Marine radiocarbon reservoir age variation in Donax obesulus shells from northern Peru: Late Holocene evidence for extended El Niño
Miguel F. Etayo-Cadavid, C. Fred T. Andrus, Kevin B. Jones, Gregory W. L. Hodgins, Daniel H. Sandweiss, Sandiago Uceda-Castillo, Jeffrey Quilter
2013, Geology (41) 599-602
For at least 6 m.y., El Niño events have posed the greatest environmental risk on the Peruvian coast. A better understanding of El Niño is essential for predicting future risk and growth in this tropical desert. To achieve this we analyzed archaeological and modern pre-bomb shells from the surf clam Donax for...
Mapping polar bear maternal denning habitat in the National Petroleum Reserve -- Alaska with an IfSAR digital terrain model
George M. Durner, Kristin S. Simac, Steven C. Amstrup
2013, Arctic (66) 139-245
The National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska (NPR-A) in northeastern Alaska provides winter maternal denning habitat for polar bears (Ursus maritimus) and also has high potential for recoverable hydrocarbons. Denning polar bears exposed to human activities may abandon their dens before their young are able to survive the severity of Arctic winter weather....
Location and timing of Asian carp spawning in the Lower Missouri River
Joseph E. Deters, Duane Chapman, Brandon McElroy
2013, Environmental Biology of Fishes (96) 617-629
We sampled for eggs of Asian carps, (bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis, silver carp H. molitrix, and grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella) in 12 sites on the Lower Missouri River and in six tributaries from the months of May through July 2005 and May through June...
Linking morphodynamic response with sediment mass balance on the Colorado River in Marble Canyon: issues of scale, geomorphic setting, and sampling design
Paul E. Grams, David J. Topping, John C. Schmidt, Joseph E. Hazel Jr., Matt Kaplinski
2013, Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface (118) 361-381
Measurements of morphologic change are often used to infer sediment mass balance. Such measurements may, however, result in gross errors when morphologic changes over short reaches are extrapolated to predict changes in sediment mass balance for long river segments. This issue is investigated by examination of morphologic change and sediment...
Model documentation for relations between continuous real-time and discrete water-quality constituents in Cheney Reservoir near Cheney, Kansas, 2001--2009
Mandy L. Stone, Jennifer L. Graham, Jackline W. Gatotho
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1123
Cheney Reservoir, located in south-central Kansas, is one of the primary water supplies for the city of Wichita, Kansas. The U.S. Geological Survey has operated a continuous real-time water-quality monitoring station in Cheney Reservoir since 2001; continuously measured physicochemical properties include specific conductance, pH, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, fluorescence...
High renesting rates in arctic-breeding Dunlin (Calidris alpina): A clutch-removal experiment
H. River Gates, Richard B. Lanctot, Abby N. Powell
2013, The Auk (130) 372-380
The propensity to replace a clutch is a complex component of avian reproduction and poorly understood. We experimentally removed clutches from an Arctic-breeding shorebird, the Dunlin (Calidris alpina arcticola), during early and late stages of incubation to investigate replacement clutch rates, renesting interval, and mate and site fidelity between nesting...
Late Pleistocene and Holocene uplift history of Cyprus: implications for active tectonics along the southern margin of the Anatolian microplate
R.W. Harrison, E. Tsiolakis, B. D. Stone, A. Lord, J. P. McGeehin, S. A. Mahan, P. Chirico
2013, Geological Society, London, Special Publications: Geological Development of Anatolia and the Easternmost Mediterranean Region 372
The nature of the southern margin of the Anatolian microplate during the Neogene is complex, controversial and fundamental in understanding active plate-margin tectonics and natural hazards in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Our investigation provides new insights into the Late Pleistocene uplift history of Cyprus and the Troodos Ophiolite. We provide...
Finite-fault source inversion using teleseismic P waves: Simple parameterization and rapid analysis
C. Mendoza, S. Hartzell
2013, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (103) 834-844
We examine the ability of teleseismic P waves to provide a timely image of the rupture history for large earthquakes using a simple, 2D finite‐fault source parameterization. We analyze the broadband displacement waveforms recorded for the 2010 Mw∼7 Darfield (New Zealand) and El Mayor‐Cucapah (Baja California) earthquakes using a single...
