Peak discharge, flood frequency, and peak stage of floods on Big Cottonwood Creek at U.S. Highway 50 near Coaldale, Colorado, and Fountain Creek below U.S. Highway 24 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, 2016
Michael S. Kohn, Michael R. Stevens, Amanullah Mommandi, Aziz R. Khan
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5107
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Colorado Department of Transportation, determined the peak discharge, annual exceedance probability (flood frequency), and peak stage of two floods that took place on Big Cottonwood Creek at U.S. Highway 50 near Coaldale, Colorado (hereafter referred to as “Big Cottonwood Creek site”),...
Effectiveness of common fish screen materials for protecting lamprey ammocoetes—Influence of sweeping velocities and decreasing flows
Matthew G. Mesa, Theresa L. Liedtke, Lisa K. Weiland, Helena E. Christiansen
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1163
In previous tests of the effectiveness of four common fish screen materials for excluding lamprey ammocoetes, we determined that woven wire (WW) allowed substantially more entrainment than perforated plate (PP), profile bar (PB), or Intralox (IL) material. These tests were simplistic because they used small vertically-oriented screens positioned perpendicular...
Groundwater/surface-water interaction in central Sevier County, Tennessee, October 2015–2016
John K. Carmichael, Gregory C. Johnson
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1147
The U.S. Geological Survey evaluated the interaction of groundwater and surface water in the central part of Sevier County, Tennessee, from October 2015 through October 2016. Stream base flow was surveyed in December 2015 and in July and October 2016 to evaluate losing and gaining stream reaches along three streams...
Vegetation response of a dry shrubland community to feral goat management on the island of Moloka‘i, Hawai‘i
James D. Jacobi, Jonathan D. Stock
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5136
The Hawaiian Islands are well known for their unique ecosystem assemblages that have a high proportion of endemic flora and fauna. However, since human colonization of this archipelago—starting with the arrival of Polynesian sailors approximately 1,200 years ago, and particularly following western contact in 1778—thousands of non-native species have been...
Generalized hydrogeologic framework and groundwater budget for a groundwater availability study for the glacial aquifer system of the United States
Howard W. Reeves, Randall E. Bayless, Robert W. Dudley, Daniel T. Feinstein, Michael N. Fienen, Christopher J. Hoard, Glenn A. Hodgkins, Sharon L. Qi, Jason L. Roth, Jared J. Trost
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5015
The glacial aquifer system groundwater availability study seeks to quantify (1) the status of groundwater resources in the glacial aquifer system, (2) how these resources have changed over time, and (3) likely system response to future changes in anthropogenic and environmental conditions. The glacial aquifer system extends from Maine to...
Case studies of capacity building for biodiversity monitoring
Dirk S. Schmeller, Christos Arvanitidis, Monika Bohm, Neil Brummitt, Eva Chatzinikolaou, Mark John Costello, Hui Ding, Michael J. Gill, Peter Haase, Romain Juillard, Jaime Garcia-Moreno, Nathalie Pettorelli, Cui Peng, Corinna Riginos, Ute Schmiedel, John P. Simaika, Carly Waterman, Jun Wu, Haigen Xu, Jayne Belnap
Michele Walters, Robert J. Scholes, editor(s)
2017, Book chapter, The GEO handbook on biodiversity observation networks
Monitoring the status and trends of species is critical to their conservation and management. However, the current state of biodiversity monitoring is insufficient to detect such for most species and habitats, other than in a few localised areas. One of the biggest obstacles to adequate monitoring is the lack of...
A case study examining the efficacy of drainage setbacks for limiting effects to wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region, USA
Brian Tangen, Raymond Finocchiaro
2017, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (8) 513-529
The enhancement of agricultural lands through the use of artificial drainage systems is a common practice throughout the United States, and recently the use of this practice has expanded in the Prairie Pothole Region. Many wetlands are afforded protection from the direct effects of drainage through regulation or legal agreements,...
