Temporal evolution of measured and simulated infiltration following wildfire in the Colorado Front Range, USA: Shifting thresholds of runoff generation and hydrologic hazards
Brian A. Ebel
2020, Journal of Hydrology (585) 124765
Destructive flash floods and debris flows are a common menace following wildfire. The restoration of protection provided by forests from post-fire floods and debris flows depends on the recovery of infiltration and attendant reduction of infiltration-excess surface runoff generation. This work examines seven years of post-fire infiltration measurements and temporal...
Small-scale water deficits after wildfires create long-lasting ecological impacts
Rory O’Connor, Matthew J. Germino, David M Barnard, Caitlin M. Andrews, John B. Bradford, David S. Pilliod, Robert S. Arkle, Robert K Shriver
2020, Environmental Research Letters (15)
Ecological droughts are deficits in soil–water availability that induce threshold-like ecosystem responses, such as causing altered or degraded plant-community conditions, which can be exceedingly difficult to reverse. However, 'ecological drought' can be difficult to define, let alone to quantify, especially at spatial and temporal scales relevant to land managers. This...
Pooling resources across organizations — Multisource water-quality data for the Delaware River Basin
Jennifer C. Murphy, Megan E. Shoda
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3006
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently launched a pilot Integrated Water Availability Assessment (IWAA) in the Delaware River Basin to explore, test, and refine systems and processes for assessing water availability for human and ecological uses based on water monitoring data. Water-quality monitoring provides citizens, managers, and scientists with the...
Abundance and productivity of marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) off central California during the 2019 breeding season
Jonathan J. Felis, Emily C. Kelsey, Josh Adams, Cheryl Horton, Laura White
2020, Data Series 1123
Marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) have been listed as “endangered” by the State of California and “threatened” by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service since 1992 in California, Oregon, and Washington. Information regarding marbled murrelet abundance, distribution, population trends, and habitat associations is critical for risk assessment, effective management, evaluation of...
Global plant trait relationships extend to the climatic extremes of the tundra biome
H. J. D. Thomas, A. D. Bjorkman, I. H. Myers-Smith, S.C. Elmendorf, Jens Kattge, Sandra Diaz, Mark Vellend, D. Blok, J. H. C. Cornelissen, B. C. Forbes, G. H. R. Henry, R.D. Hollister, S. Normand, Janet S. Prevey, C. Rixen, G. Schaepman-Strub, M. Wilmking, S. Wipf, W.K. Cornwell, P.S.A. Beck, D. Georges, S.J. Goetz, K. C. Guay, Nadja Ruger, N. A. Soudzilovskaia, Marko J. Spasojevic, Juha Alatalo, H. D. Alexander, A. Anadon-Rosell, S. Angers-Blondin, M. teBeest, L. T. Berner, R. G. Bjork, A. Buchwal, A. Buras, M. Carbognani, K. S. Christie, L. S. Collier, E. J. Cooper, B. Elberling, A. Eskelinen, E. R. Frei, O. Grau, P. Grogan, M. Hallinger, M. M. P. D. Heijmans, L. Hermanutz, J. M. G. Hudson, J.F. Johnstone, K. Hulber, M. Iturrate-Garcia, Colleen M. Iversen, F. Jaroszynska, E, Kaarlejarvi, A. Kulonen, L. J. Lamarque, T. C. Lantz, E. Levesque, C.E. Little, Anders Michelsen, A. Milbau, Jacob Nabe-Nielsen, S. S. Nielsen, J. M. Ninot, S. F. Oberbauer, J. Olofsson, V. G. Onipchenko, A. Petraglia, S. B. Rumpf, R. Shetti, J. D. M. Speed, K.N. Suding, K.D. Tape, M. Tomaselli, A. J. Trant, U. A. Treier, M. Tremblay, S. E. Venn, T. Vowles, S. Weijers, P. A. Wookey, T. J. Zamin, M. Bahn, B. Blonder, P. M. van Bodegom, B. Bond-Lamberty, G. Campetella, B. E. L. Cerabolini, F. S. Chapin III, Joseph M. Craine, M. Dainese, W. A. Green, S. Jansen, M. Kleyer, P. Manning, U. Niinemets, Y. Onoda, W. A. Ozinga, J. Penuelas, P. Poschlod, Peter B. Reich, B. Sandel, B. S. Schamp, S. N. Sheremetiev, F. T. de Vries
2020, Nature Communications (11)
The majority of variation in six traits critical to the growth, survival and reproduction of global plant species is thought to be organised along just two dimensions, corresponding to strategies of plant size and resource acquisition. However, it is unknown whether global plant trait relationships extend to climatic extremes, and...
