Exploring the barriers for people taking protective actions during the 2012 and 2015 New Zealand shakeout drills
Sara K. McBride, Julia S. Becker, David M. Johnston
2019, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction (37)
To reduce future earthquake injuries and casualties, it is important that people understand how their behavior, during and immediately following earthquake shaking, exposes them to increased risk of injury or death. Research confirms that protective actions can reduce injuries and that prior training can help prepare people to take appropriate...
Streamflow Gain and Loss, Hydrograph Separation, and Water Quality of Abandoned Mine Lands in the Daniel Boone National Forest, Eastern Kentucky, 2015–17
Mac A. Cherry
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5006
During 2015–17, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service (Forest Service), carried out a study to characterize the hydrology and water chemistry in two study areas within the Daniel Boone National Forest. One study area was within the Rock Creek drainage and the...
Latitude and daily-weather effects on gobbling activity of wild turkeys in Mississippi
Matthew D. Palumbo, Francisco Vilella, Guiming Wang, Bronson K. Strickland, Dave Godwin, P. Grady Dixon, Benjamin D. Rubin, Marcus A. Lashley
2019, International Journal of Biometeorology (63) 1059-1067
Weather has been recognized as a density independent factor influencing the abundance, distribution, and behavior of vertebrates. Male wild turkeys’ (Meleagris gallopavo) breeding behavior includes vocalizations and courtship displays to attract females, the phenology of which can vary with latitude. State biologists design spring turkey-hunting season frameworks centered...
The dependence of hydroclimate projections in snow‐dominated regions of the western United States on the choice of statistically downscaled climate data
Jay R. Alder, Steven W. Hostetler
2019, Water Resources Research (55) 2279-2300
We assess monthly temperature and precipitation data produced by four statistically based techniques that were used to downscale general circulation models (GCMs) in the Climate Model Intercomparison Program Phase 5 (CMIP5) (Taylor et al., 2012). We drive a simple water-balance model with the downscaled data to demonstrate the effect of...
Improving estimates of coral reef construction and erosion with in-situ measurements
Ilsa B. Kuffner, Lauren Toth, J. Harold Hudson, William B. Goodwin, Anastasios Stathakopoulos, Lucy Bartlett, Elizabeth M. Whitcher
2019, Limnology and Oceanography (64) 2283-2294
The decline in living coral since the 1970s has conspicuously slowed reef construction on a global scale, but the related process of reef erosion is less visible and not often quantified. Here we present new data on the constructional and deconstructional side of the carbonate-budget equation in the Florida Keys,...
Geochemical and mineralogical maps, with interpretation, for soils of the conterminous United States
David B. Smith, Federico Solano, Laurel G. Woodruff, William F. Cannon, Karl J. Ellefsen
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5118
Between 2007 and 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a low-density (1 site per 1,600 square kilometers, 4,857 sites) geochemical and mineralogical survey of soils in the conterminous United States. The sampling protocol for the national-scale survey included, at each site, a sample from a depth of 0 to 5...
Factors affecting prey availability and habitat usage of nonbreeding piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) in coastal Louisiana
Jessica L. Schulz, Paul Leberg
2019, Journal of Coastal Research (35) 861-871
The Gulf of Mexico is home to a large proportion of the wintering population of the threatened piping plover (Charadrius melodus), but little is known about the bird's ecology in this region. In Louisiana, the majority of nonbreeding piping plovers are found on the state's rapidly eroding barrier islands. Between...
Arsenic concentrations after drinking water well installation: Time-varying effects on arsenic mobilization
Melinda L. Erickson, Helen F. Malenda, Emily C. Berquist, Joseph D. Ayotte
2019, Science of the Total Environment (678) 681-691
Chronic exposure to geogenic arsenic via drinking water is a worldwide health concern. However, effects of well installation and operation on arsenic concentrations and mobilization are not well understood. This knowledge gap impacts both reliable detection of arsenic in drinking water and effective public health recommendations to reduce exposure to...
