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At least 811 records · Page 45Linked to original sources

USGS2015

A floral survey of cliff habitats along Bull Run at Manassas National Battlefield Park, Virginia, 2014

Isolated patches of native vegetation in human-modified landscapes are important reservoirs of biological diversity because they may be the only places in which rare or native species can persist. Manassas National Battlefield Park, Virginia, is an island embedded in a matrix of intensively modified lands; it is becoming increasingly isolated due to growth of the greater Washington, D.C. area. A series of cliffs along Bull Run support an eastern white pine community disjunct from its more typical range in the Appalachian Mountains. Cliffs frequently support vegetation communities that differ from surrounding habitat. In this ecological context, the cliffs along Bull Run are islands of specialized habitat within an island of natural and semi-natural communities (the park), surrounded by a human-dominated landscape. A floral survey of these cliffs was a top priority identified by the National Park Service National Capital Region via the National Resource Preservation Program; in 2014, we completed a floral survey of 11 cliffs in the park. We recorded 282 species in 194 genera and 83 families, including 23 newly documented species for the park.

Virginia↗

USGS2012

Coastal impacts, adaptation, and vulnerabilities: a technical input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment

The coast has long provided communities with a multitude of benefits including an abundance of natural resources that sustain economies, societies, and ecosystems. Coasts provide natural harbors for commerce, trade, and transportation; beaches and shorelines that attract residents and tourists; and wetlands and estuaries that are critical for fisheries and water resources. Coastal ecosystems provide critical functions to cycle and move nutrients, store carbon, detoxify wastes, and purify air and water. These areas also mitigate floods and buffer against coastal storms that bring high winds and salt water inland and erode the shore. Coastal regions are critical in the development, transportation, and processing of oil and natural gas resources and, more recently, are being explored as a source of energy captured from wind and waves. The many benefits and opportunities provided in coastal areas have strengthened our economic reliance on coastal resources. Consequently, the high demands placed on the coastal environment will increase commensurately with human activity. Because 35 U.S. states, commonwealths, and territories have coastlines that border the oceans or Great Lakes, impacts to coastline systems will reverberate through social, economic, and natural systems across the U.S. Impacts on coastal systems are among the most costly and most certain consequences of a warming climate (Nicholls et al., 2007). The warming atmosphere is expected to accelerate sea-level rise as a result of the decline of glaciers and ice sheets and the thermal expansion of sea water. As mean sea level rises, coastal shorelines will retreat and low-lying areas will tend to be inundated more frequently, if not permanently, by the advancing sea. As atmospheric temperature increases and rainfall patterns change, soil moisture and runoff to the coast are likely to be altered. An increase in the intensity of climatic extremes such as storms and heat spells, coupled with other impacts of climate change and the effects of human development, could affect the sustainability of many existing coastal communities and natural resources. This report, one of a series of technical inputs for the third NCA conducted under the auspices of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, examines the known effects and relationships of climate change variables on the coasts of the U.S. It describes the impacts on natural and human systems, including several major sectors of the U.S. economy, and the progress and challenges to planning and implementing adaptation options. Below we present the key findings from each chapter of the report, beginning with the following key findings from Chapter 1: Introduction and Context.

Book↗

USGS2013

LANDFIRE 2010 - updated data to support wildfire and ecological management

Wildfire is a global phenomenon that affects human populations and ecosystems. Wildfire effects occur at local to global scales impacting many people in different ways (Figure 1). Ecological concerns due to land use, fragmentation, and climate change impact natural resource use, allocation, and conservation. Access to consistent and current environmental data is a constant challenge, yet necessary for understanding the complexities of wildfire and ecological management. Data products and tools from the LANDFIRE Program help decision-makers to clarify problems and identify possible solutions when managing fires and natural resources. LANDFIRE supports the reduction of risk from wildfire to human lives and property, monitoring of fire danger, prediction of fire behavior on active incidents, and assessment of fire severity and impacts on natural systems [1] [2] [3]. LANDFIRE products are unique in that they are nationally consistent and provide the only complete geospatial dataset describing vegetation and wildland fuel information for the entire U.S. As such, LANDFIRE data are useful for many ecological applications [3]. For example, LANDFIRE data were recently integrated into a decision-support system for resource management and conservation decision-making along the Appalachian Trail. LANDFIRE is a joint effort between the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Wildland Fire, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Fire & Aviation Management, and The Nature Conservancy. To date, seven versions of LANDFIRE data have been released, with each successive version improving the quality of the data, adding additional features, and/or updating the time period represented by the data. The latest version, LANDFIRE 2010 (LF 2010), released mid-2013, represents circa 2010 landscape conditions and succeeds LANDFIRE 2008 (LF 2008), which represented circa 2008 landscape conditions. LF 2010 used many of the same processes developed for the LF 2008 effort [3]. Ongoing refinement of the LANDFIRE vegetation and fuel data is necessary to improve the quality and usability of the data and to capture landscape disturbance. LANDFIRE relies on Landsat multi-spectral imagery to produce and update vegetation and fuel data. The deep Landsat archive provides data needed for vegetation classification, change analysis, and historical disturbance characterization, for which LANDFIRE has used more than 24,000 image scenes since the program’s inception. In addition, LF 2010 used airborne and spaceborne lidar, and spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to map vegetation structure in areas where ground-based field information was lacking, including Alaska and U.S.-affiliated islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific. The mapping of insular areas is new for the 2010 data release; previous versions of LANDFIRE were limited to the conterminous U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii.

