Geology topics

Meredith Becker Nevers

Publications and source records attributed to Meredith Becker Nevers.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2004

Characterization and comparison of phytoplankton in selected lakes of five Great Lakes area national parks

Phytoplankton species have been widely used as indicators of lake conditions, and they may be useful for detecting changes in overall lake condition. In an attempt to inventory and monitor its natural resources, the National Park Service wants to establish a monitoring program for aquatic resources in the Great Lakes Cluster National Parks. This study sought to establish baseline information on the phytoplankton and water chemistry of selected lakes in five national parks in a preliminary effort toward establishing a long-term monitoring program. Phytoplankton and water chemistry samples were collected from ten lakes in five national parks over a two-year period. A total of 176 taxa were identified during the study. Northern lakes generally had higher Shannon-Wiener diversity and clustered together in similarity. Lakes exhibited a south to north gradient of many water chemistry variables, with northern lakes having lower hardness, sulfate, turbidity, and temperature and higher dissolved oxygen. Chloride and sulfate concentrations were the variables that best explained variation among phytoplankton in the ten lakes. A monitoring plan will have to incorporate the differences among lakes, but by coordinating the effort, comparisons within and among parks and other regions will prove useful for determining environmental change.

Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management↗

USGS2002

History and environmental setting of the Grand Calumet River

The Grand Calumet River lies in an area of great ecological diversity, a result of the convergence of three biomes during glaciation. Over thousands of years the region and the river have changed ecologically due to ice retreat, lake level declines, settlement and industrialization. Settlement and industrialization have greatly accelerated the rate of change, and the Grand Calumet River and its basin are now subject to the added effects of years of direct pollution. For years, industries directly discharged into the waterway; and those contaminants remain locked in the sediment a century later. In order to preserve the remaining surrounding natural areas and to improve the Grand Calumet River, buried contaminants would have to be dredged from the river. Restoration needs to be implemented as part of the clean-up process, and recontamination should be prevented.

Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science↗

USGS2002

Ecological potential of the Grand Calumet River basin

The Grand Calumet River and watershed have been severely degraded by industrialization and urbanization, and yet several high-quality natural areas remain intact. The degraded condition presents numerous opportunities for pollution mitigation and ecosystem restoration. In many areas of the river and watershed, biological communities are characterized by low diversity and pollution-tolerant organisms. By establishing programs of nonnative species control, prescribed burning, sediment removal, wetland establishment and extirpated species re-introduction, the Grand Calumet can be improved to reflect some of its natural history. The dredging plan for the river presents an opportunity to coordinate simultaneous improvement and restoration plans. Possibilities for each section of the river are discussed.

Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science↗

USGS1999

Interaction of ambient conditions and fecal coliform bacteria in southern Lake Michigan beach waters: Monitoring program implications

Excessive fecal coliform bacteria in public swimming waters can potentially threaten visitor health. Fecal coliform bacteria (1984-1989) and Escherichia coli (1990-1995) density were monitored weekly at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore beaches for 12 summers, and park officials closed swimming areas when fecal coliform density exceeded the state water quality criteria (400 CFU fecal coliforms/ 100 ml; 235 CFU E. coli/100 ml water). Due to a 24-hour incubation in the fecal coliform and E. coli assays, beaches were closed the day after collection of high fecal coliform. Our analysis suggests that it is not possible to predict one day's fecal coliform count based on the previous day's results in waters taken from southern Lake Michigan beaches. Dispersal and deposition of bacteria were not uniform among sites or across time apparently due to interactions among environmental variables including rainfall, wind direction, water temperature, and bacteria source. Rainfall combined with northwest winds increased bacteria concentrations. Escherichia coli followed a seasonal trend with similar fluctuations in density among beaches. We suggest that the current beach monitoring protocol is inadequate for predicting fecal coliform density at the time of beach closure, and, subsequently, its use for ensuring visitor safety remains questionable.

Indiana↗

USGS1999

Picking up the pieces: Conserving remnant natural areas in the post-industrial landscape of the Calumet Region

The Calumet Region was shaped by geologic forces, succession, and interacting biomes converging on a unique natural landscape. Over the past 4500 years, a strand plain has formed to the north of a geologic area called Toleston Beach. Sequential and differential primary succession of dune and swale communities in this region allowed species from different biomes to interact freely. In the mid-nineteenth century, commerce and settlement drastically changed the area, and natural areas were fragmented, manipulated, and degraded by cultural intrusions and industrialization. Despite the near obliteration of dune and swale habitat, small fragments of natural land escaped destruction. These native fragments maintained some semblance of the landscape that once covered the region. Currently, these native fragments are threatened by the lingering intrusion of historic contamination and the continuing presence of industry and commerce. Restoration and conservation of these remnants will need to be a process of integrating biological diversity goals into the landscape of the industrialized region through planning and design. We outline here the natural history of the region, the philosophical rationale for conservation, and possible approaches for integrating and maintaining these valuable remnant resources and processes.

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan↗