Land cover and forest formation distributions for St. Kitts, Nevis, St. Eustatius, Grenada and Barbados from decision tree classification of cloud-cleared satellite imagery
E.H. Helmer, T.A. Kennaway, D.H. Pedreros, M. L. Clark, H. Marcano-Vega, L.L. Tieszen, T.R. Ruzycki, S.R. Schill, C.M.S. Carrington
2008, Caribbean Journal of Science (44) 175-198
Satellite image-based mapping of tropical forests is vital to conservation planning. Standard methods for automated image classification, however, limit classification detail in complex tropical landscapes. In this study, we test an approach to Landsat image interpretation on four islands of the Lesser Antilles, including Grenada and St. Kitts, Nevis and...
An assessment of the effects of cell size on AGNPS modeling of watershed runoff
S.-S. Wu, E.L. Usery, M.P. Finn, D.D. Bosch
2008, Cartography and Geographic Information Science (35) 265-278
This study investigates the changes in simulated watershed runoff from the Agricultural NonPoint Source (AGNPS) pollution model as a function of model input cell size resolution for eight different cell sizes (30 m, 60 m, 120 m, 210 m, 240 m, 480 m, 960 m, and 1920 m) for the...
Optimized Autonomous Space In-situ Sensor-Web for volcano monitoring
W.-Z. Song, B. Shirazi, S. Kedar, S. Chien, F. Webb, D. Tran, A. Davis, D. Pieri, R. LaHusen, J. Pallister, D. Dzurisin, S. Moran, M. Lisowski
2008, Conference Paper, IEEE Aerospace Conference Proceedings
In response to NASA's announced requirement for Earth hazard monitoring sensor-web technology, a multidisciplinary team involving sensor-network experts (Washington State University), space scientists (JPL), and Earth scientists (USGS Cascade Volcano Observatory (CVO)), is developing a prototype dynamic and scaleable hazard monitoring sensor-web and applying it to volcano monitoring. The combined...
Using semi-permeable membrane devices and stable nitrogen isotopes to detect anthropogenic influences on the Truckee River, USA
L. Saito, Michael R. Rosen, S. Chandra, C.H. Fritsen, J.A. Arufe, C. Redd
2008, Environmental Engineering Science (25) 585-600
Stable nitrogen isotopes (??15N) and semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) were used together to provide evidence of potential anthropogenic connections to aquatic organisms in the Truckee River, which flows through the Reno/Sparks metropolitan area in Nevada. Crayfish, snail, and periphyton ??15N values, and SPMD toxicity data collected during high and low...
Exploration maturity key to ranking search areas
Emil D. Attanasi, Philip A. Freeman
2008, Oil & Gas Journal (106)
The study area of US Geological Survey Circular 1288, the world outside the US and Canada, was partitioned into 44 countries and country groups. Map figures such as Fig. 2 and graphs similar to Figs. 3 and 4 provide a visual summary of maturity of oil and gas exploration. From...
ALLTEM UXO detection and discrimination
T.H. Asch, D.L. Wright, C.W. Moulton, T.P. Irons, M.N. Nabighian
2008, Conference Paper, SEG Technical Program Expanded Abstracts
ALLTEM is a multi-axis electromagnetic induction system designed for unexploded ordnance (UXO) applications. It uses a continuous triangle-wave excitation and provides good late-time signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) especially for ferrous targets. Multi-axis transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) systems such as ALLTEM provide a richer data set from which to invert for...
Downflow limestone beds for treatment of net-acidic, oxic, iron-laden drainage from a flooded Anthracite Mine, Pennsylvania, USA: 1. Field evaluation
C.A. Cravotta III, S.J. Ward
2008, Mine Water and the Environment (27) 67-85
Passive-treatment systems that route acidic mine drainage (AMD) through crushed limestone and/or organic-rich substrates have been used to remove the acidity and metals from various AMD sources, with a wide range of effects. This study evaluates treatment of net-acidic, oxic, iron-laden AMD with limestone alone, and with organic-rich compost layered...
Do non-native plant species affect the shape of productivity-diversity relationships?
J.M. Drake, E.E. Cleland, M. C. Horner-Devine, E. Fleishman, C. Bowles, M. D. Smith, K. Carney, S. Emery, J. Gramling, D.B. Vandermast, J.B. Grace
2008, American Midland Naturalist (159) 55-66
The relationship between ecosystem processes and species richness is an active area of research and speculation. Both theoretical and experimental studies have been conducted in numerous ecosystems. One finding of these studies is that the shape of the relationship between productivity and species richness varies considerably among ecosystems and at...
