Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

Filter Total Items: 1491

Multivariate SWAT streamflow and surface water storage calibration enables upper Mississippi River Basin wetland change scenarios Multivariate SWAT streamflow and surface water storage calibration enables upper Mississippi River Basin wetland change scenarios

Surface water storage (e.g., wetlands, lakes) is not typically considered in hydrological model calibrations. We tested a multivariate calibration process, incorporating Sentinel-1 and -2 surface water storage, for a Soil and Water Assessment Tool model across the 0.5 million km2 Upper Mississippi River Basin. While 19% of the 2000 parameter sets adequately simulated discharge (Kling...
Authors
Wayana Dolan, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Heather Golden, Jay R. Christensen, Charles R. Lane, Grey R. Evenson

Tracking decadal changes in frequent fire activity across the southeastern U.S. (2000-2019): Insights from Southeast FireMap Tracking decadal changes in frequent fire activity across the southeastern U.S. (2000-2019): Insights from Southeast FireMap

Background The dominant natural habitats in the southeastern United States depend on frequent fire ignited by humans or lightning. However, fire activity has sharply declined in the region since the early 1900s, and reduced fire activity has degraded natural habitats and increased wildfire risk. Identifying changes in fire use during recent decades is necessary to guide the conservation...
Authors
Holly K. Nowell, Kevin M. Robertson, Todd J. Hawbaker, Christopher V. Matechik, Joshua J. Picotte, Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Casey Elizabeth Menick, Karen Cummins, Joesph Noble

The use of fluorite geochemistry and machine learning to identify critical mineral systems The use of fluorite geochemistry and machine learning to identify critical mineral systems

Fluorite (CaF2) is a potential pathfinder to critical mineral and rare earth element (REE) deposits but its application has been limited to a narrow range of mineralization types. I show that fluorite is a robust recorder of mineralization fertility by applying statistical and machine-learning methods to a new global fluorite geochemical database. Distinct median rare earth and trace...
Authors
Ian W. Hillenbrand

The influence of tree canopy cover data choices on urban ecosystem accounting The influence of tree canopy cover data choices on urban ecosystem accounting

Because urban landscapes are heterogeneous, the methods and spatial resolution used to depict the land surface greatly influence the representation of urban features. Land cover products such as tree canopy cover (TCC) are particularly sensitive to the methodology and resolution used in their creation. Differences in TCC mapping have implications on the outcomes of ecosystem service (ES)...
Authors
Levi Sweet-Breu, Gregory Cermak, Lucila Marie Corro, Peter Christian Ibsen, Mehdi Heris, Raimundo Atal, Ryan McManamay, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Kenneth Bagstad

Analyzing land characteristics associated with historical large-scale solar photovoltaic deployment in the United States Analyzing land characteristics associated with historical large-scale solar photovoltaic deployment in the United States

Large-scale solar (LSS) deployment has accelerated rapidly across the United States, yet comprehensive understanding of its siting patterns remains limited. Here, we present a national-scale geospatial assessment of land characteristics converted for LSS development and apply statistical analyses to evaluate whether installations are disproportionately concentrated within specific land...
Authors
Jianyu Gu, Jordan Macknick, Ben Hoen, Jay E. Diffendorfer, K. Sydny Fujita, Zachary H. Ancona, James McCall, Dylan Harrison-Altas

Weathering the ride: Associations of heat, smoke, precipitation, and ozone with bus ridership in Colorado Weathering the ride: Associations of heat, smoke, precipitation, and ozone with bus ridership in Colorado

Weather and climate variability increasingly shape urban travel behavior, yet the short-term temporal dynamics and contextual modifiers of weather-transit relationships remain poorly understood. We analyzed system-wide hourly bus ridership in the Denver metropolitan area from June 2022 through September 2023 using fixed-effects negative binomial distributed lag nonlinear models with lags...
Authors
Priyanka deSouza, Elizabeth A. Dzwonczyk, Peter Christian Ibsen, Adam M. Lippert, Carl Green, T.C. Chakraborty, Melissa R. McHale, Peter Anthamatten, Ebru Altintas, Carrie Makarewicz

