Molt and aging criteria for four North American grassland passerines
Peter Pyle, Stephanie L. Jones, Janet M. Ruth
2008, Biological Technical Publication BTP-R6011-2008
Prairie and grassland habitats in central and western North America have declined substantially since settlement by Europeans (Knopf 1994) and many of the birds and other organisms that inhabit North American grasslands have experienced steep declines (Peterjohn and Sauer 1999; Johnson and Igl 1997; Sauer, Hines, and Fallon 2007). The...
Development of landsat-5 thematic mapper internal calibrator gain and offset table
J. A. Barsi, G. Chander, E. Micijevic, B. L. Markham, Md. O. Haque
2008, Conference Paper, Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
The National Landsat Archive Production System (NLAPS) has been the primary processing system for Landsat data since U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science Center (EROS) started archiving Landsat data. NLAPS converts raw satellite data into radiometrically and geometrically calibrated products. NLAPS has historically used the Internal Calibrator...
L5 TM radiometric recalibration procedure using the internal calibration trends from the NLAPS trending database
G. Chander, Md. O. Haque, E. Micijevic, J. A. Barsi
2008, Conference Paper, Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
From the Landsat program's inception in 1972 to the present, the earth science user community has benefited from a historical record of remotely sensed data. The multispectral data from the Landsat 5 (L5) Thematic Mapper (TM) sensor provide the backbone for this extensive archive. Historically, the radiometric calibration procedure for...
Monitoring programs to assess reintroduction efforts: A critical component in recovery
E. Muths, V. Dreitz
2008, Animal Biodiversity and Conservation (31) 47-56
Reintroduction is a powerful tool in our conservation toolbox. However, the necessary follow-up, i.e. long-term monitoring, is not commonplace and if instituted may lack rigor. We contend that valid monitoring is possible, even with sparse data. We present a means to monitor based on demographic data and a projection model...
Decadal-scale changes of nitrate in ground water of the United States, 1988-2004
Michael G. Rupert
2008, Journal of Environmental Quality (37) S240-S248
This study evaluated decadal-scale changes of nitrate concentrations in groundwater samples collected by the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment Program from 495 wells in 24 well networks across the USA in predominantly agricultural areas. Each well network was sampled once during 1988-1995 and resampled once during 2000-2004. Statistical tests of decadal-scale...
MODIS and SeaWIFS on-orbit lunar calibration
Jielun Sun, R.E. Eplee Jr., X. Xiong, T. Stone, G. Meister, C.R. McClain
2008, Conference Paper, Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
The Moon plays an important role in the radiometric stability monitoring of the NASA Earth Observing System's (EOS) remote sensors. The MODIS and SeaWIFS are two of the key instruments for NASA's EOS missions. The MODIS Protoflight Model (PFM) on-board the Terra spacecraft and the MODIS Flight Model 1 (FM1)...
Radiometric calibration stability and inter-calibration of solar-band instruments in orbit using the moon
T.C. Stone
2008, Conference Paper, Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
With the increased emphasis on monitoring the Earth's climate from space, more stringent calibration requirements are being placed on the data products from remote sensing satellite instruments. Among these are stability over decade-length time scales and consistency across sensors and platforms. For radiometer instruments in the solar reflectance wavelength range...
Trends of pesticides and nitrate in ground water of the Central Columbia Plateau, Washington, 1993-2003
L. Frans
2008, Conference Paper, Journal of Environmental Quality
Pesticide and nitrate data for ground water sampled in the Central Columbia Plateau, Washington, between 1993 and 2003 by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program were evaluated for trends in concentration. A total of 72 wells were sampled in 1993-1995 and again in 2002-2003 in three well networks...
NOAA/West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center Pacific Ocean response criteria
P. Whitmore, H. Benz, M. Bolton, G. Crawford, L. Dengler, G. Fryer, J. Goltz, R. Hansen, K. Kryzanowski, S. Malone, D. Oppenheimer, E. Petty, G. Rogers, Jim Wilson
2008, Science of Tsunami Hazards (27) 1-19
New West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (WCATWC) response criteria for earthquakes occurring in the Pacific basin are presented. Initial warning decisions are based on earthquake location, magnitude, depth, and - dependent on magnitude - either distance from source or precomputed threat estimates generated from tsunami models. The new criteria will...
Validation of exposure time for discharge measurements made with two bottom-tracking acoustic doppler current profilers
J. A. Czuba, K. Oberg
2008, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the IEEE working conference on current measurement technology
Previous work by Oberg and Mueller of the U.S. Geological Survey in 2007 concluded that exposure time (total time spent sampling the flow) is a critical factor in reducing measurement uncertainty. In a subsequent paper, Oberg and Mueller validated these conclusions using one set of data to show that the...
Using open hole and cased-hole resistivity logs to monitor gas hydrate dissociation during a thermal test in the mallik 5L-38 research well, Mackenzie Delta, Canada
B.I. Anderson, T. S. Collett, R.E. Lewis, I. Dubourg
2008, Conference Paper, Petrophysics
Gas hydrates, which are naturally occurring ice-like combinations of gas and water, have the potential to provide vast amounts of natural gas from the world's oceans and polar regions. However, producing gas economically from hydrates entails major technical challenges. Proposed recovery methods such as dissociating or melting gas hydrates by...
Fate and transport of pesticides in the ground water systems of southwest Georgia, 1993-2005
M.S. Dalton, E. A. Frick
2008, Conference Paper, Journal of Environmental Quality
Modern agricultural practices in the United States have resulted in nearly unrivaled efficiency and productivity. Unfortunately, there is also the potential for release of these compounds to the environment and consequent adverse affects on wildlife and human populations. Since 1993, the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program of the U.S. Geological...
