Publications
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The future of ecosystem assessments is automation, collaboration, and artificial intelligence The future of ecosystem assessments is automation, collaboration, and artificial intelligence
Robust and routine ecosystem assessments will be fundamental to track progress towards achieving this decade’s global environmental and sustainability goals. Here we examine four needs that address common failure points of ecosystem assessments. These are (1) developing rapid, reproducible, and repeatable ecological data workflows, (2) harmonizing in situ and remotely sensed data, (3)...
Authors
Carmen Galaz-Garcia, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Julien Brun, Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer, Trevor Dhu, Nicholas J. Murray, Connor J. Nolan, Taylor H. Ricketts, Heidi M. Sosik, Daniel Sousa, Geoff Willard, Benjamin S Halpern
Vulnerable waters are essential to watershed resilience Vulnerable waters are essential to watershed resilience
Watershed resilience is the ability of a watershed to maintain its characteristic system state while concurrently resisting, adapting to, and reorganizing after hydrological (for example, drought, flooding) or biogeochemical (for example, excessive nutrient) disturbances. Vulnerable waters include non-floodplain wetlands and headwater streams, abundant watershed components representing...
Authors
Charles R. Lane, Irena F. Creed, Heather E. Golden, Scott G. Leibowitz, David M. Mushet, Mark C. Rains, Qiusheng Wu, Ellen D’Amico, Laurie C. Alexander, Genevieve A. Ali, Nandita B. Basu, Micah G. Bennett, Jay R. Christensen, Matthew J. Cohen, Tim P. Covino, Ben DeVries, Ryan A. Hill, Kelsey G. Jencso, Megan W. Lang, Daniel L. McLaughlin, Donald O. Rosenberry, Jennifer Rover, Melanie K. Vanderhoof
Revised age and regional correlations of Cenozoic strata on Bat Mountain, Death Valley region, California, USA, from zircon U-Pb geochronology of sandstones and ash-fall tuffs Revised age and regional correlations of Cenozoic strata on Bat Mountain, Death Valley region, California, USA, from zircon U-Pb geochronology of sandstones and ash-fall tuffs
Basin analysis and tectonic reconstructions of the Cenozoic history of the Death Valley region, California, USA, are hindered by a lack of volcanic (tuff) age control in many stratigraphic successions exposed in the Grapevine and Funeral Mountains of California, USA. Although maximum depositional ages (MDAs) interpreted from detrital zircon U-Pb data may be a promising alternative to...
Authors
Theresa Maude Schwartz, Amanda Souders, Jens-Erik Lundstern, Amy K. Gilmer, Ren A. Thompson
Insights from the Alabama Hills into Mesozoic magmatism and tectonics in eastern California Insights from the Alabama Hills into Mesozoic magmatism and tectonics in eastern California
New zircon U-Pb ages for the Alabama Hills Granite in Owens Valley, eastern California, range from 103 to 102 Ma, nearly 20 Ma older than previously published zircon ages. The data preclude previously implied links between the pluton and the adjacent Late Cretaceous Mount Whitney Intrusive Suite. Geochronologic and isotopic data indicate a connection between the Alabama Hills Granite and
Authors
Ryan Edward Frazer, Sean P. Gaynor, Drew S. Coleman, Jennifer M. Wenner
The National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program’s U.S. GeoFramework Initiative — Delivering a digital database of geologic map information by 2030 The National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program’s U.S. GeoFramework Initiative — Delivering a digital database of geologic map information by 2030
The U.S. Geological Survey's National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program's U.S. GeoFramework Initiative responds to Congressional direction to implement the National Geologic Map Database Phase Three. The U.S. GeoFramework Initiative aims to create and deliver a new digital geologic framework of the United States by 2030. This Fact Sheet outlines the collaborations needed and plans...
Authors
Jenna L. Shelton, William Andrews, Joseph P. Colgan, Samuel Johnstone, David R. Soller, Richard Berg, Donald S. Sweetkind, Kristine L. Zellman, John Brock, Kate Ritzel
A complex record of last interglacial sea-level history and paleozoogeography, Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California, USA A complex record of last interglacial sea-level history and paleozoogeography, Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California, USA
Studies of marine terraces and their fossils can yield important information about sea level history, tectonic uplift rates, and paleozoogeography, but some aspects of terrace history, particularly with regard to their fossil record, are not clearly understood. Marine terraces are well preserved on Santa Rosa Island, California, and the island is situated near a major marine faunal...
