Framework for a long-term strategic plan for the Capital Area Groundwater Conservation Commission
Michael C. Runge, Ellen A Bean, Adrian McInnis, Ryan Clark, Alyssa Dausman
2020, Report
The Capital Area Groundwater Conservation Commission oversees the use of groundwater in six parishes in Louisiana. In carrying out its statutory responsibilities and authorities, the Commission recognizes the complexity of its decisions: the long-term objectives it is seeking are multifaceted; the actions it can choose from are numerous and interdependent;...
Epigenetic response of Louisiana Waterthrush Parkesia motacilla to shale gas development
Mack W. Frantz, Petra B. Wood, Steve Latta, Amy Welsh
2020, Ibis (162) 1211-1224
Epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation may vary in response to environmental stressors and introduce adaptive or maladaptive gene expression within and among wild bird populations. We examined the association between DNA methylation and demographic characteristics of the Louisiana Waterthrush Parkesia motacilla in territories with and without disturbance...
Landscape drivers of dynamic change in water quality of US rivers
Edward G. Stets, Lori A. Sprague, Gretchen P. Oelsner, Henry M. Johnson, Jennifer C. Murphy, Karen R. Ryberg, Aldo V. Vecchia, Robert E. Zuellig, James A. Falcone, Melissa L. Riskin
2020, Environmental Science & Technology (54) 4336-4343
Water security is a top concern for social well-being and dramatic changes in the availability of freshwater have occurred as a result of human uses and landscape management. Elevated nutrient loading and perturbations to major ion composition have resulted from human activities and have degraded freshwater resources. This study...
Intraspecific and biogeographical variation in foliar fungal communities and pathogen damage of native and invasive Phragmites australis
Warwick J. Allen, Aaron Devries, Nicholas J. Bologna, Wesley A. Bickford, Kurt P. Kowalski, Laura A. Meyerson, James T. Cronin
2020, Global Ecology and Biogeography (29) 1199-1211
AimRecent research has highlighted that the relationship between species interactions and latitude can differ between native and invasive plant taxa, generating biogeographical heterogeneity in community resistance to plant invasions. In the first study with foliar pathogens, we tested whether co‐occurring native and invasive lineages of common reed...
Pyrrhotite distribution in the conterminous United States, 2020
Jeffrey L. Mauk, Thomas C. Crafford, John D. Horton, Carma A. San Juan, Robinson Jr.
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3017
In parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts, foundations of some homes are cracking and crumbling. Failing foundations can reduce the market value of a home and lifting a house to replace and repour a foundation is an expensive undertaking. In response, some homeowners are defaulting on their mortgages and abandoning their homes. The...
Odds ratios and hurdle models: a long-term analysis of parasite infection patterns in endangered young-of-the-year suckers from Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, USA
Douglas F. Markle, Andrew Janik, James Peterson, Anindo Choudhury, David C. Simon, Vasyl V. Tkach, Mark R. Terwilliger, Justin L. Sanders, Michael L. Kent
2020, International Journal for Parasitology (50) 315-330
We used odds ratios and a hurdle model to analyze parasite co-infections over 25 years on >20,000 young-of-the year of endangered Shortnose and Lost River Suckers. Host ecologies differed as did parasite infections. Shortnose Suckers were more likely to be caught inshore and 3–5 times more likely to have Bolbophorus spp. and Contracaecum sp. infections,...
Effects of huisache removal on rangeland evapotranspiration in Victoria County, south-central Texas, 2015–18
Richard N. Slattery, Darwin J. Ockerman, Matthew Bromley, Justin Huntington, John R. Banta
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5008
The U.S. Geological Survey and Desert Research Institute, in cooperation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, Victoria County Groundwater Conservation District, Victoria Soil and Water Conservation District, and the San Antonio River Authority, evaluated the hydrologic effects of Vachellia farnesiana var. farnesiana (huisache)...
Short and long-term movement of mudflows of the Mississippi River Delta Front and their known and potential impacts on oil and gas infrastructure
Jason Chaytor, Wayne E. Baldwin, Samuel J. Bentley, Melanie Damour, Douglas Jones, Jillian Maloney, Michael Miner, Jeff Obelcz, Kehui Xu
2020, Geological Society of London Special Publications
Mudflows on the Mississippi River Delta Front (MRDF) are recognized hazards to oil and gas infrastructure in the shallow (20 – 300 m water depth) Gulf of Mexico. Preconditioning of the seafloor for failure results from high sedimentation rates coupled with slope over-steepening, under-consolidation, and abundant biogenic gas production. Catastrophic...
