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At least 1,567 records · Page 87Linked to original sources
USGS1987

Water-quality data-collection activities in Colorado and Ohio; Phase II, Evaluation of 1984 field and laboratory quality-assurance practices

Serious questions have been raised by Congress about the usefulness of water-quality data for addressing issues of regional and national scope and, especially, for characterizing the current quality of the Nation's streams and ground water. In response, the U.S. Geological Survey has undertaken a pilot study in Colorado and Ohio to (1) determine the characteristics of current (1984) water-quality data-collection activities of Federal, regional, State, and local agencies, and academic institutions; and (2) determine how well the data from these activities, collected for various purposes and using different procedures, can be used to improve our ability to answer major broad-scope questions, such as: A. What are (or were) natural or near-natural water-quality conditions? B. What are existing water-quality conditions? C. How has water quality changed, and how do the changes relate to human activities? Colorado and Ohio were chosen for the pilot study largely because they represent regions with different types of waterquality concerns and programs. The study has been divided into three phases, the objectives of which are: Phase I--Inventory water-quality data-collection programs, including costs, and identify those programs that met a set of broad criteria for producing data that are potentially appropriate for water-quality assessments of regional and national scope. Phase II--Evaluate the quality assurance of field and laboratory procedures used in producing the data from programs that met the broad criteria of Phase I. Phase III--Compile the qualifying data and evaluate the adequacy of this data base for addressing selected water-quality questions of regional and national scope. Water-quality data are collected by a large number of organizations for diverse purposes ranging from meeting statutory requirements to research on water chemistry. Combining these individual data bases is an appealing and potentially cost-effective way to attempt to develop a data base adequate for regional or national water-quality assessments. However, to combine data from diverse sources, field and laboratory procedures used to produce the data need to be equivalent and need to meet specific qualityassurance standards. It is these factors that are the focus of Phase II, which is described in this report. In the first phase of this study, an inventory was made of all public organizations and academic institutions that undertook water-quality data-collection activities in Colorado and Ohio in 1984. Water-quality programs identified in Phase I were tested against a set of broad screening criteria. A total of 44 waterquality programs in Colorado and 29 programs in Ohio passed the Phase-I screen and were examined in Phase II. These programs accounted for an estimated 165,000 analyses in Colorado and 76,300 analyses in Ohio for 20 selected constituents and properties. Although qualifying programs included both surface- and ground-water sampling, they emphasized surface waters and produced few groundwater analyses (3,660 for Colorado and 470 for Ohio). For Phase II, information about field and laboratory qualityassurance practices was provided by each organization and its supporting laboratories through questionnaires. This information was evaluated against a set of specific criteria for field and laboratory practices. The criteria were developed from guidelines published by public agencies and professional organizations such as the American Public Health Association, the U.Sc, Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Geological Survey. Each of the eight criteria that comprise the Phase-II screen fall into one of two major categories--field practices or laboratory practices.

Colorado, Ohio↗
USGS2007

Occurrence of organic wastewater compounds in selected surface-water supplies, Triangle area of North Carolina, 2002-2005

