Baseline environmental monitoring of groundwater, surface water, and soil at the Ammonium Perchlorate Rocket Motor Destruction Facility at the Letterkenny Army Depot, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, 2016
Daniel G. Galeone
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1094
Letterkenny Army Depot in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, built an Ammonium Perchlorate Rocket Motor Destruction (ARMD) facility in 2016. The ARMD Facility was designed to centralize rocket motor destruction and contain or capture all waste during the destruction process. Ideally, there would be no contaminant transport to air, soil, or water from...
Flood-inundation maps for Nimishillen Creek near North Industry, Ohio, 2019
Matthew T. Whitehead
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5083
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 4-mile reach of Nimishillen Creek near North Industry, Ohio, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, Ohio, and the Stark County Board of Commissioners. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation...
Short-term geomorphological and riparian vegetation responses to a 40-year flood on a braided, dryland river
Eduardo Gozalez, Patrick B. Shafroth, Steven R. Lee, Glen T. Leverich, Rafael Real de Asua, Rebecca A. Sherry, Steven M. Ostoja, Bruce K. Orr
2019, Ecohydrology (12)
In December 2010, a 40-yr flood occurred in the lower Virgin River (SE Nevada, southwestern U.S.), a braided river segment with riparian vegetation largely dominated by invasive shrubs in the genus Tamarix. We assessed geomorphological and vegetation responses to this large magnitude disturbance event by comparing pre- and post-flood remote...
Research Note: How old are the people who die in avalanches? A look into the ages of avalanche victims in the United States (1950-2018)
Erich Peitzsch, Sara Boilen, Karl W. Birkeland, Spencer Logan
2019, Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism
Since the winter of 1950-1951, 1084 individuals perished in snow avalanches in the United States. In this study, we analyze the ages of those killed (n=900) by applying non-parametric methods to annual median ages and for age groups and primary activity groups. Change point detection results suggest a significant change...
Integrating stream gage data and Landsat imagery to complete time-series of surface water extents in Central Valley, California
Jessica J. Walker, Christopher E. Soulard, Roy E. Petrakis
2019, International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation (84)
Accurate monitoring of surface water location and extent is critical for the management of diverse water resource phenomena. The multi-decadal archive of Landsat satellite imagery is punctuated by missing data due to cloud cover during acquisition times, hindering the assembly of a continuous time series of inundation dynamics. This study...
Assessing the feasibility of satellite-based thresholds for hydrologically driven landsliding
Matthew A. Thomas, Brian D. Collins, Benjamin B. Mirus
2019, Water Resources Research (55) 9006-9023
Elevated soil moisture and heavy precipitation contribute to landslides worldwide. These environmental variables are now being resolved with satellites at spatiotemporal scales that could offer new perspectives on the development of landslide warning systems. However, the application of these data to hydro-meteorological thresholds (which account for antecedent soil moisture and...
Sampling across 20 years (1996–2017) reveals loss of diversity and genetic connectivity in the Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard (Uma inornata)
Amy G. Vandergast, Dustin A. Wood, Mark Fisher, Cameron W. Barrows, Anna Mitelberg, Julia G. Smith
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1105
The Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard (Uma inornata) is a federally threatened, aeolian sand dune obligate, endemic to the Coachella Valley, California. Historically, U. inornata is thought to have formed a large interconnected metapopulation across the valley, with local dune habitat and population size fluctuations linked to stochastic droughts and flooding. Since the...
Real-time assessments of water quality—A nowcast for Escherichia coli and cyanobacterial toxins
Donna S. Francy, Amie M.G. Brady, Tammy M. Zimmerman
2019, Fact Sheet 2019-3061
Threats to our recreational and drinking waters include disease-causing (pathogenic) organisms from fecal contamination and toxins produced by some species of cyanobacteria (cyanotoxins) that can cause acute and (or) chronic illnesses. Because traditional laboratory methods for detecting these threats take too long for prompt public health protection, tools for real-time...
Improving Darwin Core for research and management of alien species
Quentin J. Groom, Peter Desmet, Lien Reyserhove, Tim Adriaens, Damiano Oldoni, Sonia Vanderhoeven, Steven J Baskauf, Arthur Chapman, Melodie McGeoch, Ramona Walls, John Wieczorek, John RU Wilson, Paula FF Zermoglio, Annie Simpson
2019, Biodiversity Information Science and Standards 1-24
To improve the suitability of the Darwin Core standard for the research and management of alien species, the standard needs to express the native status of organisms, how well established they are and how they came to occupy a location. To facilitate this, we propose: 1. To adopt a controlled...
