Candidate products for operational earthquake forecasting illustrated using the HayWired planning scenario, including one very quick (and not‐so‐dirty) hazard‐map option
Edward H. Field, Kevin R. Milner
2018, Seismological Research Letters (89) 1420-1434
In an effort to help address debates on the usefulness of operational earthquake forecasting (OEF), we illustrate a number of OEF products that could be automatically generated in near‐real time. To exemplify, we use an M">M 7.1...
On the reliability of N‐mixture models for count data
Richard J. Barker, Matthew J. Schofield, William A. Link, John R. Sauer
2018, Biometrics (74) 369-377
N‐mixture models describe count data replicated in time and across sites in terms of abundance N and detectability p. They are popular because they allow inference about N while controlling for factors that influence p without the need for marking animals. Using a capture–recapture perspective, we show that the loss...
A simple method for partitioning total solar radiation into diffuse/direct components in the United States
Jingjing Fan, Qiang Huang, David M. Sumner, Dingbao Wang
2018, International Journal of Green Energy (15) 497-506
Solar radiation is a major sustainable and clean energy resource, and use of solar radiation is expected to increase. The utilization efficiency of solar energy varies with the relative proportions of the direct and diffuse components that compose total solar radiation and with the slope and aspect of the irradiated...
A novel technique for precision geometric correction of jitter distortion for the Europa Imaging System and other rolling shutter cameras
Randolph L. Kirk, Makayla Shepherd, Stuart Sides
2018, Conference Paper
We use simulated images to demonstrate a novel technique for mitigating geometric distortions caused by platform motion (“jitter”) as two-dimensional image sensors are exposed and read out line by line (“rolling shutter”). The results indicate that the Europa Imaging System (EIS) on NASA’s Europa Clipper can likely meet its...
Juvenile salmonid monitoring following removal of Condit Dam in the White Salmon River Watershed, Washington, 2017
Ian G. Jezorek, Jill M. Hardiman
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1106
Condit Dam, at river kilometer 5.3 on the White Salmon River, Washington, was breached in 2011, and removed completely in 2012, providing anadromous salmonids with the opportunity to recolonize habitat blocked for nearly 100 years. Prior to dam removal, a multi-agency workgroup concluded that the preferred salmonid restoration alternative...
Using cluster analysis to compartmentalize a large managed wetland based on physical, biological, and climatic geospatial attributes
Ian Hahus, Kati Migliaccio, Kyle R. Douglas-Mankin, Geraldine Klarenberg, Rafael Muñoz-Carpena
2018, Environmental Management (62) 571-583
Hierarchical and partitional cluster analyses were used to compartmentalize Water Conservation Area 1, a managed wetland within the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Florida, USA, based on physical, biological, and climatic geospatial attributes. Single, complete, average, and Ward’s linkages were tested during the hierarchical cluster analyses,...
Variation in inbreeding rates across the range of Northern Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis caurina): Insights from over 30 years of monitoring data
Mark P. Miller, Susan M. Haig, Eric D. Forsman, Robert G. Anthony, Lowell Diller, Katie M. Dugger, Alan B. Franklin, Tracy L. Fleming, Scott Gremel, Damon B. Lesmeister, Mark Higley, Dale R. Herter, Stan G Sovern
2018, The Auk (135) 821-833
Inbreeding has been difficult to quantify in wild populations because of incomplete parentage information. We applied and extended a recently developed framework for addressing this problem to infer inbreeding rates in Northern Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis caurina) across the Pacific Northwest, USA. Using pedigrees from 14,187 Northern Spotted Owls, we...
Map of recently active traces of the Rodgers Creek Fault, Sonoma County, California
Suzanne Hecker, Carolyn E. Randolph Loar
2018, Scientific Investigations Map 3410
The accompanying map and digital data identify recently active strands of the Rodgers Creek Fault in Sonoma County, California, interpreted primarily from the geomorphic expression of recent faulting on aerial photography and hillshade imagery derived from airborne lidar data. A recently active fault strand is defined here as having evidence...
