Coastal habitats of the Elwha River, Washington- Biological and physical patterns and processes prior to dam removal
Jeffrey J. Duda, Jonathan A. Warrick, Christopher S. Magirl
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5120
This report includes chapters that summarize the results of multidisciplinary studies to quantify and characterize the current (2011) status and baseline conditions of the lower Elwha River, its estuary, and the adjacent nearshore ecosystems prior to the historic removal of two long-standing dams that have strongly influenced river, estuary, and...
A multi-year analysis of passage and survival at McNary Dam, 2004-09
Noah S. Adams, C. E. Walker, R.W. Perry
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1230
We analyzed 6 years (2004–09) of passage and survival data collected at McNary Dam to determine how dam operations and environmental conditions affect passage and survival of juvenile salmonids. A multinomial logistic regression was used to examine how environmental variables and dam operations relate to passage behavior of juvenile salmonids...
Nitrogen uptake by the shoots of smooth cordgrass Spartina alterniflora
T. J. Mozdzer, M. Kirwan, K. J. McGlathery, J. C. Zieman
2011, Marine Ecology Progress Series (433) 43-52
The smooth cordgrass Spartina alterniflora is the foundation species in intertidal salt marshes of the North American Atlantic coast. Depending on its elevation within the marsh, S. alterniflora may be submerged for several hours per day. Previous ecosystem-level studies have demonstrated that S. alterniflora marshes are a net sink for...
Relations between hydrology, water quality, and taste-and-odor causing organisms and compounds in Lake Houston, Texas, April 2006-September 2008
Amy M. Beussink, Jennifer L. Graham
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5121
Lake Houston is a surface-water-supply reservoir and an important recreational resource for the city of Houston, Texas. Growing concerns over water quality in Lake Houston prompted a detailed assessment of water quality in the reservoir. The assessment focused on water-quality constituents that affect the aesthetic quality of drinking water. The...
Investigation of pier scour in coarse-bed streams in Montana, 2001 through 2007
Stephen R. Holnbeck
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5107
A primary goal of ongoing field research of bridge scour is improvement of scour-prediction equations so that pier-scour depth is predicted accurately-an important element of hydraulic analysis and design of highway bridges that cross streams, rivers, and other waterways. Scour depth for piers in streambeds with a mixture of sand,...
Inference about density and temporary emigration in unmarked populations
Richard B. Chandler, J. Andrew Royle, David I. King
2011, Ecology (92) 1429-1435
Few species are distributed uniformly in space, and populations of mobile organisms are rarely closed with respect to movement, yet many models of density rely upon these assumptions. We present a hierarchical model allowing inference about the density of unmarked populations subject to temporary emigration and imperfect detection. The model...
Geomorphic and ecological effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on coastal Louisiana marsh communities
Sarai C. Piazza, Gregory D. Steyer, Kari F. Cretini, Charles E. Sasser, Jenneke M. Visser, Guerry O. Holm, Leigh A. Sharp, D. Elaine Evers, John R. Meriwether
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1094
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita made landfall in 2005, subjecting the coastal marsh communities of Louisiana to various degrees of exposure. We collected data after the storms at 30 sites within fresh (12), brackish/intermediate (12), and saline (6) marshes to document the effects of saltwater storm surge and sedimentation on marsh...
Analyses of potential factors affecting survival of juvenile salmonids volitionally passing through turbines at McNary and John Day Dams, Columbia River
John Beeman, Hal Hansel, Russell Perry, Eric Hockersmith, Ben Sandford
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1227
This report describes analyses of data from radio- or acoustic-tagged juvenile salmonids passing through hydro-dam turbines to determine factors affecting fish survival. The data were collected during a series of studies designed to estimate passage and survival probabilities at McNary (2002-09) and John Day (2002-03) Dams on the Columbia River...