2018 National Park visitor spending effects: Economic contributions to local communities, states, and the nation
Catherine Cullinane Thomas, Lynne Koontz, Egan Cornachione
2019, Report
No abstract available. ...
Cloud cover and delayed herbivory relative to timing of spring onset interact to dampen climate change impacts on net ecosystem exchange in a coastal Alaskan wetland
Josh Leffler, Karen H. Beard, Katharine C. Kelsey, Ryan T. Choi, Joel A. Schmutz, Jeffrey Welker
2019, Environmental Research Letters (14)
Rapid warming in northern ecosystems over the past four decades has resulted in earlier spring, increased precipitation, and altered timing of plant–animal interactions, such as herbivory. Advanced spring phenology can lead to longer growing seasons and increased carbon (C) uptake. Greater precipitation coincides with greater cloud cover possibly suppressing photosynthesis....
S2HM of buildings in USA
Mehmet Celebi
Maria Limongelli, Mehmet Celebi, editor(s)
2019, Book chapter, Seismic structural health monitoring: From theory to successful applications
The evolution of seismic structural-health monitoring (S2HM) of buildings in the USA is described in this chapter, emphasizing real-time monitoring. Rapid and accurate assessment of post-earthquake building damage is of paramount importance to stakeholders (including owners, occupants, city officials, and rescue teams). Relying merely on rapid visual inspection could result...
Comment on “Particle fluxes in groundwater change subsurface rock chemistry over geologic time”
Carleton R. Bern, Tiffany Yesavage
2019, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (514) 166-168
Over the last decade, studies at the Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory (Shale Hills) have greatly expanded knowledge of weathering in previously understudied, shale-mantled terrains, as well as Earth's Critical Zone as a whole. Among the many discoveries made was the importance of redistribution and losses of micron-sized particles during development of shale-derived...
Calcrete uranium deposits in the Southern High Plains, USA
Susan Hall, Bradley S. Van Gosen, James B. Paces, Robert A. Zielinski
2019, Ore Geology Reviews (109) 50-78
The Southern High Plains (SHP) is a new and emerging U.S. uranium province. Here, uranyl vanadates form deposits in Pliocene to Pleistocene sandstone, dolomite, and limestone. Fifteen calcrete uranium occurrences are identified; two of these, the Buzzard Draw and Sulfur Springs Draw deposits, have...
Estimation bias in water-quality constituent concentrations and fluxes: A synthesis for Chesapeake Bay rivers and streams
Qian Zhang, Joel Blomquist, Douglas L. Moyer, Jeffrey G. Chanat
2019, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (7)
Flux quantification for riverine water-quality constituents has been an active area of research. Statistical approaches are often employed to make estimation for days without observations. One such approach is the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) method. While WRTDS has been used in many investigations, there is...
Geomorphic change and biogeomorphic feedbacks in a dryland river: The Little Colorado River, Arizona, USA
David J. Dean, David J. Topping
2019, GSA Bulletin
The Little Colorado River in Arizona, U.S.A. has undergone substantial geomorphic change since the early 1900s. We analyzed hydrologic and geomorphic data at different spatial and temporal scales to determine the type, magnitude, and rate of geomorphic change that has occurred since the early 20th century. Since the 1920s, there...
Modeling barrier island habitats using landscape position information
Nicholas Enwright, Lei Wang, Hongqing Wang, Michael Osland, Laura Feher, Sinéad M. Borchert, Richard Day
2019, Remote Sensing (11)
Barrier islands are dynamic environments because of their position along the marine–estuarine interface. Geomorphology influences habitat distribution on barrier islands by regulating exposure to harsh abiotic conditions. Researchers have identified linkages between habitat and landscape position, such as elevation and distance from shore, yet these linkages have not been fully...
Geochemistry and mineralogy of soils collected in the lower Rio Grande valley, Texas
Helen A. Whitney, Federico Solano, Bernard E. Hubbard
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1010
Presented in this report are the chemical and mineralogical results of a soil study conducted in the lower Rio Grande valley, Texas. Samples were collected from soils formed on Holocene alluvial flood-plain and distributary channel deposits of the Rio Grande, flood plain and meander-belt deposits of the Pliocene Goliad...
