Earth Sciences Commons^™

Droughtscape, Winter 2019, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

Contents

From the Director

Drought intensified in California and Nevada, eased elsewhere

Year in Review: Drought spread and intensified in the West; record precipitation in the East

Drought impact summary for 4th quarter 2018

Drought impact summary 2018

Five states began drought plan updates in 2018

New web-based form makes submitting drought observations easier

FEMA risk assessment process tailored for drought

Upcoming events

Geology Of Southeastern Nebraska, Robert Matthew Joeckel, Dana Divine, Leslie M. Howard, Kathleen Cameron, Michele M. Waszgis

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Diatom-Inferred Records Of Paleolimnological Variability And Continental Hydrothermal Activity In Yellowstone National Park, Usa, Sabrina Brown

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

Fossil diatoms were used to reconstruct paleoclimatic and hydrothermal conditions in Yellowstone National Park. First, an extensive literature review summarizes the current state of knowledge about eukaryotic organisms characteristic of continental hydrothermal environments. Eukaryotes in hydrothermal systems can live at extremes of acidity (pH 9.0), and at moderately high temperatures (<62 >^○C). Silicate and carbonate precipitation in continental hydrothermal environments is mediated by eukaryotic organisms, which are important members of biofilm communities.

A case study of alkaline-chloride sinter deposits in Yellowstone Lake and the Upper Geyser Basin inferred in-situ diatom growth rather than post-depositional accumulation of valves settling from …

Urban Forests In A Changing Environment: Motivations For Tree Planting And Perspectives Of Climate Change Impacts On Urban Forests, Tobias Burnham

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Urban trees perform several ecosystem services important to humans. Climate variability and poor management threatens urban forests with ecological and socio-economic consequences. Therefore, it is critical urban trees are sustainably managed. For an urban tree management plan to succeed, social inputs at the residential scale must be taken into consideration. The aim of this research is to help inform urban forest managers of social variables that may play an integral role in successful implementation of urban forest management plans. Social factors behind home-owner decision-making to plant or remove trees in the Lincoln and Omaha metro areas show that 75% of …

Evaluating Soil Loss From Ephemeral Gullies With Photogrammetry, Chinthaka B. Weerasekara

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

No abstract provided.

Efficient Intensity Measures Of Slide-Rocking Structures For Precariously Balanced Rocks, Taylor J. Knickerbocker, Christine E. Wittich

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Precariously balanced rocks (PBRs) and other fragile geologic features are important in both the engineering and seismological communities since they are indicative of the maximum ground motion at a site over the rock’s lifetime. Precariously balanced rocks are individual or stacks of freestanding rocks that tend to respond in rigid body modes when subject to seismic excitation – namely, rocking, sliding, slide-rocking, and free-flight, which can lead to overturning. The seismic response of freestanding structures, such as PBRs, is known to be extremely sensitive to small changes in geometry, position, and earthquake excitation. As such, deterministic methods are limited in …

Exploring The Northwest Margin Of The High Plains Aquifer: Structure, Depositional History And Hydrogeology, Nebraska Geological Society Field Trip, Doug Hallum, Dennis O. Terry, Jr., Michael Leite, Jennifer Balmat

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

The northwest portion of the High Plains Aquifer in Nebraska corresponds with the western Sandhills, Box Butte, Sioux and Dawes County tablelands, and the Nebraska Pine Ridge in northwest Nebraska. This field excursion will travel beyond the margins of the High Plains aquifer into the White River valley and onto the Oglala National Grasslands. These areas are not only rich in natural resources, but rich in history as well. While this excursion will explore earth history, depositional environments and a portion of the High Plains Aquifer, the authors encourage all attendees to take additional time to explore the cultural, military …

Radar Quantification, Temporal Analysis And Influence Of Atmospheric Conditions On A Roost Of American Robins (Turdus Migratorius) In Oklahoma, Matthew S. Van Den Broeke

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Radar observations present a way to monitor large, mobile populations across long temporal scales, and are especially valuable when individual scatterers are challenging to count visually. The focus of this study is a large and relatively homogeneous wintertime roost of American Robins (Turdus migratorius) in central Oklahoma. Radar observations are used to estimate the roost population through winter 2010–2011, and the population time series is related to weather variables and radar beam propagation. Radar-estimated roost population gradually increased to an estimated peak of 1.5–2 million individuals from November 2010 to January 2011, and then decreased in a more …

