Geophysical investigations of geology and structure at the Martis Creek Dam, Truckee, California
P. A. Bedrosian, B.L. Burton, M.H. Powers, B. J. Minsley, J. D. Phillips, L. E. Hunter
2012, Journal of Applied Geophysics (77) 7-20
A recent evaluation of Martis Creek Dam highlighted the potential for dam failure due to either seepage or an earthquake on nearby faults. In 1972, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed this earthen dam, located within the Truckee Basin to the north of Lake Tahoe, CA for water storage...
Quantifying riverine surface currents from time sequences of thermal infrared imagery
Jack A. Puleo, T.E. McKenna, K. T. Holland, J. Calantoni
2012, Water Resources Research (48)
River surface currents are quantified from thermal and visible band imagery using two methods. One method utilizes time stacks of pixel intensity to estimate the streamwise velocity at multiple locations. The other method uses particle image velocimetry to solve for optimal two-dimensional pixel displacements between successive frames. Field validation was...
Numerical models of salt marsh evolution: Ecological, geomorphic, and climatic factors
S. Fagherazzi, M. L. Kirwan, S.M. Mudd, G.R. Guntenspergen, S. Temmerman, A. D'Alpaos, J. Van De Koppel, J.M. Rybczyk, E. Reyes, C. Craft, J. Clough
2012, Reviews of Geophysics (50)
Salt marshes are delicate landforms at the boundary between the sea and land. These ecosystems support a diverse biota that modifies the erosive characteristics of the substrate and mediates sediment transport processes. Here we present a broad overview of recent numerical models that quantify the formation and evolution of salt...
Hybrid-optimization algorithm for the management of a conjunctive-use project and well field design
Yung-Chia Chiu, Tracy Nishikawa, Peter Martin
2012, Ground Water (50) 103-117
Hi‐Desert Water District (HDWD), the primary water‐management agency in the Warren Groundwater Basin, California, plans to construct a waste water treatment plant to reduce future septic‐tank effluent from reaching the groundwater system. The treated waste water will be reclaimed by recharging the groundwater basin via recharge ponds as part of...
PhyloChipTM microarray comparison of sampling methods used for coral microbial ecology
Christina A. Kellogg, Yvette M. Piceno, Lauren M. Tom, Todd Z. DeSantis, David G. Zawada, Gary L. Andersen
2012, Journal of Microbiological Methods (88) 103-109
Interest in coral microbial ecology has been increasing steadily over the last decade, yet standardized methods of sample collection still have not been defined. Two methods were compared for their ability to sample coral-associated microbial communities: tissue punches and foam swabs, the latter being less invasive and preferred by reef...
Microbial water quality before and after the repair of a failing onsite wastewater treatment system adjacent to coastal waters
K.E. Conn, M.Y. Habteselassie, Blackwood A. Denene, R.T. Noble
2012, Journal of Applied Microbiology (112) 214-224
Aims: The objective was to assess the impacts of repairing a failing onsite wastewater treatment system (OWTS, i.e., septic system) as related to coastal microbial water quality. Methods and Results: Wastewater, groundwater and surface water were monitored for environmental parameters, faecal indicator bacteria (total coliforms, Escherichia coli, enterococci) and the...
The use of multiobjective calibration and regional sensitivity analysis in simulating hyporheic exchange
Ramon C. Naranjo, Richard G. Niswonger, Mark Stone, Clinton Davis, Alan McKay
2012, Water Resources Research (48)
We describe an approach for calibrating a two-dimensional (2-D) flow model of hyporheic exchange using observations of temperature and pressure to estimate hydraulic and thermal properties. A longitudinal 2-D heat and flow model was constructed for a riffle-pool sequence to simulate flow paths and flux rates for variable discharge conditions....
Intra- and inter-annual trends in phosphorus loads and comparison with nitrogen loads to Rehoboth Bay, Delaware (USA)
J.A. Volk, J.R. Scudlark, K.B. Savidge, A.S. Andres, R.J. Stenger, W.J. Ullman
2012, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science (96) 139-150
Monthly phosphorus loads from uplands, atmospheric deposition, and wastewater to Rehoboth Bay (Delaware) were determined from October 1998 to April 2002 to evaluate the relative importance of these three sources of P to the Bay. Loads from a representative subwatershed were determined and used in an areal extrapolation to estimate the upland load from the...
