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

Filter Total Items: 16785

Groundwater-transported dissolved organic nitrogen exports from coastal watersheds

We analyzed groundwater-transported nitrogen (N) exports from 41 watershed segments that comprised 10 Cape Cod, Massachusetts watersheds to test the hypotheses that chemical form of N exports is related to land use and to length of flow paths through watersheds. In the absence of human habitation, these glacial outwash-plain watersheds exported largely dissolved organic N (DON) but at relatively l
Authors
K.D. Kroeger, Marci L. Cole, I. Valiela

Rupture models for the A.D. 900-930 Seattle fault earthquake from uplifted shorelines

A major earthquake on the Seattle fault, Washington, ca. A.D. 900-930 was first inferred from uplifted shorelines and tsunami deposits. Despite follow-up geophysical and geological investigations, the rupture parameters of the earthquake and the geometry of the fault are uncertain. Here we estimate the fault geometry, slip direction, and magnitude of the earthquake by modeling shoreline elevation
Authors
Uri S. ten Brink, J. Song, R.C. Bucknam

Sediment distribution and transport across the continental shelf and slope under idealized wind forcing

Resuspension, transport, and deposition of sediments over the continental shelf and slope are complex processes and there is still a need to understand the underlying spatial and temporal dynamical scales. As a step towards this goal, a two-dimensional slice model (zero gradients in the alongshore direction) based on the primitive flow equations and a range of sediment classes has been developed.
Authors
S.A. Condie, C. R. Sherwood

Overview of investigations into mercury in ground water, soils, and septage, New Jersey coastal plain

Since the early 1980s, investigations by health departments of eight counties in southern New Jersey, by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), and subsequently by the US Geological Survey (USGS), have shown that Hg concentrations in water tapped by about 600 domestic wells exceed the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 2 μg/L. The wells are finished in the areally extensive unconfi
Authors
J. L. Barringer, Zoltan Szabo

Bluff evolution along coastal drumlins: Boston Harbor Islands, Massachusetts

A series of partially drowned drumlins forms the backbone of the inner islands within Boston Harbor. The shoreline of these rounded glacial deposits is composed of actively retreating bluffs formed by continual wave attack. Comparisons of bluffs reveal variability in their height and lateral extent, as well as in the dominant mechanism causing their retreat. Two processes are responsible for bluff
Authors
E. A. Himmelstoss, D. M. FitzGerald, P.S. Rosen, J.R. Allen

Migration of the Pee Dee River system inferred from ancestral paleochannels underlying the South Carolina Grand Strand and Long Bay inner shelf

Several generations of the ancestral Pee Dee River system have been mapped beneath the South Carolina Grand Strand coastline and adjacent Long Bay inner shelf. Deep boreholes onshore and high-resolution seismic-reflection data offshore allow for reconstruction of these paleochannels, which formed during glacial lowstands, when the Pee Dee River system incised subaerially exposed coastal-plain and
Authors
W. E. Baldwin, R.A. Morton, T.R. Putney, M.P. Katuna, M.S. Harris, P. T. Gayes, N. W. Driscoll, J. F. Denny, W. C. Schwab

Emplacement of the Kodiak batholith and slab-window migration

The Kodiak batholith is one of the largest, most elongate intrusive bodies in the forearc Sanak-Baranof plutonic belt located in southern Alaska. This belt is interpreted to have formed during the subduction of an oceanic spreading center and the associated migration of a slab window. Individual plutons of the Kodiak batholith track the location and evolution of the underlying slab window. Six U/P
Authors
David W. Farris, Peter J. Haeussler, Richard Friedman, Scott R. Paterson, R. W. Saltus, Robert A. Ayuso

Nearshore shore-oblique bars, gravel outcrops, and their correlation to shoreline change

This study demonstrates the physical concurrence of shore-oblique bars and gravel outcrops in the surf zone along the northern Outer Banks of North Carolina. These subaqueous features are spatially correlated with shoreline change at a range of temporal and spatial scales. Previous studies have noted the existence of beach-surf zone interactions, but in general, relationships between nearshore geo
Authors
C.A. Schupp, J. E. McNinch, J. H. List

Shear velocity estimates on the inner shelf off Grays Harbor, Washington, USA

Shear velocity was estimated from current measurements near the bottom off Grays Harbor, Washington between May 4 and June 6, 2001 under mostly wave-dominated conditions. A downward-looking pulse-coherent acoustic Doppler profiler (PCADP) and two acoustic-Doppler velocimeters (field version; ADVFs) were deployed on a tripod at 9-m water depth. Measurements from these instruments were used to estim
Authors
C. R. Sherwood, J.R. Lacy, G. Voulgaris

Large internal waves in Massachusetts Bay transport sediments offshore

A field experiment was carried out in Massachusetts Bay in August 1998 to assess the role of large-amplitude internal waves (LIWs) in resuspending bottom sediments. The field experiment consisted of a four-element moored array extending from just west of Stellwagen Bank (90-m water depth) across Stellwagen Basin (85- and 50-m water depth) to the coast (24-m water depth). The LIWs were observed in
Authors
B. Butman, P. S. Alexander, A. Scotti, R.C. Beardsley, S.P. Anderson

Containing arsenic-enriched groundwater tracing lead isotopic compositions of common arsenical pesticides in a coastal Maine watershed

Arsenical pesticides and herbicides were extensively used on apple, blueberry, and potato crops in New England during the first half of the twentieth century. Lead arsenate was the most heavily used arsenical pesticide until it was officially banned. Lead arsenate, calcium arsenate, and sodium arsenate have similar Pb isotope compositions: 208Pb207Pb = 2.3839-2.4722, and 206Pb207Pb = 1.1035-1.2010
Authors
Robert A. Ayuso, Nora K. Foley, Glipin R. Robinson, A.S. Colvin, G. Lipfert, A.S. Reeve

Fire clay

In 2005, six companies mined fire clay in Missouri, Ohio and South Carolina. Production was estimate to be 300 kt with a value of $8.3 million. Missouri was the leading producer state followed by Ohio and South Carolina. For the third consecutive year, sales and use of fire clays have been relatively unchanged. For the next few years, sales of fire clay is forecasted to remain around 300 kt/a.
Authors
R.L. Virta