Frictional properties and 3-D stress analysis of the southern Alpine Fault, New Zealand
Carolyn Boulton, Nicolas C. Barth, Diane E. Moore, David A. Lockner, John Townend, Daniel R. Faulkner
2018, Journal of Structural Geology (114) 43-54
New Zealand's Alpine Fault (AF) ruptures quasi-periodically in large-magnitude earthquakes. Paleoseismological evidence suggests that about half of all recognized AF earthquakes terminated at the boundary between the Central and South Westland sections of the fault. There, fault geometry and the polarity of uplift change. The South Westland AF exhibits oblique-normal fault...
“Asian carp” is societally and scientifically problematic. Let's replace it
Patrick Kocovsky, Duane Chapman, Song S. Qian
2018, Fisheries (43) 311-316
Bighead Carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis, Black Carp Mylopharyngodon piceus, Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella, and Silver Carp H. molitrix are considered invasive species in North America and Europe. In North America, they are typically referred to collectively as “Asian carp”, a reference to their native range. The category “Asian carp” fails to acknowledge the cultural value and...
An updated method for estimating landslide‐event magnitude
Hakan Tanyas, Kate E. Allstadt, Cees J. van Weston
2018, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms (43) 1836-1847
Summary statistics derived from the frequency–area distribution (FAD) of inventories of triggered landslides allows for direct comparison of landslides triggered by one event (e.g. earthquake, rainstorm) with another. Such comparisons are vital to understand links between the landslide‐event and the environmental characteristics of the area affected. This could lead to...
Modeling the distributions of tegu lizards in native and potential invasive ranges
Catherine S. Jarnevich, Mark Hayes, Lee A. Fitzgerald, Amy Yackel, Bryan Falk, Michelle Collier, Lea Bonewell, Page Klug, Sergio Naretto, Robert Reed
2018, Scientific Reports (8)
Invasive reptilian predators can have substantial impacts on native species and ecosystems. Tegu lizards are widely distributed in South America east of the Andes, and are popular in the international live animal trade. Two species are established in Florida (U.S.A.) - Salvator merianae (Argentine black and white tegu) and Tupinambis...
Procedures for using the Horiba Scientific Aqualog® fluorometer to measure absorbance and fluorescence from dissolved organic matter
Angela M. Hansen, Jacob Fleck, Tamara E. C. Kraus, Bryan D. Downing, Travis von Dessonneck, Brian A. Bergamaschi
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1096
Advances in spectroscopic techniques have led to an increase in the use of optical measurements (absorbance and fluorescence) to assess dissolved organic matter composition and infer sources and processing. Although optical measurements are easy to make, they can be affected by many variables rendering them less comparable, including by inconsistencies...
Transient coastal landscapes: Rising sea level threatens salt marshes
Ivan Valiela, Javier Lloret, Tynan Bowyer, Simon Miner, David P. Remsen, Elizabeth Elmstrom, Charlotte Cogswell, E. Robert Thieler
2018, Science of the Total Environment (640-641) 1148-1156
Salt marshes are important coastal environments that provide key ecological services. As sea level rise has accelerated globally, concerns about the ability of salt marshes to survive submergence are increasing. Previous estimates of likely survival of salt marshes were based on ratios of sea level rise to marsh platform accretion....
Defining the risk landscape in the context of pathogen pollution: Toxoplasma gondii in sea otters along the Pacific Rim
Tristan L. Burgess, M. Tim Tinker, Melissa A. Miller, James L. Bodkin, Michael J. Murray, Justin A. Saarinen, Linda M. Nichol, Shawn E. Larson, Patricia A. Conrad, Christine K. Johnson
2018, Royal Society Open Science (5)
Pathogens entering the marine environment as pollutants exhibit a spatial signature driven by their transport mechanisms. The sea otter (Enhydra lutris), a marine animal which lives much of its life within sight of land, presents a unique opportunity to understand land–sea pathogen transmission. Using a dataset on Toxoplasma gondii prevalence across sea...
Discussion of “Shallow water hydro-sediment-morphodynamic equations for fluvial processes” by Zhixian Cao, Chunchen Xia, Gareth Pender, and Qingquan Liu
Richard M. Iverson
2018, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
The original paper concerns the formulation and use of depth-integrated equations of motion to model the dynamics of shallow flows that entrain or deposit bed material. A recurring theme of the original paper is the authors’ criticism of related theoretical results published by Iverson and Ouyang (<a class="ref...