Groundwater quality and geochemistry of West Virginia’s southern coal fields
Mark D. Kozar, Mitchell A. McAdoo, Karl B. Haase
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5059
Coal mining has been the dominant industry and land use in West Virginia’s southern coal fields since the mid-1800s. Mortality rates for a variety of serious chronic conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, and some forms of cancer in Appalachian coal mining regions, are higher than in areas lacking substantial...
A spatial analysis of climate gentrification in Orleans Parish, Louisiana post-Hurricane Katrina
Kyle T. Aune, Dean B. Gesch, Genee S. Smith
2020, Environmental Research (185)
BackgroundHurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans, Louisiana as a Category 3 storm in August 2005. Storm surges, levee failures, and the low-lying nature of New Orleans led to widespread flooding, damage to over 70% of occupied housing, and evacuation of 80–90% of city...
Structural equation modeling
Matt Miller, Ivana Tasic, Torrey Lyons, Reid Ewing, James B. Grace
2020, Book chapter, Advanced Quantitative Research Methods for Urban Planners
This chapter introduces background and historical information on how structural equation modeling (SEM) came to be developed. Then, the main differences between SEM and earlier multivariate methods are explained. The chapter describes three main applications of SEM: path analysis, factor analysis, and hybrid models. Some computer programs are recommended for...
Dynamic rupture simulations of the M6.4 and M7.1 July 2019 Ridgecrest, California earthquakes
Julian C. Lozos, Ruth A. Harris
2020, Geophysical Research Letters (47)
The largest earthquakes of the 2019 Ridgecrest, California, sequence were a M 6.4 left‐lateral rupture followed 34 hr later by a M 7.1 on a perpendicular right‐lateral fault. We use dynamic rupture modeling to address the questions of why the first earthquake did not propagate through the right‐lateral fault in...
A comparison of groundwater sampling technologies, including passive diffusion sampling, for radionuclide contamination
Rebecca J. Frus, Thomas Imbrigiotta
2020, Conference Paper, Waste Management Symposium proceedings
Using traditional high-flow purge methods for long-term water quality monitoring of deep groundwater wells can be expensive, affect contaminant migration, and produce excessive volumes of discharge water that can be difficult to manage. The use of low-flow pumping methods and depth discrete bailers (DDBs) can reduce the cost of sampling...
Louisiana Adaptive Management Status and Improvement Report: Vision and Recommendations
Bill Boshart, Morgan Crutcher, Angelina Freeman, Edward Haywood, Syed M. Khalil, Summer Langlois, Darin L. Lee, David Lindquist, Tommy E. McGinnis, James Pahl, Carol Parsons-Richards, Erin Plitsch, Rick Raynie, Robert Routon, Leigh Anne Sharp, John Troutman, Chuck Villarrubia, Todd Folse, Alyson Graugnard, Anne Hawes, Russ Joffrion, Wes Leblanc, Brian Lezina, Jim Pahl, Jody White, Craig Conzelmann, Ann Hijuelos, Sarai Piazza, Kathryn A. Spear, Gregory D. Steyer, Nanciann Regalado, John M. Tirpak, Courtney Schupp, Melissa Carle, Jaclyn Daly, Nicolas Eckhardt, Christy Fellas, Erin M. Fougeres, Stephen Heverly, Stacey Horstman, Jason Kroll, Mel Landry, Barbara A. Schroeder, Eric Weissberger, Sara Wissman, Treda Grayson, Patricia Taylor, Danny Wiegand, Mark Defley, Paulina Kolic, Harris Bienn, Tim J. B. Carruthers, Alyssa Dausman, Alaina Grace, Scott Hemmerling, Andrea Jerabek, Eric White, Ryan Clark, Coleen McHugh, Leland C Moss, Cyndhia Ramatchandirane, Amy Wold
2020, Report
As part of the process to increase implementation of adaptive management for ecosystem-based coastal restoration within Louisiana, we aim for this report to be broadly applicable across planning processes as well as funding and implementing entities. It compiles technical knowledge and guidance summarized as key findings through the text which...
