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At least 973 records · Page 54Linked to original sources
USGS2018

Potential for western US seasonal snowpack prediction

Western US snowpack—snow that accumulates on the ground in the mountains—plays a critical role in regional hydroclimate and water supply, with 80% of snowmelt runoff being used for agriculture. While climate projections provide estimates of snowpack loss by the end of th ecentury and weather forecasts provide predictions of weather conditions out to 2 weeks, less progress has been made for snow predictions at seasonal timescales (months to 2 years), crucial for regional agricultural decisions (e.g., plant choice and quantity). Seasonal predictions with climate models first took the form of El Niño predictions 3 decades ago, with hydroclimate predictions emerging more recently. While the field has been focused on single-season predictions (3 months or less), we are now poised to advance our predictions beyond this timeframe. Utilizing observations, climate indices, and a suite of global climate models, we demonstrate the feasibility of seasonal snowpack predictions and quantify the limits of predictive skill 8 month sin advance. This physically based dynamic system outperforms observation-based statistical predictions made on July 1 for March snowpack everywhere except the southern Sierra Nevada, a region where prediction skill is nonexistent for every predictor presently tested. Additionally, in the absence of externally forced negative trends in snowpack, narrow maritime mountain ranges with high hydroclimate variability pose a challenge for seasonal prediction in our present system; natural snowpack variability may inherently be unpredictable at this timescale. This work highlights present prediction system successes and gives cause for optimism for developing seasonal predictions for societal needs.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of↗
USGS2022

Editorial: Plant phenology shifts and their ecological and climatic consequences

Climate change is causing plant phenology to shift, with consequences for ecosystems and the Earth’s climate. Over the last decades, the timing of many important phenological events has advanced in spring, such as leaf emergence and flowering, or been delayed in fall, such as leaf coloration and leaf fall. The consequences of such phenological shifts are still largely unknown, but are hypothesized to have cascading effects on ecosystems, carbon and water cycles, and Earths’ climate. With this research topic, we aimed to synthesize and inspire innovative research in plant phenology to address research questions and challenges on the consequences of phenological shifts on ecosystem function and local hydrology. The articles presented here improve our understanding of the physiological mechanisms responsible for the current phenological changes in spring and fall and provide insight into some of the consequences of these changes on hydrological cycles and ecosystem functioning.

Frontiers in Plant Science↗
USGS2010

Geologic controls on the recent evolution of oyster reefs in Apalachicola Bay and St. George Sound, Florida

Apalachicola Bay and St. George Sound contain the largest oyster fishery in Florida, and the growth and distribution of the numerous oyster reefs here are the combined product of modern estuarine conditions in the bay and its late Holocene evolution. Sidescan-sonar imagery, bathymetry, high-resolution seismic profiles, and sediment cores show that oyster beds occupy the crests of a series of shoals that range from 1 to 7 km in length, trend roughly north-south perpendicular to the long axes of the bay and sound, and are asymmetrical with steeper sides facing to the west. Surface sediment samples show that the oyster beds consist of shelly sand, while much of the remainder of the bay floor is covered by mud delivered by the Apalachicola River. The present oyster reefs rest on sandy delta systems that advanced southward across the region between 6400 and 4400 yr BP when sea level was 4–6 m lower than present. Oysters started to colonize the region around 5100 yr BP and became extensive by 1200 and 2400 yr BP. Since 1200 yr BP, their aerial extent has decreased due to burial of the edges of the reefs by the prodelta mud that continues to be supplied by the Apalachicola River. Oyster reefs that are still active are narrower than the original beds, have grown vertically, and become asymmetrical in cross-section. Their internal bedding indicates they have migrated westward, suggesting a net westerly transport of sediment in the bay.

