Beach science in the Great Lakes
Meredith B. Nevers, Murulee N. Byappanahalli, Thomas A. Edge, Richard L. Whitman
2014, Journal of Great Lakes Research (40) 1-14
Monitoring beach waters for human health has led to an increase and evolution of science in the Great Lakes, which includes microbiology, limnology, hydrology, meteorology, epidemiology, and metagenomics, among others. In recent years, concerns over the accuracy of water quality standards at protecting human health have led to a significant...
Factors affecting public-supply well vulnerability in two karst aquifers
MaryLynn Musgrove, Brian G. Katz, Lynne S. Fahlquist, Christy A. Crandall, Richard J. Lindgren
2014, Ground Water (52) 63-75
Karst aquifers occur in a range of climatic and geologic settings. Nonetheless, they are commonly characterized by their vulnerability to water-quality impairment. Two karst aquifers, the Edwards aquifer in south-central Texas and the Upper Floridan aquifer in western Florida, were investigated to assess factors that control the movement of contaminants...
Earthquake catalog for estimation of maximum earthquake magnitude, Central and Eastern United States: Part A, Prehistoric earthquakes
Russell L. Wheeler
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1025-A
Computation of probabilistic earthquake hazard requires an estimate of Mmax, the maximum earthquake magnitude thought to be possible within a specified geographic region. This report is Part A of an Open-File Report that describes the construction of a global catalog of moderate to large earthquakes, from which one can estimate...
Distribution and landscape controls of organic layer thickness and carbon within the Alaskan Yukon River Basin
Neal J. Pastick, Matthew B. Rigge, Bruce K. Wylie, M. Torre Jorgenson, Joshua R. Rose, Kristofer D. Johnson, Lei Ji
2014, Geoderma (230-231) 79-94
Understanding of the organic layer thickness (OLT) and organic layer carbon (OLC) stocks in subarctic ecosystems is critical due to their importance in the global carbon cycle. Moreover, post-fire OLT provides an indicator of long-term successional trajectories and permafrost susceptibility to thaw. To these ends, we 1) mapped OLT and...
Corticosterone metabolite concentrations in greater sage-grouse are positively associated with the presence of cattle grazing
M.D. Jankowski, Robin E. Russell, J. Christian Franson, Robert J. Dusek, M.K. Hines, M. Gregg, Erik K. Hofmeister
2014, Rangeland Ecology and Management (67) 237-246
The sagebrush biome in the western United States is home to the imperiled greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and encompasses rangelands used for cattle production. Cattle grazing activities have been implicated in the range-wide decline of the sage-grouse, but no studies have investigated the relationship between the physiological condition of sage-grouse...
Physiological and ecological effects of increasing temperature on fish production in lakes of Arctic Alaska
Michael P. Carey, Christian E. Zimmerman
2014, Ecology and Evolution (4) 1981-1993
Lake ecosystems in the Arctic are changing rapidly due to climate warming. Lakes are sensitive integrators of climate-induced changes and prominent features across the Arctic landscape, especially in lowland permafrost regions such as the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska. Despite many studies on the implications of climate warming, how fish...
The shallow stratigraphy and sand resources offshore from Cat Island, Mississippi
Jack L. Kindinger, Jennifer L. Miselis, Noreen A. Buster
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1070
In collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center collected over 487 line kilometers (> 300 miles) of high-resolution geophysical data around Cat Island, Mississippi, to improve understanding of the island's geologic evolution and identify potential...
Porphyry copper assessment of eastern Australia
Arthur A. Bookstrom, Richard A. Len, Jane M. Hammarstrom, Gilpin R. Robinson Jr., Michael L. Zientek, Benjamin J. Drenth, Subhash Jaireth, Pamela M. Cossette, John C. Wallis
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5090-L
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducts national and global assessments of resources (mineral, energy, water, and biologic) to provide science in support of decision making. Mineral resource assessments provide syntheses of available information about where mineral deposits are known and suspected to occur in the Earth’s crust and which commodities...
