Earth Sciences Commons^™

Spatial And Temporal Distribution And Habitat Selection Of Native Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout And Nonnative Utah Chub, Darcy K. Mccarrick, Jeffrey C. Dillon, Brett High, Michael C. Quist

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Henrys Lake, Idaho, is a renowned trophy trout fishery that faces an uncertain future following the establishment of Utah Chub (UTC) Gila atraria. Utah Chub were first documented in the lake in 1993 and have become abundant over the past two decades. Little is known about the ecology of UTC, but they typically have negative effects on salmonids in systems where they have been introduced. We sought to fill knowledge gaps in UTC ecology and provide insight on potential interactions with Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout (YCT) Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri. Ninety-four YCT and 95 UTC were radio-tagged in spring 2019 …

Modeling Air Pressure Propagation Through Wind Cave And Jewel Cave: How Can Air Pressure Signals Inside Barometric Caves Be Predicted From Surface Pressure Measurements?, Annika K. Gomell, Andreas Pflitsch

International Journal of Speleology

Recent speleoclimatological research has shed new light on air pressure dynamics inside barometric caves by identifying pressure-modifying processes and resulting systematic differences between cave and surface air pressure. Based on these new findings, a multi- step quantitative model is developed and explored to predict air pressure inside Wind Cave and Jewel Cave – two major barometric cave systems in the Black Hills of South Dakota, USA – from external surface measurements. Therefore, each identified speleoclimatological pressure process is translated into a mathematical operation. Model evaluation based on Pearson correlation and mean (absolute) deviation between model outputs and control measurements yields …

Controls On Buffering And Coastal Acidification In A Temperate Estuary, Christopher W. Hunt, Joseph Salisbury, Douglas Vandemark

Faculty Publications

Estuaries may be uniquely susceptible to the combined acidification pressures of atmospherically driven ocean acidification (OA), biologically driven CO2 inputs from the estuary itself, and terrestrially derived freshwater inputs. This study utilized continuous measurements of total alkalinity (TA) and the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) from the mouth of Great Bay, a temperate northeastern U.S. estuary, to examine the potential influences of endmember mixing and biogeochemical transformation upon estuary buffering capacity (β–H). Observations were collected hourly over 28 months representing all seasons between May 2016 and December 2019. Results indicated that endmember mixing explained most of the observed variability …

Ignoring Species Availability Biases Occupancy Estimates In Single-Scale Occupancy Models, Graziella V. Direnzo, David A. W. Miller, Evan H. C. Grant

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

1. Most applications of single-scale occupancy models do not differentiate between availability and detectability, even though species availability is rarely equal to one. Species availability can be estimated using multi-scale occupancy models; however, for the practical application of multi-scale occupancy models, it can be unclear what a robust sampling design looks like and what the statistical properties of the multi-scale and single-scale occupancy models are when availability is less than one.
2. Using simulations, we explore the following common questions asked by ecologists during the design phase of a field study: (Q1) what is a robust sampling design for the multi-scale occupancy …

A Numerical Investigation Of Flood And Sediment Dynamics Over The Coastal Watersheds During Hurricane Events, Dongxiao Yin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Landfalling tropical cyclones can cause catastrophic floods and sediment disturbance over the coastal watersheds. This study aims to unravel the contribution of different processes to hurricane-induced flooding, to assess the uncertainties in flood modelling and forecasting, and to advance the techniques in sediment simulation over coastal watersheds during hurricanes.

First, I examined the hydrometeorology and hydrology of Hurricane Florence (2018) induced inland flooding. My results suggest that the slow motion in combination with the “L-shaped” path was the most distinctive feature of the hurricane that incurred catastrophic and widespread rainfall and flooding over the Cape Fear River Basin (CFRB).

Second, …

Droughtscape, Spring 2022, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

DroughtScape, Spring 2022

Using Remote Sensing Technologies In Relocating Lubrak Village And Visualizing Flood Damages, Ronan Wallace

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As weather patterns change across the world, there are communities impacted by climate change that are left unnoticed. In the Himalayan mountain range, communities have suffered, experiencing an increase in flash flooding and droughts. For Lubrak Village in Lower Mustang, the community faces the threats of flash flooding. Over the last ten years, the amount of flash flooding has increased, occurring more than once each monsoon season. After every flood, concrete-like sediment is left behind, hardening across the riverbed and increasing its elevation. As the riverbed elevation increases, this sediment encroaches on Lu-brak Village’s agricultural fields and ancient mud buildings, …