Florida↗
USGS2017

Incremental heating of Bishop Tuff sanidine reveals preeruptive radiogenic Ar and rapid remobilization from cold storage

Recent improvements in analytical and microsampling techniques for multiple geochronometers have resulted in datasets with unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution. These advances are accompanied by the discovery of crystal- and outcrop-scale complexities previously obscured by low analytical precision. Single-crystal incremental heating resolves subtle, intracrystal isotopic heterogeneity, allowing for more-accurate 40 Ar/ 39 Ar eruption ages. The eruption ages of widespread volcanic ash deposits are critical for calibrating the geologic timescale, and thus their accuracy has substantial implications for the geologic, biologic, and global climate records. Complex distribution of 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dates in the deposits of supervolcanic eruptions requires rethinking the magmatic processes and their effect on the 40 Ar/ 39 Ar system, specifically the extent of cooling and remobilization during the decades to centuries preceding these events.

California↗
USGS1988

Proceedings of a workshop on the development and evaluation of habitat suitability criteria: A compilation of papers and discussions presented at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, December 8-12, 1986

The development of reliable habitat suitability criteria is critical to the successful implementation of the Instream Flow Incremental Methodology (IFIM), or any other habitat based evaluation technology. It is also a fascinating topic of research, for several reasons. First, the “science” of habitat quantification is relatively young. Descriptions of habitat use and partitioning can be traced back to Darwin, if not further. Attempts to actually quantify habitat use can be found predominantly during the last two decades, with most of the activity occurring in about the last five years. Second, this work is challenging because we are usually working with fish or some other organism that lives out of sight in an environment that is foreign to humans. Most of the data collection techniques that have been developed for standard fisheries work are unsuited, without modification, for criteria development. These factors make anyone involved in this type of research a pioneer, of sorts. Pioneers often make new and wonderful discoveries, but they also sometimes get lost. In our opinion, however, there is an even more rewarding aspect to criteria development research. It seems that the field of biology has tended to become increasingly clinical over the years. Criteria development demands the unobtrusive observation of organisms in their natural environment, a fact that allows the biological to be a naturalist and still get paid for it. The relative youth and importance of habitat quantification have resulted in rapid advancements in the state of the art. The expansion of methods is vividly demonstrated simply by comparing the two Instream Flow Information Papers written on the subject in 1978 and in 1986. One of the missions of the Aquatic Systems Branch (formerly the Instream Flow Group) is to serve as a clearinghouse for new techniques and methods. In keeping with this role, a workshop was conducted during December 1986 to discuss current and newly evolving methods for developing and evaluating habitat suitability criteria. Participation in this workshop was largely by invitation only. The objective was to obtain insights into problems and possible solutions to criteria development, from the perspective of professionals closely involved with the subject. These proceedings of that workshop are intended to supplement the information contained in Instream Flow Information Paper 21, "Development and Evaluation of Habitat Suitability Criteria for Use in the Instream Flow Incremental Methodology." The workshop was closely arranged in five sessions, roughly following the outline of Information Paper 21. The first session dealt with various aspects of study design and how they can influence the outcome of a study. Session two investigated techniques for developing criteria from professional judgment, and some of the problems encountered when personal or agency prejudice enters the picture. Session three concentrated on field data collection procedures, whereas session four examined methods of converting field data into curves. Field verification studies were discussed in session five. Each presentation in the workshop was followed by a question and answer period of 15 to 30 minutes. These discussions were recorded, transcribed, and appended to the end of each paper in these proceedings. We have attempted to capture the essence of these discussions as accurately as possible, but hope that the reader can appreciate the difficulty in translating a free-ranging discussion (from a barely audible tape) to something that makes sense in print. These question and answer sessions constitute the peer review for each of the papers. This provides the reader with the unique opportunity to review the interactions between authors and reviewers.

Book↗
USGS2012

Energy map of southwestern Wyoming, Part A - Coal and wind

To further advance the objectives of the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Wyoming State Geological Survey (WSGS) have compiled Part A of the Energy Map of Southwestern Wyoming. Focusing primarily on electrical power sources, Part A of the energy map is a compilation of both published and previously unpublished coal (including coalbed gas) and wind energy resources data, presented in a Geographic Information System (GIS) data package. Energy maps, data, documentation and spatial data processing capabilities are available in a geodatabase, published map file (pmf), ArcMap document (mxd), Adobe Acrobat PDF map (plate 1) and other digital formats that can be downloaded at the USGS website. Accompanying the map (plate 1) and the geospatial data are four additional plates that describe the geology, energy resources, and related infrastructure. These tabular plates include coal mine (plate 2), coal field (plate 3), coalbed gas assessment unit (plate 4), and wind farm (plate 5) information with hyperlinks to source publications and data on the internet. The plates can be printed and examined in hardcopy, or accessed digitally. The data represent decades of research by the USGS, WSGS, BLM and others, and can facilitate landscape-level science assessments, and resource management decisionmaking.