Hurricane sedimentation in a subtropical salt marsh-mangrove community is unaffected by vegetation type
Karen L. McKee, Irving A. Mendelssohn, Mark W. Hester
2020, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science (239)
Hurricanes periodically deliver sediment to coastal wetlands, such as those in the Mississippi River Delta Complex (MRDC), slowing elevation loss and improving resilience to sea-level rise. However, the amount of hurricane sediment deposited and retained in a wetland may vary depending on the dominant vegetation. In the subtropical climate of...
Hydrogeologic units, contour maps, and cross sections of the Boone and Roubidoux aquifers, northeastern Oklahoma, 2020
Cory A. Russell, Jacob W. Stivers
2020, Scientific Investigations Map 3452
The Boone and Roubidoux aquifers (or their equivalents) are the main sources of fresh groundwater in northeastern Oklahoma. Projected total water demand of both surface water and groundwater in northeastern Oklahoma is expected to increase approximately 56 percent from 2010 to 2060. This report provides an overview of the hydrogeology...
Identifying areas of degrading and improving groundwater-quality conditions in the State of California, USA, 1974-2014
Bryant Jurgens, Miranda S. Fram, Jeffrey Rutledge, George L. V Bennett V
2020, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (https://www.springer.com/journal/10661) (192)
Areas of improving and degrading groundwater-quality conditions in the State of California were assessed using spatial weighting of a new metric for scoring wells based on constituent concentrations and the direction and magnitude of a trend slope (Sen). Individual well scores were aggregated across 2135 equal-area grid cells covering the...
USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory news media management guide — General protocols and templates
Carolyn L. Driedger, Elizabeth G. Westby
2020, Circular 1462
This guide describes general protocols and provides templates for news media management at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO) and is intended for use by the CVO scientist-in-charge, communications staff, scientists, and guest communications colleagues. This public version, with CVO names and contact information removed, may be useful...
Defining active, inactive, and extinct seafloor massive sulfide deposits
John W. Jamieson, Amy Gartman
2020, Marine Policy (117)
Hydrothermal activity results in the formation of hydrothermal mineral deposits, including seafloor massive sulfide deposits, at oceanic spreading ridges, arcs, and back-arcs. As hydrothermal systems age, the mineral deposits eventually become severed from the heat source and fluid-flow pathways responsible for their formation and become extinct. The timescales and processes...
Assessment of microscopic pathology in fishes collected at sites impacted by wood tar in Pennsylvania
Heather L. Walsh, Vicki S. Blazer, Patricia M. Mazik, Adam J. Sperry, Diana Pavlick
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1024
In an effort to determine whether fish populations in an area affected by wood tar waste exhibited health effects, fish were collected and analyzed with histopathology. Multiple species, including Mottled Sculpin (Cottus bairdii), Creek Chub (Semotilus atromaculatus), White Sucker (Catostumus commersonii), Redside Dace (Clinostomus elongatus), Common Shiner (Luxilus cornutus), and...
Human dimensions considerations in wildlife disease management
Kirsten Leong, Daniel J. Decker
Katherine L. D. Richgels, Samantha E.J. Gibbs, Margaret A. Wild, editor(s)
2020, Techniques and Methods 15-C8
In 1943, Aldo Leopold observed that the real problem of wildlife management is not how to handle wildlife, but how to manage humans. As with any other aspect of wildlife management, social sciences can improve understanding the human dimensions of wildlife disease management (WDM). Human activities have accelerated the emergence...
Trends in streamflow and precipitation for selected sites in the Elkhorn River Basin and in streamflow in the Salt Creek and Platte River Basins, Nebraska, 1961–2011
Benjamin J. Dietsch, Kellan R. Strauch
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5016
To better understand the streamflow trends at the streamgages in the Elkhorn River Basin in Nebraska, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District further investigated streamflow trends at the eight streamgages on the Elkhorn River, Salt Creek, and the Lower Platte River that...
