Preferential flow, diffuse flow, and perching in an interbedded fractured-rock unsaturated zone
John R. Nimmo, Kaitlyn M Creasey, Kimberlie Perkins, Benjamin B. Mirus
2017, Hydrogeology Journal (25) 421-444
Layers of strong geologic contrast within the unsaturated zone can control recharge and contaminant transport to underlying aquifers. Slow diffuse flow in certain geologic layers, and rapid preferential flow in others, complicates the prediction of vertical and lateral fluxes. A simple model is presented, designed to use limited geological site...
Book review: Physics of tsunamis
Eric L. Geist
2017, Pure and Applied Geophysics (174) 1521-1521
“Physics of Tsunamis”, second edition, provides a comprehensive analytical treatment of the hydrodynamics associated with the tsunami generation process. The book consists of seven chapters covering 388 pages. Because the subject matter within each chapter is distinct, an abstract appears at the beginning and references appear at the...
Book review: Extreme ocean waves
Eric L. Geist
2017, Pure and Applied Geophysics (174) 1519-1519
“Extreme Ocean Waves”, edited by E. Pelinovsky and C. Kharif, second edition, Springer International Publishing, 2016; ISBN: 978-3-319-21574-7, ISBN (eBook): 978-3-319-21575-4The second edition of “Extreme Ocean Waves” published by Springer is an update of a collection of 12 papers edited by Efim Pelinovsky and Christian Kharif...
Book review: A chorus of cranes: The cranes of North America and the world
Aaron T. Pearse
2017, The Condor (119) 167-169
Cranes (Gruidae) are widely distributed throughout the world, have lived on Earth for several million years, and currently reside on five continents. Archaeological evidence and historical references suggest that humans have interacted with and been captivated by cranes for many thousands of years (e.g., Leslie 1988, <a class="ref" onclick="popRef2('i0010-5422-119-1-167-Muellner1','','','' );...
Restoration handbook for sagebrush steppe ecosystems with emphasis on greater sage-grouse habitat—Part 3. Site level restoration decisions
David A. Pyke, Jeanne C. Chambers, Mike Pellant, Richard F. Miller, Jeffrey L. Beck, Paul S. Doescher, Bruce A. Roundy, Eugene W. Schupp, Steven T. Knick, Mark Brunson, James D. McIver
2017, Circular 1426
Sagebrush steppe ecosystems in the United States currently (2016) occur on only about one-half of their historical land area because of changes in land use, urban growth, and degradation of land, including invasions of non-native plants. The existence of many animal species depends on the existence of sagebrush steppe...
Reconciling catch differences from multiple fishery independent gill net surveys
Richard T. Kraus, Christopher Vandergoot, Patrick M. Kocovsky, Mark W. Rogers, H. Andrew Cook, Travis O. Brenden
2017, Fisheries Research (188) 17-22
Fishery independent gill net surveys provide valuable demographic information for population assessment and resource management, but relative to net construction, the effects of ancillary species, and environmental variables on focal species catch rates are poorly understood. In response, we conducted comparative deployments with three unique, inter-agency, survey gill nets used...
Asynchrony in the inter-annual recruitment of lake whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis in the Great Lakes region
Mitchell T. Zischke, David B. Bunnell, Cary D. Troy, Eric K. Berglund, David C. Caroffino, Mark P. Ebener, Ji X. He, Shawn P. Sitar, Tomas O. Hook
2017, Journal of Great Lakes Research (43) 359-369
Spatially separated fish populations may display synchrony in annual recruitment if the factors that drive recruitment success, particularly abiotic factors such as temperature, are synchronised across broad spatial scales. We examined inter-annual variation in recruitment among lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) populations in lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior using fishery-dependent and...
Climate change reduces extent of temperate drylands and intensifies drought in deep soils
Daniel R. Schlaepfer, John B. Bradford, William K. Lauenroth, Seth M. Munson, Britta Tietjen, Sonia A. Hall, Scott D. Wilson, Michael C. Duniway, Gensuo Jia, David A. Pyke, Ariuntsetseg Lkhagva, Khishigbayar Jamiyansharav
2017, Nature Communications
Drylands cover 40% of the global terrestrial surface and provide important ecosystem services. While drylands as a whole are expected to increase in extent and aridity in coming decades, temperature and precipitation forecasts vary by latitude and geographic region suggesting different trajectories for tropical, subtropical, and temperate drylands. Uncertainty in...