Wyoming↗
USGS1996

Spatial partitioning of environmental correlates of avian biodiversity in the conterminous United States

Classification and regression tree (CART) analysis was used to create hierarchically organized models of the distribution of bird species richness across the conterminous United States. Species richness data were taken from the Breeding Bird Survey and were related to climatic and land use data. We used a systematic spatial grid of approximately 12,500 hexagons, each approximately 640 square kilometres in area. Within each hexagon land use was characterized by the Loveland et al. land cover classification based on Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data from NOAA polar orbiting meteorological satellites. These data were aggregated to yield fourteen land classes equivalent to an Anderson level II coverage; urban areas were added from the Digital Chart of the World. Each hexagon was characterized by climate data and landscape pattern metrics calculated from the land cover. A CART model then related the variation in species richness across the 1162 hexagons for which bird species richness data were available to the independent variables, yielding an R2-type goodness of fit metric of 47.5% deviance explained. The resulting model recognized eleven groups of hexagons, with species richness within each group determined by unique sequences of hierarchically constrained independent variables. Within the hierarchy, climate data accounted for more variability in the bird data, followed by land cover proportion, and then pattern metrics. The model was then used to predict species richness in all 12,500 hexagons of the conterminous United States yielding a map of the distribution of these eleven classes of bird species richness as determined by the environmental correlates. The potential for using this technique to interface biogeographic theory with the hierarchy theory of ecology is discussed. ?? 1996 Blackwell Science Ltd.

Biodiversity Letters↗
USGS2011

Structural and functional effects of herbicides on non-target organisms in aquatic ecosystems with an emphasis on atrazine

Herbicide use has increased dramatically around the world over the past 6 decades (Gianessi and Reigner, 2007). Few herbicides were in use in the 1950s. However, by 2001 approximately 1.14 billion kilograms of herbicides were applied globally for the control of undesireable vegetation in agricultural, silvicultural, lawncare, aquacultural, and irrigation/recreational water management activities (Kiely et al., 2004). Twenty-eight percent of the total mass of herbicides is applied in the United States, with the remaining 72 percent being applied elsewhere around the globe (Kiely et al., 2004). Herbicides represent 36% of global pesticide use, followed by insecticides (25%), fungicides (10%) and other chemical classes (Kiely et al., 2004). Agricultural production accounts for approximately 90% of herbicide use in the U.S. (Kiely et al., 2004). Gianessi and Reigner (2007) indicated that herbicides are routinely used on more than 90% of the area designated for large commercial crops including corn, soybeans, cotton, sugar beets, peanuts, and rice. Increased farm mechanization, technological advancements in production of inexpensive sources of inorganic nitrogen fertilizer (e.g., anhydrous ammonia), and conversion of forest, grassland, and wetland habitats to cropland has led to a tremendous increase in global food production over the past half-century. Herbicides have augmented advances in large-scale agricultural systems and have largely replaced mechanical and hand-weeding control mechanisms (Gianessi and Reigner, 2007). The wide-spread use of herbicides in agriculture has resulted in frequent chemical detections in surface and groundwaters (Gilliom, 2007). The majority of herbicides used are highly water soluble and are therefore prone to runoff from terrestrial environments. In additon, spray drift and atmospheric deposition can contribute to herbicide contamination of aquatic environments. Lastly, selected herbicides are deliberately applied to aquatic environments for controlling nuisance aquatic vegetation. Although aquatic herbicide exposure has been widely documented, these exposures are not necessarily related to adverse non-target ecological effects on natural communities in aquatic environments. This chapter evaluates the potential for effects of herbicides on the structure and function of aquatic envrionments at the population, community, and ecosystem levels of biological organization. In this manuscript I examine several critical aspects of the subject matter area: primary herbicides in use and chemical modes of action; the regulatory process used for registration and risk assessment of herbicides; data regarding non-target risks and the relative sensitivity of aquatic plants, inveretebrates, and fish to herbicides; and emerging areas of science regarding the potential for endocrine-disrupting effects of herbicides on aquatic vertebrates. Much of the focus of this paper is on atrazine due to the extensive database which exists regarding its fate and effects.

