Growing up green on serpentine soils: Biogeochemistry of serpentine vegetation in the Central Coast Range of California
C. Oze, C. Skinner, A.W. Schroth, R. G. Coleman
2008, Applied Geochemistry (23) 3391-3403
Serpentine soils derived from the weathering of ultramafic rocks and their metamorphic derivatives (serpentinites) are chemically prohibitive for vegetative growth. Evaluating how serpentine vegetation is able to persist under these chemical conditions is difficult to ascertain due to the numerous factors (climate, relief, time, water availability, etc.) controlling and affecting...
3D crustal structure and long-period ground motions from a M9.0 megathrust earthquake in the Pacific Northwest region
K.B. Olsen, W. J. Stephenson, A. Geisselmeyer
2008, Journal of Seismology (12) 145-159
We have developed a community velocity model for the Pacific Northwest region from northern California to southern Canada and carried out the first 3D simulation of a Mw 9.0 megathrust earthquake rupturing along the Cascadia subduction zone using a parallel supercomputer. A long-period (<0.5 Hz) source model was designed by...
Empirical models to predict the volumes of debris flows generated by recently burned basins in the western U.S.
J.E. Gartner, S.H. Cannon, P.M. Santi, V.G. deWolfe
2008, Geomorphology (96) 339-354
Recently burned basins frequently produce debris flows in response to moderate-to-severe rainfall. Post-fire hazard assessments of debris flows are most useful when they predict the volume of material that may flow out of a burned basin. This study develops a set of empirically-based models that predict potential volumes of wildfire-related...
Water-quality monitoring and process understanding in support of environmental policy and management
N.E. Peters
2008, Conference Paper, IAHS-AISH Publication
The quantity and quality of freshwater at any point on the landscape reflect the combined effects of many processes operating along hydrological pathways within a drainage basin/watershed/catchment. Primary drivers for the availability of water are landscape changes and patterns, and the processes affecting the timing, magnitude, and intensity of precipitation,...
An annual plant growth proxy in the Mojave Desert using MODIS-EVI data
C.S.A. Wallace, K.A. Thomas
2008, Sensors (8) 7792-7808
In the arid Mojave Desert, the phenological response of vegetation is largely dependent upon the timing and amount of rainfall, and maps of annual plant cover at any one point in time can vary widely. Our study developed relative annual plant growth models as proxies for annual plant cover using...
Using sequential self-calibration method to identify conductivity distribution: Conditioning on tracer test data
B.X. Hu, C. He
2008, Mathematical Geosciences (40) 845-859
An iterative inverse method, the sequential self-calibration method, is developed for mapping spatial distribution of a hydraulic conductivity field by conditioning on nonreactive tracer breakthrough curves. A streamline-based, semi-analytical simulator is adopted to simulate solute transport in a heterogeneous aquifer. The simulation is used as the forward modeling step. In...
DNA vaccine protects ornamental koi (Cyprinus carpio koi) against North American spring viremia of carp virus
E.J. Emmenegger, Gael Kurath
2008, Vaccine (26) 6415-6421
The emergence of spring viremia of carp virus (SVCV) in the United States constitutes a potentially serious alien pathogen threat to susceptible fish stocks in North America. A DNA vaccine with an SVCV glycoprotein (G) gene from a North American isolate was constructed. In order to test the vaccine a...
Modeling the effects of potential salinity shifts on the recovery of striped bass in the Savannah River estuary, Georgia-South Carolina, United States
T.R. Reinert, J.T. Peterson
2008, Environmental Management (41) 753-765
Increased salinity in spawning and nursery grounds in the Savannah River estuary was cited as the primary cause of a 97% decrease in adult striped bass (Morone saxatilis) and a concomitant 96% decrease in striped bass egg production. Restoration efforts focused on environmental remediation and stock enhancement have resulted in...
Using heat to characterize streambed water flux variability in four stream reaches
H.I. Essaid, C.M. Zamora, K. A. McCarthy, J. R. Vogel, J.T. Wilson
2008, Journal of Environmental Quality (37) 1010-1023
Estimates of streambed water flux are needed for the interpretation of streambed chemistry and reactions. Continuous temperature and head monitoring in stream reaches within four agricultural watersheds (Leary Weber Ditch, IN; Maple Creek, NE; DR2 Drain, WA; and Merced River, CA) allowed heat to be used as a tracer to...
