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Articles 421 - 450 of 749

Full-Text Articles in Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology

Global Change And Conservation Triage On National Wildlife Refuges, Fred Johnson, Mitchell J. Eaton, Gerard Mcmahon, Raye Nilius, Michael R. Bryant, Dave Case, Julien Martin, Nathan Wood, Laura Taylor Jan 2015

Global Change And Conservation Triage On National Wildlife Refuges, Fred Johnson, Mitchell J. Eaton, Gerard Mcmahon, Raye Nilius, Michael R. Bryant, Dave Case, Julien Martin, Nathan Wood, Laura Taylor

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) in the United States play an important role in the adaptation of social-ecological systems to climate change, land-use change, and other global-change processes. Coastal refuges are already experiencing threats from sea-level rise and other change processes that are largely beyond their ability to influence, while at the same time facing tighter budgets and reduced staff. We engaged in workshops with NWR managers along the U.S. Atlantic coast to understand the problems they face from global-change processes and began a multidisciplinary collaboration to use decision science to help address them. We are applying a values-focused approach to …


A Bird’S- Eye View Of The Usa National Phenology Network: An Off-The-Shelf Monitoring Program, Jherime Kellerman, Caroline A. F. Enquist, Diana L. Humple, Nathaniel E. Seavy, Alyssa Rosemartin, Renée L. Cormier, Lorianne Barnett Jan 2015

A Bird’S- Eye View Of The Usa National Phenology Network: An Off-The-Shelf Monitoring Program, Jherime Kellerman, Caroline A. F. Enquist, Diana L. Humple, Nathaniel E. Seavy, Alyssa Rosemartin, Renée L. Cormier, Lorianne Barnett

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Phenology is central to the biology and ecology of organisms and highly sensitive to climate. Differential responses to climate change are impacting phenological synchrony of inter- acting species, which has been implicated in the decline of migratory birds that rely on seasonal resources. However, few studies explicitly measure phenology of seasonal habitat resources on the breeding and wintering grounds and at stopover sites. While avian monitoring methods are widely standardized, methods of monitoring resource phenology can be highly variable and difficult to integrate. The USA National Phenology Network (USA- NPN) has developed standardized plant and animal phenology protocols and a …


Developing A 30-M Grassland Productivity Estimation Map For Central Nebraska Using 250-M Modis And 30-M Landsat-8 Observations, Yingxin Gu, Bruce K. Wylie Jan 2015

Developing A 30-M Grassland Productivity Estimation Map For Central Nebraska Using 250-M Modis And 30-M Landsat-8 Observations, Yingxin Gu, Bruce K. Wylie

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Accurately estimating aboveground vegetation biomass productivity is essential for local ecosystem assessment and best land management practice. Satellite-derived growing season time-integrated Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (GSN) has been used as a proxy for vegetation biomass productivity. A 250-m grassland biomass productivity map for the Greater Platte River Basin had been developed based on the relationship between Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) GSN and Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) annual grassland productivity. However, the 250-m MODIS grassland biomass productivity map does not capture detailed ecological features (or patterns) andmay result in only generalized estimation of the regional total productivity. Developing a high …


Radiocarbon Dating Of Late Quaternary Sediments Using Fossil Gastropod Shells, Jeffrey S. Pigati, John P. Mcgeehin, Daniel R. Muhs Jan 2015

