Variability of runoff-based drought conditions in the conterminous United States
Gregory J. McCabe, David M. Wolock, Samuel H. Austin
2017, International Journal of Climatology (37) 1014-1021
In this study, a monthly water-balance model is used to simulate monthly runoff for 2109 hydrologic units (HUs) in the conterminous United States (CONUS) for water-years 1901 through 2014. The monthly runoff time series for each HU were smoothed with a 3-month moving average, and then the 3-month moving-average runoff...
Compartmentalization of the Coso East Flank geothermal field imaged by 3-D full-tensor MT inversion
Nathaniel J. Lindsey, J. Ole Kaven, Nicholas C. Davatzes, Gregory A. Newman
2017, Geophysical Journal International (208) 652-662
Previous magnetotelluric (MT) studies of the high-temperature Coso geothermal system in California identified a subvertical feature of low resistivity (2–5 Ohm m) and appreciable lateral extent (>1 km) in the producing zone of the East Flank field. However, these models could not reproduce gross 3-D effects in the recorded data. We perform...
Development and utilization of USGS ShakeCast for rapid post-earthquake assessment of critical facilities and infrastructure
David J. Wald, Kuo-wan Lin, C. A. Kircher, Kishor S. Jaiswal, Nico Luco, L. Turner, Daniel Slosky
2017, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 16th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering
The ShakeCast system is an openly available, near real-time post-earthquake information management system. ShakeCast is widely used by public and private emergency planners and responders, lifeline utility operators and transportation engineers to automatically receive and process ShakeMap products for situational awareness, inspection priority, or damage assessment of their own infrastructure...
Human health screening and public health significance of contaminants of emerging concern detected in public water supplies
Robert Benson, Octavia D. Conerly, William Sander, Angela L. Batt, J. Scott Boone, Edward T. Furlong, Susan T. Glassmeyer, Dana W. Kolpin, Heath Mash
2017, Science of Total Environment (579) 1643-1648
The source water and treated drinking water from twenty five drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) across the United States were sampled in 2010–2012. Samples were analyzed for 247 contaminants using 15 chemical and microbiological methods. Most of these contaminants are not regulated currently either in drinking water or in discharges...
Relations between some horizontal‐component ground‐motion intensity measures used in practice
David Boore, Tadahiro Kishida
2017, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (107) 334-343
Various measures using the two horizontal components of recorded ground motions have been used in a number of studies that derive ground‐motion prediction equations and construct maps of shaking intensity. We update relations between a number of these measures, including those in Boore et al. (2006) and Boore (2010), using the large...
Integration of genetic and demographic data to assess population risk in a continuously distributed species
Bradley C. Fedy, Jeffery R. Row, Sara J. Oyler-McCance
2017, Conservation Genetics (18) 89-104
The identification and demographic assessment of biologically meaningful populations is fundamental to species’ ecology and management. Although genetic tools are used frequently to identify populations, studies often do not incorporate demographic data to understand their respective population trends. We used genetic data to define subpopulations in a continuously distributed...
The role of initial coherence and path materials in the dynamics of three rock avalanche case histories
Jordan Aaron, Scott McDougall, Jeffrey R. Moore, Jeffrey A. Coe, Oldrich Hungr
2017, Geoenvironmental Disasters (4)
BackgroundRock avalanches are flow-like landslides that can travel at extremely rapid velocities and impact surprisingly large areas. The mechanisms that lead to the unexpected mobility of these flows are unknown and debated. Mechanisms proposed in the literature can be broadly classified into those that rely...
Paleoseismic potential of sublacustrine landslide records in a high-seismicity setting (south-central Alaska)
Nore Praet, Jasper Moernaut, Maarten Van Daele, Evelien Boes, Peter J. Haeussler, Michael Strupler, Sabine Schmidt, Michael G. Loso, Marc De Batist
2017, Marine Geology (384) 103-119
Sublacustrine landslide stratigraphy is considered useful for quantitative paleoseismology in low-seismicity settings. However, as the recharging of underwater slopes with sediments is one of the factors that governs the recurrence of slope failures, it is not clear if landslide deposits can provide continuous paleoseismic records in settings of frequent strong shaking. To...
Ground motion in the presence of complex Topography II: Earthquake sources and 3D simulations
Stephen H. Hartzell, Leonardo Ramirez-Guzman, Mark Meremonte, Alena L. Leeds
2017, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (107) 344-358
Eight seismic stations were placed in a linear array with a topographic relief of 222 m over Mission Peak in the east San Francisco Bay region for a period of one year to study topographic effects. Seventy‐two well‐recorded local earthquakes are used to calculate spectral amplitude ratios relative to a reference...