Selected organic wastewater compounds, such as household, industrial, and agricultural-use compounds, sterols, pharmaceuticals, and antibiotics, were measured at eight sites classified as drinking-water supplies in the Triangle Area of North Carolina. From October 2002 through July 2005, seven of the sites were sampled twice, and one site was sampled 28 times, for a total of 42 sets of environmental samples. Samples were analyzed for as many as 126 compounds using three laboratory analytical methods. These methods were developed by the U.S. Geological Survey to detect low levels (generally less than or equal to 1.0 microgram per liter) of the target compounds in filtered water. Because analyses were conducted on filtered samples, the results presented in this report may not reflect the total concentration of organic wastewater compounds in the waters that were sampled. Various quality-control samples were used to quality assure the results in terms of method performance and possible laboratory or field contamination. Of the 108 organic wastewater compounds that met method performance criteria, 24 were detected in at least one sample during the study. These 24 compounds included 3 pharmaceutical compounds, 6 fire retardants and plasticizers, 3 antibiotics, 3 pesticides, 6 fragrances and flavorants, 1 disinfectant, and 2 miscellaneous-use compounds, all of which likely originated from a variety of domestic, industrial, and agricultural sources. The 10 most frequently detected compounds included acetyl-hexamethyl tetrahydronaphthalene and hexahydro-hexamethyl cyclopentabenzopyran (synthetic musks that are widely used in personal-care products and are known endocrine disruptors); tri(2-chloroethyl) phosphate, tri(dichloroisopropyl) phosphate, and tributyl phosphate (fire retardants); metolachlor (herbicide); caffeine (nonprescription stimulant); cotinine (metabolite of nicotine); acetaminophen (nonprescription analgesic); and sulfamethoxazole (prescription antibiotic). The occurrence and distribution of organic wastewater compounds varied considerably among sampling sites, but at least one compound was detected at every location. The most organic wastewater compounds (19) were detected at the Neuse River above U.S. 70 at Smithfield, where two-thirds of the total number of samples were collected. The fewest organic wastewater compounds (1) were detected at the Eno River at Hillsborough. The detection of multiple organic wastewater compounds was common, with a median of 3.5 and as many as 12 compounds observed in individual samples. Some compounds, including acetaminophen, cotinine, tri(2-chloroethyl) phosphate, and metolachlor, were detected at numerous sites and in numerous samples, indicating that they are widely distributed in the environment. Other organic wastewater compounds, including acetyl-hexamethyl tetrahydronaphthalene and hexahydro-hexamethyl cyclopentabenzopyran, were detected in numerous samples but at only one location, indicating that sources of these compounds are more site specific. Results indicate that municipal wastewater may be a source of antibiotics and synthetic musks; however, the three sites in this study that are located downstream from wastewater discharges also receive runoff from agricultural, urban, and rural residential lands. Source identification was not an objective of this study. Concentrations of individual compounds generally were less than 0.5 microgram per liter. No concentrations exceeded Federal drinking-water standards or health advisories, nor water-quality criteria established by the State of North Carolina; however, such criteria are available for only a few of the compounds that were studied. Compared with other surface waters that have been sampled across the United States, the Triangle Area water-supply sites had fewer detections of organic wastewater compounds; however, differences in study design and analytical methods used among studies must be considered when mak

North Carolina↗
USGS2017

Sea turtles, light pollution, and citizen science: A preliminary report

Sea turtles are an important ecological resource for Gulf Islands National Seashore’s (Gulf Islands) waters and shorelines. Regionally, sea turtles face anthropogenic threats from situations such as entanglement in fishing gear and ingestion of marine debris, as well as possible changes in sex ratios due to increasing temperatures related to human-induced global warming. Locally, light pollution from residential, commercial, and industrial neighborhoods from nearby cities impacts the entirety of Gulf Islands, which spans 160 miles along the Gulf Coast, from Florida to Mississippi, and includes critical habitat for threatened and endangered sea turtles. Because light pollution has been hypothesized to negatively impact sea turtle nesting and hatchling survival, Gulf Islands undertook an effort to understand the relationship between light pollution and sea turtles and create unique educational and outreach opportunities by launching a citizen science program called Turtle Teens Helping in the Seashore (Turtle THIS). At the onset, the Turtle THIS program had two primary goals: quantify the association between light pollution and sea turtle nesting and hatching events using rigorous scientific methods; and initiate a citizen science volunteer program to provide youth with hands-on science and environmental stewardship roles, where they also gain employable skills and career opportunities. With multiple scientific hypotheses to consider, the development of a citizen science program became crucial. Such circumstances allowed Turtle THIS to grow a volunteer and intern program, quantify hypothesized light effects on sea turtles through developed methods, and begin to gather preliminary findings.