Effectiveness of lethal, directed wolf-depredation control in Minnesota
E. K. Harper, W.J. Paul, L.D. Mech, S. Weisberg
2008, Journal of Wildlife Management (72) 778-784
Wolf (Canis lupus) depredations on livestock in Minnesota, USA, are an economic problem for many livestock producers, and depredating wolves are lethally controlled. We sought to determine the effectiveness of lethal control through the analysis of data from 923 government-verified wolf depredations from 1979 to 1998. We analyzed the data...
A review of the endemic Hawaiian Drosophilidae and their host plants
K.N. Magnacca, D. Foote, P. M. O’Grady
2008, Zootaxa 1-58
The Hawaiian Drosophilidae is one of the best examples of rapid speciation in nature. Nearly 1,000 species of endemic drosophilids have evolved in situ in Hawaii since a single colonist arrived over 25 million years ago. A number of mechanisms, including ecological adaptation, sexual selection, and geographic isolation, have been...
Utilizing geochemical, hydrologic, and boron isotopic data to assess the success of a salinity and selenium remediation project, Upper Colorado River Basin, Utah
D. L. Naftz, T.D. Bullen, Bernard J. Stolp, C.D. Wilkowske
2008, Science of the Total Environment (392) 1-11
Stream discharge and geochemical data were collected at two sites along lower Ashley Creek, Utah, from 1999 to 2003, to assess the success of a site specific salinity and Se remediation project. The remediation project involved the replacement of a leaking sewage lagoon system that was interacting with Mancos Shale...
Detection of foliage-obscured vehicle using a multiwavelength polarimetric lidar
S. Tan, J. Stoker, S. Greenlee
2008, Conference Paper, International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS)
Foliage obscured man-made targets detection and identification is of great interest to many applications. In this paper, the backscattered laser signals from a multiwavelength polarimetric lidar were used to detect a vehicle hidden inside a vegetated area. The polarimetric reflectance data from the lidar at two separate laser wavelengths at...
Landsat continuity: Issues and opportunities for land cover monitoring
M.A. Wulder, Joanne C. White, S.N. Goward, J. G. Masek, J. R. Irons, M. Herold, W.B. Cohen, Thomas R. Loveland, C. E. Woodcock
2008, Remote Sensing of Environment (112) 955-969
Initiated in 1972, the Landsat program has provided a continuous record of earth observation for 35 years. The assemblage of Landsat spatial, spectral, and temporal resolutions, over a reasonably sized image extent, results in imagery that can be processed to represent land cover over large areas with an amount of spatial...
Geophysical data integration, stochastic simulation and significance analysis of groundwater responses using ANOVA in the Chicot Aquifer system, Louisiana, USA
A. Rahman, F.T.-C. Tsai, C.D. White, D.A. Carlson, C. S. Willson
2008, Hydrogeology Journal (16) 749-764
Data integration is challenging where there are different levels of support between primary and secondary data that need to be correlated in various ways. A geostatistical method is described, which integrates the hydraulic conductivity (K) measurements and electrical resistivity data to better estimate the K distribution in the Upper Chicot...
Hawaiian cultural influences on support for lava flow hazard mitigation measures during the January 1960 eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Kapoho, Hawai‘i
Chris E. Gregg, Bruce F. Houghton, Douglas Paton, D. A. Swanson, R. Lachman, W.J. Bonk
2008, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (172) 300-307
In 1960, Kīlauea volcano in Hawaii erupted, destroying most of the village of Kapoho and forcing evacuation of its approximately 300 residents. A large and unprecedented social science survey was undertaken during the eruption to develop an understanding of human behavior, beliefs, and coping strategies among the adult evacuees...
Integrating remotely acquired and field data to assess effects of setback levees on riparian and aquatic habitat in glacial-melt water rivers
C.P. Konrad, R. W. Black, F. Voss, C. M. U. Neale
2008, River Research and Applications (24) 355-372
Setback levees, in which levees are reconstructed at a greater distance from a river channel, are a promising restoration technique particularly for alluvial rivers with broad floodplains where river-floodplain connectivity is essential to ecological processes. Documenting the ecological outcomes of restoration activities is essential for assessing the comparative benefits of...
Identifying habitat sinks: A case study of Cooper's hawks in an urban environment
R.W. Mannan, R.J. Steidl, C. W. Boal
2008, Urban Ecosystems (11) 141-148
We studied a population of Cooper's hawks (Accipiter cooperii) in Tucson, Arizona from 1994 to 2005. High rates of mortality of nestlings from an urban-related disease prompted speculation that the area represented an ecological trap and habitat sink for Cooper's hawks. In this paper, we used estimates of survival and...
