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...
Quantifying wetland–aquifer interactions in a humid subtropical climate region: An integrated approach
Itza Mendoza-Sanchez, Mantha S. Phanikumar, Jie Niu, Jason R. Masoner, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Jennifer T. McGuire
2013, Journal of Hydrology (498) 237-253
Wetlands are widely recognized as sentinels of global climate change. Long-term monitoring data combined with process-based modeling has the potential to shed light on key processes and how they change over time. This paper reports the development and application of a simple water balance model based on long-term climate, soil,...
Phenology-based, remote sensing of post-burn disturbance windows in rangelands
Joel B. Sankeya, Cynthia S.A. Wallace, Sujith Ravi
2013, Ecological Indicators (30) 35-44
Wildland fire activity has increased in many parts of the world in recent decades. Ecological disturbance by fire can accelerate ecosystem degradation processes such as erosion due to combustion of vegetation that otherwise provides protective cover to the soil surface. This study employed a novel ecological indicator based on remote...
Wind River watershed restoration. Annual report. November 2011 through October 2012
Ian G. Jezorek, Patrick J. Connolly
2013, Report
Introduction This report summarizes work by U.S. Geological Survey’s Columbia River Research Laboratory (USGS-CRRL) in the Wind River subbasin, from November 2011 through October 2012. Funding was provided by Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) under contract 55275. The primary focus of USGS activities during this time was tagging of parr steelhead Oncorhynchus...
Constraints on magma processes, subsurface conditions, and total volatile flux at Bezymianny Volcano in 2007–2010 from direct and remote volcanic gas measurements
Taryn Lopez, Sergey Ushakov, Pavel Izbekov, Franco Tassi, Cathy Cahill, Owen Neill, Cynthia A. Werner
2013, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (263) 92-107
Direct and remote measurements of volcanic gas composition, SO2 flux, and eruptive SO2 mass from Bezymianny Volcano were acquired between July 2007 and July 2010. Chemical composition of fumarolic gases, plume SO2 flux from ground and air-based ultraviolet remote sensing (FLYSPEC), and eruptive SO2 mass from Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite observations were used...
National assessment of geologic carbon dioxide storage resources: Data
U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Carbon Dioxide Storage Resources Assessment Team
2013, Data Series 774
In 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed the national assessment of geologic carbon dioxide storage resources. Its data and results are reported in three publications: the assessment data publication (this report), the assessment results publication (U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Carbon Dioxide Storage Resources Assessment Team, 2013a, USGS Circular 1386),...
Estimating age ratios and size of Pacific walrus herds on coastal haulouts using video imaging
Daniel H. Monson, Mark S. Udevitz, Chadwick V. Jay
2013, PLoS ONE (8)
During Arctic summers, sea ice provides resting habitat for Pacific walruses as it drifts over foraging areas in the eastern Chukchi Sea. Climate-driven reductions in sea ice have recently created ice-free conditions in the Chukchi Sea by late summer causing walruses to rest at coastal haulouts along the Chukotka and...
Relationships between the health of Alaska Native communities and our environment -- phase 1, exploring and communicating
Durelle Smith
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3066
Alaska Natives depend on local natural resources for nutritional and, for many, spiritual health. As a result, public health in Alaska is strongly influenced by the relationship between people and their surrounding physical, chemical, and biological environments. Alaska is vast with diverse wildlife and plant communities that are valued as...
Significance of headwater streams and perennial springs in ecological monitoring in Shenandoah National Park
Craig D. Snyder, James R. Webb, John A. Young, Zane B. Johnson
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1178
Shenandoah National Park has been monitoring water chemistry and benthic macroinvertebrates in stream ecosystems since 1979. These monitoring efforts were designed to assess the status and trends in stream condition associated with atmospheric deposition (acid rain) and changes in forest health due to gypsy moth infestations. The primary objective of...
Fine-scale hydrologic modeling for regional landscape applications: the California Basin Characterization Model development and performance
Lorraine E. Flint, Alan L. Flint, James H. Thorne, Ryan Boynton
2013, Ecological Processes (2) 1-21
IntroductionResource managers need spatially explicit models of hydrologic response to changes in key climatic drivers across variable landscape conditions. We demonstrate the utility of a Basin Characterization Model for California (CA-BCM) to integrate high-resolution data on physical watershed characteristics with historical or projected climate data to...
Self-reporting bias in Chinook salmon sport fisheries in Idaho: implications for roving creel surveys
Joshua L. McCormick, Michael C. Quist, Daniel J. Schill
2013, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (33) 723-731
Self-reporting bias in sport fisheries of Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha in Idaho was quantified by comparing observed and angler-reported data. A total of 164 observed anglers fished for 541 h and caught 74 Chinook Salmon. Fifty-eight fish were harvested and 16 were released. Anglers reported fishing for 604 h, an...
Naturally occurring contaminants in the Piedmont and Blue Ridge crystalline-rock aquifers and Piedmont Early Mesozoic basin siliciclastic-rock aquifers, eastern United States, 1994–2008
Melinda J. Chapman, Charles A. Cravotta III,, Zoltan Szabo, Bruce D. Lindsay
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5072
Groundwater quality and aquifer lithologies in the Piedmont and Blue Ridge Physiographic Provinces in the eastern United States vary widely as a result of complex geologic history. Bedrock composition (mineralogy) and geochemical conditions in the aquifer directly affect the occurrence (presence in rock and groundwater) and distribution (concentration and mobility)...