Florida↗
USGS2011

An analytical framework to assist decision makers in the use of forest ecosystem model predictions

The predictions from most forest ecosystem models originate from deterministic simulations. However, few evaluation exercises for model outputs are performed by either model developers or users. This issue has important consequences for decision makers using these models to develop natural resource management policies, as they cannot evaluate the extent to which predictions stemming from the simulation of alternative management scenarios may result in significant environmental or economic differences. Various numerical methods, such as sensitivity/uncertainty analyses, or bootstrap methods, may be used to evaluate models and the errors associated with their outputs. However, the application of each of these methods carries unique challenges which decision makers do not necessarily understand; guidance is required when interpreting the output generated from each model. This paper proposes a decision flow chart in the form of an analytical framework to help decision makers apply, in an orderly fashion, different steps involved in examining the model outputs. The analytical framework is discussed with regard to the definition of problems and objectives and includes the following topics: model selection, identification of alternatives, modelling tasks and selecting alternatives for developing policy or implementing management scenarios. Its application is illustrated using an on-going exercise in developing silvicultural guidelines for a forest management enterprise in Ontario, Canada.

Environmental Modelling and Software↗
USGS2017

Anticoagulant rodenticides and wildlife: Introduction

Rodents have interacted with people since the beginning of systematic food storage by humans in the early Neolithic era. Such interactions have had adverse outcomes such as threats to human health, spoiling and consumption of food sources, damage to human infrastructure and detrimental effects on indigenous island wildlife (through inadvertent anthropogenic assisted introductions). These socio/economic and environmental impacts illustrate the clear need to control populations of commensal rodents. Different methods have been applied historically but the main means of control in the last decades is through the application of rodenticides, mainly anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) that inhibit blood clotting. The so-called First Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (FGARs) proved highly effective but rodents increasingly developed resistance. This led to a demand for more effective alternative compounds and paved the way to the development of Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs). These were more acutely toxic and persistent, making them more effective but also increasing the risks of exposure of non-target species and secondary poisoning of predatory species. SGARs often fail the environmental thresholds of different regulatory frameworks because of these negative side-effects, but their use is still permitted because of the overwhelming societal needs for rodent control and the lack of effective alternatives. This book provides a state-of-the-art overview of the scientific advancements in assessment of environmental exposure, effects and risks of currently used ARs. This is discussed in relation to the societal needs for rodent control, including risk mitigation and development of alternatives.

Book chapter↗
USGS2009

Taste and odor occurrence in Lake William C. Bowen and Municipal Reservoir #1, Spartanburg County, South Carolina

The U.S. Geological Survey and Spartanburg Water are working cooperatively on an ongoing study of Lake Bowen and Reservoir #1 to identify environmental factors that enhance or influence the production of geosmin in the source-water reservoirs. Spartanburg Water is using information from this study to develop management strategies to reduce (short-term solution) and prevent (long-term solution) geosmin occurrence. Spartanburg Water utility treats and distributes drinking water to the Spartanburg area of South Carolina. The drinking water sources for the area are Lake William C. Bowen (Lake Bowen) and Municipal Reservoir #1 (Reservoir #1), located north of Spartanburg. These reservoirs, which were formed by the impoundment of the South Pacolet River, were assessed in 2006 by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) as being fully supportive of all uses based on established criteria. Nonetheless, Spartanburg Water had noted periodic taste and odor problems due to the presence of geosmin, a naturally occurring compound in the source water. Geosmin is not harmful, but its presence in drinking water is aesthetically unpleasant.

South Carolina↗
USGS2002

A logistic regression equation for estimating the probability of a stream flowing perennially in Massachusetts

