Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the Wyoming Thrust Belt Province, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah, 2017
Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Cheryl A. Woodall, Michael E. Brownfield, Phuong A. Le, Timothy R. Klett, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Thomas M. Finn, Kristen R. Marra, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller
2018, Fact Sheet 2017-3091
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of 26 million barrels of oil and 700 billion cubic feet of gas in the Wyoming Thrust Belt Province, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah....
Volume-weighted particle-tracking method for solute-transport modeling; Implementation in MODFLOW–GWT
Richard B. Winston, Leonard F. Konikow, George Z. Hornberger
2018, Techniques and Methods 6-A58
In the traditional method of characteristics for groundwater solute-transport models, advective transport is represented by moving particles that track concentration. This approach can lead to global mass-balance problems because in models of aquifers having complex boundary conditions and heterogeneous properties, particles can originate in cells having different pore volumes and...
Phytoforensics: Trees as bioindicators of potential indoor exposure via vapor intrusion
Jordan L. Wilson, V.A. Samaranayake, Matthew A. Limmer, Joel G. Burken
2018, PLoS ONE (13) 1-17
Human exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) via vapor intrusion (VI) is an emerging public health concern with notable detrimental impacts on public health. Phytoforensics, plant sampling to semi-quantitatively delineate subsurface contamination, provides a potential non-invasive screening approach to detect VI potential, and plant sampling is effective and also time-...
Combining InSAR and GPS to determine transient movement and thickness of a seasonally active low-gradient translational landslide
Xie Hu, Zhong Lu, Thomas C. Pierson, Rebecca Kramer, David L. George
2018, Geophysical Research Letters (45) 1453-1462
The combined application of continuous Global Positioning System data (high temporal resolution) with spaceborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar data (high spatial resolution) can reveal much more about the complexity of large landslide movement than is possible with geodetic measurements tied to only a few specific measurement sites. This approach is...
Host-pathogen metapopulation dynamics suggest high elevation refugia for boreal toads
Brittany A. Mosher, Larissa L. Bailey, Erin L. Muths, Kathryn P. Huyvaert
2018, Ecological Applications (28) 926-937
Emerging infectious diseases are an increasingly common threat to wildlife. Chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), is an emerging infectious disease that has been linked to amphibian declines around the world. Few studies exist that explore amphibian-Bd dynamics at the landscape scale, limiting our ability to identify which factors are...
Spatial patterns and temporal changes in atmospheric-mercury deposition for the midwestern USA, 2001–2016
Martin R. Risch, Donna M. Kenski
2018, Atmosphere (9) 1-20
Spatial patterns and temporal changes in atmospheric-mercury (Hg) deposition were examined in a five-state study area in the Midwestern USA where 32% of the stationary sources of anthropogenic Hg emissions in the continental USA were located. An extensive monitoring record for wet and dry Hg deposition was compiled for 2001–2016,...
Molecular and morphological data reveal non-monophyly and speciation in imperiled freshwater mussels (Anodontoides and Strophitus)
Chase H. Smith, Nathan A. Johnson, John M. Pfeiffer, Michael M. Gangloff
2018, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution (119) 50-62
Accurate taxonomic placement is vital to conservation efforts considering many intrinsic biological characteristics of understudied species are inferred from closely related taxa. The rayed creekshell, Anodontoides radiatus (Conrad, 1834), exists in the Gulf of Mexico drainages from western Florida to Louisiana and has been petitioned for listing under the Endangered...
Molecular phylogeny of the Nearctic and Mesoamerican freshwater mussel genus Megalonaias
John M. Pfeiffer III, Ashley Sharpe, Nathan A. Johnson, Kitty F. Emery, Lawrence M. Page
2018, Hydrobiologia (811) 139-151
Megalonaias is the most geographically widespread genus of the subfamily Ambleminae and is distributed across much of the eastern half of North America, from Minnesota to Nicaragua. Despite the large geographic distribution, the species-level diversity of Megalonaias is quite depauperate (2 spp.), suggesting the genus may not be constrained...
Grass is not always greener: Rodenticide exposure of a threatened species near marijuana growing operations
Alan B. Franklin, Peter C. Carlson, Angela Rex, Jeremy T. Rockweit, David Garza, Emily Culhane, Steven F Volker, Robert J. Dusek, Valerie I. Shearn-Bochsler, Mourad W. Gabriel, Katherine E. Horak
2018, BMC Research Notes (11)
ObjectiveMarijuana (Cannabis spp.) growing operations (MGO) in California have increased substantially since the mid-1990s. One environmental side-effect of MGOs is the extensive use of anticoagulant rodenticides (AR) to prevent damage to marijuana plants caused by wild rodents. In association with a long-term demographic study, we...
