Geology Commons^™

Geochemistry And Mineralogy Of Late Quaternary Loess In The Upper Mississippi River Valley, Usa: Provenance And Correlation With Laurentide Ice Sheet History, Daniel R. Muhs, E. Arthur Bettis Iii, Gary L. Skipp

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The midcontinent of North America contains some of the thickest and most extensive last-glacial loess deposits in the world, known as Peoria Loess. Peoria Loess of the upper Mississippi River valley region is thought to have had temporally varying glaciogenic sources resulting from inputs of sediment to the Mississippi River from different lobes of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Here, we explore a new method of determining loess provenance using K/Rb and K/Ba values (in K-feldspars and micas) in loess from a number of different regions in North America. Results indicate that K/Rb and K/Ba values can distinguish loess originating from …

Irrigated Agriculture And Future Climate Change Effects On Groundwater Recharge, Northern High Plains Aquifer, Usa, Zachary H. Lauffenburger, Jason J. Gurdak, Chris Hobza, Duane Woodward

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Understanding the controls of agriculture and climate change on recharge rates is critically important to develop appropriate sustainable management plans for groundwater resources and coupled irrigated agricultural systems. In this study, several physical (total potential (ψT) time series) and chemical tracer and dating (3H, Cl−, Br−, CFCs, SF6, and 3H/3He) methods were used to quantify diffuse recharge rates beneath two rangeland sites and irrigation recharge rates beneath two irrigated corn sites along an east-west (wet-dry) transect of the northern High Plains aquifer, Platte River Basin, central Nebraska. The field-based recharge estimates and historical climate were used to calibrate site-specific Hydrus-1D …

Landscapes From The Waves—Marine Terraces Of California, Marjorie Schulz, Corey Lawrence, Daniel R. Muhs, Carol Prentice, Sam Flanagan

United States Geological Survey: Publications

M any coastlines around the world have stair-step landforms, known as marine terraces. Marine terraces make up a large part of coastal California’s landscape—from San Diego to Crescent City. Find out how these landscapes form, why marine terraces are of interest to scientists, and where you can explore these landscapes.

Marine terraces result from the interaction of two geologic processes: uplift of the land surface and the natural rise and fall of sea level over hundreds of thousands of years. As sea level rises, waves move underwater sediment—sand and gravel—back and forth against bedrock, acting like sandpaper to hone bedrock …

Fossils On The Floor In The Nebraska State Capitol: A Coloring And Activities Book, Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

The Nebraska State Capitol is a wonderful place. This building is home to great treasures of art owned by the people of Nebraska. The floor of the Capitol Rotunda has beautiful works of art. Maybe you have seen this art. Small pieces of two kinds of rocks make pictures of people, their tools, the natural resources they used, and pictures of fossil animals and plants. These kinds of pictures are called mosaics [moe ZAY icks]. The animals and plants follow one another in a curved ribbon around the floor. In that ribbon of pictures are many kinds of fossil animals …

Spectrally Based Bathymetric Mapping Of A Dynamic, Sandbedded Channel: Niobrara River, Nebraska, Usa, E. Dilbone, C.J. Legleiter, J.S. Alexander, B. Mcelroy

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Methods for spectrally based mapping of river bathymetry have been developed and tested in clear‐flowing, gravel‐bed channels, with limited application to turbid, sandbed rivers. This study used hyperspectral images and field surveys from the dynamic, sandy Niobrara River to evaluate three depth retrieval methods. The first regressionbased approach, optimal band ratio analysis (OBRA), paired in situ depth measurements with image pixel values to estimate depth. The second approach used ground‐based field spectra to calibrate an OBRA relationship. The third technique, image‐to‐depth quantile transformation (IDQT), estimated depth by linking the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of depth to the CDF of an …

Phytoforensics: Trees As Bioindicators Of Potential Indoor Exposure Via Vapor Intrusion, Jordan L. Wilson, V. A. Samaranayake, Matt A. Limmer, Joel G. Burken

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Human exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) via vapor intrusion (VI) is an emerging public health concern with notable detrimental impacts on public health. Phytoforensics, plant sampling to semi-quantitatively delineate subsurface contamination, provides a potential non-invasive screening approach to detect VI potential, and plant sampling is effective and also time- and cost-efficient. Existing VI assessment methods are time- and resourceintensive, invasive, and require access into residential and commercial buildings to drill holes through basement slabs to install sampling ports or require substantial equipment to install groundwater or soil vapor sampling outside the home. Tree-core samples collected in 2 days at …