Book chapter↗
USGS2020

Eradication of peste des petits ruminants and the wildlife-livestock interface

Growing evidence suggests that multiple wildlife species can be infected with peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV), with important consequences for the potential maintenance of PPRV in communities of susceptible hosts, and the threat that PPRV may pose to the conservation of wildlife populations and resilience of ecosystems. Significant knowledge gaps in the epidemiology of PPRV across the ruminant community (wildlife and domestic), and the understanding of infection in wildlife and other atypical host species groups (e.g., camelidae, suidae, and bovinae) hinder our ability to apply necessary integrated disease control and management interventions at the wildlife-livestock interface. Similarly, knowledge gaps limit the inclusion of wildlife in the FAO/OIE Global Strategy for the Control and Eradication of PPR, and the framework of activities in the PPR Global Eradication Programme that lays the foundation for eradicating PPR through national and regional efforts. This article reports on the first international meeting on, “Controlling PPR at the livestock-wildlife interface,” held in Rome, Italy, March 27–29, 2019. A large group representing national and international institutions discussed recent advances in our understanding of PPRV in wildlife, identified knowledge gaps and research priorities, and formulated recommendations. The need for a better understanding of PPRV epidemiology at the wildlife-livestock interface to support the integration of wildlife into PPR eradication efforts was highlighted by meeting participants along with the reminder that PPR eradication and wildlife conservation need not be viewed as competing priorities, but instead constitute two requisites of healthy socio-ecological systems.

Frontiers in Veterinary Science↗
USGS2008

EAARL coastal topography - Northern Gulf of Mexico

These remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation measurements of Lidar-derived coastal topography were produced as a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Florida Integrated Science Center (FISC), St. Petersburg, FL and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Wallops Flight Facility, VA. One objective of this research is to create techniques to survey areas for the purposes of geomorphic change studies following major storm events. The USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program's National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards project is a multi-year undertaking to identify and quantify the vulnerability of U.S. shorelines to coastal change hazards such as effects of severe storms, sea-level rise, and shoreline erosion and retreat. Airborne Lidar surveys conducted during periods of calm weather are compared to surveys collected following extreme storms in order to quantify the resulting coastal change. Other applications of high-resolution topography include habitat mapping, ecological monitoring, volumetric change detection, and event assessment. The purpose of this project is to provide highly detailed and accurate datasets of the northern Gulf of Mexico coastal areas, acquired on September 19, 2004, immediately following Hurricane Ivan. 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 Airborne Advanced 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 RGB (red-green-blue) 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 sub-meter 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 on September 19, 2004. The survey resulted in the acquisition of 3.2 gigabytes of data. The data were 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 sub-aerial topography. Specialized filtering algorithms have been implemented to determine the 'bare earth' under vegetation from a point cloud of 'last return' elevations.

Alabama, Florida, Mississippi↗
USGS2015

U.S. Geological Survey Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Roadmap 2014

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is responsible for protecting the natural resources and heritage contained on almost 20 percent of the land in the United States. This responsibility requires acquisition of remotely sensed data throughout vast lands, including areas that are remote and potentially dangerous to access. One promising new technology for data collection is unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), which may be better suited (achieving superior science, safety, and savings) than traditional methods. UAS, regardless of their size, have the same operational components: aircraft, payloads, communications unit, and operator control unit. The aircraft is the platform that flies and carries any required payloads. For Department of the Interior missions these payloads will be either a sensor or set of sensors that can acquire the specific type of remotely sensed data that is needed. The aircraft will also carry the payload that is responsible for transmitting live airborne video images, compass headings, and location information to the operator control unit. The communications unit, which transfers information between the aircraft and the operator control unit, consists of the hardware and software required to establish both uplink and downlink communications. Finally, the operator control unit both controls and monitors the aircraft and can be operated either by a pilot on the ground or autonomously. This Roadmap provides operational procedures and lessons learned from completed proof-of-concept UAS missions in areas such as wildlife management, resource monitoring, and public land inspections. This information provides not only an implementation framework but can also help increase the awareness by resource managers, scientists, and others of the ability of UAS technology to advance data quality, improve personnel safety, and reduce data acquisition costs.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2013

