Bathymetry and digital elevation models of Coyote Creek and Alviso Slough, South San Francisco Bay, California
Amy C. Foxgrover, David P. Finlayson, Bruce E. Jaffe, Theresa A. Fregoso
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1315
In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center completed three cruises to map the bathymetry of the main channel and shallow intertidal mudflats in the southernmost part of south San Francisco Bay. The three surveys were merged to generate comprehensive maps of Coyote Creek (from...
Changes in low-flow frequency from 1976-2006 at selected streamgages in New York, excluding Long Island
Thomas P. Suro, Christopher L. Gazoorian
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5112
Many Federal, State, and local agencies use low-flow data to establish water-use policy and help determine the total maximum daily loads and effluent limits of point and nonpoint sources of contamination of surface water during periods of decreased streamflow. Low-flow magnitude and frequency are used often by water-supply planners, reservoir...
Use of airborne hyperspectral imagery to map soil parameters in tilled agricultural fields
W. Dean Hively, Gregory W. McCarty, James B. Reeves III, Megan W. Lang, Robert A. Oesterling, Stephen R. Delwiche
2011, Applied and Environmental Soil Science (2011)
Soil hyperspectral reflectance imagery was obtained for six tilled (soil) agricultural fields using an airborne imaging spectrometer (400–2450 nm, ~10 nm resolution, 2.5 m spatial resolution). Surface soil samples (n = 315) were analyzed for carbon content, particle size distribution, and 15 agronomically important elements (Mehlich-III extraction). When partial least...
Use of upscaled elevation and surface roughness data in two-dimensional surface water models
J.D. Hughes, J.D. Decker, C.D. Langevin
2011, Advances in Water Resources (34) 1151-1164
In this paper, we present an approach that uses a combination of cell-block- and cell-face-averaging of high-resolution cell elevation and roughness data to upscale hydraulic parameters and accurately simulate surface water flow in relatively low-resolution numerical models. The method developed allows channelized features that preferentially connect large-scale grid cells at...
Improvement in precipitation-runoff model simulations by recalibration with basin-specific data, and subsequent model applications, Onondaga Lake Basin, Onondaga County, New York
William F. Coon
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5203
Water-resource managers in Onondaga County, New York, are faced with the challenge of improving the water quality of Onondaga Lake, which has the distinction of being one of the most contaminated lakes in the United States. To assist in this endeavor, during 2003-07 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation...
Twitter earthquake detection: Earthquake monitoring in a social world
Paul S. Earle, Daniel C. Bowden, Michelle R. Guy
2011, Annals of Geophysics (54) 708-715
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is investigating how the social networking site Twitter, a popular service for sending and receiving short, public text messages, can augment USGS earthquake response products and the delivery of hazard information. Rapid detection and qualitative assessment of shaking events are possible because people begin sending...
Tumor prevalence and biomarkers of genotoxicity in brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) in Chesapeake Bay tributaries
Alfred E. Pinkney, John C. Harshbarger, Natalie K. Karouna-Renier, Kathryn Jenko, Lennart Balk, Halldora Skarphedinsdottir, Birgitta Liewenborg, Michael A. Rutter
2011, Science of the Total Environment (410-411) 248-257
We surveyed four Chesapeake Bay tributaries for skin and liver tumors in brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus). We focused on the South River, where the highest skin tumor prevalence (53%) in the Bay watershed had been reported. The objectives were to 1) compare tumor prevalence with nearby rivers (Severn and Rhode)...
Trophic relationships between a native and a nonnative predator in a system of natural lakes
Michael H. Meeuwig, Christopher S. Guy, Wade A. Fedenberg
2011, Ecology of Freshwater Fish (20) 315-325
Bull trout, a species of char listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act, have been displaced from portions of their historic range following the introduction of nonnative lake trout. It has been suggested that competitive exclusion as a result of trophic overlap between bull trout and lake trout...