Analysis of vegetation recovery surrounding a restored wetland using the normalized difference infrared index (NDII) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)
Natalie R. Wilson, Laura Norman
2018, International Journal of Remote Sensing (39) 3243-3274
Watershed restoration efforts seek to rejuvenate vegetation, biological diversity, and land productivity at Cienega San Bernardino, an important wetland in southeastern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico. Rock detention and earthen berm structures were built on the Cienega San Bernardino over the course of four decades, beginning in 1984 and continuing...
Draft critical mineral list—Summary of methodology and background information—U.S. Geological Survey technical input document in response to Secretarial Order No. 3359
Steven M. Fortier, Nedal T. Nassar, Graham W. Lederer, Jamie Brainard, Joseph Gambogi, Erin A. McCullough
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1021
Pursuant to the Presidential Executive Order (EO) No. 13817, “A Federal Strategy to Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals,” the Secretary of the Interior, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, and in consultation with the heads of other relevant executive departments and agencies, was tasked with developing...
Characterizing the subsurface geology in and around the U.S. Army Camp Stanley Storage Activity, south-central Texas
Charles D. Blome, Allan K. Clark
2018, Fact Sheet 2017-3090
Several U.S. Geological Survey projects, supported by the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, have used multi-disciplinary approaches over a 14-year period to reveal the surface and subsurface geologic frameworks of the Edwards and Trinity aquifers of central Texas and the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer of south-central Oklahoma. Some of the project achievements...
Landsat classification of surface-water presence during multiple years to assess response of playa wetlands to climatic variability across the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative region
Daniel J. Manier, Jennifer R. Rover
2018, Open-File Report 2017-1166
To improve understanding of the distribution of ecologically important, ephemeral wetland habitats across the Great Plains, the occurrence and distribution of surface water in playa wetland complexes were documented for four different years across the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GPLCC) region. This information is important because it informs land...
Annotated bibliography of scientific research on greater sage-grouse published since January 2015
Sarah K. Carter, Daniel J. Manier, Robert S. Arkle, Aaron N. Johnston, Susan L. Phillips, Steven E. Hanser, Zachary H. Bowen
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1008
The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter GRSG) has been a focus of scientific investigation and management action for the past two decades. The 2015 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listing determination of “not warranted” was in part due to a large-scale collaborative effort to develop strategies to conserve GRSG populations...
International Limnogeology Congress (ILIC6), Reno USA, special issue on new limnogeological research focused on Holocene lake systems
Scott W. Starratt, Michael R. Rosen
2018, Conference Paper, Journal of Paleolimnology
The 6th International Limnogeology Congress (ILIC6) of the International Association of Limnogeology (IAL) was held in Reno, Nevada, USA 15–19 June, 2015. The successful congress brought together a wide variety of academic, government, and industry participants from 20 countries and six continents. The highpoint of the four-day meeting were eight...
Factors affecting mercury stable isotopic distribution in piscivorous fish of the Laurentian Great Lakes
Ryan F. Lepak, Sarah E. Janssen, Runsheng Yin, Jacob M. Ogorek, David P. Krabbenhoft, John F. DeWild, Michael T. Tate, Thomas M. Holsen, James P. Hurley
Sarah E. Janssen, Runsheng Yin, Jacob M. Ogorek, John F. DeWild, Michael T. Tate, Thomas M. Holsen, James P. Hurley, editor(s)
2018, Environmental Science & Technology (52) 2768-2776
Identifying the sources of methylmercury (MeHg) and tracing the transformations of mercury (Hg) in the aquatic food web are important components of effective strategies for managing current and legacy Hg sources. In our previous work, we measured stable isotopes of Hg (δ202Hg, Δ199Hg, and Δ200Hg) in the Laurentian Great Lakes...
Modelling surface-water depression storage in a Prairie Pothole Region
Lauren E. Hay, Parker A. Norton, Roland J. Viger, Steven L. Markstrom, R. Steve Regan, Melanie K. Vanderhoof
2018, Hydrological Processes (32) 462-479
In this study, the Precipitation-Runoff Modelling System (PRMS) was used to simulate changes in surface-water depression storage in the 1,126-km2 Upper Pipestem Creek basin located within the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota, USA. The Prairie Pothole Region is characterized by millions of small water bodies (or surface-water depressions) that provide...
Consortial brown tide − picocyanobacteria blooms in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba
Nathan S Hall, R. Wayne Litaker, W. Judson Kenworthy, Mark W. Vandersea, William G. Sunda, James P. Reid, Daniel H. Slone, Susan M. Butler
2018, Harmful Algae (73) 30-43
A brown tide bloom of Aureoumbra lagunensis developed in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba during a period of drought in 2013 that followed heavy winds and rainfall from Hurricane Sandy in late October 2012. Based on satellite images and water turbidity measurements, the bloom appeared to initiate in January 2013. The causative species (A....