Earthzine↗

USGS2013

The role of airborne mineral dusts in human disease

Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) is generally acknowledged to increase risk for human morbidity and mortality. However, particulate matter (PM) research has generally examined anthropogenic (industry and combustion by-products) sources with few studies considering contributions from geogenic PM (produced from the Earth by natural processes, e.g., volcanic ash, windborne ash from wildfires, and mineral dusts) or geoanthropogenic PM (produced from natural sources by processes that are modified or enhanced by human activities, e.g., dusts from lakebeds dried by human removal of water, dusts produced from areas that have undergone desertification as a result of human practices). Globally, public health concerns are mounting, related to potential increases in dust emission from climate related changes such as desertification and the associated long range as well as local health effects. Recent epidemiological studies have identified associations between far-traveled dusts from primary sources and increased morbidity and mortality in Europe and Asia. This paper provides an outline of public health research and history as it relates to naturally occurring inorganic mineral dusts. We summarize results of current public health research and describe some of the many challenges related to understanding health effects from exposures to dust aerosols.

Aeolian Research↗

USGS2010

Status and understanding of groundwater quality in the North San Francisco Bay groundwater basins, 2004: California GAMA Priority Basin Project

Groundwater quality in the approximately 1,000-square-mile (2,590-square-kilometer) North San Francisco Bay study unit was investigated as part of the Priority Basin Project of the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The study unit is located in northern California in Marin, Napa, and Sonoma Counties. The GAMA Priority Basin Project is being conducted by the California State Water Resources Control Board in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The GAMA North San Francisco Bay study was designed to provide a spatially unbiased assessment of untreated groundwater quality in the primary aquifer systems. The assessment is based on water-quality and ancillary data collected by the USGS from 89 wells in 2004 and water-quality data from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) database. The primary aquifer systems (hereinafter referred to as primary aquifers) were defined by the depth interval of the wells listed in the CDPH database for the North San Francisco Bay study unit. The quality of groundwater in shallower or deeper water-bearing zones may differ from that in the primary aquifers; shallower groundwater may be more vulnerable to surficial contamination. The first component of this study, the status of the current quality of the groundwater resource, was assessed by using data from samples analyzed for volatile organic compounds (VOC), pesticides, and naturally occurring inorganic constituents, such as major ions and trace elements. This status assessment is intended to characterize the quality of groundwater resources within the primary aquifers of the North San Francisco Bay study unit, not the treated drinking water delivered to consumers by water purveyors. Relative-concentrations (sample concentration divided by the health- or aesthetic-based benchmark concentration) were used for evaluating groundwater quality for those constituents that have Federal and (or) California benchmarks. A relative-concentration greater than (>) 1.0 indicates a concentration above a benchmark, and less than or equal to (≤) 1.0 indicates a concentration equal to or below a benchmark. Relative-concentrations of organic and special interest constituents were classified as “high” (relative-concentration > 1.0), “moderate” (0.1 < relative-concentration ≤ 1.0), or “low” (relative-concentration ≤ 0.1). Inorganic constituent relative-concentrations were classified as “high” (relative-concentration > 1.0), “moderate” (0.5 < relative-concentration ≤ 1.0), or “low” (relative-concentration ≤ 0.5). Aquifer-scale proportion was used as a metric for evaluating regional-scale groundwater quality. High aquifer-scale proportion is defined as the percentage of the primary aquifers that have a relative-concentration greater than 1.0; proportion is calculated on an areal rather than a volumetric basis. Moderate and low aquifer-scale proportions were defined as the percentage of the primary aquifers that have moderate and low relative-concentrations, respectively. Two statistical approaches—grid-based and spatially-weighted—were used to evaluate aquifer-scale proportion for individual constituents and classes of constituents. Grid-based and spatially-weighted estimates were comparable in the North San Francisco Bay study unit (90-percent confidence intervals). For inorganic constituents with human-health benchmarks, relative-concentrations were high in 14.0 percent of the primary aquifers, moderate in 35.8 percent, and low in 50.2 percent. The high aquifer-scale proportion of inorganic constituents primarily reflected high aquifer-scale proportions of arsenic (10.0 percent), boron (4.1 percent), and lead (1.6 percent). In contrast, relative-concentrations of organic constituents (one or more) were high in 1.4 percent, moderate in 4.9 percent, and low in 93.7 percent (not detected in 64.8 percent) of the primary aquifers. The high aquifer-scale proportion of organic constituents primarily reflected high aquifer-scale proportions of PCE (1.3 percent), TCE (0.1 percent), and 1,1-dichloroethene (0.1 percent). The inorganic constituents with secondary maximum contaminant levels (SMCL), manganese and iron, had relative-concentrations that were high in 40.8 percent and 24.4 percent of the primary aquifers, respectively. Of the 255 organic and special-interest constituents analyzed for, 26 constituents were detected. Two organic constituents were frequently detected (in 10 percent or more of samples), the trihalomethane chloroform and the herbicide simazine, but both were detected at low relative-concentrations. The second component of this study, the understanding assessment, identified the natural and human factors that affect groundwater quality by evaluating land use, physical characteristics of the wells, geochemical conditions of the aquifer, and water temperature. Results from these evaluations were used to explain the occurrence and distribution of constituents in the study unit. The understanding assessment indicated that a majority of the wells that contained nitrate also had an urban or agricultural land-use classification, had a modern or mixed age classification, and had depths to their top perforations <100 ft (30 m). Geochemical data are consistent with partial denitrification of nitrate in some reducing groundwaters in the terminal and deeper parts of the flow system. High and moderate relative-concentrations of arsenic may be attributed to reductive dissolution of manganese or iron oxides, or to desorption or inhibition of arsenic sorption under alkaline conditions. Arsenic concentrations increased with increasing depth and groundwater age in the North San Francisco Bay study unit. High to moderate relative-concentrations of boron were primarily associated with hydrothermal activity or high-salinity waters in the Napa Sonoma lowlands. Simazine was detected in groundwater classified as modern and mixed age more often than in groundwater classified as pre-modern age, while chloroform was detected most often in groundwater classified as mixed age. Simazine and chloroform also were observed in wells that had surrounding land use classified as agricultural or land use classified as urban, and top of perforation depths less than 100 ft (30 m). Together, the occurrence of chloroform and simazine in shallow wells with modern or mixed groundwater located in urban or agricultural areas suggests that these constituents result from anthropogenic activities during the last 50 years. Tritium, helium-isotope, and carbon-14 data were used to classify the predominant age of groundwater samples into three categories: modern (water that has entered the aquifer in the last 50 years), pre-modern (water that entered the aquifer more than 50 years to tens of thousands of years ago), and mixed (mixtures of modern- and pre-modern-age waters). Arsenic, iron, and total dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations were significantly greater in groundwater having pre-modern-age classification than modern, suggesting that these constituents accumulate with groundwater residence time.

California↗

USGS2012

Hydrogeology, water chemistry, and transport processes in the zone of contribution of a public-supply well in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2007-9

