Hydrogeophysics at societally relevant scales: Airborne electromagnetic applications and model structural uncertainty quantification
Burke J. Minsley, Nathan Leon Foks, Wade Kress, James R. Rigby
2018, Conference Paper, SEG technical program expanded abstracts 2018
There is a critical and growing need for information about subsurface geological properties and processes over sufficiently large areas that can inform key scientific and societal studies. Airborne geophysical methods fill a unique role in Earth observation because of their ability to detect deep subsurface properties at regional scales and...
Geomorphic identification of physical habitat features in a large, altered river system
L. Guertault, G. Fox, Shannon K. Brewer
2018, Conference Paper, River flow 2018 - Ninth international conference on fluvial hydraulics
Altered flow regimes in streams can significantly affect ecosystems and disturb ecological processes, leading to species loss and extinction. Many river management projects use stream classification and habitat assessment approaches to design practical solutions to reverse or mitigate adverse effects of flow regime alteration on stream systems. The objective of...
Development of a species status assessment process for decisions under the U.S. Endangered Species Act
David R. Smith, Nathan L. Allan, Conor P. McGowan, Jennifer A. Szymankski, Susan R. Oetker, Heather M. Bell
2018, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (9) 302-320
Decisions under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) require scientific input on the risk that the species will become extinct. A series of critiques on the role of science in ESA decisions have called for improved consistency and transparency in species risk assessments and clear distinctions between science input and...
Case study comparing multiple irrigated land datasets in Arizona and Colorado, USA
Hua Shi, Roger F. Auch, James Vogelmann, Min Feng, Matthew B. Rigge, Gabriel B. Senay, James Verdin
2018, Journal of American Water Resources Association (54) 505-526
While there are currently a number of irrigated land datasets available for the western United States (U.S.), there is uncertainty regarding in how they relate to each other. To help understand the characteristics of available irrigated datasets, we compared (1) the Cropland Data Layer (CDL), (2)...
Euler-vector clustering of GPS velocities defines microplate geometry in southwest Japan
James C. Savage
2018, JGR Solid Earth (123) 1954-1968
I have used Euler-vector clustering to assign 469 GEONET stations in southwest Japan to k clusters (k = 2, 3,..., 9) so that, for any k, the velocities of stations within each cluster are most consistent with rigid-block motion on a sphere. That is, I attempt to explain the raw (i.e., uncorrected for strain accumulation),...
An historical overview and update of wolf-moose interactions in northeastern Minnesota
L. David Mech, John Fieberg, Shannon Barber-Meyer
2018, Wildlife Society Bulletin (42) 40-47
Wolf (Canis lupus) and moose (Alces americanus) populations in northeastern Minnesota, USA, have fluctuated for decades and, based on helicopter counts, moose numbers declined to a new low from 2006 to about 2012. Other steep declines were found in 1991 and 1998 during periods when moose counts were done with...
Exposed subsurface ice sheets in the Martian mid-latitudes
Colin M. Dundas, Ali M Bramson, Lujendra Ojha, James J. Wray, Michael T. Mellon, Shane Byrne, Alfred S. McEwen, N. E. Putzig, Donna Viola, Sarah Sutton, E. Clark, J.W. Holt
2018, Science (359) 199-201
Thick deposits cover broad regions of the Martian mid-latitudes with a smooth mantle; erosion in these regions creates scarps that expose the internal structure of the mantle.We investigated eight of these locations and found that they expose deposits of water ice that can be >100 meters thick, extending downward from depths as shallow...
Unifying concepts linking dissolved organic matter composition to persistence in aquatic ecosystems
Anne M. Kellerman, Francois Guillemette, David C. Podgorski, George R. Aiken, Kenna D. Butler, Robert G. M. Spencer
2018, Environmental Science & Technology (52) 2538-2548
The link between composition and reactivity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) is central to understanding the role aquatic systems play in the global carbon cycle; yet, unifying concepts driving molecular composition have yet to be established. We characterized 37 DOM isolates from diverse aquatic ecosystems, including their stable and radiocarbon...
Potential for western US seasonal snowpack prediction
Sarah B. Kapnick, Xiaosong Yang, Gabriel A. Vecchi, Thomas L. Delworth, Rich Gudgel, Sergey Malyshev, Paul C. D. Milly, Elena Shevliakova, Seth Underwood, Steven A. Margulis
2018, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (115) 1180-1185
Western US snowpack—snow that accumulates on the ground in the mountains—plays a critical role in regional hydroclimate and water supply, with 80% of snowmelt runoff being used for agriculture. While climate projections provide estimates of snowpack loss by the end of th ecentury and weather forecasts provide predictions of weather...
