Neutron scattering measurements of carbon dioxide adsorption in pores within the Marcellus Shale: Implications for sequestration
Konstantinos L. Stefanopoulos, Tristan G. A. Youngs, Richard Sakurovs, Leslie F. Ruppert, Jitendra Bahadur, Yuri B. Melnichenko
2017, Environmental Science & Technology (51) 6515-6521
Shale is an increasingly viable source of natural gas and a potential candidate for geologic CO2sequestration. Understanding the gas adsorption behavior on shale is necessary for the design of optimal gas recovery and sequestration projects. In the present study neutron diffraction and small-angle neutron scattering measurements of adsorbed CO2 in Marcellus...
Population trends and distribution of Common Murre Uria aalge colonies in Washington, 1996-2015
Susan M Thomas, James E. Lyons
2017, Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation (45) 95-102
Periodic assessments of population trends and changes in spatial distribution are valuable for managing marine birds and their breeding habitats, particularly when evaluating long-term response to threats such as oil spills, predation pressure, and changing ocean conditions. We evaluated recent trends in abundance and distribution of the Common Murre Uria...
Aquatic-riparian systems
Deanna H. Olson, Sherri L. Johnson, Paul D. Anderson, Brooke E. Penaluna, Jason B. Dunham
2017, Book chapter, People, forests, and change: Lessons from the Pacific Northwest
No abstract available....
Freshwater mussels (Unionidae): Central and West Texas Final Report
Charles R. Randklev, Nathan Johnson, T. J. Miller, J.M. Morton, J. Dudding, K. Skow, B. Boseman, M. Hart, E.T. Tsakiris, K. Inoue, R.R. Lopez
2017, Report, Texas A&M Institute of Renewable Natural Resources
The goal of this study was two-fold: (1) assess the taxonomic identity and phylogenetic placement of Quadrula aurea (Golden Orb) [Federal Candidate], Quadrula houstonensis (Smooth Pimpleback) [Federal Candidate], and Quadrula petrina (Texas Pimpleback) [Federal Candidate] through mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequencing; and (2) provided additional information on the distribution and abundance for mussel species...
Instrumentation development for In Situ 40Ar/39Ar planetary geochronology
Leah E. Morgan, Madicken Munk, Brett Davidheiser-Kroll, Nicholas H. Warner, Sanjeev Gupta, Rachel Slaybaugh, Patrick Harkness, Darren Mark
2017, Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research (41) 381-396
The chronology of the Solar System, particularly the timing of formation of extra-terrestrial bodies and their features, is an outstanding problem in planetary science. Although various chronological methods for in situ geochronology have been proposed (e.g., Rb-Sr, K-Ar), and even applied (K-Ar), the reliability, accuracy, and applicability of the 40Ar/39Ar method...
Different historical fire–climate patterns in California
Jon E. Keeley, Alexandra D. Syphard
2017, International Journal of Wildland Fire (26) 253-268
The relationship between annual variation in area burned and seasonal temperatures and precipitation was investigated for the major climate divisions in California. Historical analyses showed marked differences in fires on montane and foothill landscapes. Based on roughly a century of data, there are five important lessons on fire–climate relationships in...
Comparative precision of age estimates from two southern reservoir populations of paddlefish [Polyodon spathula (Walbaum, 1792)]
James M. Long, Ashley Nealis
2017, Journal of Applied Ichthyology (33) 819-820
The aim of the study was to determine whether location and sex affected the age precision estimates between two southern, reservoir populations of paddlefish [Polyodon spathula (Walbaum, 1792)]. From 589 paddlefish collected in Grand Lake and Keystone Lake, Oklahoma in 2011, ages from dentaries were estimated using three independent readers and...