Morphological computation of dune evolution with equilibrium and non-equilibrium sediment-transport models
Satomi Yamaguchi, Sanjay Giri, Yasuyuki Shimizu, Jonathan M. Nelson
2019, Water Resources Research (55) 8463-8477
This paper presents an exploratory study that comprises the implementation and comparison of different approaches and parameterization of sediment transport mechanisms in a process-based morphological model for simulating river dunes. The purpose of this study was to assess the underlying physical processes associated with sediment transport and dune evolution simulated...
Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the East Greenland Rift Basins Province, 2008
Donald L. Gautier
Thomas E. Moore, Donald L. Gautier, editor(s)
2019, Professional Paper 1824-K
In 2007 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed an assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in the East Greenland Rift Basins Province of Northeast Greenland. The province was selected as the prototype for the U.S. Geological Survey Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (CARA). In collaboration with the Geological Survey...
Managing sand along the Colorado River to protect cultural sites downstream of Glen Canyon Dam
Terri Cook, Amy E. East, Helen Fairley, Joel B. Sankey
2019, Fact Sheet 2019-3054
The construction of Glen Canyon Dam in northern Arizona has greatly reduced the supply of sand to the Colorado River corridor through Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon National Park, hereafter referred to as Glen Canyon and Grand Canyon, respectively. This deficit has strongly affected the natural sediment...
Morphodynamic modeling of the response of two barrier islands to Atlantic hurricane forcing
Marlies van der Lugt, Ellen Quataert, Ap van Dongeren, Maarten van Ormondt, Christopher R. Sherwood
2019, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science (229)
The accurate prediction of a barrier island response to storms is challenging because of the complex interaction between hydro- and morphodynamic processes that changes at different stages during an event. Assessment of the predictive skill is further complicated because of uncertainty in the hydraulic forcing, initial conditions, and the parameterization...
Conservation of temporary wetlands
Dani Boix, Aram J.K. Calhoun, David M. Mushet, Kathleen P. Bell, James A. Fitzsimons, Francis Isselin-Nondedeu
2019, Book chapter, Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences
Temporary wetlands are characterized by frequent drying resulting in a unique, highly specialized assemblage of often rare or specialized plant and animal species. They are found on all continents and in a variety of landscape settings. Although accurate estimates of the abundance of temporary wetlands are available in only a...
Modeling control of Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) in a shallow lake–wetland system
James B Pearson, Jason B. Dunham, J Ryan Bellmore, Donald E. Lyons
2019, Wetlands Ecology and Management (27) 663-682
The introduction of Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) into North American waterways has led to widespread alteration of aquatic ecosystems. Control of this invader has proven extremely difficult due to its capacity for rapid population growth. To help understand how Common Carp can potentially be controlled we developed a population dynamics...
Foraging ecology mediates response to ecological mismatch during migratory stopover
A. M. Tucker, Conor P. McGowan, M. Catalano, A. Derose-Wilson, R. A. Robinson, J. Zimmerman
2019, Ecosphere (10)
Impacts of ecological mismatches should be most pronounced at points of the annual cycle when populations depend on a predictable, abundant, and aggregated food resource that changes in timing or distribution. The degree to which species specialize on a key prey item, therefore, should determine their sensitivity to mismatches. We...
Wing abnormality in wild-hatched Whooping Crane (Grus americana) chick from the Louisiana nonmigratory population
Phillip L. Vasseur, Sara E. Zimorski, Eva K Szyszkoski, James M LaCour, Julia S. Lankton
2019, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (55) 954-957
We describe a wing abnormality present in a wild-hatched Whooping Crane (Grus americana) chick from the reintroduced Louisiana nonmigratory population. Despite its compromised flight ability, the chick fledged, reached independence, and lived until 13 months of age. Necropsy revealed a healed fracture near the left carpus likely resulting from trauma....
