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Evaluation of select velocity measurement techniques for estimating discharge in small streams across the United States
Multiple instruments and methods exist for collecting discrete streamflow measurements in small streams with low flows, defined here as less than 5.7 m3/s (200 ft3/s). Included in the available methods are low-cost approaches that are infrequently used, in part, because their uncertainty is not well known. In this work, we evaluated the accuracy and suitability of three low-cost velocity measureme
Authors
Tyler Victor King, Stephen Hundt, Amy E. Simonson, Kyle W. Blasch
Distribution and abundance of Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus) on the Upper San Luis Rey River, San Diego County, California—2021 data summary
We surveyed for Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus; flycatcher) along the upper San Luis Rey River near Lake Henshaw in Santa Ysabel, California, in 2021. Surveys were completed at four locations: three downstream from Lake Henshaw, where surveys occurred from 2015 to 2020 (Rey River Ranch [RRR], Cleveland National Forest [CNF], Vista Irrigation District [VID]), and one at
Authors
Scarlett L. Howell, Barbara E. Kus
Mars Science Laboratory CheMin data from the Glen Torridon region and the significance of lake-groundwater interactions in interpreting mineralogy and sedimentary history
The Glen Torridon (GT) region is positioned in terrains with strong clay mineral signatures, as inferred from orbital spectroscopy. The GT campaign confirmed orbital distinctions with in situ measurements by the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, and the CheMin X-ray diffraction instrument with of some of the highest clay mineral abundances to date. Additionally, GT is unique because of dis
Authors
Michael T. Thorpe, T. F. Bristow, E. Rampe, Nicholas Tosca, John P. Grotzinger, Kristen A. Bennett, C. N. Achilles, D. F. Blake, S. J. Chipera, G. Downs, R. T. Downs, S. M. Morrison, V. Tu, N. Castle, P. Craig, D. J. Des Marais, R. M. Hazen, D. W. Ming, R. V. Morris, A. H. Treiman, D. T. Vaniman, A. S. Yen, A. R. Vasavada, Erwin Dehouck, J. Bridges, J.O. Berger, Amy McAdam, T. Peretyazhko, K. Siebach, A. B. Bryk, V. F. Fox, Christopher M. Fedo
Quantifying flow and nonflow management impacts on an endangered fish by integrating data, research, and expert opinion
Managers charged with recovering endangered species in regulated river segments often have limited flexibility to alter flow regimes and want estimates of the expected population benefits associated with both flow and nonflow management actions. Disentangling impacts on different life stages from concurrently applied actions is essential for determining the effectiveness of each action, but diffic
Authors
Charles Yackulic, Thomas P Archdeacon, Richard A. Valdez, Monika Hobbs, Michael D. Porter, Joel Lusk, Ashley M. Tanner, Eric J Gonzales, Debbie Y Lee, Grace M Haggerty
Biosafety practices when working with bats: A guide to field research considerations
Introduction: Field work with bats is an important contribution to many areas of research in environmental biology and ecology, as well as microbiology. Work with bats poses hazards such as bites and scratches, and the potential for exposure to infectious pathogens such as rabies virus. It also exposes researchers to many other potential hazards inherent to field work, such as environmental condit
Authors
Alvaro Aguilar-Setién, Nidia Aréchiga-Ceballos, Gary A. Balsamo, Amy J. Behrman, Hannah K. Frank, Gary R. Fujimoto, Elizabeth Gilman Duane, Thomas Warner Hudson III, Shelley M. Jones, Luis A. Ochoa Carrera, Gregory L. Powell, Carrie Alison Smith, Joni Triantis Van Sickle, Susan E. Vleck
Development of the LCMAP annual land cover product across Hawai'i
Following the completion of land cover and change (LCC) products for the conterminous United States (CONUS), the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS’s) Land Change Monitoring, Assessment, and Projection initiative has broadened the capability of characterizing continuous historical land change across the full Landsat records for Hawaiʻi at 30-meter resolution. One of the challenges of implementing the
Authors
Congcong Li, George Z. Xian, Danika F. Wellington, Kelcy Smith, Josephine Horton, Qiang Zhou
Viscoelastic fault-based model of crustal deformation for the 2023 update to the U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model
The 2023 update to the National Seismic Hazard (NSHM) model is informed by several deformation models that furnish geodetically estimated fault slip rates. Here I describe a fault‐based model that permits estimation of long‐term slip rates on discrete faults and the distribution of off‐fault moment release. It is based on quantification of the earthquake cycle on a viscoelastic model of the seismo
Authors
Fred Pollitz
Improved method for simulating groundwater inundation using the MODFLOW 6 Lake Transport Package
Groundwater inundation due to sea level rise can affect island and coastal freshwater resources by exposing water tables to direct, continuous evaporation. Numerical simulations of groundwater inundation effects on coastal and island aquifers have been limited by an inability to simulate solute transport and variable density flow between the aquifer and lakes formed by groundwater inundation. Cons
Authors
Lauren K. Mancewicz, Alex Mayer, Christian D. Langevin, Jason Gulley
Influence of riparian thinning on trophic pathways supporting stream food webs in forested watersheds
Resource managers seek to thin second-growth riparian forests to address multiple stream and riparian management objectives, including enhancing aquatic productivity via light-mediated trophic pathways in watersheds of the Pacific Northwest (USA). However, such increases in aquatic productivity depend on complex food web dynamics that link riparian forests and streams. To evaluate how riparian for
Authors
David A. Roon, Jason B. Dunham, J. Ryan Bellmore, Deanna H. Olson, Bret C. Harvey
New strategies for characterizing genetic structure in wide-ranging, continuously distributed species: a Greater Sage-grouse case study
Characterizing genetic structure across a species’ range is relevant for management and conservation as it can be used to define population boundaries and quantify connectivity. Wide-ranging species residing in continuously distributed habitat pose substantial challenges for the characterization of genetic structure as many analytical methods used are less effective when isolation by distance is a
Authors
Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Todd B. Cross, Jeffery R. Row, Michael K. Schwartz, Dave E. Naugle, Jennifer A. Fike, Kristopher J. Winiarski, Brad C. Fedy
Partial observability and management of ecological systems
The actual state of ecological systems is rarely known with certainty, but management actions must often be taken regardless of imperfect measurement (partial observability). Because of the difficulties in accounting for partial observability, it is usually treated in an ad hoc fashion, or simply ignored altogether. Yet incorporating partial observability into decision processes lends a realism th
Authors
Byron K. Williams, Eleanor D. Brown
Potential effects of energy development on environmental resources of the Williston Basin in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota—Water resources
The Williston Basin has been a leading oil and gas producing area for more than 50 years. While oil production initially peaked within the Williston Basin in the mid-1980s, production rapidly increased in the mid-2000s, largely because of improved horizontal (directional) drilling and hydraulic fracturing methods. In 2012, energy development associated with the Bakken Formation was identified as a
Authors
Timothy T. Bartos, Steven K. Sando, Todd M. Preston, Gregory C. Delzer, Robert F. Lundgren, Rochelle A. Nustad, Rodney R. Caldwell, Zell E. Peterman, Bruce D. Smith, Kathleen M. Macek-Rowland, David A. Bender, Jill D. Frankforter, Joel M. Galloway