Geophysics- and geochemistry-based assessment of the geochemical characteristics and groundwater-flow system of the U.S. part of the Mesilla Basin/Conejos-Médanos aquifer system in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, and El Paso County, Texas, 2010–12
Andrew P. Teeple
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5028
One of the largest rechargeable groundwater systems by total available volume in the Rio Grande/Río Bravo Basin (hereinafter referred to as the “Rio Grande”) region of the United States and Mexico, the Mesilla Basin/Conejos-Médanos aquifer system, supplies water for irrigation as well as for cities of El Paso, Texas; Las...
The role of paleoecology in restoration and resource management—The past as a guide to future decision-making: Review and example from the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, U.S.A
G. Lynn Wingard, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Anna Wachnicka
2017, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (5)
Resource managers around the world are challenged to develop feasible plans for sustainable conservation and/or restoration of the lands, waters, and wildlife they administer—a challenge made greater by anticipated climate change and associated effects over the next century. Increasingly, paleoecologic and geologic archives are being used to extend the period...
Soils as relative-age dating tools
Helaine W. Markewich, Milan J. Pavich, Douglas A. Wysocki
2017, Book chapter, The International Encyclopedia of Geography
Soils develop at the earth's surface via multiple processes that act through time. Precluding burial or disturbance, soil genetic horizons form progressively and reflect the balance among formation processes, surface age, and original substrate composition. Soil morphology provides a key link between process and time (soil age), enabling soils to...
Olivine-melt relationships and syneruptive redox variations in the 1959 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano as revealed by XANES
Rosalind L. Helz, Elizabeth Cottrell, Maryjo N. Brounce, Katherine A. Kelley
2017, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (333-334) 1-14
The 1959 summit eruption of Kīlauea Volcano exhibited high lava fountains of gas-rich, primitive magma, containing olivine + chromian spinel in highly vesicular brown glass. Microprobe analysis of these samples shows that euhedral rims on olivine phenocrysts, in direct contact with glass, vary significantly in forsterite (Fo) content, at constant major-element...
Transient electromagnetic soundings in the San Luis Valley, Colorado, near the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve and the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge (field seasons 2007, 2009, and 2011)
David V. Fitterman
2017, Data Series 1043
Transient electromagnetic (TEM) soundings were made in the San Luis Valley, Colorado, to map the location of a blue clay unit as well as to investigate the presence of suspected faults. A total of 147 soundings were made near and in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, and an...
Groundwater quality in the Western San Joaquin Valley study unit, 2010: California GAMA Priority Basin Project
Miranda S. Fram
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5032
Water quality in groundwater resources used for public drinking-water supply in the Western San Joaquin Valley (WSJV) was investigated by the USGS in cooperation with the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) as part of its Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program Priority Basin Project. The WSJV includes...
Hydrogeologic framework and hydrologic conditions of the Piney Point aquifer in Virginia
E. Randolph McFarland
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5041
The Piney Point aquifer in Virginia is newly described and delineated as being composed of six geologic units, in a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VA DEQ). The eastward-dipping geologic units include, in stratigraphically ascending order, thesand of the...
Regional and temporal variability of melts during a Cordilleran magma pulse: Age and chemical evolution of the jurassic arc, eastern mojave desert, California
A.P. Barth, J.L. Wooden, David M. Miller, Keith A. Howard, Lydia Fox, Elizabeth R. Schermer, C.E. Jacobson
2017, Geological Society of America Bulletin (129) 429-448
Intrusive rock sequences in the central and eastern Mojave Desert segment of the Jurassic Cordilleran arc of the western United States record regional and temporal variations in magmas generated during the second prominent pulse of Mesozoic continental arc magmatism. U/Pb zircon ages provide temporal control for describing variations in rock...
Geologic map of the Beacon Rock quadrangle, Skamania County, Washington
Russell C. Evarts, Robert J. Fleck
2017, Scientific Investigations Map 3367
The Beacon Rock 7.5′ quadrangle is located approximately 50 km east of Portland, Oregon, on the north side of the Columbia River Gorge, a scenic canyon carved through the axis of the Cascade Range by the Columbia River. Although approximately 75,000 people live within the gorge, much of the region...
