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At least 955 records · Page 53Linked to original sources

USGS2024

Where ice gave way to fire: Deglacial volcanic activity at the edge of the Coast Mountains in Milbanke Sound, BC

Kitasu Hill and MacGregor Cone formed along the Principe Laredo Fault on British Columbia’s central coast as the Wisconsinan ice sheet withdrew from the Coast Mountains. These small-volume Milbanke Sound Volcanoes (MSV) provide remarkable evidence for the intimate relationship between volcanic and glacial facies. The lavas are within-plate, differentiated (low MgO < 7%) Ocean Island Basalts, hawaiites, and mugearites that formed from ∼1% decompression melting of asthenosphere with residual garnet. Kitasu Hill, on glaciated bedrock, formed between 18 and 15 cal ka BP. Dipping, poorly stratified, admixed hyaloclastite, and glacial diamicton with large plutonic clasts and pillow breccia comprise its basal tuya platform (0–43 masl). Subaerial nested cinder cones, with smaller capping lava flows, sit atop the tuya. New marine samples show McGregor Cone formed subaerially but now sits submerged at 43–200 mbsl on an eroded moraine at the mouth of Finlayson Channel. Seismic data and cores reveal glaciomarine sediments draping the cone’s lower slopes and show beach terraces. Cores contain glaciomarine diamictons, ice-rafted debris, delicate glassy air fall tephra, and shallow, sublittoral, and deeper benthic foraminifera. Dates of 14.1–11.2 cal ka BP show volcanism spanned ∼2000 years during floating ice shelf conditions. The MSV have similar proximal positions to the retreating ice sheet, display mixed volcano-glacial facies, and experienced similar unloading stresses during deglaciation. The MSV may represent deglacially triggered volcanism. The dates, geomorphic and geological evidence, constrain a local relative sea level curve for Milbanke Sound and show how ice gave way to fire.

Milbanke Sound↗

USGS2005

Fire effects on soil organic matter content, composition, and nutrients in boreal interior Alaska

Boreal ecosystems contain a substantial fraction of the earth's soil carbon stores and are prone to frequent and severe wildfires. In this study, we examine changes in element and organic matter stocks due to a 1999 wildfire in Alaska. One year after the wildfire, burned soils contained between 1071 and 1420 g/m2 less carbon than unburned soils. Burned soils had lower nitrogen than unburned soils, higher calcium, and nearly unchanged potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus stocks. Burned surface soils tended to have higher concentrations of noncombustible elements such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus compared with unburned soils. Combustion losses of carbon were mostly limited to surface dead moss and fibric horizons, with no change in the underlying mineral horizons. Burning caused significant changes in soil organic matter structure, with a 12% higher ratio of carbon to combustible organic matter in surface burned horizons compared with unburned horizons. Pyrolysis gas chromatography - mass spectroscopy also shows preferential volatilization of polysaccharide-derived organic matter and enrichment of lignin-and lipid-derived compounds in surface soils. The chemistry of deeper soil layers in burned and unburned sites was similar, suggesting that immediate fire impacts were restricted to the surface soil horizon. ?? 2005 NRC.

Conference Paper↗

USGS2019

Method for observing breach geomorphic evolution: Satellite observation of the Fire Island Wilderness breach

Satellite derived shorelines are extracted using the Google Earth Engine API for Landsat and Sentinel satellites from 1984 through 2018. These shorelines are evaluated against existing surveys and show satellite-derived breach shorelines are in good agreement with directly-observed shorelines and capture the trend of the Fire Island wilderness breach evolution. Results of this study show the wilderness breach resulted in down drift shoreline erosion at a rate greater than the historical average within 4 km of the breach. This study demonstrates the benefits of utilizing satellite observations for monitoring the full extent of breach development and resulting shoreline changes.

New York↗

USGS2023

Wave asymmetry impacts on sediment processes at the nearshore of Fire Island, New York

Effects of wave asymmetry on sediment processes and coastal evolution were investigated using a field data set and a numerical model. Field observations at the nearshore of Fire Island, New York revealed sediment fluxes during various wave energy levels. The preliminary results indicate a strong correlation between the wave asymmetry and the onshore bedload fluxes. The model results captured the observed hydrodynamics and the sediment processes reasonably well. Ongoing work involves in-depth analysis of the model performance, followed by the evaluation of the nearshore morphodynamics at the island and shelf scales.