Origin Of Last-Glacial Loess In The Western Yukon-Tanana Upland, Central Alaska, Usa, Daniel R. Muhs, Jeffrey S. Pigati, James R. Budahn, Gary L. Skipp, E Arthur Bettis Iii, Britta Jensen

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Loess is widespread over Alaska, and its accumulation has traditionally been associated with glacial periods. Surprisingly, loess deposits securely dated to the last glacial period are rare in Alaska, and paleowind reconstructions for this time period are limited to inferences from dune orientations. We report a rare occurrence of loess deposits dating to the last glacial period, ~19 ka to ~12 ka, in the Yukon-Tanana Upland. Loess in this area is very coarse grained (abundant coarse silt), with decreases in particle size moving south of the Yukon River, implying that the drainage basin of this river was the main source. …

Review Of The Ends Of The World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, And Our Quest To Understand Earth's Past Mass Extinctions, By Peter Brannen, Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

Robert F. Diffendal, Jr., Publications

In his new best-selling book, Peter Brannen, award-winning science writer, takes you on a fascinating trip through the run-up to the end of the Cretaceous extinction event and the K-Pg (Cretaceous/Paleogene) boundary, formerly called the K-T (Cretaceous/Tertiary) boundary.

Brannen interviewed many scientists who studied these events and went on field trips with them to major Cretaceous sites and to those where earlier and later extinction events happened. He presents clear explanations of what is known and not known about all of these events in a largely error-free book. Brannen details the other four big extinction events in geologic history: the …

Fight And Air Exposure Times Of Caught And Released Salmonids From The South Fork Snake River, Curtis J. Roth, Daniel J. Schill, Michael C. Quist

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Catch-and-release regulations are among the most common types of fishing regulations. In recent years, concerns have arisen regarding the exposure of fish to air during catch-and-release angling. The purpose of our study was to quantify the length of time angled fish were exposed to air by anglers in a typical catch-and-release fishery and relate it to the lengths of time reported to produce negative effects. In total, 312 individual anglers were observed on the South Fork Snake River, Idaho, from May through August 2016. Fight time varied from 1.1 s to 230.0 s, and average fight time was 40.0 s …

The Flathead Catfish Invasion Of The Great Lakes, Pam L. Fuller, Gary E. Whelan

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

A detailed review of historical literature andmuseumdata revealed that flathead catfish were not historically native in the Great Lakes Basin, with the possible exception of a relict population in Lake Erie. The species has invaded Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair, Lake Huron, nearly all drainages in Michigan, and the Fox/Wolf and Milwaukee drainages in Wisconsin. They have not been collected from Lake Superior yet, and the temperature suitability of that lake is questionable. Flathead catfish have been stocked sparingly in the Great Lakes and is not the mechanism responsible for their spread. A stocking in 1968 in Ohio may be …

Past Role And Future Outlook Of The Conservation Reserve Program For Supporting Honey Bees In The Great Plains, Clint R.V. Otto, Haochi Zheng, Alisa L. Gallant, Rich Iovanna, Benjamin L. Carlson, Matthew D. Smart, Skip Hyberg

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Human dependence on insect pollinators continues to grow even as pollinators face global declines. The Northern Great Plains (NGP), a region often referred to as America’s last honey bee (Apis mellifera) refuge, has undergone rapid land-cover change due to cropland expansion and weakened land conservation programs. We conducted a trend analysis and estimated conversion rates of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) enrollments around bee apiaries from 2006 to 2016 and developed models to identify areas of habitat loss. Our analysis revealed that NGP apiaries lost over 53% of lands enrolled in the CRP, and the rate of loss was highest in …

The Pothole Hydrology-Linked Systems Simulator (Phyliss)—Development And Application Of A Systems Model For Prairie-Pothole Wetlands, Owen P. Mckenna, David M. Mushet, Eric J. Scherff, Kyle I. Mclean, Christopher T. Mills

United States Geological Survey: Publications

The North American Prairie Pothole Region covers about 770,000 square kilometers of the United States and Canada (including parts of 5 States and 3 provinces: North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, Iowa, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta). The Laurentide Ice Sheet shaped the landscape of the region about 12,000 to 14,000 years ago. The retreat of the ice sheet left behind low-permeability glacial till and a landscape dotted with millions of depressions known today as prairie potholes. The wetlands that subsequently formed in these depressions, prairie-pothole wetlands, provide critical migratory-bird habitat and support dynamic aquatic communities. Extensive grasslands and productive agricultural …

Appendix 1. Testing The Influence Of Management Regime And Year On Vegetation Structure Variables On Two Grass Types On Federal Lands Managed Under An Adaptive-Management Framework By The U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service In North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, And Montana, 2011–13, J.J Gannon, T.L. Shaffer, C.T. Moore

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Generalized linear mixed model (assuming a beta distribution with a logit link) testing the influence of management regime and year on mean bare-ground cover (percent) on two grass types on Federal lands managed under an adaptive-management framework by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Gannon and others, 2013) in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana, 2011–13.