Estimating belowground carbon stocks in isolated wetlands of the Northern Everglades Watershed, central Florida, using ground penetrating radar (GPR) and aerial imagery
Matthew McClellan, Xavier Comas, Ross Hinkle, David M. Sumner
2017, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (122) 2804-2816
Peat soils store a large fraction of the global soil carbon (C) pool and comprise 95% of wetland C stocks. While isolated freshwater wetlands in temperate and tropical biomes account for more than 20% of the global peatland C stock, most studies of wetland soil C have occurred in expansive...
Brown trout as an invader: A synthesis of problems and perspectives in western North America
Phaedra Budy, Jereme W. Gaeta
Javier Lobon-Cervia, Nuria Sanz, editor(s)
2017, Book chapter, Brown trout: Biology, ecology and management
Brown trout are one of the most pervasive and successful invaders worldwide and are ubiquitous across the Intermountain West, USA (IMW). This species is the foundation of extremely popular and economically significant sport fisheries despite well-established negative effects on native fishes and ecosystems, resulting in very challenging, and often opposing,...
Surficial geologic map of Berrien County, Michigan, and the adjacent offshore area of Lake Michigan
Byron D. Stone, Kevin A. Kincare, Dennis W. O’Leary, Wayne L. Newell, Emily M. Taylor, Van S. Williams, Scott C. Lundstrom, Jared E. Abraham, Michael H. Powers
2017, Scientific Investigations Map 3383
The surficial geologic map of Berrien County, southwestern Michigan (sheet 1), shows the distribution of glacial and postglacial deposits at the land surface and in the adjacent offshore area of Lake Michigan. The geologic map differentiates surficial materials of Quaternary age on the basis of their lithologic characteristics, stratigraphic relationships,...
Groundwater discharge to the Mississippi River and groundwater balances for the Interstate 94 Corridor surficial aquifer, Clearwater to Elk River, Minnesota, 2012–14
Erik A. Smith, David L. Lorenz, Erich W. Kessler, Andrew M. Berg, Christopher A. Sanocki
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5114
The Interstate 94 Corridor has been identified as 1 of 16 Minnesota groundwater areas of concern because of its limited available groundwater resources. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, completed six seasonal and annual groundwater balances for parts of the Interstate 94 Corridor...
Phylogenetics of a fungal invasion: Origins and widespread dispersal of white-nose syndrome
Kevin P. Drees, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Sebastein J. Puechmaille, Katy L. Parise, Gudrun Wibbelt, Joseph R. Hoyt, Keping Sun, Ariunbold Jargalsaikhan, Munkhnast Dalannast, Jonathan M. Palmer, Daniel L. Linder, Marm Kilpatrick, Talima Pearson, Paul S. Keim, David S. Blehert, Jeffrey T. Foster
2017, mBio (8) 1-15
Globalization has facilitated the worldwide movement and introduction of pathogens, but epizoological reconstructions of these invasions are often hindered by limited sampling and insufficient genetic resolution among isolates. Pseudogymnoascus destructans, a fungal pathogen causing the epizootic of white-nose syndrome in North American bats, has exhibited few genetic polymorphisms in previous studies,...
First evidence of bighead carp wild recruitment in Western Europe, and its relation to hydrology and temperature
Marco Milardi, Duane Chapman, James M. Long, Giuseppe Castaldelli
2017, PLoS ONE 1-13
Bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) have been introduced throughout Europe, mostly unintentionally, and little attention has been given to their potential for natural reproduction. We investigated the presence of young-of-the-year bighead carp in an irrigation canal network of Northern Italy and the environmental conditions associated with spawning in 2011–2015. The adult...
U.S. Geological Survey shrub/grass products provide new approach to shrubland monitoring
Steven M. Young
2017, Fact Sheet 2017-3084
In the Western United States, shrubland ecosystems provide vital ecological, hydrological, biological, agricultural, and recreational services. However, disturbances such as livestock grazing, exotic species invasion, conversion to agriculture, climate change, urban expansion, and energy development are altering these ecosystems.Improving our understanding of how shrublands are distributed, where they are changing,...