A logistic regression equation was developed for estimating the probability of a stream flowing perennially at a specific site in Massachusetts. The equation provides city and town conservation commissions and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection with an additional method for assessing whether streams are perennial or intermittent at a specific site in Massachusetts. This information is needed to assist these environmental agencies, who administer the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Rivers Protection Act of 1996, which establishes a 200-foot-wide protected riverfront area extending along the length of each side of the stream from the mean annual high-water line along each side of perennial streams, with exceptions in some urban areas. The equation was developed by relating the verified perennial or intermittent status of a stream site to selected basin characteristics of naturally flowing streams (no regulation by dams, surface-water withdrawals, ground-water withdrawals, diversion, waste-water discharge, and so forth) in Massachusetts. Stream sites used in the analysis were identified as perennial or intermittent on the basis of review of measured streamflow at sites throughout Massachusetts and on visual observation at sites in the South Coastal Basin, southeastern Massachusetts. Measured or observed zero flow(s) during months of extended drought as defined by the 310 Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR) 10.58(2)(a) were not considered when designating the perennial or intermittent status of a stream site. The database used to develop the equation included a total of 305 stream sites (84 intermittent- and 89 perennial-stream sites in the State, and 50 intermittent- and 82 perennial-stream sites in the South Coastal Basin). Stream sites included in the database had drainage areas that ranged from 0.14 to 8.94 square miles in the State and from 0.02 to 7.00 square miles in the South Coastal Basin.Results of the logistic regression analysis indicate that the probability of a stream flowing perennially at a specific site in Massachusetts can be estimated as a function of (1) drainage area (cube root), (2) drainage density, (3) areal percentage of stratified-drift deposits (square root), (4) mean basin slope, and (5) location in the South Coastal Basin or the remainder of the State. Although the equation developed provides an objective means for estimating the probability of a stream flowing perennially at a specific site, the reliability of the equation is constrained by the data used to develop the equation. The equation may not be reliable for (1) drainage areas less than 0.14 square mile in the State or less than 0.02 square mile in the South Coastal Basin, (2) streams with losing reaches, or (3) streams draining the southern part of the South Coastal Basin and the eastern part of the Buzzards Bay Basin and the entire area of Cape Cod and the Islands Basins.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS2020

Managing for a changing climate: A bended interdisciplinary climate course

We developed a blended (or hybrid) interactive course— Managing for a Changing Climate —that provides a holistic view of climate change. The course results from communication with university students and natural and cultural resource managers as well as the need for educational efforts aimed at the public, legislators, and decision-makers. Content includes the components of the physical climate system, natural climate variability, anthropogenic drivers of climate change, climate models and projections, climate assessments, energy economics, environmental policy, vulnerabilities to climate hazards, impacts of climate change, and decision-making related to climate adaptation and mitigation efforts. To convey most of the content, the course-development team created over 50 short videos (3–10 min each) in partnership with experts from a variety of academic, government, and industry institutions. The blended course has been offered as an upper-division, undergraduate course in the Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability and School of Meteorology (four times) and College of International Studies (in Italy, once) at the University of Oklahoma with over 100 total students. The course has also been presented online-only at no cost to the participants in four fall semesters with over 1,000 total registrations. Videos created for this course are freely available on the YouTube page of the South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center. This course and its associated materials comprise high-quality, formal climate training and education that can be adapted to other formal and informal education settings beyond the walls of the university.

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society↗
USGS2016

Water data to answer urgent water policy questions: Monitoring design, available data, and filling data gaps for determining whether shale gas development activities contaminate surface water or groundwater in the Susquehanna River Basin

Throughout its history, the United States has made major investments in assessing natural resources, such as soils, timber, oil and gas, and water. These investments allow policy makers, the private sector and the American public to make informed decisions about cultivating, harvesting or conserving these resources to maximize their value for public welfare, environmental conservation and the economy. As policy issues evolve, new priorities and challenges arise for natural resource assessment, and new approaches to monitoring are needed. For example, new technologies for oil and gas development or alternative energy sources may present new risks for water resources both above and below ground. There is a need to evaluate whether today’s water monitoring programs are generating the information needed to answer questions surrounding these new policy priorities. The Northeast-Midwest Institute (NEMWI), in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program, initiated this project to explore the types and amounts of water data needed to address water-quality related policy questions of critical concern to today’s policy makers and whether those data are currently available. The collaborating entities identified two urgent water policy questions and conducted case studies in the Northeast-Midwest region to determine the water data needed, water data available, and the best ways to fill the data gaps relative to those questions. This report details the output from one case study and focuses on the Susquehanna River Basin, a data-rich area expected to be a best-case scenario in terms of water data availability.

Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania↗
USGS2011

The fecal bacteria

The Fecal Bacteria offers a balanced, integrated discussion of fecal bacteria and their presence and ecology in the intestinal tract of mammals, in the environment, and in the food supply. This new volume covers their use in examining and assessing water quality in order to offer protection from illnesses related to swimming in or ingesting contaminated water, in addition to discussing their use in engineering considerations of water quality, modeling, monitoring, and regulations. Fecal bacteria are additionally used as indicators of contamination of ready-to-eat foods and fresh produce. The intestinal environment, the microbial community structure of the gut microbiota, and the physiology and genomics of this broad group of microorganisms are explored in the book. With contributions from an internationally recognized group of experts, the book integrates medicine, public health, environmental, and microbiological topics in order to provide a unique, holistic understanding of fecal bacteria. Moreover, it shows how the latest basic science and applied research findings are helping to solve problems and develop effective management strategies. For example, readers will discover how the latest tools and molecular approaches have led to our current understanding of fecal bacteria and enabled us to improve human health and water quality. The Fecal Bacteria is recommended for microbiologists, clinicians, animal scientists, engineers, environmental scientists, food safety experts, water quality managers, and students. It will help them better understand fecal bacteria and use their knowledge to protect human and environmental health. They can also apply many of the techniques and molecular tools discussed in this book to the study of a broad range of microorganisms in a variety of habitats.

Book↗
USGS2000

2nd interface between ecology and land development in California

The 2nd Interface Between Ecology and Land Development Conference was held in association with Earth Day 1997, five years after the first Interface Conference. Rapid population growth in California has intensified the inevitable conflict between land development and preservation of natural ecosystems. Sustainable development requires wise use of diminishing natural resources and, where possible, restoration of damaged landscapes. These Earth Week Celebrations brought together resource managers, scientists, politicians, environmental consultants, and concerned citizens in an effort to improve the communication necessary to maintain our natural biodiversity, ecosystem processes and general quality of life. As discussed by our keynote speaker, Michael Soule, the best predictor of habitat loss is population growth and nowhere is this better illustrated than in California. As urban perimeters expand, the interface between wildlands and urban areas increases. Few problems are more vexing than how to manage the fire prone ecosystems indigenous to California at this urban interface. Today resource managers face increasing challenges of dealing with this problem and the lead-off section of the proceedings considers both the theoretical basis for making decisions related to prescribed burning and the practical application. Habitat fragmentation is an inevitable consequence of development patterns with significant impacts on animal and plant populations. Managers must be increasingly resourceful in dealing with problems of fragmentation and the often inevitable consequences, including susceptibility to invasive oganisms. One approach to dealing with fragmentation problems is through careful landplanning. California is the national leader in the integration of conservation and economics. On Earth Day 1991, Governor Pete Wilson presented an environmental agenda that promised to create between land owners and environmentalists, agreements that would guarantee the protection of -endangered species and out of this grew the pioneering initiative, known as the Natural Communities Conservation Planning (NCCP) program. California's vast expanse of seemingly endless resources has traditionally been viewed as justification for abusive land use practices. The modem day recognition that resources are finite has led to greater concern, not only for conserving what is left, but for restoring abused landscapes. Ecological restoration is a new science devoted to returning disturbed environments to a semblance of their 'pristine' state. Based on principles of 'revegetation,' restoration goes far beyond simple replanting, rather the ambition of ecological restoration is to return landscapes to functioning ecosystems and is the focus of the last section.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2018

Environmental and ecological conditions at Arctic breeding sites have limited effects on true survival rates of adult shorebirds

Many Arctic shorebird populations are declining, and quantifying adult survival and the effects of anthropogenic factors is a crucial step toward a better understanding of population dynamics. We used a recently developed, spatially explicit Cormack–Jolly–Seber model in a Bayesian framework to obtain broad-scale estimates of true annual survival rates for 6 species of shorebirds at 9 breeding sites across the North American Arctic in 2010–2014. We tested for effects of environmental and ecological variables, study site, nest fate, and sex on annual survival rates of each species in the spatially explicit framework, which allowed us to distinguish between effects of variables on site fidelity versus true survival. Our spatially explicit analysis produced estimates of true survival rates that were substantially higher than previously published estimates of apparent survival for most species, ranging from S = 0.72 to 0.98 across 5 species. However, survival was lower for the arcticola subspecies of Dunlin ( Calidris alpina arcticola ; S = 0.54), our only study taxon that migrates through the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. Like other species that use that flyway, arcticola Dunlin could be experiencing unsustainably low survival rates as a result of loss of migratory stopover habitat. Survival rates of our study species were not affected by timing of snowmelt or summer temperature, and only 2 species showed minor variation among study sites. Furthermore, although previous reproductive success, predator abundance, and the availability of alternative prey each affected survival of one species, no factors broadly affected survival across species. Overall, our findings of few effects of environmental or ecological variables suggest that annual survival rates of adult shorebirds are generally robust to conditions at Arctic breeding sites. Instead, conditions at migratory stopovers or overwintering sites might be driving adult survival rates and should be the focus of future studies.