New York↗

USGS2012

Inner shelf morphologic controls on the dynamics of the beach and bar system, Fire Island, New York

The mechanism of sediment exchange between offshore sand ridges and the beach at Fire Island, New York is largely unknown. However, recent evidence from repeat nearshore bathymetry surveys, coupled with the complex but consistent bar morphology and patterns of shoreline change demonstrate that there is a feedback occurring between the regional geologic framework and modern processes. Analysis of bathymetric survey data provides direct confirmation that the offshore ridges are connected to the shoreface and are spatially persistent. The fixed nature of the nearshore morphology is further supported by time series camera data that indicate persistent bars with breaks that re-form in the same locations. A long-term time series of shoreline change shows distinct zones of erosion and accretion that are pervasive over time scales greater than a half-century, and their length-scales are similar to the spacing of the offshore ridge-trough system. The first-order geologic framework is responsible for the existence and locations of the ridges and troughs, which then influence the morphodynamics of the beach and bar system.

New York↗

USGS2015

Shoreface response and recovery to Hurricane Sandy: Fire Island, NY

The shoreface of Fire Island was extensively modified by Hurricane Sandy and subsequent storms in the following winter months. The changes were evaluated using various morphometrics of the shoreface from four bathymetric surveys, one prior to Hurricane Sandy, and three over the course of twenty months following Sandy. The datasets show that the nearshore bar system moved offshore to deeper water depths following Hurricane Sandy with volume lost from the subaerial beach and surfzone. Following the offshore shift, the nearshore bar system increased in size, the trough deepened, and there has been gradual landward movement of the nearshore bar. The steepening of the upper shoreface, landward translation of the profile, and loss of sediment is indicative of barrier island transgression.

New York↗

USGS2011

Postfledging survival of Grasshopper Sparrows in grasslands managed with fire and grazing

More accurate estimates of survival after nestlings fledge are needed for population models to be parameterized and population dynamics to be understood during this vulnerable life stage. The period after fledging is the time when chicks learn to fly, forage, and hide from predators. We monitored postfledging survival, causespecific mortality, and movements of Grasshopper Sparrows ( Ammodramus savannarum ) in grassland managed with fire and grazing. In 2009, we attached radio transmitters to 50 nestlings from 50 different broods and modeled their survival in response to climatic, biological, and ecological variables. There was no effect of treatment on survival. The factor most influencing postfledging survival was age; no other variable was significant. The majority of chicks (74%) died within 3 days of radio-transmitter attachment. We attributed most mortality to mesopredators (48%) and exposure (28%). Fledglings' movements increased rapidly for the first 4 days after they left the nest and were relatively stable for the remaining 10 days we tracked them. On average, fledglings took flight for the first time 4 days after fledging and flew ≥10 m 9 days after fledging. Our data show that the Grasshopper Sparrow's survival rates may be less than most models relying on nest-success estimates predict, and we emphasize the importance of incorporating estimates of survival during the postfledging period in demographic models.

Iowa↗

USGS2017

Novel observations of larval fire survival, feeding behavior, and host plant use in the regal fritillary, Speyeria idalia (Drury) (Nymphalidae)

Speyeria idalia is a prairie specialist that has experienced dramatic population declines throughout its range. Speyeria idalia is nearly extirpated from the eastern portion of its former range; however, populations within Kansas are relatively stable. We made several previously undescribed field observations of late-instar larvae and post-diapause female S. idalia in northeastern Kansas during 2014–2016. We report finding late-instar larvae at locations that were burned within weeks of detection. The observations of larvae shortly following a burn suggests that S . idalia larvae are capable of surviving fire and contradicts our current knowledge of this species. Additionally, we describe a feeding behavior characteristic of late-instar larvae. Larvae observed in the field and lab stripped leaves of host plants leaving only stems. This strip-style feeding behavior provided unique feeding evidence that was valuable to detecting the presence of larvae in the field. Finally, we documented larvae and post-diapause, egg depositing females using Viola sororia. The use of this relatively widespread and common plant by S. idalia populations in the Central Great Plains has only been implicitly documented but may have important conservation implications. These novel observations further our knowledge of the ecology of this imperiled species and provide timely information that may improve research and conservation management efforts directed toward S . idalia populations.

Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society↗

USGS2007

Influence of fire on black-tailed prairie dog colony expansion in shortgrass steppe

Factors influencing the distribution and abundance of black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies are of interest to rangeland managers because of the significant influence prairie dogs can exert on both livestock and biodiversity. We examined the influence of 4 prescribed burns and one wildfire on the rate and direction of prairie dog colony expansion in shortgrass steppe of southeastern Colorado. Our study was conducted during 2 years with below-average precipitation, when prairie dog colonies were expanding throughout the study area. Under these dry conditions, the rate of black-tailed prairie dog colony expansion into burned grassland (X?? = 2.6 ha??100-m perimeter-1??y-1; range = 0.8-5.9 ha??100-m perimeter-1??y-1; N = 5 colonies) was marginally greater than the expansion rate into unburned grassland (X?? =1.3 ha??100-m perimeter-1??y-1; range = 0.2-4.9 ha??100-m perimeter-1??y-1; N = 23 colonies; P = 0.066). For 3 colonies that were burned on only a portion of their perimeter, we documented consistently high rates of expansion into the adjacent burned grassland (38%-42% of available burned habitat colonized) but variable expansion rates into the adjacent unburned grassland (2%-39% of available unburned habitat colonized). While our results provide evidence that burning can increase colony expansion rate even under conditions of low vegetative structure, this effect was minor at the scale of the overall colony complex because some unburned colonies were also able to expand at high rates. This result highlights the need to evaluate effects of fire on colony expansion during above-average rainfall years, when expansion into unburned grassland may be considerably lower.

Rangeland Ecology and Management↗

USGS2013

Geologic evidence for onshore sediment transport from the inner continental shelf: Fire Island, New York

Sediment budget analyses along the south shore of Fire Island, New York, have been conducted and debated in the scientific and coastal engineering literature for decades. It is well documented that a primary component of sediment transport in this system is directed alongshore from E to W, but discrepancies in volumetric sediment budget calculations remain. An additional quantity of sand, averaging about 200,000 m 3 /y is required to explain the growth of the western segment of the barrier island, a prograding spit. Littoral sediment derived from updrift erosion of the coast, addition of beach nourishment fill, and onshore transport of inner continental shelf, shoreface sediments, or both have all been proposed as potential sources of the additional sediment needed to balance the sediment budget deficit. Analysis of high-resolution seafloor mapping data collected in 2011, including seismic reflection profiles and inteferometric sonar acoustic backscatter and swath bathymetry; comparison with seafloor mapping data collected in 1996–1997; and shoreline change analysis from 1933 to 2011 support previous suggestions that the inner-shelf Holocene sedimentary deposit is a likely source to resolve this sediment budget discrepancy.

New York↗

USGS2022

Rainfall triggering of post-fire debris flows over a 28-year period near El Portal, California, USA

Wildfires frequently affect the steep hillslopes near El Portal, California (United States), a small community established during the California Gold Rush in the mid-1800s. In addition to the historical significance of El Portal, State Route 140 (SR 140) is a major transportation and economic corridor connecting the San Joaquin Valley to Yosemite National Park (YNP). In 2019, an estimated 4.5 million tourists visited and accessed YNP via SR 140. In the years after wildfires, the burned watersheds produced debris flows during intense rainfall, impacting the El Portal community and motorists traveling on SR 140 and local roads. The steepness of the hillslopes and confinement of the valley limit options for mitigating debris-flow risk. As such, emergency managers are left with evacuation orders or temporary road closures as the best options for risk reduction. The effectiveness of these options is highly dependent on establishing an accurate local rainfall intensity-duration threshold that officials can use to guide emergency response actions and timing. We present an overview of the rainfall conditions that initiated 12 post-fire debris-flow events near El Portal from 1991 to 2018 and objectively define rainfall intensity-duration thresholds from triggering rainfall rates. Our results highlight the modest rainfall rates that triggered debris flows in these steep watersheds, while radar data from more recent events (2012–2018) portray the spatial variability of intense rainfall in the area. Additional rainfall monitoring is needed to provide a robust rainfall threshold that will effectively mitigate risk for residents and motorists while minimizing the impact of road closures and evacuations.