Radiocarbon Dating Of Late Quaternary Sediments Using Fossil Gastropod Shells, Jeffrey S. Pigati, John P. Mcgeehin, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Terrestrial gastropods are one of the most successful groups of organisms on Earth. Their distribution includes all continents except Antarctica, and they occupy exceptionally diverse habitats, from marshes and wet meadows to alpine forests and Arctic tundra. Their shells are also commonly preserved in Quaternary deposits and potentially could be used for 14C dating. However, terrestrial gastropods are known to ingest limestone and incorporate the old carbon in their shells, resulting in apparent ages that are often too old. Recent studies have shown that many small (<1 cm diameter) terrestrial gastropods avoid this “limestone problem” even when living in areas in which carbonate rocks are readily available. However, the shells must also behave as closed systems with respect to carbon if their ages are to be considered reliable. Our latest work has been aimed at testing if small gastropod shells do, in fact, remain closed systems in late Quaternary deposits over a wide array of climate conditions across North America. Our results demonstrate that ages derived from Succineidae shells are identical to wood and charcoal ages in loess in Alaska, glacial deposits in the upper Midwest, loess in the Great Plains, and paleowetlands in the desert southwest. Moreover, Succineidae shell ages routinely fall within permitted limits set by stratigraphic boundaries, require less interpretation than humic acid ages that are commonly used in loess studies, can provide additional stratigraphic coverage to previous dating efforts, and maintain stratigraphic order more often than luminescence ages from the same stratigraphic intervals. Thus, we conclude that fossil Succineidae shells, and shells of a few other small gastropods, can be used for 14C dating regardless of the local lithology, past climate, or environmental …


Late Quaternary Sea-Level History And The Antiquity Of Mammoths (Mammuthus Exilis And Mammuthus Columbi), Channel Islands National Park, California, Usa, Daniel R. Muhs, Kathleen R. Simmons, Lindsey T. Groves, John Mcgeehin, R. Randall Schumann, Larry D. Agenbroad Jan 2015

Late Quaternary Sea-Level History And The Antiquity Of Mammoths (Mammuthus Exilis And Mammuthus Columbi), Channel Islands National Park, California, Usa, Daniel R. Muhs, Kathleen R. Simmons, Lindsey T. Groves, John Mcgeehin, R. Randall Schumann, Larry D. Agenbroad

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Fossils of Columbian mammoths (Mammuthus columbi) and pygmymammoths (Mammuthus exilis) have been reported from Channel Islands National Park, California. Most date to the last glacial period (Marine Isotope Stage [MIS] 2), but a tusk of M. exilis (or immature M. columbi) was found in the lowest marine terrace of Santa Rosa Island. Uranium-series dating of corals yielded ages from 83.8 ± 0.6 ka to 78.6 ± 0.5 ka, correlating the terrace withMIS 5.1, a time of relatively high sea level.Mammoths likely immigrated to the islands by swimming during the glacial periodsMIS 6 (~150 ka) orMIS 8 (~250 ka),when sea levelwas …


Sea Level, Paleogeography, And Archeology On California's Northern Channel Islands, Leslie Reeder- Myers, Jon Erlandson, Daniel R. Muhs, Torben Rick Jan 2015

Sea Level, Paleogeography, And Archeology On California's Northern Channel Islands, Leslie Reeder- Myers, Jon Erlandson, Daniel R. Muhs, Torben Rick

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Sea-level rise during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene inundated nearshore areas in many parts of the world, producing drastic changes in local ecosystems and obscuring significant portions of the archeological record. Although global forces are at play, the effects of sea-level rise are highly localized due to variability in glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) effects. Interpretations of coastal paleoecology and archeology require reliable estimates of ancient shorelines that account for GIA effects. Here we build on previous models for California's Northern Channel Islands, producing more accurate late Pleistocene and Holocene paleogeographic reconstructions adjusted for regional GIA variability. This region has …


Corn Belt Soil Carbon And Macronutrient Budgets With Projected Sustainable Stover Harvest, Zhengxi Tan, Shuguang Liu Jan 2015

Corn Belt Soil Carbon And Macronutrient Budgets With Projected Sustainable Stover Harvest, Zhengxi Tan, Shuguang Liu

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Corn (Zea mays L.) stover has been identified as a prime feedstock for biofuel production in the U.S. Corn Belt because of its perceived abundance and availability, but long-term stover harvest effects on regional nutrient budgets have not been evaluated. We defined the minimum stover requirement (MSR) to maintain current soil organic carbon levels and then estimated current and future soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) budgets for various stover harvest scenarios. Analyses for 2006 through 2010 across the entire Corn Belt indicated that currently, 28 Tg or 1.6 Mgha-1 of stover could be sustainably …