Modeled And Measured Ecosystem Respiration In Maize–Soybean Systems Over 10 Years, Ming Zhan, Adam Liska, Anthony Nguy-Robertson, Andrew E. Suyker, Matthew P. Pelton, Haishun Yang

Adam Liska Papers

Crop residue is an abundant resource for the potential production of biofuels, but a better understanding of its use on net carbon emissions must be developed to mitigate climate change. This analysis combines two established crop growth models (Hybrid-Maize and SoySim) with a simple soil and crop residue respiration model to estimate daily ecosystem respiration (ERe) from maize and soybean; ERe was estimated to be the sum of CO₂ emissions from the oxidation of the growing crop, crop residue, and soil organic carbon (SOC). Model-estimated CO₂ fluxes from irrigated continuous maize and irrigated maize–soybean cropping systems in eastern …

Coastal Wetlands: A Synthesis, Charles S. Hopkinson, Eric Wolanski, Mark M. Brinson, Donald R. Cahoon, Gerardo M.E. Perillo

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

What are coastal wetland ecosystems, what are their limits of distribution, and where do they exist in the overall coastal landscape? There are several general definitions for wetlands, but the Ramsar definition is likely the most broadly encompassing (http://www.ramsar. org/), whereas others are more focused definitions tailored to country-specific protection and management policies (Mitsch and Gosselink, 2006). We offer a very general approach rather than a precise definition: coastal wetlands are ecosystems that are found within an elevation gradient that ranges between subtidal depths where light penetrates to support photosynthesis of benthic plants to the landward edge where the sea …

Optimizing Historic Preservation Under Climate Change: Decision Support For Cultural Resource Adaptation Planning In National Parks, Xiao Xiao, Erin Seekamp, Max Post Van Der Burg, Mitchell Eaton, Sandra Fatorić, Allie Mccreary

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Climate change poses great challenges for cultural resource management, particularly in coastal areas. Cultural resources, such as historic buildings, in coastal areas are vulnerable to climate impacts including inundation, deterioration, and destruction from sea-level rise and storm-related flooding and erosion. However, research that assesses the trade-offs between actions for protecting vulnerable and valuable cultural resources under budgetary constraints is limited. This study focused on developing a decision support model for managing historic buildings at Cape Lookout National Seashore. We designed the Optimal Preservation Decision Support (OptiPres) model to: (a) identify optimal, annual adaptation actions for historic buildings across a 30-year …

Ecosystem Processes, Land Cover, Climate, And Human Settlement Shape Dynamic Distributions For Golden Eagle Across The Western Us, J.D. Tack, B.R. Noon, Z.H. Bowen, B.C. Fedy

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Species–environment relationships for highly mobile species outside of the breeding season are often highly dynamic in response to the collective effects of everchanging climatic conditions, food resources, and anthropogenic disturbance. Capturing dynamic space-use patterns in a model-based framework is critical as model inference often drives place-based conservation planning. We applied dynamic occupancy models to broad-scale golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos survey data collected annually from 2006 to 2012 during the late summer post-fledging period in the western US. We defined survey sites as 10 km transect segments with a 1 km buffer on either transect side (n = 3540). Derived estimates …

Implementation Of An Occupancy-Based Monitoring Protocol For A Widespread And Cryptic Species, The New England Cottontail (Sylvilagus Transitionalis), Colin P. Shea, Mitchell J. Eaton, Darryl I. Mackenzie

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Context. Designing effective long-term monitoring strategies is essential for managing wildlife populations. Implementing a cost-effective, practical monitoring program is especially challenging for widespread but locally rare species. Early successional habitat preferred by the New England cottontail (NEC) has become increasingly rare and fragmented, resulting in substantial declines from their peak distribution in the mid-1900s. The introduction of a possible competitor species, the eastern cottontail (EC),may also have played a role. Uncertainty surrounding how these factors have contributed to NEC declines has complicated management and necessitated development of an appropriate monitoring framework to understand possible drivers of distribution and dynamics.