The National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) of the U.S. Geological Survey began a series of groundwater studies in 2001 in representative aquifers across the Nation in order to increase understanding of the factors that affect transport of anthropogenic and natural contaminants (TANC) to public-supply wells. One of 10 regional-scale TANC studies was conducted in the Middle Rio Grande Basin (MRGB) in New Mexico, where a more detailed local-scale study subsequently investigated the hydrogeology, water chemistry, and factors affecting the transport of contaminants in the zone of contribution of one 363-meter (m) deep public-supply well in Albuquerque. During 2007 through 2009, samples were collected for the local-scale study from 22 monitoring wells and 3 public-supply (supply) wells for analysis of major and trace elements, arsenic speciation, nutrients, dissolved organic carbon, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), dissolved gases, stable isotopes, and tracers of young and old water. To study groundwater chemistry and ages at various depths within the aquifer, the monitoring wells were divided into three categories: (1) each shallow well was screened across the water table or had a screen midpoint within 18.3 m of the water level in the well; (2) each intermediate well had a screen midpoint between about 27.1 and 79.6 m below the water level in the well; and (3) each deep well had a screen midpoint about 185 m or more below the water level in the well. The 24-square-kilometer study area surrounding the "studied supply well" (SSW), one of the three supply wells, consists of primarily urban land within the MRGB, a deep alluvial basin with an aquifer composed of unconsolidated to moderately consolidated deposits of sand, gravel, silt, and clay. Conditions generally are unconfined, but are semiconfined at depth. Groundwater withdrawals for public supply have substantially changed the primary direction of flow from northeast to southwest under predevelopment conditions, to west to east under modern conditions. Analysis of age tracers indicates that groundwater from most sampled wells is dominated by old (pre-1950) water, ranging in mean age from about 4,000 years to more than 22,000 years, but includes a fraction of young (post-1950) recharge. Patterns in chemical and isotopic data are consistent with the conclusions that shallow groundwater in the area typically includes a fraction that evaporated prior to recharge and (or) flushed accumulated solutes out of the unsaturated zone during recharge, and that shallow groundwater has mixed to deeper parts of the aquifer, which receives recharge mainly by seepage from the Rio Grande. Among shallow and intermediate wells that produced water with a fraction of young recharge, that fraction ranged between 1.5 and 46 percent. Samples from the two deep wells had groundwater ages exceeding 18,000 years, with no fraction of young recharge. Two supply wells (including the SSW) had a fraction of young recharge, which ranged between about 3 and 11 percent, despite mean groundwater ages exceeding 10,000 years. The fraction of young recharge to the SSW varied seasonally, probably because seasonal pumping patterns affected local hydraulic gradients and (or) because of flow through the well bore when the SSW is not pumping. Well-bore flow data collected during winter (low-pumping season) indicated that about 61 percent of the water pumped from the SSW entered the well from the intermediate part of the aquifer, and that the remaining 39 percent entered from the deep part of the aquifer. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were detected in samples from most shallow and intermediate monitoring wells and from two of three supply wells, including the SSW. Detected VOCs were primarily chlorinated solvents or their degradation products. Many of the wells in which most of these VOCs were detected are located near known sites of solvent contamination that were targeted for sampling because trichloroethylene (TCE) and cis-1,2-dichloroethylene had been detected in the SSW, and several of these wells may have become contaminated at least partly because of enhanced vertical migration associated with the pumping of and (or) direct migration down deep well bores. Except for TCE in the sample from a shallow monitoring well, all detections of VOCs were at concentrations below Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Concentrations of all VOCs detected in the supply wells were less than one-tenth of the corresponding MCLs. However, the presence of VOCs in all but deep groundwater, including the detection of chloroform (a chlorination byproduct) in several shallow wells, indicates that groundwater in the study area commonly is affected by human activities, even to substantial depths. The only natural contaminant detected at concentrations near or above its MCL was arsenic, which has been detected at elevated concentrations across broad areas of the MRGB. Concentrations of arsenic, present primarily as arsenate, exceeded the MCL of 10 micrograms per liter (μg/L) in water from the two deep wells (one of which had the highest concentration, 35 μg/L), from one intermediate well, and from two supply wells, including the SSW. Water-quality and solid-phase data from this study are consistent with elevated arsenic concentrations in groundwater being related to pH-dependent desorption of arsenic from ferric oxyhydroxides in sediments in deep parts of the aquifer. Concentrations of nitrate ranged between 1.3 and 5.4 milligrams per liter (mg/L) in water from shallow wells screened across the water table, but were less than 0.9 mg/L in water from all but one deeper well. Nitrogen isotopes and chloride/bromide ratios for shallow wells were consistent with natural soil nitrogen. Nitrate concentrations and nitrogen isotopes indicated that denitrification is occurring at intermediate aquifer depths, and that the progress of the denitrification reaction typically is greatest for wells that include a fraction of groundwater associated with particular recharge sources or with known sites of contamination contributing organic compounds that can provide a carbon source for microbial respiration. Overall, hydrologic and chemical data from the study area indicate that young recharge is reaching the aquifer across broad areas and is migrating from shallow to intermediate depths of the aquifer as a result of mixing that is associated with human development of groundwater. Consequently, groundwater that human activities in the urban study area have affected is present at depths that are within the screened intervals of public-supply wells, resulting in detections of VOCs and implying greater vulnerability to anthropogenic contamination than might be assumed based on the dominantly old age of the regional groundwater. However, the fractions of old groundwater that public-supply wells produce substantially dilute the anthropogenic contaminants, while contributing natural contaminants (primarily arsenic) to the wells. Based on data from the SSW, vulnerability of public-supply wells to natural and anthropogenic contaminants in the area changes through time, including with seasonal changes in pumping stresses that alter the fractions of young and old water being contributed to wells.

New Mexico↗

USGS2012

Land-cover change detection

Land cover is the biophysical material on the surface of the earth. Land-cover types include grass, shrubs, trees, barren, water, and man-made features. Land cover changes continuously. The rate of change can be either dramatic and abrupt, such as the changes caused by logging, hurricanes and fire, or subtle and gradual, such as regeneration of forests and damage caused by insects (Verbesselt et al., 2001). Previous studies have shown that land cover has changed dramatically during the past sevearal centuries and that these changes have severely affected our ecosystems (Foody, 2010; Lambin et al., 2001). Lambin and Strahlers (1994b) summarized five types of cause for land-cover changes: (1) long-term natural changes in climate conditions, (2) geomorphological and ecological processes, (3) human-induced alterations of vegetation cover and landscapes, (4) interannual climate variability, and (5) human-induced greenhouse effect. Tools and techniques are needed to detect, describe, and predict these changes to facilitate sustainable management of natural resources.