Book review: Feeding wild birds In America – Culture, commerce, and conservation
Matthew Perry
2017, Wilson Journal of Ornithology (128) 953-955
No abstract available....
Chemistry of diagenetic features analyzed by ChemCam at Pahrump Hills, Gale crater, Mars
Marion Nachon, Nicolas Mangold, Olivier Forni, Linda C. Kah, Agnes Cousin, Roger C. Wiens, Ryan B. Anderson, Diana L. Blaney, Jen G. Blank, Fred J. Calef, Samuel M. Clegg, Cecile Fabre, Martin R. Fisk, Olivier Gasnault, John P. Grotzinger, Rachel Kronyak, Nina L. Lanza, Jeremie Lasue, Laetitia Le Deit, Stephane Le Mouelic, Sylvestre Maurice, Pierre-Yves Meslin, D. Z. Oehler, Valerie Payre, William Rapin, Susanne Schroder, Katherine M. Stack, Dawn Sumner
2017, Icarus (281) 121-136
The Curiosity rover's campaign at Pahrump Hills provides the first analyses of lower Mount Sharp strata. Here we report ChemCam elemental composition of a diverse assemblage of post-depositional features embedded in, or cross-cutting, the host rock. ChemCam results demonstrate their compositional diversity, especially compared to the surrounding host rock: (i)...
Improved accuracy in quantitative laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy using sub-models
Ryan B. Anderson, Samuel M. Clegg, Jens Frydenvang, Roger C. Wiens, Scott M. McLennan, Richard V. Morris, Bethany L. Ehlmann, M. Darby Dyar
2017, Spectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy (129) 49-57
Accurate quantitative analysis of diverse geologic materials is one of the primary challenges faced by the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)-based ChemCam instrument on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover. The SuperCam instrument on the Mars 2020 rover, as well as other LIBS instruments developed for geochemical analysis on Earth or...
Climate change and the eco-hydrology of fire: Will area burned increase in a warming western USA?
Donald McKenzie, Jeremy S. Littell
2017, Ecological Applications (27) 26-36
Wildfire area is predicted to increase with global warming. Empirical statistical models and process-based simulations agree almost universally. The key relationship for this unanimity, observed at multiple spatial and temporal scales, is between drought and fire. Predictive models often focus on ecosystems in which this relationship appears to be particularly...
Bathymetry and capacity of Shawnee Reservoir, Oklahoma, 2016
Chad E. Ashworth, S. Jerrod Smith, Kevin A. Smith
2017, Scientific Investigations Map 3374
Shawnee Reservoir (locally known as Shawnee Twin Lakes) is a man-made reservoir on South Deer Creek with a drainage area of 32.7 square miles in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma. The reservoir consists of two lakes connected by an equilibrium channel. The southern lake (Shawnee City Lake Number 1) was impounded in...
Ecosystem implications of conserving endemic versus eradicating introduced large herbivores in the Galapagos Archipelago
Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, James P. Gibbs, Karl Campbell, Charles B. Yackulic, Stephen Blake
2017, Biological Conservation (209) 1-10
Restoration of damaged ecosystems through invasive species removal and native species conservation is an increasingly common practice in biodiversity conservation. Estimating the degree of ecosystem response attributable specifically to eradication of exotic herbivores versus restoration of native herbivores is often difficult and is complicated by concurrent temporal changes in other...
Using management to address vegetation stress related to land-use and climate change
Beth A. Middleton, Jere Boudell, Nicholas Fisichelli
2017, Restoration Ecology (25) 326-329
While disturbances such as fire, cutting, and grazing can be an important part of the conservation of natural lands, some adjustments to management designed to mimic natural disturbance may be necessary with ongoing and projected climate change. Stressed vegetation that is incapable of regeneration will be difficult to maintain if...
Hydrogeology and simulation of groundwater flow and analysis of projected water use for the Canadian River alluvial aquifer, western and central Oklahoma
John H. Ellis, Shana L. Mashburn, Grant M. Graves, Steven M. Peterson, S. Jerrod Smith, Leland T. Fuhrig, Derrick L. Wagner, Jon E. Sanford
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5180
This report describes a study of the hydrogeology and simulation of groundwater flow for the Canadian River alluvial aquifer in western and central Oklahoma conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. The report (1) quantifies the groundwater resources of the Canadian River alluvial...