Patterns of circulating corticosterone in a population of rattlesnakes afflicted with snake fungal disease: Stress hormones as a potential mediator of seasonal cycles in disease severity and outcomes
Craig M. Lind, Ignacio T. Moore, Caglar Akcay, Ben J. Vernasco, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Terence M. Farrell
2018, Physiological and Biochemical Zoology (91) 765-775
Snake fungal disease (SFD) is an emerging threat to snake populations in the United States. Fungal pathogens are often associated with a physiological stress response mediated by the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), and afflicted individuals may incur steep coping costs. The severity of SFD can vary seasonally; however, little is known...
Remote sensing and modeling to fill the “gap” in missing natural capital
Kenneth J. Bagstad, Simon Willcock, Glenn-Marie Lange
2018, Book chapter, The changing wealth of nations 2018 : Building a sustainable future
This chapter reviews recent advances in remote sensing and environmental modeling that address the first step in ecosystem accounting: biophysical quantification of ecosystem services. The chapter focuses on those ecosystem services in which the most rapid advances are likely, including crop pollination, sediment regulation, carbon sequestration and storage, and coastal...
Determining on-fault earthquake magnitude distributions from integer programming
Eric L. Geist, Thomas E. Parsons
2018, Computers & Geosciences (111) 244-259
Earthquake magnitude distributions among faults within a fault system are determined from regional seismicity and fault slip rates using binary integer programming. A synthetic earthquake catalog (i.e., list of randomly sampled magnitudes) that spans millennia is first formed, assuming that regional seismicity follows a Gutenberg-Richter relation. Each earthquake in the...
Satellite psychrometric formulation of the operational simplified surface energy balance (SSEBop) model for quantifying and mapping evapotranspiration
Gabriel B. Senay
2018, Applied Engineering in Agriculture (34) 555-566
Remote sensing-based evapotranspiration (ET) can be derived using various methods, from soil moisture accounting to vegetation-index based approaches to simple and complex surface energy balance techniques. Due to the complexity of fully representing and parameterizing ET sub-processes, different models tend to diverge in their estimations. However, most models appear to...
High-energy, high-fat lifestyle challenges an Arctic apex predator, the polar bear
Anthony M. Pagano, George M. Durner, Karyn D. Rode, Todd C. Atwood, Stephen N. Atkinson, Elizabeth Peacock, Daniel P. Costa, Megan A. Owen, Terrie M. Williams
2018, Science (359) 568-572
Regional declines in polar bear (Ursus maritimus) populations have been attributed to changing sea ice conditions, but with limited information on the causative mechanisms. By simultaneously measuring field metabolic rates, daily activity patterns, body condition, and foraging success of polar bears moving on the spring sea ice, we found that...
Reproductive output and clutch phenology of female Agassiz's desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in the Sonoran Desert region of Joshua Tree National Park
Jeffrey E. Lovich, Shellie R. Puffer, Mickey Agha, Joshua R. Ennen, Kathie Meyer-Wilkins, Laura A. Tennant, Amanda L Smith, Terence R. Arundel, Kathleen D. Brundige, Michael S. Vamstad
2018, Current Herpetology (37) 40-57
Agassiz's desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) reaches the southern edge of its range in the Sonoran Desert of California. The reproductive ecology of this wideranging species is understudied here compared to populations in the adjacent Mojave Desert. Understanding potential geographic variation in reproductive ecology is important for effective management of conservation-reliant...
A surrogate regression approach for computing continuous loads for the tributary nutrient and sediment monitoring program on the Great Lakes
Dale M. Robertson, Laura E. Hubbard, David L. Lorenz, Daniel J. Sullivan
2018, Journal of Great Lakes Research (44) 26-42
Water quality (WQ) in many Great Lake tributaries has been degraded (increased nutrient and sediment concentrations) due to changes in their watersheds, resulting in downstream eutrophication. As part of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, specific goals were established for loading of specific constituents (e.g., phosphorus)....
High‐elevation evapotranspiration estimates during drought: Using streamflow and NASA Airborne Snow Observatory SWE observations to vlose the upper Tuolumne River Basin eater balance
Brian Henn, Thomas H. Painter, Kathryn J. Bormann, Bruce McGurk, Alan L. Flint, Lorraine E. Flint, Vince White, Jessica D. Lundquist
2018, Water Resources Research (54) 746-766
Hydrologic variables such as evapotranspiration (ET) and soil water storage are difficult to observe across spatial scales in complex terrain. Streamflow and lidar‐derived snow observations provide information about distributed hydrologic processes such as snowmelt, infiltration, and storage. We use a distributed streamflow data set across eight basins in the upper...