Book chapter↗

USGS1988

National water summary 1986: Hydrologic events and ground-water quality

Ground water is one of the most important natural resources of the United States and degradation of its quality could have a major effect on the welfare of the Nation. Currently (1985), ground water is the source of drinking water for 53 percent of the Nation's population and for more than 97 percent of its rural population. It is the source of about 40 percent of the Nation's public water supply, 33 percent of water for irrigation, and 17 percent of freshwater for selfsupplied industries. Ground water also is the source of about 40 percent of the average annual streamflow in the United States, although during long periods of little or no precipitation, ground-water discharges provide nearly all of the base streamflow. This hydraulic connection between aquifers and streams implies that if a persistent pollutant gets into an aquifer, it eventually could discharge into a stream. Information presented in the 1986 National Water Summary clearly shows that the United States has very large amounts of potable ground water available for use. Although naturally occurring constituents, such as nitrate, and human-induced substances, such as synthetic organic chemicals, frequently are detected in ground water, their concentrations usually do not exceed existing Federal or State standards or guidelines for maximum concentrations in drinking water. Troublesome contamination of ground water falls into two basic categories related to the source or sources of the contamination. Locally, high concentrations of a variety of toxic metals, organic chemicals, and petroleum products have been detected in ground water associated with point sources such as wastedisposal sites, storage-tank leaks, and hazardous chemical spills. These types of local problems commonly occur in densely populated urban areas and industrialized areas. Larger, multicounty areas also have been identified where contamination frequently is found in shallow wells. These areas generally are associated with broad-scale, or nonpoint, sources of contamination such as agricultural activities or highdensity domestic waste disposal (septic systems) in urban centers. At present, only a very small percentage of the total volume of potable ground water in the United States is contaminated from both point and nonpoint sources; however, available data, especially data about the occurrence of synthetic organic and toxic substances, generally are inadequate to determine the full extent of ground-water contamination in the Nation's aquifers or to define trends in groundwater quality. Most information about the occurrence of these substances has come from the study of individual sites or areas where contamination had already been detected or suspected. Management and protection of ground water present a major challenge to the Nation. Current and projected costs of detection and cleanup of existing ground-water contamination are staggering and, even so, complete removal of pollutants from ground water in the vicinity of some waste sites might not be technically feasible. At all levels of government, the task of protecting the resource for its most beneficial uses is difficult and controversial. Despite increasing awareness that some of the Nation's ground water is contaminated with a variety of toxic metals, synthetic organic chemicals, radionuclides, pesticides, and other contaminants that might present a long-term risk to human health, public policy towards ground-water protection is still in the formative stages. Despite increasing efforts devoted to ground-water protection by State and Federal regulatory and resource-management agencies, the extent of ground-water contamination is likely to appear to increase over the next few years because more agencies will be searching for evidence of contamination, and they will be using increasingly sensitive analytical procedures. Increased technology and expanded monitoring activities probably will detect the effects of past contamination and land uses on water quality. The significant time lag between a waterquality change in one part of an aquifer system and the effects of that change at a downgradient site, such as a well, results from the generally slow movement of ground water. This lag between cause and observed effect needs to be considered in evaluating the effectiveness of current and future ground-water policies and remedial measures. Conclusive answers to questions about the location, extent, and severity of ground-water contamination, and about trends in ground-water quality, must await further collection and analysis of data from the Nation's aquifers. Generalizations, however, can be made, and the 1986 National Water Summary, which describes the natural quality of ground-water resources in each State and the major contamination problems that have been identified as of 1986, provides a national perspective of the ground-water-quality situation. The 1986 National Water Summary follows the format of previous volumes. It contains three parts, and the contents of each of these parts are highlighted below.

Water Supply Paper↗

USGS2025

Effectiveness of stewardship and management strategies to conserve coastal bird populations in the northern Gulf of Mexico: A literature review