Using Field Scale Electrical Data To Understand Real-Time Agricultural Water Delivery, Bradley Dowell

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

Areas across the High Plains (Ogallala) Aquifer region are experiencing unsustainable groundwater level declines and impacts to streamflow due to increasing human influence, posing challenges for sustaining future agricultural economies and groundwater resources. State and local agencies manage water using groundwater models, which are not at the same temporal and spatial scale as water management on farms. Well-informed agricultural water usage cannot be achieved without reliable and cost-effective water use at farm scale. Water meters are expensive and rarely installed unless required by the state or other regulatory agency; however, most center pivots have their own power supply, which reports …

Empirical And Modeled Δ13c And Δ15n Isoscapes In The Gulf Of Mexico And Their Application To Fish Eye Lens Migration Studies, Brianna Michaud

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Isoscapes are depictions of the spatial patterns of isotopic values in a given area. Isoscapes can be created using measurements form samples (empirical isoscapes) or using statistical models of spatial isotopic variation (modeled isoscapes). Isoscapes have a wide variety of potential applications though, in the realm of marine ecology, they are most often used infer ecological processes, food web linkages, the origin of samples, and the movements of marine organisms.

However, to use isoscapes for these applications, it is necessary to have isoscapes at spatial scales relevant to the application in question. It is also necessary to have isoscapes that …

Aquatic Diversity In A Changing Tropical Andean Glacierized Catchment: Macroinvertebrates Reveal Possible Important Consequences To The Chimborazo Region As Glaciers Recede And The Climate Continues To Change, Tanner Thomas

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Tropical Andean glaciers are retreating rapidly, and their disappearance will have drastic consequences for the people and ecosystems that depend on them. While they have begun to receive the attention they deserve in scientific literature, much is still not known. Majority of these investigations have taken place on the Volcán Antisana, while other important glacierized systems, like the Volcán Chimborazo have received little attention. This investigation aimed to a) evaluate the possible effects of glacier loss and climate change on aquatic ecosystems by comparing glacial meltwater, non-glacial and mixed streams, and b) to evaluate the effects of pasture intensity on …

Suitability Of Flood Hazard Assessment Methods For Tanzania: A Case Of Little Ruaha And Upper Ngerengere Catchment, Kashimbi J. Kihara, Patrick Valimba, Joel Nobert

Tanzania Journal of Science

Understanding the applicability of flood quantile estimation methods in flood hazard assessment is fundamental for planning, prevention, and management of flood risks. Therefore, this study evaluates and compares three hydrological methods, namely Hydrologiska Byråns Vattenbalansavdelning (HBV), Soil Conservation Service-Curve Number (SCS-CN), and regional regression equation (RRE), to estimate flood quantiles embedded in the existing flood damage assessment framework by applying them to two different river catchments, Little Ruaha (LR) and Upper Ngerengere (UN), Tanzania. The evaluation of method performance was carried out using three standard statistical measures for data from 1954 to 2010 and the 1971–1988 period in LR and …

Informing Management Of Henrys Lake, Idaho, Using An Integrated Catch-At-Age Model, Joshua L. Mccormick, Jennifer Vincent, Brett High, Darcy K. Mccarrick, Michael C. Quist

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Henrys Lake, Idaho, supports a popular fishery for Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri and Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout × Rainbow Trout O. mykiss hybrids. A majority of the adult population of fish in Henrys Lake are of hatchery origin that were stocked as fingerlings. The fishery is closed to angling during the late winter and spring months, but fisheries managers are considering opening the fishery year-round with catch-and-release- only regulations or with a two-fish bag limit during the extended season. However, there is concern that the proposed management actions may negatively affect the current fishery. Therefore, we developed an integrated …

Virtual Training Prepared For The Former Afghanistan Ministry Of Energy And Water—Streamgaging, Fluvial Sediment Sampling, Bathymetry, And Streamflow And Sediment Modeling, Joel T. Groten, Joshua F. Valder, Brenda K. Densmore, Logan W. Neal, Justin Krahulik, Thomas J. Mack

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) created a virtual training series for the Afghanistan Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW), now known as the National Water Affairs Regulation Authority (NWARA), to provide critical hydrological training as an alternative to an in-person training. The USGS was scheduled to provide in-person surface-water training for NWARA during 2020; however, travel was halted because of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID–19) pandemic. The virtual training consisted of prerecorded and live presentations that were scheduled during 4 weeks in August 2021. However, the training was halted after the second week due to the collapse of the …

