The hyper-enrichment of V and Zn in black shales of the Late Devonian-Early Mississippian Bakken Formation (USA)
Clint Scott, John F. Slack, Karen Duttweiler Kelley
2017, Chemical Geology (452) 24-33
Black shales of the Late Devonian to Early Mississippian Bakken Formation are characterized by high concentrations of organic carbon and the hyper-enrichment (> 500 to 1000s of mg/kg) of V and Zn. Deposition of black shales resulted from shallow seafloor depths that promoted rapid development of euxinic conditions. Vanadium hyper-enrichments, which...
Bacterial sulfur disproportionation constrains timing of neoproterozoic oxygenation
Marcus Kunzmann, Thi Hao Bui, Peter W. Crockford, Galen P. Halverson, Clint Scott, Timothy W. Lyons, Boswell A. Wing
2017, Geology (45) 207-210
Various geochemical records suggest that atmospheric O2 increased in the Ediacaran (635–541 Ma), broadly coincident with the emergence and diversification of large animals and increasing marine ecosystem complexity. Furthermore, geochemical proxies indicate that seawater sulfate levels rose at this time too, which has been hypothesized to reflect increased sulfide oxidation in...
Progress and lessons learned from water-quality monitoring networks
Donna N. Myers, Amy S. Ludtke
2017, Book chapter, The science behind sustaining the world's most crucial resource
Stream-quality monitoring networks in the United States were initiated and expanded after passage of successive federal water-pollution control laws from 1948 to 1972. The first networks addressed information gaps on the extent and severity of stream pollution and served as early warning systems for spills. From 1965 to 1972, monitoring...
Volcanic ash and aviation–The challenges of real-time, global communication of a natural hazard
Peter Lechner, Andrew C. Tupper, Marianne C. Guffanti, Sue Loughlin, Thomas Casadevall
2017, Book chapter, Advances in Volcanology
More than 30 years after the first major aircraft encounters with volcanic ash over Indonesia in 1982, it remains challenging to inform aircraft in flight of the exact location of potentially dangerous ash clouds on their flight path, particularly shortly after the eruption has occurred. The difficulties include reliably forecasting...
Role of social media and networking in volcanic crises and communication
Sally K. Sennert, Erik W. Klemetti, Deanne Bird
2017, Book chapter, Advances in Volcanology
The growth of social media as a primary and often preferred news source has contributed to the rapid dissemination of information about volcanic eruptions and potential volcanic crises as an eruption begins. Information about volcanic activity comes from a variety of sources: news organisations, emergency management personnel, individuals (both public...
Constraining the magmatic system at Mount St. Helens (2004–2008) using Bayesian inversion with physics-based models including gas escape and crystallization
Ying-Qi Wong, Paul Segall, Andrew Bradley, Kyle R. Anderson
2017, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (122) 7789-7812
Physics-based models of volcanic eruptions track conduit processes as functions of depth and time. When used in inversions, these models permit integration of diverse geological and geophysical data sets to constrain important parameters of magmatic systems. We develop a 1-D steady state conduit model for effusive eruptions including equilibrium crystallization...
Procedure for calculating estimated ultimate recoveries of wells in the Mississippian Barnett Shale, Bend Arch–Fort Worth Basin Province of north-central Texas
Heidi M. Leathers-Miller
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5102
In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey published an assessment of technically recoverable continuous oil and gas resources of the Mississippian Barnett Shale in the Bend Arch–Fort Worth Basin Province of north-central Texas. Of the two assessment units involved in the overall assessment, one included a roughly equal number of oil wells and gas wells...
Late Quaternary fluvial history of Santa Cruz Island, California, USA
R. Randall Schumann, Jeffrey S. Pigati
2017, Western North American Naturalist (78) 511-529
The geologic history of fluvial systems on Santa Cruz Island (SCI) is complex, involving responses to both allogenic and autogenic forcings. During periods of low or lowering sea level, canyons on the island were eroded and sediment was transported off the island onto the exposed marine shelf. When sea level...
Flood runoff in relation to water vapor transport by atmospheric rivers over the western United States, 1949–2015
Christopher P. Konrad, Michael D. Dettinger
2017, Geophysical Research Letters (44) 11456-11462
Atmospheric rivers (ARs) have a significant role in generating floods across the western United States. We analyze daily streamflow for water years 1949 to 2015 from 5,477 gages in relation to water vapor transport by ARs using a 6 h chronology resolved to 2.5° latitude and longitude. The probability that an...
