Publications
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Vulnerability of high-latitude soil organic carbon in North America to disturbance
This synthesis addresses the vulnerability of the North American high-latitude soil organic carbon (SOC) pool to climate change. Disturbances caused by climate warming in arctic, subarctic, and boreal environments can result in significant redistribution of C among major reservoirs with potential global impacts. We divide the current northern high-latitude SOC pools into (1) near-surface soils whe
Authors
Guido Grosse, Jennifer W. Harden, Merritt Turetsky, A. David McGuire, Philip Camill, Charles Tarnocai, Steve Frolking, Edward A.G. Schuur, Torre Jorgenson, Sergei Marchenko, Vladimir Romanovsky, Kimberly P. Wickland, Nancy French, Mark P. Waldrop, Laura L. Bourgeau-Chavez, Robert G. Striegl
The role of dyking and fault control in the rapid onset of eruption at Chaitén Volcano, Chile
Rhyolite is the most viscous of liquid magmas, so it was surprising that on 2 May 2008 at Chaitén Volcano, located in Chile’s southern Andean volcanic zone, rhyolitic magma migrated from more than 5 km depth in less than 4 hours and erupted explosively with only two days of detected precursory seismic activity. The last major rhyolite eruption before that at Chaitén was the largest volcanic erupti
Authors
Charles W. Wicks, J. Carlos de la Llera, Luis E. Lara, Jacob B. Lowenstern
Thermal mapping of Hawaiian volcanoes with ASTER satellite data
Thermal mapping of volcanoes is important to determine baseline thermal behavior in order to judge future thermal activity that may precede an eruption. We used cloud-free kinetic temperature images from the ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) sensor obtained between 2000 and 2010 to produce thermal maps for all five subaerial volcanoes in Hawai‘i that have
Authors
Matthew R. Patrick, Coral-Nadine Witzke
Columbia River Estuary ecosystem classification—Concept and application
This document describes the concept, organization, and application of a hierarchical ecosystem classification that integrates saline and tidal freshwater reaches of estuaries in order to characterize the ecosystems of large flood plain rivers that are strongly influenced by riverine and estuarine hydrology. We illustrate the classification by applying it to the Columbia River estuary (Oregon-Washi
Authors
Charles A. Simenstad, Jennifer L. Burke, Jim E. O'Connor, Charles Cannon, Danelle W. Heatwole, Mary F. Ramirez, Ian R. Waite, Timothy D. Counihan, Krista L. Jones
Channel change and bed-material transport in the Umpqua River basin, Oregon
The Umpqua River drains 12,103 square kilometers of western Oregon; with headwaters in the Cascade Range, the river flows through portions of the Klamath Mountains and Oregon Coast Range before entering the Pacific Ocean. Above the head of tide, the Umpqua River, along with its major tributaries, the North and South Umpqua Rivers, flows on a mixed bedrock and alluvium bed, alternating between bedr
Authors
J. Rose Wallick, Jim E. O'Connor, Scott Anderson, Mackenzie K. Keith, Charles Cannon, John C. Risley
Earthquakes in Hawai‘i—an underappreciated but serious hazard
The State of Hawaii has a history of damaging earthquakes. Earthquakes in the State are primarily the result of active volcanism and related geologic processes. It is not a question of "if" a devastating quake will strike Hawai‘i but rather "when." Tsunamis generated by both distant and local quakes are also an associated threat and have caused many deaths in the State. The U.S. Geological Survey
Authors
Paul G. Okubo, Jennifer S. Nakata
Flood-frequency analyses from paleoflood investigations for Spring, Rapid, Boxelder, and Elk Creeks, Black Hills, western South Dakota
Flood-frequency analyses for the Black Hills area are important because of severe flooding of June 9-10, 1972, that was caused by a large mesoscale convective system and caused at least 238 deaths. Many 1972 peak flows are high outliers (by factors of 10 or more) in observed records that date to the early 1900s. An efficient means of reducing uncertainties for flood recurrence is to augment gaged
Authors
Tessa M. Harden, Jim E. O'Connor, Daniel G. Driscoll, John F. Stamm
An open-water electrical geophysical tool for mapping sub-seafloor heavy placer minerals in 3D and migrating hydrocarbon plumes in 4D
A towed-streamer technology has been developed for mapping placer heavy minerals and dispersed hydrocarbon plumes in the open ocean. The approach uses induced polarization (IP), an electrical measurement that encompasses several different surface-reactive capacitive and electrochemical phenomena, and thus is ideally suited for mapping dispersed or disseminated targets. The application is operated
Authors
Jefferey C. Wynn, Scott Urquhart, Mike Williamson, John B. Fleming
Tertiary volcanism in the eastern San Juan mountains
No abstract available.
Authors
Peter W. Lipman, William C. McIntosh
Kilauea— An explosive volcano in Hawai‘i
Kīlauea Volcano on the Island of Hawai‘i, though best known for its frequent quiet eruptions of lava flows, has erupted explosively many times in its history - most recently in 2011. At least six such eruptions in the past 1,500 years sent ash into the jet stream, at the cruising altitudes for today's aircraft. The eruption of 1790 remains the most lethal eruption known from a U.S. volcano. Howeve
Authors
Donald A. Swanson, Dick Fiske, Tim Rose, Bruce F. Houghton, Larry Mastin
Soil physical, chemical, and gas-flux characterization from Picea mariana stands near Erickson Creek, Alaska
Fire is a particularly important control on the carbon (C) balance of the boreal forest, and fire-return intervals and fire severity appear to have increased since the late 1900s in North America. In addition to the immediate release of stored C to the atmosphere through organic-matter combustion, fire also modifies soil conditions, possibly affecting C exchange between terrestrial and atmospheric
Authors
Jonathan A. O'Donnell, Jennifer W. Harden, Kristen L. Manies
Preliminary assessment of channel stability and bed-material transport along Hunter Creek, southwestern Oregon
This preliminary assessment of (1) bed-material transport in the Hunter Creek basin, (2) historical changes in channel condition, and (3) supplementary data needed to inform permitting decisions regarding instream gravel extraction revealed the following: Along the lower 12.4 km (kilometers) of Hunter Creek from its confluence with the Little South Fork Hunter Creek to its mouth, the river has con
Authors
Krista L. Jones, J. Rose Wallick, Jim E. O'Connor, Mackenzie K. Keith, Joseph F. Mangano, John C. Risley