Linking hydraulic properties of fire-affected soils to infiltration and water repellency
J. A. Moody, D.A. Kinner, X. Ubeda
2009, Journal of Hydrology (379) 291-303
Heat from wildfires can produce a two-layer system composed of extremely dry soil covered by a layer of ash, which when subjected to rainfall, may produce extreme floods. To understand the soil physics controlling runoff for these initial conditions, we used a small, portable disk infiltrometer to measure two hydraulic...
UZIG USGS research: Advances through interdisciplinary interaction
J. R. Nimmo, Brian J. Andraski, M.-C. Rafael
2009, Vadose Zone Journal (8) 411-413
BBecause vadose zone research relates to diverse disciplines, applications, and modes of research, collaboration across traditional operational and topical divisions is especially likely to yield major advances in understanding. The Unsaturated Zone Interest Group (UZIG) is an informal organization sponsored by the USGS to encourage and support interdisciplinary collaboration in...
Mesoscale raised rim depressions (MRRDs) on Earth: A review of the characteristics, processes, and spatial distributions of analogs for Mars
D.M. Burr, B.C. Bruno, P.D. Lanagan, L.S. Glaze, W.L. Jaeger, R.J. Soare, Bun Tseung J.-M. Wan, J.A. Skinner Jr., S.M. Baloga
2009, Planetary and Space Science (57) 579-596
Fields of mesoscale raised rim depressions (MRRDs) of various origins are found on Earth and Mars. Examples include rootless cones, mud volcanoes, collapsed pingos, rimmed kettle holes, and basaltic ring structures. Correct identification of MRRDs on Mars is valuable because different MRRD types have different geologic and/or climatic implications and...
San Andreas fault geometry at Desert Hot Springs, California, and its effects on earthquake hazards and groundwater
R. D. Catchings, M. J. Rymer, M. R. Goldman, G. Gandhok
2009, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (99) 2190-2207
The Mission Creek and Banning faults are two of the principal strands of the San Andreas fault zone in the northern Coachella Valley of southern California. Structural characteristics of the faults affect both regional earthquake hazards and local groundwater resources. We use seismic, gravity, and geological data to characterize the...
Mercury sources, distribution, and bioavailability in the North Pacific Ocean: Insights from data and models
E.M. Sunderland, D. P. Krabbenhoft, J.W. Moreau, S.A. Strode, W.M. Landing
2009, Global Biogeochemical Cycles (23)
Fish harvested from the Pacific Ocean are a major contributor to human methylmercury (MeHg) exposure. Limited oceanic mercury (Hg) data, particularly MeHg, has confounded our understanding of linkages between sources, methylation sites, and concentrations in marine food webs. Here we present methylated (MeHg and dimethylmercury (Me2Hg)) and total Hg concentrations...
Seasonal habitat selection by lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in a small Canadian shield lake: Constraints imposed by winter conditions
P.J. Blanchfield, L.S. Tate, J.M. Plumb, M.-L. Acolas, K.G. Beaty
2009, Aquatic Ecology (43) 777-787
The need for cold, well-oxygenated waters significantly reduces the habitat available for lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) during stratification of small temperate lakes. We examined the spatial and pelagic distribution of lake trout over two consecutive summers and winters and tested whether winter increased habitat availability and access to littoral regions...
A method to assess longitudinal riverine connectivity in tropical streams dominated by migratory biota
K.E. Crook, C. M. Pringle, Mary C. Freeman
2009, Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (19) 714-723
1. One way in which dams affect ecosystem function is by altering the distribution and abundance of aquatic species. 2. Previous studies indicate that migratory shrimps have significant effects on ecosystem processes in Puerto Rican streams, but are vulnerable to impediments to upstream or downstream passage, such as dams and...
Benthic biogeochemical cycling, nutrient stoichiometry, and carbon and nitrogen mass balances in a eutrophic freshwater bay
J.V. Klump, S.A. Fitzgerald, J.T. Waplesa
2009, Limnology and Oceanography (54) 692-712
Green Bay, while representing only ~7% of the surface area and ~1.4% of the volume of Lake Michigan, contains one‐third of the watershed of the lake, and receives approximately one‐third of the total nutrient loading to the Lake Michigan basin, largely from the Fox River at the southern end of...