The Distribution Of Selected Elements And Minerals In Soil Of The Conterminous United States, Laurel Woodruff, William F. Cannon, David B. Smith, Federico Solano Jan 2015

The Distribution Of Selected Elements And Minerals In Soil Of The Conterminous United States, Laurel Woodruff, William F. Cannon, David B. Smith, Federico Solano

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

In 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey initiated a low-density (1 site per 1600 km2, 4857 sites) geochemical andmineralogical survey of soil of the conterminous United States as part of the North American Soil Geochemical Landscapes Project. Three soil samples were collected, if possible, from each site; (1) a sample from a depth of 0 to 5 cm, (2) a composite of the soil A-horizon, and (3) a deeper sample from the soil C-horizon or, if the top of the C-horizon was at a depth greater than 100 cm, from a depth of approximately 80–100 cm. The <2 mm fraction of each sample was analysed for a suite of 45 major and trace elements following near-total multi-acid digestion. The major mineralogical components in samples from the soil A- and C-horizons were determined by a quantitative X-ray diffraction method using Rietveld refinement. Sampling ended in 2010 and chemical and mineralogical analyses were completed in May 2013.Maps of the conterminous United States showing predicted element and mineral concentrations were interpolated from actual soil data for each soil sample type by an inverse distance weighted (IDW) technique using ArcGIS software. Regional- and national-scale map patterns for selected elements and minerals apparent in interpolated maps are described here in the context of soil-forming factors and possible human inputs. These patterns can be related to (1) soil parent materials, for example, in the distribution of quartz, (2) climate impacts, for example, in the distribution of feldspar and kaolinite, (3) soil age, for example, in the distribution of carbonate in young glacial deposits, and (4) possible anthropogenic loading of phosphorus (P) and lead (Pb) to surface soil. This new geochemical and mineralogical data set for the conterminous United States represents a major step forward from prior national-scale soil geochemistry data and provides a robust soil data framework for the United States now and into the future.


Toxicity Reference Values For Chlorophacinone And Their Application For Assessing Anticoagulant Rodenticide Risk To Raptors, Barnett A. Rattner, Katherine E. Horak, Rebecca S. Lazarus, Sandra L. Schultz, Susan Knowles, Benjamin G. Abbo, Steven F. Volker Jan 2015

Toxicity Reference Values For Chlorophacinone And Their Application For Assessing Anticoagulant Rodenticide Risk To Raptors, Barnett A. Rattner, Katherine E. Horak, Rebecca S. Lazarus, Sandra L. Schultz, Susan Knowles, Benjamin G. Abbo, Steven F. Volker

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Despite widespread use and benefit, there are

growing concerns regarding hazards of second-generation

anticoagulant rodenticides to non-target wildlife which

may result in expanded use of first-generation compounds,

including chlorophacinone (CPN). The toxicity of CPN

over a 7-day exposure period was investigated in American

kestrels (Falco sparverius) fed either rat tissue mechanically-

amended with CPN, tissue from rats fed Rozol bait

(biologically-incorporated CPN), or control diets (tissue

from untreated rats or commercial bird of prey diet)

ad libitum. Nominal CPN concentrations in the formulated

diets were 0.15, 0.75 and 1.5 µg/g food wet weight, and

measured concentrations averaged 94 …


Decadal Re-Evaluation Of Contaminant Exposure And Productivity Of Ospreys (Pandion Haliaetus) Nesting In Chesapeake Bay Regions Of Concern, Rebecca S. Lazarus, Barnett A. Rattner, Peter C. Mcgowan, Robert C. Hale, Sandra L. Schultz, Natalie K. Karouna-Renier, Mary Ann Ottinger Jan 2015

Decadal Re-Evaluation Of Contaminant Exposure And Productivity Of Ospreys (Pandion Haliaetus) Nesting In Chesapeake Bay Regions Of Concern, Rebecca S. Lazarus, Barnett A. Rattner, Peter C. Mcgowan, Robert C. Hale, Sandra L. Schultz, Natalie K. Karouna-Renier, Mary Ann Ottinger

