Earth Sciences Commons^™

Response Of Surface And Atmospheric Parameters Associated With The Iran M 7.3 Earthquake, Feng Jing, Ramesh P. Singh

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Multiparameter observed from satellite, including microwave brightness temperature, skin temperature, air temperature, and carbon monoxide, have been analyzed to identify the anomalous signals associated with the M 7.3 Iran earthquake of November 12, 2017. Besides removing the multiyear variability of parameters as background, the effect of surface and atmosphere of a dust storm event in Middle East region during October 29–November 1 is considered to distinguish the possible anomalies associated with the earthquake. The characteristic behaviors of surface and atmospheric parameters clearly show the signals associated with the M 7.3 earthquake and the dust storm event. The multiple parameters at …

Droughtscape, Summer 2022, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

DroughtScape, Summer 2022

Effects Of Nutrient Enrichment On Mangrove And Saltmarsh Habitats, Elena A. Flores

Theses and Dissertations

Nutrient over-enrichment is a global threat to coastal and marine environments. Yet, system-specific attributes of estuarine and coastal ecosystems may result in large differences in their sensitivity and susceptibility to such threat. In tropical latitudes, plant species adapted to low-nutrient habitats generally have nutrient-conservation mechanisms that acquire, use, and internally recycle nutrients efficiently. Thus, a major challenge for managers and decision makers is to develop a predictive and holistic understanding of how nutrient loading alters ecosystem functions and therefore ecosystem services. The objective of the present research is to document short and long-term effects of persistent nutrient …

Population Genetics Reveals Bidirectional Fish Movement Across The Continental Divide Via An Interbasin Water Transfer, Audrey C. Harris, Sara J. Oyler-Mccance, Jennifer A. Fike, Matthew P. Fairchild, Christopher M. Kennedy, Harry J. Crockett, Dana L. Winkelman, Yoichiro Kanno

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Interbasin water transfers are becoming an increasingly common tool to satisfy municipal and agricultural water demand, but their impacts on movement and gene flow of aquatic organisms are poorly understood. The Grand Ditch is an interbasin water transfer that diverts water from tributaries of the upper Colorado River on the west side of the Continental Divide to the upper Cache la Poudre River on the east side of the Continental Divide. We used single nucleotide polymorphisms to characterize population genetic structure in cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii) and determine if fish utilize the Grand Ditch as a movement corridor. …

Foraging Habitat Selection Of Shrubland Bird Community In Tropical Dry Forest, Anant Deshwal, Steven L. Stephenson, Pooja Panwar, Brett A. Degregorio, Ragupathy Kannan, John D. Willson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Habitat loss due to increasing anthropogenic disturbance is the major driver for bird population declines across the globe. Within the Eastern Ghats of India, shrubland bird communities are threatened by shrinking of suitable habitats due to increased anthropogenic disturbance and climate change. The development of an effective habitat management strategy is hampered by the absence of data for this bird community. To address this knowledge gap, we examined foraging sites for 14 shrubland bird species, including three declining species, in three study areas representing the shrubland type of forest community in the Eastern Ghats. We recorded microhabitat features within an …

Tracing Geochemical Sources And Health Risk Assessment Of Uranium In Groundwater Of Arid Zone Of India, P. Pandit, Atul Saini, Sabarathinam Chidambaram, Vinod Kumar, Banjarani Panda, A. L. Ramanathan, Netrananda Sahu, A. K. Singh, Rohit Mehra

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Water quality degradation and metal contamination in groundwater are serious concerns in an arid region with scanty water resources. This study aimed at evaluating the source of uranium (U) and potential health risk assessment in groundwater of the arid region of western Rajasthan and northern Gujarat. The probable source of vanadium (V) and fluorine (F) was also identified. U and trace metal concentration, along with physicochemical characteristics were determined for 265 groundwater samples collected from groundwater of duricrusts and palaeochannels of western Rajasthan and northern Gujarat. The U concentration ranged between 0.6 and 260 μg L⁻¹ with a mean …

Speciation With Gene Flow In A Narrow Endemic West Virginia Cave Salamander (Gyrinophilus Subterraneus), Evan H. Campbell Grant, Kevin P. Mulder, Adrianne B. Brand, Douglas B. Chambers, Addison H. Wynn, Grace Capshaw, Matthew L. Niemiller, John G. Phillips, Jeremy F. Jacobs, Shawn R. Kuchta, Rayna C. Bell

