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Karst groundwater vulnerability determined by modeled age and residence time tracers
Karst aquifers are a vital groundwater resource globally, but features such as rapid recharge and conduit flow make them highly vulnerable to land-surface contamination. We apply environmental age tracers to the south-central Texas Edwards aquifer, a karst resource in a rapidly urbanizing and drought-prone region, to assess vulnerability to land-surface contamination and risks unique to karst aqui
Authors
MaryLynn Musgrove, Bryant Jurgens, Stephen P. Opsahl
Inventory of glaciers and perennial snowfields of the conterminous USA
This report summarizes an updated inventory of glaciers and perennial snowfields of the conterminous United States. The inventory is based on interpretation of mostly aerial imagery provided by the National Agricultural I magery Program, US Department of Agriculture, with some satellite imagery in places where aerial imagery was not suitable. The inventory includes all perennial snow and ice featu
Authors
Andrew Fountain, Bryce Glenn, Christopher J. McNeil
Toward probabilistic post-fire debris-flow hazard decision support
Post-wildfire debris flows (PFDF) threaten life and property in western North America. They are triggered by short-duration, high-intensity rainfall. Following a wildfire, rainfall thresholds are developed that, if exceeded, indicate high likelihood of a PFDF. Existing weather forecast products allow forecasters to identify favorable atmospheric conditions for rainfall intensities that may exceed
Authors
Nina S. Oakley, Tao Liu, Luke McGuire, Matthew Simpson, Benjamin J. Hatchett, Alexander Tardy, Jason W. Kean, Christopher Castellano, Jayme L. Laber, Daniel Steinhoff
Evaluation of replicate sampling using hierarchical spatial modeling of population surveys accounting for imperfect detectability
Effective species management and conservation benefit from knowledge of species distribution and status. Surveys to obtain that information often involve replicate sampling, which increases survey effort and costs. We simultaneously modeled species distribution, abundance and spatial correlation, and compared the uncertainty in replicate abundance estimates of the endangered palila (Loxioides bail
Authors
Richard J. Camp, Chauncey K. Asing, Paul C. Banko, Lainie Berry, Kevin W. Brinck, Chris Farmer, Ayesha Genz
Discharge estimation using video recordings from small unoccupied aircraft systems
Measurement of river discharge during flooding events has especially been a challenging and dangerous task in the southwestern US, where flows can be flashy, laden with sediment, and at high velocity. Small unoccupied aircraft systems (sUAS) can be deployed to access unsafe field sites and capture imagery for measuring surface flow velocity and discharge. This paper compares flow discharge estimat
Authors
Jennifer G Duan, Frank Engel, Ammon F Cadogan
Satellite-derived plant cover maps vary in performance depending on version and product
Understanding the accuracy and appropriate application scale of satellite-derived maps of vegetation cover is essential for effective management of the vast, remote rangelands of the world. However, the underlying models are updated frequently and may combine with rapidly changing vegetation conditions to cause variations in accuracy and precision over time. We sought to assess how model performan
Authors
Cara Applestein, Matthew Germino
Morphological differences between wild and hatchery-reared Bloater (Coregonus hoyi) from Lake Michigan, USA
Coregonines (ciscoes and whitefishes) are economically, ecologically, and culturally important fishes that are distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. In the Laurentian Great Lakes, coregonines declined throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and managers have prioritized their restoration. A key restoration tool is reintroduction via stocking. However, hatchery-reared coregonines can disp
Authors
Andrew Edgar Honsey, Yu-Chun Kao, Christopher Olds, David Bunnell
Stocking fish in inland waters: Opportunities and risks for sustainable food systems
Stocking is one of the foremost tools in the inland fisheries management toolbox, but it comes with both opportunities and risks. Stocking is often used as compensation for depleted wild populations, particularly where recruitment processes have been disrupted, but it can introduce disease, disrupt community structures, reduce genetic integrity, and cause conflicts between fishery stakeholders. De
Authors
Ian G. Cowx, Simon Funge-Smith, Abigail Lynch
Experimental reduction of a primary nest predator fails to decrease nest predation rates of sagebrush songbirds
Brewer’s Sparrow (Spizella breweri), Sagebrush Sparrow (Artemisiospiza nevadensis), and Sage Thrasher (Oreoscoptus montanus)—during May to August 2019 in western Wyoming, USA, to assess whether nest predation risk was additive or compensatory, and whether nest predator removal could comprise a potentially effective management tool. Deer mouse removal did not affect the daily nest survival of songb
Authors
Ashleigh M. Rhea, Anna D. Chalfoun
Geology and undiscovered resource assessment of the potash-bearing, Middle Devonian (Givetian), Prairie Evaporite, Elk Point Basin, Canada and United States
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessed undiscovered potash resources in the Elk Point Basin in Canada and the United States as part of a global mineral resource assessment. The Elk Point Basin is a large, Middle Devonian (Givetian) intracratonic evaporite basin covering approximately 1,200,000 square kilometers (km2) and filled mainly with marine evaporite and minor clastic sedimentary rocks t
Authors
Mark D. Cocker, Greta J. Orris, Pamela Dunlap, Chao Yang, James D. Bliss
Mangrove forests and climate change: Impacts and interactions
The position of mangrove forests in the dynamic intertidal zone means that they are expected to be heavily impacted by climate change. Much focus is put on mangroves and their response to sea-level rise, but this ecosystem is exposed to a much broader range of climate change stressors, including increased storminess and waves, more dynamic and unpredictable precipitation patterns, and increases in
Authors
Daniel A. Friess, Luzhen Chen, Nicole Cormier, Ken Krauss, Catherine E. Lovelock, Jacqueline L. Raw, Kerrylee Rogers, Neil Saintilan, Frida Sidik