Shorebirds, seabirds, and wading birds (hereafter coastal birds) have experienced considerable losses over the last century and require proactive conservation management to stabilize or grow populations. Habitat loss and/or degradation and human disturbance are among the most urgent threats faced by coastal bird populations. Identifying effective conservation management techniques to mitigate these threats is of great interest in the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM), a region that provides important habitat during the entire life cycle of resident birds and an essential breeding, wintering, and stopover site for migratory birds. A suite of 35 coastal birds have been identified as priority species for multi-scale conservation monitoring in this region by the Gulf of Mexico Avian Monitoring Network (GoMAMN). This review focuses on impacts of human disturbance and anthropogenic habitat loss and/or degradation on coastal birds and effectiveness of the management strategies implemented to mitigate them, with the goal of informing nGoM management. Our review found that human disturbance was best alleviated by simultaneously deploying complementary stewardship techniques (e.g., signs, fencing, steward patrols, education and community involvement, and beach closures to humans, dogs, and vehicles). However, the relative efficacy of each individual technique is unclear given that only 13% of human disturbance management studies and 38% of habitat management studies have been conducted in the nGoM region. Given the nature of coastal bird habitat and associated risks from sea level rise and human development, most habitat management studies encouraged strategic applications of beach renourishment, limitations on beach raking, as well as site- and species-specific restoration strategies. Studies demonstrated that successful management of coastal birds in the nGoM combined these approaches, employing complementary and adaptive strategies over extended periods.

Journal of Field Ornithology↗

USGS2002

Lyme disease and conservation

Lyme disease is a tick-borne illness that is widespread in North America, especially in the northeastern and northcentral United States. This disease could negatively influence efforts to conserve natural populations in two ways: (1) the disease could directly affect wild animal health; and (2) tick control efforts could adversely affect natural populations and communities. Lyme disease affects several domestic animals, but symptoms have been reported in only a few wild species. Direct effects of Lyme disease on wild animal populations have not been reported, but the disease should be considered as a possible cause in cases of unexplained population declines in endemic areas. Methods available to manage ticks and Lyme disease include human self-protection techniques, manipulation of habitats and host species populations, biological control, and pesticide applications. The diversity of available techniques allows selection of approaches to minimize environmental effects by (1) emphasizing personal protection techniques, (2) carefully targeting management efforts to maximize efficiency, and (3) integrating environmentally benign techniques to improve management while avoiding broad-scale environmentally destructive approaches. The environmental effects of Lyme disease depend, to a large extent, on the methods chosen to minimize human exposure to infected ticks. Conservation biologists can help design tick management programs that effectively lower the incidence of human Lyme disease while simultaneously minimizing negative effects on natural populations.

Conservation Biology↗

USGS2006

Final integrated trip report: site visits to Area 50, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam National Wildlife Refuge, War in the Pacific National Historical Park, Guam, Rota and Saipan, CNMI, 2004-2005

Limestone forests are the most diverse natural plant communities of Guam. Like other natural vegetation types, these forests have a long history of anthropogenic disturbances, being altered and shaped by humans for more than 4,000 years. Although this occupation represents a relatively long human influence in comparison to other Pacific islands, animals associated with humans, such as commensal rodents, arrived in these islands beginning only 1,000 years ago, and larger mammals, such as pigs (Sus scrofa), may not have arrived until European contact. Limestone forests, which also occur on several other Mariana Islands, developed in the presence of frequent tropical storms and are therefore well adapted to this type of natural disturbance regime. However, recent human activities including large scale clearing and conversion combined with the presence of high levels of alien herbivores and seed predators, and the loss of ecological services provided by the former native avifauna may be causing the decline of Guam's forests. Limestone forests on northern Guam, much like those of other Mariana