Integrated use of surface geophysical methods for site characterization — A case study in North Kingstown, Rhode Island
Carole D. Johnson, John W. Lane Jr., William C. Brandon, Christine A.P. Williams, Eric A. White
2010, Conference Paper, Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems 2010
A suite of complementary, non‐invasive surface geophysical methods was used to assess their utility for site characterization in a pilot investigation at a former defense site in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. The methods included frequency‐domain electromagnetics (FDEM), ground‐penetrating radar (GPR), electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), and multi‐channel analysis of surface‐wave (MASW)...
Uses and biases of volunteer water quality data
J.V. Loperfido, P. Beyer, C.L. Just, J. L. Schnoor
2010, Environmental Science & Technology (44) 7193-7199
State water quality monitoring has been augmented by volunteer monitoring programs throughout the United States. Although a significant effort has been put forth by volunteers, questions remain as to whether volunteer data are accurate and can be used by regulators. In this study, typical volunteer water quality measurements from laboratory...
Assessment of extreme quantitative precipitation forecasts and development of regional extreme event thresholds using data from HMT-2006 and COOP observers
F.M. Ralph, E. Sukovich, D. Reynolds, M. Dettinger, S. Weagle, W. Clark, P.J. Neiman
2010, Journal of Hydrometeorology (11) 1286-1304
Extreme precipitation events, and the quantitative precipitation forecasts (QPFs) associated with them, are examined. The study uses data from the Hydrometeorology Testbed (HMT), which conducted its first field study in California during the 2005/06 cool season. National Weather Service River Forecast Center (NWS RFC) gridded QPFs for 24-h periods at...
Molecular investigations into a globally important carbon pool: Permafrost-protected carbon in Alaskan soils
M. P. Waldrop, K.P. Wickland, Rickie White, A.A. Berhe, J.W. Harden, V.E. Romanovsky
2010, Global Change Biology (16) 2543-2554
The fate of carbon (C) contained within permafrost in boreal forest environments is an important consideration for the current and future carbon cycle as soils warm in northern latitudes. Currently, little is known about the microbiology or chemistry of permafrost soils that may affect its decomposition once soils thaw. We...
Recruitment in a Colorado population of big brown bats: Breeding probabilities, litter size, and first-year survival
T. J. O'Shea, L.E. Ellison, D.J. Neubaum, M.A. Neubaum, C.A. Reynolds, R. A. Bowen
2010, Journal of Mammalogy (91) 418-428
We used markrecapture estimation techniques and radiography to test hypotheses about 3 important aspects of recruitment in big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) in Fort Collins, Colorado: adult breeding probabilities, litter size, and 1st-year survival of young. We marked 2,968 females with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags at multiple sites during...
The role of effective discharge in the ocean delivery of particulate organic carbon by small, mountainous river systems
R. A. Wheatcroft, M.A. Goni, J.A. Hatten, G.B. Pasternack, J.A. Warrick
2010, Limnology and Oceanography (55) 161-171
Recent research has shown that small, mountainous river systems (SMRS) account for a significant fraction of the global flux of sediment and particulate organic carbon (POC) to the ocean. The enormous number of SMRS precludes intensive studies of the sort conducted on large systems, necessitating development of a conceptual framework...
Unbiased survival estimates and evidence for skipped breeding opportunities in females
Erin L. Muths, Rick D. Scherer, Brad A. Lambert
2010, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (1) 123-130
1. Estimates of demographic parameters for females, in many organisms, are sparse. This is particularly worrisome as more and more species are faced with high extinction probabilities and conservation increasingly depends on actions dictated by complex predictive models that require accurate estimates of demographic parameters for each sex and species. 2. This study...
Forest responses to increasing aridity and warmth in the southwestern United States
A.P. Williams, Craig D. Allen, C. I. Millar, T.W. Swetnam, J. Michaelsen, C.J. Still, Steven W. Leavitt
2010, PNAS (107) 21289-21294
In recent decades, intense droughts, insect outbreaks, and wildfires have led to decreasing tree growth and increasing mortality in many temperate forests. We compared annual tree-ring width data from 1,097 populations in the coterminous United States to climate data and evaluated site-specific tree responses to climate variations throughout the 20th...
