Other Earth Sciences Commons^™

Effects Of Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper And Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus Radiometric And Geometric Calibrations And Corrections On Landscape Characterization, James E. Vogelmann, Dennis Helder, Ron Morfitt, Michael J. Choate, James W. Merchant, Henry Bulley

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The Thematic Mapper (TM) instruments on board Landsats 4 and 5 provide high-quality imagery appropriate for many different applications, including land cover mapping, landscape ecology, and change detection. Precise calibration was considered to be critical to the success of the Landsat 7 mission and, thus, issues of calibration were given high priority during the development of the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+). Data sets from the Landsat 5 TM are not routinely corrected for a number of radiometric and geometric artifacts, including memory effect, gain/bias, and interfocal plane misalignment. In the current investigation, the effects of correcting vs. not correcting …

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-P-Dioxin Induces Apoptotic Cell Death And Cytochrome P4501a Expression In Developing Fundulus Heteroclitus Embryos, Barbara Holland Toomey, Susan Bello, Mark E. Hahn, Susannah Cantrell, Peggy Wright, Donald E. Tillitt, Richard T. Di Giulio

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Fundulus heteroclitus embryos were exposed to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) during early development using nanoinjection or water bath exposure. TCDD caused developmental abnormalities that included hemorrhaging, loss of vascular integrity, edema, stunted development and death. The LC₅₀ and LD₅₀ of TCDD for Fundulus embryos were ~19.7 ± 9.5 pg TCDD/µl (water bath) and 0.25 ± 0.09 ng TCDD/g embryo (nanoinjection). To identify a possible cause for these developmental abnormalities we analyzed the effects of TCDD on apoptotic cell death and cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) expression in the embryos. TCDD exposure increased apoptotic cell death in several tissues including brain, …

Land Cover Trends Dataset, 1973–2000, Christopher E. Soulard, William Acevedo, Roger F. Auch, Terry L. Sohl, Mark A. Drummond, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Daniel G. Sorenson, Steve Kambly, Tamara S. Wilson, Janis L. Taylor, Kristi L. Sayler, Michael P. Stier, Christopher A. Barnes, Steve C. Methven, Thomas R. Loveland, Rachel Headley, Mark S. Brooks

United States Geological Survey: Publications

The U.S. Geological Survey Land Cover Trends Project is releasing a 1973–2000 time-series land-use/land-cover dataset for the conterminous United States. The dataset contains 5 dates of land-use/land-cover data for 2,688 sample blocks randomly selected within 84 ecological regions. The nominal dates of the land-use/land-cover maps are 1973, 1980, 1986, 1992, and 2000. The land-use/land-cover maps were classified manually from Landsat Multispectral Scanner, Thematic Mapper, and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus imagery using a modified Anderson Level I classification scheme. The resulting land-use/land-cover data has a 60-meter resolution and the projection is set to Albers Equal-Area Conic, North American Datum of 1983. …

Dating Marine Terraces With Relative-Age And Correlated-Age Methods, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Coastal landforms, and particularly emergent marine terraces, a re amongt he most importantg eomorphicfe aturesi n studieso f Quaternarys eal evel fluctuationsa nd neotectonics. A general model, first articulated by Alexander (1953) and borne out by detailedr ecent studieso n many coastlinesi,s that emergent flights of erosional terraces and coral reefs (Fig. 1) are the resulto f glacioeustaticallyc ontrolledf luctuations of global sea level superimposed on steady uplift. Similiarity of U-series ages of coral from both constructional reefsi n the tropicsa nd erosionalt erracesi n midlatitudesh as provided a rigorous test of this model (Mesolella and others, 1969; Bloom and …

Viability Of Piping Plover Charadrius Melodus Metapopulations, Jonathan H. Plissner, Susan M. Haig

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The meta-population viability analysis package, vortex, was used to examine viability and recovery objectives for piping plovers Charadrius melodus, an endangered shorebird that breeds in three distinct regions of North America. Baseline models indicate that while Atlantic Coast populations, under current management practices, are at little risk of near-term extinction, Great Plains and Great Lakes populations require 36% higher mean fecundity for a significant probability of persisting for the next 100 years. Meta-population structure (i.e. the delineation of populations within the meta-population) and inter-population dispersal rates had varying effects on model results; however, spatially-structured meta-populations exhibited lower viability than …