Trematode communities in snails can indicate impact and recovery from hurricanes in a tropical coastal lagoon
Maria Leopoldina Aguirre-Macedo, Victor M. Vidal-Martinez, Kevin D. Lafferty
2011, International Journal for Parasitology (41) 1403-1408
In September 2002, Hurricane Isidore devastated the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. To understand its effects on the parasites of aquatic organisms, we analyzed long-term monthly population data of the horn snail Cerithidea pliculosa and its trematode communities in Celestún, Yucatán, Mexico before and after the hurricane (February 2001 to December 2009)....
Non-genetic data supporting genetic evidence for the eastern wolf
L. David Mech
2011, Northeastern Naturalist (18) 521-526
Two schools of thought dominate the molecular-genetics literature on Canis spp. (wolves) in the western Great Lakes region of the US and Canada: (1) they are hybrids between Canis lupus (Gray Wolf) and Canis latrans (Coyote), or (2) they are hybrids between the Gray Wolf and Canis lycaon (Eastern Wolf)....
Potential water-quality effects of coal-bed methane production water discharged along the upper Tongue River, Wyoming and Montana
Stacy M. Kinsey, David A. Nimick
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5196
Water quality in the upper Tongue River from Monarch, Wyoming, downstream to just upstream from the Tongue River Reservoir in Montana potentially could be affected by discharge of coal-bed methane (CBM) production water (hereinafter referred to as CBM discharge). CBM discharge typically contains high concentrations of sodium and other ions...
Airborne electromagnetic and magnetic geophysical survey data of the Yukon Flats and Fort Wainwright areas, central Alaska, June 2010
Lyndsay B. Ball, Bruce D. Smith, Burke J. Minsley, Jared D. Abraham, Clifford I. Voss, Beth N. Astley, Maria Deszcz-Pan, James C. Cannia
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1304
In June 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted airborne electromagnetic and magnetic surveys of the Yukon Flats and Fort Wainwright study areas in central Alaska. These data were collected to estimate the three-dimensional distribution of permafrost at the time of the survey. These data were also collected to evaluate the...
Effects of brush management on the hydrologic budget and water quality in and adjacent to Honey Creek State Natural Area, Comal County, Texas, 2001-10
J. Ryan Banta, Richard N. Slattery
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5226
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Edwards Region Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative, the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, the San Antonio River Authority, the Edwards Aquifer Authority, Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority, and...
The present and future role of coastal wetland vegetation in protecting shorelines: Answering recent challenges to the paradigm
Keryn B. Gedan, Matthew L. Kirwan, Eric Wolanski, Edward B. Barbier, Brian R. Silliman
2011, Climatic Change (106) 7-29
For more than a century, coastal wetlands have been recognized for their ability to stabilize shorelines and protect coastal communities. However, this paradigm has recently been called into question by small-scale experimental evidence. Here, we conduct a literature review and a small meta-analysis of wave attenuation data, and we find...
Interface between black-footed ferret research and operational conservation
Dean E. Biggins, Travis M. Livieri, Stewart W. Breck
2011, Journal of Mammalogy (92) 699-704
Questions and problems that emerged during operational conservation of black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) have been addressed by a wide variety of studies. Early results from such studies often were communicated orally during meetings of recovery groups and in written form using memoranda, unpublished reports, and theses. Typically, implementation of results...
Hyperspectral remote sensing of vegetation and agricultural crops: Knowledge gain and knowledge gap after 40 years of research
Prasad S. Thenkabail, John G. Lyon, Alfredo Huete
Prasad S. Thenkabail, John G. Lyon, Alfredo Huete, editor(s)
2011, Book chapter, Hyperspectral remote sensing of vegetation
The focus of this chapter was to summarize the advances made over last 40+ years, as reported in various chapters of this book, in understanding, modeling, and mapping terrestrial vegetation using hyperspectral remote sensing (or imaging spectroscopy) using sensors that are ground-based, truck-mounted, airborne, and spaceborne. As we have seen...
Advances in hyperspectral remote sensing of vegetation and agricultural croplands
Prasad S. Thenkabail, John G. Lyon, Alfredo Huete
Prasad S. Thenkabail, John G. Lyon, Alfredo Huete, editor(s)
2011, Book, Hyperspectral remote sensing of vegetation
Recent advances in hyperspectral remote sensing (or imaging spectroscopy) demonstrate a great utility for a variety of land monitoring applications. It is now possible to be diagnostic in sensing species and plant communities using remotely sensed data and to do so in a direct and informed manner using modern tools...