Ecological regime shift drives declining growth rates of sea turtles throughout the West Atlantic
Karen A. Bjorndal, Alan B. Bolten, Milani Chaloupka, Vincent S. Saba, Claudio Bellini, Maria A.G. Marcovaldi, Armando J.B. Santos, Luis Felipe Wurdig Bortolon, Anne B. Meylan, Peter A. Meylan, Jennifer Gray, Robert Hardy, Beth Brost, Michael Bresette, Jonathan C. Gorham, Stephen Connett, Barbara Van Sciver Crouchley, Mike Dawson, Deborah Hayes, Carlos E. Diez, Robert P. van Dam, Sue Willis, Mabel Nava, Kristen M. Hart, Michael S. Cherkiss, Andrew Crowder, Clayton Pollock, Zandy Hillis-Starr, Fernando A. Munoz Teneria, Roberto Herrera-Pavon, Vanessa Labrada-Martagon, Armando Lorences, Ana Negrete-Philippe, Margaret M. Lamont, Allen M. Foley, Rhonda Bailey, Raymond R. Carthy, Russell Scarpino, Erin McMichael, Jane A. Provancha, Annabelle Brooks, Adriana Jardim, Milagros Lopez-Mendilaharsu, Daniel Gonzalez-Paredes, Andres Estrades, Alejandro Fallabrino, Gustavo Martinez-Souza, Gabriela M. Velez-Rubio, Ralf H. Boulon Jr., Jaime Collazo, Robert Wershoven, Vicente Guzman Hernandez, Thomas B. Stringell, Amdeep Sanghera, Peter B. Richardson, Annette C. Broderick, Quinton Phillips, Marta C. Calosso, John A.B. Claydon, Tasha L. Metz, Amanda L. Gordon, Andre M. Landry Jr., Donna J. Shaver, Janice Blumenthal, Lucy Collyer, Brendan J. Godley, Andrew McGowan, Matthew J. Witt, Cathi L. Campbell, Cynthia J. Lagueux, Thomas L. Bethel, Lory Kenyon
2017, Global Change Biology (23) 4556-4568
Somatic growth is an integrated, individual-based response to environmental conditions, especially in ectotherms. Growth dynamics of large, mobile animals are particularly useful as bio-indicators of environmental change at regional scales. We assembled growth rate data from throughout the West Atlantic for green turtles, Chelonia mydas, which are long-lived, highly migratory,...
Controls on the chemical composition of saline surface crusts and emitted dust from a wet playa in the Mojave Desert (USA)
Harland L. Goldstein, George N. Breit, Richard L. Reynolds
2017, Journal of Arid Environments (140) 50-66
Saline-surface crusts and their compositions at ephemeral, dry, and drying lakes are important products of arid-land processes. Detailed understanding is lacking, however, about interactions among locally variable hydrogeologic conditions, compositional control of groundwater on vadose zone and surface salts, and dust composition. Chemical and physical data from groundwater, sediments, and...
A practical method for the determination of total selenium in environmental samples using isotope dilution-hydride generation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry
Amy E. Kleckner, Evangelos Kakouros, A. Robin Stewart
2017, Limnology and Oceanography: Methods (15) 363-371
A safe, practical, and accurate method for the determination of selenium (Se) in range of environmental samples was developed. Small sample masses, 5–20 mg, were amended with 82Se enriched isotope for the isotope dilution (ID), preceding a multi-step wet digestion with nitric acid (HNO3) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Samples were...
High sensitivity of gross primary production in the Rocky Mountains to summer rain
M. Berkelhammer, I.C. Stefanescu, J. Joiner, Lesleigh Anderson
2017, Geophysical Research Letters (44) 3643-3652
In the catchments of the Rocky Mountains, peak snowpack is declining in response to warmer spring temperatures. To understand how this will influence terrestrial gross primary production (GPP), we compared precipitation data across the intermountain west with satellite retrievals of solar-induced fluorescence (SIF), a proxy for GPP. Annual precipitation patterns...
Geologic map of Meridiani Planum, Mars
Brian M. Hynek, Gaetano Di Achille
2017, Scientific Investigations Map 3356
Introduction and BackgroundThe Meridiani Planum region of Mars—originally named due to its proximity to the Martian prime meridian—contains a variety of geologic units, including those that are crater‑related, that span the Early Noachian to Late Amazonian Epochs. Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) data indicate this area contains extensive layered deposits, some...
Seawater-flooding events and impact on freshwater lenses of low-lying islands: Controlling factors, basic management and mitigation
Stephen B. Gingerich, Clifford I. Voss, Adam G. Johnson
2017, Journal of Hydrology (551) 676-688
An unprecedented set of hydrologic observations was collected after the Dec 2008 seawater-flooding event on Roi-Namur, Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. By two days after the seawater flooding that occurred at the beginning of dry season, the observed salinity of water withdrawn by the island’s main skimming...
Using a full annual cycle model to evaluate long-term population viability of the conservation-reliant Kirtland's warbler after successful recovery
Donald J. Brown, Christine Ribic, Deahn M. Donner, Mark D. Nelson, Carol I. Bocetti, Christie M. Deloria-Sheffield
2017, Journal of Applied Ecology (54) 439-449
Long-term management planning for conservation-reliant migratory songbirds is particularly challenging because habitat quality in different stages and geographic locations of the annual cycle can have direct and carry-over effects that influence the population dynamics. The Neotropical migratory songbird Kirtland's warbler Setophaga kirtlandii (Baird 1852) is listed as...
