Compositional analysis of formation water geochemistry and microbiology of commercial and carbon dioxide-rich wells in the southwestern United States
Jenna L. Shelton, Robert S. Andrews, Denise M. Akob, Christina A. DeVera, Adam C. Mumford, Mark Engle, Michelle R. Plampin, Sean T. Brennan
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5037
Studies of naturally occurring subsurface carbon dioxide (CO2) accumulations can provide useful information for potential CO2 injection projects; however, the microbial communities and formation water geochemistry of most reservoirs are understudied. Formation water and microbial biomass were sampled at four CO2-rich reservoir sites: two within Bravo Dome, a commercial CO2...
Prioritizing habitats based on abundance and distribution of molting waterfowl in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area of the National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska
Paul L. Flint, Vijay Patil, Bradley Shults, Sarah J. Thompson
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1034
The National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) encompasses more than 9.5 million hectares of federally managed land on the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska, where it supports a diversity of wildlife, including millions of migratory birds. Within the NPR-A, Teshekpuk Lake and the surrounding area provide important habitat for...
The relationship between biodiversity and wetland cover varies across regions of the conterminous United States
Jeremy S. Dertien, Stella Self, Beth Ross, Kyle Barrett, Robert F. Baldwin
Daehyun Kim, editor(s)
2020, PLoS ONE (15) 1-18
Identifying the factors that determine the spatial distribution of biodiversity is a major focus of ecological research. These factors vary with scale from interspecific interactions to global climatic cycles. Wetlands are important biodiversity hotspots and contributors of ecosystem services, but the association between proportional wetland cover and species richness has...
Risk-targeted alternatives to deterministic ground motion caps in U.S. seismic provisions
Jonathan P. Stewart, Nico Luco, John D Hooper, C. B. Crouse
2020, Earthquake Spectra (36) 904-923
Since their inception over 20 years ago, the maximum considered earthquake ground motion maps in U.S. building codes have capped probabilistic values with deterministic ground motions from characteristic earthquakes on known active faults. This practice has increasingly been called into question both because of spatially non-uniform risk levels...
Effects of flow diversion on Snake Creek and its riparian cottonwood forest, Great Basin National Park
Derek M. Schook, David J. Cooper, Jonathan M. Friedman, Steven E. Rice, Jamie D. Hoover, Richard D. Thaxton
2020, Natural Resource Report NPS/GRBA/NRR-2020/2104
Snake Creek flows east from the southern Snake Range in Nevada over complex lithology before leaving Great Basin National Park. The river travels over a section of karst limestone where some surface water naturally recharges the groundwater flow system. In 1961 a water diversion pipeline was constructed by downstream water...
Fisheries research and monitoring activities of the Lake Erie Biological Station, 2019
Kevin R. Keretz, Patrick Kocovsky, Richard Kraus, Joseph Schmitt
2020, Report
A comprehensive understanding of fish populations and their interactions is the cornerstone of modern fishery management and the basis for Fish Community Goals and Objectives for Lake Erie (Ryan et al. 2003). This report is responsive to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) obligations via Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Great...
Green turtle mitochondrial microsatellites indicate finer-scale natal homing to isolated islands than to continental nesting sites
Brian M. Shamblin, Kristen Hart, Kelly J. Martin, Simona A. Ceriani, Dean A. Bagley, Katherine L. Mansfield, Llewellyn M. Ehrhart, Campbell J. Nairn
2020, MEPS (643) 159-171
In highly mobile philopatric species, defining the scale of natal homing is fundamental to characterizing population dynamics and effectively managing distinct populations. Genetic tools have provided evidence of regional natal philopatry in marine turtles, but extensive sharing of maternally inherited mitochondrial control region (CR) haplotypes within regions (<500 km) often...
Geologic map of the southern flank of Mauna Loa Volcano, Island of Hawai‘i, Hawaii
Frank A. Trusdell, John P. Lockwood
2020, Scientific Investigations Map 2932-C
On the Island of Hawaiʻi, Mauna Loa, the largest volcano on Earth, has erupted 33 times since written descriptions became available in 1832. Some eruptions began with only brief seismic unrest, whereas others followed several months to a year of increased seismicity. Once underway, its eruptions can produce lava flows...
Threshold responses of songbirds to forest loss and fragmentation across the Marcellus-Utica shale gas region
Laura S. Farwell, Petra B. Wood, Randy Dettmers, Margaret C. Brittingham
2020, Landscape Ecology (35) 1353-1370
Context Since 2005, unconventional gas develop[1]ment has rapidly altered forests across the Marcellus[1]Utica shale basin in the central Appalachian region of the eastern United States, an area of high conservation value for biodiversity. Much is still unknown about ecological impacts of associated land cover change. Objectives Our goal was to...
