The advantages of electric-grade heat storage in long closed-loop wells
Junyuan Zhang, Erick R. Burns, Hongbin Zhan
2024, Conference Paper, Geothermal Rising Conference Transactions
Though long (e.g., tens of kilometers) closed-loop geothermal wells are under consideration for the extraction of subsurface heat, these wells might also serve as an efficient energy storage mechanism for electricity generation. Using a semi-analytic model solution, the potential for electric-grade heat storage as a function of ambient temperature (e.g.,...
Predicting hydrothermal reservoir depth from chemical geothermometers using a three-dimensional temperature model in the Great Basin, USA
Jacob DeAngelo, Erick R. Burns, Stanley Paul Mordensky
2024, Conference Paper, Geothermal Rising Conference transactions
Recent work in the Great Basin region of the western United States has made it possible to predict the depth of hydrothermal reservoirs (i.e., the depth at which heat is accumulated prior to ascent via hydrothermal upflow) identified through geochemistry and to contextualize the spatial patterns of these reservoir depths....
Amphibian and reptile conservation in the United States of America
Deanna H. Olson, David S. Pilliod
Susan C. Walls, Katherine O'Donnell, editor(s)
2024, Book chapter
Wildlife stewardship is of utmost importance in the United States, where management for sustainable natural resources is extended to native species including amphibians and reptiles. The U.S. wildlife conservation framework is a nested system of authorities regulating species and habitats, science-based management and policy decisions, and adaptive management as new...
Colorado Delta riparian plant health improvement
Pamela L. Nagler
2024, Conference Paper
The riparian corridor along Mexico’s arid Colorado River Delta is being affected by reduction in river flow and increases in heat, drought, human infrastructure, and disturbances. These disturbances can change riparian land cover by limiting water availability for riparian plant species, increasing fire intensity and frequency, and increasing soil and...
A journey to the center of the USGS National Strong-motion Project processing and beyond
Lisa Sue Schleicher, Jamison Haase Steidl, Eric M. Thompson, Alan K. Yong, Jeff Brody, James Luke Blair, Mike Hearne, Brad T. Aagaard, Susan E. Hough, Han Shao, Garet Huddleston, Keira Heilpern, Kristin Marano, Gabe Ferragut, B. Worden, David J. Wald, Jason De Cristofaro, Adria Ruth McClain, B. Dunham, D. Nget, J. Aragon, J. Gomez, V. Amador, V. Carrasco Rodriquez, E. E. Luna, D. Cembalski, D. Childs, J. Smith, D. Croker, L. Gee
2024, Conference Paper
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Strong Motion Project (NSMP) has the primary U.S. government responsibility to acquire, process, and disseminate significant strong-motion earthquake ground motion records measured at surficial free-field stations, structures (buildings, dams, and bridges, and geotechnical arrays to the earthquake engineering community. As a result of...
Models no not provide proof: An example of model ambiguity and application of isotopic data in a mine pit lake
Connor P. Newman
2024, Conference Paper
Geochemical and hydrologic models of pit lakes are commonly used in environmental regulatory decisions to predict future water quality and hydrologic conditions and to understand existing pit lakes. Models may be used to quantify sulfide oxidation, predict thermal/chemical stratification and mixing, and better understand connections between pit lakes and aquifers....
New approaches to wildlife health
Marcela Uhart, Jonathan M. Sleeman
2024, Scientific and Technical Review (Special Edition) 145-151
Recent environmental change and biodiversity loss have modified ecosystems, altering disease dynamics. For wildlife health, this trend has translated into increased potential for disease transmission and reduced capacity to overcome significant population-level impacts, which may place species at risk of extinction. Thus, current approaches to wildlife health focus not on...
Climate vulnerability assessment of Oregon hatchery programs
Hannah Barrett, Melanie J. Davis
2024, Report
The goal of this project was to assess the vulnerability to climate change impacts for a sample set of hatchery programs representing different geographic areas and primary anadromous species raised in state-managed Oregon hatcheries (Summary Figure 1). Freshwater and marine ecosystem processes can significantly influence salmon and steelhead survival, and...
Separating signals in elevation data improves supervised machine learning predictions for hydrothermal favorability
Pascal Domingo Caraccioli Salinas, Stanley Paul Mordensky, Jacob DeAngelo, Erick R. Burns, John Lipor
2024, Conference Paper, Using the Earth to save the Earth: Geothermal Resources Council transactions
A recent study identified topography (land surface elevation above sea level) as an important input dataset (feature) for predicting the location of hydrothermal systems in the Great Basin in Nevada. Yet, topography is generally a result of more than one geological process and may consequently contain multiple distinct signals. For...