Occurrence and distribution of Indian primates
K.K. Karanth, J.D. Nichols, J.E. Hines
2010, Biological Conservation (143) 2891-2899
Global and regional species conservation efforts are hindered by poor distribution data and range maps. Many Indian primates face extinction, but assessments of population status are hindered by lack of reliable distribution data. We estimated the current occurrence and distribution of 15 Indian primates by applying occupancy models to field...
The relative influence of nutrients and habitat on stream metabolism in agricultural streams
J.D. Frankforter, H.S. Weyers, J. D. Bales, P.W. Moran, D.L. Calhoun
2010, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (168) 461-479
Stream metabolism was measured in 33 streams across a gradient of nutrient concentrations in four agricultural areas of the USA to determine the relative influence of nutrient concentrations and habitat on primary production (GPP) and respiration (CR-24). In conjunction with the stream metabolism estimates, water quality and algal biomass samples...
Quantifying data worth toward reducing predictive uncertainty
A.M. Dausman, J. Doherty, C.D. Langevin, M.C. Sukop
2010, Ground Water (48) 729-740
The present study demonstrates a methodology for optimization of environmental data acquisition. Based on the premise that the worth of data increases in proportion to its ability to reduce the uncertainty of key model predictions, the methodology can be used to compare the worth of different data types, gathered at...
Holocene variations in mineral and grain-size composition along the East Greenland glaciated margin (ca 67°–70°N): local versus long-distance sediment transport
John T. Andrews, Anne E. Jennings, George C. Coleman, Dennis D. Eberl
2010, Quaternary Science Reviews (29) 2619-2632
Quantitative X-Ray Diffraction (qXRD) analysis of the <2 mm sediment fraction from surface (sea floor) samples, and marine sediment cores that span the last 10-12 cal ka BP, are used to describe spatial and temporal variations in non-clay mineral compositions for an area between Kangerlussuaq Trough and Scoresby Sund (???67??-70??N),...
Structural geology of Amazonian-aged layered sedimentary deposits in southwest Candor Chasma, Mars
Chris Okubo
2010, Icarus (207) 210-225
The structural geology of an outcropping of layered sedimentary deposits in southwest Candor Chasma is mapped using two adjacent high-resolution (1 m/pixel) HiRISE digital elevation models and orthoimagery. Analysis of these structural data yields new insight into the depositional and deformational history of these deposits. Bedding in non-deformed areas generally...
Multivariate analysis of the geochemistry and mineralogy of soils along two continental-scale transects in North America
L.J. Drew, E.C. Grunsky, D. M. Sutphin, L. G. Woodruff
2010, Science of the Total Environment (409) 218-227
Soils collected in 2004 along two North American continental-scale transects were subjected to geochemical and mineralogical analyses. In previous interpretations of these analyses, data were expressed in weight percent and parts per million, and thus were subject to the effect of the constant-sum phenomenon. In a new approach to the...
Structural analysis of three extensional detachment faults with data from the 2000 Space-Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
J.E. Spencer
2010, GSA Today (20) 4-10
The Space-Shuttle Radar Topography Mission provided geologists with a detailed digital elevation model of most of Earth's land surface. This new database is used here for structural analysis of grooved surfaces interpreted to be the exhumed footwalls of three active or recently active extensional detachment faults. Exhumed fault footwalls, each...
Comparison of watershed disturbance predictive models for stream benthic macroinvertebrates for three distinct ecoregions in western US
Ian R. Waite, Larry R. Brown, Jonathan G. Kennen, Jason T. May, Thomas F. Cuffney, James L. Orlando, Kimberly A. Jones
2010, Ecological Indicators (10) 1125-1136
The successful use of macroinvertebrates as indicators of stream condition in bioassessments has led to heightened interest throughout the scientific community in the prediction of stream condition. For example, predictive models are increasingly being developed that use measures of watershed disturbance, including urban and agricultural land-use, as explanatory variables to...
Temporal and spatial shifts in habitat use by Black Brant immediately following flightless molt
Tyler L. Lewis, Paul L. Flint, Joel A. Schmutz, Dirk V. Derksen
2010, Wilson Journal of Ornithology (122) 484-493
Each year thousands of Pacific Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) undergo flightless wing molt in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area (TLSA), Alaska, in two distinct habitats: inland, freshwater lakes and coastal, brackish wetlands. Brant lose body mass during wing molt and likely must add reserves upon regaining flight to help...