A spaceborne inventory of volcanic activity in Antarctica and southern oceans, 2000-10

Of the more than twenty historically active volcanoes in Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic region only two, to our knowledge, host any ground-based monitoring instruments. Moreover, because of their remoteness, most of the volcanoes are seldom visited, thus relegating the monitoring of volcanism in this region almost entirely to satellites. In this study, high temporal resolution satellite data from the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology's MODVOLC system using MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) are complemented with high spatial resolution data (ASTER, or Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, and similar sensors) to document volcanic activity throughout the region during the period 2000–10. Five volcanoes were observed in eruption (Mount Erebus, Mount Belinda, Mount Michael, Heard Island and McDonald Island), which were predominantly low-level and effusive in nature. Mount Belinda produced tephra, building a cinder cone in addition to an extensive lava field. Five volcanoes exhibited detectable thermal, and presumed fumarolic, activity (Deception, Zavodovski, Candlemas, Bristol, and Bellingshausen islands). A minor eruption reported at Marion Island was not detected in our survey due to its small size. This study also discovered a new active vent on Mount Michael, tracked dramatic vent enlargement on Heard Island, and provides an improved picture of the morphology of some of the volcanoes.

Antarctic Science↗
USGS2019

Flood-inundation maps for Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York

In 2016, digital flood-inundation maps along the shoreline of Lake Champlain in Addison, Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle Counties in Vermont and northern Clinton County in New York were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the International Joint Commission (IJC). This report discusses the creation of updated static digital flood-inundation mapping, in 2018, to include the entire shoreline of Lake Champlain in the United States. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science website at http://water.usgs.gov/osw/flood_inundation/ , depict estimates of the areal extent of flooding corresponding to selected water-surface elevations (stages) at the USGS lake gages on Lake Champlain. As a result of the record setting floods of May 2011 in Lake Champlain and the Richelieu River, the U.S. and Canadian governments requested that the IJC issue a reference for a study to identify how flood forecasting, preparedness, and mitigation could be improved in the Lake Champlain–Richelieu River Basin. The IJC submitted the Lake Champlain–Richelieu River Plan of Study to the governments of Canada and the United States in 2013. The flood-inundation maps in this study are one aspect of the task work outlined in the IJC 2013 Plan of Study. Wind and seiche effects (standing oscillating wave with a long wavelength) that can influence flooding along the Lake Champlain shoreline were not represented. The flood-inundation maps reflect 11 stages for Lake Champlain that are static for the entire area of the lake. Near-real-time stages at the USGS gages on Lake Champlain may be obtained from the USGS National Water Information System website at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ ( https://doi.org/10.5066/F7P55KJN ) or from the National Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service at http://water.weather.gov/ahps/ . Updated static flood-inundation boundary extents were created for Lake Champlain in Franklin, Chittenden, Addison, Rutland, and Grand Isle Counties in Vermont and Clinton, Essex, and Washington Counties in New York by using recently acquired (2009, 2012, 2014, and 2015) light detection and ranging (lidar) data. The corresponding flood-inundation maps may be referenced to any of the four active USGS lake gages on Lake Champlain. Of these four active lake gages, USGS lake gage 04295000, Richelieu River (Lake Champlain) at Rouses Point, N.Y.; USGS lake gage 04294500, Lake Champlain at Burlington, Vt.; USGS lake gage 04279085 Lake Champlain north of Whitehall, N.Y.; and USGS lake gage 04294413, Lake Champlain at Port Henry, N.Y., only the Richelieu River (Lake Champlain) at Rouses Point, N.Y., gage also serves as a National Weather Service prediction location. Lake Champlain static flood-inundation map boundary extents corresponding to the May 2011 peak flood stage (103.20 feet [ft], National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 [NGVD 29], as recorded at the USGS Rouses Point lake gage, were compared to the flood-inundation area extents determined from satellite imagery for the May 2011 flood (which incorporated documented high-water marks from the flood of May 2011) and were found to be in good agreement. The May 2011 flood is the highest recorded lake water level (stage) at the Rouses Point, N.Y., and Burlington, Vt., lake gages. Flood stages greater than 101.5 ft (NGVD 29) exceed the “major flood stage” as defined by the National Weather Service for USGS lake gage 04295000. Updated digital elevation models (DEMs) were created from the recent lidar data for Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York. These DEMs were used in determining the flood-inundation boundary and associated depth grids for 11 flood stages at 0.5-ft or 1-ft intervals from 100.0 to 106.0 ft (NGVD 29) as referenced to the USGS lake gages. In addition, the May 2011 flood-inundation area for elevation 103.20 ft (NGVD 29) (102.77 ft, North American Vertical Datum of 1988) was determined from these updated DEMs. The availability of these maps, along with online information regarding current stages at the USGS lake gages and forecasted high-flow stages from the National Weather Service at USGS lake gage 04295000, Richelieu River (Lake Champlain) at Rouses Point, N.Y., will provide emergency management personnel and residents with information that is critical for flood response activities such as evacuations and road closures, as well as for post-flood recovery efforts.