Aims. …

Spatial Conservation Planning Under Uncertainty: Adapting To Climate Change Risks Using Modern Portfolio Theory, Mitchell J. Eaton, Simeon Yurek, Zulqarnain Haider, Julien Martin, Fred Johnson, Bradley J. Udell, Hadi Charkhgard, Changhyun Kwon

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Climate change and urban growth impact habitats, species, and ecosystem services. To buffer against global change, an established adaptation strategy is designing protected areas to increase representation and complementarity of biodiversity features. Uncertainty regarding the scale and magnitude of landscape change complicates reserve planning and exposes decision makers to the risk of failing to meet conservation goals. Conservation planning tends to treat risk as an absolute measure, ignoring the context of the management problem and risk preferences of stakeholders. Application of risk management theory to conservation emphasizes the diversification of a portfolio of assets, with the goal of reducing the …

Coastal Wetlands: A Synthesis, Charles S. Hopkinson, Eric Wolanski, Mark M. Brinson, Daonald R. Cahoon, Gerardo M.E. Perillo

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

What are coastal wetland ecosystems, what are their limits of distribution, and where do they exist in the overall coastal landscape? There are several general definitions for wetlands, but the Ramsar definition is likely the most broadly encompassing (http://www.ramsar. org/), whereas others are more focused definitions tailored to country-specific protection and management policies (Mitsch and Gosselink, 2006). We offer a very general approach rather than a precise definition: coastal wetlands are ecosystems that are found within an elevation gradient that ranges between subtidal depths where light penetrates to support photosynthesis of benthic plants to the landward edge where the sea …

Promoting Change In Common Tern (Sterna Hirundo) Nest Site Selection To Minimize Construction Related Disturbance., Peter C. Mcgowan, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Carl R. Callahan, William Schultz, Jennifer L. Wall, Diann J. Prosser

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Due to the many challenges facing waterbird populations (Jia et al. 2018, Wetlands International 2018), it has become common practice to limit disturbance to breeding colonies whenever possible to maximize reproductive success. While this may require often unpopular management techniques including beach closures (Jorgensen et al. 2015, Mayo et al. 2015) and predator removal (Neuman et al. 2004, Stocking et al. 2017), such actions are sometimes necessary for the success of the colony. However, there are instances when eliminating disturbance is not possible and birds must be attracted to a new site. A common method for attracting waterbirds to a …

Optimizing Historic Preservation Under Climate Change: Decision Support For Cultural Resource Adaptation Planning In National Parks, Xiao Xiao, Erin Seekamp, Max Post Van Der Burg, Mitchell Eaton, Sandra Fatorić, Allie Mccreary

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Climate change poses great challenges for cultural resource management, particularly in coastal areas. Cultural resources, such as historic buildings, in coastal areas are vulnerable to climate impacts including inundation, deterioration, and destruction from sea-level rise and storm-related flooding and erosion. However, research that assesses the trade-offs between actions for protecting vulnerable and valuable cultural resources under bud- getary constraints is limited. This study focused on developing a decision support model for managing historic buildings at Cape Lookout National Seashore. We designed the Optimal Preservation Decision Support (OptiPres) model to: (a) identify optimal, annual adaptation actions for historic buildings across a …

Assessment Of Chronic Low-Dose Elemental And Radiological Exposures Of Biota At The Kanab North Uranium Mine Site In The Grand Canyon Watershed, Danielle Cleveland, Jo Ellen Hinck, Julia S. Lankton

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

High-grade U ore deposits are in various stages of exploitation across the Grand Canyon watershed, yet the effects of U mining on ecological and cultural resources are largely unknown. Wecharacterized the concentrations of Al, As, Bi, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Pb, Hg, Mo, Ni, Se, Ag, Tl, Th, U, and Zn, gross alpha and beta activities, and U and Th radioisotopes in soil, vegetation (Hesperostipa comata, Artemisia tridentata, Tamarix chinensis), and rodents (Peromyscus maniculatus, P. boylii) to waste material at the Kanab North mine, a mine with decades-long surficial contamination, and compared the concentrations (P<0.01) to those at a premining site (Canyon Mine). Rodent tissues were also analyzed for radium-226 and microscopic lesions. Radioactivities and some elemental concentrations (e.g., Co, Pb, U) were greater in the Kanab North mine biological samples than in Canyon Mine biota, indicating a mining-related elemental signature. Mean rodent Ra-226 (111 Bq/kg dry weight [dry wt]) was 3 times greater than expected, indicating radioactive disequilibrium. Multiple soil sample U concentrations exceeded a screening benchmark, growth inhibition thresholds for sensitive plants, and an EC20 for a soil arthropod. Lesions associated with metals exposure were also observed more frequently in rodents at Kanab North than those at Canyon Mine but could not be definitively attributed to U mining. Our results indicate that Kanab North biota have taken up U mining-related elements owing to chronic exposure to surficial contamination. However, no literature-based effects thresholds for small rodents were exceeded, and only a few soil and vegetation thresholds for sensitive species were exceeded; therefore, adverse effects to biota from U mining-related elements at Kanab North are unlikely despite chronic exposure.

