Environmental DNA as a new method for early detection of New Zealand mudsnails (Potamopyrgus antipodarum)
Caren S. Goldberg, Adam Sepulveda, Andrew Ray, Jeremy A. Baumgardt, Lisette P. Waits
2013, Freshwater Science (32) 792-800
Early detection of aquatic invasive species is a critical task for management of aquatic ecosystems. This task is hindered by the difficulty and cost of surveying aquatic systems thoroughly. The New Zealand mudsnail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum) is a small, invasive parthenogenic mollusk that can reach very high population densities and severely...
Internal nutrient sources and nutrient distributions in Alviso Pond A3W, California
Brent R. Topping, James S. Kuwabara, Krista K. Garrett, John Y. Takekawa, Francis Parcheso, Sara Piotter, Iris Clearwater, Gregory Shellenbarger
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1128
Within the Alviso Salt Pond complex, California, currently undergoing avian-habitat restoration, pore-water profilers (U.S. Patent 8,051,727 B1) were deployed in triplicate at two contrasting sites in Pond A3W (“Inlet”, near the inflow, and “Deep”, near the middle of the pond; figs. 1 and 2; table 1, note that tables in...
Streamflow and water-quality conditions including geologic sources and processes affecting selenium loading in the Toll Gate Creek watershed, Aurora, Arapahoe County, Colorado, 2007
Suzanne S. Paschke, Robert L. Runkel, Katherine Walton-Day, Briant A. Kimball, Keelin R. Schaffrath
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5280
Toll Gate Creek is a perennial stream draining a suburban area in Aurora, Colorado, where selenium concentrations have consistently exceeded the State of Colorado aquatic-life standard for selenium of 4.6 micrograms per liter since the early 2000s. In cooperation with the City of Aurora, Colorado, Utilities Department, a synoptic water-quality...
Characterization of major lithologic units underlying the lower American River using water-borne continuous resistivity profiling, Sacramento, California, June 2008
Lyndsay B. Ball, Andrew Teeple
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1050
The levee system of the lower American River in Sacramento, California, is situated above a mixed lithology of alluvial deposits that range from clay to gravel. In addition, sand deposits related to hydraulic mining activities underlie the floodplain and are preferentially prone to scour during high-flow events. In contrast, sections...
Endozoochory of seeds and invertebrates by migratory waterbirds in Oklahoma, USA
Andy J. Green, Dagmar Frisch, Thomas C. Michot, Larry K. Allain, Wylie C. Barrow
2013, Limnetica (32) 39-46
Given their abundance and migratory behavior, waterbirds have major potential for dispersing plants and invertebrates within North America, yet their role as vectors remains poorly understood. We investigated the numbers and types of invertebrates and seeds within freshly collected faecal samples (n = 22) of migratory dabbling ducks and shorebirds...
Landscape factors and hydrology influence mercury concentrations in wading birds breeding in the Florida Everglades, USA
Garth Herring, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Joshua T. Ackerman, Dale E. Gawlik, James M. Beerens
2013, Science of the Total Environment (458-460) 637-646
The hydrology of wetland ecosystems is a key driver of both mercury (Hg) methylation and waterbird foraging ecology, and hence may play a fundamental role in waterbird exposure and risk to Hg contamination. However, few studies have investigated hydrological factors that influence waterbird Hg exposure. We examined how several landscape-level...
Emergence flux declines disproportionately to larval density along a stream metals gradient
Travis S. Schmidt, Johanna M. Kraus, David M. Walters, Richard B. Wanty
2013, Environmental Science & Technology (47) 8784-8792
Effects of contaminants on adult aquatic insect emergence are less well understood than effects on insect larvae. We compared responses of larval density and adult emergence along a metal contamination gradient. Nonlinear threshold responses were generally observed for larvae and emergers. Larval densities decreased significantly at low metal concentrations but...
A model for evaluating effects of climate, water availability, and water management on wetland impoundments--a case study on Bowdoin, Long Lake, and Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuges
Brian A. Tangen, Robert A. Gleason, John F. Stamm
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5114
Many wetland impoundments managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) National Wildlife Refuge System throughout the northern Great Plains rely on rivers as a primary water source. A large number of these impoundments currently are being stressed from changes in water supplies and quality, and these problems are...
