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

Filter Total Items: 16782

Spatial analysis of geologic and hydrologic features relating to sinkhole occurrence in Jefferson County, West Virginia

In this study the influence of geologic features related to sinkhole susceptibility was analyzed and the results were mapped for the region of Jefferson County, West Virginia. A model of sinkhole density was constructed using Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) that estimated the relations among discrete geologic or hydrologic features and sinkhole density at each sinkhole location. Nine cond
Authors
Daniel H. Doctor, Katarina Z. Doctor

Maximizing the utility of monitoring to the adaptive management of natural resources

Data collection is an important step in any investigation about the structure or processes related to a natural system. In a purely scientific investigation (experiments, quasi-experiments, observational studies), data collection is part of the scientific method, preceded by the identification of hypotheses and the design of any manipulations of the system to test those hypotheses. Data collection
Authors
William L. Kendall, Clinton T. Moore

Wildlife forestry

No abstract available.
Authors
Daniel J. Twedt

Anguillidae: Freshwater eels

No abstract available.
Authors
Alexander Haro

Mercury cycling in terrestrial watersheds

This chapter discusses mercury cycling in the terrestrial landscape, including inputs from the atmosphere, accumulation in soils and vegetation, outputs in streamflow and volatilization, and effects of land disturbance. Mercury mobility in the terrestrial landscape is strongly controlled by organic matter. About 90% of the atmospheric mercury input is retained in vegetation and organic matter in s
Authors
James B. Shanley, Kevin Bishop

Wildlife forestry

Wildlife forestry is management of forest resources, within sites and across landscapes, to provide sustainable, desirable habitat conditions for all forest-dependent (silvicolous) fauna while concurrently yielding economically viable, quality timber products. In practice, however, management decisions associated with wildlife forestry often reflect a desire to provide suitable habitat for rare sp
Authors
Daniel J. Twedt

GONe: Software for estimating effective population size in species with generational overlap

GONe is a user‐friendly, Windows‐based program for estimating effective size (Ne) in populations with overlapping generations. It uses the Jorde–Ryman modification to the temporal method to account for age structure in populations. This method requires estimates of age‐specific survival and birth rate and allele frequencies measured in two or more consecutive cohorts. Allele frequencies are acquir
Authors
J.A. Coombs, B. H. Letcher, K.H. Nislow

Temperature logging of groundwater in bedrock wells for geothermal gradient characterization in New Hampshire, 2012

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New Hampshire Geological Survey, measured the fluid temperature of groundwater in deep bedrock wells in the State of New Hampshire in order to characterize geothermal gradients in bedrock. All wells selected for the study had low water yields, which correspond to low groundwater flow from fractures. This reduced the potential for flow-induced tem
Authors
James Degnan, Gregory Barker, Neil Olson, Leland Wilder

Evaluation of Bayesian estimation of a hidden continuous-time Markov chain model with application to threshold violation in water-quality indicators

Natural resource managers require information concerning  the frequency, duration, and long-term probability of occurrence of water-quality indicator (WQI) violations of defined thresholds. The timing of these threshold crossings often is hidden from the observer, who is restricted to relatively infrequent observations. Here, a model for the hidden process is linked with a model for the observatio
Authors
Frank A. Deviney, Karen C. Rice, Donald E. Brown

Assessment of salinity intrusion in the James and Chickahominy Rivers as a result of simulated sea-level rise in Chesapeake Bay, East Coast, USA

Global sea level is rising, and the relative rate in the Chesapeake Bay region of the East Coast of the United States is greater than the worldwide rate. Sea-level rise can cause saline water to migrate upstream in estuaries and rivers, threatening freshwater habitat and drinking-water supplies. The effects of future sea-level rise on two tributaries of Chesapeake Bay, the James and Chickahominy (
Authors
Karen C. Rice, Bo Hong, Jian Shen

Acidification of Earth: An assessment across mechanisms and scales

In this review article, anthropogenic activities that cause acidification of Earth’s air, waters, and soils are examined. Although there are many mechanisms of acidification, the focus is on the major ones, including emissions from combustion of fossil fuels and smelting of ores, mining of coal and metal ores, and application of nitrogen fertilizer to soils, by elucidating the underlying biogeoche
Authors
Karen C. Rice, Janet S. Herman

Seasonal movements among river reaches, migration strategies, and population structure of the divided Connecticut River shortnose sturgeon population: the effects of Holyoke Dam

Even after 155 years, each population segment seasonally migrates toward the other attempting to maintain the natural connection. Migration timing and style of pre-spawning and post-spawning males and females is discussed, as is homing. The impact of Holyoke Dam on population size and growth is characterized and turbine mortality of adult sturgeon passing through a Kaplan turbine at the dam is est
Authors
Boyd Kynard, Micah Kieffer, Phil Vinogradov