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Publications

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

Filter Total Items: 16783

Optical properties of dissolved organic matter in throughfall and stemflow vary across tree species and season in a temperate headwater forest

Tree-derived dissolved organic matter (DOM) comprises a significant carbon flux within forested watersheds. Few studies have assessed the optical properties of tree-derived DOM. To increase understanding of the factors controlling tree-derived DOM quality, we measured DOM optical properties, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and calcium concentrations in throughfall and stemflow for 17 individual rai
Authors
Kevin A Ryan, Thomas Adler, Ann T. Chalmers, Julia Perdrial, Stephen Sebestyen, James B. Shanley, Aron Stubbins

Embedded critical material flow: The case of niobium, the United States, and China

Niobium, often classified as critical, is typically embedded within steels essential for infrastructure and transportation. Most niobium-consuming countries are import-dependent on primary stage niobium, meaning traditional material flow analysis, which often excludes critical commodities embedded within products of large-scale industries, would miss important flows in the fabrication and manufact
Authors
Dalton Miles Mccaffrey, Nedal T. Nassar, Simon M. Jowitt, Abraham J. Padilla, Laurence R. Bird

Streamlined approach for assessing embedded consumption of lithium and cobalt in the United States

In today's complex global supply chains, time and data intensive analyses are required to understand global flows of mineral commodities from mine to consumer, particularly for mineral commodities in products (electronics, automobiles, etc.) that contain multiple parts with many mineral commodities. National and regional analyses require additional time and data to incorporate international trade
Authors
Elisa Alonso, David G. Pineault, Nedal T. Nassar

Negligible atmospheric release of methane from decomposing hydrates in mid-latitude oceans

Naturally occurring gas hydrates may contribute to a positive feedback for global warming because they sequester large amounts of the potent greenhouse gas methane in ice-like deposits that could be destabilized by increasing ocean/atmospheric temperatures. Most hydrates occur within marine sediments; gas liberated during the decomposition of seafloor hydrates or originating with other methane poo
Authors
DongJoo Joung, Carolyn D. Ruppel, John R. Southon, Thomas Weber, John D. Kessler

Mechanisms and magnitude of dissolved silica release from a New England salt marsh

Salt marshes are sites of silica (SiO2) cycling and export to adjacent coastal systems, where silica availability can exert an important control over coastal marine primary productivity. Mineral weathering and biologic fixation concentrate silica in these systems; however, the relative contributions of geologic versus biogenic silica dissolution to this export are not known. We collected water sam
Authors
Olivia Williams, Andrew C. Kurtz, Meagan J. Eagle, Kevin D. Kroeger, Joseph Tamborski, Joanna C. Carey

Multi-omics responses in tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) nestlings from the Maumee Area of Concern, Maumee River, Ohio

A multi-omics approach was utilized to identify altered biological responses and functions, and to prioritize contaminants to assess the risks of chemical mixtures in the Maumee Area of Concern (AOC), Maumee River, OH, USA. The Maumee AOC is designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as having significant beneficial use impairments, including degradation of fish and wildlife p
Authors
Chi Yen Tseng, Christine M. Custer, Thomas W. Custer, Paul Dummer, Natalie K. Karouna-Renier, Cole W. Matson

Exposure to 17α-ethinylestradiol results in differential susceptibility of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) to bacterial infection

Disease outbreaks, skin lesions, mortality events, and reproductive abnormalities have been observed in wild populations of centrarchids. The presence of estrogenic endocrine disrupting compounds (EEDCs) has been implicated as a potential causal factor for these effects. The effects of prior EEDC exposure on immune response were examined in juvenile largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) exposed
Authors
Jessica Kristin Leet, Justin Greer, Cathy A. Richter, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Edward Spinard, Jacquelyn McDonald, Carla M. Conway, Robert W. Gale, Donald E. Tillitt, John Hansen

Hurdles to developing quantitative decision support for Endangered Species Act resource allocation

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service oversees the recovery of many species protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). Recent research suggests that a structured approach to allocating conservation resources could increase recovery outcomes for ESA listed species. Quantitative approaches to decision support can efficiently allocate limited financial resources and maximize desired outcomes. Y
Authors
Gwenllian D. Iacona, Stephanie Avery-Gomm, Richard F. Maloney, James Brazill-Boast, Deborah T. Crouse, C Ashton Drew, Rebecca S. Epanchin-Niell, Sarah B. Hall, Lynn A. Maguire, Tim Male, Jeff Newman, Hugh P. Possingham, Libby Rumpff, Michael C. Runge, Katherine C B Weiss, Robyn S. Wilson, Marilet A. Zablan, Leah R. Gerber

Use of regional breeding bird surveys to estimate bird populations in Big Thicket National Preserve

We used data collected during surveys of seven North American Breeding Bird Survey routes in eastern Texas to estimate avian populations within Big Thicket National Preserve. On only 61 of the 350 count locations located along these routes did observers monitor birds within the boundaries of this preserve. On selected routes, we recorded initial bird detections during the 3-min bird count within 1
Authors
Daniel J. Twedt, Clifford E. Shackelford

One hundred years of cobalt production in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Cobalt is an indispensable element for the manufacture of strategic technologies including advanced batteries, jet engines, rare-earth permanent magnets, petroleum catalysts, and tool parts that enable construction, manufacturing, and mining. Cobalt routinely scores high in mineral supply risk assessments due to the concentration of cobalt mine production in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (D
Authors
Andrew L. Gulley

Assessing the impact of chloride deicer application in the Siskiyou Pass, southern Oregon

Chloride deicers have been applied by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to Interstate Route 5 (I–5) from the Oregon-California border north to mile marker 10 for several years in the high-elevation area known as the Siskiyou Pass. Magnesium chloride (MgCl2) and sodium chloride (NaCl) are applied to keep the interstate highway safe for drivers and allow for efficient transport of goods
Authors
Adam J. Stonewall, Matthew C. Yates, Gregory E. Granato

CO2 uptake offsets other greenhouse gas emissions from salt marshes with chronic nitrogen loading

Coastal wetlands are known for exceptional productivity, but they also receive intense land-based nitrogen (N) loading. In Narragansett Bay, RI (USA), coastal ecosystems have received anthropogenic N inputs from wastewater for more than two centuries. Greenhouse gas fluxes were studied throughout a growing season (2016) in three coastal wetlands with contrasting histories of nitrogen loading. The
Authors
Serena Moseman-Valtierra, Katelyn Szura, Meagan J. Eagle, Carol Thornber, Faming Wang