Baseline groundwater quality from 20 domestic wells in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, 2012
Ronald A. Sloto
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5085
Water samples were collected from 20 domestic wells during August and September 2012 and analyzed for 47 constituents and properties, including nutrients, major ions, metals and trace elements, radioactivity, and dissolved gases, including methane and radon-222. This study, done in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau...
Development of MODFLOW-USG: an un-structured grid version of MODFLOW
Sorab Panday
2013, International Association of Hydrogeologists Newsletter (42) 4-5
MODFLOW was revolutionary when it was first unveiled by the USGS in 1988, and since then it has been the most widely used groundwater flow modeling program in the world. MODFLOW’s simulation capabilities have evolved substantially since its initial release and it has been an inspiration for more comprehensive analysis...
Multi-temporal maps of the Montaguto earth flow in southern Italy from 1954 to 2010
Luigi Guerriero, Paola Revellino, Jeffrey A. Coe, Mariano Focareta, Gerardo Grelle, Vincenzo Albanese, Angelo Corazza, Francesco M. Guadagno
2013, Journal of Maps (9) 135-145
Historical movement of the Montaguto earth flow in southern Italy has periodically destroyed residences and farmland, and damaged the Italian National Road SS90 and the Benevento-Foggia National Railway. This paper provides maps from an investigation into the evolution of the Montaguto earth flow from 1954 to 2010. We used aerial...
Methods and results of peak-flow frequency analyses for streamgages in and bordering Minnesota, through water year 2011
Erich W. Kessler, David L. Lorenz, Christopher A. Sanocki
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5110
Peak-flow frequency analyses were completed for 409 streamgages in and bordering Minnesota having at least 10 systematic peak flows through water year 2011. Selected annual exceedance probabilities were determined by fitting a log-Pearson type III probability distribution to the recorded annual peak flows. A detailed explanation of the methods that...
Landscape consequences of natural gas extraction in Somerset and Westmoreland Counties, Pennsylvania,2004--2010
L.E. Milheim, E.T. Slonecker, C.M. Roig-Silva, A.R. Malizia
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1126
Increased demands for cleaner burning energy, coupled with the relatively recent technological advances in accessing unconventional hydrocarbon-rich geologic formations, have led to an intense effort to find and extract natural gas from various underground sources around the country. One of these sources, the Marcellus Shale, located in the Allegheny Plateau,...
Hydraulic and water-quality data collection for the investigation of Great Lakes tributaries for Asian carp spawning and egg-transport suitability
Elizabeth A. Murphy, P. Ryan Jackson
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5106
If the invasive Asian carps (bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis and silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) migrate to the Great Lakes, in spite of the efforts to stop their advancement, these species will require the fast-flowing water of the Great Lakes tributaries for spawning and recruitment in order to establish a growing population. Two Lake...
Development of a Fluvial Egg Drift Simulator to evaluate the transport and dispersion of Asian carp eggs in rivers
Tatiana Garcia, P. Ryan Jackson, Elizabeth A. Murphy, Albert J. Valocchi, Marcelo H. Garcia
2013, Ecological Modelling (263) 211-222
Asian carp are migrating towards the Great Lakes and are threatening to invade this ecosystem, hence there is an immediate need to control their population. The transport of Asian carp eggs in potential spawning rivers is an important factor in its life history and recruitment success. An understanding of the...
Comparison between two statistically based methods, and two physically based models developed to compute daily mean streamflow at ungaged locations in the Cedar River Basin, Iowa
S. Mike Linhart, Jon F. Nania, Daniel E. Christiansen, Kasey J. Hutchinson, Curtis L. Sanders Jr., Stacey A. Archfield
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5111
A variety of individuals from water resource managers to recreational users need streamflow information for planning and decisionmaking at locations where there are no streamgages. To address this problem, two statistically based methods, the Flow Duration Curve Transfer method and the Flow Anywhere method, were developed for statewide application and...