Sexually dimorphic aggression indicates male gray wolves specialize in pack defense against conspecific groups
Kira A. Cassidy, L. David Mech, Daniel R. MacNulty, Daniel R. Stahler, Douglas W. Smith
2017, Behavioural Processes (136) 64-72
Aggression directed at conspecific groups is common among gregarious, territorial species, and for some species such as gray wolves (Canis lupus) intraspecific strife is the leading cause of natural mortality. Each individual in a group likely has different measures of the costs and benefits associated with a group task, such...
Complete genome sequence of the acetylene-fermenting Pelobacter sp. strain SFB93
John M. Sutton, Shaun Baesman, Janna L. Fierst, Amisha T. Poret-Peterson, Ronald S. Oremland, Darren S. Dunlap, Denise M. Akob
2017, Genome Announcements (5)
Acetylene fermentation is a rare metabolism that was previously reported as being unique to Pelobacter acetylenicus. Here, we report the genome sequence of Pelobacter sp. strain SFB93, an acetylene-fermenting bacterium isolated from sediments collected in San Francisco Bay, CA....
Complete genome sequences of two acetylene-fermenting Pelobacter acetylenicus strains
John M. Sutton, Shaun Baesman, Janna L. Fierst, Amisha T. Poret-Peterson, Ronald S. Oremland, Darren S. Dunlap, Denise M. Akob
2017, Genome Announcements (5)
Acetylene fermentation is a rare metabolism that was serendipitously discovered during C2H2-block assays of N2O reductase. Here, we report the genome sequences of two type strains of acetylene-fermenting Pelobacter acetylenicus, the freshwater bacterium DSM 3246 and the estuarine bacterium DSM 3247....
Geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources—Lower Cretaceous Albian to Upper Cretaceous Cenomanian carbonate rocks of the Fredericksburg and Washita Groups, United States Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain and State Waters
Sharon M. Swanson, Catherine B. Enomoto, Kristin O. Dennen, Brett J. Valentine, Steven M. Cahan
2017, Open-File Report 2016-1199
In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessed Lower Cretaceous Albian to Upper Cretaceous Cenomanian carbonate rocks of the Fredericksburg and Washita Groups and their equivalent units for technically recoverable, undiscovered hydrocarbon resources underlying onshore lands and State Waters of the Gulf Coast region of the United States. This assessment...
Resident areas and migrations of female green turtles nesting at Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Kristen M. Hart, Autumn Iverson, Allison M. Benscoter, Ikuko Fujisaki, Michael S. Cherkiss, Clayton Pollock, Ian Lundgren, Zandy Hillis-Starr
2017, Endangered Species Research (32) 89-101
Satellite tracking in marine turtle studies can reveal much about their spatial use of breeding areas, migration zones, and foraging sites. We assessed spatial habitat-use patterns of 10 adult female green turtles (Chelonia mydas) nesting at Buck Island Reef National Monument, U.S. Virgin Islands (BIRNM) from 2011 – 2014....
A regional assessment of chemicals of concern in surface waters of four Midwestern United States national parks
Sarah M. Elliott, David VanderMeulen
2017, Science of the Total Environment (579) 1726-1735
Anthropogenic chemicals and their potential for adverse biological effects raise concern for aquatic ecosystem health in protected areas. During 2013–15, surface waters of four Midwestern United States national parks were sampled and analyzed for wastewater indicators, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and pesticides. More chemicals and higher concentrations were detected at...
Bed-material characteristics of the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California, 2010–13
Mathieu D. Marineau, Scott Wright
2017, Data Series 1026
The characteristics of bed material at selected sites within the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California, during 2010–13 are described in a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation. During 2010‒13, six complete sets of samples were collected. Samples were initially collected at 30 sites;...
Computer modelling for ecosystem service assessment
Robert Dunford, Paula Harrison, Kenneth J. Bagstad
2017, Book chapter, Mapping ecosystem services
Computer models are simplified representations of the environment that allow biophysical, ecological, and/or socio-economic characteristics to be quantified and explored. Modelling approaches differ from mapping approaches (Chapter 5) as (i) they are not forcibly spatial (although many models do produce spatial outputs); (ii) they focus on understanding and quantifying the...
Improving the Hawaiian seismic network for earthquake early warning
Alicia Hotovec-Ellis, Paul Bodin, Weston Thelen, P. Okubo, John E. Vidale
2017, Seismological Research Letters (88) 326-334
The motivation for earthquake early warning (EEW) is the fact that in many applications a few extra seconds of notice ahead of the about-imminent strong shaking can provide significant benefit. Reducing data latencies, accelerating processing times, and tuning seismic station distributions increase...
