Mapped versus actual burned area within wildfire perimeters: Characterizing the unburned
Carl H Key, James Lutz, Carl H. Key, Jonathan Kane, Jan W Van Wagtendonk
2012, Forest Ecology and Management (286) 38-47
For decades, wildfire studies have utilized fire occurrence as the primary data source for investigating the causes and effects of wildfire on the landscape. Fire occurrence data fall primarily into two categories: ignition points and perimeter polygons which are used to calculate a ‘burned...
Population ecology of breeding Pacific common eiders on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska
Heather M. Wilson, Paul L. Flint, Abby N. Powell, J. Barry Grand, Christine L. Moral
2012, Wildlife Monographs (182)
Populations of Pacific common eiders (Somateria mollissima v-nigrum) on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD) in western Alaska declined by 50–90% from 1957 to 1992 and then stabilized at reduced numbers from the early 1990s to the present. We investigated the underlying processes affecting their population dynamics by collection and analysis of...
Mapping temperature and radiant geothermal heat flux anomalies in the Yellowstone geothermal system using ASTER thermal infrared data
R. Greg Vaughan, Jacob B. Lowenstern, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Cheryl Jaworowski, Henry Heasler
2012, Geothermal Resources Council Transactions (36) 1403-1409
The purpose of this work was to use satellite-based thermal infrared (TIR) remote sensing data to measure, map, and monitor geothermal activity within the Yellowstone geothermal area to help meet the missions of both the U.S. Geological Survey Yellowstone Volcano Observatory and the Yellowstone National Park Geology Program. Specifically, the...
Incorporating movement patterns to improve survival estimates for juvenile bull trout
Tracy Bowerman, Phaedra Budy
2012, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (32) 1123-1136
Populations of many fish species are sensitive to changes in vital rates during early life stages, but our understanding of the factors affecting growth, survival, and movement patterns is often extremely limited for juvenile fish. These critical information gaps are particularly evident for bull trout Salvelinus confluentus, a threatened Pacific...
Using geochemistry to identify the source of groundwater to Montezuma Well, a natural spring in Central Arizona, USA: Part 2
Raymond H. Johnson, Ed DeWitt, Laurie Wirt, Andrew H. Manning, Andrew G. Hunt
2012, Environmental Earth Sciences (67) 1837-1853
Montezuma Well is a unique natural spring located in a sinkhole surrounded by travertine. Montezuma Well is managed by the National Park Service, and groundwater development in the area is a potential threat to the water source for Montezuma Well. This research was undertaken to better understand the sources of...
Atmospheric inputs to watersheds of the Luquillo Mountains in eastern Puerto Rico: Chapter D in Water quality and landscape processes of four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico
Robert F. Stallard
Sheila F. Murphy, Robert F. Stallard, editor(s)
2012, Professional Paper 1789-D
Twenty years of precipitation-chemistry data from the National Atmospheric Deposition Program site at El Verde, Puerto Rico, demonstrate that three major sources control the composition of solutes in rain in eastern Puerto Rico. In order of importance, these sources are marine salts, temperate contamination from the Northern Hemisphere, and Sahara...
Landslides and sediment budgets in four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico: Chapter F in Water quality and landscape processes of four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico
Matthew C. Larsen
Sheila F. Murphy, Robert F. Stallard, editor(s)
2012, Professional Paper 1789-F
The low-latitude regions of the Earth are undergoing profound, rapid landscape change as forests are converted to agriculture to support growing population. Understanding the effects of these land-use changes requires analysis of watershed-scale geomorphic processes to better inform and manage this usually disorganized process. The investigation of hillslope erosion and...
Regional regression models of watershed suspended-sediment discharge for the eastern United States
David C. Roman, Richard M. Vogel, Gregory E. Schwarz
2012, Journal of Hydrologic Engineering (472-4723) 53-62
Estimates of mean annual watershed sediment discharge, derived from long-term measurements of suspended-sediment concentration and streamflow, often are not available at locations of interest. The goal of this study was to develop multivariate regression models to enable prediction of mean annual suspended-sediment discharge from available basin characteristics useful for most...
Uncertainty quantification for environmental models
Mary C. Hill, Dan Lu, Dmitri Kavetski, Martyn P. Clark, Ming Ye
2012, SIAM News (45)
Environmental models are used to evaluate the fate of fertilizers in agricultural settings (including soil denitrification), the degradation of hydrocarbons at spill sites, and water supply for people and ecosystems in small to large basins and cities—to mention but a few applications of these models. They also play a role...