New York, Vermont↗
USGS2020

Experimental warming changes phenology and shortens growing season of the dominant invasive plant Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass)

Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass) has successfully invaded and established throughout the western United States. Bromus tectorum grows early in the season and this early growth allows B. tectorum to outcompete native species, which has led to dramatic shifts in ecosystem function and plant community composition after B. tectorum invades. If the phenology of native species is unable to track changing climate as effectively as B. tectorum ’s phenology then climate change may facilitate further invasion. To better understand how B. tectorum phenology will respond to future climate, we tracked the timing of B. tectorum germination, flowering, and senescence over a decade in three in situ climate manipulation experiments with treatments that increased temperatures (2°C and 4°C above ambient), altered precipitation regimes, or applied a combination of each. Linear mixed-effects models were used to analyze treatment effects on the timing of germination, flowering, senescence, and on the length of the vegetative growing season (time from germination to flowering) in each experiment. Altered precipitation treatments were only applied in early years of the study and neither precipitation treatments nor the treatments’ legacies significantly affected B. tectorum phenology. The timing of germination did not significantly vary between any warming treatments and their respective ambient plots. However, plots that were warmed had advances in the timing of B. tectorum flowering and senescence, as well as shorter vegetative growing seasons. The phenological advances caused by warming increased with increasing degrees of experimental warming. The greatest differences between warmed and ambient plots were seen in the length of the vegetative growing season, which was shortened by approximately 12 and 7 days in the +4°C and +2°C warming levels, respectively. The effects of experimental warming were small compared to the effects of interannual climate variation, suggesting that interactive controls and the timing of multiple climatic factors are important in determining B. tectorum phenology. Taken together, these results help elucidate how B. tectorum phenology may respond to future climate, increasing our predictive capacity for estimating when to time B. tectorum control efforts and how to more effectively manage this exotic annual grass.

Utah↗
USGS2010

Advances in estimation methods of vegetation water content based on optical remote sensing techniques

Quantitative estimation of vegetation water content (VWC) using optical remote sensing techniques is helpful in forest fire assessment, agricultural drought monitoring and crop yield estimation. This paper reviews the research advances of VWC retrieval using spectral reflectance, spectral water index and radiative transfer model (RTM) methods. It also evaluates the reliability of VWC estimation using spectral water index from the observation data and the RTM. Focusing on two main definitions of VWC—the fuel moisture content (FMC) and the equivalent water thickness (EWT), the retrieval accuracies of FMC and EWT using vegetation water indices are analyzed. Moreover, the measured information and the dataset are used to estimate VWC, the results show there are significant correlations among three kinds of vegetation water indices (i.e., WSI, NDII, NDWI 1640 , WI/NDVI) and canopy FMC of winter wheat ( n =45). Finally, the future development directions of VWC detection based on optical remote sensing techniques are also summarized.