Geomorphometry – Diversity In Quantitative Surface Analysis, Richard J. Pike

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

A widening variety of applications is diversifying geomorphometry (digital terrain modelling), the quantitative study of topography. An amalgam of earth science, mathematics, engineering and computer science, the discipline has been revolutionized by the computer manipulation of gridded terrain heights, or digital elevation models (DEMs). Its rapid expansion continues. This article reviews the remarkable diversity of recent morphometric work in 15 selected topics and discusses their significance and prospects. The quantitative analysis of industrial microsurface topography is introduced to the earth science community. The 14 other topics are Internet access to geomorphometry; global DEMs; DEM modelling of channel networks; …

Single-Dilution Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay For Quantification Of Antigen-Specific Salmonid Antibody, Stewart W. Alcorn, Ronald J. Pascho

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed on the basis of testing a single dilution of serum to quantify the level of antibody to the p57 protein of Renibacterium salmoninarum in sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). The levels of antibody were interpolated from a standard curve constructed by relating the optical densities (OD) produced by several dilutions of a high-titer rainbow trout (O. mykiss) antiserum to the p57 protein. The ELISA OD values produced by as many as 36 test sera on each microplate were compared with the standard curve to calculate the antigen-specific antibody activity. Repeated …

Natural And Anthropogenic Influences On The Distribution Of The Threatened Neosho Madtom In A Midwestern Warmwater Stream, Mark L. Wildhaber, Vernon M. Tabor, Daniel W. Mulhern, Kenneth L. Powell, Scott P. Sowa

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We attempted to discern the contributions of physical habitat, water chemistry, nutrients, and contaminants from historic lead-zinc mining activities on the riffle-dwelling benthic fish community of the Spring River, a mid western warm water stream that originates in Missouri and flows into Kansas and Oklahoma. The Spring River has a fish community that includes the Neosho madtom Noturus placidus, a species federally listed as threatened. Although anthropogenic factors such as contaminants limited populations and densities of fishes, an integrated assessment of natural and anthropogenic factors was necessary to effectively estimate the influence of the latter. Fish populations in the …

Monitoring The 1996 Drought Using The Standardized Precipitation Index, Michael J. Hayes, Mark D. Svoboda, Donald A. Wilhite, Olga V. Vanyarkho

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Droughts are difficult to detect and monitor. Drought indices, most commonly the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), have been used with limited success as operational drought monitoring tools and triggers for policy responses. Recently, a new index, the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), was developed to improve drought detection and monitoring capabilities. The SPI has several characteristics that are an improvement over previous indices, including its simplicity and temporal flexibility, that allow its application for water resources on all timescales. In this article, the 1996 drought in the southern plains and southwestern United States is examined using the SPI. A series …

Comparison Of An Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (Elisa) To Gas Chromatography (Gc) - Measurement Of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (Pcbs) In Selected Us Fish Extracts, James L. Zajicek, Donald E. Tillitt, Ted R. Schwartz, Christopher J. Schmitt, Robert O. Harrison

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The analysis of PCBs in fish tissues by immunoassay methods was evaluated using fish collected from a US monitoring program, the National Contaminant Biomonitoring Program of the US Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. Selected composite whole fish samples, which represented widely varying concentrations and sources of PCBs, were extracted and subjected to congener PCB analysis by gas chromatography (GC) and total PCB analysis using an ELISA (ePCBs) calibrated against technical Aroclor 1248. PCB congener patterns in these fishes were different from the patterns found in commercial Aroclors or their combinations as demonstrated by principal component analysis of normalized …

200,000 Years Of Climate Change Recorded In Eolian Sediments Of The High Plains Of Eastern Colorado And Western Nebraska, Daniel R. Muhs, James Swinehart, David Loope, John N. Aleinikoff, Josh Been

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Loess and eolian sand cover vast areas of the western Great Plains of Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado (Fig. 1). In recent studies of Quaternary climate change, there has been a renewed interest in loess and eolian sand. Much of the attention now given to loess stems from new studies of long loess sequences that contain detailed records of Quaternary glacial-interglacial cycles, thought to be a terrestrial equivalent to the foraminiferal oxygen isotope record in deep-sea sediments (Fig. 2). Loess is also a direct record of atmospheric circulation, and identification of loess paleowinds in the geologic record can test atmospheric general …

How To Reduce Drought Risk, Cody Knutson, Mike Hayes, Tom Phillips

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

This guide describes a practical step-by-step process for identifying actions that can be taken to reduce potential drought-related impacts before a drought occurs. Step 1 begins with making sure that the right people are brought together and supplied with adequate data to make informed and equitable decisions during the process. Steps 2 and 3 narrow the focus of the study by identifying high priority drought-related impacts that are relevant to the user’s location or activity. Step 4 demonstrates that in order to reduce the potential for the identified impacts to occur in the future, it is necessary to understand the …

Chapter 2 Climate, Donald A. Wilhite, Kenneth G. Hubbard

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The broad climatic patterns of the Sand Hills region are also characteristic of the central Great Plains environment. The spatial and temporal patterns of these climatic variables have a significant effect on the natural resources of the region.