New Hampshire Continental Shelf Geospatial Database: Surficial Geology Maps And Sediment Grain Size Data, Larry G. Ward, Zachary S. Mcavoy, Rachel C. Morrison

Data Catalog

The “New Hampshire Continental Shelf Geospatial Database: Surficial Geology Maps and Sediment Grain Size Data” consists of high-resolution surficial geology maps of the continental shelf off New Hampshire to Jeffreys Ledge in the Western Guff of Maine (WGOM) and supporting sediment grain size information. The surficial geology maps cover ~3,250 km² (Figure 1). The maps depict three different classifications based on the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standards (CMECS; FGDC, 2012): Geoforms (major morphologic or physiographic features; Figure 2; Table 1), Geologic Substrate Subclass (Figure 3; Table 2), and Geologic Substrate Group (Figure 4; Table 2). The maps are …

Paradigm Versus Paradox On The Prairie: Testing Competing Stream Fish Movement Frameworks Using An Imperiled Great Plains Minnow, Zachary D. Steffensmeier, Maeghen Wedgeworth, Lauren Yancy, Noah Santee, Shannon K. Brewer, Joshuah S. Perkin

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Background: Movement information can improve conservation of imperiled species, yet movement is not quantified for many organisms in need of conservation. Prairie chub (Macrhybopsis australis) is a regionally endemic freshwater fish with unquantified movement ecology and currently considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act. The purpose of this study was to test competing ecological theories for prairie chub movement, including the colonization cycle hypothesis (CCH) that posits adults must make upstream movements to compensate for downstream drift at early life stages, and the restricted movement paradigm (RMP) that describes populations as heterogeneous mixes of mostly stationary …

Black Carbon And Organic Carbon Dataset Over The Third Pole, Shichang Kang, Yulan Zhang, Pengfei Chen, Junming Guo, Qianggong Zhang, Zhiyuan Cong, Susan Kaspari, Lekhendra Tripathee, Tanguang Gao, Hewen Niu, Xinyue Zhong, Xintong Chen, Zhaofu Hu, Xiaofei Li, Yang Li, Bigyan Neupane, Fangping Yan, Dipesh Rupakheti, Chaman Gul, Wei Zhang, Guangming Wu, Ling Yang, Zhaoqing Wang, Chaoliu Li

Geological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

The Tibetan Plateau and its surroundings, also known as the Third Pole, play an important role in the global and regional climate and hydrological cycle. Carbonaceous aerosols (CAs), including black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC), can directly or indirectly absorb and scatter solar radiation and change the energy balance on the Earth. CAs, along with the other atmospheric pollutants (e.g., mercury), can be frequently transported over long distances into the inland Tibetan Plateau. During the last decades, a coordinated monitoring network and research program named “Atmospheric Pollution and Cryospheric Changes” (APCC) has been gradually set up and continuously operated …

Fluids And Melts At The Magmatic-Hydrothermal Transition, Recorded By Unidirectional Solidification Textures At Saginaw Hill, Arizona, Usa, Wyatt M. Bain, Pilar Lecumberri-Sanchez, Erin E. Marsh, Matthew Steele-Macinnis

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Fluid exsolution and melt evolution at the magmatic-hydrothermal transition are critical processes driving the metal enrichment of porphyry systems. Coeval fluid and melt inclusion assemblages in unidirectional solidification textures (USTs) at Saginaw Hill—a small, porphyry Cu system in southwestern Arizona—record a dynamic and repetitious process of fluid accumulation and release. The cores of quartz crystals throughout the UST bands host coeval silicate melt and brine inclusions but lack vapor-rich inclusions. This could indicate preferential expulsion of vapor and trapping of high-density brine during episodes of fracturing or the direct exsolution of single-phase high-salinity brine from the silicate melt. In contrast, …

Snow Cover Variability And Trend Over The Hindu Kush Himalayan Region Using Modis And Srtm Data, Nirasindhu Desinayak, Anup K. Prasad, Hesham El-Askary, Menas Kafatos, Ghassem R. Asrar

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Snow cover changes have a direct bearing on the regional and global energy and water cycles and the change in the Earth's climate conditions. We studied the relatively long-term (2000–2017) altitudinal spatiotemporal changes in the coverage of snow and glaciers in one of the world's largest mountainous regions, the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region, including Tibet, using remote sensing data (5 km grid resolution) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the Terra satellite. This dataset provided a unique opportunity to study zonal and hypsographic changes in the intra-annual (accumulating season and melting season) and interannual variations in …

