Publications
Publications from USGS science centers throughout the Southeast Region.
Filter Total Items: 9969
Processing protocol for soil samples potentially contaminated with Bacillus anthracis spores [HS7.52.02 - 514]
This protocol describes the processing steps for 45 g and 9 g soil samples potentially contaminated with Bacillus anthracis spores. The protocol is designed to separate and concentrate the spores from bulk soil down to a pellet that can be used for further analysis. Soil extraction solution and mechanical shaking are used to disrupt soil particle aggregates and to aid in the separation of spores f
Authors
Erin E. Silvestri, Dale W. Griffin
Forested floristic quality index: An assessment tool for forested wetland habitats using the quality and quantity of woody vegetation at Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) vegetation monitoring stations
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana and the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act, developed the Forested Floristic Quality Index (FFQI) for the Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS). The FFQI will help evaluate forested wetland sites on a continuum from severely degraded to healthy and will assist
Authors
William B. Wood, Gary P. Shaffer, Jenneke M. Visser, Ken W. Krauss, Sarai C. Piazza, Leigh Anne Sharp, Kari F. Cretini
Characterization of peak streamflows and flood inundation of selected areas in Louisiana from the August 2016 flood
Heavy rainfall occurred across Louisiana and southwestern Mississippi in August 2016 as a result of a slow-moving area of low pressure and a high amount of atmospheric moisture. The storm caused major flooding in the southern portions of Louisiana including areas surrounding Baton Rouge and Lafayette. Flooding occurred along the rivers such as the Amite, Comite, Tangipahoa, Tickfaw, Vermilion, and
Authors
Kara M. Watson, John B. Storm, Brian K. Breaker, Claire E. Rose
The Wetland and Aquatic Research Center strategic science plan
IntroductionThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Wetland and Aquatic Research Center (WARC) has two primary locations (Gainesville, Florida, and Lafayette, Louisiana) and field stations throughout the southeastern United States and Caribbean. WARC’s roots are in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Park Service research units that were brought into the USGS as the Biological Research D
Authors
Modeled ecohydrological responses to climate change at seven small watersheds in the northeastern United States
A cross-site analysis was conducted on seven diverse, forested watersheds in the northeastern United States to evaluate hydrological responses (evapotranspiration, soil moisture, seasonal and annual streamflow, and water stress) to projections of future climate. We used output from four atmosphere–ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs; CCSM4, HadGEM2-CC, MIROC5, and MRI-CGCM3) included in Phase
Authors
Afshin Pourmokhtarian, Charles T. Driscoll, John L. Campbell, Katharine Hayhoe, Anne M. K. Stoner, Mary Beth Adams, Douglas A. Burns, Ivan Fernandez, Myron J. Mitchell, James B. Shanley
Fish and invertebrate flow-biology relationships to support the determination of ecological flows for North Carolina
A method was developed to characterize fish and invertebrate responses to flow alteration in the state of North Carolina. This method involved using 80th percentile linear quantile regressions to relate six flow metrics to the diversity of riffle-run fish and benthic Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) richness. All twelve flow-biology relationships were found to be significant, with
Authors
Jennifer Phelan, Thomas F. Cuffney, Lauren A. Patterson, Michele Eddy, Robert Dykes, Sam Pearsall, Chris Goudreau, Jim Mead, Fred Tarver
Human health screening and public health significance of contaminants of emerging concern detected in public water supplies
The source water and treated drinking water from twenty five drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) across the United States were sampled in 2010–2012. Samples were analyzed for 247 contaminants using 15 chemical and microbiological methods. Most of these contaminants are not regulated currently either in drinking water or in discharges to ambient water by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agenc
Authors
Robert Benson, Octavia D. Conerly, William Sander, Angela L. Batt, J. Scott Boone, Edward T. Furlong, Susan T. Glassmeyer, Dana W. Kolpin, Heath Mash
Nationwide reconnaissance of contaminants of emerging concern in source and treated drinking waters of the United States: Pharmaceuticals
Mobile and persistent chemicals that are present in urban wastewater, such as pharmaceuticals, may survive
on-site ormunicipal wastewater treatment and post-discharge environmental processes. These pharmaceuticals
have the potential to reach surface and groundwaters, essential drinking-water sources. A joint, two-phase U.S.
Geological Survey-U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study examined sour
Authors
Edward T. Furlong, Angela L. Batt, Susan T. Glassmeyer, Mary C. Noriega, Dana W. Kolpin, Heath Mash, Kathleen M. Schenck
The use of data-mining techniques for developing effective decisionsupport systems: A case study of simulating the effects ofclimate change on coastal salinity intrusion
Natural-resource managers and stakeholders face difficult challenges when managing interactions between natural and societal systems. Potential changes in climate could alter interactions between environmental and societal systems and adversely affect the availability of water resources in many coastal communities. The availability of freshwater in coastal streams can be threatened by saltwater in
Authors
Paul Conrads, Jr. Edwin Roehl
Impacts of mangrove density on surface sediment accretion, belowground biomass and biogeochemistry in Puttalam Lagoon, Sri Lanka
Understanding the effects of seedling density on sediment accretion, biogeochemistry and belowground biomass in mangrove systems can help explain ecological functioning and inform appropriate planting densities during restoration or climate change mitigation programs. The objectives of this study were to examine: 1) impacts of mangrove seedling density on surface sediment accretion, texture, below
Authors
D.H. Phillips, M.P. Kumara, L.P. Jayatissa, Ken W. Krauss, M. Huxham
Development and evaluation of a reservoir model for the Chain of Lakes in Illinois
Forecasts of flows entering and leaving the Chain of Lakes reservoir on the Fox River in northeastern Illinois are critical information to water-resource managers who determine the optimal operation of the dam at McHenry, Illinois, to help minimize damages to property and loss of life because of flooding on the Fox River. In 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey; the Illinois Department of Natural Reso
Authors
Marian M. Domanski
Molecular systematics of the critically-endangered North American spinymussels (Unionidae: Elliptio and Pleurobema) and description of Parvaspina gen. nov.
Despite being common in numerous marine bivalve lineages, lateral spines are extremely rare among freshwater bivalves (Bivalvia: Unionidae), with only three known species characterized by the presence of spines: Elliptio spinosa, Elliptio steinstansana, and Pleurobema collina. All three taxa are endemic to the Atlantic Slope of southeastern North America, critically endangered, and protected by th
Authors
Michael A. Perkins, Nathan A. Johnson, Michael M. Gangloff