Assessing The Impact Of The Conservation Reserve Program On Honey Bee Health, Otto, C.R.V., O'Dell, S., Bryant, R.B., Euliss, N.H., Bush

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Insect pollinators are critically important for maintaining U.S. food production and ecosystem health. The upper Midwest is home to more than 40 percent of all U.S. honey bee colonies and is considered by many beekeepers to be America’s last beekeeping refuge. Beekeepers come to this region because their honey bees require high-quality grassland and bee-friendly agricultural crops to make honey and to improve bee health. Agricultural grassland, such as those enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), support flowers that provide bees with the pollen and nectar they need. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. …

Adaptive Management In Native Grasslands Managed By The U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service—Implications For Grassland Birds, Lawrence D. Igl, Welsey E. Newton, Todd A. Grant, Cami S. Dixon

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Burning and grazing are natural processes in native prairies that also serve as important tools in grassland management to conserve plant diversity, to limit encroachment of woody and invasive plants, and to maintain or improve prairies. Native prairies managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in the Prairie Pothole Region of the northern Great Plains have been extensively invaded by nonnative, cool-season species of grasses. These invasions were believed to reflect a common management history of long-term rest and little or no defoliation by natural processes (burning and grazing). To address the challenges associated with these invasive species, …

Evaluating Restored Tidal Freshwater Wetlands, Andrew H. Baldwin1,, Richard S. Hammerschlag, Donald R. Cahoon

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Tidal freshwater wetlands are recognized as highly productive coastal wetlands that support diverse assemblages of plants and animals and complex biogeochemical cycles (in this book, see Chapter 18 by Whigham et al. and Chapter 19 by Megonigal and Neubauer). Many tidal freshwater wetlands and their associated ecosystem services have been damaged or destroyed by urbanization, agriculture, and other human activities (Baldwin, 2004; Barendregt et al., 2006). Increasing recognition of the value of remaining wetlands and environmental regulations requiring wetland mitigation (i.e., enhancement, creation, or restoration of wetlands to compensate for wetland losses; Kentula, 2000) has driven the restoration of all …

The Global Food-Energy-Water Nexus, Paolo D’Odorico, Kyle Frankel Davis, Lorenzo Rosa, Joel A. Carr, Davide Chiarelli, Jampel Dell’Angelo, Jessica Gephart, Graham K. Macdonald, David A. Seekell, Samir Suweis, Maria Cristina Rulli

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Water availability is a major factor constraining humanity’s ability to meet the future food and energy needs of a growing and increasingly affluent human population. Water plays an important role in the production of energy, including renewable energy sources and the extraction of unconventional fossil fuels that are expected to become important players in future energy security. The emergent competition for water between the food and energy systems is increasingly recognized in the concept of the “food-energy-water nexus.” The nexus between food and water is made even more complex by the globalization of agriculture and rapid growth in food trade, …

Is Sensitivity To Anticoagulant Rodenticides Affected By Repeated Exposure In Hawks?, Barnett A. Rattner, Rebecca S. Lazarus, Thomas G. Bean, Katherine E. Horak,, Steven F. Volker, Julia Lankton

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

A seminal question in wildlife toxicology is whether exposure to an environmental contaminant, in particular a secondgeneration anticoagulant rodenticide, can evoke subtle long lasting effects on body condition, physiological function and survival. Many reports indicate that non-target predators often carry residues of several rodenticides, which is indicative of multiple exposures. An often-cited study in laboratory rats demonstrated that exposure to the second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide brodifacoum prolongs blood clotting time for a few days, but weeks later when rats were re-exposed to the first-generation anticoagulant rodenticide warfarin, coagulopathy was more pronounced in brodifacoum-treated rats than naïve rats exposed to warfarin. To …

Combining Hydraulic Head Analysis With Airborne Electromagnetics To Detect And Map Impermeable Aquifer Boundaries, Jesse T. Korus