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Due to their limited geographic distributions and specialized ecologies, cave species are often highly endemic and can be especially vulnerable to habitat degradation within and surrounding the cave systems they inhabit. We investigated the evolutionary history of the West Virginia Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus subterraneus), estimated the population trend from historic and current survey data, and assessed the current potential for water quality threats to the cave habitat. Our genomic data (mtDNA sequence and ddRADseq-derived SNPs) reveal two, distinct evolutionary lineages within General Davis Cave corresponding to G. subterraneus and its widely distributed sister species, Gyrinophilus porphyriticus, that …

Toxicological Responses To Sublethal Anticoagulant Rodenticide Exposure In Free‑Flying Hawks, Nimish B. Vyas, Barnett A. Rattner, J. Michael Lockhart, Craig S. Hulse, Clifford P. Rice, Frank Kuncir, Kevin Kritz

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

An important component of assessing the hazards of anticoagulant rodenticides to non-target wildlife is observations in exposed free-ranging individuals. The objective of this study was to determine whether environmentally realistic, sublethal first-generation anticoagulant rodenticide (FGAR) exposures via prey can result in direct or indirect adverse effects to free-flying raptors. We offered black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) that had fed on Rozol® Prairie Dog Bait (Rozol, 0.005% active ingredient chlorophacinone, CPN) to six wild-caught red-tailed hawks (RTHA, Buteo jamaicensis), and also offered black-tailed prairie dogs that were not exposed to Rozol to another two wild-caught RTHAs for 7 …

Within‑Marsh And Landscape Features Structure Ribbed Mussel Distribution In Georgia, Usa, Marshes, William K. Annis, Elizabeth A. Hunter, John M. Carroll

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Ribbed mussels, Geukensia demissa, are marsh fauna that are used in coastal management and restoration due to the ecosystem services they provide. Ribbed mussel restoration efforts may be improved with a greater understanding of the environmental drivers of ribbed mussel distribution at multiple spatial scales to predict areas where restoration could be successful. This study sought to estimate the effects of within-marsh (4 m) and landscape (500 m) factors on ribbed mussel distribution. Ribbed mussel densities were surveyed at 11 sites along the coast of Georgia, USA, and overlaid with spatial data for within-marsh factors (elevation, distance to marsh …

Utilizing Novel Field And Data Exploration Methods To Explore Hot Moments In High-Frequency Soil Nitrous Oxide Emissions Data: Opportunities And Challenges, Christine S. O'Connell, Tyler L. Anthony, Melanie A. Mayes, Tibisay Pérez, Debjani Sihi, Whendee L. Silver

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Soil nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions are an important driver of climate change and are a major mechanism of labile nitrogen (N) loss from terrestrial ecosystems. Evidence increasingly suggests that locations on the landscape that experience biogeochemical fluxes disproportionate to the surrounding matrix (hot spots) and time periods that show disproportionately high fluxes relative to the background (hot moments) strongly influence landscape-scale soil N₂O emissions. However, substantial uncertainties remain regarding how to measure and model where and when these extreme soil N₂O fluxes occur. High-frequency datasets of soil N₂O fluxes are newly possible …

Influences Of Seasonality And Habitat Quality On Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Fish Community Composition And Diets, Sara N. Diller, Anna M. Harrison, Kurt P. Kowalski, Valerie J. Brady, Jan J. H. Ciborowski, Matthew J. Cooper, Joshua D. Dumke, Joseph P. Gathman, Carl R. Ruetz Iii, Donald G. Uzarski, Douglas A. Wilcox, Jeffrey S. Schaeffer

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Great Lakes coastal wetlands (GLCW) have been severely degraded by anthropogenic activity over the last several decades despite their critical role in fish production. Many Great Lakes fish species use coastal wetland habitats for spawning, feeding, shelter, and nurseries throughout the year. The goal of our study was to compare GLCW fish community composition in the spring, summer, and fall months and investigate how water quality relates to fish diversity, the presence of functional groups, and juvenile fish diets. We summarized fish data collected from GLCW across the basin and used the coastal wetland monitoring program’s water quality-land use indicator …

A Critical Review Of Bioaccumulation And Biotransformation Of Organic Chemicals In Birds, Dave T. F. Kuo, Barnett A. Rattner, Sarah C. Marteinson, Robert Letcher, Kim J. Fernie, Gabriele Treu, Markus Deutsch, Mark S. Johnson, Sandrine Deglin, Michelle Embry

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

A literature review of bioaccumulation and biotransformation of organic chemicals in birds was undertaken, aiming to support scoping and prioritization of future research. The objectives were to characterize available bioaccumulation/ biotransformation data, identify knowledge gaps, determine how extant data can be used, and explore the strategy and steps forward. An intermediate approach balanced between expediency and rigor was taken given the vastness of the literature. Following a critical review of >500 peer-reviewed studies, >25,000 data entries and 2 million information bytes were compiled on >700 organic compounds for ~ 320 wild species and 60 domestic breeds of birds. These data …