Electrofishing Sandusky River grass carp spawning grounds may disrupt spawning
Ryan E. Brown, Christine M. Mayer, Corbin David Hilling, Song S. Qian, James J. Roberts
2024, Management of Biological Invasions (15) 519-534
Invasive grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella spawning was confirmed in Lake Erie with the collection of fertilized eggs in the Sandusky River, Ohio in 2015. Managers responded with initiation of adult grass carp removal in 2017. Hydrodynamic modeling revealed a potential spawning location in downtown Fremont, Ohio (41.3455; −83.1110), which was...
Effective site coefficients for the 2024 International Building Code (IBC)
Sanaz Rezaeian, Nico Luco, Andrew James Makdisi, Henry Mason
2024, Conference Paper
The U.S. National Seismic Hazard Models (NSHMs), developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), have long been the scientific foundation of seismic design guidelines and have been used to compute design ground motions for construction of new buildings and retrofit of existing buildings in the United States and its territories....
Seismic response comparison of a historical masonry church subject to real and simulated ground motions
S. M. Sajad Hussaini, Claudio Sebastiani, Monica Capasso, Valerio Sabbatini, Shaghayegh Karimzadeh, Sanaz Rezaeian, Silvia Santini, Paulo B. Lourenço
2024, Conference Paper
In recent years, advanced numerical models and high-performance computing have facilitated the utilization of ground motion time series in the assessment of the non-linear dynamic behavior of historic masonry structures. Since recorded accelerograms can be sparse for specific analysis conditions, stochastic ground motion simulations have become a viable alternative to...
Effects of 2D hydrodynamic model resolution on habitat estimates for rearing Coho Salmon in contrasting channel forms
Reuben B. Smit, Damon H. Goodman, Josh Boyce, Nicholas A. Som
2024, River Research and Applications (40) 1912-1924
Estimating the impacts of water allocation decisions on fish populations and habitat availability is an important part of environmental flow assessments, especially in locations where water resources are limited. Two-dimensional hydrodynamic models (2DHMs) are commonly coupled with biological models to estimate fish habitat quality, area, and capacity across a range...
Global survey of paleo-bedforms on Mars
Matthew Chojnacki, Lori K. Fenton, Lauren A. Edgar, Mackenzie D. Day, Christopher S. Edwards, Aaron R Weintraub, Amber L. Gullikson, Matt Telfer
2024, Geomorphology (466)
Sedimentary processes on Mars have contributed to a plethora of landforms, both ancient and modern. Many of these are aeolian- or fluvial-formed constructs that meet the morphologic criteria for dunes and ripples but are clearly lithified and part of the rock record. This study conducted a survey of Mars using...
Limited preservation of strike-slip surface displacement in the geomorphic record
Nadine G. Reitman, Yann Klinger, Richard W. Briggs, Ryan D. Gold
2024, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth (129)
Offset geomorphic markers are commonly used to interpret slip history of strike-slip faults and have played an important role in forming earthquake recurrence models. These data sets are typically analyzed using cumulative probability methods to interpret average amounts of slip in past earthquakes. However, interpretation of the geomorphic record to...
Leveraging local wildlife surveys for robust occupancy trend estimation
Jordan L. Heiman, Jody M. Tucker, Sarah Nelson Sells, Joshua J. Millspaugh, Michael K. Schwartz
2024, Ecological Indicators (169)
Natural resource agencies are frequently tasked with monitoring populations of at-risk species to ensure management activities do not negatively affect the viability of wildlife populations. Typically, these monitoring efforts evaluate trends in a population’s abundance, occupancy, or geographic distribution. Often, surveys provide local information, but results are generally not incorporated...
Updating the crustal fault model for the 2023 National Seismic Hazard Model for Alaska
Peter J. Haeussler, Adrian Bender, Peter M. Powers, Rich D. Koehler, Daniel S. Brothers
Natalia A. Ruppert, M. Jadamec, Jeffery T. Freymueller, editor(s)
2024, Book chapter, Tectonics and seismic structure of Alaska and northwestern Canada: EarthScope and beyond
We present the crustal fault model for Alaska, based on geologic observations, as a primary input for the 2023 revision of the U.S. Geological Survey National Seismic Hazard Model. We update the 2013 Alaska Quaternary fault and fold database to produce a simplified model of 105 fault sections and four...
