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These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.

Filter Total Items: 16780

Application of a Weighted Regression Model for Reporting Nutrient and Sediment Concentrations, Fluxes, and Trends in Concentration and Flux for the Chesapeake Bay Nontidal Water-Quality Monitoring Network, Results Through Water Year 2012

In the Chesapeake Bay watershed, estimated fluxes of nutrients and sediment from the bay’s nontidal tributaries into the estuary are the foundation of decision making to meet reductions prescribed by the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and are often the basis for refining scientific understanding of the watershed-scale processes that influence the delivery of these constituents to t
Authors
Jeffrey G. Chanat, Douglas L. Moyer, Joel D. Blomquist, Kenneth E. Hyer, Michael J. Langland

Use of terrestrial field studies in the derivation of bioaccumulation potential of chemicals

Field-based studies are an essential component of research addressing the behavior of organic chemicals, and a unique line of evidence that can be used to assess bioaccumulation potential in chemical registration programs and aid in development of associated laboratory and modeling efforts. To aid scientific and regulatory discourse on the application of terrestrial field data in this manner, this
Authors
Nico W. van den Brink, Jennifer A. Arblaster, Sarah R. Bowman, Jason M. Conder, John E. Elliott, Mark S. Johnson, Derek C.G. Muir, Tiago Natal-da-Luz, Barnett A. Rattner, Bradley E. Sample, Richard F. Shore

Metaultramafic schists and dismembered ophiolites of the Ashe Metamorphic Suite of northwestern North Carolina, USA

Metaultramafic rocks (MUR) in the Ashe Metamorphic Suite (AMS) of northwestern North Carolina include quartz ± feldspar-bearing QF-amphibolites and quartz-deficient, locally talc-, chlorite-, and/or Mg-amphibole-bearing TC-amphibolites. Some workers divide TC-amphibolites into Todd and Edmonds types, based on mineral and geochemical differences, and we provisionally add a third type – olivine ± py
Authors
Loren A. Raymond, Arthur J. Merschat, R. Kelly Vance

Copper speciation in variably toxic sediments at the Ely Copper Mine, Vermont, United States

At the Ely Copper Mine Superfund site, Cu concentrations exceed background values in both streamwater (160–1200 times) and sediments (15–79 times). Previously, these sediment samples were incubated with laboratory test organisms, and they exhibited variable toxicity for different stream sites. In this study we combined bulk- and microscale techniques to determine Cu speciation and distribution in
Authors
Bryn E. Kimball, Andrea L. Foster, Robert R. Seal, Nadine M. Piatak, Samuel M. Webb, Jane M. Hammarstrom

Demographic modeling for reintroduction decision-making

In this chapter we consider the construction and use of population models to support reintroduction decision making. We begin by reviewing the decision-analytic process, also known as structured decision making. The material on structured decision making builds on the chapter by Chauvenet et al. (This Volume) who focus their attention on the objective setting step of structured decision making. In
Authors
Sarah J. Converse, Doug P. Armstrong

Bathymetric terrain model of the Atlantic margin for marine geological investigations

A bathymetric terrain model of the Atlantic margin covering almost 725,000 square kilometers of seafloor from the New England Seamounts in the north to the Blake Basin in the south is compiled from existing multibeam bathymetric data for marine geological investigations. Although other terrain models of the same area are extant, they are produced from either satellite-derived bathymetry at coarse
Authors
Brian D. Andrews, Jason D. Chaytor, Uri S. ten Brink, Daniel S. Brothers, James V. Gardner, Elizabeth A. Lobecker, Brian R. Calder

Determination of dilution factors for discharge of aluminum-containing wastes by public water-supply treatment facilities into lakes and reservoirs in Massachusetts

Dilution of aluminum discharged to reservoirs in filter-backwash effluents at water-treatment facilities in Massachusetts was investigated by a field study and computer simulation. Determination of dilution is needed so that permits for discharge ensure compliance with water-quality standards for aquatic life. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chronic standard for aluminum, 87 micrograms pe
Authors
John A. Colman, Andrew J. Massey, Sara L. Brandt

Hematology results from experimental exposure of sandhill cranes to West Nile virus

West Nile virus is a deadly virus for young cranes. In testing two different vaccines on both adult sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis), we discovered that some blood parameters are altered by exposure to the virus. White blood cell counts were the most obvious, and may be used as an indicator of West Nile virus exposure in cranes. Other hematology and serum chemistry results were studied and only h
Authors
Glenn H. Olsen

Photoperiod and nesting phenology of whooping cranes at two captive sites

Increasing daylight is known to be a breeding stimulus in many avian species breeding in northern latitudes. This is thought to be true for cranes that breed in such latitudes including the Whooping Crane (Grus americana). For this reason, the captive breeding centers use artificial light to lengthen daylight hours, but no study has been done to look at the effect of such lighting on the reproduct
Authors
Glenn H. Olsen

Estimating abundance

This chapter provides a non-technical overview of ‘closed population capture–recapture’ models, a class of well-established models that are widely applied in ecology, such as removal sampling, covariate models, and distance sampling. These methods are regularly adopted for studies of reptiles, in order to estimate abundance from counts of marked individuals while accounting for imperfect detection
Authors
Chris Sutherland, Andy Royle

Geology of the Mount Rogers area, revisited: Evidence of Neoproterozoic continental rifting, glaciation, and the opening and closing of the Iapetus ocean, Blue Ridge, VA–NC–TN

Recent field and geochronological studies in eight 7.5-minute quadrangles near Mount Rogers in Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee recognize important stratigraphic and structural relationships for the Neoproterozoic Mount Rogers and Konnarock formations, the northeast end of the Mountain City window, the separation of Mesoproterozoic rocks of the Blue Ridge into three age groups, and timing an

Authors
Arthur J. Merschat, C. Scott Southworth, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Ryan J. McAleer

Soil mercury distribution in adjacent coniferous and deciduous stands highly impacted by acid rain in the Ore Mountains, Czech Republic

Forests play a primary role in the cycling and storage of mercury (Hg) in terrestrial ecosystems. This study aimed to assess differences in Hg cycling and storage resulting from different vegetation at two adjacent forest stands - beech and spruce. The study site Načetín in the Czech Republic's Black Triangle received high atmospheric loadings of Hg from coal combustion in the second half of the 2
Authors
Tomáš Navrátil, James B. Shanley, Jan Rohovec, Filip Oulehle, Martin Šimeček, Jakub Houška, Pavel Cudlín