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs, Lindsey T. Groves, Kathleen R. Simmons, R. Randall Schumann, Scott A. Minor
The Seamless Integrated Geologic Mapping (SIGMa) extension to the Geologic Map Schema (GeMS) The Seamless Integrated Geologic Mapping (SIGMa) extension to the Geologic Map Schema (GeMS)
Geologic maps are the fundamental building blocks of surface and subsurface three-dimensional geologic framework models of the Earth’s crust. However, as the production and availability of geologic map databases continues to increase, inconsistent data models and the lack of synthesized, national geologic map data at scales appropriate for informed decision making negatively affect the...
Authors
Kenzie J. Turner, Jeremiah B. Workman, Joseph P. Colgan, Amy K. Gilmer, Margaret E. Berry, Samuel Johnstone, Kathleen F. Warrell, Marieke Dechesne, D. Paco VanSistine, Ren A. Thompson, Adam M. Hudson, Kristine L. Zellman, Donald S. Sweetkind, Chester A. Ruleman
Can we avert an Amazon tipping point? The economic and environmental costs Can we avert an Amazon tipping point? The economic and environmental costs
The Amazon biome is being pushed by unsustainable economic drivers towards an ecological tipping point where restoration to its previous state may no longer be possible. This degradation is the result of self-reinforcing interactions between deforestation, climate change and fire. We assess the economic, natural capital and ecosystem services impacts and trade-offs of scenarios...
Authors
Onil Banerjee, Martin Cicowiez, Marcia N. Macedo, Ziga Malek, Peter H. Verburg, Sean Goodwin, Renato Vargas, Ludmila Rattis, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Paulo M. Brando, Michael T. Coe, Christopher Neill, Octavio Damiani Marti, Josue Avila Murillo
Hydroclimate and fire paleorecords across the southern Rockies and Colorado Plateau over the common era Hydroclimate and fire paleorecords across the southern Rockies and Colorado Plateau over the common era
The southwestern US has been experiencing a severe drought and increased fire activity over the past two decades, affecting people’s health, homes, and businesses. Many individual fires occurring in the Southwest are the most severe in recorded history both in terms of dollars of damages as well as in fire extent. It is essential to be able to place the present drought and fires into the...
Authors
Natalie M. Kehrwald, Rebecca Lynn Brice
Geologic setting and geomorphic history of La Botica and surrounding area Geologic setting and geomorphic history of La Botica and surrounding area
La Botica is located on the gently east-dipping marginal area between the high San Juan Mountains to the west and the San Luis Basin to the east in south-central Colorado. The site is positioned on a topographic bench perched about 70 to 80 m above La Jara Creek (figure 2.1), a tributary to the Rio Grande. The unique floral assemblage at La Botica has resulted in intermittent occupation...
Authors
Kenzie J. Turner, Chester A. Ruleman, Shannon A. Mahan
GCPs free photogrammetry for estimating tree height and crown diameter in Arizona cypress plantation using UAV-Mounted GNSS RTK GCPs free photogrammetry for estimating tree height and crown diameter in Arizona cypress plantation using UAV-Mounted GNSS RTK
One of the main challenges of using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in forest data acquisition is the implementation of Ground Control Points (GCPs) as a mandatory step, which is sometimes impossible for inaccessible areas or within canopy closures. This study aimed to test the accuracy of a UAV-mounted GNSS RTK (real-time kinematic) system for calculating tree height and crown height...
Authors
Morteza Pourreza, Fardin Moradi, Mohammad Khosravi, Azade Deljouei, Melanie K. Vanderhoof
Geochemical evidence for diachronous uplift and synchronous collapse of the high elevation Variscan hinterland Geochemical evidence for diachronous uplift and synchronous collapse of the high elevation Variscan hinterland
Competing end-member models for the late Paleozoic Variscan orogeny (ca. 360-290 Ma) alternatively suggest moderate 2-3 km elevations underlain by relatively thin crust (55 km) that supported high 4-5 km elevations. We tested these models and quantified the crustal thickness and elevation evolution of the Variscan orogeny using igneous trace element geochemical proxies. The data suggest...
Authors
Ian William Hillenbrand, Michael L. Williams