Global statistical maps of extreme-event magnetic observatory 1 min first differences in horizontal intensity
Jeffrey J. Love, Pierdavide Coisson, Antti Pulkkinen
2016, Geophysical Research Letters (43) 4126-4135
Analysis is made of the long-term statistics of three different measures of ground level, storm time geomagnetic activity: instantaneous 1 min first differences in horizontal intensity ΔBh, the root-mean-square of 10 consecutive 1 min differences S, and the ramp change R over 10 min. Geomagnetic latitude maps of the cumulative exceedances of these...
Response comment: Carbon sequestration on Mars
Christopher Edwards, Bethany L. Ehlmann
2016, Geology (44)
Martian atmospheric pressure has important implications for the past and present habitability of the planet, including the timing and causes of environmental change. The ancient Martian surface is strewn with evidence for early water bound in minerals (e.g., Ehlmann and Edwards, 2014) and recorded in surface features such as large...
Exposure to the contraceptive progestin, gestodene, alters reproductive behavior, arrests egg deposition, and masculinizes development in the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas)
Tyler E. Frankel, Michael T. Meyer, Dana W. Kolpin, Amanda B. Gillis, David A. Alvarez, Edward F. Orlando
2016, Environmental Science & Technology (50) 5991-5999
Endogenous progestogens and pharmaceutical progestins enter the environment through wastewater treatment plant effluent and agricultural field runoff. Lab studies demonstrate strong, negative exposure effects of these chemicals on aquatic vertebrate reproduction. Behavior can be a sensitive, early indicator of exposure to environmental contaminants associated with altered reproduction yet is rarely...
Estimated historical distribution of grassland communities of the Southern Great Plains
Gordon C. Reese, Daniel J. Manier, Natasha B. Carr, Ramana Callan, Ian I.F. Leinwand, Timothy J. Assal, Lucy Burris, Drew A. Ignizio
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1184
The purpose of this project was to map the estimated distribution of grassland communities of the Southern Great Plains prior to Euro-American settlement. The Southern Great Plains Rapid Ecoregional Assessment (REA), under the direction of the Bureau of Land Management and the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative, includes four ecoregions:...
Groundwater conditions in Georgia, 2012–14
Michael F. Peck, Jaime A. Painter
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5161
The U.S. Geological Survey collects groundwater data and conducts studies to monitor hydrologic conditions, better define groundwater resources, and address problems related to water supply, water use, and water quality. In Georgia, water levels were monitored continuously at 181 wells during calendar year 2012, 185 wells during calendar year 2013,...
The Carolina Sandhills: Quaternary eolian sand sheets and dunes along the updip margin of the Atlantic Coastal Plain province, southeastern United States
Christopher S. Swezey, Bradley A. Fitzwater, G. Richard Whittecar, Shannon A. Mahan, Christopher P. Garrity, Wilma B. Aleman-Gonzalez, Kerby M. Dobbs
2016, Quaternary Research (86) 271-286
The Carolina Sandhills is a physiographic region of the Atlantic Coastal Plain province in the southeastern United States. In Chesterfield County (South Carolina), the surficial sand of this region is the Pinehurst Formation, which is interpreted as eolian sand derived from the underlying Cretaceous Middendorf Formation. This sand has yielded...
Animal movement in the absence of predation: environmental drivers of movement strategies in a partial migration system
Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, James P. Gibbs, Charles B. Yackulic, Jacqueline L. Frair, Fredy Cabrera, Louis-Philippe Rousseau
2016, Oikos (126) 1004-1019
Animal movement strategies including migration, dispersal, nomadism, and residency are shaped by broad-scale spatial-temporal structuring of the environment, including factors such as the degrees of spatial variation, seasonality and inter-annual predictability. Animal movement strategies, in turn, interact with the characteristics of individuals and the local distribution of resources to determine...
Determining the spatial variability of wetland soil bulk density, organic matter, and the conversion factor between organic matter and organic carbon across coastal Louisiana, U.S.A.
Hongqing Wang, Sarai C. Piazza, Leigh A. Sharp, Camille L. Stagg, Brady R. Couvillion, Gregory D. Steyer, Thomas E. McGinnis
2016, Journal of Coastal Research (33) 507-517
Soil bulk density (BD), soil organic matter (SOM) content, and a conversion factor between SOM and soil organic carbon (SOC) are often used in estimating SOC sequestration and storage. Spatial variability in BD, SOM, and the SOM–SOC conversion factor affects the ability to accurately estimate SOC sequestration, storage, and the...