Greater sage-grouse science (2015–17)—Synthesis and potential management implications
Steven E. Hanser, Patricia A. Deibert, John C. Tull, Natasha B. Carr, Cameron L. Aldridge, Travis D. Bargsten, Thomas J. Christiansen, Peter S. Coates, Michele R. Crist, Kevin E. Doherty, Ethan A. Ellsworth, Lee J. Foster, Vicki A. Herren, Kevin H. Miller, Ann Moser, Robin M. Naeve, Karen L. Prentice, Thomas E. Remington, Mark A. Ricca, Douglas J. Shinneman, Richard L. Truex, Lief A. Wiechman, Dereck C. Wilson, Zachary H. Bowen
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1017
Executive SummaryThe greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter called “sage-grouse”), a species that requires sagebrush (Artemisia spp.), has experienced range-wide declines in its distribution and abundance. These declines have prompted substantial research and management investments to improve the understanding of sage-grouse and its habitats and reverse declines in distribution and population...
Temperature variations in the southern Great Lakes during the last deglaciation: Comparison between pollen and GDGT proxies
Benjamin I. Watson, John W. Williams, James M. Russell, Stephen T. Jackson, Linda Shane, Thomas V. Lowell
2018, Quaternary Science Reviews (182) 78-92
Our understanding of deglacial climate history in the southern Great Lakes region of the United States is primarily based upon fossil pollen data, with few independent and multi-proxy climate reconstructions. Here we introduce a new, well-dated fossil pollen record from Stotzel-Leis, OH, and a new deglacial temperature record based on...
Egg turning behavior and incubation temperature in Forster’s terns in relation to mercury contamination
Gregory T. Taylor, Joshua T. Ackerman, Scott A. Shaffer
2018, PLoS ONE (13) 1-16
Egg turning behavior is an important determinant of egg hatchability, but it remains relatively understudied. Here, we examined egg turning rates and egg temperatures in Forster’s terns (Sterna forsteri). We used artificial eggs containing a data logger with a 3-D accelerometer, a magnetometer, and a temperature thermistor to monitor parental...
Stream-channel and watershed delineations and basin-characteristic measurements using lidar elevation data for small drainage basins within the Des Moines Lobe landform region in Iowa
David A. Eash, Kimberlee K. Barnes, Padraic S. O’Shea, Brian K. Gelder
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5108
Basin-characteristic measurements related to stream length, stream slope, stream density, and stream order have been identified as significant variables for estimation of flood, flow-duration, and low-flow discharges in Iowa. The placement of channel initiation points, however, has always been a matter of individual interpretation, leading to differences in stream definitions...
Occurrence of quiescence in free-ranging migratory songbirds
Lynn N. Schofield, Jill L. Deppe, Robert H. Diehl, Michael P. Ward, Rachel T. Bolus, Theodore J. Zenzal Jr., Jaclyn A. Smolinsky, Frank R. Moore
2018, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology (72)
Quiescence is a period of inactivity that occurs before the onset of migratory activity in nocturnally migrating birds. This behavior has been observed in captive birds in migratory disposition, but its occurrence in free-ranging migratory birds has been documented only anecdotally, and causal factors and function(s), if any, are unknown....
Opal-A in glassy pumice, acid alteration, and the 1817 phreatomagmatic eruption at Kawah Ijen (Java), Indonesia
Jacob B. Lowenstern, Vincent van Hinsberg, Kim Berlo, Moritz Liesegang, Kayla D. Iacovino, Ilya N. Bindeman, Heather M. Wright
2018, Frontiers in Earth Science (6)
At Kawah Ijen (Indonesia), vigorous SO2 and HCl degassing sustains a hyperacid lake (pH ~0) and intensely alters the subsurface, producing widespread residual silica and advanced argillic alteration products. In 1817, a VEI 2 phreatomagmatic eruption evacuated the lake, depositing a widespread layer of muddy ash fall, and sending lahars down...
Development and characterization of two cell lines from gills of Atlantic salmon
Mona C. Gjessing, Maria Aamelfot, William N. Batts, Sylvie L. Benestad, Ole B. Dale, Even Thoen, Simon C. Weli, James R. Winton
2018, PLoS ONE (13) 1-13
Gill disease in Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., causes big losses in the salmon farming industry. Until now, tools to cultivate microorganisms causing gill disease and models to study the gill responses have been lacking. Here we describe the establishment and characterization of two cell lines from the gills of Atlantic salmon....
