Current challenges using models to forecast seawater intrusion: lessons from the Eastern Shore of Virginia, USA
Ward E. Sanford, Jason P. Pope
2010, Hydrogeology Journal (18) 73-93
A three-dimensional model of the aquifer system of the Eastern Shore of Virginia, USA was calibrated to reproduce historical water levels and forecast the potential for saltwater intrusion. Future scenarios were simulated with two pumping schemes to predict potential areas of saltwater intrusion. Simulations suggest that only a few wells...
Mineral resource of the month: fluorspar
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2010, Earth (55) 28-29
The article features the industrial mineral fluorspar, used in the manufacture of fluorochemicals, aluminum and steel. It defines fluorspar as crude or beneficiated material, mined or milled for the non-metallic mineral fluorite or calcium fluoride. Applications of acid-grade fluorspar in the U.S. are presented, including production of hydrofluoric acid for...
Use of geochemical, isotopic, and age tracer data to develop models of groundwater flow for the purpose of water management, northern High Plains aquifer, USA
Peter B. McMahon, C. P. Carney, E. P. Poeter, Steven M. Peterson
2010, PNAS (25) 910-922
A prolonged drought in the High Plains of Nebraska prompted the use of groundwater for cooling at the largest coal-fired power plant in the State. Prior to the drought, groundwater was used primarily for irrigation and the power plant relied exclusively on surface water stored in a nearby reservoir for...
Groundwater sustainability strategies
Tom Gleeson, Jonathan VanderSteen, Marios A. Sophocleous, Makoto Taniguchi, William M. Alley, Diana M. Allen, Yangxiao Zhou
2010, Nature Geoscience (3) 378-379
Groundwater extraction has facilitated significant social development and economic growth, enhanced food security and alleviated drought in many farming regions. But groundwater development has also depressed water tables, degraded ecosystems and led to the deterioration of groundwater quality, as well as to conflict among water users. The effects are not...
Amplification and transport of an endemic fish disease by an introduced species
Paul Hershberger, Bjorn Leeuw, Gregg Jacob, Courtney Grady, Kenneth Lujan, Susan Gutenberger, Maureen K. Purcell, James Woodson, James Winton, Michael Parsley
2010, Biological Invasions (12) 3665-3675
The introduction of American shad from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast of North America in the late 1800’s and the subsequent population expansion in the 1980’s resulted in the amplification of Ichthyophonus sp., a Mesomycetozoean parasite of wild marine fishes. Sequence analysis of the ribosomal DNA gene complex (small...
Early invasion population structure of quagga mussel and associated benthic invertebrate community composition on soft sediment in a large reservoir
Marion E. Wittmann, Sudeep Chandra, Andrea Caires, Marianne Denton, Michael R. Rosen, Wai Hing Wong, Todd Teitjen, Kent Turner, Peggy Roefer, G. Chris Holdren
2010, Lake and Reservoir Management (26) 316-327
In 2007 an invasive dreissenid mussel species, Dreissena bugensis (quagga mussel), was discovered in Lake Mead reservoir (AZ–NV). Within 2 years, adult populations have spread throughout the lake and are not only colonizing hard substrates, but also establishing in soft sediments at depths ranging from 1 to >100 m. Dreissena...
Testing mixing models of old and young groundwater in a tropical lowland rain forest with environmental tracers
D. Kip Solomon, David P. Genereux, Niel Plummer, Eurybiades Busenberg
2010, Water Resources Research (46)
We tested three models of mixing between old interbasin groundwater flow (IGF) and young, locally derived groundwater in a lowland rain forest in Costa Rica using a large suite of environmental tracers. We focus on the young fraction of water using the transient tracers CFC‐11, CFC‐12, CFC‐113, SF6, 3H, and bomb 14C....
Importance of benthic production to fish populations in Lake Mead prior to the establishment of quagga mussels
John Umek, Sudeep Chandra, Michael Rosen, Marion Wittmann, Joe Sullivan, Erik Orsak
2010, Lake and Reservoir Management (26) 293-305
Limnologists recently have developed an interest in quantifying benthic resource contributions to higher-level consumers. Much of this research focuses on natural lakes with very little research in reservoirs. In this study, we provide a contemporary snapshot of the food web structure of Lake Mead to evaluate the contribution of benthic...