Peat formation processes through the millennia in tidal marshes of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, USA
Judith Z. Drexler
2011, Estuaries and Coasts (34) 900-911
The purpose of this study was to determine peat formation processes throughout the millennia in four tidal marshes in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Peat cores collected at each site were analyzed for bulk density, loss on ignition, and percent organic carbon. Core data and spline fit age-depth models were used...
Lack of genetic polymorphism among peregrine falcons Falco peregrinus of Fiji
Sandra L. Talbot, Angela G. Palmer, George K. Sage, Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Ted Swem, Daniel J. Brimm, Clayton M White
2011, Journal of Avian Biology (42) 415-428
We compared levels of genetic diversity and isolation among peregrine falcons Falco peregrinus from two South Pacific island complexes (Fiji and Vanuatu: F. p. nesiotes), relative to other island and mainland populations. Fragment data from 12 microsatellite loci and sequence information from the control region of the mitochondrial DNA indicated levels of genetic...
Small-scale sediment transport patterns and bedform morphodynamics: New insights from high resolution multibeam bathymetry
Patrick L. Barnard, Li H. Erikson, Rikk G. Kvitek
2011, Geo-Marine Letters (31) 227-236
New multibeam echosounder and processing technologies yield sub-meter-scale bathymetric resolution, revealing striking details of bedform morphology that are shaped by complex boundary-layer flow dynamics at a range of spatial and temporal scales. An inertially aided post processed kinematic (IAPPK) technique generates a smoothed best estimate trajectory (SBET) solution to tie...
The use of epifluorescent microscopy and quantitative polymerase chain reaction to determine the presence/absence and identification of microorganisms associated with domestic and foreign wallboard samples
Dale W. Griffin
2011, Report
Epifluorescent microscopy and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) were utilized to determine the presence, concentration and identification of bacteria, and more specifically sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) in subsamples of Chinese and North American wallboard, and wallboard-mine rock. Bacteria were visible in most subsamples, which included wallboard-lining paper from each side...
Selected investigations and statistical summary of surface-water quality in the Rio Grande and the Rio Chama, north-central New Mexico, during water years 1985-2007
Sarah E. Falk, Scott K. Anderholm, Nicholas B. Engdahl
2011, Data Series 629
The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) is supplementing the municipal water supply for Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the surrounding area with water diverted from the Rio Grande. The distribution of surface water for municipal supply has raised questions about the quality of water in the Rio Grande and...
Local richness along gradients in the Siskiyou herb flora: R. H. Whittaker revisited
James B. Grace, Susan Harrison, Ellen Ingman Damschen
2011, Ecology (92) 108-120
In his classic study in the Siskiyou Mountains (Oregon, USA), one of the most botanically rich forested regions in North America, R. H. Whittaker (1960) foreshadowed many modern ideas on the multivariate control of local species richness along environmental gradients related to productivity. Using a structural equation model...
Floor of Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada
Peter Dartnell, Helen Gibbons
2011, General Information Product 132
Lake-floor depths shown by color, from light tan (shallowest) to blue (deepest). Arrows on map (C) show orientations of perspective views. A, view toward McKinney Bay over blocks tumbled onto the lake floor by a massive landslide 10s to 100s of thousands of years ago; dark triangular block near center...
Estimation of late twentieth century land-cover change in California
Benjamin M. Sleeter, Tamara S. Wilson, Christopher E. Soulard, Jinxun Liu
2011, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (173) 251-266
We present the first comprehensive multi-temporal analysis of land-cover change for California across its major ecological regions and primary land-cover types. Recently completed satellite-based estimates of land-cover and land-use change information for large portions of the United States allow for consistent measurement and comparison across heterogeneous landscapes. Landsat data were...
A digital model for planning water management at Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge, west-central Montana
David A. Nimick, Peter McCarthy, Vanessa Fields
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5133
Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge is an important area for waterfowl production and migratory stopover in west-central Montana. Eight wetland units covering about 5,600 acres are the essential features of the refuge. Water availability for the wetland units can be uncertain owing to the large natural variations in precipitation and...
