Distribution of biologic, anthropogenic, and volcanic constituents as a proxy for sediment transport in the San Francisco Bay Coastal System
Mary McGann, Li H. Erikson, Elmira Wan, Charles L. Powell II, Rosalie F. Maddocks
Patrick L. Barnard, Bruce E. Jaffe, David H. Schoellhamer, editor(s)
2013, Marine Geology (345) 113-142
Although conventional sediment parameters (mean grain size, sorting, and skewness) and provenance have typically been used to infer sediment transport pathways, most freshwater, brackish, and marine environments are also characterized by abundant sediment constituents of biological, and possibly anthropogenic and volcanic, origin that can provide additional insight into local sedimentary...
Sediment transport in the San Francisco Bay Coastal System: An overview
Patrick L. Barnard, David H. Schoellhamer, Bruce E. Jaffe, Lester J. McKee
Patrick L. Barnard, Bruce E. Jaffe, David H. Schoellhamer, editor(s)
2013, Marine Geology (345) 3-17
The papers in this special issue feature state-of-the-art approaches to understanding the physical processes related to sediment transport and geomorphology of complex coastal-estuarine systems. Here we focus on the San Francisco Bay Coastal System, extending from the lower San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta, through the Bay, and along the adjacent outer Pacific...
Measuring suspended sediment
J. R. Gray, M. N. Landers
2013, Book chapter, Comprehensive water quality and purification
Suspended sediment in streams and rivers can be measured using traditional instruments and techniques and (or) surrogate technologies. The former, as described herein, consists primarily of both manually deployed isokinetic samplers and their deployment protocols developed by the Federal Interagency Sedimentation Project. They are used on all continents other than...
A 600-ka Arctic sea-ice record from Mendeleev Ridge based on ostracodes
Thomas M. Cronin, L.V. Polyak, D. Reed, E. S. Kandiano, R. E. Marzen, E. A. Council
2013, Quaternary Science Reviews (79) 157-167
Arctic paleoceanography and sea-ice history were reconstructed from epipelagic and benthic ostracodes from a sediment core (HLY0503-06JPC, 800 m water depth) located on the Mendeleev Ridge, Western Arctic Ocean. The calcareous microfaunal record (ostracodes and foraminifers) covers several glacial/interglacial cycles back to estimated Marine Isotope Stage 13 (MIS 13, ∼500 ka) with...
Climate change and watershed mercury export: a multiple projection and model analysis
Heather E. Golden, Christopher D. Knightes, Paul Conrads, Toby D. Feaster, Gary M. Davis, Stephen T. Benedict, Paul M. Bradley
2013, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (32) 2165-2174
Future shifts in climatic conditions may impact watershed mercury (Hg) dynamics and transport. An ensemble of watershed models was applied in the present study to simulate and evaluate the responses of hydrological and total Hg (THg) fluxes from the landscape to the watershed outlet and in-stream THg concentrations to contrasting...
Human-induced stream channel abandonment/capture and filling of floodplain channels within the Atchafalaya River Basin, Louisiana
Daniel E. Kroes, Thomas F. Kraemer
2013, Geomorphology (201) 148-156
The Atchafalaya River Basin is a distributary system of the Mississippi River containing the largest riparian area in the lower Mississippi River Valley and the largest remaining forested bottomland in North America. Reductions in the area of open water in the Atchafalaya have been occurring over the last 100 years,...
Seasonal variations in suspended-sediment dynamics in the tidal reach of an estuarine tributary
Maureen A. Downing-Kunz, David H. Schoellhamer
Patrick L. Barnard, Bruce E. Jaffe, David H. Schoellhamer, editor(s)
2013, Marine Geology (345) 314-326
Quantifying sediment supply from estuarine tributaries is an important component of developing a sediment budget, and common techniques for estimating supply are based on gages located above tidal influence. However, tidal interactions near tributary mouths can affect the magnitude and direction of sediment supply to the open waters of the...
Population-level thermal performance of a cold-water ectotherm is linked to ontogeny and local environmental heterogeneity
Blake R. Hossack, Windsor H. Lowe, Mariah J. Talbott, P. Stephen Corn, Kevin M. Kappenman, Molly A. H. Webb
2013, Freshwater Biology (58) 2215-2225
Negative effects of global warming are predicted to be most severe for species that occupy a narrow range of temperatures, have limited dispersal abilities or have long generation times. These are characteristics typical of many species that occupy small, cold streams.Habitat use, vulnerabilities and mechanisms for coping with local...