Life‐history tradeoffs revealed by seasonal declines in reproductive traits of Arctic‐breeding shorebirds
Emily L. Weiser, Stephen C. Brown, Richard B. Lanctot, H. River Gates, Kenneth F. Abraham, Rebecca L. Bentzen, Joel Bety, Rodney W. Brook, Megan L. Boldenow, Tyrone F. Donnelly, Willow B. English, Scott A. Flemming, Samantha E. Franks, H. Grant Gilchrist, Marie-Andree Giroux, Andrew C. Johnson, Lisa V. Kennedy, Laura Koloski, Eunbi Kwon, Jean-Francois Lamarre, David B. Lank, Nicolas Lecomte, Joseph R. Liebezeit, Laura McKinnon, Erica Nol, Johanna Perz, Jennie Rausch, Martin D. Robards, Sarah T. Saalfeld, Nathan R. Senner, Paul A. Smith, Mikhail Soloviev, Diana V. Solovyeva, David H. Ward, Paul F. Wood, Brett K. Sandercock
2018, Journal of Avian Biology (49) 1-16
Seasonal declines in breeding performance are widespread in wild animals, resulting from temporal changes in environmental conditions or from individual variation. Seasonal declines might drive selection for early breeding, with implications for other stages of the annual cycle. Alternatively, selection on the phenology of nonbreeding stages could constrain timing of...
Monitoring global tree mortality patterns and trends. Report from the VW symposium ‘Crossing scales and disciplines to identify global trends of tree mortality as indicators of forest health’
Henrik Hartmann, Bernhard Schuldt, Tanja G. M. Sanders, Cate Macinnis-Ng, Hans Juergen Boehmer, Craig D. Allen, Andreas Bolte, Thomas W. Crowther, Matthew C. Hansen, Belinda E. Medlyn, Nadine K. Ruehr, William R. L. Anderegg
2018, New Phytologist (217) 948-987
From the 21stto the 23rdJune 2017, the Herrenhausen castle inHannover/Germany hosted a diverse and large crowd with morethan 70 tree physiologists, forest ecologists, forest inventoryexperts, remote-sensing scientists, and vegetation modele rs. Par-ticipants from six continent s and from more...
Increasing chloride in rivers of the conterminous U.S. and linkages to potential corrosivity and lead action level exceedances in drinking water
Edward G. Stets, Casey J. Lee, Darren A. Lytle, Michael R. Schock
2018, Science of the Total Environment (613-614) 1498-1509
Corrosion in water-distribution systems is a costly problem and controlling corrosion is a primary focus of efforts to reduce lead (Pb) and copper (Cu) in tap water. High chloride concentrations can increase the tendency of water to cause corrosion in distribution systems. The effects of chloride are also expressed in several indices commonly used...
Wind River Subbasin Restoration, Annual report of U.S. Geological Survey activities, January 2016 through December 2016
Ian G. Jezorek, Patrick J. Connolly
2018, Report
We used Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT)-tagging and a series of instream PIT-tag interrogation systems (PTISs) to investigate life-histories, populations, and efficacy of habitat restoration actions for steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss in the Wind River subbasin, WA. Our tagging focused on parr in headwaters areas of the subbasin and our instream readers...
Den phenology and reproductive success of polar bears in a changing climate
Karyn D. Rode, Jay Olson, Dennis L. Eggett, David C. Douglas, George M. Durner, Todd C. Atwood, Eric V. Regehr, Ryan H. Wilson, Tom Smith, Michelle St. Martin
2018, Journal of Mammalogy (99) 16-26
Synchrony between reproduction and food availability is important in mammals due to the high energetic costs of gestation and lactation. Female polar bears (Ursus maritimus) must accumulate sufficient energy reserves during spring through autumn to produce and nurse cubs during the winter months in snow dens. Adequate time in a...
Poroelastic stress changes associated with primary oil production in the Los Angeles Basin, California
Susan E. Hough, Roger G. Bilham
2018, The Leading Edge (37) 108-116
While recent investigations of induced earthquakes have focused on earthquakes associated with wastewater injection and unconventional recovery methods, the potential for earthquakes to be induced by primary production has long been recognized. We use boundary element methods to quantify the predicted geometry and amplitude of stress and strain changes associated...
Mass addition at Mount St. Helens, Washington, inferred from repeated gravity surveys
Maurizio Battaglia, Michael Lisowski, Daniel Dzurisin, Michael P. Poland, Steve Schilling, Angela K. Diefenbach, Jeff Wynn
2018, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (123) 1856-1874
Measurements of subtle changes in the Earth’s gravityfield can provideinformation on the addition/loss of mass (e.g., magma or aqueousfluids) beneath a volcano. In this study, wemeasured gravity at Mount St. Helens from 2010 to 2016 to investigate possible mass changes followingthe 2004–2008 dome-forming eruption. The raw gravity measurements were corrected...
Bathymetry of Ashokan, Cannonsville, Neversink, Pepacton, Rondout, and Schoharie Reservoirs, New York, 2013–15
Elizabeth A. Nystrom
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5064
Drinking water for New York City is supplied from several large reservoirs, including a system of reservoirs west of the Hudson River. To provide updated reservoir capacity tables and bathymetry maps of the City’s six West of Hudson reservoirs, bathymetric surveys were conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey from 2013...
