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Publications

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

Filter Total Items: 16783

Habitat use as indicator of adaptive capacity to climate change

AimPopulations of cold‐adapted species at the trailing edges of geographic ranges are particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change from the combination of exposure to warm temperatures and high sensitivity to heat. Many of these species are predicted to decline under future climate scenarios, but they could persist if they can adapt to warming climates either physiologically o
Authors
Claire S. Teitelbaum, Alexej P. K. Siren, Ethan Coffel, Jane R. Foster, Jacqueline L. Frair, Joseph W. Hinton, Radley W. Horton, David W. Kramer, Corey Lesk, Colin Raymond, David Wattles, Katherine Zeller, Toni Lyn Morelli

Sentinel-2 and WorldView-3 atmospheric correction and signal normalization based on ground-truth spectroradiometric measurements

Remote sensing satellite Earth Observing Systems (EOS) provide a variety of products for monitoring Earth surface processes at varying spatial and spectral resolutions. Combining information from high and medium spatial resolution images is valuable for monitoring ground cover and vegetation status in cropland, grassland, forests, and other natural settings. However, coupling information from diff
Authors
J.L. Pancorbo, Brian T. Lamb, Miguel Quemada, W. Dean Hively, I. Gonzalez-Fernandez, Inigo Molina

Does geomorphology determine vulnerability of mangrove coasts to sea-level rise?

The greatest climate-based threat to coastlines worldwide is sea-level rise. We tested the hypothesis that tropical coasts fringed by mangroves and receiving high inputs of terrigenous sediment are less vulnerable to sea-level rise than biogenic systems dependent upon peat formation for vertical land development. An analysis of published data spanning a range of geomorphic settings showed that min
Authors
Karen L. McKee, Ken Krauss, Donald Cahoon

Using expert knowledge to support Endangered Species Act decision‐making for data‐deficient species

Many questions relevant to conservation decision making are characterized by extreme uncertainty due to lack of empirical data and complexity of the underlying ecological processes, leading to a rapid increase in the use of structured protocols to elicit expert knowledge. Published ecological applications often employ a modified Delphi method, where experts provide judgments anonymously and mathem
Authors
Daniel Bruce Fitzgerald, David R. Smith, David C. Culver, Daniel Feller, Daniel W. Fong, Jeff Hajenga, Matthew L. Niemiller, Daniel C. Nolfi, Wil D. Orndorff, Barbara Douglas, Kelly O. Maloney, John A. Young

Assessing the impact of drought on arsenic exposure from private domestic wells in the conterminous United States

This study assesses the potential impact of drought on arsenic exposure from private domestic wells by using a previously developed statistical model that predicts the probability of elevated arsenic concentrations (>10 μg per liter) in water from domestic wells located in the conterminous United States (CONUS). The application of the model to simulate drought conditions used systematically reduce
Authors
Melissa Lombard, Johnni Daniel, Zuha Jeddy, Lauren Hay, Joseph D. Ayotte

Monitoring wetland water quality related to livestock grazing in amphibian habitats

Land use alteration such as livestock grazing can affect water quality in habitats of at-risk wildlife species. Data from managed wetlands are needed to understand levels of exposure for aquatic life stages and monitor grazing-related changes afield. We quantified spatial and temporal variation in water quality in wetlands occupied by threatened Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) at Klamath Marsh
Authors
Kelly L. Smalling, Jennifer Rowe, Christopher Pearl, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Carrie E. Givens, Chauncey W. Anderson, Brome McCreary, Michael J. Adams

Groundwater discharge impacts marine isotope budgets of Li, Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba

Groundwater-derived solute fluxes to the ocean have long been assumed static and subordinate to riverine fluxes, if not neglected entirely, in marine isotope budgets. Here we present concentration and isotope data for Li, Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba in coastal groundwaters to constrain the importance of groundwater discharge in mediating the magnitude and isotopic composition of terrestrially derived solut
Authors
Kimberly Mayfield, Anton Eisenhauer, Danielle P. Santiago Ramos, John A. Higgins, Tristan Horner, Maureen Auro, Tomas Magna, Nils Moosdorf, Matthew Charette, Meagan Gonneea Eagle, Carolyn Brady, Nemanja Komar, Bernhard Peucker-Ehrenbrink, Adina Paytan

Statistical methods for simulating structural stormwater runoff best management practices (BMPs) with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM)

This report documents statistics for simulating structural stormwater runoff best management practices (BMPs) with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM). The U.S. Geological Survey developed SELDM and the statistics documented in this report in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration to indicate the risk for stormwater flows, concentrations, and loads to exceed us

Authors
Gregory E. Granato, Alana B. Spaetzel, Laura Medalie

Measuring U.S. Federal Agency progress toward implementation of alternative methods in toxicity testing

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended to Congress that federal agencies establish a workgroup through ICCVAM to propose metrics for assessing progress on the development and promotion of alternative methods. This document describes the recommendations of the ICCVAM Metrics Workgroup.
Authors
John D. Gordon, Carol Clarke, Matthew Johnson, Emily N. Reinke, Barnett A. Rattner, Steve Hwang, Evisabel Craig, Anna Lowit, Paul Brown, Karen L. Davis-Bruno, Annabelle Crusan, Suzanne Fitzpatrick, Jueichuan Kang, Robin Levis, Donna L. Mendrick, Jill Merrill, Brian Berridge, Warren Casey, Nicole Kleinstreuer, Harold Watson

Response of aquatic life to coal mining in Appalachia

No abstract available. 
Authors
George T. Merovich, Nathaniel Hitt, Eric R. Merriam, Jess Jones

Embracing the Future: Promoting adaptation and resilience to invasive species and climate change

No abstract available.
Authors
Bianca Lopez, Carrie Brown-Lima, Justin Dalaba, Annette Evans, Meghan Graham MacLean, Toni Lyn Morelli

Hydrogeologic framework, water levels, and selected contaminant concentrations at Valmont TCE Superfund Site, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, 2020

The Valmont TCE Superfund Site, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania is underlain by fractured and folded sandstones and shales of the Pottsville and Mauch Chunk Formations, which form a fractured-rock aquifer recharged locally by precipitation. Industrial activities at the former Chromatex Plant resulted in trichloroethene (TCE) contamination of groundwater at and near the facility, which was identified

Authors
Lisa A. Senior, Alex R. Fiore, Philip H. Bird