Asymmetric impacts of climate change on thermal habitat suitability for inland lake fishes
Luoliang Xu, Zachary S. Feiner, Paul Frater, Gretchen J. A. Hansen, Robert Ladwig, Craig P. Paukert, Michael Verhoeven, Lyndsie Wszola, Olaf P. Jensen
2024, Nature Communications (15)
Climate change is altering the thermal habitats of freshwater fish species. We analyze modeled daily temperature profiles from 12,688 lakes in the US to track changes in thermal habitat of 60 lake fish species from different thermal guilds during 1980-2021. We quantify changes in each species’ preferred days, defined as...
Outmigration behavior and survival of juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in response to deep drawdown of the Lookout Point Project, Middle Fork Willamette River, Oregon
Dalton J. Hance, Tobias J. Kock, Jake R. Kelley, Amy C. Hansen, Russell W. Perry, Scott D Fielding
2024, Open-File Report 2024-1069
An acoustic telemetry study was conducted during August 2023–February 2024 to evaluate outmigration behavior and survival of juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Middle Fork Willamette River, Oregon, during an experimental operation that was designed to facilitate downstream passage through two reservoirs and two dams. The experimental operation consisted...
Distribution, abundance, breeding activities, and habitat use of the Least Bell's Vireo at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California—2023 annual report
Suellen Lynn, Barbara E. Kus
2024, Open-File Report 2024-1065
Executive SummaryThe purpose of this report is to provide the Marine Corps with an annual summary of abundance, breeding activity, demography, and habitat use of endangered Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus) at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California (MCBCP or Base). Surveys for the Least Bell's Vireo were completed...
System characterization report on Vision-1
James C. Vrabel, Paul Bresnahan, Aparajithan Sampath, Minsu Kim, Seonkyung Park, Jeff Clauson
2024, Open-File Report 2021-1030-Q
Executive Summary This report addresses system characterization of the Airbus Vision-1 satellite and is part of a series of system characterization reports produced and delivered by the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Cal/Val Center of Excellence. These reports present and detail the methodology and procedures for characterization; present...
New technology for an ancient fish: A lamprey life cycle modeling tool with an R Shiny application
Dylan Gerald-Everett Gomes, Joseph R. Benjamin, Benjamin J. Clemens, Ralph Lampman, Jason Dunham
2024, Preprint
Lampreys (Petromyzontiformes) are an ancient group of fishes with complex life histories. We created a life cycle model that includes an R Shiny interactive web application interface to simulate abundance by life stage. This will allow scientists and managers to connect available demographic information in a framework that can be...
Enhanced petrogenic organic carbon oxidation during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum
Emily H. Hollingsworth, Robert B. Sparkes, Jean Self-Trail, Gavin L. Foster, Gordon N. Inglis
2024, Geochemical Perspectives Letters (33) 1-6
The Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM; ∼56 Ma) is a hyperthermal event associated with the rapid input of carbon into the ocean-atmosphere system. The oxidation of petrogenic organic carbon (OCpetro) may have released additional carbon dioxide (CO2), thereby prolonging the PETM. However, proxy-based estimates of OCpetro oxidation are unavailable due to the...
Predicted occurrence and abundance habitat suitability of invasive plants in the contiguous United States: Updates for the INHABIT web tool.
Catherine S. Jarnevich, Peder Engelstad, Demetra A. Williams, Keana S. Shadwell, Cameron J. Reimer, Grace C. Henderson, Janet S. Prevéy, Ian S. Pearse
2024, NeoBiota (96) 261-278
Invasive plant species have substantial negative ecological and economic impacts. Geographic information on the potential and actual distributions of invasive plants is critical for their effective management. For many regions, numerous sources of predictive geographic information exist for invasive plants, often in the form of outputs from species distribution models...
Managing basin-scale carbon sequestration: A tragedy of the commons approach
Joseph E. Duggan Jr., Jonathan D. Ogland-Hand, Steven T. Anderson, Richard S. Middleton
2024, Conference Paper
The Tragedy of the Commons is a well studied problem in the literature of ecology, economics, and environmental policy which illustrates the deleterious consequences of managing common pool resources when individual and social incentives are misaligned. In this work, we apply a simple model of carbon sequestration in a deep...