A discrete stage-structured model of California newt population dynamics during a period of drought
Marjorie T. Jones, William R. Milligan, Lee B. Kats, Thomas L. Vandergon, Rodney L. Honeycutt, Robert N. Fisher, Courtney L. Davis, Timothy A. Lucas
2017, Journal of Theoretical Biology (414) 245-253
We introduce a mathematical model for studying the population dynamics under drought of the California newt (Taricha torosa), a species of special concern in the state of California. Since 2012, California has experienced a record-setting drought, and multiple studies predict drought conditions currently underway will persist and even increase in...
Oxygen isotope geochemistry of mafic phenocrysts in primitive mafic lavas from the southernmost Cascade Range, California
Sandra J. Underwood, Michael A. Clynne
2017, American Mineralogist (102) 251-261
Previously reported whole-rock δ18O values (5.6–7.8‰) for primitive quaternary mafic lavas from the southernmost Cascades (SMC) are often elevated (up to 1‰) relative to δ18O values expected for mafic magmas in equilibrium with mantle peridotite. Olivine, clinopyroxene, and plagioclase crystals were separated from 29 geochemically well-characterized mafic lavas for δ18O...
Multi-year microbial source tracking study characterizing fecal contamination in an urban watershed
Rebecca N. Bushon, Amie M.G. Brady, Eric D. Christensen, Erin A. Stelzer
2017, Water Environment Research (89) 127-143
Microbiological and hydrological data were used to rank tributary stream contributions of bacteria to the Little Blue River in Independence, Missouri. Concentrations, loadings and yields of E. coli and microbial source tracking (MST) markers, were characterized during base flow and storm events in five subbasins within Independence, as well as...
Using diurnal temperature signals to infer vertical groundwater-surface water exchange
Dylan J. Irvine, Martin A. Briggs, Laura K. Lautz, Ryan P. Gordon, Jeffrey M. McKenzie, Ian Cartwright
2017, Groundwater (55) 10-26
Heat is a powerful tracer to quantify fluid exchange between surface water and groundwater. Temperature time series can be used to estimate pore water fluid flux, and techniques can be employed to extend these estimates to produce detailed plan-view flux maps. Key advantages of heat tracing include cost-effective sensors and...
Modeled ecohydrological responses to climate change at seven small watersheds in the northeastern United States
Afshin Pourmokhtarian, Charles T. Driscoll, John L. Campbell, Katharine Hayhoe, Anne M. K. Stoner, Mary Beth Adams, Douglas A. Burns, Ivan Fernandez, Myron J. Mitchell, James B. Shanley
2017, Global Change Biology (23) 840-856
A cross-site analysis was conducted on seven diverse, forested watersheds in the northeastern United States to evaluate hydrological responses (evapotranspiration, soil moisture, seasonal and annual streamflow, and water stress) to projections of future climate. We used output from four atmosphere–ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs; CCSM4, HadGEM2-CC, MIROC5, and MRI-CGCM3) included...
A global probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment from earthquake sources
Gareth Davies, Jonathan Griffin, Finn Lovholt, Sylfest Glimsdal, Carl Harbitz, Hong Kie Thio, Stefano Lorito, Roberto Basili, Jacopo Selva, Eric L. Geist, Maria Ana Baptista
2017, Geological Society, London, Special Publications (456) 219-244
Large tsunamis occur infrequently but have the capacity to cause enormous numbers of casualties, damage to the built environment and critical infrastructure, and economic losses. A sound understanding of tsunami hazard is required to underpin management of these risks, and while tsunami hazard assessments are typically conducted at regional or...
Building the vegetation drought response index for Canada (VegDRI-Canada) to monitor agricultural drought: first results
Tsegaye Tadesse, Catherine Champagne, Brian D. Wardlow, Trevor A. Hadwen, Jesslyn F. Brown, Getachew B. Demisse, Yared A. Bayissa, Andrew M. Davidson
2017, GIScience and Remote Sensing (54) 230-257
Drought is a natural climatic phenomenon that occurs throughout the world and impacts many sectors of society. To help decision-makers reduce the impacts of drought, it is important to improve monitoring tools that provide relevant and timely information in support of drought mitigation decisions. Given that drought is a complex...
Simulation of earthquake ground motions in the eastern United States using deterministic physics‐based and site‐based stochastic approaches
Sanaz Rezaeian, Stephen H. Hartzell, Xiaodan Sun, Carlos Mendoza
2017, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (107) 149-168
Earthquake ground‐motion recordings are scarce in the central and eastern United States (CEUS) for large‐magnitude events and at close distances. We use two different simulation approaches, a deterministic physics‐based method and a site‐based stochastic method, to simulate ground motions over a wide range of magnitudes. Drawing...