Murphy Scale: A Locational Equivalent Intensity Scale For Hazard Events, Yi Victor Wang, Antonia Sebastian

Institute for ECHO Articles and Research

Empirical cross-hazard analysis and prediction of disaster vulnerability, resilience, and risk requires a common metric of hazard strengths across hazard types. In this paper, the authors propose an equivalent intensity scale for cross-hazard evaluation of hazard strengths of events for entire durations at locations. The proposed scale is called the Murphy Scale, after Professor Colleen Murphy. A systematic review and typology of hazard strength metrics is presented to facilitate the delineation of the defining dimensions of the proposed scale. An empirical methodology is introduced to derive equivalent intensities of hazard events on a Murphy Scale. Using historical data on …

Nutrient Restoration Of A Large, Impounded, Ultra-Oligotrophic Western River To Recover Declining Native Fishes, Ryan S. Hardy, Tyler J. Ross, Kevin N. Mcdonnell, Michael C. Quist, Charlie Holderman, Bryan S. Stevens

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Declines in many fish populations in large, western rivers have been primarily attributed to the anthropogenic reduction of nutrient inputs and subsequent impacts to the food web. The largest known river fertilization program was implemented starting in 2005 on the Kootenai River in northern Idaho to restore resident fisheries. Annual electrofishing surveys were conducted at multiple sites in Idaho and Montana before and during nutrient addition to evaluate assemblage and population-level responses. Although few responses in fish assemblage structure were observed, the addition of liquid ammonium polyphosphate fertilizer (3 μg/L) to the Kootenai River increased fish abundance and biomass over …

Impact Of Climate Oscillations/Indices On Hydrological Variables In The Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer., Meena Raju

Theses and Dissertations

The Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer (MRVAA) is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the United States. The main objectives of this research are to identify long term trends and change points in hydrological variables (streamflow and rainfall), to assess the relationship between hydrological variables, and to evaluate the influence of global climate indices on hydrological variables. Non-parametric tests, MMK and Pettitt’s tests were used to analyze trend and change points. PCC and Streamflow elasticity analysis were used to analyze the relationship between streamflow and rainfall and the sensitivity of streamflow to rainfall changes. PCC and MLR analysis …

A New Model For Predicting The Drag And Lift Forces Of Turbulent Newtonian Flow On Arbitrarily Shaped Shells On The Seafloor, Carley R. Walker, James V. Lambers, Julian Simeonov

Dissertations

Currently, all forecasts of currents, waves, and seafloor evolution are limited by a lack of fundamental knowledge and the parameterization of small-scale processes at the seafloor-ocean interface. Commonly used Euler-Lagrange models for sediment transport require parameterizations of the drag and lift forces acting on the particles. However, current parameterizations for these forces only work for spherical particles. In this dissertation we propose a new method for predicting the drag and lift forces on arbitrarily shaped objects at arbitrary orientations with respect to the direction of flow that will ultimately provide models for predicting the sediment sorting processes that lead to …

Analysis Of Fossil Pollen From A Pleistocene Cypress Forest Preserved On The Northern Gulf Of Mexico Continental Shelf, Kathryn Joyce Garretson

Master's Theses

This study presents the findings of fossil pollen analysis performed on terrestrial sediments preserved on the northern Gulf of Mexico continental shelf (site hereafter known as the Underwater Forest or DF). This research aims to establish vegetation composition on a continental shelf glacial refuge and provide a better understanding of vegetation response to sea-level rise. Two cores (15DF1 and 15DF3B) located at different locations within the forest were recovered and analyzed. Pollen results from both cores were similar, with high percentages of Taxodium and Nyssa pollen in the lowermost sections reflecting an assemblage typical of contemporary baldcypress swamps. Pollen assemblages …

Age And Water-Quality Characteristics Of Groundwater Discharge To The South Loup River, Nebraska, 2019, Christopher M. Hobza, John E. Solder

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Streams in the Loup River Basin are sensitive to groundwater withdrawals because of the close hydrologic connection between groundwater and surface water. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Upper Loup and Lower Loup Natural Resources Districts, and the Nebraska Environmental Trust, studied the age and water-quality characteristics of groundwater near the South Loup River to assess the possible effects of a multiyear drought on streamflow.