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The last large-scale ecotoxicological study of ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) in Chesapeake Bay was conducted in 2000-2001 and focused on U.S. EPA-designated Regions of Concern (ROCs; Baltimore Harbor/ Patapsco, Anacostia/middle Potomac, and Elizabeth Rivers). In 2011-2012, ROCs were re-evaluated to determine spatial and temporal trends in productivity and contaminants. Concentrations of p,p'-DDE were low in eggs and below the threshold associated with eggshell thinning. Eggs from the Anacostia/ middle Potomac Rivers had lower total PCB concentrations in 2011 than in 2000; however, concentrations remained unchanged in Baltimore Harbor. Polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants declined by 40%, and five alternative …


A Simple Web-Based Tool To Compare Freshwater Fish Data Collected Using Afs Standard Methods, Scott A. Bonar, Norman Mercado-Silva, Matt Rahr, Yuta T. Torrey, Averill Cate Jr. Jan 2015

A Simple Web-Based Tool To Compare Freshwater Fish Data Collected Using Afs Standard Methods, Scott A. Bonar, Norman Mercado-Silva, Matt Rahr, Yuta T. Torrey, Averill Cate Jr.

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The American Fisheries Society (AFS) recently published Standard Methods for Sampling North American Freshwater Fishes. Enlisting the expertise of 284 scientists from 107 organizations throughout Canada, Mexico, and the United States, this text was developed to facilitate comparisons of fish data across regions or time. Here we describe a user-friendly web tool that automates among-sample comparisons in individual fish condition, population length-frequency distributions, and catch per unit effort (CPUE) data collected using AFS standard methods. Currently, the web tool (1) provides instantaneous summaries of almost 4,000 data sets of condition, length frequency, and CPUE of common freshwater fishes collected …


Reply To ‘Co2 Emissions From Crop Residue-Derived Biofuels’, Adam Liska, Haishun Yang, Matthew P. Pelton, Andrew E. Suyker Oct 2014

Reply To ‘Co2 Emissions From Crop Residue-Derived Biofuels’, Adam Liska, Haishun Yang, Matthew P. Pelton, Andrew E. Suyker

Adam Liska Papers

The soil organic carbon (SOC) model that we used was parameterized with data from arable land under normal farming conditions in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia, but the equation is insensitive to changes in tillage, soil texture and moisture. The model has reasonable accuracy, however, in predicting changes in SOC, residue remaining and CO2 emissions from initial SOC, carbon inputs from residue, and daily temperature; the shoot-to-root ratio used in the geospatial simulation was 0.29 (that is, root carbon is 29% of total aboveground carbon), which did not underestimate carbon input to soil (Supplementary Figure 2 in Ref. …


Loess As A Quaternary Paleoenvironmental Indicator, Daniel R. Muhs, M. A. Prins, B. Machalett Oct 2014

Loess As A Quaternary Paleoenvironmental Indicator, Daniel R. Muhs, M. A. Prins, B. Machalett

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Loess (aeolian silt) is widespread in Eurasia and the Americas. Paleowind direction and wind strength can be reconstructed from spatial and temporal trends of loess thickness and particle size. Fossil land snails in loess can reveal much about past climate and vegetation.

Loess is aeolian sediment that is dominated by silt-sized particles. Unlike either coarser dune sand or finer-grained, long-rangetransported dust, loess is relatively poorly sorted, reflecting a combination of transport processes, including saltation, low suspension, and high suspension. Loess can be readily identified in the field; deposits range in thickness from a few centimeters to many tens of meters, …


Droughtscape, Fall 2014, Kelly Smith Oct 2014

Droughtscape, Fall 2014, Kelly Smith

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

Contents

Director’s report

Upcoming events

Drought and climate summary

Drought impacts

Drought planning in Brazil

Ethiopian workshop

Visiting scholar

Help for South Plains ranchers

Wind River tribal workshop

Inter Tribal Buffalo Council

South Dakota ranch workshops


Integrating Land Cover Modeling And Adaptive Management To Conserve Endangered Species And Reduce Catastrophic Fire Risk, David Breininger, Brean Duncan, Mitchell Eaton, Fred Johnson, James Nichols Jul 2014

