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Publications

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

Filter Total Items: 16783

Influenza A viruses remain infectious for more than seven months in northern wetlands of North America

In this investigation, we used a combination of field- and laboratory-based approaches to assess if influenza A viruses (IAVs) shed by ducks could remain viable for extended periods in surface water within three wetland complexes of North America. In a field experiment, replicate filtered surface water samples inoculated with duck swabs were tested for IAVs upon collection and again after an overw
Authors
Andrew M. Ramey, Andrew B. Reeves, Judith Z. Drexler, Josh T. Ackerman, Susan E. W. De La Cruz, Andrew S. Lang, Christina Leyson, Paul T. Link, Diann Prosser, Gregory J. Robertson, Jordan Wight, Sungsu Youk, Erica Spackman, Mary Pantin-Jackwood, Rebecca L. Poulson, David E. Stallknecht

High concentration methane hydrate in a silt reservoir from the deep-water Gulf of Mexico

We present results from 30 quantitative degassing experiments of pressure core sections collected during The University of Texas-Gulf of Mexico 2-1 (UT-GOM2-1) Hydrate Pressure Coring Expedition at Green Canyon Block 955 in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico as part of The University of Texas at Austin–US Department of Energy Deepwater Methane Hydrate Characterization and Scientific Assessment. The hyd
Authors
Stephen Philips, Peter Flemings, Melanie Holland, Peter Schultheiss, William F. Waite, Junbong Jang, Ethan Petrou, Helen Hammon

Pressure coring a Gulf of Mexico deep-water turbidite gas hydrate reservoir: Initial results from The University of Texas–Gulf of Mexico 2-1 (UT-GOM2-1) Hydrate Pressure Coring Expedition

The University of Texas Hydrate Pressure Coring Expedition (UT-GOM2-1) recovered cores at near in situ formation pressures from a gas hydrate reservoir composed of sandy silt and clayey silt beds in Green Canyon Block 955 in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico. The expedition results are synthesized and linked to other detailed analyses presented in this volume. Millimeter- to meter-scale beds of sandy
Authors
Peter Flemings, Stephen Phillips, Ray Boswell, Timothy Collett, Ann Cook, Tian Dong, Matthew Frye, David Goldberg, Giles Guerin, Melanie Holland, Junbong Jang, Kevin Meazell, Jamie Morrison, Joshua O'Connell, Ethan Petrou, Tom Pettigrew, Peter Polito, Alexey Portnov, Manasj Santra, Peter Schultheiss, Yongkoo Seol, William Shedd, Evan S. Solomon, Carla Thomas, William F. Waite, Kehua You

High sensitivity of Bering Sea winter sea ice to winter insolation and carbon dioxide over the last 5,500 years

Anomalously low winter sea ice extent and early retreat in CE 2018 and 2019 challenge previous notions that winter sea ice in the Bering Sea has been stable over the instrumental record, although long-term records remain limited. Here, we use a record of peat cellulose oxygen isotopes from St. Matthew Island along with isotope-enabled general circulation model (IsoGSM) simulations to generate a 55
Authors
Miriam C. Jones, Max Berkelhammer, Katherine Keller, Kei Yoshimura, Matthew J. Wooller

Effects of a temperature rise on melatonin and thyroid hormones during smoltification of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar

Smoltification prepares juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) for downstream migration. Dramatic changes characterize this crucial event in the salmon’s life cycle, including increased gill Na+/K+-ATPase activity (NKA) and plasma hormone levels. The triggering of smoltification relies on photoperiod and is modulated by temperature. Both provide reliable information, to which fish have adapted for
Authors
Laura G Nisembaum, Patrick Martin, Michael Fuentes, Laurence Besseau, Eloise Magnanou, Stephen D. McCormick, Jack Falcon

River channel response to dam removals on the lower Penobscot River, Maine, United States

Most geomorphology studies of dam removals have focused on sites with appreciable quantities of stored sediments. There is great interest in channel responses to sediment releases because of potential effects on aquatic and riparian habitats and human uses of these areas. Yet, behind many dams in the Northeast U.S. and other regions of the world only minor accumulations of sediment are present bec
Authors
Mathias J. Collins, Alice R. Kelley, Pamela J. Lombard

Wave-resolving Shoreline Boundary Conditions for Wave-Averaged Coastal Models

Downscaling broadscale ocean model information to resolve the fine-scale swash-zone dynamics has a number of applications, such as improved resolution of coastal flood hazard drivers, modeling of sediment transport and seabed morphological evolution. A new method is presented, which enables wave-averaged models for the nearshore circulation to include short-wave induced swash zone dynamics that ev
Authors
Francesco Memmola, Alessandro Coluccelli, Aniello Russo, John C. Warner, Maurizio Brocchini

Persist in place or shift in space? Evaluating the adaptive capacity of species to climate change

Assessing the vulnerability of species to climate change serves as the basis for climate‐adaptation planning and climate‐smart conservation, and typically involves an evaluation of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity (AC). AC is a species’ ability to cope with or adjust to changing climatic conditions, and is the least understood and most inconsistently applied of these three factors. We
Authors
Lindsey L. Thurman, Bruce Stein, Erik A. Beever, Wendy Foden, Sonya Geange, Nancy Green, John E. Gross, David J Lawrence, Olivia E. LeDee, Julian D. Olden, Laura Thompson, Bruce Young

The effects of phosphatization on the mineral associations and speciation of Pb in ferromanganese crusts

The older layers of thick ferromanganese (FeMn) crusts from the central Pacific Ocean have undergone diagenetic phosphatization, during which carbonate fluorapatite (CFA) filled fractures and pore space and replaced carbonates. The effects of phosphatization on individual trace metal concentrations, speciation, and phase associations in FeMn crusts remain poorly understood yet may be important to
Authors
Kira Mizell, James R. Hein, Andrea Koschinsky, Sarah M. Hayes

Groundwater quality in relation to drinking water health standards and hydrogeologic and geochemical characteristics for 47 domestic wells in Potter County, Pennsylvania, 2017

As part of a regional effort to characterize groundwater in rural areas of Pennsylvania, water samples from 47 domestic wells in Potter County were collected from May through September 2017. The sampled wells had depths ranging from 33 to 600 feet in sandstone, shale, or siltstone aquifers. Groundwater samples were analyzed for physicochemical properties that could be evaluated in relation to drin
Authors
Daniel G. Galeone, Charles A. Cravotta, Dennis W. Risser

Minimizing the spread of aquatic herpetofaunal pathogens by decontaminating construction equipment

Some problems have relatively simple solutions compared to the cost of neglect. Preventing the spread of invasive species and harmful pathogens clinging to construction equipment is one such solution. Here we explain how resource managers and contractors can decontaminate construction and field equipment by cleaning, disinfecting, and drying, thus minimizing the spread of harmful organisms.
Authors
James T. Julian, Paula F. P. Henry, James M. Drasher, Kathy Michell, Scott A. Smith

Paleoclimate ocean conditions shaped the evolution of corals and their skeletal composition through deep time

Identifying how past environmental conditions shaped the evolution of corals and their skeletal traits provides a framework for predicting their persistence and that of their non-calcifying relatives under impending global warming and ocean acidification. Here we show that ocean geochemistry, particularly aragonite–calcite seas, drives patterns of morphological evolution in anthozoans (corals, sea
Authors
Andrea M. Quattrini, Eliana Rodriguez-Burgueno, B. C. Faircloth, P. Cowman, M. R. Brugler, G. Farfan, M. E. Hellberg, M. V. Kitahara, Cheryl Morrison, D. A. Paz-Garcia, J. D. Reimer, C. S. McFadden