Ecological prediction at macroscales using big data: Does sampling design matter?
Patricia A. Soranno, Kendra Spence Cheruvelil, Boyang Liu, Qi Wang, Pang-Ning Tan, Jiayu Zhou, Katelyn B.S. King, Ian M. McCullough, Joseph Stachelek, Meridith Bartley, Christopher T. Filstrup, Ephraim M. Hanks, Jean-Francois Lapierre, Noah R. Lottig, Erin M. Schliep, Tyler Wagner, Katherine E. Webster
2020, Ecological Applications (30)
Although ecosystems respond to global change at regional to continental scales (i.e., macroscales), model predictions of ecosystem responses often rely on data from targeted monitoring of a small proportion of sampled ecosystems within a particular geographic area. In this study, we examined how the sampling strategy used to collect data...
An interactive decision-making tool for evaluating biological and statistical standards of migrating fish survival past hydroelectric dams
Alejandro Molina-Moctezuma, Joseph D. Zydlewski
2020, River Research and Applications (36) 1024-1032
Quantifying the downstream survival of migrating fish past dams is critical for conservation efforts. Regulators require assessments of survival as a condition of operation. Failure to meet an established survival standard may result in required operational or costly structural changes at a facility. Establishing the survival standard, as well as...
Antibiotic resistance in marine microbial communities proximal to a Florida sewage outfall system
Dale W. Griffin, Kenneth Banks, Kurtis Gregg, Sarah Shedler, Brian Walker
2020, Antibiotics (9)
Water samples were collected at several wastewater treatment plants in southeast Florida, and water and sediment samples were collected along and around one outfall pipe, as well as along several transects extending both north and south of the respective outfall outlet. Two sets of samples were collected to address potential...
Critical land change information enhances the understanding of carbon balance in the United States
Jinxun Liu, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Zhiliang Zhu, Thomas Loveland, Terry L. Sohl, Stephen M. Howard, Carl H. Key, Todd Hawbaker, Shuguang Liu, Bradley C. Reed, Mark A. Cochrane, Linda S. Heath, Hong Jiang, David T. Price, Jing M. Chen, Decheng Zhou, Norman B. Bliss, Tamara Wilson, Jason T. Sherba, Qiuan Zhu, Yiqi Luo, Benjiamin Paulter
2020, Global Change Biology (26) 3920-3929
Large-scale terrestrial carbon (C) estimating studies using methods such as atmospheric inversion, biogeochemical modeling, and field inventories have produced different results. The goal of this study was to integrate fine-scale processes including land use and land cover change into a large-scale ecosystem framework. We analyzed...
Response study of the tallest California building inferred from the Mw7.1 Ridgecrest, California earthquake of 5 July 2019 and ambient motions
Mehmet Celebi, S. Farid Ghahari, Hamid Haddadi, Ertugrul Taciroglu
2020, Earthquake Spectra (36) 1096-1118
The newly constructed tallest building in California, the 73-story Wilshire Grand in Los Angeles, California, is designed in conformance with performance-based design procedures. The building is designed with concrete core–shear walls, three outriggers with buckling restrained braces (BRBs) located along the height, and two three-story truss-belt structural...
Sediment sources and transport by the Kahiltna Glacier and other catchments along the south side of the Alaska Range, Alaska
Ari Matmon, Peter J. Haeussler
ASTER Team, editor(s)
2020, Geosphere (16) 787-805
Erosion related to glacial activity produces enormous amounts of sediment. However, sediment mobilization in glacial systems is extremely complex. Sediment is derived from headwalls, slopes along the margins of glaciers, and basal erosion; however, the rates and relative contributions of each are unknown. To test and quantify conceptual models for...
Uptake and toxicity of clothianidin to monarch butterflies from milkweed consumption
Timothy A. Bargar, Michelle L. Hladik, Jaret C. Daniels
2020, PeerJ (8)
Recent concern for the adverse effects from neonicotinoid insecticides has centered on risk for insect pollinators in general and bees specifically. However, natural resource managers are also concerned about the risk of neonicotinoids to conservation efforts for the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) and need additional data to help estimate risk...
