Prevalent flucocorticoid and androgen activity in US water sources
Diana A. Stavreva, Anuja A. George, Paul Klausmeyer, Lyuba Varticovski, Daniel Sack, Ty C. Voss, R. Louis Schiltz, Vicki Blazer, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Gordon L. Hager
2012, Scientific Reports (2)
Contamination of the environment with endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is a major health concern. The presence of estrogenic compounds in water and their deleterious effect are well documented. However, detection and monitoring of other classes of EDCs is limited. Here we utilize a high-throughput live cell assay based on sub-cellular...
Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010
2012, Conference Paper
Poster presented during the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium Bays and Bayous Symposium 2012 on the decline of emergent wetlands in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Throughout the past century, emergent wetlands have been declining across the Gulf of Mexico. Emergent wetland ecosystems provide many resources, including plant and wildlife habitat,...
Out of the tropics: the Pacific, Great Basin lakes, and late Pleistocene water cycle in the western United States
Mitchell Lyle, Linda Heusser, Christina Ravelo, Masanobu Yamamoto, John Barron, Noah S. Diffenbaugh, Timothy Herbert, Dyke Andreasen
2012, Science (337) 1629-1633
The water cycle in the western U.S. changed dramatically over glacial cycles. In the last 20,000 years, higher precipitation caused desert lakes to form which have since dried out. Higher glacial precipitation is hypothesized to result from a southward shift of Pacific winter storm tracks. We compared Pacific Ocean data...
Status of rainbow smelt in U.S. waters of Lake Ontario, 2011
Brian Weidel, Michael J. Connerton
2012, Report, Status of important prey fishes in the U.S. Waters of Lake Ontario, 2011
Rainbow smelt Osmerus mordax are the second most abundant pelagic prey fish in Lake Ontario. The abundance and weight indices for Lake Ontario age-1 and older rainbow smelt declined in 2011 and represented a 64% and 54% decrease respectively from 2010 levels. Length frequency-based age analysis indicated that age-1 rainbow...
Relating management practices and nutrient export in agricultural watersheds of the United States
Lori A. Sprague, Jo Ann M. Gronberg
2012, Journal of Environmental Quality (41) 1939-1950
Relations between riverine export (load) of total nitrogen (N) and total phosphorus (P) from 133 large agricultural watersheds in the United States and factors affecting nutrient transport were evaluated using empirical regression models. After controlling for anthropogenic inputs and other landscape factors affecting nutrient transport-such as runoff, precipitation, slope, number...
Future opportunities and challenges in remote sensing of drought
Brian D. Wardlow, Martha C. Anderson, Justin Sheffield, Brad Doorn, James Verdin, Xiwu Zhan, Matt Rodell
Brian D. Wardlow, Martha C. Anderson, James P. Verdin, editor(s)
2012, Book chapter, Remote sensing of drought: innovative monitoring approaches
The value of satellite remote sensing for drought monitoring was first realized more than two decades ago with the application of Normalized Difference Index (NDVI) data from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) for assessing the effect of drought on vegetation. Other indices such as the Vegetation Health Index...
Wet deposition of fission-product isotopes to North America from the Fukushima Dai-ichi incident, March 2011
Gregory A. Wetherbee, David A. Gay, Timothy M. Debey, Christopher M.B. Lehmann, Mark A. Nilles
2012, Environmental Science & Technology (46) 2574-2582
Using the infrastructure of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP), numerous measurements of radionuclide wet deposition over North America were made for 167 NADP sites before and after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station incident of March 12, 2011. For the period from March 8 through April 5, 2011, wet-only...
Numerical simulation of flow in deep open boreholes in a coastal freshwater lens, Pearl Harbor Aquifer, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i
Kolja Rotzoll
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5009
The Pearl Harbor aquifer in southern O‘ahu is one of the most important sources of freshwater in Hawai‘i. A thick freshwater lens overlays brackish and saltwater in this coastal aquifer. Salinity profiles collected from uncased deep monitor wells (DMWs) commonly are used to monitor freshwater-lens thickness. However, vertical flow in...