Unified facilities criteria 3-301-01: structural engineering
Sean M. McGowan, Sanaz Rezaeian, Nicolas Luco
2014, Report
This Unified Facility Criteria (UFC) provides requirements for structures designed and constructed for the Department of Defense (DoD). These technical requirements are based on the 2012 International Building Code (IBC 2012), as modified by UFC 1-200- 01. This information shall be used by structural engineers to develop design calculations, specifications, plans,...
Mapping large-area landscape suitability for honey bees to assess the influence of land-use change on sustainability of national pollination services
Alisa L. Gallant, Ned H. Euliss Jr., Zac Browning
2014, PLoS ONE (9) 1-14
Pollination is a critical ecosystem service affected by various drivers of land-use change, such as policies and programs aimed at land resources, market values for crop commodities, local land-management decisions, and shifts in climate. The United States is the world's most active market for pollination services by honey bees, and...
A new Liopropoma sea bass (Serranidae, Epinephelinae, Liopropomini) from deep reefs off Curaçao, southern Caribbean, with comments on depth distributions of western Atlantic liopropomins
Carole C. Baldwin, D. Ross Robertson
2014, ZooKeys (409) 71-92
Collecting reef-fish specimens using a manned submersible diving to 300 m off Curaçao, southern Caribbean, is resulting in the discovery of numerous new fish species. The new Liopropoma sea bass described here differs from other western Atlantic members of the genus in having VIII, 13 dorsal-fin rays; a moderately indented dorsal-fin margin;...
Status and understanding of groundwater quality in the South Coast Interior groundwater basins, 2008: California GAMA Priority Basin Project
Mary C. Parsons, Justin T. Kulongoski, Kenneth Belitz
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5023
Groundwater quality in the approximately 653-square-mile (1,691-square-kilometer) South Coast Interior Basins (SCI) study unit was investigated as part of the Priority Basin Project of the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The South Coast Interior Basins study unit contains eight priority groundwater basins grouped into three study areas, Livermore,...
Habitat coupling in a large lake system: delivery of an energy subsidy by an offshore planktivore to the nearshore zone of Lake Superior
Jason D. Stockwell, Daniel L. Yule, Thomas R. Hrabik, Michael E. Sierszen, Edmund J. Isaac
2014, Freshwater Biology (59) 1197-1212
1. We hypothesised that the autumn spawning migration of Lake Superior cisco (Coregonus artedi) provides a resource subsidy, in the form of energy-rich cisco eggs, from the offshore pelagic to the nearshore benthic community over winter, when alternate prey production is likely to be low. 2. We tested this...
Two graphical user interfaces for managing and analyzing MODFLOW groundwater-model scenarios
Edward R. Banta
2014, Techniques and Methods 6-A50
Scenario Manager and Scenario Analyzer are graphical user interfaces that facilitate the use of calibrated, MODFLOW-based groundwater models for investigating possible responses to proposed stresses on a groundwater system. Scenario Manager allows a user, starting with a calibrated model, to design and run model scenarios by adding or modifying stresses...
Evaluation of sensor types and environmental controls on mapping biomass of coastal marsh emergent vegetation
Kristin B. Byrd, Jessica L. O'Connell, Stefania Di Tommaso, Maggi Kelly
2014, Remote Sensing of Environment (149) 166-180
There is a need to quantify large-scale plant productivity in coastal marshes to understand marsh resilience to sea level rise, to help define eligibility for carbon offset credits, and to monitor impacts from land use, eutrophication and contamination. Remote monitoring of aboveground biomass of emergent wetland vegetation will help address...