Crustal Structure Of Mesozoic Rifting In The Northeastern Gulf Of Mexico From Integration Of Seismic And Potential Fields Data, Mei Liu, Irina Filina, Paul Mann

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

We have investigated the crustal structure of a 400 km wide zone of thinned continental crust in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) using gravity and magnetic modeling along two deeply penetrated seismic transects. Using this approach, we identify two zones of prominent, southward-dipping reflectors associated with 7–10 km thick, dense, and highly magnetic material. Previous workers have interpreted the zones as either coarse clastic redbeds of Mesozoic age that are tilted within half-grabens or seaward-dipping reflectors of magmatic origin. Both seismic reflection lines reveal a 10 km thick and 67 km wide northern zone of high density near the …

Age And Pattern Of The Southern High-Latitude Continental End-Permian Extinction Constrained By Multiproxy Analysis, Christopher R. Fielding, Tracy D. Frank, Stephen Mcloughlin, Vivi Vajda, Chris Mays, Allen P. Tevyaw, Arne Winguth, Cornelia Winguth, Robert S. Nicoll, Malcom Bocking, James L. Crowley

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Past studies of the end-Permian extinction (EPE), the largest biotic crisis of the Phanerozoic, have not resolved the timing of events in southern high-latitudes. Here we use palynology coupled with high-precision CA-ID-TIMS dating of euhedral zircons from continental sequences of the Sydney Basin, Australia, to show that the collapse of the austral Permian Glossopteris flora occurred prior to 252.3 Ma (~370 kyrs before the main marine extinction). Weathering proxies indicate that floristic changes occurred during a brief climate perturbation in a regional alluvial landscape that otherwise experienced insubstantial change in fluvial style, insignificant reorganization of the depositional surface, and no …

Hexagonal Fracture Patterns On Navajo Sandstone Crossbeds At Yellow Knolls, Washington County, David Loope

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

At this geosite, the main features of interest—remarkably uniform and beautiful fracture patterns dominantly composed of linked hexagons (fi gures 1 and 2)—are present on outcrops of the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone. Th e Navajo was deposited by large, southward- migrating desert dunes about 200 million years ago, but the fractures that defi ne the hexagons here are just a surfi cial veneer less than 20 inches (half a meter) deep. Th e fractures are a weathering phenomenon that developed under climate conditions similar to today’s. Steep thermal gradients develop in the sandstone because it is exposed to solar radiation and …

Developing A Department Of Transportation Winter Severity Index, Curtis L. Walker, Dylan Steinkruger, Pouya Gholizadeh, Sogand Hasanzedah, Mark Anderson, Behzad Esmaeili

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Adverse weather conditions are responsible for millions of vehicular crashes, thousands of deaths, and billions of dollars per year in economic and congestion costs. Many transportation agencies utilize a performance or mobility metric to assess how well they maintain road access; however, there is only limited consideration of meteorological impacts to the success of their operations. This research develops the Nebraska winter severity index (NEWINS), which is a daily event-driven index derived for the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT). The NEWINS includes a categorical storm classification framework to capture atmospheric conditions and possible road impacts across diverse spatial regions of …

Ephemeral Gully Erosion Modeling And Surveying With Close-Range Digital Photogrammetry, M. A. Islam, C. Weerasekara, Y. Zhou, A. Y. Shesukov

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Multi-Proxy Constraints On The Significance Of Covariant Δ13c Values In Carbonate And Organic Carbon During The Early Mississippian, Amanda M. Oehlert, Peter K. Swart, Gregor P. Eberli, Samantha Evans, Tracy D. Frank

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

This study investigates the covariation between carbonate and organic δ¹³C values in a proximal to distal transect of four outcrops in the Madison Limestone in the Western United States Rockies, combined with δ³⁴S values of carbonate associated sulphate, the concentration of acid-insoluble material and measurements of total organic carbon. These new geochemical datasets not only allow for an evaluation of carbon isotope covariance during one of the largest perturbations to the global carbon cycle over the past 550 Myr, but also constrain the cause of the excursion in carbonate δ¹³C values. The results support …