Influence of small impoundments on habitat and fish communities in headwater streams
M.T. Kashiwagi, L.E. Miranda
2009, Southeastern Naturalist (8) 23-36
We surveyed the habitat and fish assemblages of four impounded and three unimpounded neighboring headwater streams, separated longitudinally into multiple upstream and downstream reaches. Instream habitat characteristics were similar between reaches of unimpounded streams and reaches above impoundments, and differed significantly from reaches below impoundments that included deeper water and...
Recent increases in the large glacial-relict calanoid Limnocalanus macrurus in Lake Michigan
R.P. Barbiero, D.B. Bunnell, D.C. Rockwell, M.L. Tuchman
2009, Journal of Great Lakes Research (35) 285-292
Since 2004, population density of the large hypolimnetic calanoid Limnocalanus macrurus Sars. has increased dramatically in Lake Michigan. The average summer biomass of this species between 2004 and 2006 was roughly three times that of the period 1984–2003, and at levels unprecedented in our 22-year dataset, making L. macrurus the...
Application of iron and zinc isotopes to track the sources and mechanisms of metal loading in a mountain watershed
D.M. Borrok, R. B. Wanty, Ridley W. Ian, P. J. Lamothe, B. A. Kimball, P. L. Verplanck, R.L. Runkel
2009, Applied Geochemistry (24) 1270-1277
Here the hydrogeochemical constraints of a tracer dilution study are combined with Fe and Zn isotopic measurements to pinpoint metal loading sources and attenuation mechanisms in an alpine watershed impacted by acid mine drainage. In the tested mountain catchment, δ56Fe and δ66Zn isotopic signatures of filtered stream water samples varied by ∼3.5‰ and...
Comparing approaches for simulating the reactive transport of U(VI) in ground water
G.P. Curtis, M. Kohler, J.A. Davis
2009, Mine Water and the Environment (28) 84-93
The reactive transport of U(VI) in a well-characterized shallow alluvial aquifer at a former U(VI) mill located near Naturita, CO, was predicted for comparative purposes using a surface complexation model (SCM) and a constant K d approach to simulate U(VI) adsorption. The ground water at the site had U(VI) concentrations that...
Halogen degassing during ascent and eruption of water-poor basaltic magma
M. Edmonds, T.M. Gerlach, Richard A. Herd
2009, Chemical Geology (263) 122-130
A study of volcanic gas composition and matrix glass volatile concentrations has allowed a model for halogen degassing to be formulated for K??lauea Volcano, Hawai'i. Volcanic gases emitted during 2004-2005 were characterised by a molar SO2/HCl of 10-64, with a mean of 33; and a molar HF/HCl of 0-5, with...
Climate-induced changes in high elevation stream nitrate dynamics
Jill Baron, T.M. Schmidt, M.D. Hartman
2009, Global Change Biology (15) 1777-1789
Mountain terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems are responsive to external drivers of change, especially climate change and atmospheric deposition of nitrogen (N). We explored the consequences of a temperature-warming trend on stream nitrate in an alpine and subalpine watershed in the Colorado Front Range that has long been the recipient of...
Geochemistry of yukon and copper river tributaries, Alaska
M. Carney, A. Ellis, T. Bullen, J. Langman
2009, Conference Paper, Proceedings of World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2009 - World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2009: Great Rivers
Alaska is already beginning to be affected by changes in global climate which make it a good location to study the feedback effects between climate, the water cycle and the carbon cycle. Using river dissolved elements and Sr isotopes we examine changes and/or differences in chemical weathering between watersheds in...
Movements by adult cutthroat trout in a lotic system: Implications for watershed-scale management
T.B. Sanderson, W.A. Hubert
2009, Fisheries Management and Ecology (16) 329-336
Movements by adult cutthroat trout, Oncorhynchus clarkii (Richardson), were assessed from autumn to summer in the Salt River watershed, Wyoming-Idaho, USA by radio telemetry. Adult cutthroat trout were captured during September and October 2005 in the main stem of the Salt River, surgically implanted with radio transmitters, and tracked through...
Estimating transition probabilities among everglades wetland communities using multistate models
A.S. Hotaling, J. Martin, W.M. Kitchens
2009, Wetlands (29) 1224-1233
In this study we were able to provide the first estimates of transition probabilities of wet prairie and slough vegetative communities in Water Conservation Area 3A (WCA3A) of the Florida Everglades and to identify the hydrologic variables that determine these transitions. These estimates can be used in management models aimed...