Environmental occurrence and shallow ground water detection of the antibiotic monensin from dairy farms
N. Watanabe, T.H. Harter, B.A. Bergamaschi
2008, Conference Paper, Journal of Environmental Quality
Pharmaceuticals used in animal feeding operations have been detected in various environmental settings. There is a growing concern about the impact on terrestrial and aquatic organisms and the development of antibiotic-resistant strains of microorganisms. Pharmaceutical use in milking cows is relatively limited compared with other livestock operations, except 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...
Deformation and stress-change modeling at Sierra Negra volcano, Galapagos, from ENVISAT INSAR and GPS observations
Sigurjon Jonsson, W.W. Chadwick, Michael Poland, D. Geist
2008, Conference Paper, European Space Agency, (Special Publication) ESA SP
We use radar interferograms and GPS observations to constrain models of magma accumulation and faulting at Sierra Negra volcano, Galápagos, during the years before its 2005 eruption. The data have shown ~5 m of pre-eruption uplift and multiple trapdoor faulting events on an intra-caldera fault system. We find the...
A simulation/optimization model for groundwater resources management in the Afram Plains area, Ghana
S.M. Yidana
2008, Journal of Environmental Hydrology (16) 1-14
A groundwater flow simulation model was developed using available hydrogeo logical data to A groundwater flow simulation model was developed using available hydrogeological data to describe groundwater flow in the Afram Plains area. A nonlinear optimization model was then developed and solved for the management of groundwater resources to meet...
Agriculture-related trends in groundwater quality of the glacial deposits aquifer, central Wisconsin
D. A. Saad
2008, Conference Paper, Journal of Environmental Quality
Measuring and understanding trends in groundwater quality is necessary for determining whether changes in land-management practices have an effect on groundwater quality. This paper describes an approach that was used to measure and understand trends using data from two groundwater studies conducted in central Wisconsin as part of the USGS...
El Grupo Cerúleo: Collaboration to assess nonbreeding range of cerulean warbler in South America
G. Colorado, P. Hamel, A. Rodewald, W. Thogmartin
2008, Conference Paper, Ornitologia Neotropical
Cerulean Warbler (Dendroica cerulea. Parulidae) has been listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature because of recent population declines. An international, proactive approach to Cerulean Warbler conservation, the Cerulean Warbler Technical Group, was founded in 2001. One of its subcommittees, El Grupo...
Categorizing natural disaster damage assessment using satellite-based geospatial techniques
S.W. Myint, M. Yuan, R.S. Cerveny, S. Giri
2008, Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (8) 707-719
Remote sensing of a natural disaster's damage offers an exciting backup and/or alternative to traditional means of on-site damage assessment. Although necessary for complete assessment of damage areas, ground-based damage surveys conducted in the aftermath of natural hazard passage can sometimes be potentially complicated due to on-site difficulties (e.g., interaction...
Carbonate precipitation by the thermophilic archaeon Archaeoglobus fulgidus: A model of carbon flow for an ancient microorganism
L. L. Robbins, K. A. Van Cleave, P. Ostrom
2008, Biogeosciences Discussions (5) 3409-3432
Microbial carbonate precipitation experiments were conducted using the archaeon bacteria Archaeoglobus fulgidus to determine chemical and isotopic fractionation of organic and inorganic carbon into mineral phases. Carbonate precipitation was induced in two different experiments using A. fulgidus to determine the relative abundance of organically derived carbon incorporated into carbonate minerals...
Are hotspots of evolutionary potential adequately protected in southern California?
Amy G. Vandergast, A.J. Bohonak, S.A. Hathaway, J. Boys, Robert N. Fisher
2008, Biological Conservation (141) 1648-1664
Reserves are often designed to protect rare habitats, or "typical" exemplars of ecoregions and geomorphic provinces. This approach focuses on current patterns of organismal and ecosystem-level biodiversity, but typically ignores the evolutionary processes that control the gain and loss of biodiversity at these and other levels (e.g., genetic, ecological). In...
A Visual Basic program to plot sediment grain-size data on ternary diagrams
L. J. Poppe, A.H. Eliason
2008, Computers & Geosciences (34) 561-565
Sedimentologic datasets are typically large and compiled into tables or databases, but pure numerical information can be difficult to understand and interpret. Thus, scientists commonly use graphical representations to reduce complexities, recognize trends and patterns in the data, and develop hypotheses. Of the graphical techniques, one of the most...
Semantic mediation in the national geologic map database (US)
D. Percy, S. Richard, D. Soller
2008, Conference Paper, AAAI Spring Symposium - Technical Report
Controlled language is the primary challenge in merging heterogeneous databases of geologic information. Each agency or organization produces databases with different schema, and different terminology for describing the objects within. In order to make some progress toward merging these databases using current technology, we have developed software and a workflow...
Radiometric cross-calibration of the Terra MODIS and Landsat 7 ETM+ using an invariant desert site
T. Choi, A. Angal, G. Chander, X. Xiong
2008, Conference Paper, Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
A methodology for long-term radiometric cross-calibration between the Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Landsat 7 (L7) Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) sensors was developed. The approach involves calibration of near-simultaneous surface observations between 2000 and 2007. Fifty-seven cloud-free image pairs were carefully selected over the Libyan desert for...
Regional nitrate and pesticide trends in ground water in the eastern San Joaquin Valley, California
K.R. Burow, James L. Shelton, N. M. Dubrovsky
2008, Conference Paper, Journal of Environmental Quality
Protection of ground water for present and future use requires monitoring and understanding of the mechanisms controlling long-term quality of ground water. In this study, spatial and temporal trends in concentrations of nitrate and pesticides in ground water in the eastern San Joaquin Valley, California, were evaluated to determine the...