California↗

USGS2013

Wildfire and aspect effects on hydrologic states after the 2010 Fourmile Canyon Fire

Wildfire can change how soils take in, store, and release water. This study examined differences in how burned and unburned plots on north versus south-facing slope aspects respond to rainfall. The largest wildfire impacts were litter/duff combustion on burned north-facing slopes versus soil-water retention reduction on burned south-facing slopes. Wildfire is one of the most significant disturbances in mountainous landscapes, affecting water supply and ecologic function and setting the stage for natural hazards such as flash floods. The impacts of wildfire can affect the entire hydrologic cycle. Measurements of soil-water content and matric potential in the near surface (top 30 cm) captured the hydrologic state in both burned and unburned hillslopes during the first spring through fall period (1 June–1 Oct. 2011) after the 2010 Fourmile Canyon Fire near Boulder, CO. This time span included different hydrologic periods characterized by cyclonic frontal storms (low-intensity, long duration), convective storms (high-intensity, short duration), and dry periods. In mountainous environments, aspect can also control hydrologic states, so north- vs. south-facing slopes were compared. Wildfire tended to homogenize soil-water contents across aspects and with depth in the soil, yet it also may have introduced an aspect control on matric potential that was not observed in unburned soils. Post-wildfire changes in hydrologic state were observed in south-facing soils, probably reflecting decreased soil-water retention after wildfire. North-facing soils were impacted the most, in terms of hydrologic state, by the loss of water storage in the combusted litter–duff layer and forest canopy, which had provided a large “hydrologic buffering” capacity when unburned. Unsaturated zone measurements showed increased variability in hydrologic states and more rapid state transitions in wildfire-impacted soils. A simple, qualitative analysis suggested that the range of unsaturated-zone processes along the gravity–capillarity–adsorption continuum was expanded by wildfire for a given soil. The small number of experimental plots in this study suggests that further work is needed before these conclusions can be generalized to other geographic areas.

Vadose Zone Journal↗

USGS1990

Effects of a coal-fired power plant on the rock lichen Rhizoplaca melanophthalma : chlorophyll degradation and electrolyte leakage

Chlorophyll degradation and electrolyte leakage were measured for the umbilicate desert lichen Rhizoplaca melanophthalma (Ram.) Leuck. & Poelt in the vicinity of a coal-fired power plant near Page, Arizona. Patterns of lichen damage indicated by chlorophyll degradation were similar to those indicated by electrolyte leakage. Regression analyses of chlorophyll degradation as well as electrolyte leakage on distance from the power plant were significant (p < 0.001), suggesting that lichen damage decreased with increasing distance from the power plant. Mean values for both variables at the two sites closest to the power plant (7 and 12 km) differed significantly from values for the two sites farthest from the plant (21 and 42 km; p < 0.001). Mean values within each group (7 and 12 km; 21 and 42 km) do not differ significantly for either parameter. It is suggested that effluents from the power plant combine with local weather factors to produce the observed levels of damage.

The Bryologist↗

USGS1999

Lone star tick abundance, fire, and bison grazing in tall-grass prairie

Lone star ticks ( Amblyomma americanum L.) were collected by drag samples of 1 km transects on 12 watersheds at Konza Prairie Research Natural Area near Manhattan, Kans., during summer 1995-1996. Watersheds were treated to 2 experimental treatments: 3 burn intervals (1-year, 4-year, and 20-year) and 2 grazing treatments (grazed by bison ( Bos bison L.) or ungrazed). The objectives were to determine whether fire interval, time since most recent burn, and the presence of large ungulate grazers would cause changes in lone star tick abundance in tallgrass prairie in central Kansas. Watersheds burned at 1-year intervals had fewer larvae and adults than watersheds burned at 4-year or 20-year intervals. Watersheds burned during the year of sampling had fewer ticks than watersheds burned one or more years in the past. For watersheds burned 1 or more years in the past there was no effect from time since burn. The presence of bison did not affect tick abundance. Spring burning is an effective method to reduce tick populations in tallgrass prairie during the year of the burn.