Rinded, Iron-Oxide Concretions In Navajo Sandstone Along The Trail To Upper Calf Creek Falls, Garfield County, David Loope, Richard Kettler

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Concretions are hard rock masses, usually spheroidal, but commonly oblate or discoidal, that are formed by strongly localized precipitation of minerals in the pores of an otherwise weaker sedimentary rock (see Bates and Jackson, 1980, for a more extensive definition). The iron-oxide-rich concretions in the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone in southern Utah are unusual in two fundamental ways. First, they are cemented by iron oxide (Fe2O3, or Fe(OH)3); most other concretions are cemented by silica (SiO2), calcite (CaCO3), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2), or siderite (FeCO3). Second, unlike other concretions, they are not strongly cemented throughout, but instead, the iron oxide is concentrated in …

Plant Root Systems Preserved In The Permian Cedar Mesa Sandstone At Moki Dugway, Southeastern Utah, David Loope

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Rooted green plants represent the base of the food chain for most terrestrial ecosystems, but, compared to animal burrows, root systems are relatively rarely recognized in ancient sedimentary rocks. Plant roots that penetrate unconsolidated sand dunes, especially those containing not only quartz grains, but also abundant grains of calcite (CaCO₃), are commonly replaced by fine crystals of calcite (Klappa, 1980). These structures (known by geologists as rhizoliths from the Greek for “root rock”) are one form of calcite cemented soil and sediment called caliche (figure 1). Caliche crystallizes well above the water table and its calcite crystals are …

The Origin Of Shinarump Wonderstone, Hildale, Washington County, Richard Kettler, David Loope

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Southern Utah’s “wonderstone” is Shinarump sandstone, variably cemented and stained with iron oxide, forming intricate patterns reminiscent of landscapes. It is cut and sold as absorbent drink coasters and decorative objects, and is seen in rock shops across the country. The wonderstone pattern comprises thick bands of iron oxide mineralization that fills pore space (referred to as iron oxide cement or IOC) and more delicate bands of iron oxide mineralization that coats sand grains but does not fill pore space (referred to as iron oxide stain or IOS) (figure 1).

The wonderstone pattern is of interest to geologists because it …

Seasonality Of Nitrogen Balances In A Mediterranean Climate Watershed, Oregon, Us, Jiajia Lin, Jana E. Compton, Scott G. Leibowitz, George Mueller-Warrant, William Matthews, Stephen H. Schoenholtz, Daniel M. Evans, Rob A. Coulombe

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

We constructed a seasonal nitrogen (N) budget for the year 2008 in the Calapooia River Watershed (CRW), an agriculturally dominated tributary of the Willamette River (Oregon, U.S.) under Mediterranean climate. Synthetic fertilizer application to agricultural land (dominated by grass seed crops) was the source of 90% of total N input to the CRW. Over 70% of the stream N export occurred during the wet winter, the primary time of fertilization and precipitation, and the lowest export occurred in the dry summer. Averaging across all 58 tributary subwatersheds, 19% of annual N inputs were exported by streams, and 41% by crop …

Preface: Earth Observation For Integrated Water And Basin Management: Challenges For Adaptation To A Changing Environment, María J. Polo, Maria P. González-Dugo, Christopher M.U. Neale

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Integrated river basin management involves a sound knowledge of water and land interactions, and impacts from and feedbacks to human activity. Remote sensing has been an efficient and increasingly promising means of gathering direct information of the Earth surface, as well as information on water and energy fluxes. The recent generation of high-resolution sensors offers a huge potential for monitoring, assessing, and modelling our changing environment in a context of uncertainty about how future climate conditions will affect the current water resource and basin management framework. Moreover, large amounts of data are now available posing a challenging opportunity to the …

Riverbank Filtration Impacts On Post Disinfection Water Quality In Small Systems—A Case Study From Auburn And Nebraska City, Nebraska, Matteo D'Alessio, Bruce Dvorak, Chittaranjan Ray

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Small water systems can experience a fluctuating quality of water in the distribution system after disinfection. As chlorine is the most common disinfectant for small systems, the occurrence of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) represents a common problem for these systems. Riverbank filtration (RBF) can be a valuable solution for small communities located on riverbanks. The objectives of this study were to evaluate (i) the improvements in water quality at two selected RBF systems, and (ii) the potential lower concentrations of DBPs, in particular, trihalomethanes (THMs), in small systems that use RBF. Two small communities in Nebraska, Auburn and Nebraska City, using …