Integrating Land Cover Modeling And Adaptive Management To Conserve Endangered Species And Reduce Catastrophic Fire Risk, David Breininger, Brean Duncan, Mitchell Eaton, Fred Johnson, James Nichols

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Land cover modeling is used to inform land management, but most often via a two-step process, where science informs how management alternatives can influence resources, and then, decision makers can use this information to make decisions. A more efficient process is to directly integrate science and decision-making, where science allows us to learn in order to better accomplish management objectives and is developed to address specific decisions. Co-development of management and science is especially productive when decisions are complicated by multiple objectives and impeded by uncertainty. Multiple objectives can be met by the specification of trade offs, and relevant uncertainty …


Droughtscape, Summer 2014, Kelly Smith Jul 2014

Droughtscape, Summer 2014, Kelly Smith

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

Contents

Director’s report

Outlook

Drought & climate summary

Drought impacts

International drought monitoring and planning

Visiting scholars

North American Drought Monitor Forum

New primary Dust Bowl source

New additions to online webinar archive

Community Capitals Framework Institute


Sex-Biased Gene Flow Among Elk In The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Brian K. Hand, Shanyuan Chen, Neil Anderson, Albano Beja-Pereira, Paul C. Cross, Michael Ebinger, Hank Edwards, Robert A. Garrott, Marty D. Kardos, Matt Kauffman, Erin L. Landguth, Arthur Middleton, Brandon Scurlock, P.J. White, Pete Zager, Michael K. Schwartz, Gordon Luikart Jun 2014

Sex-Biased Gene Flow Among Elk In The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Brian K. Hand, Shanyuan Chen, Neil Anderson, Albano Beja-Pereira, Paul C. Cross, Michael Ebinger, Hank Edwards, Robert A. Garrott, Marty D. Kardos, Matt Kauffman, Erin L. Landguth, Arthur Middleton, Brandon Scurlock, P.J. White, Pete Zager, Michael K. Schwartz, Gordon Luikart

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We quantified patterns of population genetic structure to help understand gene flow among elk populations across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. We sequenced 596 base pairs of the mitochondrial control region of 380 elk from eight populations. Analysis revealed high mitochondrial DNA variation within populations, averaging 13.0 haplotypes with high mean gene diversity (0.85). The genetic differentiation among populations for mitochondrial DNA was relatively high (FST = 0.161; P = 0.001) compared to genetic differentiation for nuclear microsatellite data (FST = 0.002; P = 0.332), which suggested relatively low female gene flow among populations. The estimated ratio of male to female …


Water In The 21st Century, Grayson Michael Shor Jun 2014

Water In The 21st Century, Grayson Michael Shor

Social Sciences

The aim of this research project is to provide a comprehensive and global analysis of water use in order to provide the reader with a comprehensive grasp of current and impending issues. The included five (5) chapters discuss water distribution, conservation, purification, law, international development, economic debates, ethical consideration, as well as educated estimations of the effects water related issues may cause in the next one-hundred years.


Droughtscape, Spring 2014, Kelly Smith Apr 2014

Droughtscape, Spring 2014, Kelly Smith

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

Contents

Director’s report

Outlook . 2

Drought climate recap 3

Drought impacts .

DroughtAtlas

Missouri River Basin pilot 9

NASA Horn of Africa project 10

U2U tools and social science . 12

Consulting for Turkey 14

Czech drought monitoring 14


Nongeocentric Axial Dipole Field Behavior During The Mono Lake Excursion, Robert M. Negrini, Daniel T. Mccuan, Robert A. Horton, James D. Lopez, William S. Cassata, James E.T. Channell, Kenneth L. Verosub, Jeffrey R. Knott, Robert S. Coe, Joseph C. Liddicoat, Steven P. Lund, Larry V. Benson, Andrei M. Sarna-Wojcicki Mar 2014