Spatiotemporal seismic structure variations associated with the 2018 Kīlauea eruption based on temporary dense geophone arrays
Sin-Mei Wu, Fan-Chi Lin, Jamie Farrell, Brian Shiro, Leif Karlstrom, Paul G. Okubo, Keith D. Koper
2020, Geophysical Research Letters (47)
During the 2018 Kīlauea volcanic eruption, lava erupted from a series of new fissures in the lower East Rift Zone more than 30 km away from the summit through a dike intrusion. Between late May and early August, variations in the effusion rate at the persistent eruptive vent (Fissure 8)...
The Missoula and Bonneville floods—A review of ice-age megafloods in the Columbia River basin
Jim E. O'Connor, Victor R. Baker, Richard B. Waitt, Larry N Smith, Charles M. Cannon, David L. George, Roger P. Denlinger
2020, Earth-Science Reviews (208)
The Channeled Scabland of eastern Washington State, USA, brought megafloods to the scientific forefront. A 30,000-km2 landscape of coulees and cataracts carved into the region’s loess-covered basalt attests to overwhelming volumes of energetic water. The scarred landscape, garnished by huge boulder bars and far-travelled ice-rafted erratics, spurred J Harlen Bretz’s...
Potentiometric surface and hydrologic conditions of the South Coast aquifer, Santa Isabel area, Puerto Rico, March–April, 2014
Felix A. Ramos, Alex A. Santiago
2020, Scientific Investigations Map 3455
A potentiometric surface map of the South Coast aquifer near Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico, was created from data collected during a synoptic survey of groundwater levels at 55 wells from March 31 to April 17, 2014. Measured groundwater level values ranged from −22.8 to 185.4 feet above mean sea level....
Hydrologically induced deformation in Long Valley Caldera and adjacent Sierra Nevada
Francesca Silverii, Emily K. Montgomery-Brown, Adrian Borsa, Andrew J. Barbour
2020, Journal of Geophysical Research (125)
Vertical and horizontal components of GNSS displacements in the Long Valley Caldera and adjacent Sierra Nevada range show a clear correlation with hydrological trends at both multiyear and seasonal time scales. We observe a clear vertical and horizontal seasonal deformation pattern primarily attributable to the solid earth...
Emerging diseases of avian wildlife
Susan J Tyson-Pello, Glenn H. Olsen
2020, Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice (23) 383-395
Climate change and the interaction with humans and domestic species influences disease in avian wildlife. This article provides updated information on emerging disease conditions such as the spread of an Asian tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, and its associated diseases among migratory birds in the eastern United States; lymphoproliferative disease virus in...
Bedrock geologic map of the Mount Ascutney 7.5- x 15-minute quadrangle, Windsor County, Vermont, and Sullivan County, New Hampshire
Gregory J. Walsh, Peter M. Valley, Peter J. Thompson, Nicholas M. Ratcliffe, Brooks P. Proctor, Karri R. Sicard
2020, Scientific Investigations Map 3440
The bedrock geology of the Mount Ascutney 7.5- x 15-minute quadrangle consists of highly deformed and metamorphosed Mesoproterozoic through Devonian metasedimentary and meta-igneous rocks intruded by rocks of the Mesozoic White Mountain Igneous Suite. In the west, Mesoproterozoic gneisses of the Mount Holly Complex are the oldest rocks and form...
Seasonal manganese transport in the hyporheic zone of a snowmelt-dominated river (East River, Colorado)
S. Bryant, A. Sawyer, Martin A. Briggs, C. Saup, A. R Nelson, M. J. Wilkins, J. R. Christensen, K. H. Williams
2020, Hydrogeology Journal (28) 1323-1341
Manganese (Mn) plays a critical role in river-water quality because Mn-oxides serve as sorption sites for contaminant metals. The aim of this study is to understand the seasonal cycling of Mn in an alpine streambed that experiences large spring snowmelt events and the potential responses to changes in snowmelt timing...
Geologic map of the Homestake Reservoir 7.5′ quadrangle, Lake, Pitkin, and Eagle Counties, Colorado
Chester A. Ruleman, Michael G. Frothingham, Theodore R. Brandt, Colin A. Shaw, Marc W. Caffee, Brent M. Goehring, Keith A. Brugger
2020, Scientific Investigations Map 3451
The Homestake Reservoir 7.5' quadrangle lies at the northwestern end of the Upper Arkansas Valley, and headwaters of the Arkansas River, and the Roaring Fork, Fryingpan, and Eagle Rivers of the Colorado River system. The quadrangle lies within tectonic provinces of the 1.4 giga-annum (Ga) Picuris orogeny and includes the...
