Publications
These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.
Filter Total Items: 16780
Changing patterns in the use, recycling, and material substitution of mercury in the United States
Environmental concerns have led to numerous regulations that have dramatically decreased the reported production and use of mercury in the United States since the 1980s. Government legislation and subsequent industry actions have led to increased collection of mercury-containing materials and the recovery of mercury through recycling. Mercury emissions have been reduced and effective alternatives
Authors
David R. Wilburn
The Nation's top 25 construction aggregates producers
U.S. production of construction aggregates in 2011 was 2.17 billion short tons, valued at $17.2 billion, free on board (f.o.b.) at plant. Construction aggregates production decreased by 37 percent, and the associated value decreased by 25 percent, compared with the record highs reported in 2006. In 2011, construction aggregates production increased for the first time since 2006, owing to a very sl
Authors
Jason Christopher Willett
Identification of largemouth bass virus in the introduced Northern snakehead inhabiting the Cheasapeake Bay watershed
The Northern Snakehead Channa argus is an introduced species that now inhabits the Chesapeake Bay. During a preliminary survey for introduced pathogens possibly harbored by these fish in Virginia waters, a filterable agent was isolated from five specimens that produced cytopathic effects in BF-2 cells. Based on PCR amplification and partial sequencing of the major capsid protein (MCP), DNA polymer
Authors
Luke R. Iwanowicz, Christine L. Densmore, Cassidy M. Hahn, Phillip McAllister, John Odenkirk
Continuous resistivity profiling data from Great South Bay, Long Island, New York
An investigation of submarine aquifers adjacent to the Fire Island National Seashore and Long Island, New York was conducted to assess the importance of submarine groundwater discharge as a potential nonpoint source of nitrogen delivery to Great South Bay. Over 200 kilometers of continuous resistivity profiling data were collected to image the fresh-saline groundwater interface in sediments beneat
Authors
V.A. Cross, J.F. Bratton, K.D. Kroeger, John Crusius, C.R. Worley
Bridging groundwater models and decision support with a Bayesian network
Resource managers need to make decisions to plan for future environmental conditions, particularly sea level rise, in the face of substantial uncertainty. Many interacting processes factor in to the decisions they face. Advances in process models and the quantification of uncertainty have made models a valuable tool for this purpose. Long-simulation runtimes and, often, numerical instability make
Authors
Michael N. Fienen, John P. Masterson, Nathaniel G. Plant, Benjamin T. Gutierrez, E. Robert Thieler
A wetting and drying scheme for ROMS
The processes of wetting and drying have many important physical and biological impacts on shallow water systems. Inundation and dewatering effects on coastal mud flats and beaches occur on various time scales ranging from storm surge, periodic rise and fall of the tide, to infragravity wave motions. To correctly simulate these physical processes with a numerical model requires the capability of t
Authors
John C. Warner, Zafer Defne, Kevin Haas, Hernan G. Arango
Mapping risk of avian influenza transmission at the interface of domestic poultry and wild birds
Emergence of avian influenza viruses with high lethality to humans, such as the currently circulating highly pathogenic A(H5N1) (emerged in 1996) and A(H7N9) cause serious concern for the global economic and public health sectors. Understanding the spatial and temporal interface between wild and domestic populations, from which these viruses emerge, is fundamental to taking action. This informatio
Authors
Diann J. Prosser, Laura L. Hungerford, R. Michael Erwin, Mary Ann Ottinger, John Y. Takekawa, Erle C. Ellis
Posthandling survival and PIT tag retention by alewives—a comparison of gastric and surgical implants
We compared survival and tag retention of Alewives Alosa pseudoharengus tagged with PIT tags, using intraperitoneal (IP) surgical implants, gastric implants (GI), and untagged controls held for 38 d. Retention was 100% for IP-tagged Alewives and 98% for GI-tagged implants. No significant difference in survival was observed among any of these groups. These results lend support to the use of PIT tel
Authors
Theodore Castro-Santos, Volney Voni
Regeneration in bottomland forest canopy gaps six years after variable retention harvests to enhance wildlife habitat
To promote desired forest conditions that enhance wildlife habitat in bottomland forests, managers prescribed and implemented variable-retention harvest, a.k.a. wildlife forestry, in four stands on Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge, LA. These treatments created canopy openings (gaps) within which managers sought to regenerate shade-intolerant trees. Six years after prescribed harvests, we asse
Authors
Daniel J. Twedt, Scott G. Somershoe
Proceedings of a workshop on American Eel passage technologies
Recent concerns regarding a decline in recruitment of American eels (Anguilla rostrata) have prompted efforts to restore this species to historic habitats by providing passage for both upstream migrant juveniles and downstream migrant adults at riverine barriers, including low-head and hydroelectric dams (Castonguay et al. 1994, Haro et al. 2000). These efforts include development of management p
Authors
Alexander J. Haro
Foraging habitat for shorebirds in southeastern Missouri and its predicted future availability
Water management to protect agriculture in alluvial floodplains often conflicts with wildlife use of seasonal floodwater. Such is the case along the Mississippi River in southeastern Missouri where migrating shorebirds forage in shallow-flooded fields. I estimated the current availability of habitat for foraging shorebirds within the New Madrid and St. Johns Basins based on daily river elevations
Authors
Daniel J. Twedt
Slab tears and intermediate-depth seismicity
Active tectonic regions where plate boundaries transition from subduction to strike slip can take several forms, such as triple junctions, acute, and obtuse corners. Well-documented slab tears that are associated with high rates of intermediate-depth seismicity are considered here: Gibraltar arc, the southern and northern ends of the Lesser Antilles arc, and the northern end of Tonga trench. Seism
Authors
Hallie E. Meighan, Uri S. ten Brink, Jay Pulliam