System identification based on deconvolution and cross correlation: An application to a 20‐story instrumented building in Anchorage, Alaska
Weiping Wen, Erol Kalkan
2017, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (107) 718-740
Deconvolution and cross‐correlation techniques are used for system identification of a 20‐story steel, moment‐resisting frame building in downtown Anchorage, Alaska. This regular‐plan midrise structure is instrumented with a 32‐channel accelerometer array at 10 levels. The impulse response functions (IRFs) and correlation functions (CFs) are computed based on waveforms recorded from...
USGS integrated drought science
Andrea C. Ostroff, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Patrick M. Lambert, Nathaniel L. Booth, Shawn L. Carter, Jason M. Stoker, Michael J. Focazio
2017, Circular 1430
Project Need and OverviewDrought poses a serious threat to the resilience of human communities and ecosystems in the United States (Easterling and others, 2000). Over the past several years, many regions have experienced extreme drought conditions, fueled by prolonged periods of reduced precipitation and exceptionally warm temperatures. Extreme drought has...
Spatio-temporal mapping of plate boundary faults in California using geodetic imaging
Andrea Donnellan, Ramon Arrowsmith, Stephen B. DeLong
2017, Geosciences (7) 1-26
The Pacific–North American plate boundary in California is composed of a 400-km-wide network of faults and zones of distributed deformation. Earthquakes, even large ones, can occur along individual or combinations of faults within the larger plate boundary system. While research often focuses on the primary and secondary faults, holistic study...
Evaluation of long-term trends in hydrologic and water-quality conditions, and estimation of water budgets through 2013, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Ronald A. Sloto, Andrew G. Reif
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5025
An evaluation of trends in hydrologic and water quality conditions and estimation of water budgets through 2013 was done by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Chester County Water Resources Authority. Long-term hydrologic, meteorologic, and biologic data collected in Chester County, Pennsylvania, which included streamflow, groundwater levels, surface-water...
A shifting rift—Geophysical insights into the evolution of Rio Grande rift margins and the Embudo transfer zone near Taos, New Mexico
V. J. S. Grauch, Paul W. Bauer, Benjamin J. Drenth, Keith I. Kelson
2017, Geosphere (13) 870-910
We present a detailed example of how a subbasin develops adjacent to a transfer zone in the Rio Grande rift. The Embudo transfer zone in the Rio Grande rift is considered one of the classic examples and has been used as the inspiration for several theoretical models. Despite this...
Seasonal movements of the Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) in western North America as revealed by satellite telemetry
James A. Johnson, Travis L. Booms, Lucas H. DeCicco, David C. Douglas
2017, Journal of Raptor Research (51) 115-128
The Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) is a widespread raptor whose abundance and distribution fluctuates in response to the varying amplitudes of its prey, which are predominately microtines. Previous efforts to describe the seasonal movements of Short-eared Owls have been hindered by few band recoveries and the species' cryptic and irruptive...
Historical patterns of acidification and increasing CO2 flux associated with Florida springs
Kira E. Barrera, Lisa L. Robbins
2017, Limnology and Oceanography (62) 2404-2417
Florida has one of the highest concentrations of springs in the world, with many discharging into rivers and predominantly into eastern Gulf of Mexico coast, and they likely influence the hydrochemistry of these adjacent waters; however, temporal and spatial trends have not been well studied. We present over 20 yr...
Microhabitat selection of the Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus Miller) in the central Appalachians
Corinne A. Diggins, W. Mark Ford
2017, Northeastern Naturalist (24) 173-190
Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus (Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel; VNFS) is a rare Sciurid that occurrs in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia and northwest Virginia. Previous work on this subspecies has confirmed close associations with Picea rubens (Red Spruce) at the landscape and stand levels in the region. However, ongoing Red Spruce restoration...