Nongeocentric Axial Dipole Field Behavior During The Mono Lake Excursion, Robert M. Negrini, Daniel T. Mccuan, Robert A. Horton, James D. Lopez, William S. Cassata, James E.T. Channell, Kenneth L. Verosub, Jeffrey R. Knott, Robert S. Coe, Joseph C. Liddicoat, Steven P. Lund, Larry V. Benson, Andrei M. Sarna-Wojcicki

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

A new record of the Mono Lake excursion (MLE) is reported from the Summer Lake basin of Oregon, USA. Sediment magnetic properties indicate magnetite as the magnetization carrier and imply suitability of the sediments as accurate recorders of the magnetic field including relative paleointensity (RPI) variations. The magnitudes and phases of the declination, inclination, and RPI components of the new record correlate well with other coeval but lower resolution records from western North America including records from the Wilson Creek Formation exposed around Mono Lake. The virtual geomagnetic pole (VGP) path of the new record is similar to that from …


Survival Of Hatchery Gulf Sturgeon (Acipenser Oxyrinchus Desotoi Mitchill, 1815) In The Suwannee River, Florida: A 19-Year Evaluation, K. J. Sulak, M. T. Randall, J. P. Clugston Feb 2014

Survival Of Hatchery Gulf Sturgeon (Acipenser Oxyrinchus Desotoi Mitchill, 1815) In The Suwannee River, Florida: A 19-Year Evaluation, K. J. Sulak, M. T. Randall, J. P. Clugston

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

An experimental release of 1192 hatchery-reared, individually PIT tagged, 220 days old (296–337 mm TL) Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi, was undertaken in 1992 in the Suwannee River, Florida. The original objectives of the 1992 release experiment were to: (1) evaluate survival rate of cultured Gulf sturgeon in the wild vs survival rate of their wild 1992 cohort counterparts, (2) determine the differential effect of release site within the river upon long-term survival, and (3) evaluate comparative growth rates of recaptured hatchery vs captured wild 1992 cohort Gulf sturgeon. The present investigation addressed those original objectives, plus an additional fourth …


Landsat-8: Science And Product Vision For Terrestrial Global Change Research, David P. Roy, M. A. Wulder, T. R. Loveland, C. E. Woodcock, R. G. Allen, M. C. Anderson, D. Helder, J. R. Irons, D. M. Johnson, R. Kennedy, T. A. Scambos, C. B. Schaaf, J. R. Schott, Y. Sheng, E. F. Vermote, A. S. Belward, R. Bindschadler, W. B. Cohen, F. Gao, J. D. Hipple, P. Hostert, Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nv, C. O. Justice, Ayse Kilic, V. Kovalskyy, Z. P. Lee, L. Lymburner, J. G. Masek, J. Mccorkel, Y. Shuai, R. Trezza, J. Vogelmann, R. H. Wynne, Z. Zhu Jan 2014

Landsat-8: Science And Product Vision For Terrestrial Global Change Research, David P. Roy, M. A. Wulder, T. R. Loveland, C. E. Woodcock, R. G. Allen, M. C. Anderson, D. Helder, J. R. Irons, D. M. Johnson, R. Kennedy, T. A. Scambos, C. B. Schaaf, J. R. Schott, Y. Sheng, E. F. Vermote, A. S. Belward, R. Bindschadler, W. B. Cohen, F. Gao, J. D. Hipple, P. Hostert, Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nv, C. O. Justice, Ayse Kilic, V. Kovalskyy, Z. P. Lee, L. Lymburner, J. G. Masek, J. Mccorkel, Y. Shuai, R. Trezza, J. Vogelmann, R. H. Wynne, Z. Zhu

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Landsat 8, a NASA and USGS collaboration, acquires global moderate-resolution measurements of the Earth's terrestrial and polar regions in the visible, near-infrared, short wave, and thermal infrared. Landsat 8 extends the remarkable 40 year Landsat record and has enhanced capabilities including new spectral bands in the blue and cirrus cloud-detection portion of the spectrum, two thermal bands, improved sensor signal-to-noise performance and associated improvements in radiometric resolution, and an improved duty cycle that allows collection of a significantly greater number of images per day. This paper introduces the current (2012–2017) Landsat Science Team's efforts to establish an initial understanding of …


