Other Earth Sciences Commons^™

Flow Alteration-Ecology Relationships In Ozark Highland Streams: Consequences For Fish, Crayfish And Macroinvertebrate Assemblages, Dustin T. Lynch, Douglas R. Easure, Daniel D. Magoulick

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We examined flowalteration-ecology relationships in benthic macroinvertebrate, fish, and crayfish assemblages in Ozark Highland streams, USA, over two years with contrasting environmental conditions, a drought year (2012) and a flood year (2013). We hypothesized that: 1) there would be temporal variation in flow alteration-ecology relationships between the two years, 2) flow alteration-ecology relationshipswould be stronger during the drought year vs the flood year, and 3) fish assemblages would show the strongest relationships with flow alteration. We used a quantitative richest-targeted habitat (RTH) method and a qualitative multihabitat (QMH) method to collect macroinvertebrates at 16 USGS gaged sites during both years. …

Seismic Landslide Hazard Mapping For Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Ali Fallah Yeznabad, Sheri E. Molnar, Hesham M. El Naggar

Western Research Forum

The lower Mainland of southwest British Columbia (BC) hosts about 3.5 million people and significant infrastructures of national importance. Southwestern BC has the highest seismic risk in Canada with significant potential to cause earthquake-induced hazards including tsunamis, liquefaction and landslides. A Cascadia mega-thrust (M_W 9) earthquake is predicted to generate $75 billion Canadian dollars in losses. This damage can be resulted from ground shaking or its secondary phenomena like landslides; ground shaking during earthquakes may trigger landslides that can damage or destroy buildings, bury roads and highways and kill and injure people. In Canada, during the past century and …

Newgeochemical Evidence For The Origin Of North America's Largest Dune Field, The Nebraska Sand Hills, Central Great Plains, Usa, Daniel R. Muhs, James R. Budahn

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The Nebraska SandHills region is the largest dune field inNorthAmerica and has diverse aeolian landforms. It has been active during both the late Pleistocene and late Holocene. Despite decades of study, the source of sediment for this large sand sea is still controversial. Here we report new trace element compositions of aeolian sand that are compared to four hypothesized sediment sources, Tertiary rocks of the Arikaree Group and Ogallala Group, unconsolidated sands of Pliocene age, and Platte River systemsands. All four potential sources have amineralogy that is similar to the Nebraska Sand Hills. K/Rb, K/Ba, Sc-Th-La, Eu/Eu*, LaN/YbN, As/Sb, and …

Stable Isotopes Of Clay Minerals From Autoclave Tests Of Oil Sands: Implications For Clay Formation During Steaming Of Alberta Clearwater Oil Sands, Shaoneng He, Fred J. Longstaffe, Zhihong Zhou

Earth Sciences Publications

In an effort to evaluate mineral-water isotopic exchange during cyclic steam stimulation (CSS), solutions and<2 μm berthierine-dominated solids from the Clearwater Formation oil sands of Alberta, Canada were analyzed for stable isotope compositions before and after reaction in autoclaves for 1008 h at 250 °C. There was no significant change in solution δ¹⁸O and δ²H, which is consistent with the high water/mineral ratio used in the experiments. The solids showed a marked decrease in both δ¹⁸O and δ²H following the experiments. Pre-run solids have δ¹⁸O of +9.5 to +12.9‰and …

Prehistoric Chaco Canyon, New Mexico: Importation Of Meat And Mmaize, Larry V. Benson, Deanna Grimstead, John R. Stein, David A. Rith, Terry L. Plowman

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

In a recent paper, Benson and Grimstead (2019) determined that only minimal amounts of maize could have been grown in Chaco Canyon due to its aridity, short growing season, and frequent summer flooding of the valley floor. In this paper it is shown that deer and rabbit densities within semiarid regions such as the Canyon are such that 2300 Canyon residents would eliminate essentially all small and large mammals within a year. This implies that food (meat and maize) must have been imported from one or more outlying areas to feed the Canyon's residential population. This would have entailed ~18,000 …

Chaco Canyon, New Mexico: A Caretaker City And A Pilgrimage Destination, Larry Benson, Deanna N. Grimstead, John R. Stein, David A. Roth, Terry I. Plowman

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Some Southwestern archaeologists continue to ascribe to the hypothesis that Chaco was agriculturally productive to the point that it could support at least a few thousand full-time residents. This paper suggests an alternative hypothesis; i.e., Chaco was marginally productive and could only support a few hundred permanent residents. Isotopic analysis of mammal teeth found in trenches cut through platform mounds fronting Pueblo Bonito indicate the possibility that much of the meat consumed by Chacoan residents and visitors came from higher elevation sites bordering the San Juan Basin. We suggest that resident population estimates based on great house room numbers and …

