Savage Municipal Well Superfund site, Milford, New Hampshire
William C. Burton, Philip T. Harte
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1224
The Savage Municipal Well Superfund site consists of an eastward-directed plume of volatile organic compounds, principally tetrachloroethylene (PCE), in alluvium and glacial sand and gravel in the Souhegan River valley, just south of the river and about 4 kilometers west of the town of Milford, New Hampshire. Sampling of monitoring...
Biological and geochemical data of gravity cores from Mobile Bay, Alabama
Kathryn A. Richwine, Marci Marot, Christopher G. Smith, Lisa E. Osterman, C. Scott Adams
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1240
A study was conducted to understand the marine-influenced environments of Mobile Bay, Alabama, by collecting a series of box cores and gravity cores. One gravity core in particular demonstrates a long reference for changing paleoenvironmental parameters in Mobile Bay. Due to lack of abundance of foraminifers and (or) lack of...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Minnesota
William J. Carswell Jr.
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3051
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of Minnesota, elevation data are critical for agriculture and precision farming, natural resources conservation, flood risk management, infrastructure and construction management, water supply...
Design of Cycle 3 of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program, 2013-23: Part 2: Science plan for improved water-quality information and management
Gary L. Rowe, Kenneth Belitz, Charlie R. Demas, Hedeff I. Essaid, Robert J. Gilliom, Pixie A. Hamilton, Anne B. Hoos, Casey J. Lee, Mark D. Munn, David W. Wolock
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1160
This report presents a science strategy for the third decade of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program, which since 1991, has been responsible for providing nationally consistent information on the quality of the Nation's streams and groundwater; how water quality is changing over time; and the major natural and human...
Probabilistic accounting of uncertainty in forecasts of species distributions under climate change
Seth J. Wenger, Nicholas A. Som, Daniel C. Dauwalter, Daniel J. Isaak, Helen M. Neville, Charles H. Luce, Jason B. Dunham, Michael K. Young, Kurt D. Fausch, Bruce E. Rieman
2013, Global Change Biology (19) 3343-3354
Forecasts of species distributions under future climates are inherently uncertain, but there have been few attempts to describe this uncertainty comprehensively in a probabilistic manner. We developed a Monte Carlo approach that accounts for uncertainty within generalized linear regression models (parameter uncertainty and residual error), uncertainty among competing models (model...
LANDFIRE 2010 - updated data to support wildfire and ecological management
Kurtis J. Nelson, Joel A. Connot, Birgit E. Peterson, Joshua J. Picotte
2013, Earthzine
Wildfire is a global phenomenon that affects human populations and ecosystems. Wildfire effects occur at local to global scales impacting many people in different ways (Figure 1). Ecological concerns due to land use, fragmentation, and climate change impact natural resource use, allocation, and conservation. Access to consistent and current environmental...
Landscape consequences of natural gas extraction in Lackawanna and Wayne Counties, Pennsylvania, 2004-2010
L.E. Milheim, E.T. Slonecker, C.M. Roig-Silva, A.R. Malizia
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1227
Increased demands for cleaner burning energy, coupled with the relatively recent technological advances in accessing unconventional hydrocarbon-rich geologic formations, have led to an intense effort to find and extract natural gas from various underground sources around the country. One of these sources, the Marcellus Shale, located in the Allegheny Plateau,...
Landscape consequences of natural gas extraction in Beaver and Butler Counties, Pennsylvania, 2004-2010
Coral M. Roig-Silva, E. Terry Slonecker, Lesley E. Milheim, Alexander R. Malizia
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1226
Increased demands for cleaner burning energy, coupled with the relatively recent technological advances in accessing unconventional hydrocarbon-rich geologic formations, have led to an intense effort to find and extract natural gas from various underground sources around the country. One of these sources, the Marcellus Shale, located in the Allegheny Plateau,...
Estimating the extent of impervious surfaces and turf grass across large regions
Peter R. Claggett, Frederick M. Irani, Renee L. Thompson
2013, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (49) 1057-1077
The ability of researchers to accurately assess the extent of impervious and pervious developed surfaces, e.g., turf grass, using land-cover data derived from Landsat satellite imagery in the Chesapeake Bay watershed is limited due to the resolution of the data and systematic discrepancies between developed land-cover classes, surface mines, forests,...
Parasites affect food web structure primarily through increased diversity and complexity
Jennifer A. Dunne, Kevin D. Lafferty, Andrew P. Dobson, Ryan F. Hechinger, Armand M. Kuris, Neo D. Martinez, John P. McLaughlin, Kim N. Mouritsen, Robert Poulin, Karsten Reise, Daniel B. Stouffer, David W. Thieltges, Richard J. Williams, Claus Dieter Zander
2013, PLoS Biology (11)
Comparative research on food web structure has revealed generalities in trophic organization, produced simple models, and allowed assessment of robustness to species loss. These studies have mostly focused on free-living species. Recent research has suggested that inclusion of parasites alters structure. We assess whether such changes in network structure result...
Preliminary groundwater flow model of the basin-fill aquifers in Detrital, Hualapai, and Sacramento Valleys, Mohave County, northwestern Arizona
Fred D. Tillman, Bradley D. Garner, Margot Truini
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5122
Preliminary numerical models were developed to simulate groundwater flow in the basin-fill alluvium in Detrital, Hualapai, and Sacramento Valleys in northwestern Arizona. The purpose of this exercise was to gather and evaluate available information and data, to test natural‑recharge concepts, and to indicate directions for improving future regional groundwater models...
Permeability of roads to movement of scrubland lizards and small mammals
Cheryl S. Brehme, Jeff A. Tracey, Leroy R. McClenaghan, Robert N. Fisher
2013, Conservation Biology (27) 710-720
A primary objective of road ecology is to understand and predict how roads affect connectivity of wildlife populations. Road avoidance behavior can fragment populations, whereas lack of road avoidance can result in high mortality due to wildlife-vehicle collisions. Many small animal species focus their activities to particular microhabitats within their...