Estimating suitable environments for invasive plant species across large landscapes: a remote sensing strategy using Landsat 7 ETM+
Kendal E. Young, Laurie B. Abbott, Colleen A. Caldwell, T. Scott Schrader
2013, International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation (5) 122-134
The key to reducing ecological and economic damage caused by invasive plant species is to locate and eradicate new invasions before they threaten native biodiversity and ecological processes. We used Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus imagery to estimate suitable environments for four invasive plants in Big Bend National Park, southwest...
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...
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...
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...
Linking phenology and biomass productivity in South Dakota mixed-grass prairie
Matthew Rigge, Alexander Smart, Bruce Wylie, Tagir Gilmanov, Patricia Johnson
2013, Rangeland Ecology and Management (66) 579-587
Assessing the health of rangeland ecosystems based solely on annual biomass production does not fully describe plant community condition; the phenology of production can provide inferences on species composition, successional stage, and grazing impacts. We evaluate the productivity and phenology of western South Dakota mixed-grass prairie using 2000 to 2008...
Using structured decision making to manage disease risk for Montana wildlife
Michael S. Mitchell, Justin A. Gude, Neil J. Anderson, Jennifer M. Ramsey, Michael J. Thompson, Mark G. Sullivan, Victoria L. Edwards, Claire N. Gower, Jean Fitts Cochrane, Elise R. Irwin, Terry Walshe
2013, Wildlife Society Bulletin (37) 107-114
We used structured decision-making to develop a 2-part framework to assist managers in the proactive management of disease outbreaks in Montana, USA. The first part of the framework is a model to estimate the probability of disease outbreak given field observations available to managers. The second part of the framework...
Kinetics of homogeneous and surface-catalyzed mercury(II) reduction by iron(II)
Aria Amirbahman, Douglas B. Kent, Gary P. Curtis, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale
2013, Environmental Science & Technology (47) 7204-7213
Production of elemental mercury, Hg(0), via Hg(II) reduction is an important pathway that should be considered when studying Hg fate in environment. We conducted a kinetic study of abiotic homogeneous and surface-catalyzed Hg(0) production by Fe(II) under dark anoxic conditions. Hg(0) production rate, from initial 50 pM Hg(II) concentration, increased...
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...
Dynamic deformation of Seguam Island, Alaska, 1992--2008, from multi-interferogram InSAR processing
Chang-Wook Lee, Zhong Lu, Joong-Sun Won, Hyung-Sup Jung, Daniel Dzurisin
2013, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (260) 43-51
We generated a time-series of ERS-1/2 and ENVISAT interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) images to study ground surface deformation at Seguam Island from 1992 to 2008. We used the small baseline subset (SBAS) technique to reduce artifacts associated with baseline uncertainties and atmospheric delay anomalies, and processed images from two...
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...
Interactions between invasive round gobies (Neogobius melanostomous) and fantail darters (Etheostoma flabellare) in a tributary of the St. Lawrence River, New York, USA
Ross Abbett, Emily M. Waldt, James H. Johnson, James E. McKenna Jr., Dawn E. Dittman
2013, Journal of Freshwater Ecology (28) 529-537
The initial, rapid expansion of the invasive round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) throughout the Great Lakes drainage was largely confined to lentic systems. We recently observed round gobies ascending two tributaries of the St. Lawrence River. The expansion of gobies into small lotic environments may place ecologically similar species at risk....
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...
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...
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...
Anatomy of La Jolla submarine canyon system; offshore southern California
C. K. Paull, D.W. Caress, E. Lundsten, R. Gwiazda, K. Anderson, M. McGann, J. Conrad, B. Edwards, E.J. Sumner
2013, Marine Geology (335) 16-34
An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) carrying a multibeam sonar and a chirp profiler was used to map sections of the seafloor within the La Jolla Canyon, offshore southern California, at sub-meter scales. Close-up observations and sampling were conducted during remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives. Minisparker seismic-reflection profiles from a surface...