Evaluation of monkeypox virus infection of prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) using in vivo bioluminescent imaging
Elizabeth A. Falendysz, Angela M. Londono-Navas, Carol U. Meteyer, Nicola Pussini, Juan G. Lopera, Jorge E. Osorio, Tonie E. Rocke
2014, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (50) 524-536
Monkeypox (MPX) is a re-emerging zoonotic disease that is endemic in Central and West Africa, where it can cause a smallpox-like disease in humans. Despite many epidemiologic and field investigations of MPX, no definitive reservoir species has been identified. Using recombinant viruses expressing the firefly luciferase (luc) gene, we previously...
Assessment of suitable habitat for Phragmites australis (common reed) in the Great Lakes coastal zone
Martha L. Carlson Mazur, Kurt P. Kowalski, David Galbraith
2014, Aquatic Invasions (9) 1-19
In the Laurentian Great Lakes, the invasive form of Phragmites australis (common reed) poses a threat to highly productive coastal wetlands and shorelines by forming impenetrable stands that outcompete native plants. Large, dominant stands can derail efforts to restore wetland ecosystems degraded by other stressors. To be proactive, landscape-level management...
Phytoplankton primary production in the world's estuarine-coastal ecosystems
James E. Cloern, S.Q. Foster, A.E. Kleckner
2014, Biogeosciences (11) 2477-2501
Estuaries are biogeochemical hot spots because they receive large inputs of nutrients and organic carbon from land and oceans to support high rates of metabolism and primary production. We synthesize published rates of annual phytoplankton primary production (APPP) in marine ecosystems influenced by connectivity to land – estuaries, bays, lagoons,...
State-and-transition prototype model of riparian vegetation downstream of Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona
Barbara E. Ralston, Anthony M. Starfield, Ronald S. Black, Robert A. Van Lonkhuyzen
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1095
Facing an altered riparian plant community dominated by nonnative species, resource managers are increasingly interested in understanding how to manage and promote healthy riparian habitats in which native species dominate. For regulated rivers, managing flows is one tool resource managers consider to achieve these goals. Among many factors that can...
Investigating the importance of sediment resuspension in Alexandrium fundyense cyst population dynamics in the Gulf of Maine
Bradford Butman, Alfredo L. Aretxabaleta, Patrick J. Dickhudt, P. Soupy Dalyander, Christopher R. Sherwood, Donald M. Anderson, Bruce A. Keafer, Richard P. Signell
2014, Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography (103) 79-95
Cysts of Alexandrium fundyense, a dinoflagellate that causes toxic algal blooms in the Gulf of Maine, spend the winter as dormant cells in the upper layer of bottom sediment or the bottom nepheloid layer and germinate in spring to initiate new blooms. Erosion measurements were made on sediment cores collected...
Stratigraphic controls on fluid and solute fluxes across the sediment-water interface of an estuary
Audrey H. Sawyer, Olesya Lazareva, Kevin D. Kroeger, Kyle Crespo, Clara S. Chan, Thomas Stieglitz, Holly A. Michael
2014, Limnology and Oceanography (59) 997-1010
Shallow stratigraphic features, such as infilled paleovalleys, modify fresh groundwater discharge to coastal waters and fluxes of saltwater and nutrients across the sediment–water interface. We quantify the spatial distribution of shallow surface water–groundwater exchange and nitrogen fluxes near a paleovalley in Indian River Bay, Delaware, using a hand resistivity probe,...
Mechanisms of aquatic species invasions across the SALCC - an update
Amy J. Benson
2014, Report
The USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database (NAS; nas.er.usgs.gov) is a comprehensive tool for demonstrating where and when nonindigenous species have been sighted across the U.S. Information in the database is used for state-level invasive species management plans, to focus monitoring efforts, for public education, predictive modeling, and for avoiding unintentional...
Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Farah mineral district in Afghanistan
Philip A. Davis
2014, Data Series 709-FF
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the...
Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Ghazni2 mineral district in Afghanistan
Philip A. Davis
2014, Data Series 709-EE
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the...
Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Ghazni1 mineral district in Afghanistan
Philip A. Davis
2014, Data Series 709-DD
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the...