Tectonically driven integration of the 4.8 Ma Colorado River USA tracked with detrital sanidine and fish genetics Tectonically driven integration of the 4.8 Ma Colorado River USA tracked with detrital sanidine and fish genetics

The development of the continental-scale Colorado River system, western USA, from 8 to 4.8 Ma, is revealed using 60-40 Ma detrital sanidine tracer grains and fish phylogeny. Here we show that precursor paleoriver segments became integrated north to south as traced by 60-40 Ma sand grains that were derived from the north and sequentially appeared in the 25-8 Ma Browns Park Formation of...
Authors
K. E. Karlstrom, M. Heizler, A. Aslan, Ian W. Hillenbrand, S. Cather, T. F. Turner, M. Osborne, C. D. Henry, L. J. Crossey

Scalable urban tree canopy modelling for Canadian cities Scalable urban tree canopy modelling for Canadian cities

Urban tree cover (UTC) is a key indicator for monitoring climate adaptation, guiding policy goals, and designing equitable cities. However, consistent UTC estimates remain limited. This study proposes a transferable UTC modelling framework using global open-source data to map fractional UTC. The method involves satellite spectral products and high-resolution canopy height data to build...
Authors
Bayan Shaeri, Yuhao Lu, Alexander J. Martin, Lukas Olson, Raphael Ayambire, Txomin Hermosilla, Lucila Marie Corro, Jay Diffendorfer, Peter Christian Ibsen

Leveraging socioeconomic flows to inform shared, migratory species conservation Leveraging socioeconomic flows to inform shared, migratory species conservation

Migratory species, and the many cultural and economic values they provide, are declining worldwide. Previous research has quantified ecosystem service flows for single migratory species to provide valuable information on the dynamics of socio-ecological systems to inform cross-jurisdictional management. There are efficiencies in implementation to be gained from considering the dynamics...
Authors
Darius J. Semmens, Jay E. Diffendorfer, James A. Dubovsky, B.J. Mattsson, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Aaron Lien, Jonathan J. Derbridge, Jendrik Windt, Cooper Gottfried, Charles C. Chester

The influence of surface crust dynamics and sediment availability on aeolian dust emission from ephemeral lake beds: Evidence from Etosha Pan, Namibia The influence of surface crust dynamics and sediment availability on aeolian dust emission from ephemeral lake beds: Evidence from Etosha Pan, Namibia

Ephemeral lake beds (playas) are major global sources of atmospheric mineral dust, yet controls governing sediment availability and emission potential at fine spatial scales remain poorly constrained. This study presents the first in situ measurements of surface erodibility and potential PM10 emission fluxes from Etosha Pan, Namibia. Threshold shear velocities and PM10 emission fluxes...
Authors
Natasha S. Wallum, Giles F.S. Wiggs, Rosemary A. Huck, Jenifer Amy Leidelmeijer, Harland L. Goldstein

Glacier fed deltas and new age constraints for glacial Lake Grand Gorge in the northern Catskill Mountains of New York State, USA Glacier fed deltas and new age constraints for glacial Lake Grand Gorge in the northern Catskill Mountains of New York State, USA

Ice-dammed lakes were common along the southern margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet during deglaciation. In the Schoharie Valley of the northern Catskill Mountains, New York, a 171 km2 lake known as glacial Lake Grand Gorge formed in an interlobate area. Previous researchers suggested that deltas developed into this glacial lake from meltwater supplied by the adjacent Hudson Lobe during
Authors
Andrew L. Kozlowski, Richard A. Frieman, Karl J. Backhaus, Hailey Forgeng, Robert Feranec, Shannon A. Mahan
Was this page helpful?