Publications
These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.
Filter Total Items: 16784
Loamy, two-storied soils on the outwash plains of southwestern lower Michigan: Pedoturbation of loess with the underlying sand
Soils on many of the outwash plains in southwestern Michigan have loamy upper profiles, despite being underlain by sand-textured outwash. The origin of this upper, loamy material has long been unknown. The purpose of this study is to analyze the spatio-textural characteristics of these loamy-textured sediments to ascertain their origin(s). The textural curves of this material have distinct bimodal
Authors
Michael D. Luehmann, Brad G. Peter, Christopher B. Connallon, Randall J. Schaetzl, Samuel J. Smidt, Wei Liu, Kevin A. Kincare, Toni A. Walkowiak, Elin Thorlund, Marie S. Holler
Petrology and tectonic history of the Green Bay Schist, Portmore, St. Catherine Parish, Jamaica
There are three occurrences of medium- to high-grade metamorphic rocks in Jamaica: amphibolite facies Westphalia Schist, blueschist/greenschist facies Mt. Hibernia Schist, and the hitherto poorly characterized amphibolite facies Green Bay Schist. New trace element data and thermodynamic calculations show that Green Bay Schist is closely related to Westphalia Schist. The protoliths for both are ver
Authors
Richard N. Abbott, David P. West, Betsy R. Bandy, Ryan J. McAleer
Awell-preserved conodont fauna from the Pennsylvanian Excello Shale of Iowa, U. S. A.
A superbly preserved discrete element conodont fauna has been recovered from carbonate concretions from the upper Desmoinesian (Pennsylvanian) Excello Shale at two localities in south-central Iowa. The multielement apparatuses for Gondolella wardlawi (new species), Idiognathodus acutus, Idioprioniodus conjunctus, and Neognathodus roundyi are reconstructed. Rare specimens of Idiognathodus tuberis (
Authors
Merlynd K. Nestell, Bruce R. Wardlaw, John P. Pope
In-air hearing of a diving duck: A comparison of psychoacoustic and auditory brainstem response thresholds
Auditory sensitivity was measured in a species of diving duck that is not often kept in captivity, the lesser scaup. Behavioral (psychoacoustics) and electrophysiological [the auditory brainstem response (ABR)] methods were used to measure in-air auditory sensitivity, and the resulting audiograms were compared. Both approaches yielded audiograms with similar U-shapes and regions of greatest sensit
Authors
Sara E. Crowell, Alicia M. Wells-Berlin, Ronald E. Therrien, Sally E. Yannuzzi, Catherine E. Carr
Geologic context of large karst springs and caves in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Missouri
The ONSR is a karst park, containing many springs and caves. The “jewels” of the park are large springs, several of first magnitude, that contribute significantly to the flow and water quality of the Current River and its tributaries. Completion of 1:24,000-scale geologic mapping of the park and surrounding river basin, along with synthesis of published hydrologic data, allows us to examine the sp
Authors
David J. Weary, Randall C. Orndorff
Geology and geomorphology of the Carolina Sandhills, Chesterfield County, South Carolina
This two-day field trip focuses on the geology and geomorphology of the Carolina Sandhills in Chesterfield County, South Carolina. This area is located in the updip portion of the U.S. Atlantic Coastal Plain province, supports an ecosystem of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) and wiregrass (Aristida stricta), and contains three major geologic map units: (1) An ~60–120-m-thick unit of weakly consolid
Authors
Christopher S. Swezey, Bradley A. Fitzwater, G. Richard Whittecar
Seismic velocities within the sedimentary succession of the Canada Basin and southern Alpha-Mendeleev Ridge, Arctic Ocean: evidence for accelerated porosity reduction?
The Canada Basin and the southern Alpha-Mendeleev ridge complex underlie a significant proportion of the Arctic Ocean, but the geology of this undrilled and mostly ice-covered frontier is poorly known. New information is encoded in seismic wide-angle reflections and refractions recorded with expendable sonobuoys between 2007 and 2011. Velocity–depth samples within the sedimentary succession are ex
Authors
John Shimeld, Qingmou Li, Deping Chian, Nina Lebedeva-Ivanova, Ruth Jackson, David Mosher, Deborah R. Hutchinson
A linear relationship between wave power and erosion determines salt-marsh resilience to violent storms and hurricanes
Salt marsh losses have been documented worldwide because of land use change, wave erosion, and sea-level rise. It is still unclear how resistant salt marshes are to extreme storms and whether they can survive multiple events without collapsing. Based on a large dataset of salt marsh lateral erosion rates collected around the world, here, we determine the general response of salt marsh boundaries t
Authors
Nicoletta Leonardi, Neil K. Ganju, Sergio Fagherazzi
Non-linear responses of glaciated prairie wetlands to climate warming
The response of ecosystems to climate warming is likely to include threshold events when small changes in key environmental drivers produce large changes in an ecosystem. Wetlands of the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) are especially sensitive to climate variability, yet the possibility that functional changes may occur more rapidly with warming than expected has not been examined or modeled. The pro
Authors
W. Carter Johnson, Brett Werner, Glenn R. Guntenspergen
A centroid model of species distribution with applications to the Carolina wren Thryothorus ludovicianus and house finch Haemorhous mexicanus in the United States
Drastic shifts in species distributions are a cause of concern for ecologists. Such shifts pose great threat to biodiversity especially under unprecedented anthropogenic and natural disturbances. Many studies have documented recent shifts in species distributions. However, most of these studies are limited to regional scales, and do not consider the abundance structure within species ranges. Devel
Authors
Qiongyu Huang, John R. Sauer, Anu Swatantran, Ralph Dubayah
The swing of it: Hammock camping
Hammock camping is dramatically expanding along the Appalachian Trail and raising both questions and concerns among Trail land managers, club members, and backpackers. This article examines some of the advantages and disadvantages of hammock camping, including resource and social impacts. Some Leave No Trace hammock camping practices are included for those using hammocks at well-established campsi
Authors
Jeffrey L. Marion