Modeling Vapor Transfer In Soil Water And Heat Simulations: A Modularized, Partially-Coupled Approach, Zhuangji Wang, Dennis Timlin, David Fleisher, Wenguang Sun, Sahila Beegum, Sanai Li, Ya Chen, Vandimalla R. Reddy, Katherine Tully, Robert Horton

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Coupled water and heat transfer models are widely used to analyze soil water content and temperature dynamics, evaluate agricultural management systems, and support crop growth modelling. In relatively dry soils, vapor transfer, rather than liquid water flux, becomes the main pathway for water redistribution. However, in some modularized soil simulators, e.g., 2DSOIL (Timlin et al., 1996), vapor transfer is not included, which may induce errors in soil water and heat modelling. Directly embedding vapor transfer into existing water and heat transfer modules may violate the modularized architecture of those simulators. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to design a …

Inverse Modeling Of Atmospheric Ch4 And Δ13C-Ch4 Measurements From Surface Observation Sites To Understand Trends In Global Methane Emissions Over More Than Three Decades, Sayantani Karmakar

Dissertations and Theses

Methane (CH₄) is the second most important greenhouse gas with a radiative forcing of 0.97 W/m² including both direct and indirect effects and a global warming potential of 28 over a 100-year time horizon. Unlike CO₂ whose rate of growth in the atmosphere has remained positive and increased in recent decades, the behavior of atmospheric methane is considerably more complex and is much less understood on account of the spatiotemporal variability of its emissions which include biogenic (e.g., wetlands, ruminants, rice agriculture), thermogenic (fossil fuels), and pyrogenic (i.e., biomass burning) sources. After sustained growth during most …

A Call For The Library Community To Deploy Best Practices Toward A Database For Biocultural Knowledge Relating To Climate Change, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Abstract

Purpose – In this paper, a call to the library and information science community to support documentation and conservation of cultural and biocultural heritage has been presented.

Design/methodology/approach – Based in existing Literature, this proposal is generative and descriptive— rather than prescriptive—regarding precisely how libraries should collaborate to employ technical and ethical best practices to provide access to vital data, research and cultural narratives relating to climate.

Findings – COVID-19 and climate destruction signal urgent global challenges. Library best practices are positioned to respond to climate change. Literature indicates how libraries preserve, share and cross-link cultural and scientific knowledge. …

Main-Stem Seepage And Base-Flow Recession Time Constants In The Niobrara National Scenic River Basin, Nebraska, 2016–18, Kellan R. Strauch, Philip J. Soeksen

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

The Niobrara River of northern Nebraska is a valuable water resource that sustains irrigated agriculture and recreation, as well as a diverse ecosystem. Large-quantity withdrawals from the source aquifer system have the potential to reduce the flow into the river and to adversely affect the free-flowing condition of the Niobrara National Scenic River (NSR). Therefore, to understand the magnitude and characteristics of those flows, the United States Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the National Park Service, began a study to quantify seepage gains/losses along the eastern half of the Niobrara NSR and to create a map characterizing the base-flow …

Coastal Paleogeography Of The Pacific Northwest, Usa, For The Last 12,000 Years Accounting For Three-Dimensional Earth Structure, Jorie Clark, Jay R. Alder, Marisa Borreggine, Jerry X. Mitrovica, Konstantin Latychev

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Predictive modeling of submerged archaeological sites requires accurate sea-level predictions in order to reconstruct coastal paleogeography and associated geographic features that may have influenced the locations of occupation sites such as rivers and embayments. Earlier reconstructions of the paleogeography of parts of the western U.S. coast used an assumption of eustatic sea level, but this neglects the large spatial variations in relative sea level (RSL) associated with glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) and tectonics. Subsequent work using a one-dimensional (1-D) solid Earth model showed that reconstructions that accounted for GIA result in significant differences from those based on eustatic sea level. …

Coastal Paleogeography Of The Pacific Northwest, Usa, For The Last 12,000 Years Accounting For Three-Dimensional Earth Structure, Jorie Clark, Jay R. Alder, Marisa Borreggine, Jerry X. Mitrovica, Konstantin Latychev

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Predictive modeling of submerged archaeological sites requires accurate sea-level predictions in order to reconstruct coastal paleogeography and associated geographic features that may have influenced the locations of occupation sites such as rivers and embayments. Earlier reconstructions of the paleogeography of parts of the western U.S. coast used an assumption of eustatic sea level, but this neglects the large spatial variations in relative sea level (RSL) associated with glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) and tectonics. Subsequent work using a one-dimensional (1-D) solid Earth model showed that reconstructions that accounted for GIA result in significant differences from those based on eustatic sea level. …