In situ video observations of two manefishes (perciformes: Caristiidae) in the mesopelagic zone of the northern Gulf of Mexico
M.C. Benfield, John H. Caruso, K. J. Sulak
2009, Copeia (4) 637-641
This paper describes direct video observations of two manefishes, likely Paracaristius sp., from the mesopelagic waters of the north-central Gulf of Mexico. One fish was observed with a remotely operated vehicle at a depth of 829 m by an industrial ROV as part of the SERPENT Project. The second was...
Incorporating both physical and kinetic limitations in quantifying dissolved oxygen flux to aquatic sediments
B.L. O’Connor, Miki Hondzo, J. W. Harvey
2009, Journal of Environmental Engineering (135) 1304-1314
Traditionally, dissolved oxygen (DO) fluxes have been calculated using the thin-film theory with DO microstructure data in systems characterized by fine sediments and low velocities. However, recent experimental evidence of fluctuating DO concentrations near the sediment-water interface suggests that turbulence and coherent motions control the mass transfer, and the surface...
Nutrient availability and phytoplankton nutrient limitation across a gradient of atmospheric nitrogen deposition
J.J. Elser, M. Kyle, L. Steuer, K. R. Nydick, Jill Baron
2009, Ecology (90) 3062-3073
Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition to lakes and watersheds has been increasing steadily due to various anthropogenic activities. Because such anthropogenic N is widely distributed, even lakes relatively removed from direct human disturbance are potentially impacted. However, the effects of increased atmospheric N deposition on lakes are not well documented, We...
Expansion of Dreissena into offshore waters of Lake Michigan and potential impacts on fish populations
D.B. Bunnell, C.P. Madenjian, J.D. Holuszko, J.V. Adams, J. R. P. French III
2009, Journal of Great Lakes Research (35) 74-80
Lake Michigan was invaded by zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) in the late 1980s and then followed by quagga mussels (D. bugensis) around 1997. Through 2000, both species (herein Dreissena) were largely restricted to depths less than 50??m. Herein, we provide results of an annual lake-wide bottom trawl survey in Lake...
Diets of aquatic birds reflect changes in the Lake Huron ecosystem
Craig E. Hebert, D.V. Chip Weseloh, Abode Idrissi, Michael T. Arts, Edward F. Roseman
2009, Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management (12) 37-44
Human activities have affected the Lake Huron ecosystem, in part, through alterations in the structure and function of its food webs. Insights into the nature of food web change and its ecological ramifications can be obtained through the monitoring of high trophic level predators such as aquatic birds. Often, food...
Effects of sediment transport and seepage direction on hydraulic properties at the sediment-water interface of hyporheic settings
D.O. Rosenberry, J. Pitlick
2009, Journal of Hydrology (373) 377-391
Relations between seepage flux and hydraulic properties are difficult to quantify in fluvial settings because of the difficulty in measuring these variables in situ. Tests conducted in a 1.5-m diameter by 1.5-m tall sediment-filled tank indicate that hydraulic gradient increased and hydraulic conductivity (K) decreased following the onset of downward...
Transient dwarfism of soil fauna during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum
J.J. Smith, S.T. Hasiotis, M. J. Kraus, D.T. Woody
2009, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (106) 17655-17660
Soil organisms, as recorded by trace fossils in paleosols of the Willwood Formation, Wyoming, show significant body-size reductions and increased abundances during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). Paleobotanical, paleopedologic, and oxygen isotope studies indicate high temperatures during the PETM and sharp declines in precipitation compared with late Paleocene estimates. Insect...
Biodegradation of 17β-estradiol, estrone, and testosterone in stream sediments
P. M. Bradley, F. H. Chapelle, L. B. Barber, P.B. McMahon, J.L. Gray, D.W. Kolpin
2009, Conference Paper, In Situ and On-Site Bioremediation-2009: Proceedings of the 10th International In Situ and On-Site Bioremediation Symposium
The release of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent poses a significant threat to the ecology of surface water receptors, due to impacts on the hormonal control, sexual development, reproductive success and community structure of the indigenous aquatic organisms and associated wildlife. Among the EDCs commonly observed...