Distribution of foraminifera in Chincoteague Bay and the marshes of Assateague Island and the adjacent vicinity, Maryland and Virginia
Alisha M. Ellis, Jaimie Shaw, Lisa E. Osterman, Christopher G. Smith
2017, Data Series 1060
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted a seasonal collection of estuarine, marsh, and sandy washover surface sediments from Chincoteague Bay, Tom’s Cove, and the surrounding Assateague Island and Delmarva Peninsula in March–April and October 2014, after Hurricane Sandy. Micropaleontology samples were...
A seasonal and spatial comparison of metals, and stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes, in Chincoteague Bay and the marsh deposits of Assateague Island and the adjacent vicinity, Maryland and Virginia
Alisha M. Ellis, Christopher G. Smith
2017, Data Series 1059
After Hurricane Sandy, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted a seasonal collection of estuarine, marsh, and sandy overwash surface sediments from Chincoteague Bay, Tom’s Cove, and the surrounding Assateague Island and Delmarva Peninsula in March–April and October 2014. Surplus surface sediment was...
Determining fine-scale use and movement patterns of diving bird species in federal waters of the Mid-Atlantic United States using satellite telemetry
Caleb Spiegel, Alicia Berlin, Andrew Gilbert, Carrie E. Gray, William Montevecchi, Iain Stenhouse, Scott Ford, Glenn H. Olsen, Jonathan Fiely, Lucas Savoy, M. Wing Goodale, Chantelle Burke
2017, Report
Offshore wind energy development in the United States is projected to expand in the upcoming decades to meet growing energy demands and reduce fossil fuel emissions. There is particular interest in commercial offshore wind development within Federal waters (i.e., > 3 nautical miles from shore) of the mid-Atlantic. In order...
The value of information for woodland management: Updating a state–transition model
William K. Morris, Michael C. Runge, Peter A. Vesk
2017, Ecosphere (8) 1-12
Value of information (VOI) analyses reveal the expected benefit of reducing uncertainty to a decision maker. Most ecological VOI analyses have focused on population models rarely addressing more complex community models. We performed a VOI analysis for a complex state–transition model of Box-Ironbark Forest and Woodland management. With three management...
Regionalizing indicators for marine ecosystems: Bering Sea–Aleutian Island seabirds, climate, and competitors
William J. Sydeman, Sarah Ann Thompson, John F. Piatt, Marisol García-Reyes, Stephani Zador, Jeffrey C. Williams, Marc Romano, Heather Renner
2017, Ecological Indicators (78) 458-469
Seabirds are thought to be reliable, real-time indicators of forage fish availability and the climatic and biotic factors affecting pelagic food webs in marine ecosystems. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that temporal trends and interannual variability in seabird indicators reflect simultaneously occurring bottom-up (climatic) and competitor (pink salmon) forcing of food...
Estimating virus occurrence using Bayesian modeling in multiple drinking water systems of the United States
Eunice A. Varughese, Nichole E Brinkman, Emily M Anneken, Jennifer S Cashdollar, G. Shay Fout, Edward T. Furlong, Dana W. Kolpin, Susan T. Glassmeyer, Scott P Keely
2017, Science of the Total Environment (619-620) 1330-1339
Drinking water treatment plants rely on purification of contaminated source waters to provide communities with potable water. One group of possible contaminants are enteric viruses. Measurement of viral quantities in environmental water systems are often performed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or quantitative PCR (qPCR). However, true values may be...
Exploration of diffuse and discrete sources of acid mine drainage to a headwater mountain stream in Colorado, USA
Allison Johnston, Robert L. Runkel, Alexis Navarre-Sitchler, Kamini Singha
2017, Mine Water and the Environment (36) 463-478
We investigated the impact of acid mine drainage (AMD) contamination from the Minnesota Mine, an inactive gold and silver mine, on Lion Creek, a headwater mountain stream near Empire, Colorado. The objective was to map the sources of AMD contamination, including discrete sources visible at the surface and diffuse inputs...