Interactions of microhabitat and time control grassland bacterial and fungal composition
Michaeline BN Albright, Rebecca C. Mueller, La Verne Gallegos-Graves, Jayne Belnap, Sasha C. Reed, Cheryl R. Kuske
2019, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (7)
Dryland grasslands are vast and globally important and, as in all terrestrial ecosystems, soil microbial communities play fundamental roles in regulating dryland ecosystem function. A typical characteristic of drylands is the spatial mosaic of vascular plant cover surrounded by interspace soils, where biological soil crusts (biocrusts)—a complex community of...
Prioritizing chemicals of ecological concern in Great Lakes tributaries using high-throughput screening data and adverse outcome pathways
Steven R. Corsi, Laura A. DeCicco, Daniel L. Villeneuve, Brett Blackwell, Kellie Fay, Gerald Ankley, Austin K. Baldwin
2019, Science of the Total Environment (686) 995-1009
Chemical monitoring data were collected in surface waters from 57 Great Lakes tributaries from 2010-13 to identify chemicals of potential biological relevance and sites at which these chemicals occur. Traditional water-quality benchmarks for aquatic life based on in vivo toxicity data were available for 34 of 67 evaluated chemicals. To...
Pathogen prevalence in American black bears (Ursus americanus) of the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico, USA
Susan M. Bard, James W. Cain III
2019, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (55) 745-754
Informed management of American black bears (Ursus americanus) requires knowledge of the distribution and pathology of diseases affecting the species. Little information is available on pathogen prevalence from black bear populations in the Southwest, US, and it is unknown how these infections may influence black...
Withdrawal and consumption of water by thermoelectric power plants in the United States, 2015
Melissa A. Harris, Timothy H. Diehl
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5103
The U.S. Geological Survey has developed models to estimate thermoelectric water use based on linked heat and water budgets. The models produced plant-level withdrawal and consumption estimates using consistent methods for 1,122 water-using, utility-scale thermoelectric power plants in the United States for 2015. Total estimated withdrawal for 2015 was about...
Groundwater/surface-water interactions along Ellerbe Creek in Durham, North Carolina, 2016–18
Dominick J. Antolino
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5097
An assessment of groundwater/surface-water interactions along Ellerbe Creek, a major tributary to upper Falls Lake in Durham County, North Carolina, was conducted from July 2016 to March 2018 to determine if groundwater is a likely source of elevated nitrate input to the stream. Groundwater/surface-water interactions were characterized by synoptic streamflow...
Water for Long Island: Now and for the future
John P. Masterson, Robert F. Breault
2019, Fact Sheet 2019-3052
Do you ever wonder where your water comes from? If you live in Nassau or Suffolk County, the answer is, groundwater. Groundwater is water that started out as precipitation (rain and snow melt) and seeped into the ground. This seepage recharges the freshwater stored underground, in the spaces between the...
Earthquake arrival association with backprojection and graph theory
Ian McBrearty, Joan S. Gomberg, Andrew Delorey, Paul Johnson
2019, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (109) 2510-2531
The association of seismic‐wave arrivals with causative earthquakes becomes progressively more challenging as arrival detection methods become more sensitive, and particularly when earthquake rates are high. For instance, seismic waves arriving across a monitoring network from several sources may overlap in time, false arrivals may be detected, and some arrivals...
Spatial and temporal variation in river corridor exchange across a 5th order mountain stream network
Adam S Ward, Steven Wondzell, Noah Schmadel, Skuyler Herzog, Jay P. Zarnetske, Viktor Baranov, Phillip J Blaen, Nicolai Brekenfeld, Rosalie Chu, Romain Derelle, Jennifer D. Drummond, Jan Fleckenstein, Vanessa Garayburu-Caruso, Emily B. Graham, David Hannah, Ciaran Harman, Jase Hixson, Julia L.A. Knapp, Stefan Krause, Marie Kurz, Jorg Lewandowski, Angang Li, Eugènia Martí, Melinda Miller, Alexander Milner, Kerry Neil, Luisa Orsini, Aaron I. Packman, Stephen Plont, Lupita Renteria, Kevin Roche, Todd V Royer, Catalina Segura, James Stegen, Jason Toyoda, Jacqueline Wells, Nathan Wisnoski
2019, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (23) 5199-5225
Although most field and modeling studies of river corridor exchange have been conducted a scales ranging from 10’s to 100’s of meters; results of these studies are used to predict their ecological and hydrological influences at the scale of river networks. Further complicating prediction, exchanges are expected to vary with...