Geodetic slip model of the 3 September 2016 Mw 5.8 Pawnee, Oklahoma, earthquake: Evidence for fault‐zone collapse
Frederick Pollitz, Charles W. Wicks Jr., Martin Schoenball, William L. Ellsworth, Mark Murray
2017, Seismological Research Letters (88) 983-993
The 3 September 2016 Mw 5.8 Pawnee earthquake in northern Oklahoma is the largest earthquake ever recorded in Oklahoma. The coseismic deformation was measured with both Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar and Global Positioning System (GPS), with measureable signals of order 1 cm and 1 mm, respectively. We derive a coseismic slip model from Sentinel‐1A...
Formation of Fe-Mn crusts within a continental margin environment
Tracey A. Conrad, James R. Hein, Adina Paytan, David A. Clague
2017, Ore Geology Reviews (87) 25-40
This study examines Fe-Mn crusts that form on seamounts along the California continental-margin (CCM), within the United States 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone. The study area extends from approximately 30° to 38° North latitudes and from 117° to 126° West longitudes. The area of study is a tectonically...
Summary of oceanographic and water-quality measurements in Chincoteague Bay, Maryland and Virginia, 2014–15
Steven E. Suttles, Neil K. Ganju, Sandra M. Brosnahan, Ellyn T. Montgomery, Patrick J. Dickhudt, Alexis Beudin, Daniel J. Nowacki, Marinna A. Martini
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1032
U.S. Geological Survey scientists and technical support staff measured oceanographic, waterquality, seabed-elevation-change, and meteorological parameters in Chincoteague Bay, Maryland and Virginia, during the period of August 13, 2014, to July 14, 2015, as part of the Estuarine Physical Response to Storms project (GS2–2D) supported by the Department of the Interior...
Estimated seepage rates from selected ditches, ponds, and lakes at the Camas National Wildlife Refuge, eastern Idaho
Gordon W. Rattray
2017, Journal of Environmental Management (203) 578-591
The Camas National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) in eastern Idaho, established in 1937, contains wetlands, ponds, and wet meadows that are essential resting and feeding habitat for migratory birds and nesting habitat for waterfowl. Initially, natural sources of water supported these habitats. However, during the past few decades, changes in...
Performance and retention of lightweight satellite radio tags applied to the ears of polar bears (Ursus maritimus)
Oystein Wiig, Erik W. Born, Kristin L. Laidre, Rune Dietz, Mikkel Villum Jensen, George M. Durner, Anthony M. Pagano, Eric V. Regehr, Michelle St. Martin, Stephen N. Atkinson, Markus Dyck
2017, Animal Biotelemetry (5) 1-11
BackgroundSatellite telemetry studies provide information that is critical to the conservation and management of species affected by ecological change. Here we report on the performance and retention of two types (SPOT-227 and SPOT-305A) of ear-mounted Argos-linked satellite transmitters (i.e., platform transmitter terminal, or PTT) deployed...
Potential human impacts of overlapping land-use and climate in a sensitive dryland: a case study of the Colorado Plateau, USA
Stella M. Copeland, John B. Bradford, Michael C. Duniway, Rudy Schuster
2017, Ecosphere (8) 1-25
Climate and land-use interactions are likely to affect future environmental and socioeconomic conditions in drylands, which tend to be limited by water resources and prone to land degradation. We characterized the potential for interactions between land-use types and land-use and climate change in a model dryland system, the Colorado Plateau,...
Book review: Biology and management of invasive quagga and zebra mussels in the western United States
Amy J. Benson
2017, The Quarterly Review of Biology (92) 209-210
Water is a precious and limited commodity in the western United States and its conveyance is extremely important. Therefore, it is critical to do as much as possible to prevent the spread of two species of dreissenid mussels, both non-native and highly invasive aquatic species already well-established in the eastern...
Geologic controls on cave development in Burnsville Cove, Bath and Highland Counties, Virginia
Christopher S. Swezey, John T. Haynes, Philip C. Lucas, Richard A. Lambert
2017, GSA Field Guides (47) 89-123
Burnsville Cove in Bath and Highland Counties (Virginia, USA) is a karst region in the Valley and Ridge Province of the Appalachian Mountains. The region contains many caves in Silurian to Devonian limestone, and is well suited for examining geologic controls on cave location and cave passage morphology. In Burnsville...