Mercury, cadmium, copper, arsenic, and selenium measurements in the feathers of adult eastern brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis carolinensis) and chicks in multiple breeding grounds in the northern Gulf of Mexico
U. Ndu, J. S. Lamb, Sarah E. Janssen, R. Rossi, Y. G. Satgé, Patrick G.R. Jodice
2020, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (192)
The amounts of trace metals and metalloids that have been introduced into aquatic ecosystems due to anthropogenic activities have increased in recent decades. Some of these elements like mercury are easily transferred from one trophic level to another and can accumulate to toxic quantities in organisms at the top of...
Fluorescence spectroscopy of ancient sedimentary organic matter via confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM)
Paul C. Hackley, Aaron M. Jubb, Robert Burruss, Amy E Beaven
2020, International Journal of Coal Geology (223)
Fluorescence spectroscopy via confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) was used to analyze ancient sedimentary organic matter, including Tasmanites microfossils in Devonian shale and Gloecapsomorpha prisca (G. prisca) in Ordovician kukersite from North American basins. We examined fluorescence emission as a function of excitation laser wavelength,...
Atmospheric dust deposition varies by season and elevation in the Colorado Front Range, USA
Ruth C. Heindel, Annie L. Putman, Sheila F. Murphy, Deborah A. Repert, Eve-Lyn S. Hinckley
2020, Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface (125)
As atmospheric dust deposition continues to increase across the southwestern United States, it has the potential to alter ecosystem productivity and structure by delivering nutrients, base cations, and pollutants to remote mountain sites. Due to the sparse distribution of dust monitoring sites, open questions remain about the spatial and temporal...
A decision framework to analyze tide-gate options for restoration of the Herring River Estuary, Massachusetts
David R. Smith, Mitchell J. Eaton, Jill J. Gannon, Timothy P. Smith, Eric L. Derleth, Jonathan Katz, Kirk F. Bosma, Elise Leduc
2020, Open-File Report 2019-1115
The collective set of decisions involved with the restoration of degraded wetlands is often more complex than considering only ecological responses and outcomes. Restoration is commonly driven by a complex interaction of social, economic, and ecological factors representing the mandate of resource stewards and the values of stakeholders. The authors...
The relation of geogenic contaminants to groundwater age, aquifer hydrologic position, water type, and redox conditions in Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain aquifers, eastern and south-central USA
James R. Degnan, Bruce D. Lindsey, Joseph Patrick Levitt, Zoltan Szabo
2020, Science of the Total Environment (723)
Groundwater age distributions developed from carbon-14 (14C), tritium (3H), and helium-4 (4He) concentrations, along with aquifer hydrologic position, water type, and redox conditions, were compared to geogenic contaminants of concern (GCOC) from 252 public-supply wells in six Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain unconsolidated-sediment aquifers. Concentrations of one or more...
Seismic and geodetic progression of the 2018 summit caldera collapse of Kīlauea Volcano
Gabrielle Tepp, Alicia J. Hotovec-Ellis, Brian Shiro, Ingrid A. Johanson, Weston Thelen, Matthew M. Haney
2020, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (540)
The 2018 eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Hawaiʻi, resulted in a major collapse of the summit caldera along with an effusive eruption in the lower East Rift Zone. The caldera collapse comprised 62 highly similar collapse cycles of strong ground deformation and earthquake swarms that ended with a magnitude 5 collapse...
Hydrogeologic framework and simulation of predevelopment groundwater flow, eastern Abu Dhabi Emirate, United Arab Emirates
Jack R. Eggleston, Thomas J. Mack, Jeffrey L. Imes, Wade Kress, Dennis W. Woodward, Daniel J. Bright
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5158
Groundwater in eastern Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates is an important resource that is widely used for irrigation and domestic supplies in rural areas. The U.S. Geological Survey and the Environment Agency—Abu Dhabi cooperated on an investigation to integrate existing hydrogeologic information and to answer questions about regional...
Cooperatively improving tallgrass prairie with adaptive management
Marissa Ahlering, Daren Carlson, Sara Vacek, Sarah Jacobi, Vicky Hunt, Jessica C. Stanton, Melinda G. Knutson, Eric V. Lonsdorf
2020, Ecosphere (11)
Adaptive management (AM) is widely recommended as an approach for learning to improve resource management, but successful AM projects remain relatively uncommon, with few documented examples applied by natural resource management agencies. We used AM to make recommendations for the management of native tallgrass prairie plant communities in western Minnesota...