Arkansas Bulletin Of Water Research - Issue 2021-2022, Erin Grantz, Lillie Haddock, Brian E. Haggard

Arkansas Bulletin of Water Research

The Arkansas Bulletin of Water Research (Bulletin) is a publication of the Arkansas Water Resources Center (AWRC). We publish the Bulletin to communicate the major findings of research funded by the Water Resources Research Act Section 104(b) in Arkansas. This research is relevant to Arkansas water stakeholders, and the Bulletin provides an easily searchable and aesthetically engaging access option.

This is the fourth publication of the Bulletin. This issue contains final reports from research projects that were funded by the 104(b) program in fiscal years 2019 and 2020. The articles in this issue can be cited as an AWRC publication. …

A Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory For Nebraska: Livestock And Coal Loom Large, Eric R. Holley, Adam Liska

Adam Liska Papers

Mitigation of climate change requires the systematic identification and cataloging of emissions sources at city, state, and national levels. In this study, an inventory of annual greenhouse gas emissions from the state of Nebraska was created based on industry data, and emissions inventories were completed each year from 1990 to 2016. Nebraska’s net emissions were found to increase from 56.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (MMtCO₂e) in 1990 to 87.4 MMtCO₂e in 2016. Agriculture was found to be the sector with the most emissions (36 MMtCO₂e) followed by electricity generation (21 MMtCO …

Daily Meteorological Report, Cercom, Molloy University, John Tanacredi Ph.D., Kyle F. Maurelli

CERCOM Reports

Meteorological data is collected daily at CERCOM and is submitted to the National Weather Service (NWS), in Upton NY at the Brookhaven National Laboratories. Air Temperature, wind speed and direction, pH of precipitation, rain gauge, barometer pressure, cloud cover and estimated altitude by type, are data sets compiled and submitted to the NWS daily. CERCOM’s Co-Op site is the only continuous operating facility on Great South Bay.

Ferrihydrite Enrichment In The Rhizosphere Of Unsaturated Soil Improves Nutrient Retention While Limiting Arsenic And Uranium Plant Uptake, Arindam Malakar, Daniel D. Snow, Michael Kaiser, Jordan Shields, Bijesh Maharjan, Harkamal Walia, Daran Rudnick, Chittaranjan Ray

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Improvement of nutrient use efficiency and limiting trace elements such as arsenic and uranium bioavailability is critical for sustainable agriculture and food safety. Arsenic and uranium possess different properties and mobility in soils, which complicates the effort to reduce their uptake by plants. Here, we postulate that unsaturated soil amended with ferrihydrite nanominerals leads to improved nutrient retention and helps reduce uptake of these geogenic contaminants. Unsaturated soil is primarily oxic and can provide a stable environment for ferrihydrite nanominerals. To demonstrate the utility of ferrihydrite soil amendment, maize was grown in an unsaturated agricultural soil that is known to …

Great South Bay, Long Island, New York Summer Water Quality Monitoring Program, Cercom, Molloy University, John Tanacredi Ph.D., Kyle F. Maurelli

CERCOM Reports

The Center for Environmental Research and Coastal Oceans Monitoring (CERCOM) visits 11 locations in the Great South Bay from Memorial Day – Labor Day to monitor dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, salinity, clarity and temperature. Students are trained to assist in CERCOM’s water quality data collection by research assistant Mr. Kyle Maurelli. This monitoring program has been conducted for the past 17 years. These parameters are critical in determining long term water quality conditions in Long Island estuaries

Great South Bay, Long Island, New York Summer Phytoplankton Identification & Monitoring Program, Cercom, Molloy University, John Tanacredi Ph.D., Kyle F. Maurelli

CERCOM Reports

Phytoplankton Collection Methodologies: 80 micron Plankton Tow Net with sample bottle attachment

Phytoplankton Protocol: 1.Gather Samples 2.Make one slide per sample 3.View slides using microscope connected with computer 4. Record findings using “ Row # “ and “ Column letter “ 5. Record using “ Tallies “ per species found within sample 6. Capture anything interesting “ Take Picture “ 7.Duplicate pictures taken 8.Make sure measurement of species found is taken 9. Email Jennifer Maucher at [email protected] , include pictures, questions and names of the species you “guess” you found.