Simulating the impacts of disturbances on forest carbon cycling in North America: Processes, data, models, and challenges
Shuguang Liu, Ben Bond-Lamberty, Jeffrey A. Hicke, Rodrigo Vargas, Shuqing Zhao, Jing Chen, Steven L. Edburg, Yueming Hu, Jinxun Liu, A. David McGuire, Jingfeng Xiao, Robert Keane, Wenping Yuan, Jianwu Tang, Yiqi Luo, Christopher Potter, Jennifer Oeding
2011, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (116) 1-22
Forest disturbances greatly alter the carbon cycle at various spatial and temporal scales. It is critical to understand disturbance regimes and their impacts to better quantify regional and global carbon dynamics. This review of the status and major challenges in representing the impacts of disturbances in modeling the carbon dynamics...
Deposit model for closed-basin potash-bearing brines
Greta J. Orris
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1283
Closed-basin potash-bearing brines are one of the types of potash deposits that are a source of potash production within the United States, as well as other countries. Though these deposits are of highly variable size, they are important sources of potash on a regional basis. In addition, these deposits have...
Probability of detecting perchlorate under natural conditions in deep groundwater in California and the Southwestern United States
Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz
2011, Environmental Science & Technology (45) 1271-1277
We use data from 1626 groundwater samples collected in California, primarily from public drinking water supply wells, to investigate the distribution of perchlorate in deep groundwater under natural conditions. The wells were sampled for the California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Priority Basin Project. We develop a logistic regression model...
Prediction and assimilation of surf-zone processes using a Bayesian network: Part I: Forward models
Nathaniel G. Plant, K. Todd Holland
2011, Coastal Engineering (58) 119-130
Prediction of coastal processes, including waves, currents, and sediment transport, can be obtained from a variety of detailed geophysical-process models with many simulations showing significant skill. This capability supports a wide range of research and applied efforts that can benefit from accurate numerical predictions. However, the predictions are only as...
Preface: Multiscale feedbacks in ecogeomorphology
Joseph M. Wheaton, Chris Gibbins, John Wainwright, Laurel G. Larsen, Brandon McElroy
2011, Geomorphology (126) 265-268
Geomorphic systems are known to exhibit nonlinear responses to physical–biological feedbacks (Thornes, 1985; Baas, 2002; Reinhardt et al., 2010). These responses make understanding and/or predicting system response to change highly challenging. With growing concerns over ecosystem health, a pressing need exists for research that tries to elucidate these feedbacks (Jerolmack,...
Prediction and assimilation of surf-zone processes using a Bayesian network: Part II: Inverse models
Nathaniel G. Plant, K. Todd Holland
2011, Coastal Engineering (58) 256-266
A Bayesian network model has been developed to simulate a relatively simple problem of wave propagation in the surf zone (detailed in Part I). Here, we demonstrate that this Bayesian model can provide both inverse modeling and data-assimilation solutions for predicting offshore wave heights and depth estimates given limited wave-height...
Lead exposure and poisoning of songbirds using the Coeur d'Alene River Basin, Idaho, USA
James A. Hansen, Daniel Audet, Brian L. Spears, Kate A. Healy, Roy E. Brazzle, David J. Hoffman, Anne Dailey, W. Nelson Beyer
2011, Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management (7) 587-595
Previous studies have found widespread Pb poisoning of waterfowl in the Coeur d'Alene River Basin in northern Idaho, USA, which has been contaminated by mining and smelting activities. We studied the exposure of ground-feeding songbirds to Pb, sampling 204 American robins (Turdus migratorius), song sparrows (Melospiza melodia), and Swainson's thrushes...
Refuge habitats for fishes during seasonal drying in an intermittent stream: movement, survival and abundance of three minnow species
S.W. Hodges, Daniel D. Magoulick
2011, Aquatic Sciences (73) 513-522
Drought and summer drying can be important disturbance events in many small streams leading to intermittent or isolated habitats. We examined what habitats act as refuges for fishes during summer drying, hypothesizing that pools would act as refuge habitats. We predicted that during drying fish would show directional movement into...