The Auk↗
USGS2007

Simulation of Hydrologic-System Responses to Ground-Water Withdrawals in the Hunt-Annaquatucket-Pettaquamscutt Stream-Aquifer System, Rhode Island

A numerical-modeling study was done to better understand hydrologic-system responses to ground-water withdrawals in the Hunt-Annaquatucket-Pettaquamscutt (HAP) stream-aquifer system of Rhode Island. System responses were determined by use of steady-state and transient numerical ground-water-flow models. These models were initially developed in the late 1990s as part of a larger study of the stream-aquifer system. The models were modified to incorporate new data made available since the original study and to meet the objectives of this study. Changes made to the models did not result in substantial changes to simulated ground-water levels, hydrologic budgets, or streamflows compared to those calculated by the original steady-state and transient models. Responses of the hydrologic system are described primarily by changes in simulated streamflows and ground-water levels throughout the basin and by changes to flow conditions in the aquifer in three wetland areas immediately east of the Lafayette State Fish Hatchery, which lies within the Annaquatucket River Basin in the town of North Kingstown. Ground water is withdrawn from the HAP aquifer at 14 large-capacity production wells, at an industrial well, and at 3 wells operated by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management at the fish hatchery. A fourth well has been proposed for the hatchery and an additional production well is under development by the town of North Kingstown. The primary streams of interest in the study area are the Hunt, Annaquatucket, and Pettaquamscutt Rivers and Queens Fort Brook. Total model-calculated streamflow depletions in these rivers and brook resulting from withdrawals at the production, industrial, and fish-hatchery wells pumping at average annual 2003 rates are about 4.8 cubic feet per second (ft3/s) for the Hunt River, 3.3 ft3/s for the Annaquatucket River, 0.5 ft3/s for the Pettaquamscutt River, and 0.5 ft3/s for Queens Fort Brook. The actual amount of streamflow reduction in the Annaquatucket River caused by pumping actually is less, 1.1 ft3/s, because ground water that is pumped at the fish-hatchery wells (2.2 ft3/s) is returned to the Annaquatucket River after use at the hatchery. One of the primary goals of the study was to evaluate the response of the hydrologic system to simulated withdrawals at the proposed well at the fish hatchery. Withdrawal rates at the proposed well would range from zero during April through September of each year to a maximum of 260 gallons per minute [about 0.4 million gallons per day (Mgal/d)] in March of each year. The average annual withdrawal rate at the fish hatchery resulting from the addition of the proposed well would increase by only 0.13 ft3/s, or about 5 percent of the 2003 withdrawal rate. The increased pumping rate at the hatchery would further reduce the average annual flow in Queens Fort Brook by less than 0.05 ft3/s and in the Annaquatucket River by about 0.1 ft3/s (which includes some model error). A new production well in the Annaquatucket River Basin is under development by the town of North Kingstown. A simulated pumping rate of 1.0 Mgal/d (1.6 ft3/s) at this new well resulted in additional streamflow depletions, compared to those calculated for the 2003 withdrawal conditions, of 0.8 and 0.2 ft3/s in the Annaquatucket and Pettaquamscutt Rivers, respectively. The source of water for about 30 percent of the well's pumping rate, or about 0.5 ft3/s, is derived from ground-water inflow from the Chipuxet River Basin across a natural ground-water drainage divide that separates the Annaquatucket and Chipuxet River Basins; the remaining 0.1 ft3/s of simulated pumping consists of reduced evapotranspiration from the water table. Model-calculated changes in water levels in the aquifer for the various withdrawal conditions simulated in this study indicate that ground-water-level declines caused by pumping are generally less than 5 feet (ft). However, ground-water-level declines of as

Open-File Report↗
USGS2021

Lessons learned from development of natural capital accounts in the United States and European Union