Estimation Of Crop Gross Primary Production (Gpp): FaparChl Versus Mod15a2 Fpar, Qingyuan Zhang, Yen-Ben Cheng, A. I. Lyapustin, Yujie Wang, Feng Gao, Andrew E. Suyker, Shashi B. Verma, Elizabeth M. Middleton Jan 2014

Estimation Of Crop Gross Primary Production (Gpp): FaparChl Versus Mod15a2 Fpar, Qingyuan Zhang, Yen-Ben Cheng, A. I. Lyapustin, Yujie Wang, Feng Gao, Andrew E. Suyker, Shashi B. Verma, Elizabeth M. Middleton

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Photosynthesis (PSN) is a pigment level process in which antenna pigments (predominately chlorophylls) in chloroplasts absorb photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) for the photochemical process. PAR absorbed by foliar non-photosynthetic components is not used for PSN. The fraction of PAR absorbed (fAPAR) by a canopy/vegetation (i.e., fAPARcanopy) derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images, referred to as MOD15A2 FPAR, has been used to compute absorbed PAR (APAR) for PSN (APARPSN) which is utilized to produce the standard MODIS gross primary production (GPP) product, referred to as MOD17A2 GPP. In this study, the fraction of PAR …


How Mangrove Forests Adjust To Rising Sea Level, Ken W. Krauss, Karen L. Mckee, Catherine E. Lovelock, Donald R. Cahoon, Neil Saintilan, Ruth Reef, Luzhen Chen Jan 2014

How Mangrove Forests Adjust To Rising Sea Level, Ken W. Krauss, Karen L. Mckee, Catherine E. Lovelock, Donald R. Cahoon, Neil Saintilan, Ruth Reef, Luzhen Chen

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Mangroves are among the most well described and widely studied wetland communities in the world. The greatest threats to mangrove persistence are deforestation and other anthropogenic disturbances that can compromise habitat stability and resilience to sea-level rise. To persist, mangrove ecosystems must adjust to rising sea level by building vertically or become submerged. Mangroves may directly or indirectly influence soil accretion processes through the production and accumulation of organic matter, as well as the trapping and retention of mineral sediment. In this review, we provide a general overview of research on mangrove elevation dynamics, emphasizing the role of the vegetation …


The Inky Story Of The Dinky Oak Gall, Ken Sulak Jan 2014

The Inky Story Of The Dinky Oak Gall, Ken Sulak

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Maybe you have noticed these little spheres before – but did not give them much thought. Or maybe, you puzzled: What are these wooden pearls? How did they get there? Well, a tiny wasp, called the pea galler wasp or gallfly, Belonocnema treatae, is the culprit. The diminutive female gallfly (one of nearly a thousand species in the gall wasp family Cynipidae), about the size of a fire ant, lays eggs on a freshly budded live oak leaf in spring. When the larva hatches, it produces a chemical that induces the oak to enclose it in a protective and …


Integrating Land Cover Modeling And Adaptive Management To Conserve Endangered Species And Reduce Catastrophic Fire Risk, David Breininger, Brean Duncan, Mitchell J. Eaton, Fred Johnson, James Nichols Jan 2014

Integrating Land Cover Modeling And Adaptive Management To Conserve Endangered Species And Reduce Catastrophic Fire Risk, David Breininger, Brean Duncan, Mitchell J. Eaton, Fred Johnson, James Nichols

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Land cover modeling is used to inform land management, but most often via a two-step process, where science informs how management alternatives can influence resources, and then, decision makers can use this information to make decisions. A more efficient process is to directly integrate science and decision-making, where science allows us to learn in order to better accomplish management objectives and is developed to address specific decisions. Co-development of management and science is especially productive when decisions are complicated by multiple objectives and impeded by uncertainty. Multiple objectives can be met by the specification of tradeoffs, and relevant uncertainty can …