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 …

Flood-Inundation Maps For The North Platte River At Scottsbluff And Gering, Nebraska, 2018, Kellan R. Strauch

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Digital flood-inundation maps for an 8.8-mile reach of the North Platte River, from 1.5 miles upstream from the Highway 92 bridge to 3 miles downstream from the Highway 71 bridge in Scottsbluff County, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Cities of Scottsbluff and Gering, Nebraska. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the Flood Inundation Mapping (FIM) Program website at https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/flood-inundation-mapping-fim-program?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects, depict estimates of the areal extent and depth of flooding corresponding to selected water levels (stages) at the USGS streamgage on the North Platte River at Scottsbluff, Nebr. (station number 06680500). Near-real-time …

Spatial Conservation Planning Under Uncertainty: Adapting To Climate Change Risks Using Modern Portfolio Theory, Mitchell J. Eaton, Simeon Yurek, Zulqarnain Haider, Julien Martin, Fred A. 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 …

Response Of Vegetation In Open And Partially Wooded Fens To Prescribed Burning At Seney National Wildlife Refuge, Jane E. Austin, Wesley E. Newton

United States Geological Survey: Publications

The health and function of northern peatlands, particularly for fens, are strongly affected by fire and hydrology. Fens are important to several avian species of conservation interest, notably the yellow rail (Coturnicops noveboracensis). Fire suppression and altered hydrology often result in woody encroachment, altering the plant community and structure. Woody encroachment and its effects on biodiversity have become an increasing concern in the conservation and management of plant communities. This study evaluated the effects of spring and summer prescribed burns on the plant community, cover, and structure in open and partially wooded fens at Seney National Wildlife Refuge, Michigan, using …

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 …

Identifying Key Factors Affecting Translational Landslides In Part Of The Yakima Fold And Thrust Belt, Washington State, Joseph Schilter

All Master's Theses

Washington has one of the fastest growth rates in the nation, and unfortunately also is among the most landslide-prone states. With increased population density and urban sprawl, the need for landslide hazard assessment grows. On the Columbia Plateau in central Washington, the smooth rigid, inclined surfaces of the Columbia River Basalts (CRBs) with loose sediment layers between them induces landslides of large blocks of bedrock. These hazards remain poorly understood, but their significance was heightened by the 2017 Rattlesnake Hills Landslide that currently threatens a community and an interstate highway south of Yakima, Washington. I propose that the strongest influences …

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. …

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.

Pressure, Temperature, And Stress Conditions Of Southern Alpine Fault (New Zealand) Mylonites, Jake T. Reitman

Dissertations and Theses

The Alpine Fault, New Zealand, provides a unique window into the rheologic history of a seismically-active continental plate boundary. Due to lower exhumation rates along southern portions of the fault relative to the well-studied central Alpine Fault, deformation ages vary along strike by ~15 m.y.. Mylonites collected from two southern creeks near Haast, NZ, display a uniform recrystallized grain size of ~11 𝜇m in mylonitic quartz indicating differential stress values in the south of ~100 MPa, roughly twice the stress values observed in the central Alpine Fault. Constraints from Ti-in-quartz thermobarometry and Raman Spectroscopy of Carbonaceous Material (RSCM) indicate mylonitization …

Designing A Protected Area To Safeguard Imperiled Species From Urbanization, Stephanie S. Romanach, Brad Stith, Fred A. Johnson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Reserve design is a process that can address ecological, social, and political factors to identify parcels of land needed to sustain wildlife populations and other natural resources. Acquisition of parcels for a large terrestrial reserve is difficult because it typically occurs over a long timeframe and thus invokes consideration of future conditions such as climate and urbanization changes. In central Florida, the U.S. government has authorized a new protected area, the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge. The new refuge will host important threatened and endangered species and habitats, and will be located to allow for species adaptation from climate change …

Predicted Deepwater Bathymetry From Satellite Altimetry: Non-Fourier Transform Alternatives, Maxsimo Salazar

Dissertations

Robert Parker (1972) demonstrated the effectiveness of Fourier Transforms (FT) to compute gravitational potential anomalies caused by uneven, non-uniform layers of material. This important calculation relates the gravitational potential anomaly to sea-floor topography. As outlined by Sandwell and Smith (1997), a six-step procedure, utilizing the FT, then demonstrated how satellite altimetry measurements of marine geoid height are inverted into seafloor topography. However, FTs are not local in space and produce Gibb’s phenomenon around discontinuities. Seafloor features exhibit spatial locality and features such as seamounts and ridges often have sharp inclines. Initial tests compared the windowed-FT to wavelets in reconstruction of …