A promising tool for subsurface permafrost mapping-An application of airborne geophysics from the Yukon River Basin, Alaska
Jared E. Abraham
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3133
Permafrost is a predominant physical feature of the Earth's Arctic and Subarctic clines and a major consideration encompassing ecosystem structure to infrastructure engineering and placement. Perennially frozen ground is estimated to cover about 85 percent of the state of Alaska where northern reaches are underlain with continuous permafrost and parts...
Lineage diversification and morphological evolution in a large-scale continental radiation: The neotropical ovenbirds and woodcreepers (Aves: Furnariidae)
Elizabeth P. Derryberry, Santiago Claramunt, Graham Derryberry, R. Terry Chesser, Joel Cracraft, Alexandre Aleixo, Jorge Perez-Eman, J.V. Remsen Jr., Robb T. Brumfield
2011, Evolution (65) 2973-2986
Patterns of diversification in species-rich clades provide insight into the processes that generate biological diversity. We tested different models of lineage and phenotypic diversification in an exceptional continental radiation, the ovenbird family Furnariidae, using the most complete species-level phylogenetic hypothesis produced to date for a major avian clade (97% of...
Distribution and habitat use of the Missouri River and Lower Yellowstone River benthic fishes from 1996 to 1998: A baseline for fish community recovery
M. L. Wildhaber, D. W. Gladish, A. Arab
2011, River Research and Applications (28) 1780-1803
Past and present Missouri River management practices have resulted in native fishes being identified as in jeopardy. In 1995, the Missouri River Benthic Fishes Study was initiated to provide improved information on Missouri River fish populations and how alterations might affect them. The study produced a baseline against which to...
Joint Ecosystem Modeling (JEM) ecological model documentation volume 1: Estuarine prey fish biomass availability v1.0.0
Stephanie S. Romañach, Craig Conzelmann, Adam Daugherty, Jerome L. Lorenz, Christina Hunnicutt, Frank J. Mazzotti
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1272
Estuarine fish serve as an important prey base in the Greater Everglades ecosystem for key fauna such as wading birds, crocodiles, alligators, and piscivorous fishes. Human-made changes to freshwater flow across the Greater Everglades have resulted in less freshwater flow into the fringing estuaries and coasts. These changes in freshwater...
Porphyry copper assessment of British Columbia and Yukon Territory, Canada: Chapter C in Global mineral resource assessment
Mark J. Mihalasky, Arthur A. Bookstrom, Thomas P. Frost, Steve Ludington
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5090-C
The U.S. Geological Survey does regional, national, and global assessments of resources (mineral, energy, water, biologic) to provide science in support of land management and decision making. Mineral resource assessments provide a synthesis of available information about where mineral deposits are known and suspected to be in the Earth’s crust,...
Joint Ecosystem Modeling (JEM) ecological model documentation volume 2: roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) landscape habitat suitability index v1.0.0
Stephanie S. Romañach, Craig Conzelmann, Adam Daugherty, Jerome J. Lorenz, Christina Hunnicutt, Frank J. Mazzotti
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1273
Ecological conditions in the Greater Everglades have changed due to human activities, including the construction of canals to divert water away from the core of the landscape. Current and planned restoration projects are designed to produce a natural sheetflow of water across the landscape. This restoration of water flow should...
Assessment of channel changes, model of historical floods, and effects of backwater on flood stage, and flood mitigation alternatives for the Wichita River at Wichita Falls, Texas
Karl E. Winters, Stanley Baldys
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5175
In cooperation with the City of Wichita Falls, the U.S. Geological Survey assessed channel changes on the Wichita River at Wichita Falls, Texas, and modeled historical floods to investigate possible causes and potential mitigation alternatives to higher flood stages in recent (2007 and 2008) floods. Extreme flooding occurred on the...
Geologic map of the Montoso Peak quadrangle, Santa Fe and Sandoval Counties, New Mexico
Ren A. Thompson, Mark R. Hudson, Ralph R. Shroba, Scott A. Minor, David A. Sawyer
2011, Scientific Investigations Map 3179
The Montoso Peak quadrangle is underlain by volcanic rocks and associated sediments of the Cerros del Rio volcanic field in the southern part of the Española Basin that record volcanic, faulting, alluvial, colluvial, and eolian processes over the past three million years. The geology was mapped from 1997 to 1999...