Reclaimed mineland curve number response to temporal distribution of rainfall
R.C. Warner, C.T. Agouridis, P.T. Vingralek, A.W. Fogle
2010, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (46) 724-732
The curve number (CN) method is a common technique to estimate runoff volume, and it is widely used in coal mining operations such as those in the Appalachian region of Kentucky. However, very little CN data are available for watersheds disturbed by surface mining and then reclaimed using traditional techniques....
Terrestrial reference standard sites for postlaunch sensor calibration
P.M. Teillet, G. Chander
2010, Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing (36) 437-450
In an era when the number of Earth observation satellites is rapidly growing and measurements from satellite sensors are used to address increasingly urgent global issues, often through synergistic and operational combinations of data from multiple sources, it is imperative that scientists and decision-makers are able to rely on the...
Aminostratigraphy of surface and subsurface Quaternary sediments, North Carolina coastal plain, USA
John F. Wehmiller, E. Robert Thieler, Dick Miller, V. Pellerito, Keeney V. Bakeman, S.R. Riggs, S. Culver, D. Mallinson, K.M. Farrell, L.L. York, J. Pierson, P.R. Parham
2010, Quaternary Geochronology (4) 459-492
The Quaternary stratigraphy and geochronology of the Albemarle Embayment of the North Carolina (NC) Coastal Plain is examined using amino acid racemization (AAR) in marine mollusks, in combination with geophysical, lithologic, and biostratigraphic analysis of 28 rotasonic cores drilled between 2002 and 2006. The Albemarle Embayment is bounded by structural...
Liana habitat and host preferences in northern temperate forests
S. A. Leicht-Young, N.B. Pavlovic, K.J. Frohnapple, R. Grundel
2010, Forest Ecology and Management (260) 1467-1477
Lianas and other climbers are important ecological and structural components of forest communities. Like other plants, their abundance in a given habitat depends on a variety of factors, such as light, soil moisture and nutrients. However, since lianas require external support, host tree characteristics also influence their distribution. Lianas are...
Sexing California gulls using morphometrics and discriminant function analysis
Garth Herring, Joshua T. Ackerman, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, John Y. Takekawa
2010, Waterbirds (33) 79-85
A discriminant function analysis (DFA) model was developed with DNA sex verification so that external morphology could be used to sex 203 adult California Gulls (Larus californicus) in San Francisco Bay (SFB). The best model was 97% accurate and included head-to-bill length, culmen depth at the gonys, and wing length....
Using chloride and other ions to trace sewage and road salt in the Illinois Waterway
W.R. Kelly, S.V. Panno, Keith C. Hackley, H.-H. Hwang, A.T. Martinsek, M. Markus
2010, Applied Geochemistry (25) 661-673
Chloride concentrations in waterways of northern USA are increasing at alarming rates and road salt is commonly assumed to be the cause. However, there are additional sources of Cl- in metropolitan areas, such as treated wastewater (TWW) and water conditioning salts, which may be contributing to Cl- loads entering surface...
Evolution of a natural debris flow: In situ measurements of flow dynamics, video imagery, and terrestrial laser scanning
S.W. McCoy, J. W. Kean, J. A. Coe, D.M. Staley, T.A. Wasklewicz, G.E. Tucker
2010, Geology (38) 735-738
Many theoretical and laboratory studies have been undertaken to understand debris-flow processes and their associated hazards. However, complete and quantitative data sets from natural debris flows needed for confirmation of these results are limited. We used a novel combination of in situ measurements of debris-flow dynamics, video imagery, and pre-...
Metrics of ecosystem status for large aquatic systems: a global comparison
N.E. Dobiesz, R.E. Hecky, T.B. Johnson, J. Sarvala, J.M. Dettmers, M. Lehtiniemi, L. G. Rudstam, C.P. Madenjian, F. Witte
2010, Journal of Great Lakes Research (36) 123-138
We identified an objective set of 25 commonly available ecosystem metrics applicable across the world's large continental freshwater and brackish aquatic ecosystem. These metrics measure trophic structure, exploited species, habitat alteration, and catchment changes. We used long-term trends in these metrics as indicators of perturbations that represent an ecosystem not...