Dispersal leads to spatial autocorrelation in species distributions: A simulation model
V. Bahn, W.B. Krohn, R.J. O’Connor
2008, Ecological Modelling (213) 285-292
Compared to population growth regulated by local conditions, dispersal has been underappreciated as a central process shaping the spatial distribution of populations. This paper asks: (a) which conditions increase the importance of dispersers relative to local recruits in determining population sizes? and (b) how does dispersal influence the spatial distribution...
Tracking the Archean-Proterozoic suture zone in the northeastern Great Basin, Nevada and Utah
B. D. Rodriguez, J. M. Williams
2008, Geosphere (4) 315-328
It is important to know whether major mining districts in north-central Nevada are underlain by crust of the Archean Wyoming craton, known to contain major orogenic gold deposits or, alternatively, by accreted crust of the Paleoproterozoic Mojave province. Determining the location and orientation of the Archean-Proterozoic suture zone between these...
A deep crustal fluid channel into the San Andreas Fault system near Parkfield, California
M. Becken, O. Ritter, S. K. Park, P. A. Bedrosian, U. Weckmann, M. Weber
2008, Geophysical Journal International (173) 718-732
Magnetotelluric (MT) data from 66 sites along a 45-km-long profile across the San Andreas Fault (SAF) were inverted to obtain the 2-D electrical resistivity structure of the crust near the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD). The most intriguing feature of the resistivity model is a steeply dipping upper...
Use of tolerance values to diagnose water-quality stressors to aquatic biota in New England streams
M. R. Meador, D.M. Carlisle, J.F. Coles
2008, Ecological Indicators (8) 718-728
Identification of stressors related to biological impairment is critical to biological assessments. We applied nationally derived tolerance indicator values for four water-quality variables to fish and benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages at 29 sites along an urban gradient in New England. Tolerance indicator values (TIVs), as biologically based predictors of water-quality variables,...
Erosion properties of cohesive sediments in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon
R. Akahori, M.W. Schmeeckle, D.J. Topping, T.S. Melis
2008, River Research and Applications (24) 1160-1174
Cohesive sediment deposits characterized by a high fraction of mud (silt plus clay) significantly affect the morphology and ecosystem of rivers. Potentially cohesive sediment samples were collected from deposits in the Colorado River in Marble and Grand Canyons. The erosion velocities of these samples were measured in a laboratory flume...
Transient deterministic shallow landslide modeling: Requirements for susceptibility and hazard assessments in a GIS framework
J. W. Godt, R.L. Baum, W. Z. Savage, D. Salciarini, W.H. Schulz, E. L. Harp
2008, Engineering Geology (102) 214-226
Application of transient deterministic shallow landslide models over broad regions for hazard and susceptibility assessments requires information on rainfall, topography and the distribution and properties of hillside materials. We survey techniques for generating the spatial and temporal input data for such models and present an example using a transient deterministic...
Integrating remotely sensed land cover observations and a biogeochemical model for estimating forest ecosystem carbon dynamics
J. Liu, S. Liu, Thomas R. Loveland, L.L. Tieszen
2008, Ecological Modelling (219) 361-372
Land cover change is one of the key driving forces for ecosystem carbon (C) dynamics. We present an approach for using sequential remotely sensed land cover observations and a biogeochemical model to estimate contemporary and future ecosystem carbon trends. We applied the General Ensemble Biogeochemical Modelling System (GEMS) for the...
Building model analysis applications with the Joint Universal Parameter IdenTification and Evaluation of Reliability (JUPITER) API
E. R. Banta, M. C. Hill, E. Poeter, J.E. Doherty, J. Babendreier
2008, Computers & Geosciences (34) 310-319
The open-source, public domain JUPITER (Joint Universal Parameter IdenTification and Evaluation of Reliability) API (Application Programming Interface) provides conventions and Fortran-90 modules to develop applications (computer programs) for analyzing process models. The input and output conventions allow application users to access various applications and the analysis methods they embody with...