Relationship and variation of qPCR and culturable enterococci estimates in ambient surface waters are predictable
Richard L. Whitman, Zhongfu Ge, Meredith B. Nevers, Alexandria B. Boehm, Eunice C. Chern, Richard A. Haugland, Ashley M. Lukasik, Marirosa Molina, Kasia Przybyla-Kelly, Dawn A. Shively, Emily M. White, Richard G. Zepp, Muruleedhara N. Byappanahalli
2010, Environmental Science & Technology (44) 5049-5054
The quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method provides rapid estimates of fecal indicator bacteria densities that have been indicated to be useful in the assessment of water quality. Primarily because this method provides faster results than standard culture-based methods, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is currently considering its use as...
Predicting future changes in Muskegon River Watershed game fish distributions under future land cover alteration and climate change scenarios
Paul J. Steen, Michael J. Wiley, Jeffrey S. Schaeffer
2010, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (139) 396-412
Future alterations in land cover and climate are likely to cause substantial changes in the ranges of fish species. Predictive distribution models are an important tool for assessing the probability that these changes will cause increases or decreases in or the extirpation of species. Classification tree models that predict the...
Dreissenid mussels are not a "dead end" in Great Lakes food webs
Charles P. Madenijan, Steven A. Pothoven, Philip J. Schneeberger, Mark P. Ebener, Lloyd C. Mohr, Thomas F. Nalepa, James R. Bence
2010, Journal of Great Lakes Research (36) 73-77
Dreissenid mussels have been regarded as a “dead end” in Great Lakes food webs because the degree of predation on dreissenid mussels, on a lakewide basis, is believed to be low. Waterfowl predation on dreissenid mussels in the Great Lakes has primarily been confined to bays, and therefore its effects...
Summer stream water temperature models for Great Lakes streams: New York
James E. McKenna, Ryan S. Butryn, Richard P. McDonald
2010, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (139) 1399-1414
Temperature is one of the most important environmental influences on aquatic organisms. It is a primary driver of physiological rates and many abiotic processes. However, despite extensive research and measurements, synoptic estimates of water temperature are not available for most regions, limiting our ability to make systemwide and large-scale assessments...
Large-scale coastal change in the Columbia River littoral cell: an overview
Guy Gelfenbaum, George M. Kaminsky
2010, Marine Geology (273) 1-10
This overview introduces large-scale coastal change in the Columbia River littoral cell (CRLC). Covering 165 km of the southwest Washington and northwest Oregon coasts, the littoral cell is made up of wide low-sloping dissipative beaches, broad coastal dunes and barrier plains, three large estuaries, and is bounded by rocky headlands....
Do three massive coral species from the same reef record the same SST signal? A test from the Dry Tortugas, Florida Keys
K. L. DeLong, R.Z. Poore, C. D. Reich, J. A. Flannery, Christopher R. Maupin, T. M. Quinn
2010, Conference Paper
Paleoclimatologists have reconstructed century-long records of sea surface temperature (SST) in the Pacific using the Sr/Ca of massive corals, whereas similar reconstructions in the Atlantic have not proceeded at the same pace. Past research in the Florida Keys has focused on Montastrea spp., an abundant and fast-growing massive coral, thus a...
Chemical fractionation of Cu and Zn in stormwater, roadway dust and stormwater pond sediments
Kimberly M. Camponelli, Steven M. Lev, Joel W. Snodgrass, Edward R. Landa, Ryan E. Casey
2010, Environmental Pollution (158) 2143-2149
This study evaluated the chemical fractionation of Cu and Zn from source to deposition in a stormwater system. Cu and Zn concentrations and chemical fractionation were determined for roadway dust, roadway runoff and pond sediments. Stormwater Cu and Zn concentrations were used to generate cumulative frequency distributions to characterize potential...
A self-trained classification technique for producing 30 m percent-water maps from Landsat data
Jennifer R. Rover, Bruce K. Wylie, Lei Ji
2010, International Journal of Remote Sensing (31) 2197-2203
Small bodies of water can be mapped with moderate-resolution satellite data using methods where water is mapped as subpixel fractions using field measurements or high-resolution images as training datasets. A new method, developed from a regression-tree technique, uses a 30 m Landsat image for training the regression tree that, in...
Meeting report: knowledge and gaps in developing microbial criteria for inland recreational waters
Samuel Dorevitch, Nicholas J. Ashbolt, Christobel M. Ferguson, Roger Fujioka, Charles D. McGee, Jeffrey A. Soller, Richard L. Whitman
2010, Environmental Health Perspectives (118) 871-876
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has committed to issuing in 2012 new or revised criteria designed to protect the health of those who use surface waters for recreation. For this purpose, the U.S. EPA has been conducting epidemiologic studies to establish relationships between microbial measures of water quality and...