Islands, were heavily cleared for the construction of military installations during World War II. The accidental introduction of the Brown Tree Snake (Boiga irregularis; BTS) around this same period subsequently accelerated the disappearance of Guam's native avifauna and other endemic terrestrial vertebrates, and with them, seed dispersal, pollination, and the predatory regulation of herbivorous insects. Guam and the Mariana Islands contained a high proportion (32 pecent) of endemic bird species, with 4 forms endemic to Guam alone: the now extinct Guam Flycatcher (Myiagra freycineti), and Guam Bridled White-eye (Zosterops conspicillatpicillata), one of three island endemic subspecies from the Marianas; Guam rail (Rallus owstonii); and Guam Kingfisher (Todiramphus cinnamominus cinnamominus), an island endemic subspecies of the regionally endemic Micronesian Kingfisher. Guam once supported the Mariana Gallinule (Gallinula chloropus guami), the Mariana Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos oustaleti), Mariana Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus roseicapilla), White-throated Ground Dove (Gallicolumba xanthonura xanthonura), Mariana Crow (Corvus kubaryi), and the Nightingale Reed-warbler (Acrocephalus luscinia), all endemic to the Mariana Islands. Other regionally endemic endangered species include the Micronesian Megapode (Megapodius laperouse), and the Mariana Swiftlet (Aerodramus bartschi), now reduced to a small population on Guam. Likewise, the flora of Guam is unique, with 21percent of its native vascular plants endemic to the Mariana Islands. In limestone forests of Northern Guam, a number of tall forest tree species such as joga, Elaeocarpus joga (Elaeocarpaceae); pengua or Macaranga thompsonii (Euphorbiaceae); ifit or Intsia bijuga (Fabaceae); seeded breadfruit or Artocarpus marianensis (Moraceae); and umumu or Pisonia grandis (Nyctaginaceae) may be in decline as a result of herbivory by mammals. All show reduced regeneration and age distributions highly skewed towards older individuals. These species provided important habitat for some of Guam's endangered forest birds that remain in captivity such as the Mariana Crow, Guam Kingfisher, and Guam Rail. The recent high frequency of intense tropical storms and herbivory caused by large populations of feral pigs and Philippine sambar deer (Cervus mariannus), as well as invasive alien vines that may suppress tree regeneration, could be permanently altering the structure of regenerating forests and composition of important canopy species on secondary limestone substrates that were cleared and compacted during airfield construction from 1944 through the 1970s. Guam National Wildlife Refuge (GNWR) was established at Ritidian Point, after it was determined to be excess property by the U.S. Navy. Most of the refuge, about 9,087 hectares, is an 'overlay refuge' on lands administered by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy. Although the military mission comes first on these lands, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service assists in protecting native species and habitats. The recovery of limestone forest on Guam for forest bird habitat may require intensive management, including reduction of feral herbivores, propagation, out-planting, weed control, and periodic suppression of herbivorous insects. Research to support these techniques may be best accomplished in small areas where potential limiting factors can easily be experimentally manipulated. Area 50, a 24 ha enclosure, contains a relictual patch of relatively undisturbed limestone forest surrounded by tarmac allowing easy access and management opportunities to control alien mammals and snakes. These species have been periodically managed in the past, but recent typhoons have damaged snake-proofing on the enclosure fence. A new concrete barrier is planned to provide more permanent control opportunities within this enclosed area or another similar area, thereby allowing experimental research for various management regimes. Eradication and control of alien vertebrate and plant pests will provide habitat where native communities can be restored in a small, intensively managed area. The stated aim of this project is to "affect ecosystem restoration through the removal and exclusion of introduced species and the reestablishment and propagation of native species, with focus on the reintroduction of native forest bird species." This will be achieved by constructing a multispecies barrier surrounding the area, coordinated eradication of selected alien species within the area, and possible reintroduction of Mariana Crow, Guam Kingfisher, and Guam Rail. This barrier also allows experimental research questions to be addressed within the small enclosure around Area 50 that may be applied to manage and restore the larger areas of limestone forest on northern Guam and also similar forests on other islands of the Marianas.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2016