Difference infiltrometer: a method to measure temporally variable infiltration rates during rainstorms
John A. Moody, Brian A. Ebel
2012, Hydrological Processes (26) 3312-3318
We developed a difference infiltrometer to measure time series of non-steady infiltration rates during rainstorms at the point scale. The infiltrometer uses two, tipping bucket rain gages. One gage measures rainfall onto, and the other measures runoff from, a small circular plot about 0.5-m in diameter. The small size allows...
Effects of earthworms on slopewash, surface runoff, and fine-litter transport on a humid-tropical forested hillslope in eastern Puerto Rico: Chapter G in Water quality and landscape processes of four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico
Matthew C. Larsen, Zhigang Liu Liu, Xiaoming Zou
Sheila F. Murphy, Robert F. Stallard, editor(s)
2012, Professional Paper 1789-G
Rainfall, slopewash (the erosion of soil particles), surface runoff, and fine-litter transport were measured in tropical wet forest on a hillslope in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico, from February 1998 until April 2000. Slopewash data were collected using Gerlach troughs at eight plots, each 2 square meters in area....
Externally triggered renewed bubble nucleation in basaltic magma: the 12 October 2008 eruption at Halema‘uma‘u Overlook vent, Kīlauea, Hawai‘i, USA
Rebecca J. Carey, Michael Manga, Wim Degruyter, Donald Swanson, Bruce F. Houghton, Tim R. Orr, Matthew R. Patrick
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (117)
From October 2008 until present, dozens of small impulsive explosive eruptions occurred from the Overlook vent on the southeast side of Halema‘uma‘u Crater, at Kīlauea volcano, USA. These eruptions were triggered by rockfalls from the walls of the volcanic vent and conduit onto the top of the lava column. Here...
Developing accurate survey methods for estimating population sizes and trends of the critically endangered Nihoa Millerbird and Nihoa Finch.
P. Marcos Gorresen, Richard J. Camp, Kevin W. Brinck, Chris Farmer
2012, Technical Report HCSU-034
This report describes the results of a comparative study of bird survey methods undertaken for the purpose of improving assessments of the conservation status for the two endemic passerines on the Island of Nihoa—Nihoa Millerbird (Sylviidae: Acrocephalus familiaris kingi) and Nihoa Finch (Fringilidae: Telespiza ultima; also referred herein as millerbird...
Predicting biological condition in southern California streams
Larry R. Brown, Jason T. May, Andrew C. Rehn, Peter R. Ode, Ian R. Waite, Jonathan G. Kennen
2012, Landscape and Urban Planning (108) 17-27
As understanding of the complex relations among environmental stressors and biological responses improves, a logical next step is predictive modeling of biological condition at unsampled sites. We developed a boosted regression tree (BRT) model of biological condition, as measured by a benthic macroinvertebrate index of biotic integrity (BIBI), for streams...
The hydrology of a drained topographical depression within an agricutlural field in north-central Iowa
Jason L. Roth, Paul D. Capel
2012, Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (55) 1801-1814
North-central Iowa is an agriculturally intensive area comprising the southeastern portion of the Prairie Pothole Region, a landscape containing a high density of enclosed topographical depressions. Artificial drainage practices have been implemented throughout the area to facilitate agricultural production. Vertical surface drains are utilized to drain the topographical depressions that...
Catalog of earthquake hypocenters at Alaskan volcanoes: January 1 through December 31, 2011
James P. Dixon, Scott D. Stihler, John A. Power, Cheryl K. Searcy
2012, Data Series 730
Between January 1 and December 31, 2011, the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) located 4,364 earthquakes, of which 3,651 occurred within 20 kilometers of the 33 volcanoes with seismograph subnetworks. There was no significant seismic activity above background levels in 2011 at these instrumented volcanic centers. This catalog includes locations, magnitudes,...
A basin-scale approach for assessing water resources in a semiarid environment: San Diego region, California and Mexico
L. E. Flint, A. L. Flint, Bernard J. Stolp, W.R. Danskin
2012, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (16) 3817-3833
Many basins throughout the world have sparse hydrologic and geologic data, but have increasing demands for water and a commensurate need for integrated understanding of surface and groundwater resources. This paper demonstrates a methodology for using a distributed parameter water-balance model, gaged surface-water flow, and a reconnaissance-level groundwater flow model...