Landslide-dammed lake at Tangjiashan, Sichuan province, China (triggered by the Wenchuan Earthquake, May 12, 2008): Risk assessment, mitigation strategy, and lessons learned
P. Cui, C. Dang, J. Zhuang, Y. You, X. Chen, Kevin M. Scott
2012, Environmental Earth Sciences (65) 1055-1065
Landslides and rock avalanches triggered by the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake produced 257 landslide dams, mainly situated along the eastern boundary of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau where rivers descend approximately 3,000 m into the Sichuan Basin. The largest of these dams blocked the Tongkou River (a tributary of the Fujiang River) at Tangjiashan....
A multi-source satellite data approach for modelling Lake Turkana water level: Calibration and validation using satellite altimetry data
N.M. Velpuri, Gabriel B. Senay, K.O. Asante
2012, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (16) 1-18
Lake Turkana is one of the largest desert lakes in the world and is characterized by high degrees of inter- and intra-annual fluctuations. The hydrology and water balance of this lake have not been well understood due to its remote location and unavailability of reliable ground truth datasets. Managing surface...
Mapping carbon flux uncertainty and selecting optimal locations for future flux towers in the Great Plains
Yingxin Gu, Daniel M. Howard, Bruce K. Wylie, Li Zhang
2012, Landscape Ecology (27) 319-326
Flux tower networks (e. g., AmeriFlux, Agriflux) provide continuous observations of ecosystem exchanges of carbon (e. g., net ecosystem exchange), water vapor (e. g., evapotranspiration), and energy between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. The long-term time series of flux tower data are essential for studying and understanding terrestrial carbon cycles,...
Tritium plume dynamics in the shallow unsaturated zone adjacent to an arid waste-disposal facility, Amargosa Desert Research Site, Nevada
S.R. Maples
2012, Thesis
No abstract available....
Spatial patterns of soil nitrification and nitrate export from forested headwaters in the northeastern United States
D.S. Ross, J. B. Shanley, J.L. Campbell, G.B. Lawrence, S.W. Bailey, G.E. Likens, B.C. Wemple, G. Fredriksen, A.E. Jamison
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research G: Biogeosciences (117)
Nitrogen export from small forested watersheds is known to be affected by N deposition but with high regional variability. We studied 10 headwater catchments in the northeastern United States across a gradient of N deposition (5.4 - 9.4 kg ha -1 yr -1) to determine if soil nitrification...
Regional scale impacts of Tamarix leaf beetles (Diorhabda carinulata) on the water availability of western U.S. rivers as determined by multi-scale remote sensing methods
Pamela L. Nagler, Tim Brown, Kevin R. Hultine, Charles van Riper III, Daniel W. Bean, Philip E. Dennison, R. Scott Murray, Edward P. Glenn
2012, Remote Sensing of Environment (118) 227-240
Tamarix leaf beetles (Diorhabda carinulata) have been widely released on western U.S. rivers to control introduced shrubs in the genus Tamarix. Part of the motivation to control Tamarix is to salvage water for human use. Information is needed on the impact of beetles on Tamarix seasonal leaf production and subsequent...
Temporal scaling of groundwater level fluctuations near a stream
K. E. Schilling, Y.-K. Zhang
2012, Ground Water (50) 59-67
Temporal scaling in stream discharge and hydraulic heads in riparian wells was evaluated to determine the feasibility of using spectral analysis to identify potential surface and groundwater interaction. In floodplains where groundwater levels respond rapidly to precipitation recharge, potential interaction is established if the hydraulic head (h) spectrum of riparian...
Advancing representation of hydrologic processes in the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) through integration of the TOPographic MODEL (TOPMODEL) features
J. Chen, Y. Wu
2012, Journal of Hydrology (420-421) 319-328
This paper presents a study of the integration of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model and the TOPographic MODEL (TOPMODEL) features for enhancing the physical representation of hydrologic processes. In SWAT, four hydrologic processes, which are surface runoff, baseflow, groundwater re-evaporation and deep aquifer percolation, are modeled by...
Why farmers adopt best management practice in the United States: A meta-analysis of the adoption literature
Adam Baumgart-Getz, Linda Stalker Prokopy, Kristin Floress
2012, Journal of Environmental Management (96) 17-25
This meta-analysis of both published and unpublished studies assesses factors believed to influence adoption of agricultural Best Management Practices in the United States. Using an established statistical technique to summarize the adoption literature in the United States, we identified the following variables as having the largest impact on adoption: access...