Development of flood-inundation maps for the West Branch Susquehanna River near the Borough of Jersey Shore, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania
Mark A. Roland, Scott A. Hoffman
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5057
Streamflow data, water-surface-elevation profiles derived from a Hydrologic Engineering Center River Analysis System hydraulic model, and geographical information system digital elevation models were used to develop a set of 18 flood-inundation maps for an approximately 5-mile reach of the West Branch Susquehanna River near the Borough of Jersey Shore, Pa....
Exploring the potential for a fused Landsat-MODIS snow covered area product
David J. Selkowitz
2011, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 79th Annual Western Snow Conference
Results from nine 3 x 3 km study areas in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA demonstrate there is potential for using sporadically acquired Landsat images in combination with daily coarse resolution fractional snow covered area (SCA) images to produce daily high resolution binary SCA images. The results also highlight...
Adjustment of pesticide concentrations for temporal changes in analytical recovery, 1992–2010
Jeffrey D. Martin, Michael Eberle
2011, Data Series 630
Recovery is the proportion of a target analyte that is quantified by an analytical method and is a primary indicator of the analytical bias of a measurement. Recovery is measured by analysis of quality-control (QC) water samples that have known amounts of target analytes added ("spiked" QC samples). For pesticides,...
2010 bathymetric survey and digital elevation model of Corte Madera Bay, California
Amy C. Foxgrover, David P. Finlayson, Bruce E. Jaffe, John Y. Takekawa, Karen M. Thorne, Kyle A. Spragens
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1217
A high-resolution bathymetric survey of Corte Madera Bay, California, was collected in early 2010 in support of a collaborative research project initiated by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission and funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The primary objective of the Innovative Wetland Adaptation in the Lower...
Results and evaluation of a survey to estimate Pacific walrus population size, 2006
Suzann G. Speckman, Vladimir I. Chernook, Douglas M. Burn, Mark S. Udevitz, Anatoly A. Kochnev, Alexander Vasilev, Chadwick V. Jay, Alexander Lisovsky, Anthony S. Fischbach, R. Bradley Benter
2011, Marine Mammal Science (27) 514-553
In spring 2006, we conducted a collaborative U.S.-Russia survey to estimate abundance of the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens). The Bering Sea was partitioned into survey blocks, and a systematic random sample of transects within a subset of the blocks was surveyed with airborne thermal scanners using standard strip-transect...
Application of the SPARROW watershed model to describe nutrient sources and transport in the Missouri River Basin
Juliane B. Brown
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3104
Spatially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) models were developed to provide spatially explicit information on local and regional total nitrogen and total phosphorus sources and transport in the Missouri River Basin. Model results provide estimates of the relative contributions from various nutrient sources and delivery factors. The models also...
Summary of oceanographic and water–quality measurements in West Falmouth Harbor and Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, 2009–2010
Neil K. Ganju, Patrick J. Dickhudt, Jennifer A. Thomas, Jonathan Borden, Christopher R. Sherwood, Ellyn T. Montgomery, Erin R. Twomey, Marinna A. Martini
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1113
This data report presents oceanographic and water-quality observations made at six locations in West Falmouth Harbor and Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, from August 2009 to September 2010. Both Buzzards Bay and West Falmouth Harbor are estuarine embayments; the input of freshwater on the eastern margin of Buzzards Bay adjacent to Cape...
Proceedings of the third USGS modeling conference, June 7-11, 2010, Broomfield, Colorado-Understanding and predicting for a changing world
Shailaja R. Brady
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5147
The Third USGS Modeling Conference was held June 7th-11, 2010, in Broomfield, Colorado. The conference focused on the development and application of analytical and theoretical models and data availability that support managing the Nation's resources and help protect lives and property. Participants at the conference included scientists and managers from...
Probabilistic seismic hazard assessment including site effects for Evansville, Indiana, and the surrounding region
Jennifer S. Haase, Tim Bowling, Robert L. Nowack, Yoon S. Choi, Chris H. Cramer, Oliver S. Boyd, Robert A. Bauer
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1231
We provide a probabilistic seismic hazard assessment for the Evansville, Indiana region incorporating information from new surficial geologic mapping efforts on the part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Kentucky and Indiana State Geological Surveys, as well as information on the thickness and properties of near surface soils...