A sediment budget for the southern reach in San Francisco Bay, CA: Implications for habitat restoration
Gregory Shellenbarger, Scott Wright, David H. Schoellhamer
2013, Marine Geology (345) 281-293
The South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project is overseeing the restoration of about 6000 ha of former commercial salt-evaporation ponds to tidal marsh and managed wetlands in the southern reach of San Francisco Bay (SFB). As a result of regional groundwater overdrafts prior to the 1970s, parts of the project...
The timing of sediment transport down Monterey Submarine Canyon, offshore California
Thomas Stevens, Charles K. Paull, William Ussler, Mary McGann, Jan-Pieter Buylaert, Eve M. Lundsten
2013, Geological Society of America Bulletin (126) 103-121
While submarine canyons are the major conduits through which sediments are transported from the continents out into the deep sea, the time it takes for sediment to pass down through a submarine canyon system is poorly constrained. Here we report on the first study to couple optically stimulated luminescence (OSL)...
Global carbon dioxide emissions from inland waters
Peter A. Raymond, Jens Hartmann, Ronny Lauerwald, Sebastian Sobek, Cory P. McDonald, Mark Hoover, David Butman, Robert G. Striegl, Emilio Mayorga, Christoph Humborg, Pirkko Kortelainen, Hans H. Durr, Michel Meybeck, Philippe Ciais, Peter Guth
2013, Nature (503) 355-359
Carbon dioxide (CO2) transfer from inland waters to the atmosphere, known as CO2 evasion, is a component of the global carbon cycle. Global estimates of CO2 evasion have been hampered, however, by the lack of a framework for estimating the inland water surface area and gas transfer velocity and by the absence...
DOM composition in an agricultural watershed: assessing patterns and variability in the context of spatial scales
Peter J. Hernes, Robert G. M. Spencer, Rachel Y. Dyda, Brian A. Pellerin, Philip A. M. Bachand, Brian A. Bergamaschi
2013, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (121) 599-610
Willow Slough, a seasonally irrigated agricultural watershed in the Sacramento River valley, California, was sampled synoptically in order to investigate the extent to which dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations and compositions from throughout the catchment are represented at the mouth. DOC concentrations ranged from 1.8 to 13.9 mg L−1, with the lowest...
Restoring the Great Lakes: DOI stories of success and partnership in implementing the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Indian Affairs
2013, Report
The Great Lakes are a monumentally unique national treasure containing nearly ninety-five percent of the United States' fresh surface water. Formed by receding glaciers, the Great Lakes support a thriving, resilient ecosystem rich with fish, wildlife, and abundant natural resources. The Great Lakes also support an array of commercial uses,...
Refinement of regression models to estimate real-time concentrations of contaminants in the Menomonee River drainage basin, southeast Wisconsin, 2008-11
Austin K. Baldwin, Dale M. Robertson, David A. Saad, Christopher Magruder
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5174
In 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District initiated a study to develop regression models to estimate real-time concentrations and loads of chloride, suspended solids, phosphorus, and bacteria in streams near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. To collect monitoring data for calibration of models, water-quality sensors and automated samplers...
Groundwater and surface-water interaction within the upper Smith River Watershed, Montana 2006-2010
Rodney R. Caldwell, Cheryl A. Eddy-Miller
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5051
The 125-mile long Smith River, a tributary of the Missouri River, is highly valued as an agricultural resource and for its many recreational uses. During a drought starting in about 1999, streamflow was insufficient to meet all of the irrigation demands, much less maintain streamflow needed for boating and viable...
Evidence for 20th century climate warming and wetland drying in the North American Prairie Pothole Region
B. A. Werner, W. Carter Johnson, Glenn R. Guntenspergen
2013, Ecology and Evolution (3) 3471-3482
The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North America is a globally important resource that provides abundant and valuable ecosystem goods and services in the form of biodiversity, groundwater recharge, water purification, flood attenuation, and water and forage for agriculture. Numerous studies have found these wetlands, which number in the millions,...