Suppression of invasive lake trout in an isolated backcountry lake in Glacier National Park
C. R. Fredenberg, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Christopher S. Guy, Vincent S. D'Angelo, Christopher C. Downs, John M. Syslo
2017, Fisheries Management and Ecology (24) 33-48
Fisheries managers have implemented suppression programmes to control non-native lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush (Walbaum), in several lakes throughout the western United States. This study determined the feasibility of experimentally suppressing lake trout using gillnets in an isolated backcountry lake in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA, for the conservation of threatened...
Flood-inundation maps for the St. Joseph River at Elkhart, Indiana
Zachary W. Martin
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5179
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 6.6-mile reach of the St. Joseph River at Elkhart, Indiana, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science Web site...
Donor life stage influences juvenile American eel Anguilla rostrata attraction to conspecific chemical cues
Heather S. Galbraith, Carrie J. Blakeslee, Andrew K. Schmucker, Nicholas S. Johnson, Michael J. Hansen, Weiming Li
2017, Journal of Fish Biology (90) 384-395
The present study investigated the potential role of conspecific chemical cues in inland juvenile American eel Anguilla rostrata migrations by assessing glass eel and 1 year old elver affinities to elver washings, and elver affinity to adult yellow eel washings. In two-choice maze assays, glass eels were attracted to elver washings,...
The Chief Joseph Hatchery Program 2014 Annual Report
Andrea Pearl, Matthew Laramie, Casey Baldwin, John Rohrback, Pat Phillips
2017, Report
The Chief Joseph Hatchery Program is comprised of both operations and maintenance of the Chief Joseph Hatchery, located near Bridgeport, Washington and the monitoring and evaluation of natural- and hatchery-origin Chinook salmon in the Okanogan Subbasin. In 2014, the Chief Joseph Hatchery released 44,267 yearling and 186,050 subyearling integrated Chinook...
Predicting animal home-range structure and transitions using a multistate Ornstein-Uhlenbeck biased random walk
Greg A. Breed, Emily A. Golson, M. Tim Tinker
2017, Ecology (98) 32-47
The home‐range concept is central in animal ecology and behavior, and numerous mechanistic models have been developed to understand home range formation and maintenance. These mechanistic models usually assume a single, contiguous home range. Here we describe and implement a simple home‐range model that can accommodate multiple...
Critical zone properties control the fate of nitrogen during experimental rainfall in montane forests of the Colorado Front Range
Eve-Lyn S. Hinckley, Brian A. Ebel, Rebecca T. Barnes, Sheila F. Murphy, Suzanne P. Anderson
2017, Biogeochemistry (132) 213-231
Several decades of research in alpine ecosystems have demonstrated links among the critical zone, hydrologic response, and the fate of elevated atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition. Less research has occurred in mid-elevation forests, which may be important for retaining atmospheric N deposition. To explore the fate of N in the montane...
Comparison of in vitro estrogenic activity and estrogen concentrations insource and treated waters from 25 U.S. drinking water treatment plants
Justin M. Conley, Nicola Evans, Heath Mash, Laura Rosenblum, Kathleen Schenck, Susan Glassmeyer, Edward T. Furlong, Dana W. Kolpin, Vickie S. Wilson
2017, Science of the Total Environment (579) 1610-1617
In vitro bioassays have been successfully used to screen for estrogenic activity in wastewater and surface water, however, few have been applied to treated drinking water. Here, extracts of source and treated water samples were assayed for estrogenic activity using T47D-KBluc cells and analyzed by liquid chromatography-Fourier transform mass spectrometry (LC-FTMS) for natural...
Is “morphodynamic equilibrium” an oxymoron?
Zeng Zhou, Giovanni Coco, Ian Townend, Maitane Olabarrieta, Mick van der Wegen, Zheng Gong, Andrea D’Alpaos, Shu Gao, Bruce E. Jaffe, Guy R. Gelfenbaum, Qing He, Yaping Wang, Stefano Lanzoni, Zhengbing Wang, Han Winterwerp, Changkuan Zhang
2017, Earth-Science Reviews (165) 257-267
Morphodynamic equilibrium is a widely adopted yet elusive concept in the field of geomorphology of coasts, rivers and estuaries. Based on the Exner equation, an expression of mass conservation of sediment, we distinguish three types of equilibrium defined as static and dynamic, of which two different types exist. Other expressions...