Hydrostratigraphic interpretation of test-hole and geophysical data, Upper Loup River Basin, Nebraska, 2008-10
Christopher M. Hobza, Theodore H. Asch, Paul A. Bedrosian
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1289
Nebraska's Upper Loup Natural Resources District is currently (2011) participating in the Elkhorn-Loup Model to understand the effect of various groundwater-management scenarios on surface-water resources. During Phase 1 of the Elkhorn-Loup Model, a lack of subsurface geological information in the Upper Loup Natural Resources District, hereafter referred to as the...
Editor’s message: Groundwater modeling fantasies - Part 1, adrift in the details
Clifford I. Voss
2011, Hydrogeology Journal (19) 1281-1284
Fools ignore complexity. Pragmatists suffer it. Some can avoid it. Geniuses remove it. …Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it. (Epigrams in Programming by Alan Perlis, a computer scientist; Perlis 1982).A doctoral student creating a groundwater model of a regional aquifer put individual...
Evaluating the potential for remote bathymetric mapping of a turbid, sand-bed river: 2. application to hyperspectral image data from the Platte River
Carl J. Legleiter, Paul J. Kinzel, Brandon T. Overstreet
2011, Water Resources Research (47)
This study examined the possibility of mapping depth from optical image data in turbid, sediment-laden channels. Analysis of hyperspectral images from the Platte River indicated that depth retrieval in these environments is feasible, but might not be highly accurate. Four methods of calibrating image-derived depth estimates were evaluated. The first...
An evaluation of the Bayesian approach to fitting the N-mixture model for use with pseudo-replicated count data
S.G. Toribo, B. R. Gray, S. Liang
2011, Journal of Statistical Computation and Simulation (82) 1135-1143
The N-mixture model proposed by Royle in 2004 may be used to approximate the abundance and detection probability of animal species in a given region. In 2006, Royle and Dorazio discussed the advantages of using a Bayesian approach in modelling animal abundance and occurrence using a hierarchical N-mixture model. N-mixture...
An automated device for provoking and capturing wildlife calls
David E. Ausband, Jesse Skrivseth, Michael S. Mitchell
2011, Wildlife Society Bulletin (35) 498-503
Some animals exhibit call-and-response behaviors that can be exploited to facilitate detection. Traditionally, acoustic surveys that use call-and-respond techniques have required an observer's presence to perform the broadcast, record the response, or both events. This can be labor-intensive and may influence animal behavior and, thus, survey results. We developed an...
Alternative states of a semiarid grassland ecosystem: implications for ecosystem services
Mark E. Miller, R. Travis Belote, Matthew A. Bowker, Steven L. Garman
2011, Ecosphere (2)
Ecosystems can shift between alternative states characterized by persistent differences in structure, function, and capacity to provide ecosystem services valued by society. We examined empirical evidence for alternative states in a semiarid grassland ecosystem where topographic complexity and contrasting management regimes have led to spatial variations in levels of livestock...
Offshore sand-shoal development and evolution of Petit Bois Pass, Mississippi-Alabama Barrier Islands, Mississippi, USA
James G. Flocks, Kyle W. Kelso, Gregory C. Twichell, Noreen A. Buster, John N. Baehr
Julie D. Rosati, Ping Wang, Tiffany M. Roberts, editor(s)
2011, Book, The Proceedings of the Coastal Sediments 2011
Assessment of recently collected geophysical and sediment-core data identifies an extensive shoal field located off Dauphin and Petit Bois Islands. The shoals are the product of Pleistocene fluvial deposition and Holocene marine-transgressive processes, and their position and orientation oblique to the modern shoreline has been stable over the past century....
A new strategy for developing Vs30 maps
David J. Wald, Leslie McWhirter, Eric Thompson, Amanda S. Hering
2011, Book
Despite obvious limitations as a proxy for site amplification, the use of time-averaged shear-wave velocity over the top 30m (Vs30) is useful and widely practiced, most notably through its use as an explanatory variable in ground motion prediction equations (and thus hazard maps and ShakeMaps, among other applications). Local, regional,...