Translocation and early post-release demography of endangered Laysan teal
M.H. Reynolds, N.E. Seavy, M.S. Vekasy, J.L. Klavitter, L.P. Laniawe
2008, Animal Conservation (11) 160-168
In an attempt to reduce the high extinction risk inherent to small island populations, we translocated wild Laysan teal Anas laysanensis to a portion of its presumed prehistoric range. Most avian translocations lack the strategic post-release monitoring needed to assess early population establishment or failure. Therefore, we monitored the survival...
Effective mitigation of debris flows at Lemon Dam, La Plata County, Colorado
V.G. deWolfe, P.M. Santi, J. Ey, J.E. Gartner
2008, Geomorphology (96) 366-377
To reduce the hazards from debris flows in drainage basins burned by wildfire, erosion control measures such as construction of check dams, installation of log erosion barriers (LEBs), and spreading of straw mulch and seed are common practice. After the 2002 Missionary Ridge Fire in southwest Colorado, these measures were...
Variations in pesticide leaching related to land use, pesticide properties, and unsaturated zone thickness
R.M.T. Webb, M.E. Wieczorek, B. T. Nolan, T.C. Hancock, Mark W. Sandstrom, J.E. Barbash, E.R. Bayless, R. W. Healy, J. Linard
2008, Journal of Environmental Quality (37) 1145-1157
Pesticide leaching through variably thick soils beneath agricultural fields in Morgan Creek, Maryland was simulated for water years 1995 to 2004 using LEACHM (Leaching Estimation and Chemistry Model). Fifteen individual models were constructed to simulate five depths and three crop rotations with associated pesticide applications. Unsaturated zone thickness averaged 4.7...
Assessment of propeller and off-road vehicle scarring in seagrass beds and wind-tidal flats of the southwestern Gulf of Mexico
S.R. Martin, C.P. Onuf, K.H. Dunton
2008, Botanica Marina (51) 79-91
We used aerial photography and GIS to establish a quantitative baseline of propeller and off-road vehicle (ORV) scarring in seagrass and wind-tidal flats of the upper Laguna Madre in the Padre Island National Seashore (Texas, USA). We also examined scar recovery through comparison of recent (2002, 2005) and historical (1967)...
Quasi-periodic bedding in the sedimentary rock record of mars
Kevin W. Lewis, Oded Aharonson, John P. Grotzinger, Randolph L. Kirk, Alfred S. McEwen, Terry-Ann Suer
2008, Science (322) 1532-1535
Widespread sedimentary rocks on Mars preserve evidence of surface conditions different from the modern cold and dry environment, although it is unknown how long conditions favorable to deposition persisted. We used 1-meter stereo topographic maps to demonstrate the presence of rhythmic bedding at several outcrops in the Arabia Terra region....
Evolution of the Mazatzal province and the timing of the Mazatzal orogeny: Insights from U-Pb geochronology and geochemistry of igneous and metasedimentary rocks in southern New Mexico
J.M. Amato, A.O. Boullion, A.M. Serna, A.E. Sanders, G. L. Farmer, G. E. Gehrels, J. L. Wooden
2008, Geological Society of America Bulletin (120) 328-346
New U-Pb zircon ages, geochemistry, and Nd isotopic data are presented from three localities in the Paleoproterozoic Mazatzal province of southern New Mexico, United States. These data help in understanding the source regions and tectonic setting of magmatism from 1680 to 1620 Ma, the timing of the Mazatzal orogeny, the...
Rayleigh-wave dispersive energy imaging and mode separating by high-resolution linear Radon transform
Y. Luo, Y. Xu, Q. Liu, J. Xia
2008, Leading Edge (Tulsa, OK) (27) 1536-1542
In recent years, multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) has been increasingly used for obtaining vertical shear-wave velocity profiles within near-surface materials. MASW uses a multichannel recording approach to capture the time-variant, full-seismic wavefield where dispersive surface waves can be used to estimate near-surface S-wave velocity. The technique consists of...
Failure mechanism of shear-wall dominant multi-story buildings
S.B. Yuksel, E. Kalkan
2008, Conference Paper, WIT Transactions on the Built Environment
The recent trend in the building industry of Turkey as well as in many European countries is towards utilizing the tunnel form (shear-wall dominant) construction system for development of multi-story residential units. The tunnel form buildings diverge from other conventional reinforced concrete (RC) buildings due to the lack of beams...