Compartment-based hydrodynamics and water quality modeling of a northern Everglades wetland, Florida, USA
Hongqing Wang, Ehab A. Meselhe, Michael G. Waldon, Matthew C. Harwell, Chunfang Chen
2012, Ecological Modelling (247) 273-285
The last remaining large remnant of softwater wetlands in the US Florida Everglades lies within the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. However, Refuge water quality today is impacted by pumped stormwater inflows to the eutrophic and mineral-enriched 100-km canal, which circumscribes the wetland. Optimal management is a challenge...
Landslides in Colorado, USA--Impacts and loss estimation for 2010
Lynn M. Highland
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1204
The focus of this study is to investigate landslides and consequent losses which affected Colorado in the year 2010. By obtaining landslide reports from a variety of sources, this report will demonstrate the feasibility of creating a profile of landslides and their effects on communities. A short overview of the...
Investigation of land subsidence in the Houston-Galveston region of Texas by using the Global Positioning System and interferometric synthetic aperture radar, 1993-2000
Gerald W. Bawden, Michaela R. Johnson, Mark C. Kasmarek, Justin T. Brandt, Clifton S. Middleton
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5211
Since the early 1900s, groundwater has been the primary source of municipal, industrial, and agricultural water supplies for the Houston-Galveston region, Texas. The region's combination of hydrogeology and nearly century-long use of groundwater has resulted in one of the largest areas of subsidence in the United States; by 1979, as...
Wildlife contact analysis: Emerging methods, questions, and challenges
Paul C. Cross, Tyler G. Creech, Michael R. Ebinger, Dennis M. Heisey, Kathryn M. Irvine, Scott Creel
2012, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology (66) 1437-1447
Recent technological advances, such as proximity loggers, allow researchers to collect complete interaction histories, day and night, among sampled individuals over several months to years. Social network analyses are an obvious approach to analyzing interaction data because of their flexibility for fitting many different social structures as well as the...
Archive of digital chirp subbottom profile data collected during USGS cruise 10BIM04 offshore Cat Island, Mississippi, September 2010
Arnell S. Forde, Shawn V. Dadisman, Jack L. Kindinger, Jennifer L. Miselis, Dana S. Wiese, Noreen A. Buster
2012, Data Series 724
In September of 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), conducted a geophysical survey to investigate the geologic controls on barrier island framework of Cat Island, Miss., as part of a broader USGS study on Barrier Island Mapping (BIM). These surveys...
History of earthquakes and tsunamis along the eastern Aleutian-Alaska megathrust, with implications for tsunami hazards in the California Continental Borderland
Holly F. Ryan, Roland E. von Huene, Ray E. Wells, David W. Scholl, Stephen Kirby, Amy E. Draut
Julie A. Dumoulin, C. Dusel-Bacon, editor(s)
2012, Professional Paper 1795-A
During the past several years, devastating tsunamis were generated along subduction zones in Indonesia, Chile, and most recently Japan. Both the Chile and Japan tsunamis traveled across the Pacific Ocean and caused localized damage at several coastal areas in California. The question remains as to whether coastal California, in particular...
Geologic assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources--Middle Eocene Claiborne Group, United States part of the Gulf of Mexico Basin
Paul C. Hackley
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1144
The Middle Eocene Claiborne Group was assessed using established U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment methodology for undiscovered conventional hydrocarbon resources as part of the 2007 USGS assessment of Paleogene-Neogene strata of the United States part of the Gulf of Mexico Basin including onshore and State waters. The assessed area is...
Archive of digital boomer subbottom profile data collected in the Atlantic Ocean offshore northeast Florida during USGS cruises 03FGS01 and 03FGS02 in September and October of 2003
Karynna Calderon, Arnell S. Forde, Shawn V. Dadisman, Dana S. Wiese, Daniel C. Phelps
2012, Data Series 670
In September and October of 2003, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Florida Geological Survey, conducted geophysical surveys of the Atlantic Ocean offshore northeast Florida from St. Augustine, Florida, to the Florida-Georgia border. This report serves as an archive of unprocessed digital boomer subbottom profile data, trackline...