Journal of Range Management↗

USGS2025

Living with wildfire in Chelan County Fire District #3, Chelan County, Washington: 2022 data report

Community wildfire readiness includes homeowner wildfire risk mitigation and wildfire evacuation preparedness. In 2021 and 2022, the Wildfire Research (WiRē) Center partnered with Chelan County Fire District #3 (CCFD #3) to learn how CCFD #3 can effectively engage with residents about preparing for a wildfire event and mitigating wildfire risk around the home. The CCFD #3 residents were responsive to the household survey (38% response rate). Respondents reported being aware of wildfire risk and having taken action to mitigate risk on their properties and prepare for evacuation. However, residents’ perceptions of property-level wildfire risk did not align with wildfire assessments conducted by trained assessors. Residents may benefit from financial assistance to support proper mitigation and educational outreach.

Washington↗

USGS2018

Potential effects of GPS transmitters on greater sage-grouse survival in a post-fire landscape

Rigorous monitoring and evaluation of wildlife population performance because of management or disturbance often relies upon the handling and marking of animals. Such studies must assume that marking animals does not affect their behavior or demography. We examined survival of greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus post wildfire in southeastern Oregon, USA. We observed extremely high mortality rates early in the study and questioned if our global positioning systems (GPS) transmitters were negatively affecting survival of adult greater sage-grouse. Thus, in situ we captured and randomly assigned additional grouse to either a GPS or VHF transmitter and examine patterns of mortality and estimated survival to evaluate if there were in fact transmitter effects on this important vital rate. Our results indicated that regardless of instrument type large wildfire had negative effects on monthly survival the first year after the fire. However, point estimates indicated that greater sage-grouse fitted with GPS transmitters had approximately 5% lower annual survival than VHF tagged birds, but although there was relatively large overlap in confidence limits, likely caused by small sample sizes. Further research is needed to disentangle potential confounding effects of GPS transmitters on survival impacts of grouse in association with large disturbance.

Oregon↗

USGS1950

The Fire Clay and Whitesburg coals in the Hyden quadrangle, Leslie, Clay, and Perry Counties, Kentucky

This preliminary report on the coal in the Hyden quadrangle, Kentucky, presents data on two of the principal commercial coals. The Fire Clay is the most valuable commercial coal in the quadrangle, and locally the Whitesburg bed is of minable thickness. Special emphasis has been placed on determining the thickness, extent, composition, and structure of these beds, and on obtaining an accurate estimate of the coal reserves.

Kentucky↗

USGS2008

EAARL coastal topography — Fire Island National Seashore 2007

These remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation measurements of Lidar-derived first surface (FS) and bare earth (BE) topography were produced as a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Florida Integrated Science Center (FISC), St. Petersburg, FL; the National Park Service (NPS), Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network, Kingston, RI; and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Wallops Flight Facility, VA. This project provides highly detailed and accurate datasets of Fire Island National Seashore in New York, acquired on April 29-30 and May 15-16, 2007. The datasets are made available for use as a management tool to research scientists and natural resource managers. An innovative airborne Lidar instrument originally developed at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, and known as the Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL) was used during data acquisition. The EAARL system is a raster-scanning, waveform-resolving, green-wavelength (532-nanometer) Lidar designed to map near-shore bathymetry, topography, and vegetation structure simultaneously. The EAARL sensor suite includes the raster-scanning, water-penetrating full-waveform adaptive Lidar, a down-looking red-green-blue (RGB) digital camera, a high-resolution multi-spectral color infrared (CIR) camera, two precision dual-frequency kinematic carrier-phase GPS receivers and an integrated miniature digital inertial measurement unit, which provide for submeter georeferencing of each laser sample. The nominal EAARL platform is a twin-engine Cessna 310 aircraft, but the instrument may be deployed on a range of light aircraft. A single pilot, a Lidar operator, and a data analyst constitute the crew for most survey operations. This sensor has the potential to make significant contributions in measuring sub-aerial and submarine coastal topography within cross-environmental surveys. Elevation measurements were collected over the survey area using the EAARL system, and the resulting data were then processed using the Airborne Lidar Processing System (ALPS), a custom-built processing system developed in a NASA-USGS collaboration. ALPS supports the exploration and processing of Lidar data in an interactive or batch mode. Modules for pre-survey flight line definition, flight path plotting, Lidar raster and waveform investigation, and digital camera image playback have been developed. Processing algorithms have been developed to extract the range to the first and last significant return within each waveform. ALPS is routinely used to create maps that represent submerged or first surface topography. Specialized filtering algorithms have been implemented to determine the 'bare earth' under vegetation from a point cloud of last return elevations.

New York↗