Calibration of Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) to simulate prefire and postfire hydrologic response in the upper Rio Hondo Basin, New Mexico
Kyle R. Douglas-Mankin, C. David Moeser
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5022
The Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) is widely used to simulate the effects of climate, topography, land cover, and soils on landscape-level hydrologic responses and streamflow. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, developed procedures to apply the PRMS model...
An economic evaluation of adaptation pathways in coastal mega cities: An illustration for Los Angeles
Lars T. de Ruig, Patrick L. Barnard, W. J. Wouter Botzen, Phyllis Grifman, Juliette Finzi Hart, Hans de Moel, Nick Sadrpour, Jeroen C.J.H. Aerts
2019, Science of the Total Environment (678) 647-659
Sea level rise and uncertainty in its projections pose a major challenge to flood risk management and adaptation investments in coastal mega cities. This study presents a comparative economic evaluation method for flood adaptation measures, which couples a cost–benefit analysis with the concept of adaptation pathways. Our approach accounts for...
Monitoring annual trends in abundance of eelgrass (Zostera marina) at Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, 2018
David H. Ward, Courtney L. Amundson
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1042
A lagoon-wide, point-sampling survey of eelgrass (Zostera marina) abundance was conducted in Izembek Lagoon, Alaska, August 7–16, 2018, the ninth year of annual surveys (2007–11, 2015–18). Mean predicted aboveground biomass of eelgrass across 116 sampled points was 238 grams per square meter (g m-2) (95 percent confidence interval: 203–278 g...
Pleistocene and Holocene landscape development of the South Platte River Corridor, Northeastern Colorado
Margaret E. Berry, Janet L. Slate, Emily M. Taylor
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5020
This report provides a synthesis of geologic mapping and geochronologic research along the South Platte River between the town of Masters and the city of Fort Morgan, northeastern Colorado. This work was undertaken to better understand landscape development along this part of the river corridor. The focus is on times...
Wildfire as a catalyst for hydrologic and geomorphic change
Francis K. Rengers
2019, Environmental Science
Wildfire has been a constant presence on the Earth since at least the Silurian period, and is a landscape-scale catalyst that results in a step-change perturbation for hydrologic systems, which ripples across burned terrain, shaping the geomorphic legacy of watersheds. Specifically, wildfire alters two key landscape properties: (1) overland flow,...
Arctic vegetation, temperature, and hydrology during Early Eocene transient global warming events
Debra A. Willard, Timme H Donders, Tammo Reichgelt, David R Greenwood, Francien Peterse, Francesca Sangiorgi, Appy Sluijs, Stefan Schouten
2019, Global and Planetary Change (178) 139-152
Early Eocene global climate was warmer than much of the Cenozoic and was punctuated by a series of transient warming events or ‘hyperthermals’ associated with carbon isotope excursions when temperature increased by 4–8° C. The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ~55 Ma) and Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM2, 53.5 Ma) hyperthermals...
Drivers and impacts of water level fluctuations in the Mississippi River delta: Implications for delta restoration
Matthew R. Hiatt, Gregg Snedden, John W. Day, Robert V. Rohli, John A. Nyman, Robert R. Lane, Leigh A. Sharp
2019, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science (224) 117-137
This review synthesizes the knowledge regarding the environmental forces affecting water level variability in the coastal waters of the Mississippi River delta and relates these fluctuations to planned river diversions. Water level fluctuations vary significantly across temporal and spatial scales, and are subject to influences from river flow, tides, vegetation,...
Efficacy of eDNA as an early detection indicator for Burmese pythons in the ARM Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem
Margaret Hunter, Gaia Meigs-Friend, Jason Ferrante, Brian Smith, Kristen Hart
2019, Ecological Indicators (102) 617-622
Environmental DNA (eDNA) detection of invasive species can be used to delimited occupied ranges and estimate probabilities to inform management decisions. Environmental DNA is shed into the environment through skin cells and bodily fluids and can be detected in water samples collected from lakes, rivers, and swamps. In south Florida,...