Survival and cause-specific mortality of translocated female mule deer in southern New Mexico, USA
James W. Cain III, Jana B. Ashling, Stewart Liley
2018, Wildlife Research (45) 325-335
Context: Many mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) populations in New Mexico have failed to recover from previous population declines, while some populations near urban areas have increased, resulting in more frequent human–wildlife conflicts. Translocations were used in an effort to simultaneously reduce an urban mule deer population and augment two low-density populations...
Distinguishing Southern Africa precipitation response by strength of El Niño events and implications for decision-making
Catherine Pomposi, Chris Funk, Shraddhanand Shukla, Tamuka Magadzire
2018, Environmental Research Letters (13)
December–February precipitation in southern Africa during recent El Niño events is studied by distinguishing circulation and precipitation responses during strong and moderate-to-weak events. We find that while both strong and moderate-to-weak El Niño events tend to dry southern Africa, the pattern and magnitude of precipitation anomalies in...
To catch a quake
Elizabeth S. Cochran
2018, Nature Communications (9)
A revolution in seismic detection technology is underway, capturing unprecedented observations of earthquakes and their impacts. These sensor innovations provide real-time ground shaking observations that could improve emergency response following damaging earthquakes and may advance our understanding of the physics of earthquake ruptures....
Coastal National Elevation Database
Jeffrey J. Danielson, Sandra K. Poppenga, Dean J. Tyler, Monica Palaseanu-Lovejoy, Dean B. Gesch
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3037
The Coastal National Elevation Database (CoNED) Applications Project develops enhanced topographic (land elevation) and bathymetric (water depth) datasets that serve as valuable resources for coastal hazards research (Danielson and others, 2016; Thatcher and others, 2016). These datasets are used widely for mapping inundation zones from riverine flood events, hurricanes, and...
Groundwater-quality and select quality-control data from the National Water-Quality Assessment Project, January through December 2015, and previously unpublished data from 2013 to 2014
Terri Arnold, Laura M. Bexfield, MaryLynn Musgrove, Paul E. Stackelberg, Bruce D. Lindsey, James A. Kingsbury, Justin T. Kulongoski, Kenneth Belitz
2018, Data Series 1087
Groundwater-quality data were collected from 502 wells as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Project of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Program and are included in this report. Most of the wells (500) were sampled from January through December 2015, and 2 of them were sampled in 2013. The...
U.S. Geological Survey Community for Data Integration 2017 Workshop Proceedings
Leslie Hsu, Vivian B. Hutchison, Madison L. Langseth, Benjamin Wheeler
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1081
Executive SummaryThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Community for Data Integration (CDI) Workshop was held May 16–19, 2017 at the Denver Federal Center. There were 183 in-person attendees and 35 virtual attendees over four days. The theme of the workshop was “Enabling Integrated Science,” with the purpose of bringing together the...
Real-time nowcasting of microbiological water quality at recreational beaches: A wavelet and artificial neural network-based hybrid modeling approach
Juan Zhang, Han Qiu, Xiaoyu Li, Jie Niu, Meredith B. Nevers, Xiaonong Hu, Mantha S. Phanikumar
2018, Environmental Science & Technology (52) 8446-8455
The number of beach closings caused by bacterial contamination has continued to rise in recent years, putting beachgoers at risk of exposure to contaminated water. Current approaches predict levels of indicator bacteria using regression models containing a number of explanatory variables. Data-based modeling approaches can supplement routine monitoring data and...
The foraminifera of Chincoteague Bay, Assateague Island, and the surrounding areas: A regional distribution study
Alisha M. Ellis, Jaimie E. Shaw, Lisa E. Osterman, Christopher G. Smith
2018, Journal of Foraminiferal Research (48) 223-240
Foraminiferal census data from Chincoteague Bay, Newport Bay, the salt marshes of Assateague Island, adjacent mainland salt marshes, and the inner-shelf, were assessed to determine the current assemblages in Chincoteague Bay, and how the different environments surrounding the bay, and the gradients within the bay, influence the microfossil distribution. Determining...
On the robustness of N‐mixture models
William A. Link, Matthew R. Schofield, Richard J. Barker, John R. Sauer
2018, Ecology (99) 1547-1551
N‐mixture models provide an appealing alternative to mark–recapture models, in that they allow for estimation of detection probability and population size from count data, without requiring that individual animals be identified. There is, however, a cost to using the N‐mixture models: inference is very sensitive to the model's assumptions. We consider...
