Publications
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Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center Publications
Filter Total Items: 3226
Rivermouth alteration of agricultural impacts on consumer tissue δ15N
Terrestrial agricultural activities strongly influence riverine nitrogen (N) dynamics, which is reflected in the δ15N of riverine consumer tissues. However, processes within aquatic ecosystems also influence consumer tissue δ15N. As aquatic processes become more important terrestrial inputs may become a weaker predictor of consumer tissue δ15N. In a previous study, this terrestrial-consumer tissue
Authors
James H. Larson, William B. Richardson, Jonathan M. Vallazza, J. C. Nelson
Exposure and effects of perfluoroalkyl substances in tree swallows nesting in Minnesota and Wisconsin, USA
The exposure and effects of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were studied at eight locations in Minnesota and Wisconsin between 2007 and 2011 using tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). Concentrations of PFASs were quantified as were reproductive success end points. The sample egg method was used wherein an egg sample is collected, and the hatching success of the remaining eggs in the nest is asse
Authors
Christine M. Custer, Thomas W. Custer, Paul Dummer, Matthew A. Etterson, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Qian Wu, Kurunthachalam Kannan, Annette Trowbridge, Patrick C. McKann
Methods and results of peak-flow frequency analyses for streamgages in and bordering Minnesota, through water year 2011
Peak-flow frequency analyses were completed for 409 streamgages in and bordering Minnesota having at least 10 systematic peak flows through water year 2011. Selected annual exceedance probabilities were determined by fitting a log-Pearson type III probability distribution to the recorded annual peak flows. A detailed explanation of the methods that were used to determine the annual exceedance prob
Authors
Erich W. Kessler, David L. Lorenz, Christopher A. Sanocki
Development of a numerical model to simulate groundwater flow in the shallow aquifer system of Assateague Island, Maryland and Virginia
A three-dimensional groundwater-flow model was developed for Assateague Island in eastern Maryland and Virginia to simulate both groundwater flow and solute (salt) transport to evaluate the groundwater system response to sea-level rise. The model was constructed using geologic and spatial information to represent the island geometry, boundaries, and physical properties and was calibrated using an
Authors
John P. Masterson, Michael N. Fienen, Dean B. Gesch, Carl S. Carlson
Organic waste compounds in streams: Occurrence and aquatic toxicity in different stream compartments, flow regimes, and land uses in southeast Wisconsin, 2006–9
An assessment of organic chemicals and aquatic toxicity in streams located near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, indicated high potential for adverse impacts on aquatic organisms that could be related to organic waste compounds (OWCs). OWCs used in agriculture, industry, and households make their way into surface waters through runoff, leaking septic-conveyance systems, regulated and unregulated discharges,
Authors
Austin K. Baldwin, Steven R. Corsi, Kevin D. Richards, Steven W. Geis, Christopher Magruder
Implications of flume slope on discharge estimates from 0.762-meter H flumes used in edge-of-field monitoring
The effects of longitudinal slope on the estimation of discharge in a 0.762-meter (m) (depth at flume entrance) H flume were tested under controlled conditions with slopes from −8 to +8 percent and discharges from 1.2 to 323 liters per second. Compared to the stage-discharge rating for a longitudinal flume slope of zero, computed discharges were negatively biased (maximum −31 percent) when the flu
Authors
Matthew J. Komiskey, Todd D. Stuntebeck, Amanda L. Cox, Dennis R. Frame
Perfluorinated compound concentrations in great blue heron eggs near St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, in 1993 and 2010-2011
A great blue heron (Ardea herodias) colony on Pig's Eye Island on the Mississippi River near St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, is located near several potential perfluorinated compound (PFC) sources. The PFC concentrations in great blue heron eggs reported from a 1993 collection from the Pig's Eye colony were among the highest measured in bird eggs worldwide. The objective of this investigation was to det
Authors
Thomas W. Custer, Paul M. Dummer, Christine M. Custer, Qian Wu, Kurunthachalam Kannan, Annette Trowbridge
Great Lakes rivermouths: a primer for managers
Between the North American Great Lakes and their tributaries are the places where the confluence of river and lake waters creates a distinct ecosystem: the rivermouth ecosystem. Human development has often centered around these rivermouths, in part, because they provide a rich array of ecosystem services. Not surprisingly, centuries of intense human activity have led to substantial pressures on, a
Authors
Victoria Pebbles, James Larson, Paul Seelbach
Groundwater and surface-water interactions near White Bear Lake, Minnesota, through 2011
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the White Bear Lake Conservation District, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and other State, county, municipal, and regional planning agencies, watershed organizations, and private organizations, conducted a study to characterize groundwater and surface-water interactions near White Bear Lake thro
Authors
Perry M. Jones, Jared J. Trost, Donald O. Rosenberry, P. Ryan Jackson, Jenifer A. Bode, Ryan M. O'Grady
Current and future land use around a nationwide protected area network
Land-use change around protected areas can reduce their effective size and limit their ability to conserve biodiversity because land-use change alters ecological processes and the ability of organisms to move freely among protected areas. The goal of our analysis was to inform conservation planning efforts for a nationwide network of protected lands by predicting future land use change. We evaluat
Authors
Christopher M. Hamilton, Sebastian Martinuzzi, Andrew J. Plantinga, Volker C. Radeloff, David J. Lewis, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Patricia J. Heglund, Anna M. Pidgeon
Vulnerability of streams to legacy nitrate sources
The influence of hydrogeologic setting on the susceptibility of streams to legacy nitrate was examined at seven study sites having a wide range of base flow index (BFI) values. BFI is the ratio of base flow to total streamflow volume. The portion of annual stream nitrate loads from base flow was strongly correlated with BFI. Furthermore, dissolved oxygen concentrations in streambed pore water were
Authors
Anthony J. Tesoriero, John H. Duff, David A. Saad, Norman E. Spahr, David M. Wolock
Detection of environmental DNA of Bigheaded Carps in samples collected from selected locations in the St. Croix River and in the Mississippi River
The use of molecular methods, such as the detection of environmental deoxyribonucleic acid (eDNA), have become an increasingly popular tool in surveillance programs that monitor for the presence of invasive species in aquatic systems. One early application of these methods in aquatic systems was surveillance for DNA of Asian carps (specifically bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis and silver ca
Authors
Jon J. Amberg, S. Grace McCalla, Loren Miller, Peter Sorensen, Mark P. Gaikowski