Nitrate removal in deep sediments of a nitrogen-rich river network: A test of a conceptual model
Robert S. Stelzer, Lynn Bartsch
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (117)
Many estimates of nitrogen removal in streams and watersheds do not include or account for nitrate removal in deep sediments, particularly in gaining streams. We developed and tested a conceptual model for nitrate removal in deep sediments in a nitrogen-rich river network. The model predicts that oxic, nitrate-rich groundwater will...
Advances in spectroscopic methods for quantifying soil carbon
James B. Reeves III, Gregory W. McCarty, Francisco Calderon, W. Dean Hively
2012, Book chapter, Managing agricultural greenhouse gases
The current gold standard for soil carbon (C) determination is elemental C analysis using dry combustion. However, this method requires expensive consumables, is limited by the number of samples that can be processed (~100/d), and is restricted to the determination of total carbon. With increased interest in soil C sequestration,...
Spatio-temporal variations in age structures of a partially re-established population of northern river otters (Lontra canadensis)
Dominic A. Barrett, David M. Leslie Jr.
2012, American Midland Naturalist (168) 302-314
Examination of age structures and sex ratios is useful in the management of northern river otters (Lontra canadensis) and other furbearers. Reintroductions and subsequent recolonizations of river otters have been well documented, but changes in demographics between expanding and established populations have not been observed. As a result of reintroduction...
Estimating westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi) movements in a river network using strontium isoscapes
Clint C. Muhlfeld, Simon R. Thorrold, Thomas E. McMahon, Brian Marotz
2012, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (69) 906-915
We used natural variation in the strontium concentration (Sr:Ca) and isotope composition (87Sr:86Sr) of stream waters and corresponding values recorded in otoliths of westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi) to examine movements during their life history in a large river network. We found significant spatial differences in Sr:Ca and 87Sr:86Sr values...
Coastal impacts, adaptation, and vulnerabilities: a technical input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment
Virginia Burkett, Margaret Davidson
Virginia Burkett, Margaret Davidson, editor(s)
2012, Book, National Climate Assessment regional technical input reports
The coast has long provided communities with a multitude of benefits including an abundance of natural resources that sustain economies, societies, and ecosystems. Coasts provide natural harbors for commerce, trade, and transportation; beaches and shorelines that attract residents and tourists; and wetlands and estuaries that are critical for fisheries and...
Endangered river fish: factors hindering conservation and restoration
Steven J. Cooke, Craig P. Paukert, Zeb Hogan
2012, Endangered Species Research (17) 179-191
Globally, riverine fish face many anthropogenic threats including riparian and flood plain habitat degradation, altered hydrology, migration barriers, fisheries exploitation, environmental (climate) change, and introduction of invasive species. Collectively, these threats have made riverine fishes some of the most threatened taxa on the planet. Although much effort has been devoted...
Extreme events, trends, and variability in Northern Hemisphere lake-ice phenology (1855-2005)
Barbara J. Benson, John J. Magnuson, Olaf P. Jensen, Virginia M. Card, Glenn Hodgkins, Johanna Korhonen, David M. Livingstone, Kenton M. Stewart, Gesa A. Weyhenmeyer, Nick G. Granin
2012, Climatic Change (112) 299-323
Often extreme events, more than changes in mean conditions, have the greatest impact on the environment and human well-being. Here we examine changes in the occurrence of extremes in the timing of the annual formation and disappearance of lake ice in the Northern Hemisphere. Both changes in the mean condition...
Structure, spectroscopy and dynamics of layered H2O and CO2 ices
Lee. Myung Won, Nuria Plattner, Markus Meuwly
2012, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (14) 15464-15474
Molecular dynamics simulations of structural, spectroscopic and dynamical properties of mixed water–carbon dioxide (H2O–CO2) ices are discussed over temperature ranges relevant to atmospheric and astrophysical conditions. The simulations employ multipolar force fields to represent electrostatic interactions which are essential for spectroscopic and dynamical investigations. It is found that at the...
Introduction to phytoremediation of contaminated groundwater
James E. Landmeyer
2012, Book
This book provides the reader with the comprehensive view necessary to understand and critically evaluate the design, implementation, and monitoring of phytoremediation at sites characterized by contaminated groundwater. Part I presents the historical foundation of the interaction between plants and groundwater, introduces fundamental groundwater concepts for plant physiologists, and...