Coastal Tectonics On The Eastern Margin Of The Pacific Rim: Late Quaternary Sea-Level History And Uplift Rates, Channel Islands National Park, California, Usa, Daniel R. Muhs, Kathleen R. Simmons, R. Randall Schumann, Lindsey T. Groves, Stephen B. Devogel, Scott A. Minor, Deanna Laurel Jan 2014

Coastal Tectonics On The Eastern Margin Of The Pacific Rim: Late Quaternary Sea-Level History And Uplift Rates, Channel Islands National Park, California, Usa, Daniel R. Muhs, Kathleen R. Simmons, R. Randall Schumann, Lindsey T. Groves, Stephen B. Devogel, Scott A. Minor, Deanna Laurel

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The Pacific Rim is a region where tectonic processes play a significant role in coastal landscape evolution. Coastal California, on the eastern margin of the Pacific Rim, is very active tectonically and geomorphic expressions of this include uplifted marine terraces. There have been, however, conflicting estimates of the rate of late Quaternary uplift of marine terraces in coastal California, particularly for the northern Channel Islands. In the present study, the terraces on San Miguel Island and Santa Rosa Island were mapped and new age estimates were generated using uranium-series dating of fossil corals and amino acid geochronology of fossil mollusks. …


Exposure And Food Web Transfer Of Pharmaceuticals In Ospreys (Pandion Haliaetus): Predictive Model And Empirical Data, Rebecca S. Lazarus, Barnett A. Rattner, Bryan W. Brooks, Bowen Du, Peter C. Mcgowan, Vicki S. Blazer, Mary Ann Ottinger Jan 2014

Exposure And Food Web Transfer Of Pharmaceuticals In Ospreys (Pandion Haliaetus): Predictive Model And Empirical Data, Rebecca S. Lazarus, Barnett A. Rattner, Bryan W. Brooks, Bowen Du, Peter C. Mcgowan, Vicki S. Blazer, Mary Ann Ottinger

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is a well‐known sentinel of environmental contamination, yet no studies have traced pharmaceuticals through the water–fish–osprey food web. A screening‐level exposure assessment was used to evaluate the bioaccumulation potential of 113 pharmaceuticals and metabolites, and an artificial sweetener in this food web. Hypothetical concentrations in water reflecting “wastewater effluent dominated” or “dilution dominated” scenarios were combined with pH‐specific bioconcentration factors (BCFs) to predict uptake in fish. Residues in fish and osprey food intake rate were used to calculate the daily intake (DI) of compounds by an adult female osprey. Fourteen pharmaceuticals and a drug …


Droughtscape, Winter 2014, Kelly Smith Jan 2014

Droughtscape, Winter 2014, Kelly Smith

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

Contents

Director’s report

Outlook & quarterly review . 2

Drought in 2013 review.

Quarterly impacts review . 5

Impacts in 2013 review.

Belmont Forum research0

USDM change maps 11

Central Asia drought planning

Kansas RC&D planning

Publication compares plans

Drought for planners webinar

Soil moisture networks

Kansas farm and ranch planning

$500 to develop leadership

Kids seek solutions

Plains symposium April 1-4


Adverse Outcome Pathway And Risks Of Anticoagulant Rodenticides To Predatory Wildlife, Barnett A. Rattner, Rebecca S. Lazarus, John E. Elliott, Richard F. Shore, Nico Van Den Brink Jan 2014

Adverse Outcome Pathway And Risks Of Anticoagulant Rodenticides To Predatory Wildlife, Barnett A. Rattner, Rebecca S. Lazarus, John E. Elliott, Richard F. Shore, Nico Van Den Brink

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Despite a long history of successful use, routine application of some anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) may be at a crossroad due to new regulatory guidelines intended to mitigate risk. An adverse outcome pathway for ARs was developed to identify information gaps and end points to assess the effectiveness of regulations. This framework describes chemical properties of ARs, established macromolecular interactions by inhibition of vitamin K epoxide reductase, cellular responses including altered clotting factor processing and coagulopathy, organ level effects such as hemorrhage, organism responses with linkages to reduced fitness and mortality, and potential consequences to predator populations. Risk assessments have led …