An analysis of potential water availability from the Atwood, Leesville, and Tappan Lakes in the Muskingum River Watershed, Ohio
G. F. Koltun
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5112
This report presents the results of a study to assess potential water availability from the Atwood, Leesville, and Tappan Lakes, located within the Muskingum River Watershed, Ohio. The assessment was based on the criterion that water withdrawals should not appreciably affect maintenance of recreation-season pool levels in current use. To...
Vegetation map of the watersheds between Kawela and Kamalō Gulches, Island of Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi
James D. Jacobi, Stephen Ambagis
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5093
In this document we describe the methods and results of a project to produce a large-scale map of the dominant plant communities for an area of 5,118.5 hectares encompassing the Kawela and Kamalō watersheds on the island of Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi, using digital image analysis of multi-spectral satellite imagery. Besides providing...
Determination of diffusion coefficients of carbon dioxide in water between 268 and 473 K in a high-pressure capillary optical cell with in situ Raman spectroscopic measurements
Wanjun Lu, Huirong Guo, I.-M. Chou, R.C. Burruss, Lanlan Li
2013, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (115) 183-204
Accurate values of diffusion coefficients for carbon dioxide in water and brine at reservoir conditions are essential to our understanding of transport behavior of carbon dioxide in subsurface pore space. However, the experimental data are limited to conditions at low temperatures and pressures. In this study, diffusive transfer of carbon...
Evaluation of groundwater quality and selected hydrologic conditions in the South Coast aquifer, Santa Isabel area, Puerto Rico, 2008–09
José M. Rodríguez
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5254
The source of drinking water in the Santa Isabel and Coamo areas of Puerto Rico (Molina and Gómez-Gómez, 2008) is the South Coast aquifer (hereafter referred to as the aquifer), which supplies about 30,700 cubic meters per day (m³/d) to Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) public-supply wells. In...
Water-quality characteristics, trends, and nutrient and sediment loads of streams in the Treyburn development area, North Carolina, 1988–2009
Jason M. Fine, Douglas A. Harned, Carolyn J. Oblinger
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5062
Streamflow and water-quality data, including concentrations of nutrients, metals, and pesticides, were collected from October 1988 through September 2009 at six sites in the Treyburn development study area. A review of water-quality data for streams in and near a 5,400-acre planned, mixed-use development in the Falls Lake watershed in the...
Hydrogeologic framework, arsenic distribution, and groundwater geochemistry of the glacial-sediment aquifer at the Auburn Road landfill superfund site, Londonderry, New Hampshire
James R. Degnan, Philip T. Harte
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5123
Leachate continues to be generated from landfills at the Auburn Road Landfill Superfund Site in Londonderry, New Hampshire. Impermeable caps on the three landfills at the site inhibit direct infiltration of precipitation; however, high water-table conditions allow groundwater to interact with landfill materials from below, creating leachate and ultimately reducing...
Coupled hydrogeomorphic and woody-seedling responses to controlled flood releases in a dryland river
Andrew C. Wilcox, Patrick B. Shafroth
2013, Water Resources Research (49) 2843-2860
Interactions among flow, geomorphic processes, and riparian vegetation can strongly influence both channel form and vegetation communities. To investigate such interactions, we took advantage of a series of dam-managed flood releases that were designed in part to maintain a native riparian woodland system on a sand-bed, dryland river, the Bill...
Modeled future peak streamflows in four coastal Maine rivers
Glenn A. Hodgkins, Robert W. Dudley
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5080
To safely and economically design bridges and culverts, it is necessary to compute the magnitude of peak streamflows that have specified annual exceedance probabilities (AEPs). Annual precipitation and air temperature in the northeastern United States are, in general, projected to increase during the 21st century. It is therefore important for...
Modeled future peak streamflows in four coastal Maine rivers
Glenn A. Hodgkins, Robert W. Dudley
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3021
To safely and economically design bridges and culverts, it is necessary to compute the magnitude of peak streamflows that have specified annual exceedance probabilities (AEPs). These peak flows are also needed for effective floodplain management. Annual precipitation and air temperature in the northeastern United States are in general projected to...