Improving Sinkhole Mapping Using Lidar Data And Locating Sinkhole Hotspots In Johnson City, Tn, Kingsley Fasesin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Predicting infrastructure damage and economic impact of sinkholes requires high accuracy mapping distribution and development. The study mapped sinkholes and sinkhole hotpsots in Johnson City, TN using LiDAR-derived Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and a database of known sinkholes which were matched to LiDAR-derived depressions. For all matched depressions (n = 404), three metrics were calculated: circularity index, ratio of length to width of the Minimum Bounding Rectangle (MBR) and percent coverage of the MBR by the depression, and 3,634 new sinkholes were identified. Newly developed hotspots were identified in north Johnson City and other areas in the south near the …

Sedimentology And Stratigraphy Of Core Stl14: An Early Pleistocene-To-Present Paleoclimate Archive From Stoneman Lake, Arizona, Spencer Staley

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

An 80 m lacustrine sediment core (STL14) from Stoneman Lake, Coconino County, Arizona, contains a sedimentary sequence of at least 1.5 million years, chronicling the complete history of basin infill and recording an extensive and high-resolution archive of climatic and hydrologic fluctuations. Lake levels in this small, internally-drained catchment are sensitive to changes in regional hydrologic balance. Consistent groundwater inflow, even during regionally dry episodes in the lake’s history, has prevented complete desiccation of the lake and sustained continuous lacustrine deposition except for one soil horizon. Multiproxy analysis of sedimentological indicators including lithofacies, color, wet bulk density, magnetic susceptibility, preliminary …

Groundwater Contamination At Coal Ash Deposit Sites In Kentucky, Brandon Rose

Scholars Week

No abstract provided.

Kentucky Flood And Flash Flood Comparison Of 1996 And 2017 Using Gis, Harrison Kelly

Scholars Week

No abstract provided.

Further Evidence For The Invasion And Establishment Of Pterois Volitans (Teleostei: Scorpaenidae) Along The Atlantic Coast Of The United States, H. Scott Meister, David M. Wyanski, Joshua K. Loefer, Steve W. Ross, Andrea M. Quattrini, Kenneth J. Sulak

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We document the continues population expansion of red lionfish, Pterois volitans, the first documented successful introduction of an invasive marine fish species from the western Pacific to Atlantic coastal water of the United States. Red lionfish are indigenous to the Indo-Pacific and have apparently established one or more breeding population on reefs off the southeastern United States. Fifty-nine specimens, most presumably adult red lionfish, were documented or collected on live-bottom reefs North Carolina, South Caroline, and Florida, and on a manmade structure off Georgia. Observation/collection depths and bottom water temperatures for these fish ranged from 4-99 m and 13.8-24.4 …

Marine Threats Overlap Key Foraging Habitat For Two Imperiled Sea Turtle Species In The Gulf Of Mexico, Kristen M. Hart, Autumn R. Iverson, Ikuko Fujisaki, Margaret M. Lamont, David Bucklin, Donna J. Shaver

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Effective management of human activities affecting listed species requires understanding both threats and animal habitat-use patterns. However, the extent of spatial overlap between high-use foraging areas (where multiple marine species congregate) and anthropogenic threats is not well-known. Our modeling approach incorporates data on sea turtle spatial ecology and a suite of threats in the Gulf of Mexico to identify and map “hot spots” of threats to two imperiled turtle species. Of all 820 “high” threats grid cells, our tracked turtles foraged at least 1 day in 77% of them. Although threat data were not available outside the U.S. Exclusive Economic …

Estimating Dominant Runoff Modes Across The Conterminous United States, Brian Buchanan, Daniel A. Auerbach, James Knighton, Darrick Evensen, Daniel R. Fuka, Zachary Easton, Michael Wieczorek, Josephine A. Archibald, Brandon Mcwilliams, Todd Walter

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Effective natural resource planning depends on understanding the prevalence of runoff generating processes. Within a specific area of interest, this demands reproducible, straightforward information that can complement available local data and can orient and guide stakeholders with diverse training and backgrounds. To address this demand within the contiguous United States (CONUS), we characterized and mapped the predominance of two primary runoff generating processes: infiltration‐excess and saturation‐excess runoff (IE vs. SE, respectively). Specifically, we constructed a gap‐filled grid of surficial saturated hydraulic conductivity using the Soil Survey Geographic and State Soil Geographic soils databases. We then compared surficial saturated hydraulic conductivity …

Global Dynamics Of A Mutualism–Competition Model With One Resource And Multiple Consumers, Yuanshi Wang, Hong Wu, Donald L. Deangelis

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Recent simulation modeling has shown that species can coevolve toward clusters of coexisting consumers exploiting the same limiting resource or resources, with nearly identical ratios of coefficients related to growth and mortality. This paper provides a mathematical basis for such as situation; a full analysis of the global dynamics of a new model for such a class of n-dimensional consumer–resource system, in which a set of consumers with identical growth to mortality ratios compete for the same resource and in which each consumer is mutualistic with the resource. First, we study the system of one resource and two consumers. …