Groundwater sampled in wells screened in Quaternary-age deposits displayed a wide range of mean ages (27 to 2,100 years), fraction modern, and susceptibility index values. Groundwater with higher concentrations of chloride and higher …

Lake Satellite Temperature Data Validation, Mamadou Balde, Pascal Kouogang

Publications and Research

In environmental remote sensing, satellite data isn't absolutely conclusive, for that reason, there is a natural need to verify the data acquired from the satellite. The most suitable tool to achieve such verification is on ground sensors that have the advantage of proximity. Addressing any possible discrepancies between the satellite data and the ground sensor data is sure to yield ways to come up with improvements of satellite band calibration and sensing capabilities. This research focused on correlating temperature data from the MODIS satellite with the data obtained from the In Situ sensor located in Lake Sunapee. Doing the latter …

Comparing Composite Severe Weather Indices Of Thunderstorm Activity On Sea-Breeze And Non-Sea-Breeze Days In The Mobile, Alabama Area, Elizabeth Seiler

Poster Presentations

Poster for the Honors Thesis project.

Sea breezes (SB) occur frequently from May through October along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico Coast. One reason why SBs interest forecasters is their ability to spawn summertime thunderstorms, which can cause flash flooding, lightning, and hail. However, forecasting the exact timing and location of SB-driven convection can be challenging. This thesis will focus on Mobile and Baldwin Counties in southwest Alabama, which experience two types of phenomena – SBs along the Gulf of Mexico Coast and bay breezes on either side of Mobile Bay. Over the past years, multiple undergraduate students have analyzed …

Changes In Western U.S. Streamflow Extremes Under Climate Change, Rama Bedri

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

We are analyzing streamflow extremes in Western U.S. rivers due to climate change. Global warming causes natural disasters to reach extreme points and affects river volumes, snowfall, and precipitation amounts. We analyze the data for 17 stations in the Colorado River Basin, whose rivers provide Southern California’s drinking water supply. Disruptions in streamflow due to climate change affect the region’s water availability and make it difficult to predict future trends. We compared historical streamflow data to eight possible climate scenarios. The different scenarios are Warm Dry, Cool Wet, Average, and Other at emission levels of RCP 4.5 and 8.5. First, …

Comparing Composite Severe Weather Indices Of Thunderstorm Activity On Sea-Breeze And Non-Sea-Breeze Days In The Mobile, Alabama Area, Elizabeth Seiler

Honors Theses

Sea breezes (SB) occur frequently from May through October along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico Coast. One reason why SBs interest forecasters is their ability to spawn summertime thunderstorms, which can cause flash flooding, lightning, and hail. However, forecasting the exact timing and location of SB-driven convection can be challenging. This thesis will focus on Mobile and Baldwin Counties in southwest Alabama, which experience two types of phenomena – SBs along the Gulf of Mexico Coast and bay breezes on either side of Mobile Bay. Over the past years, multiple undergraduate students have analyzed Mobile, Alabama radar imagery of past …

The Impact Of Shoreline Stabilization On Sediment Supply And Ecogeomorphology: Assessing Marsh Response To Altered Wave Energies, Lake Borgne, Louisiana, Jessica J. Villers

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Shoreline protection structures are a common response to lateral erosion in marshes, but limited studies exist on how they influence sediment supply and the resulting ecogeomorphology. This study investigates the impacts of marine mattresses, geotextile cages filled with riprap, in Lake Borgne, LA. A field study was conducted during cold front passages at a site with marine mattresses and a proximal control site without, collecting measurements of water depth, wave energy, lateral erosion, sediment accumulation, vegetation, and sediment characteristics. Wetlands with marine mattresses attenuated waves more than their natural marsh edge counterparts, which have limited conditions favorable for sedimentation. However, …

A Step Toward Reconstructing Climate Variability Druing The Last Ice Age Cycle In The Northeast Pacific Region, Blaine Lynch-Gadaleta

Senior Honors Projects

This study is designed as a step toward reconstructing the climate variability in the Northeast Pacific during the last ice age cycle, including the glacial and deglacial transitions. Reconstruction may also contribute to the regional picture of climate change and potentially provide new insights into the pattern of variability in the Northeast Pacific. Deep-sea sediment core AT26-19 09PC was collected west of the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. Samples were analyzed in 1 cm intervals, representing approximately 300-year resolution. The abundance of mineral grains, planktonic foraminifera, and the polar foraminifera N.pachyderma was quantified using split aliquots …