Science China Technological Sciences↗
USGS2008

Magmatically triggered slow slip at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

We demonstrate that a recent dike intrusion probably triggered a slow fault-slip event (SSE) on Kilauea volcano's mobile south flank. Our analysis combined models of Advanced Land Observing Satellite interferometric dike-intrusion displacement maps with continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) displacement vectors to show that deformation nearly identical to four previous SSEs at Kilauea occurred at far-field sites shortly after the intrusion. We model stress changes because of both secular deformation and the intrusion and find that both would increase the Coulomb failure stress on possible SSE slip surfaces by roughly the same amount. These results, in concert with the observation that none of the previous SSEs at Kilauea was directly preceded by intrusions but rather occurred during times of normal background deformation, suggest that both extrinsic (intrusion-triggering) and intrinsic (secular fault creep) fault processes can lead to SSEs.

Hawaii↗
USGS2026

Transdisciplinary approach to private well research

More than 60 million people in the United States and Canada rely on private drinking water systems (mostly private wells), which fall outside of national regulations for water quality and management. This decentralized infrastructure creates unique challenges. First, fragmented policy oversight leads to inconsistent data availability. Second, population heterogeneity in well users requires accounting for the social determinants of health and behavioral differences. Additionally, the individualized nature of well management creates persistent gaps between knowledge generation and the protective action. A broad goal of private well research is to (1) understand, predict, and prevent potential health problems related to well water consumption and (2) enable individual and collective action to reduce exposures to contaminants in well water. Here, we propose a conceptual model to advance private well research through a transdisciplinary approach that links water sources to health and prioritizes engagement among researchers, communities, and decision makers. We also identify challenges and opportunities aimed at improving data systems, refining hazard and risk assessments, linking interdisciplinary research and practical knowledge, and sustaining long-term partnerships. While our geographic focus is on North America, the principles and strategies outlined are globally relevant to addressing health risks associated with unregulated private drinking water sources.

Environmental Science and Technology↗
USGS2017

Plateaus and sinuous ridges as the fingerprints of lava flow inflation in the Eastern Tharsis Plains of Mars

The Tharsis Montes rift aprons are composed of outpourings of lava from chaotic terrains to the northeast and southwest flank of each volcano. Sinuous and branching channel networks that are present on the rift aprons suggest the possibility of fluvial processes in their development, or erosion by rapidly emplaced lavas, but the style of lava flow emplacement throughout rift apron development is not clearly understood. To better characterize the style of lava emplacement and role of fluvial processes in rift apron development, we conducted morphological mapping of the Pavonis Mons southwest rift apron and the eastern Tharsis plains using images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), Context Camera (CTX), Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), and High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) along with the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) Precision Experiment Data Records (PEDRs) and gridded data. Our approach was to: (1) search for depositional fans at the slope break between the rift apron and adjacent low slope plains; (2) determine if there is evidence that previously formed deposits might have been buried by plains units; (3) characterize the Tharsis plains morphologies east of Pavonis Mons; and (4) assess their relationship to the rift apron units. We have not identified topographically significant depositional fans, nor did we observe evidence to suggest that plains units have buried older rift apron units. Flow features associated with the rift apron are observed to continue across the slope break onto the plains. In this area, the plains are composed of a variety of small fissures and low shield vents around which broad channel-fed and tube-fed flows have been identified. We also find broad, flat-topped plateaus and sinuous ridges mixed among the channels, tubes and vents. Flat-topped plateaus and sinuous ridges are morphologies that are analogous to those observed on the coastal plain of Hawai‘i, where lava flows have advanced from the volcano's several degree flank onto the nearly zero degree coastal plain. When local volumetric flow rates are low, flow fronts tend to spread laterally and often thicken via endogenous growth, or inflation, of the sheet-like flow units. If flow advance is restricted by existing topography into narrow pathways, inflation can be focused into sinuous, elongate ridges. The presence of plateaus and ridges—emplaced from the rift zones, across the plains to the east of Pavonis Mons—and a lack of fan-like features, or evidence for their burial, are consistent with rift apron lavas crossing a slope break with low local volumetric flow rates that led to inflation of sheet-like and tube-fed lava flows.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