An Evaluation Of Methods For Identifying And Interpreting Buried Soils In Late Quaternary Loess In Alaska, Daniel R. Muhs, Thomas A. Ager, Josh M. Been, Joseph G. Rosenbaum, Richard L. Reynolds

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The presence of buried soils in Alaskan loess is controversial, and therefore criteria for identifying buried soils in these deposits need to be evaluated. In this paper, morphologic and chemical criteria for identifying buried soils are evaluated by studying modern soils developed mostly in Holocene loess under tundra, boreal forest, and transitional coastal-boreal forest vegetation in different parts of Alaska. Data from modern Alaskan soils that developed under vegetation similar to that of the present indicate that soil morphology, organic-matter concentrations, and P concentrations can be useful diagnostic tools for identifying buried soils. Soil morphologic criteria, particularly horizon colors and …

Water Quality In The Central Nebraska Basins, Nebraska, 1992-95, S. A. Frenzel, R. B. Swanson, T. L. Huntzinger, J. K. Stamer, P. J. Emmons, Ronald B. Zelt

United States Geological Survey: Publications

This report is intended to summarize major findings that emerged between 1992 and 1995 from the water-quality assessment of the Central Nebraska Basins Study Unit and to relate these findings to water-quality issues of regional and national concern. The information is primarily intended for those who are involved in waterresource management. Indeed, this report addresses many of the concerns raised by regulators, water-utility managers, industry representatives, and other scientists, engineers, public officials, and members of stakeholder groups who provided advice and input to the USGS during this NAWQA Study-Unit investigation. Yet, the information contained here may also interest those who …

Hydrogeology In The Vicinity Of The Nebraska Management Systems Evaluation Area Site, Centra! Nebraska, Virginia L. Mcguire, John M. Kilpatrick

United States Geological Survey: Publications

From 1991 to 1992, the U.S. Geological Survey participated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in research activities at the Nebraska Management Systems Evaluation Area (MSEA) site near Shelton, Nebraska. The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey study was to define the hydrogeologic system in the vicinity of the Nebraska MSEA site to aid the interpretation of ground-water sampling results by other researchers. The primary aquifer in the study area is the High Plains aquifer, which consists of an unconfined part, the shallow aquifer; a silt and clay unit that acts as a confining layer; …

Continuous Lake-Sediment Records Of Glaciation In The Sierra Nevada Between 52,600 And 12,500 14c Yr B.P., Larry Benson, Howard M. May, Ronald C. Antweiler, Terry I. Brinton, Michaele Kashgarian, Joseph P. Smoot, Steve P. Lund

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The chemistry of the carbonate-free clay-size fraction of Owens Lake sediments supports the use of total organic carbon and magnetic susceptibility as indicators of stadial-interstadial oscillations, Owens Lake records of total organic carbon, magnetic susceptibility, and chemical composition of the carbonate-free, clay-size fraction indicate that Tioga glaciation began ~24,500 and ended by ~13,600 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Many of the components of glacial rock flour (e.g., TiO₂ , MnO, BaO) found in Owens Lake sediments achieved maximum values during the Tioga glaciation when valley glaciers reached their greatest extent. Total organic carbon and Si02 (amorphous) concentrations reached minimum values …

Early Life History Stages Of Gulf Sturgeon In The Suwannee River, Florida, Kenneth J. Sulak, James P. Clugston

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Egg sampling confirmed that Suwannee River Gulf sturgeon Acipenser ozyrinchus desotoi, a subspecies of Atlantic sturgeon A. o. oxyrinchus use the same spawning site at river kilometer (rkm) 215 from the mouth of the river each year. Forty-nine eggs were recorded in 1995, and 368 were recorded in 1996. Spawning began 4-7 d after the March new moon in both years and lasted 10-11 d; in 1996, a second 10-d spawning round began on the April new moon. Developmental synchrony among eggs recovered suggested serval discrete spawning events in both years. Total eggs deposited for three 1996 sampling days …