Pliocene Wood From The Gray Fossil Site, Owen Madsen

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Gray Fossil Site in northeastern Tennessee preserves materials from a 5-million-year-old ecosystem, including wood from nearby trees. This study consists of three parts: conservation of wood remains, identification of taxonomic groups represented by the fossil wood, and measuring the organic content of fossil wood from the Gray Fossil Site. When excavated, wood specimens from the site are saturated due to a high local water table. After testing seven different techniques to dry wood specimens, wrapping a specimen in string and allowing it to dry slowly was the method least likely to cause warping and cracking. Microscopic examination of wood …

Understanding Biogeochemical And Physical Controls On Methane Air-Sea Exchange Fluxes In The Pacific Ocean, Sarah Raney

Master's Theses

Methane and trace element samples were collected on GEOTRACES GP15 Pacific Meridional Transect (PMT) cruise conducted between the Aleutian Islands (57 °N) and Tahiti (20 °S) from September to November 2018. Uncertainty in methane air-sea exchange fluxes was determined using a propagation of errors approach. Fluxes ranged from -0.88 to 4.9 µmol CH₄ m^-2 d^-1. Average CH₄ flux along the Alaskan margin was 2.2 ± 2.9 µmol CH₄ m^-2 d^-1. Methane fluxes decreased moving southward and increased to their open ocean maximum around 20 °N before declining in equatorial waters. Near …

The Impact Of Sea-Level Rise In Numerically Modeled Landfalling Hurricanes: Katrina And The Gulf Coast., Serenity Nadirah Mercuri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With climate change, landfalling hurricanes become an increasing threat to coastal regions. However, the interactions between the coastal landscape and landfalling hurricanes are often overlooked when addressing sea-level rise outside of inundation and independent of sea surface temperature. This study analyzed the potential impacts regarding structure and intensity as a result of sea-level rise in the Gulf of Mexico using the WRF-ARW numerical model coupled with a 1D ocean model. Analysis showed that 10 m windspeed from landfall forward was higher in modified coastlines, and minimum sea-level pressure post-landfall was consistently lower for modified runs where storms maintain a higher …

Air, Land, And Water Variables Associated With The First Appearance And Current Spatial Distribution Of Toxic Prymnesium Parvum Blooms In Reservoirs Of The Southern Great Plains, Usa, Shisbeth Tábora-Sarmiento, Reynaldo Patiño, Carlos Portillo-Quintero, Cade Coldren

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

This study examined the association of air, land, and water variables with the first historical occurrence and current distribution of toxic Prymnesium parvum blooms in reservoirs of the Brazos River and Colorado River, Texas (USA). One impacted and one reference reservoir were selected per basin. Land cover and use variables were estimated for the whole watershed (WW) and a 0.5-km zone on either side of streams (near field, NF). Variables were expressed in annual values. Principal component and trend analyses were used to determine (1) differences in environmental conditions before and after the 2001 onset of toxic blooms in impacted …

Evaluating Alternative Ebullition Models For Predicting Peatland Methane Emission And Its Pathways Via Data–Model Fusion, Shuang Ma, Lifen Jiang, Rachel M. Wilson, Jeff P. Chanton, Scott Bridgham, Shuli Niu, Colleen M. Iversen, Avni Malhotra, Jiang Jiang, Xingjie Lu, Yuanyuan Huang, Jason Keller, Xiaofeng Xu, Daniel M. Ricciuto, Paul J. Hanson, Yiqi Luo

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Understanding the dynamics of peatland methane (CH4) emissions and quantifying sources of uncertainty in estimating peatland CH4 emissions are critical for mitigating climate change. The relative contributions of CH4 emission pathways through ebullition, plant-mediated transport, and diffusion, together with their different transport rates and vulnerability to oxidation, determine the quantity of CH4 to be oxidized before leaving the soil. Notwithstanding their importance, the relative contributions of the emission pathways are highly uncertain. In particular, the ebullition process is more uncertain and can lead to large uncertainties in modeled CH4 emissions. To improve model simulations of CH4 emission and its pathways, …

Comparing Polarimetric Signatures Of Proximate Tornadic And Non-Tornadic Supercells In Similar Environments, Devon Healey

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

While much research has shown that characteristics of the environment surrounding supercells can potentially indicate their likelihood to become tornadic, it is not uncommon for tornadic and non-tornadic supercells to coexist in seemingly similar environments. In these situations, it is difficult operationally to separate tornadic from non-tornadic supercells using environmental observations alone. Given that tornadic and non-tornadic supercells have been found to coexist in similar environments, something must be occurring beneath the observational and/or model gridscale that is supporting tornadogenesis in some supercells while inhibiting it in others. This study examines dual-polarimetric radar signatures of proximate tornadic and non-tornadic supercells …