Tick-, mosquito-, and rodent-borne parasite sampling designs for the National Ecological Observatory Network

Parasites and pathogens are increasingly recognized as significant drivers of ecological and evolutionary change in natural ecosystems. Concurrently, transmission of infectious agents among human, livestock, and wildlife populations represents a growing threat to veterinary and human health. In light of these trends and the scarcity of long-term time series data on infection rates among vectors and reservoirs, the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) will collect measurements and samples of a suite of tick-, mosquito-, and rodent-borne parasites through a continental-scale surveillance program. Here, we describe the sampling designs for these efforts, highlighting sampling priorities, field and analytical methods, and the data as well as archived samples to be made available to the research community. Insights generated by this sampling will advance current understanding of and ability to predict changes in infection and disease dynamics in novel, interdisciplinary, and collaborative ways.

Ecosphere↗

USGS2025

Ranking river basins for stream temperature research and monitoring in the contiguous United States

There is a need to prioritize research and data collection in river basins by integrating information from environmental, ecological, and socioeconomic datasets to maintain acceptable water quality for human uses and ecosystem health. Multiple anthropogenic and natural stressors are responsible for driving changes in stream temperatures that can alter ecosystems and degrade water quality. These stressors are variable spatially and temporally, which can be challenging for prioritizing monitoring and research. In this study, an evaluation of variables related to stream temperature was performed for 163 candidate basins of the contiguous United States to highlight potential focal areas. Thirty variables were combined in six components: anthropogenic forcing, natural forcing, climate change, ecological sensitivity, socioeconomic sensitivity, and data availability. The components were incorporated into three themes: vulnerability of streams to thermal change, vulnerability of ecosystems, and vulnerability of communities. By evaluating each theme separately, patterns of vulnerability and potential resiliency were identified as well as consistency in ranks within the themes. For example, results of the national scale ranking indicated the Southern California Coastal basin (within California-Nevada region) was the highest-ranking priority in vulnerability of streams to thermal change and vulnerability of ecosystems. The analysis also identified vulnerable basins with gaps in monitoring. For example, the Missouri-Oahe basin (within the Northern High Plains region) was the highest-ranking priority for vulnerable communities with limitations in data availability. The ranking approach provides insight into basins that are resilient and are ideal candidates for monitoring and research.

