Publications
These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.
Filter Total Items: 16785
Current subsidence rates due to compaction of Holocene sediments in southern Louisiana
Relative contributions of geologic and anthropogenic processes to subsidence of southern Louisiana are vigorously debated. Of these, shallow sediment compaction is often considered dominant, although this has never been directly observed or effectively demonstrated. Quantitative understanding of subsidence is important for predicting relative sea level rise, storm surge flooding due to hurricanes,
Authors
T.A. Meckel, Uri S. ten Brink, S.J. Williams
Abundance of adult horseshoe crabs (Limulus polylphemus) in Delaware Bay estimated from a bay-wide mark-recapture study
Estimates of the abundance of American horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) are important to determine egg production and to manage populations for the energetic needs of shorebirds that feed on horseshoe crab eggs. In 2003, over 17,500 horseshoe crabs were tagged and released throughout Delaware Bay, and recaptured crabs came from spawning surveys that were conducted during peak spawning. We used
Authors
D. R. Smith, M. J. Millard, S. Eyler
Determination of the δ34S of Total Sulfur in Solids: RSIL Lab Code 1800
The purpose of Reston Stable Isotope Laboratory Lab (RSIL) Code 1800 is to determine the δ(34S/32S), abbreviated as δ34S, of total sulfur in a solid sample. A Carlo Erba NC 2500 elemental analyzer (EA) is used to convert total sulfur in a solid sample into SO2 gas. The EA is connected to a continuous flow isotope-ratio mass spectrometer (CF-IRMS), which determines the relative difference in stable
Authors
Kinga Revesz, Tyler B. Coplen
Wollastonite
In 2005, NYCO Minerals and R.T. Vanderbilt mined wollastonite in the United States. Domestic production increased slightly from 2004. The plastic market accounted for 35%-40% of US sales followed by ceramics (25-30%), metallurgical applications (10%), paint (10%), friction products (10%) and miscellaneous (5%). Towards 2006, wollastonite producers are expected to face more technical and commercial
Authors
R.L. Virta, D. Revette
Size distribution of submarine landslides and its implication to tsunami hazard in Puerto Rico
We have established for the first time a size frequency distribution for carbonate submarine slope failures. Using detailed bathymetry along the northern edge of the carbonate platform north of Puerto Rico, we show that the cumulative distribution of slope failure volumes follows a power-law distribution. The power-law exponent of this distribution is similar to those for rock falls on land, comme
Authors
Uri S. ten Brink, E.L. Geist, B.D. Andrews
Gas hydrate potential of the mid Atlantic outer continental shelf
For the last two years, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) has been studying the resource potential of gas hydrates in federal offshore lands of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) off the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Pacific, and Alaska in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Naval Resea
Authors
William W. Shedd, Deborah R. Hutchinson
The use of synthetic jarosite as an analog for natural jarosite
The presence of jarosite in soil or mining waste is an indicator of acidic sulfate-rich conditions. Physical and chemical properties of synthetic jarosites are commonly used as analogs in laboratory studies to determine solubility and acid-generation of naturally occurring jarosites. In our work we have mineralogically and chemically characterized both natural and synthetic jarosites. Analysis of
Authors
George A. Desborough, Kathleen S. Smith, Heather A. Lowers, Gregg A. Swayze, Jane M. Hammarstrom, Sharon F. Diehl, Rhonda L. Driscoll, Reinhard W. Leinz
Conceptual ecological model for management of breeding grassland birds in the Mid-Atlantic Region
The status of grassland birds has become an increasingly important conservation issue. These species exhibit the most consistent population declines of any group of North American birds during the past 40 years. Anecdotal evidence suggests these declines have been occurring for nearly a century (Peterjohn and Sauer 1999). While the widespread conversion of grasslands into other habitats contribute
Authors
Bruce G. Peterjohn
Implications of mitochondrial DNA polyphyly in two ecologically undifferentiated but morphologically distinct migratory birds, the masked and white-browed woodswallows Artamus spp. of inland Australia
The white-browed woodswallow Artamus superciliosus and masked woodswallow A. personatus(Passeriformes: Artamidae) are members of Australia's diverse arid- and semi-arid zone avifauna. Widely sympatric and among Australia's relatively few obligate long-distance temperate-tropical migrants, the two are well differentiated morphologically but not ecologically and vocally. They are pair breeders unlik
Authors
Leo Joseph, Thomas Wilke, Jose Ten Have, R. Terry Chesser
High-resolution global assessment of mangrove responses to sea-level rise: a review
No abstract available.
Authors
Donald R. Cahoon, P.F. Hensel
Flow convergence caused by a salinity minimum in a tidal channel
Residence times of dissolved substances and sedimentation rates in tidal channels are affected by residual (tidally averaged) circulation patterns. One influence on these circulation patterns is the longitudinal density gradient. In most estuaries the longitudinal density gradient typically maintains a constant direction. However, a junction of tidal channels can create a local reversal (change in
Authors
John C. Warner, David H. Schoellhamer, Jon R. Burau, S. Geoffrey Schladow
Mineral resource of the month: soda ash
Soda ash, also known as sodium carbonate, is an alkali chemical that can be refined from the mineral trona and from sodium carbonate-bearing brines. Several chemical processes exist for manufacturing synthetic soda ash.
Authors
Dennis S. Kostic