Factors influencing uptake of sylvatic plague vaccine baits by prairie dogs
Rachel C. Abbott, Robin E. Russell, Katherine Richgels, Daniel W. Tripp, Marc R. Matchett, Dean E. Biggins, Tonie E. Rocke
2017, EcoHealth (15) 12-22
Sylvatic plague vaccine (SPV) is a virally vectored bait-delivered vaccine expressing Yersinia pestis antigens that can protect prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) from plague and has potential utility as a management tool. In a large-scale 3-year field trial, SPV-laden baits containing the biomarker rhodamine B (used to determine bait consumption) were...
Application of synthetic scenarios to address water resource concerns: A management-guided case study from the Upper Colorado River Basin
Stephanie A. McAfee, Gregory T. Pederson, Connie A. Woodhouse, Gregory J. McCabe
2017, Climate Services (8) 26-35
Water managers are increasingly interested in better understanding and planning for projected resource impacts from climate change. In this management-guided study, we use a very large suite of synthetic climate scenarios in a statistical modeling framework to simultaneously evaluate how (1) average temperature and precipitation changes, (2) initial basin conditions,...
Spatially explicit dynamic N-mixture models
Qing Zhao, Andy Royle, G. Scott Boomer
2017, Population Ecology (59) 293-300
Knowledge of demographic parameters such as survival, reproduction, emigration, and immigration is essential to understand metapopulation dynamics. Traditionally the estimation of these demographic parameters requires intensive data from marked animals. The development of dynamic N-mixture models makes it possible to estimate demographic parameters from count data of unmarked animals, but...
PRISM software—Processing and review interface for strong-motion data
Jeanne M. Jones, Erol Kalkan, Christopher D. Stephens, Peter Ng
2017, Techniques and Methods 12-A2
Rapidly available and accurate ground-motion acceleration time series (seismic recordings) and derived data products are essential to quickly providing scientific and engineering analysis and advice after an earthquake. To meet this need, the U.S. Geological Survey National Strong Motion Project has developed a software package called PRISM (Processing and Review...
Estimating rupture distances without a rupture
Eric M. Thompson, Charles Worden
2017, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (10) 1-9
Most ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) require distances that are defined relative to a rupture model, such as the distance to the surface projection of the rupture (RJB) or the closest distance to the rupture plane (RRUP). There are a number of situations in which GMPEs are used where it...
A swath across the great divide: Kelp forests across the Samalga Pass biogeographic break
Brenda H. Konar, Matthew S. Edwards, Aaron Bland, Jacob Metzger, Alexandra Ravelo, Sarah Traiger, Ben P. Weitzman
2017, Continental Shelf Research (143) 78-88
Biogeographic breaks are often described as locations where a large number of species reach their geographic range limits. Samalga Pass, in the eastern Aleutian Archipelago, is a known biogeographic break for the spatial distribution of several species of offshore-pelagic communities, including numerous species of cold-water corals, zooplankton, fish, marine mammals,...
Solid-phase arsenic speciation in aquifer sediments: A micro-X-ray absorption spectroscopy approach for quantifying trace-level speciation
Sarah L. Nicholas, Melinda L. Erickson, Laurel G. Woodruff, Alan R. Knaeble, Matthew A. Marcus, Joshua K. Lynch, Brandy M. Toner
2017, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (211) 228-255
e of this research is to identify the solid-phase sources and geochemical mechanisms of release of As in aquifers of the Des Moines Lobe glacial advance. The overarching concept is that conditions present at the aquifer-aquitard interfaces promote a suite of geochemical reactions leading to mineral alteration and release of...
Geologic characterization of the hydrocarbon resource potential of the Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa marine shale in Mississippi and Louisiana, U.S.A.
Catherine B. Enomoto, Paul C. Hackley, Brett J. Valentine, William A. Rouse, Frank T. Dulong, Celeste D. Lohr, Javin J. Hatcherian
2017, Conference Paper, Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions
Recent oil production from the Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa marine shale (TMS) has elevated the formation, previously assessed by the USGS in 2011 as part of the Eagle Ford Group, to its own distinct assessment unit for an upcoming assessment. Geologic characterization in preparation for the 2017 assessment has included...
Feral goats and sheep
Steve C. Hess, Dirk H. Van Vuren, Gary W. Witmer
William C. Pitt, James Beasley, Gary W. Witmer, editor(s)
2017, Book chapter, Ecology and management of terrestrial vertebrate invasive species in the United States
No abstract available....