Hydrogeology of Virginia
David L. Nelms, George Harlow, T. Scott Bruce
Christopher M. Bailey, W. Cullen Sherwood, L. Scott Eaton, David S. Powars, editor(s)
2016, Book chapter, The geology of Virginia (Virginia Museum of Natural History Special Publication 18)
The hydrogeology of Virginia documented herein is in two parts. Part 1 consists of an overview and description of the hydrogeology within each regional aquifer system in the Commonwealth. Part 2 includes discussions of hydrogeologic research topics of current relevance including: 1. the Chesapeake Bay impact structure, 2. subsidence/compaction in...
Identification of Marbon in the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal
Jiehong Guo, Marta Venier, Kevin Romanak, Stephen M. Westenbroek, Ronald A. Hites
2016, Environmental Science & Technology (50) 13232-13238
Marbon is isomeric with Dechlorane Plus (DP). Both are produced by the Diels− Alder condensation of hexachlorocyclopentadiene with cyclic dienes, and both have elemental compositions of C18H12Cl12. Dechlorane Plus is commonly found in the environment throughout the world, but Marbon has, so far, only been detected at low levels in one sediment core...
Survival estimates for reintroduced populations of the Chiricahua Leopard Frog (Lithobates chiricahuensis)
Paige E. Howell, Blake R. Hossack, Erin L. Muths, Brent H. Sigafus, Richard B. Chandler
2016, Copeia (104) 824-830
Global amphibian declines have been attributed to a number of factors including disease, invasive species, habitat degradation, and climate change. Reintroduction is one management action that is commonly used with the goal of recovering imperiled species. The success of reintroductions varies widely, and evaluating their efficacy requires estimates of population...
Potential trophic cascades triggered by the barred owl range expansion
Samantha R. Holm, Barry R. Noon, David Wiens, William J. Ripple
2016, Wildlife Society Bulletin (40) 615-624
Recently, the barred owl (Strix varia) has expanded its range into the Pacific Northwest of the United States resulting in pronounced effects on the demography and behavior of the northern spotted owl (S. occidentalis caurina). The range expansion has brought together historically allopatric species, creating the potential for significant changes...
Morphometric body condition indices of wild Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris)
Lauren T. Harshaw, Iskande V. Larkin, Robert K. Bonde, Charles J. Deutsch, Richard C. Hill
2016, Aquatic Mammals (42) 428-439
In many species, body weight (W) increases geometrically with body length (L), so W/L3 provides a body condition index (BCI) that can be used to evaluate nutritional status once a normal range has been established. No such index has been established for Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris). This study was...
Byproduct metal requirements for U.S. wind and solar photovoltaic electricity generation up to the year 2040 under various Clean Power Plan scenarios
Nedal T. Nassar, David R. Wilburn, Thomas G. Goonan
2016, Applied Energy (183) 1209-1226
The United States has and will likely continue to obtain an increasing share of its electricity from solar photovoltaics (PV) and wind power, especially under the Clean Power Plan (CPP). The need for additional solar PV modules and wind turbines will, among other things, result in greater demand for a...
USGS Colorado Water Science Center bookmark
U.S. Geological Survey
2016, General Information Product 169
The U.S. Geological Survey Colorado Water Science Center conducts its water-resources activities primarily in Colorado in cooperation with more than 125 different entities. These activities include extensive data-collection efforts and studies of streamflow, water quality, and groundwater to address many specific issues of concern to Colorado water-management entities and citizens. The...
High-resolution seismic-reflection data from offshore northern California — Bolinas to Sea Ranch
Ray W. Sliter, Samuel Y. Johnson, John L. Chin, Parker Allwardt, Jeffrey Beeson, Peter J. Triezenberg
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1058
The U.S. Geological Survey collected high-resolution seismic-reflection data in September 2009, on survey S-8-09-NC, offshore of northern California between Bolinas and Sea Ranch.The survey area spans about 125 km of California’s coast and extends around Point Reyes. Data were collected aboard the U.S. Geological Survey R/V Parke Snavely. Cumulatively, ~1,150...