Climate change effects on biodiversity, ecosystems, ecosystem services, and natural resource management in the United States
Sarah R. Weiskopf, Madeleine A. Rubenstein, Lisa Crozier, Sarah Gaichas, Roger Griffis, Jessica E. Halofsky, Kimberly J. W. Hyde, Toni Lyn Morelli, Jeffrey T. Morisette, Roldan C. Munoz, Andrew J. Pershing, David L. Peterson, Rajendra Poudel, Michelle D. Staudinger, Ariana E. Sutton-Grier, Laura Thompson, James Vose, Jake Weltzin, Kyle Powys Whyte
2020, Science of the Total Environment (733)
Climate change is a pervasive and growing global threat to biodiversity and ecosystems. Here, we present the most up-to-date assessment of climate change impacts on biodiversity, ecosystems, and ecosystem services in the U.S. and implications for natural resource management. We draw from the 4th National Climate Assessment to summarize observed...
Gulls as sources of environmental contamination by colistin-resistant bacteria
Alan B. Franklin, Andrew M. Ramey, Kevin T Bentler, Nicole L Barret, Loredana M McCurdy, Christina Ahlstrom, Jonas Bonnedahl, Susan A. Shriner, Jeffrey C Chandler
2020, Scientific Reports (10)
In 2015, the mcr-1 gene was discovered in Escherichia coli in domestic swine in China that conferred resistance to colistin, an antibiotic of last resort used in treating multi-drug resistant bacterial infections in humans. Since then, mcr-1 was found in other human and animal populations, including wild gulls. Because gulls...
An enhanced hydrologic stream network based on the NHDPlus medium resolution dataset
John W. Brakebill, Gregory E. Schwarz, Michael E. Wieczorek
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5127
The National Hydrography Dataset Plus, Version 2.1 (NHDPlusV2.1) is an attribute-rich digital stream network for the conterminous United States, serving as a foundational infrastructure for reporting hydrologic information at both regional and national scales. SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) is a process-based statistical model that relies on a...
Soil water availability shapes species richness in mid-latitude shrub steppe plant communities
Samuel E. Jordan, Kyle A. Palmquist, John B. Bradford, William K. Lauenroth
2020, Journal of Vegetation Science (31) 646-657
QuestionsEcological communities are controlled by multiple, interacting abiotic and biotic factors that influence the distribution, abundance, and diversity of species. These processes jointly determine resource availability, resource competition, and ultimately species richness. For many terrestrial ecosystems in dryland climates, soil water availability is the most frequent limiting...
Probabilistic categorical groundwater salinity mapping from airborne electromagnetic data adjacent to California’s Lost Hills and Belridge oil fields
Lyndsay B. Ball, Tracy Davis, Burke J. Minsley, Janice M. Gillespie, Matthew K. Landon
2020, Water Resources Research (56)
Growing water stress has led to emerging interest in protecting fresh and brackish groundwater as a potential supplement to water supplies and raised questions about factors that could affect the future quality of fresh and brackish aquifers. Limited well infrastructure, particularly in regions where elevated salinity has...
Landscape dominance of introduced herpetofauna on an oceanic island
Eric Thomas Hileman, Bradley A. Eichelberger, Jill Liske-Clark, Patrick D Barnhart, Robert Reed, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Melia G. Nafus
2020, Global Ecology and Conservation (22)
Habitat loss and fragmentation can negatively impact native wildlife and facilitate establishment of introduced species. On islands, introduced species are a primary cause of extinction and can alter community membership through predation or competition for resources. Consequently, elucidating the distribution of introduced and native species can improve understanding of the potential synergistic effects of...
A lacustrine paleoenvironment recorded at Vera Rubin ridge, Gale crater: Overview of the sedimentology and stratigraphy observed by the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover
Lauren A. Edgar, Christopher M. Fedo, Sanjeev Gupta, Steve G. Banham, Abigail A. Fraeman, John P. Grotzinger, Kathryn M. Stack, Nathan T. Stein, Kristen A. Bennett, Frances Rivera-Hernandez, Vivian Z. Sun, Kenneth S. Edgett, David M. Rubin, Christopher H House, Jason K. Van Beek
2020, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets (125)
For ~500 Martian solar days (sols), the Mars Science Laboratory team explored Vera Rubin ridge (VRR), a topographic feature on the northwest slope of Aeolis Mons. Here we review the sedimentary facies and stratigraphy observed during sols 1,800–2,300, covering more than 100 m of stratigraphic thickness. Curiosity's...