Evaluation Of Selected Atmospheric Indices For The Prediction Of Thunderstorms At Omaha, Nebraska, Fred Ladehoff

Open Access Master's Theses (through 2010)

This study examines the values of five stability indices (the Showalter Index, the K Index, the Vertical Totals Index, the Cross Totals Index, and the Total Totals Index) for Omaha, Nebraska during the months of March through September, 1964 through 1973. Index means during thunderstorm periods and non-thunderstorm periods should show a distinct difference. Even though indices can be an important tool, it must be accentuated that indices should never be used as the sole factor in the prediction of thunderstorm or non-thunderstorm occurrences. This study shows that even at the highest skill scores, many mistakes would be made in …

Nearly Synchronous Climate Change In The Northern Hemisphere During The Last Glacial Termination, Larry V. Benson, James Burdett, Steve Lund, Michaele Kashgarian, Scott Mensing

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The climate of the North Atlantic region underwent a series of abrupt cold/warm oscillations when the ice sheets of the Northern Hemisphere retreated during the last glacial termination (17,700–11,500 years ago). Evidence for these oscillations, which are recorded in European terrestrial sediments as the Oldest Dryas/Bølling/ Older Dryas/Allerød/Younger Dryas vegetational sequence, has been found in Greenland ice cores. The geographical extent of many of these oscillations is not well known, but the last major cold event (the Younger Dryas) seems to have been global in extent. Here we present evidence of four major oscillations in the hydrological balance of the …

Correlation Of Late-Pleistocene Lake-Level Oscillations In Mono Lake, California, With North Atlantic Climate Events, Larry Benson, Steve P. Lund, James W. Burdett, Michaele Kashgarian, Timothy P. Rose, Joseph P. Smoot, Martha Schwartz

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Oxygen-18 (¹⁸O) values of sediment from the Wilson Creek Formation, Mono Basin, California, indicate three scales of temporal variation (Dansgaard-Oeschger, Heinrich, and Milankovitch) in the hydrologic balance of Mono Lake between 35,400 and 12,900 ¹⁴C yr B.P. During this interval, Mono Lake experienced four lowstands each lasting from 1000 to 2000 yr. The youngest low stand, which occurred between 15,500 and 14,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P., was nearly synchronous with a desiccation of Owens Lake, California. Paleomagnetic secular variation (PSV) data indicate that three of four persistent low stands occurred at the same times as Heinrich events …

Climatic And Hydrologic Oscillations In The Owens Lake Basin And Adjacent Sierra Nevada, California, Larry Benson, James W. Burdett, Michaele Kashgarian, Steve Lund, Fred Phillips, Robert O. Rye

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Oxygen isotope and total inorganic carbon values of cored sediments from the Owens Lake basin, California, indicate that Owens Lake overflowed most of the time between 52,500 and 12,500 carbon-14 (¹⁴C) years before present (B.P.). Owens Lake desicated during or after Heinrich event H1 and was hydrologically closed during Heinrich event H2. The magnetic susceptibility and organiz carbon content of cored sediments indicate that about 19 Sierra Nevada glaciations occurred between 52,500 and 23,500 ¹⁴C years B.P.

Origin Of The Late Quaternary Dune Fields Of Northeastern Colorado, Daniel R. Muhs, Thomas W. Stafford, Scott D. Cowherd, Shannon A. Mahan, Rolf Kihl, Paula B. Maat, Charles A. Bush, Jennifer Nehring

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Stabilized eolian deposits, mostly parabolic dunes and sand sheets, cover much of the landscape of northeastern Colorado and adjacent parts of southwestern Nebraska in four geographically distinct dune fields. Stratigraphic and soil-geomorphic relations and accelerator radiocarbon dating indicate that at least three episodes of eolian sand movement occurred between 27 ka and 11 ka. possibly between 11 ka and 4 ka. and within the past 1.5 ka. Thus, eolian sand deposition took place under both glacial and interglacial climatic conditions. In the youngest episodes of eolian sand movement. Holocene parabolic dunes partially buried Pleistocene sand sheet deposits.