Global stocks of selected mineral-based commodities
David R. Wilburn, Donald I. Bleiwas, Nick A. Karl
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5152
IntroductionThe U.S. Geological Survey, National Minerals Information Center, analyzes mineral and metal supply chains by identifying and describing major components of mineral and material flows from ore extraction, through intermediate forms, to a final product. This report focuses on an important component of the world’s supply chain: the amounts and...
Suspended-sediment and turbidity responses to sediment and turbidity reduction projects in the Beaver Kill, Stony Clove Creek, and Warner Creek Watersheds, New York, 2010–14
Jason Siemion, Michael R. McHale, Wae Danyelle Davis
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5157
Suspended-sediment concentrations (SSCs) and turbidity were monitored within the Beaver Kill, Stony Clove Creek, and Warner Creek tributaries to the upper Esopus Creek in New York, the main source of water to the Ashokan Reservoir, from October 1, 2010, through September 30, 2014. The purpose of the monitoring was to...
Potential effects of drought on carrying capacity for wintering waterfowl in the Central Valley of California
Mark J. Petrie, Joseph P. Fleskes, Mike A. Wolder, Craig R. Isola, Gregory S. Yarris, Daniel A. Skalos
2016, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (7) 408-422
We used the bioenergetics model TRUEMET to evaluate potential effects of California's recent drought on food supplies for waterfowl wintering in the Central Valley under a range of habitat and waterfowl population scenarios. In nondrought years in the current Central Valley landscape, food supplies are projected to be adequate for...
Methane emissions from oceans, coasts, and freshwater habitats: New perspectives and feedbacks on climate
Leila J. Hamdan, Kimberly P. Wickland
2016, Limnology and Oceanography (61) S3-S12
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and atmospheric concentrations have risen 2.5 times since the beginning of the Industrial age. While much of this increase is attributed to anthropogenic sources, natural sources, which contribute between 35% and 50% of global methane emissions, are thought to have a role in the...
Towards simplification of hydrologic modeling: Identification of dominant processes
Steven L. Markstrom, Lauren E. Hay, Martyn P. Clark
2016, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (20) 4655-4671
The Precipitation–Runoff Modeling System (PRMS), a distributed-parameter hydrologic model, has been applied to the conterminous US (CONUS). Parameter sensitivity analysis was used to identify: (1) the sensitive input parameters and (2) particular model output variables that could be associated with the dominant hydrologic process(es). Sensitivity values of 35 PRMS calibration...
Molecular-level evidence provided by ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry for oil-derived doc in groundwater at Bemidji, Minnesota
Ananna Islam, Arif Ahmed, Manhoi Hur, Kevin A. Thorn, Sunghwan Kim
2016, Journal of Hazardous Materials (320) 123-132
Dissolved organic matter samples extracted from ground water at the USGS Bemidji oil spill site in Minnesota were investigated by ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry. Principle component analysis (PCA) of the elemental composition assignments of the samples showed that the score plots for the contaminated sites were well separated from those...
Interactive effects between nest microclimate and nest vegetation structure confirm microclimate thresholds for Lesser Prairie-Chicken nest survival
Blake A. Grisham, Alixandra J. Godar, Clint W. Boal, David A. Haukos
2016, The Condor (118) 728-746
The range of Lesser Prairie-Chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) spans 4 unique ecoregions along 2 distinct environmental gradients. The Sand Shinnery Oak Prairie ecoregion of the Southern High Plains of New Mexico and Texas is environmentally isolated, warmer, and more arid than the Short-Grass, Sand Sagebrush, and Mixed-Grass Prairie ecoregions in Colorado,...
Hampton roads regional Water-Quality Monitoring Program
Aaron J. Porter, John D. Jastram
2016, Fact Sheet 2016-3095
IntroductionHow much nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended solids are contributed by the highly urbanized areas of the Hampton Roads region in Virginia to Chesapeake Bay? The answer to this complex question has major implications for policy decisions, resource allocations, and efforts aimed at restoring clean waters to Chesapeake Bay and its...
Hydrologic assessment of the shallow groundwater flow system beneath the Shinnecock Nation tribal lands, Suffolk County, New York
Michael L. Noll, Simonette L. Rivera, Ronald Busciolano
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5110
Defining the distribution and flow of shallow groundwater beneath the Shinnecock Nation tribal lands in Suffolk County, New York, is a crucial first step in identifying sources of potential contamination to the surficial aquifer and coastal ecosystems. The surficial or water table aquifer beneath the tribal lands is the primary...