Subsequent-year recaptures at winter sites in three species of shrubland sparrows (Emberizidae)
Steven T. Knick, Matthias Leu, Steve E. Hanser
2017, Southwestern Naturalist (62) 121-125
The tendency by individual birds to return to winter sites in subsequent years can be important in assessing the potential influence of habitat changes during the nonbreeding period. We recaptured five Brewer's (Spizella breweri), seven sagebrush (Artemisiospiza nevadensis), and three black-throated (Amphispiza bilineata) sparrows from 1–3 subsequent years at the...
Precipitation thresholds for landslide occurrence near Seattle, Mukilteo, and Everett, Washington
Caroline R. Scheevel, Rex L. Baum, Benjamin B. Mirus, Joel B. Smith
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1039
Shallow landslides along coastal bluffs frequently occur in the railway corridor between Seattle and Everett, Washington. These slides disrupt passenger rail service, both because of required track maintenance and because the railroad owner, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, does not allow passenger travel for 48 hours after a disruptive landslide....
Closure to “Dimensionless erosion laws for cohesive sediment” By Joseph S. Walder
Joseph S. Walder
2017, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering (143)
No abstract available....
Ongoing efforts to make ash-cloud model forecasts more accurate
Larry G. Mastin, Alexa R. Van Eaton, David J. Schneider, Roger P. Denlinger
2017, Conference Paper, Proceedings of impact of volcanic ash clouds on military operations
The 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland changed the rules for air travel in Europe and introduced the use of restricted fly zones based on ash-cloud concentrations calculated by dispersion models. This change prompted a sustained effort to improve the accuracy of ash-cloud model forecasts. In this paper we...
Pore network modeling of the electrical signature of solute transport in dual-domain media
Frederick Day-Lewis, Niklas Linde, Roy Haggerty, Kamini Singha, Martin A. Briggs
2017, Geophysical Research Letters (44) 4908-4916
Dual-domain models are used to explain anomalous solute transport behavior observed in diverse hydrologic settings and applications, from groundwater remediation to hyporheic exchange. To constrain such models, new methods are needed with sensitivity to both immobile and mobile domains. Recent experiments indicate that dual-domain transport of ionic...
Monitoring breeding and migration of neotropical migratory birds at Point Loma, San Diego County, California, 5-year summary, 2011–15
Suellen Lynn, Melanie C. Madden, Barbara E. Kus
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1042
Executive SummaryWe operated a bird banding station on the Point Loma peninsula in western San Diego County, California, during spring and summer from 2011 to 2015. The station was established in 2010 as part of a long-term monitoring program for neotropical migratory birds during spring migration and for breeding birds...
Time-causal decomposition of geomagnetic time series into secular variation, solar quiet, and disturbance signals
E. Joshua Rigler
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1037
A theoretical basis and prototype numerical algorithm are provided that decompose regular time series of geomagnetic observations into three components: secular variation; solar quiet, and disturbance. Respectively, these three components correspond roughly to slow changes in the Earth’s internal magnetic field, periodic daily variations caused by quasi-stationary (with respect to...
Potential effects of permafrost thaw on arctic river ecosystems
Jonathan A. O’Donnell, Christian E. Zimmerman, Michael P. Carey, Joshua C. Koch
2017, Alaska Park Science (16) 47-49
No abstract available....
Density estimates of monarch butterflies overwintering in central Mexico
Wayne E. Thogmartin, James E. Diffendorfer, Laura Lopez-Hoffman, Karen Oberhauser, John M. Pleasants, Brice X. Semmens, Darius J. Semmens, Orley R. Taylor, Ruscena Wiederholt
2017, PeerJ (5)
Given the rapid population decline and recent petition for listing of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus L.) under the Endangered Species Act, an accurate estimate of the Eastern, migratory population size is needed. Because of difficulty in counting individual monarchs, the number of hectares occupied by monarchs in the overwintering...
A paired-laser photogrammetric method for in situ length measurement of benthic fishes
Austin A. Rizzo, Stuart A. Welsh, Patricia A. Thompson
2017, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (37) 16-22
Photogrammetry, a technique to obtain measurements from photographs, may be a valid method for measuring lengths of rare, threatened, or endangered species. Photogrammetric methods of measurement are nonintrusive and reduce the possibility of physical damage or physiological stress associated with the capture and handling of individuals. We evaluated precision and...
Improved supervised classification of accelerometry data to distinguish behaviors of soaring birds
Maitreyi Sur, Tony Suffredini, Stephen M. Wessells, Peter H. Bloom, Michael J. Lanzone, Sheldon Blackshire, Srisarguru Sridhar, Todd E. Katzner
2017, PLoS ONE (12)
Soaring birds can balance the energetic costs of movement by switching between flapping, soaring and gliding flight. Accelerometers can allow quantification of flight behavior and thus a context to interpret these energetic costs. However, models to interpret accelerometry data are still being developed, rarely trained with supervised datasets, and difficult...