Trace elements and radon in groundwater across the United States, 1992-2003
Joseph D. Ayotte, Jo Ann M. Gronberg, Lori E. Apodaca
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5059
Trace-element concentrations in groundwater were evaluated for samples collected between 1992 and 2003 from aquifers across the United States as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program. This study describes the first comprehensive analysis of those data by assessing occurrence (concentrations above analytical reporting levels) and by...
Lagrangian sampling of wastewater treatment plant effluent in Boulder Creek, Colorado, and Fourmile Creek, Iowa, during the summer of 2003 and spring of 2005— Hydrological and water-quality data
Larry B. Barber, Steffanie H. Keefe, Dana W. Kolpin, Douglas J. Schnoebelen, Jennifer L. Flynn, Gregory K. Brown, Edward T. Furlong, Susan T. Glassmeyer, James L. Gray, Michael T. Meyer, Mark W. Sandstrom, Howard E. Taylor, Steven D. Zaugg
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1054
This report presents methods and data for a Lagrangian sampling investigation into chemical loading and in-stream attenuation of inorganic and organic contaminants in two wastewater treatment-plant effluent-dominated streams: Boulder Creek, Colorado, and Fourmile Creek, Iowa. Water-quality sampling was timed to coincide with low-flow conditions when dilution of the wastewater treatment-plant...
Constraints to connecting children with nature--Survey of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees sponsored by the National Conservation Training Center, Division of Education Outreach
Joan M. Ratz, Rudy M. Schuster
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1192
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) names "connecting people with nature" as one of its top six priorities in the online Service Employee Pocket Guide. The National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) took the initiative to identify issues that impede greater progress in addressing constraints to connecting children with nature....
A critical review of published coal quality data from the southwestern part of the Powder River Basin, Wyoming
James A. Luppens
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1148
A review of publicly available coal quality data during the coal resource assessment of the southwestern part of the Powder River Basin, Wyoming (SWPRB), revealed significant problems and limitations with those data. Subsequent citations of data from original sources often omitted important information, such as moisture integrity and information needed...
Water Resources of Caddo Parish
Lawrence B. Prakken, Jason M. Griffith
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3086
In 2005, about 72.9 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water were withdrawn in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, including about 7.70 Mgal/d from groundwater sources and 65.2 Mgal/d from surface-water sources. Public-supply use accounted for about 71 percent, and power generation accounted for about 19 percent of the total water withdrawn....
Groundwater recharge in Wisconsin— Annual estimates for 1970–99 using streamflow data
Warren A. Gebert, John F. Walker, Randall J. Hunt
2011, Fact Sheet 2009-3092
The groundwater component of streamflow is important because it is indicative of the sustained flow of a stream during dry periods, is often of better quality, and has a smaller range of temperatures, than surface contributions to streamflow. All three of these characteristics are important to the health of aquatic...
Estimating seismic site response in Christchurch City (New Zealand) from dense low-cost aftershock arrays
Anna E. Kaiser, Rafael A. Benites, Angela Chung, A. John Haines, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Bill Fry
2011, Conference Paper, 4th International IASPEI/IAEE symposium on the effects of surface geology on seismic motion
The Mw 7.1 September 2010 Darfield earthquake, New Zealand, produced widespread damage and liquefaction ~40 km from the epicentre in Christchurch city. It was followed by the even more destructive Mw 6.2 February 2011 Christchurch aftershock directly beneath the city’s southern suburbs. Seismic data recorded during the two large events...
Bias estimation for the Landsat 8 operational land imager
Ron Morfitt, Kelly Vanderwerff
2011, Conference Paper, Proceedings of SPIE volume 8153
The Operational Land Imager (OLI) is a pushbroom sensor that will be a part of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM). This instrument is the latest in the line of Landsat imagers, and will continue to expand the archive of calibrated earth imagery. An important step in producing a calibrated...