U.S. Geological Survey National Strong-Motion Project strategic plan, 2017–22
Brad T. Aagaard, Mehmet Celebi, Lind Gee, Robert Graves, Kishor S. Jaiswal, Erol Kalkan, Keith L. Knudsen, Nico Luco, James Smith, Jamison Steidl, Christopher D. Stephens
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1156
The mission of the National Strong-Motion Project is to provide measurements of how the ground and built environment behave during earthquake shaking to the earthquake engineering community, the scientific community, emergency managers, public agencies, industry, media, and other users for the following purposes: Improving engineering evaluations and design methods for...
Deepwater Program: Lophelia II, continuing ecological research on deep-sea corals and deep-reef habitats in the Gulf of Mexico
Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Steve W. Ross, Christina A. Kellogg, Cheryl L. Morrison, Martha S. Nizinski, Nancy G. Prouty, Jill R. Bourque, Julie P. Galkiewicz, Michael A. Gray, Marcus J. Springmann, D. Katharine Coykendall, Andrew Miller, Mike Rhode, Andrea Quattrini, Cheryl L. Ames, Sandra D. Brooke, Jennifer P. McClain-Counts, E. Brendan Roark, Noreen A. Buster, Ryan M. Phillips, Janessy Frometa
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1139
The deep sea is a rich environment composed of diverse habitat types. While deep-sea coral habitats have been discovered within each ocean basin, knowledge about the ecology of these habitats and associated inhabitants continues to grow. This report presents information and results from the Lophelia II project that examined deep-sea...
Characteristics of dissolved organic matter in the Upper Klamath River, Lost River, and Klamath Straits Drain, Oregon and California
Jami H. Goldman, Annett B. Sullivan
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1160
Concentrations of particulate organic carbon (POC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), which together comprise total organic carbon, were measured in this reconnaissance study at sampling sites in the Upper Klamath River, Lost River, and Klamath Straits Drain in 2013–16. Optical absorbance and fluorescence properties of dissolved organic matter (DOM),...
Simulating the effects of management practices on cropland soil organic carbon changes in the Temperate Prairies Ecoregion of the United States from 1980 to 2012
Zhen Li, Shuguang Liu, Zhengxi Tan, Terry L. Sohl, Yiping Wu
2017, Ecological Modelling (365) 68-79
Understanding the effects of management practices on soil organic carbon (SOC) is important for designing effective policies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture. In the Midwest United States, management practices in the croplands have been improved to increase crop production and reduce SOC loss since the 1980s. Many studies...
Aftershocks, earthquake effects, and the location of the large 14 December 1872 earthquake near Entiat, central Washington
Thomas M. Brocher, Margaret G. Hopper, S.T. Ted Algermissen, David M. Perkins, Stanley R. Brockman, Edouard P. Arnold
2017, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (108) 66-83
Reported aftershock durations, earthquake effects, and other observations from the large 14 December 1872 earthquake in central Washington are consistent with an epicenter near Entiat, Washington. Aftershocks were reported for more than 3 months only near Entiat. Modal intensity data described in this article are consistent with an Entiat area...
Increased sediment load during a large-scale dam removal changes nearshore subtidal communities
Stephen P. Rubin, Ian M. Miller, Melissa M. Foley, Helen D. Berry, Jeffrey J. Duda, Benjamin Hudson, Nancy E. Elder, Matthew M. Beirne, Jonathan A. Warrick, Michael L. McHenry, Andrew W. Stevens, Emily Eidam, Andrea Ogston, Guy R. Gelfenbaum, Rob Pedersen
2017, PLoS ONE (12) 1-46
The coastal marine ecosystem near the Elwha River was altered by a massive sediment influx—over 10 million tonnes—during the staged three-year removal of two hydropower dams. We used time series of bathymetry, substrate grain size, remotely sensed turbidity, scuba dive surveys, and towed video observations collected before and during dam...