Nitrate Trends in Minnesota Rivers
Dave Wall, Dave Christopherson, Dave Lorenz, Gary Martin
2013, Book chapter, Nitrogen in Minnesota surface waters:
The objective of this study was to assess long-term trends (30 to 35 years) of flow-adjusted concentrations of nitrite+nitrate-N (hereinafter referred to as nitrate) in a way that would allow us to discern changing trends. Recognizing that these trends are commonly different from one river to another river and from...
Creating potentiometric surfaces from combined water well and oil well data in the midcontinent of the United States
Nicholas J. Gianoutsos, Philip H. Nelson
2013, Book, 125th Anniversary Annual Meeting & Expo: The Geological Society of America
For years, hydrologists have defined potentiometric surfaces using measured hydraulic-head values in water wells from aquifers. Down-dip, the oil and gas industry is also interested in the formation pressures of many of the same geologic formations for the purpose of hydrocarbon recovery. In oil and gas exploration, drillstem tests (DSTs)...
Characterization of cyanophyte biomass in a Bureau of Reclamation reservoir
Nancy S. Simon, Ahmad Abdul Ali, Kyle Michael Samperton, Charles S. Korson, Kris Fischer, Michael L. Hughes
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1156
The purpose of this study was to characterize the cyanophyte Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA) from Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, (UKL) and, based on this description, explore uses for AFA, which would have commercial value. AFA collected from UKL in 2010 from eight sites during a period of approximately 2 weeks were...
Improving regression-model-based streamwater constituent load estimates derived from serially correlated data
Brent T. Aulenbach
2013, Journal of Hydrology (503) 55-66
A regression-model based approach is a commonly used, efficient method for estimating streamwater constituent load when there is a relationship between streamwater constituent concentration and continuous variables such as streamwater discharge, season and time. A subsetting experiment using a 30-year dataset of daily suspended sediment observations from the Mississippi River...
Gastric evacuation rate, index of fullness, and daily ration of Lake Michigan slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus) and deepwater sculpin (Myoxocephalus thompsonii)
Justin G. Mychek-Londer, David B. Bunnell
2013, Journal of Great Lakes Research (39) 327-335
Accurate estimates of fish consumption are required to understand trophic interactions and facilitate ecosystem-based fishery management. Despite their importance within the food-web, no method currently exists to estimate daily consumption for Great Lakes slimy (Cottus cognatus) and deepwater sculpin (Myoxocephalus thompsonii). We conducted experiments to estimate gastric evacuation (GEVAC) and...
Emergency assessment of post-fire debris-flow hazards for the 2013 Rim Fire, Stanislaus National Forest and Yosemite National Park, California
Dennis M. Staley
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1260
Wildfire can significantly alter the hydrologic response of a watershed to the extent that even modest rainstorms can produce dangerous flash floods and debris flows. In this report, empirical models are used to predict the probability and magnitude of debris-flow occurrence in response to a 10-year rainstorm for the 2013...
Nitrate in the Mississippi River and its tributaries, 1980-2010: an update
Jennifer C. Murphy, Robert M. Hirsch, Lori A. Sprague
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5169
Nitrate concentration and flux were estimated from 1980 through 2010 at eight sites in the Mississippi River Basin as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). These estimates extend the results from a previous investigation that provided nitrate estimates from 1980 through 2008...
Groundwater contributions of flow, nitrate, and dissolved organic carbon to the lower San Joaquin River, California, 2006-08
Celia Zamora, Randy A. Dahlgren, Charles R. Kratzer, Bryan D. Downing, Ann D. Russell, Peter D. Dileanis, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Steven P. Phillips
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5151
The influence of groundwater on surface-water quality in the San Joaquin River, California, was examined for a 59-mile reach from the confluence with Salt Slough to Vernalis. The primary objective of this study was to quantify the rate of groundwater discharged to the lower San Joaquin River and the contribution...
Monitoring change in Great Salt Lake
David L. Naftz, Cory E. Angeroth, Michael L. Freeman, Ryan C. Rowland, Gregory Carling
2013, Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union (94) 289-296
Despite the ecological and economic importance of Great Salt Lake, only limited water quality monitoring has occurred historically. To change this, new monitoring stations and networks—gauges of lake level height and rate of inflow, moored buoys, and multiple lake-bottom sensors—will provide important information that can be used to make informed...