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

Impermeable aquifer boundaries affect the flow of groundwater, transport of contaminants, and the drawdown of water levels in response to pumping. Hydraulic methods can detect the presence of such boundaries, but these methods are not suited for mapping complex, 3D geological bodies. Airborne electromagnetic (AEM) methods produce 3D geophysical images of the subsurface at depths relevant to most groundwater investigations. Interpreting a geophysical model requires supporting information, and hydraulic heads offer the most direct means of assessing the hydrostratigraphic function of interpreted geological units. This paper presents three examples of combined hydraulic and AEM analysis of impermeable boundaries in glacial …

The Groundwater Atlas Of Red Willow County, Nebraska, Dana Divine, Duane Eversoll, Leslie M. Howard

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

The purpose of this groundwater atlas is to synthesize a wealth of hydrogeologic data for Red Willow County that has not been published in readily accessible formats previously. Many of the maps presented here are based on geologic information from registered wells and test holes that is publically available on-line, which becomes more valuable when compiled, analyzed, and discussed as a whole.

In Red Willow County, the aquifers are alluvial sand and gravel in the river and stream valleys and the High Plains aquifer beneath the uplands. The High Plains aquifer in Red Willow County consists primarily of the Ogallala …

Vegetation Responses To Sagebrush-Reduction Treatments Measured By Satellites, Aaron N. Johnston, Erik A. Beever, Jerod A. Merkle, Geneva Chong

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Time series of vegetative indices derived from satellite imagery constitute tools to measure ecological effects of natural and management-induced disturbances to ecosystems. Over the past century, sagebrush-reduction treatments have been applied widely throughout western North America to increase herbaceous vegetation for livestock and wildlife. We used indices from satellite imagery to 1) quantify effects of prescribed-fire, herbicide, and mechanical treatments on vegetative cover, productivity, and phenology, and 2) describe how vegetation changed over time following these treatments. We hypothesized that treatments would increase herbaceous cover and accordingly shift phenologies towards those typical of grass-dominated systems. We expected prescribed burns would …

Exotic Invasive Pomacea Maculata (Giant Apple Snail) Will Depredate Eggs Of Frog And Toad Species Of The Southeastern Us, Jacoby Carter, Darren Johnson, Sergio Merino

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Pomacea maculata (Giant Apple Snail) is a freshwater snail from South America that is an invasive species on the Gulf of Mexico coastal plain. A sister species has been shown to prey on amphibian eggs in Asia. To test whether the Giant Apple Snail will prey on amphibian eggs, we presented eggs of Lithobates palustris (Pickerel Frog), Lithobates pipiens (Northern Leopard Frog), and Anaxyrus americanus (American Toad) to Giant Apple Snails in a laboratory experiment. Giant Apple Snails ate the eggs of all 3 species.

Evaluating Restored Tidal Freshwater Wetlands, Andrew H. Baldwin, Richard S. Hammerschlag, Donald R. Cahoon

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Tidal freshwater wetlands are recognized as highly productive coastal wetlands that support diverse assemblages of plants and animals and complex biogeochemical cycles (in this book, see Chapter 18 by Whigham et al. and Chapter 19 by Megonigal and Neubauer). Many tidal freshwater wetlands and their associated ecosystem services have been damaged or destroyed by urbanization, agriculture, and other human activities (Baldwin, 2004; Barendregt et al., 2006). Increasing recognition of the value of remaining wetlands and environmental regulations requiring wetland mitigation (i.e., enhancement, creation, or restoration of wetlands to compensate for wetland losses; Kentula, 2000) has driven the restoration of all …

Evaluating The Waterfowl Breeding Population And Habitat Survey For Scaup, Michael L. Schummer, Alan D. Afton, Shannon S. Badzinski, Scott A. Petrie, Glenn H. Olsen, Mark A. Mitchell

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Potential bias in breeding population estimates of certain duck species from the Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey (WBPHS) has been a concern for decades. The WBPHS does not differentiate between lesser (Aythya affinis) and greater (A. marila) scaup, but lesser scaup comprise 89% of the combined scaup population and their population estimates are suspected to be biased. We marked female lesser scaup (i.e., marked scaup) in the Mississippi and Atlantic Flyways, Canada and United States, with implantable satellite transmitters to track their spring migration through the traditional and eastern survey areas of the WBPHS, 2005–2010. Our goal was to …

Evaluating The Waterfowl Breeding Population And Habitat Survey For Scaup, Michael L. Schummer, Alan D. Afton, Shannon S. Badzinski, Scott A. Petrie, Glenn H. Olsen, Mark A. Mitchell