Fate and transport of glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid in surface waters of agricultural basins
Richard H. Coupe, Stephen J. Kalkhoff, Paul D. Capel, Caroline Gregoire
2012, Pest Management Science (68) 16-30
BACKGROUND: Glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine] is a herbicide used widely throughout the world in the production of many crops and is heavily used on soybeans, corn and cotton. Glyphosate is used in almost all agricultural areas of the United States, and the agricultural use of glyphosate has increased from less than 10...
Comparison of electrical conductivity calculation methods for natural waters
R. Blaine McCleskey, D. Kirk Nordstrom, Joseph N. Ryan
2012, Limnology and Oceanography: Methods (10) 952-967
The capability of eleven methods to calculate the electrical conductivity of a wide range of natural waters from their chemical composition was investigated. A brief summary of each method is presented including equations to calculate the conductivities of individual ions, the ions incorporated, and the method's limitations. The ability of...
Mississippi Sound
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, Ali Leggett, Cindy A. Thatcher
2012, Report, Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010
The Mississippi Sound is the primary body of water off the Mississippi Coast, extending from Lake Borgne, La. in the west to Mobile Bay, Ala. in the east and bordered by the barrier islands--Cat, Ship, Horn, Petit Bois, and Dauphin Islands--of Gulf Islands National Seashore to the south (Figure 1)....
The impact of biotic/abiotic interfaces in mineral nutrient cycling: A study of soils of the Santa Cruz chronosequence, California
Art F. White, Marjorie S. Schulz, Davison V. Vivit, Tomas D. Bullen, John A. Fitzpatrick
2012, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (77) 62-85
Biotic/abiotic interactions between soil mineral nutrients and annual grassland vegetation are characterized for five soils in a marine terrace chronosequence near Santa Cruz, California. A Mediterranean climate, with wet winters and dry summers, controls the annual cycle of plant growth and litter decomposition, resulting in net above-ground productivities of...
Temporal trends in algae, benthic invertebrate, and fish assemblages in streams and rivers draining basins of varying land use in the south-central United States, 1993-2007
Matthew P. Miller, Jonathan G. Kennen, Jeffrey A. Mabe, Scott V. Mize
2012, Hydrobiologia (684) 15-33
Site-specific temporal trends in algae, benthic invertebrate, and fish assemblages were investigated in 15 streams and rivers draining basins of varying land use in the south-central United States from 1993–2007. A multivariate approach was used to identify sites with statistically significant trends in aquatic assemblages which were then tested for...
Spatial patterns of aquatic habitat richness in the Upper Mississippi River floodplain, USA
Nathan R. De Jager, Jason J. Rohweder
2012, Ecological Indicators (13) 275-283
Interactions among hydrology and geomorphology create shifting mosaics of aquatic habitat patches in large river floodplains (e.g., main and side channels, floodplain lakes, and shallow backwater areas) and the connectivity among these habitat patches underpins high levels of biotic diversity and productivity. However, the diversity and connectivity among the habitats...
Geochemical modeling of changes in shallow groundwater chemistry observed during the MSU-ZERT CO2 injection experiment
Liange Zheng, J. A. Apps, N. Spycher, J. Birkholzer, Yousif K. Kharaka, James J. Thordsen, Sarah R. Beers, William N. Herkelrath, Evangelos Kakouros, Robert C. Trautz
2012, International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control (7) 202-217
A field experiment involving the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into a shallow aquifer was conducted near Bozeman, Montana, during the summer of 2008, to investigate the potential groundwater quality impacts in the case of leakage of CO2 from deep geological storage. As an essential part...
Emergent sandbar construction for least terns on the Missouri River: Effects on forage fishes in shallow-water habitats
J. H. Stucker, D. A. Buhl, M. H. Sherfy
2012, River Research and Applications (28) 1254-1265
Emergent sandbars on the Missouri River are actively managed for two listed bird species, piping plovers and interior least terns. As a plunge-diving piscivore, endangered least terns rely on ready access to appropriately sized slender-bodied fish: <52 mm total length for adults and <34 mm total length for young chicks. As part...