Evaluation and use of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Watersheds Needs Survey data to quantify nutrient loads to surface water, 1978–2012
Tamara I. Ivahnenko
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5115
Changes in municipal and industrial point-source discharges over time have been an important factor affecting nutrient trends in many of the Nation’s streams and rivers. This report documents how three U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) national datasets—the Permit Compliance System, the Integrated Compliance Information System, and the Clean Watersheds Needs...
The ACER pollen and charcoal database: A global resource to document vegetation and fire response to abrupt climate changes during the last glacial period
M.F. Sanchez-Goni, S. Desprat, A.-L. Daniau, F. Bassinot, J.M. Polanco-Martinez, S.P. Harrison, J.R.M. Allen, R. S. Anderson, H. Behling, R. Bonnefille, F. Burjachs, J.S. Carrion, R. Cheddadi, J.S. Clark, N. Combourieu-Nebout, C.J. Courtney Mustaphi, G.H. Debusk, L. Dupont, J. Finch, W.J. Fletcher, M. Giardini, C. González, W.D. Gosling, L.D. Grigg, E.C. Grimm, R. Hayashi, K. Helmens, Heusser. L.E., T. Hill, G. Hope, B. Huntley, Y. Igarashi, T. Irino, B. F. Jacobs, G. Jiménez-Moreno, S. Kawai, P. Kershaw, F. Kumon, I. Lawson, M.-P. Ledru, A.-M. Lézine, P.-M. Liew, D. Magri, R. Marchant, V. Margari, F. Mayle, M. McKenzie, P. Moss, U.C. Muller, F. Naughton, R.M. Newnham, T. Oba, R. Perez-Obiol, R. Pini, C. Ravazzi, K.H. Roucoux, S. Rucina, L. Scott, H. Takahara, P.C. Tzedakis, D.H. Urrego, Debra A. Willard, B. Van Geel, B.G. Valencia, M.J. Vandergoes, A. Vincens, C.L. Whitlock, Debra A. Willard, M. Yamamoto
2017, Earth System Science Data (9) 679-695
Quaternary records provide an opportunity to examine the nature of the vegetation and fire responses to rapid past climate changes comparable in velocity and magnitude to those expected in the 21st century. The best documented examples of rapid climate change in the past are the warming events associated with the...
Groundwater, surface-water, and water-chemistry data, Black Mesa area, northeastern Arizona—2013–2015
Jamie P. Macy, Jon P. Mason
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1127
The Navajo (N) aquifer is an extensive aquifer and the primary source of groundwater in the 5,400-square-mile Black Mesa area in northeastern Arizona. Availability of water is an important issue in northeastern Arizona because of continued water requirements for industrial and municipal use by a growing population and because of...
Regional water table (2016) in the Mojave River and Morongo groundwater basins, southwestern Mojave Desert, California
Meghan C. Dick, Adam Kjos
2017, Scientific Investigations Map 3391
From January to April 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Mojave Water Agency, and other local water districts made approximately 1,200 water-level measurements in about 645 wells located within 15 separate groundwater basins, collectively referred to as the Mojave River and Morongo groundwater basins. These data document recent conditions and, when...
Navigating translational ecology: Creating opportunities for scientist participation
Lauren M. Hallett, Toni Lyn Morelli, Leah R. Gerber, Max A. Moritz, Mark W. Schwartz, Nathan L. Stephenson, Jennifer L. Tank, Matthew A. Williamson, Connie A. Woodhouse
2017, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (15) 578-586
Interest in translational ecology (TE) – a research approach that yields useful scientific outcomes through ongoing collaboration between scientists and stakeholders – is growing among both of these groups. Translational ecology brings together participants from different cultures and with different professional incentives. We address ways to cultivate a culture of...