Journal of Hydrology↗

USGS2018

International Society for Aeolian Research Distinguished Career Award, 2018 Joseph M. Prospero, Dr. Professor Emeritus, University of Miami

It is a pleasure and an honor to present Dr. Joseph M. Prospero of the University of Miami with the International Society for Aeolian Research(ISAR) Distinguished Career Award for 2018. Joe was born at home in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, one of three sons of Italian immigrant parents. He got interested in science, and particularly chemistry, not only out of curiosity, but also because of “...all the usual things. Color reactions...explosions....” Thus, his earliest experimental work was done with a Lionel Chem-Lab set in its classic chrome-yellow wooden box. Joe had parents who, despite their own lack of education,encouraged learning for Joe and his brothers through reading and education. He earned his B.S. in chemistry at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania in 1956. From there he went on to Princeton University for graduate school, studying radiochemistry and nuclear spectroscopy, receiving his M.A. in 1959 and his Ph.D. in 1963. On the encouragement of George Reynolds (a physicist at Princeton), Joe began his career at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami in 1963. He has been studying dust everywhere on the planet–both on land and in the oceans–ever since.His research has been published in more than 170 papers and they are highly cited, showing the importance of dust in an astonishing diversity of the Earth’s natural systems, as well as its importance to human society.

Aeolian Research↗

USGS2007

Pesticides in U.S. streams and groundwater

A 10-year study by the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS’s) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program provides a national-scale view of pesticide occurrence in streams and groundwater. The 1992-2001 study builds upon a preliminary analysis from NAWQA’s first phase of studies during 1992-1996 (1, 2). Pesticide data available from various studies prior to 1992 did not allow national assessment because of limited and variable geographic coverage (usually focusing on individual states or regions), sparse and inconsistent inclusion of pesticides in use, and variable sampling designs (3-5). The expanded geographic coverage and improved data following 10 years of study (Figure 1) confirm and reinforce previously reported findings and enable more detailed analyses of each topic. This article summarizes selected findings from a comprehensive report (6), with a focus on the nature of pesticide occurrence and potential significance to human health and stream ecosystems. Information on study design and methods as well as additional analysis of geographic patterns and trends in relation to use and management practices are available in the full report (6).

Environmental Science & Technology↗

USGS2004

Paleolimnology and paleoclimate studies in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon

The subsiding Upper Klamath Lake Basin contains sediments that were continuously deposited in a shallow, freshwater lake for more than 40 000 years. Well dated by radiometric methods and containing volcanic ashes of known age, these sediments constitute a valuable paleoclimate record. Sediment constituents and properties that reflect past climatic conditions in the area include pollen, diatoms, sediment geochemistry, and sediment magnetic properties. Many of these proxy measurements are also useful for comparing natural conditions in the lake to conditions following human settlement. Because of its location, the paleoclimate record from Upper Klamath Lake is valuable for comparisons to offshore marine records and as part of latitudinal transects of paleoclimate records along the west coast of the Americas.

Oregon↗

USGS2025

Over, under, and through: Hydrologic connectivity and the future of coastal landscape salinization

Seawater intrusion (SWI) affects coastal landscapes worldwide. Here we describe the hydrologic pathways through which SWI occurs - over land via storm surge or tidal flooding, under land via groundwater transport, and through watersheds via natural and artificial surface water channels—and how human modifications to those pathways alter patterns of SWI. We present an approach to advance understanding of spatiotemporal patterns of salinization that integrates these hydrologic pathways, their interactions, and how humans modify them. We use examples across the East Coast of the United States that exemplify mechanisms of salinization that have been reported around the planet to illustrate how hydrologic connectivity and human modifications alter patterns of SWI. Finally, we suggest a path for advancing SWI science that includes (a) deploying standardized and well-distributed sensor networks at local to global scales that intentionally track SWI fronts, (b) employing remote sensing and geospatial imaging techniques targeted at integrating above and belowground patterns of SWI, and (c) continuing to develop data analysis and model-data fusion techniques to measure the extent, understand the effects, and predict the future of coastal salinization.

Water Resources Research↗

USGS2014

Coastal subsidence and relative sea level rise

Subsurface fluid-pressure declines caused by pumping of groundwater or hydrocarbons can lead to aquifer-system compaction and consequent land subsidence. This subsidence can be rapid, as much as 30 cm per year in some instances, and large, totaling more than 13 m in extreme examples. Thus anthropogenic subsidence may be the dominant contributor to relative sea-level rise in coastal environments where subsurface fluids are heavily exploited. Maximum observed rates of human-induced subsidence greatly exceed the rates of natural subsidence of unconsolidated sediments (~0.1–1 cm yr −1 ) and the estimated rates of ongoing global sea-level rise (~0.3 cm yr −1 ).

Environmental Research Letters↗