Low stand density moderates growth declines during hot droughts in semi-arid forests
Caitlin M. Andrews, Anthony W. D’Amato, Shawn Fraver, Brian Palik, Michael A. Battaglia, John B. Bradford
2020, Journal of Applied Ecology (57) 1089-1102
Increasing heat and aridity in coming decades is expected to negatively impact tree growth and threaten forest sustainability in dry areas. Maintaining low stand density has the potential to mitigate the negative effects of increasingly severe droughts by minimizing competitive intensity.However, the direct impact of stand density on the...
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Merlin (Falco columbarius)
Paul M. Konrad, Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl
2020, Professional Paper 1842-R
The key to Merlin (Falco columbarius) management is maintaining an interspersion of groves of deciduous or coniferous trees for nesting and open grasslands for hunting. Merlins do not build their own nests but rather use former nests of other bird species, including those of corvids (crows, ravens, and magpies) and...
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Sprague’s Pipit (Anthus spragueii)
Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Melvin P. Nenneman, Travis L. Wooten, Jason P. Thiele, Betty R. Euliss
2020, Professional Paper 1842-W
Keys to Sprague’s Pipit (Anthus spragueii) management include providing suitable grassland habitat, especially native prairie, with intermediate vegetation height and low visual obstruction, and controlling succession therein. Sprague’s Pipits have been reported to use habitats with no more than 49 centimeters (cm) average vegetation height, 4–14 cm visual obstruction reading,...
Quantifying background nitrate removal mechanisms in an agricultural watershed with contrasting subcatchment baseflow concentrations
Wesley O. Zell, Teresa B Culver, Ward E. Sanford, Jonathan L Goodall
2020, Journal of Environmental Quality (49) 392-403
Numerous studies have documented the linkages between agricultural nitrogen loads and surface water degradation. In contrast, potential water quality improvements due to agricultural best management practices are difficult to detect because of the confounding effect of background nitrate removal rates, as well as the groundwater-driven delay between land surface action...
Well predictive performance of play-wide and Subarea Random Forest models for Bakken productivity
Emil D. Attanasi, Philip A. Freeman, Tim Coburn
2020, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering (191)
In recent years, geologists and petroleum engineers have struggled to clearly identify the mechanisms that drive productivity in horizontal, hydraulically-fractured oil wells producing from the middle member of the Bakken formation. This paper fills a gap in the literature by showing how this play’s heterogeneity affects factors that drive well...
Sequential biodegradation of 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene at oxic-anoxic groundwater interfaces in model laboratory columns
Steven J. Chow, Michelle Lorah, Amar R. Wadhawan, Neal D. Durant, Edward J. Bouwer
2020, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology (231)
Halogenated organic solvents such as chlorobenzenes (CBs) are frequent groundwater contaminants due to legacy spills. When contaminated anaerobic groundwater discharges into surface water through wetlands and other transition zones, aeration can occur from various physical and biological processes at shallow depths, resulting in oxic-anoxic interfaces (OAIs). This study investigated the...
Juvenile Lost River and shortnose sucker year-class formation, survival, and growth in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon and Clear Lake Reservoir, California—2017 Monitoring Report
Ryan J. Bart, Summer M. Burdick, Marshal S. Hoy, Carl O. Ostberg
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1025
Executive SummaryPopulations of federally endangered Lost River (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose suckers (Chasmistes brevirostris) in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, and Clear Lake Reservoir (hereinafter referred to as Clear Lake; fig. 1), California, are experiencing long-term declines in abundance. Upper Klamath Lake populations are decreasing because juvenile suckers are not...
Surface to subsurface correlation of the Middle-Upper Triassic Shublik Formation within a revised sequence stratigraphic framework
William A. Rouse, Katherine J. Whidden, Julie A. Dumoulin, David W. Houseknecht
2020, Interpretation (8) SJ1-SJ16
Recent work on cores and outcrops of the Middle-Upper Triassic Shublik Formation has facilitated surface to subsurface correlation of depositional sequences across the Alaska North Slope. Five transgressive-regressive depositional sequences have been defined within three large-scale stratigraphic units. Outcrop spectral gamma-ray (GR) profiles were used to correlate observed stacking patterns...
Geologic map of the Bonanza caldera area, northeastern San Juan Mountains, Colorado
Peter W. Lipman
2020, Scientific Investigations Map 3394
The San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado have long been known as a site of exceptionally voluminous mid-Tertiary volcanism, including at least 22 major ignimbrite sheets (each 150–5,000 km³) and associated caldera structures active at 34–23 Ma. Recent volcanologic and petrologic studies in the San Juan region have focused mainly...