The United States and European Union (EU) face common challenges in managing natural capital and balancing conservation and resource use with consumption of other forms of capital. This paper synthesizes findings from 11 individual application papers from a special issue of Ecosystem Services on natural capital accounting (NCA) and their application to the public and private sectors in the EU and U.S. NCA is inherently a data-integration centered exercise, aiming to draw new insights by realigning environmental and economic data into a consistent framework. Drawing primarily on papers from the special issue and other key NCA literature, we identify lessons learned and gaps remaining for NCA’s development and application to decision making. In doing so, we identify eight key similarities and three major differences in NCA development, status, and application between the U.S. and EU. NCA can be highly policy relevant: special issue papers address critical issues including agriculture, water, conservation/land-use planning, climate, and corporate decision making. In both the U.S. and EU, further application is needed to drive demand for the accounts’ production. Based on these experiences, the U.S. and EU can be important leaders in cross-sector, international collaboration toward next-generation environmental economic accounts that advance global NCA practice.

Ecosystem Services↗
USGS2006

A simulation model of land-use change in the Lake Tahoe Basin of California and Nevada, as used in a decision-support system

The Tahoe Land-Use Change model is a stochastic, spatially explicit simulation of future land-use change—in particular, development and retirement of individual parcels—in the Lake Tahoe Basin of California and Nevada. The Federal, State, and regional management agencies responsible for the basin are revising and integrating their 20-year plans to meet various goals, including maintaining or improving several environmental (e.g., lake clarity, forest health) and socioeconomic (e.g., affordable housing) characteristics. To assist this effort, the model projects the long-term outcomes of land-use-management decisions, including those relating to existing and potential government regulations, development activities, and conservation practices. The model results are probabilistic maps of parcel-specific changes in land use and the resulting changes in the amount and locations of developed parcels and land-use change. To capture the uncertainties and variation in the exact parcels of land selected for development or retirement by individuals acting in the basin, a single model run includes multiple iterations, from which cumulative statistics are taken to describe the results. The purpose of the model is to generate changes in the amounts and types of land use and land cover that form inputs to a basinwide model of pollutant loading to Lake Tahoe, which, in turn, generates inputs to a lake-clarity model. Together, these three models form a chain of tools that link land-use decisions to changes in a critical environmental quality—the clarity of Lake Tahoe—within a decision-support context. Eventually, these three models will become part of a larger, more complete decision-support system.

California, Nevada↗
USGS2000

Applications of imaging spectroscopy data: A case study at Summitville, Colorado

From 1985 through 1992, the Summitville open-pit mine produced gold from lowgrade ore using cyanide heap-leach techniques, a method to extract gold whereby the ore pile is sprayed with water containing cyanide, which dissolves the minute gold grains. Environmental problems due to mining activity at Summitville include significant increases in acidic and metal-rich drainage from the site, leakage of cyanide-bearing solutions from the heap-leach pad into an underdrain system, and several surface leaks of cyanide-bearing solutions into the Wightman Fork of the Alamosa River. In general, drainage from the Summitville mine moves downslope into the Wightman Fork, a small tributary of the Alamosa River, which in turn flows east into the Terrace Reservoir before entering the agricultural lands of the San Luis Valley. The increase in the trace-metal burden of the Alamosa River watershed due to the mining activities at Summitville is of concern to farmers and fisherman, as well as Federal and State of Colorado agencies having responsibility for land stewardship. The environment of the Summitville area is a result of 1) its geologic evolution, that culminated in the formation of precious-metal mineral deposits; and 2) previous metal mining activity. Mining accentuates, accelerates, and pertubates natural geochemical processes. The development of underground workings, open pits, mill tailings, and spoil heaps and the extractive processing of ore enhances the likelihood of releasing chemicals and elements to the surrounding areas and at increased rates relative to unmined areas. Both mined and unmined mineralized areas can produce acid drainage from the formation and movement of highly acidic water rich in heavy metals. This acidic water forms principally through the chemical reaction of oxygenated surface water and shallow subsurface water with rocks that contain sulfide minerals, producing sulphuric acid. Heavy metals can be leached by the acid solution that comes in contact with mineralized rocks, a process that may be enhanced by bacterial action. The resulting fluids may be highly toxic and, when mixed with groundwater, surface water, and soil, may have harmful effects on humans, animals, and plants. Thus, understanding the geologic and hydrologic history of this area is a critical piece of the environmental puzzle in the Summitville area. The Summitville mine operators had ceased active mining and begun environmental remediation, including treatment of the heap-leach pile and installation of a water-treatment facility, when it declared bankruptcy in December 1992 and abandoned the mine site. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) immediately took over the Summitville site under EPA Superfund Emergency Response authority. Summitville has focused public attention on the environmental effects of modern mineral-resource development. Soon after the mine was abandoned, Federal, State, and local agencies, along with Alamosa River water users and private companies, began extensive studies at the mine site and surrounding areas. These studies included analysis of water, soil, livestock and vegetation. The role of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was to provide geologic, hydrologic and agricultural information about the mine and surrounding area and to describe and evaluate the environmental condition of the Summitville mine and the downstream effects of the mine on the San Luis Valley (King 1995).