Correction for the 17O interference in δ(13C) measurements when analyzing CO2 with stable isotope mass spectrometry
Willi A. Brand, Sergey S. Assonov, Tyler B. Coplen
2010, Pure and Applied Chemistry (82) 1719-1733
Measurements of δ(13C) determined on CO2 with an isotope-ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) must be corrected for the amount of 17O in the CO2. For data consistency, this must be done using identical methods by different laboratories. This report aims at unifying data treatment for CO2 IRMS by proposing (i) a...
Distribution of an invasive aquatic pathogen (viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus) in the Great Lakes and its relationship to shipping
Mark B. Bain, Emily R. Cornwell, Kristine M. Hope, Geofrey E. Eckerlin, Rufina N. Casey, Geoffrey H. Groocock, Rodman G. Getchell, Paul R. Bowser, James R. Winton, William N. Batts, Allegra Cangelosi, James W. Casey
2010, PLoS ONE (5)
Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) is a rhabdovirus found in fish from oceans of the northern hemisphere and freshwaters of Europe. It has caused extensive losses of cultured and wild fish and has become established in the North American Great Lakes. Large die-offs of wild fish in the Great Lakes...
Diel behavior of rearing fall Chinook salmon
Kenneth F. Tiffan, Tobias J. Kock, Joseph J. Skalicky
2010, Northwestern Naturalist (91) 342-345
In fisheries science, habitat use is often inferred when fish are sampled or observed in a particular location. Physical habitat is typically measured where fish are found, and thus deemed important to habitat use. Although less common, a more informative approach is to measure or observe fish behavior within given...
Influence of hummocks and emergent vegetation on hydraulic performance in a surface flow wastewater treatment wetland
Steffanie H. Keefe, Joan S. Daniels, Robert L. Runkel, Roland D. Wass, Eric A. Stiles, Larry B. Barber
2010, Water Resources Research (46)
A series of tracer experiments were conducted biannually at the start and end of the vegetation growing season in a surface flow wastewater treatment wetland located near Phoenix, AZ. Tracer experiments were conducted prior to and following reconfiguration and replanting of a 1.2 ha treatment wetland from its original design...
Cladophora in the Great Lakes: Impacts on beach water quality and human health
M.P. Verhougstraete, Muruleedhara N. Byappanahalli, J.B. Rose, Richard L. Whitman
2010, Water Science and Technology (62) 68-76
Cladophora in the Great Lakes grows rapidly during the warm summer months, detaches, and becomes free-floating mats as a result of environmental conditions, eventually becoming stranded on recreational beaches. Cladophora provides protection and nutrients, which allow enteric bacteria such as Escherichia coli, enterococci, Shigella, Campylobacter, and Salmonella to persist and...
Effects of soil aggregates on debris-flow mobilization: Results from ring-shear experiments
Neal R. Iverson, Janet E. Mann, Richard M. Iverson
2010, Engineering Geology (114) 84-92
Rates and styles of landslide motion are sensitive to pore-water pressure changes caused by changes in soil porosity accompanying shear deformation. Soil may either contract or dilate upon shearing, depending upon whether its initial porosity is greater or less, respectively, than a critical-state porosity attained after sufficiently high strain. We...
Mechanisms for chemostatic behavior in catchments: implications for CO2 consumption by mineral weathering
David W. Clow, M. Alisa Mast
2010, Chemical Geology (269) 40-51
Concentrations of weathering products in streams often show relatively little variation compared to changes in discharge, both at event and annual scales. In this study, several hypothesized mechanisms for this “chemostatic behavior” were evaluated, and the potential for those mechanisms to influence relations between climate, weathering fluxes, and CO2 consumption...
Linking non-culturable (qPCR) and culturable enterococci densities with hydrometeorological conditions
Muruleedhara N. Byappanahalli, Richard L. Whitman, Dawn A. Shively, Meredith B. Nevers
2010, Science of the Total Environment (408) 3096-3101
Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) measurement of enterococci has been proposed as a rapid technique for assessment of beach water quality, but the response of qPCR results to environmental conditions has not been fully explored. Culture-based E. coli and enterococci have been used in empirical predictive models to characterize their...