Natural radionuclide mobility and its influence on U-Th-Pb dating of secondary minerals from the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain, Nevada
L.A. Neymark, Y. V. Amelin
2008, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (72) 2067-2089
Extreme U and Pb isotope variations produced by disequilibrium in decay chains of 238U and 232Th are found in calcite, opal/chalcedony, and Mn-oxides occurring as secondary mineral coatings in the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. These very slowly growing minerals (mm my-1) contain excess 206Pb and 208Pb formed from...
Validation of the ASTER instrument level 1A scene geometry
H. H. Kieffer, K. F. Mullins, D. J. MacKinnon
2008, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing (74) 289-301
An independent assessment of the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument geometry was undertaken by the U.S. ASTER Team, to confirm the geometric correction parameters developed and applied to Level 1A (radiometrically and geometrically raw with correction parameters appended) ASTER data. The goal was to evaluate the...
Influence of dams on river-floodplain dynamics in the Elwha River, Washington
K.K. Kloehn, T.J. Beechie, S.A. Morley, H.J. Coe, J.J. Duda
2008, Northwest Science (82) 224-235
The Elwha dam removal project presents an ideal opportunity to study how historic reduction and subsequent restoration of sediment supply alter river-floodplain dynamics in a large, forested river floodplain. We used remote sensing and onsite data collection to establish a historical record of floodplain dynamics and a baseline of current...
Testing small-aperture array analysis on well-located earthquakes, and application to the location of deep tremor
Rocca M. La, D. Galluzzo, S. Malone, W. McCausland, G. Saccorotti, Pezzo E. Del
2008, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (98) 620-635
We have here analyzed local and regional earthquakes using array techniques with the double aim of quantifying the errors associated with the estimation of propagation parameters of seismic signals and testing the suitability of a probabilistic location method for the analysis of nonimpulsive signals. We have applied the zero-lag cross-correlation...
Estimating fish body condition with quantile regression
B.S. Cade, J.W. Terrell, M.T. Porath
2008, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (28) 349-359
We used quantile regression to compare the body condition of walleye Sander vitreus and white bass Morone chrysops before (1980-1988) and after (1989-2004) the establishment of alewives Alosa pseudoharengus in Lake McConaughy, Nebraska. Higher quantiles (percentiles = 100% x quantiles [0, 1]) of weight (W) at the same total length...
Cosmogenic exposure-age chronologies of Pinedale and Bull Lake glaciations in greater Yellowstone and the Teton Range, USA
J. M. Licciardi, K. L. Pierce
2008, Quaternary Science Reviews (27) 814-831
We have obtained 69 new cosmogenic 10Be surface exposure ages from boulders on moraines deposited by glaciers of the greater Yellowstone glacial system and Teton Range during the middle and late Pleistocene. These new data, combined with 43 previously obtained 3He and 10Be ages from deposits of the northern Yellowstone...
Stream denitrification across biomes and its response to anthropogenic nitrate loading
P. J. Mulholland, A. M. Helton, G. C. Poole, R. O. Hall Jr., S. K. Hamilton, B. J. Peterson, J. L. Tank, L. R. Ashkenas, L. W. Cooper, Clifford N. Dahm, W. K. Dodds, S.E.G. Findlay, S.V. Gregory, N. B. Grimm, S. L. Johnson, W. H. McDowell, J.L. Meyer, H. M. Valett, J.R. Webster, C. P. Arango, J. J. Beaulieu, M. J. Bernot, A. J. Burgin, C. L. Crenshaw, L. T. Johnson, B.R. Niederlehner, J. M. O’Brien, J. D. Potter, R.W. Sheibley, D. J. Sobota, S. M. Thomas
2008, Nature (452) 202-205
Anthropogenic addition of bioavailable nitrogen to the biosphere is increasing and terrestrial ecosystems are becoming increasingly nitrogen-saturated, causing more bioavailable nitrogen to enter groundwater and surface waters. Large-scale nitrogen budgets show that an average of about 20-25 per cent of the nitrogen added to the biosphere is exported from rivers...
Flood trends and river engineering on the Mississippi River system
N. Pinter, A.A. Jemberie, J.W.F. Remo, R.A. Heine, B.S. Ickes
2008, Geophysical Research Letters (35)
Along >4000 km of the Mississippi River system, we document that climate, land-use change, and river engineering have contributed to statistically significant increases in flooding over the past 100-150 years. Trends were tested using a database of >8 million hydrological measurements. A geospatial database of historical engineering construction was used...