Colorado↗
USGS2017

Integrating future scenario‐based crop expansion and crop conditions to map switchgrass biofuel potential in eastern Nebraska, USA

Switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum ) has been evaluated as one potential source for cellulosic biofuel feedstocks. Planting switchgrass in marginal croplands and waterway buffers can reduce soil erosion, improve water quality, and improve regional ecosystem services (i.e. it serves as a potential carbon sink). In previous studies, we mapped high risk marginal croplands and highly erodible cropland buffers that are potentially suitable for switchgrass development, which would improve ecosystem services and minimally impact food production. In this study, we advance our previous study results and integrate future crop expansion information to develop a switchgrass biofuel potential ensemble map for current and future croplands in eastern Nebraska. The switchgrass biomass productivity and carbon benefits (i.e. NEP: net ecosystem production) for the identified biofuel potential ensemble areas were quantified. The future scenario‐based (‘A1B’) land use and land cover map for 2050, the US Geological Survey crop type and Compound Topographic Index (CTI) maps, and long‐term (1981–2010) averaged annual precipitation data were used to identify future crop expansion regions that are suitable for switchgrass development. Results show that 2528 km 2 of future crop expansion regions (~3.6% of the study area) are potentially suitable for switchgrass development. The total estimated biofuel potential ensemble area (including cropland buffers, marginal croplands, and future crop expansion regions) is 4232 km 2 (~6% of the study area), potentially producing 3.52 million metric tons of switchgrass biomass per year. Converting biofuel ensemble regions to switchgrass leads to potential carbon sinks (the total NEP for biofuel potential areas is 0.45 million metric tons C) and is environmentally sustainable. Results from this study improve our understanding of environmental conditions and ecosystem services of current and future cropland systems in eastern Nebraska and provide useful information to land managers to make land use decisions regarding switchgrass development.

Nebraska↗
USGS2014

Expanding metal mixture toxicity models to natural stream and lake invertebrate communities

A modeling approach that was used to predict the toxicity of dissolved single and multiple metals to trout is extended to stream benthic macroinvertebrates, freshwater zooplankton, and Daphnia magna . The approach predicts the accumulation of toxicants (H, Al, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in organisms using 3 equilibrium accumulation models that define interactions between dissolved cations and biological receptors (biotic ligands). These models differ in the structure of the receptors and include a 2-site biotic ligand model, a bidentate biotic ligand or 2-pKa model, and a humic acid model. The predicted accumulation of toxicants is weighted using toxicant-specific coefficients and incorporated into a toxicity function called Tox, which is then related to observed mortality or invertebrate community richness using a logistic equation. All accumulation models provide reasonable fits to metal concentrations in tissue samples of stream invertebrates. Despite the good fits, distinct differences in the magnitude of toxicant accumulation and biotic ligand speciation exist among the models for a given solution composition. However, predicted biological responses are similar among the models because there are interdependencies among model parameters in the accumulation–Tox models. To illustrate potential applications of the approaches, the 3 accumulation–Tox models for natural stream invertebrates are used in Monte Carlo simulations to predict the probability of adverse impacts in catchments of differing geology in central Colorado (USA); to link geology, water chemistry, and biological response; and to demonstrate how this approach can be used to screen for potential risks associated with resource development.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry↗