Late Holocene sands …

Relating United States Crop Land Use To Natural Resources And Climate Change, K. G. Hubbard, F. J. Flores-Mendoza

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Crop production depends not only on the yield but also on the area harvested. The yield response to climate change has been widely examined, but the sensitivity of crop land use to hypothetical climate change has not been examined directly. Crop land-use regression models for estimating crop area indices (CAIs) - the percent of land used for corn, soybean, wheat, and sorghum production - are presented. Inputs to the models include available water-holding capacity of the soil, percent of land available for rain-fed agricultural production, annual precipitation, and annual temperature. The total variance of CAI explained by the models ranged …

Geomorphic And Geochemical Evidence For The Source Of Sand In The Algodones Dunes, Colorado Desert, Southeastern California, Daniel R. Muhs, Charles A. Bush, Scott D. Cowherd, Shannon Mahan

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The Algodones dunes of southeastern California comprise one of the largest active dune fields in the United States. The source of sand of the Algodones dunes is controversial, and the source of stabilized aeolian sand in the adjacent East Mesa area has not been investigated at all. We used mineralogical compositions and trace element concentrations to ascertain the most likely source of sand for these active and stabilized dunes. Results indicate that alluvium derived from the San Bernardino Mountains, which enters the Salton trough to the northwest of the dune fields, and alluvium derived from the Chocolate Mountains, which is …

Bermuda Solution Pipe Soils: A Geochemical Evaluation Of Eolian Parent Materials, Stanley R. Herwitz, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Solution pipes found in the Quaternary eolian and marine carbonates of Bermuda are filled with reddish to reddish-brown soil material. The bulk of the soil is composed of clay and silt-sized quartz and aluminosilicate clay minerals. The carbonates are of high purity and, therefore, are not likely to have been the parent material. Previous workers have hypothesized that Saharan dust may have been the soil parent material. The fine-grained component of loess from the Mississippi River Valley of North America also could have contributed. Paleoclimate models indicate that both North Africa and North America could have been important source areas …

Evidence Of Active Dune Sand On The Great Plains In The 19th Century From Accounts Of Early Explorers, Daniel R. Muhs, Vance T. Holliday

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Eolian sand is extensive over the Great Plains of North America, but is at present mostly stabilized by vegetation. Accounts published by early explorers, however, indicate that at least parts of dune fields in Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, and Texas were active in the 19th century. Based on an index of dune mobility and a regional tree-ring record, the probable causes for these periods of greater eolian activity are droughts, accompanied by higher temperatures, which greatly lowered the precipitationto- evapotranspiration ratio and diminished the cover of stabilizing vegetation. In addition, observations by several explorers, and previous historical studies, indicate …

Carbonate Deposition, Pyramid Lake Subbasin, Nevada: 2. Lake Levels And Polar Jet Stream Positions Reconstructed From Radiocarbon Ages And Elevations Of Carbonates (Tufas) Deposited In The Lahontan Basin, Larry Benson, Michaele Kashgarian, Meyer Rubin

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Most of the tufas in the Pyramid Lake subbasin were deposited within the last 35,000 yr, including most of the mound tufas that border the existing lake. Many of the older tufas (> 21,000 yr B.P.) contained in the mounds were formed in association with ground-water discharge. The radiocarbon (¹⁴C) ages of the older tufas represent maximum estimates of the time of their formation. Lake Lahontan experienced large and abrupt rises in level at ~ 22,000, 15,000, and 11,000 yr B.P. and three abrupt recessions in level at ~ 16,000, 13,600, and 10,000 yr B.P. The lake-level rises …

Drought Profile: Haryana State In North India, K. Kailasa Nathan

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Haryana state is considered the breadbasket of India, along with the Punjab state. The effects of drought (and mitigation of those effects) are, therefore, of considerable importance for the state. This article considers the state’s drought profile through a study of six drought years in Haryana.

Geochemical Evidence Of Saharan Dust Parent Material For Soils Developed On Quaternary Limestones Of Caribbean And Western Atlantic Islands, Daniel R. Muhs, Charles A. Bush, Kathleen C. Stewart, Tracy R. Rowland, Russell C. Crittenden

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Most previous workers have regarded the insoluble residues of high-purity Quatemary limestones (coral reefs and oolites) as the most important parent material for well-developed, clay-rich soils on Caribbean and western Atlantic islands, but this genetic mechanism requires unreasonable amounts of limestone solution in Quatemary time. Other possible parent materials from external sources are volcanic ash from the Lesser Antilles island arc and Saharan dust carried across the Atlantic Ocean on the northeast trade winds. Soils on Quatemary coral terraces and carbonate eolianites on Barbados, Jamaica, the Florida Keys (United States), and New Providence Island (Bahamas) were studied to determine which, …