Geology topics

M. C. Anderson

Publications and source records attributed to M. C. Anderson.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2024

Advanced quantitative precipitation information: Improving monitoring and forecasts of precipitation, streamflow, and coastal flooding in the San Francisco Bay area

Advanced Quantitative Precipitation Information (AQPI) is a synergistic project that combines observations and models to improve monitoring and forecasts of precipitation, streamflow, and coastal flooding in the San Francisco Bay Area. As an experimental system, AQPI leverages more than a decade of research, innovation, and implementation of a statewide, state-of-the-art network of observations, and development of the next generation of weather and coastal forecast models. AQPI was developed as a prototype in response to requests from the water management community for improved information on precipitation, riverine, and coastal conditions to inform their decision-making processes. Observation of precipitation in the complex Bay Area landscape of California’s coastal mountain ranges is known to be a challenging problem. But, with new advanced radar network techniques, AQPI is helping fill an important observational gap for this highly populated and vulnerable metropolitan area. The prototype AQPI system consists of improved weather radar data for precipitation estimation; additional surface measurements of precipitation, streamflow, and soil moisture; and a suite of integrated forecast modeling systems to improve situational awareness about current and future water conditions from sky to sea. Together these tools will help improve emergency preparedness and public response to prevent loss of life and destruction of property during extreme storms accompanied by heavy precipitation and high coastal water levels—especially high-moisture laden atmospheric rivers. The Bay Area AQPI system could potentially be replicated in other urban regions in California, the United States, and worldwide.

California↗

USGS2023

Geographic isolation reduces genetic diversity of a wide-ranging terrestrial vertebrate, Canis lupus

Genetic diversity is theorized to decrease in populations closer to a species' range edge, where habitat may be suboptimal. Generalist species capable of long-range dispersal may maintain sufficient gene flow to counteract this, though the presence of significant barriers to dispersal (e.g., large water bodies, human-dominated landscapes) may still lead to, and exacerbate, the edge effect. We used microsatellite data for 2421 gray wolves ( Canis lupus ) from 24 subpopulations (groups) to model how allelic richness and expected heterozygosity varied with mainland–island position and two measures of range edge (latitude and distance from range center) across >7.3 million km 2 of northern North America. We expected low genetic diversity both at high latitudes, due to harsh environmental conditions, and on islands, but no change in diversity with distance to the range center due to the species' exceptional dispersal ability and favorable conditions in far eastern and western habitats. We found that allelic richness and expected heterozygosity of island groups were measurably less than that of mainland groups, and that these differences increased with the island's distance to the species' range center in the study area. Our results demonstrate how multiple axes of geographic isolation (distance from range center and island habitation) can act synergistically to erode the genetic diversity of wide-ranging terrestrial vertebrate populations despite the counteracting influence of long-range dispersal ability. These findings emphasize how geographic isolation is a potential threat to the genetic diversity and viability of terrestrial vertebrate populations even among species capable of long-range dispersal.

Alaska↗

USGS2014

Landsat-8: Science and product vision for terrestrial global change research

Landsat 8, a NASA and USGS collaboration, acquires global moderate-resolution measurements of the Earth's terrestrial and polar regions in the visible, near-infrared, short wave, and thermal infrared. Landsat 8 extends the remarkable 40 year Landsat record and has enhanced capabilities including new spectral bands in the blue and cirrus cloud-detection portion of the spectrum, two thermal bands, improved sensor signal-to-noise performance and associated improvements in radiometric resolution, and an improved duty cycle that allows collection of a significantly greater number of images per day. This paper introduces the current (2012–2017) Landsat Science Team's efforts to establish an initial understanding of Landsat 8 capabilities and the steps ahead in support of priorities identified by the team. Preliminary evaluation of Landsat 8 capabilities and identification of new science and applications opportunities are described with respect to calibration and radiometric characterization; surface reflectance; surface albedo; surface temperature, evapotranspiration and drought; agriculture; land cover, condition, disturbance and change; fresh and coastal water; and snow and ice. Insights into the development of derived ‘higher-level’ Landsat products are provided in recognition of the growing need for consistently processed, moderate spatial resolution, large area, long-term terrestrial data records for resource management and for climate and global change studies. The paper concludes with future prospects, emphasizing the opportunities for land imaging constellations by combining Landsat data with data collected from other international sensing systems, and consideration of successor Landsat mission requirements.

Remote Sensing of Environment↗