Assessment of freshwater fish assemblages and their habitats in the National Park Service system of the southeastern United States
James M. Long, Nathan P. Nibbelink, Kevin T. McAbee, Julie W. Stahli
2012, Fisheries (37) 212-225
The southeast region of the United States contains the highest diversity of freshwater fish species in the country: approximately 662 species. Existing protected areas like units of the National Park Service (NPS) should reflect this biodiversity, but there has been no broad-scale assessment. We compiled several data sets identifying native...
Well log characterization of natural gas-hydrates
Timothy S. Collett, Myung W. Lee
2012, Book
In the last 25 years there have been significant advancements in the use of well-logging tools to acquire detailed information on the occurrence of gas hydrates in nature: whereas wireline electrical resistivity and acoustic logs were formerly used to identify gas-hydrate occurrences in wells drilled in Arctic permafrost environments, more...
A fine-scale assessment of using barriers to conserve native stream salmonids: a case study in Akokala Creek, Glacier National Park, USA
Clint C. Muhlfeld, Vincent S. D'Angelo, S.T. Kalinowski, Erin L. Landguth, C.C. Downs, J. Tohtz, Jeffrey L. Kershner
2012, Open Fish Science Journal (5) 9-20
Biologists are often faced with the difficult decision in managing native salmonids of where and when to install barriers as a conservation action to prevent upstream invasion of nonnative fishes. However, fine-scale approaches to assess long-term persistence of populations within streams and watersheds chosen for isolation management are often lacking....
The Spar Lake strata-Bound Cu-Ag deposit formed across a mixing zone between trapped natural gas and metals-bearing brine
Timothy S. Hayes, Gary P. Landis, Joseph F. Whelan, Robert O. Rye, Richard J. Moscati
2012, Economic Geology (107) 1223-1249
Ore formation at the Spar Lake red bed-associated strata-bound Cu deposit took place across a mixing and reaction zone between a hot oxidized metals-transporting brine and a reservoir of “sour” (H2S-bearing) natural gas trapped in the host sandstones. Fluid inclusion volatile analyses have very high CH4 concentrations (≥1 mol %...
The effects of permafrost thaw on soil hydrologic, thermal, and carbon dynamics in an Alaskan peatland
Jonathan A. O’Donnell, M. Torre Jorgenson, Jennifer W. Harden, A. David McGuire, Mikhail Z. Kanevskiy, Kimberly P. Wickland
2012, Ecosystems (15) 213-229
Recent warming at high-latitudes has accelerated permafrost thaw in northern peatlands, and thaw can have profound effects on local hydrology and ecosystem carbon balance. To assess the impact of permafrost thaw on soil organic carbon (OC) dynamics, we measured soil hydrologic and thermal dynamics and soil OC stocks across a...
On modeling weak sinks in MODPATH
Daniel B. Abrams, Henk Haitjema, Leon J. Kauffman
2012, Ground Water (51) 597-602
Regional groundwater flow systems often contain both strong sinks and weak sinks. A strong sink extracts water from the entire aquifer depth, while a weak sink lets some water pass underneath or over the actual sink. The numerical groundwater flow model MODFLOW may allow a sink cell to act as...
Bacterial and enchytraeid abundance accelerate soil carbon turnover along a lowland vegetation gradient in interior Alaska
M. P. Waldrop, Jennifer W. Harden, M.R. Turetsky, D.G. Petersen, A. D. McGuire, M.J.I. Briones, Amber C. Churchill, D.H. Doctor, L.E. Pruett
2012, Soil Biology and Biochemistry (50) 188-198
Boreal wetlands are characterized by a mosaic of plant communities, including forests, shrublands, grasslands, and fens, which are structured largely by changes in topography and water table position. The soil associated with these plant communities contain quantitatively and qualitatively different forms of soil organic matter (SOM) and nutrient availability that...
Root zone water quality model (RZWQM2): Model use, calibration and validation
Liwang Ma, Lajpat Ahuja, B. T. Nolan, Robert Malone, Thomas Trout, Z. Qi
2012, Transactions of the ASABE (55) 1425-1446
The Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM2) has been used widely for simulating agricultural management effects on crop production and soil and water quality. Although it is a one-dimensional model, it has many desirable features for the modeling community. This article outlines the principles of calibrating the model component by...