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Potential bias in breeding population estimates of certain duck species from the Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey (WBPHS) has been a concern for decades. The WBPHS does not differentiate between lesser (Aythya affinis) and greater (A. marila) scaup, but lesser scaup comprise 89% of the combined scaup population and their population estimates are suspected to be biased. We marked female lesser scaup (i.e., marked scaup) in the Mississippi and Atlantic Flyways, Canada and United States, with implantable satellite transmitters to track their spring migration through the traditional and eastern survey areas of the WBPHS, 2005–2010. Our goal was to …

Risks And Hazards Of Rodenticide To Non-Raptor Birds, Nimish B. Vyas

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Incident data can support risk assessments by providing evidence of adverse effects of rodenticides to birds following operational applications. Traditionally, field monitoring for rodenticide incidents has focused primarily on raptors. However, nonraptor birds may also be poisoned (rodenticide exposure resulting in adverse effects including mortality) by rodenticides through consumption of the rodenticide bait and contaminated prey. I conducted a literature search canvassing 12 government and scholarly databases for rodenticide incidents (evidence of exposure to a rodenticide, adverse effects, or exposure to placebo baits) involving non-raptor birds. I used the search terms ‘rodenticide’ and ‘birds’ and from these results, I excluded …

2017 Nebraska Water Leaders Academy - Final Report, Mark E. Burbach, H. Reiners-Hild

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

Twenty participants completed the 2017 Water Leaders Academy bringing the total number of graduates to 101 since the inception of the program in 2011. Assessment of participants’ transformational leadership skills, champion of innovation skills, water knowledge and engagement, civic capacity, and entrepreneurial leadership behaviors showed a significant increase over the course of the year, from both participants’ and their raters’ perspectives. Feedback from participants was highly positive and constructive. Participant concerns were addressed, and only minor changes are planned for the 2018 Academy curriculum. Results of the program assessment indicate that the curriculum is meeting Academy objectives. Most importantly, Alumni …

Understanding Cigarette Butt Littering Behavior On A Public Beach: A Case Study Of Jekyll Island, Maranda R. Miller, Mark E. Burbach

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

Conservation of natural resources and promotion of family-friendly tourism activities are vital to Jekyll Island. As it is stated in the Jekyll Island Authority (JIA) Master Plan “Jekyll Island is a unique, state-owned barrier island that balances conserving and preserving natural, historic, and cultural resources with providing accessible, affordable recreation, vacation, and education opportunities for the people of Georgia and beyond” (Jekyll Island Authority, 2014b, p. 4). The JIA has reported approximately 1 million people visit the island annually (Jekyll Island Authority, 2015). As such, tourism is instrumental to Jekyll Island’s economy, and that tourism contributes to the overall economy …

Aquifers Of Nebraska Ii: The Niobrara Aquifer, Dana Divine, Robert Matthew Joeckel, Sue Olafsen Lackey

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

The marine shale, chalk, marl, and chalky limestone of the Niobrara Formation directly underlie Quaternary sediments in 23 counties from south-central to northeastern Nebraska. Nevertheless, the formation serves as an aquifer only in and around Cedar, Madison, and Nuckolls counties. Niobrara aquifer wells mostly supply irrigation, domestic, and livestock needs. Two hundred of the approximately 230 active registered wells in Nebraska that are screened entirely in the Niobrara aquifer are in Cedar County and environs. About another 200 wells in this area are screened in both the Niobrara aquifer and overlying Quaternary sediments. Wells screened entirely in the Niobrara aquifer …

Quaternary Sea-Level History And The Origin Of The Northernmost Coastal Aeolianites In The Americas: Channel Islands National Park, California, Usa, Daniel R. Muhs, Jeffrey S. Pigati, R. Randall Schumann, Gary L. Skipp, Naomi Porat, Stephen B. Devogel

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Along most of the Pacific Coast of North America, sand dunes are dominantly silicate-rich. On the California Channel Islands, however, dunes are carbonate-rich, due to high productivity offshore and a lack of dilution by silicate minerals. Older sands on the Channel Islands contain enough carbonate to be cemented into aeolianite. Several generations of carbonate aeolianites are present on the California Channel Islands and represent the northernmost Quaternary coastal aeolianites on the Pacific Coast of North America. The oldest aeolianites on the islands may date to the early Pleistocene and thus far have only been found on Santa Cruz Island. Aeolianites …