Publications
Publications
Here you will find publications, reports and articles produced by Lower Mississippi-Gulf scientists. For a comprehensive listing of all USGS publications please click the button below.
Filter Total Items: 458
Unfamiliar territory: Emerging themes for ecological drought research and management Unfamiliar territory: Emerging themes for ecological drought research and management
Novel forms of drought are emerging globally, due to climate change, shifting teleconnection patterns, expanding human water use, and a history of human influence on the environment that increases the probability of transformational ecological impacts. These costly ecological impacts cascade to human communities, and understanding this changing drought landscape is one of today’s grand...
Authors
Shelley D. Crausbay, Julio L. Betancourt, John B. Bradford, Jennifer M. Cartwright, William C. Dennison, Jason B. Dunham, Carolyn Armstrong Enquist, Abby G. Frazier, Kimberly R. Hall, Jeremy Littell, Charlie H. Luce, Richard Palmer, Aaron R. Ramirez, Imtiaz Rangwala, Laura Thompson, Brianne M. Walsh, Shawn Carter
Using boosted regression tree models to predict salinity in Mississippi embayment aquifers, central United States Using boosted regression tree models to predict salinity in Mississippi embayment aquifers, central United States
High salinity limits groundwater use in parts of the Mississippi embayment. Machine learning was used to create spatially continuous and three‐dimensional predictions of salinity across drinking‐water aquifers in the embayment. Boosted regression tree (BRT) models, a type of machine learning, were used to predict specific conductance (SC) and chloride (Cl), and total dissolved solids...
Authors
Katherine J. Knierim, James A. Kingsbury, Connor J. Haugh, Katherine Marie Ransom
Water resources of Evangeline Parish, Louisiana Water resources of Evangeline Parish, Louisiana
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. In 2014, about 282.66 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water were withdrawn...
Authors
Chid J. Murphy, Vincent E. White
Water resources of Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana Water resources of Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. In 2014, about 70 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water were withdrawn in...
Authors
Vincent E. White
Legacy effects of hydrologic alteration in playa wetland responses to droughts Legacy effects of hydrologic alteration in playa wetland responses to droughts
Wetland conservation increasingly must account for climate change and legacies of previous land-use practices. Playa wetlands provide critical wildlife habitat, but may be impacted by intensifying droughts and previous hydrologic modifications. To inform playa restoration planning, we asked: (1) what are the trends in playa inundation? (2) what are the factors influencing inundation? (3)...
Authors
Micah T. Russell, Jennifer M. Cartwright, Gail H. Collins, Ryan A. Long, Jan H. Eitel
A guidebook to spatial datasets for conservation planning under climate change in the Pacific Northwest A guidebook to spatial datasets for conservation planning under climate change in the Pacific Northwest
This guidebook provides user-friendly overviews of a variety of spatial datasets relevant to conservation and management of natural resources in the face of climate change in the Pacific Northwest, United States. Each guidebook chapter was created using a standardized template to summarize a spatial dataset or a group of closely related datasets. Datasets were selected according to...
Authors
Jennifer M. Cartwright, Travis Belote, Kyle W. Blasch, Steve Campbell, Jeanne C. Chambers, Raymond J. Davis, Solomon Dobrowski, Jason B. Dunham, Diana Gergel, Daniel Isaak, Kristin Jaeger, Meade Krosby, Jesse Langdon, Joshua J. Lawler, Caitlin E. Littlefield, Charles H. Luce, Jeremy D Maestas, Anthony Martinez, Arjan J.H. Meddens, Julia Michalak, Sean A. Parks, Wendy Peterman, Ken Popper, Chris Ringo, Roy Sando, Michael Schindel, Diana Stralberg, David M. Theobald, Nathan Walker, Chad Wilsey, Zhiqiang Yang, Andrew Yost
Using NASA Earth observations and Google Earth Engine to map winter cover crop conservation performance in the Chesapeake Bay watershed Using NASA Earth observations and Google Earth Engine to map winter cover crop conservation performance in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Winter cover crops such as barley, rye, and wheat help to improve soil structure by increasing porosity, aggregate stability, and organic matter, while reducing the loss of agricultural nutrients and sediments into waterways. The environmental performance of cover crops is affected by choice of species, planting date, planting method, nutrient inputs, temperature, and precipitation. The...
Authors
Alison Thieme, Sunita Yadav, Perry C. Oddo, John M. Fitz, Sean McCartney, LeeAnn King, Jason Keppler, Gregory W. McCarty, W. Dean Hively
Methods to quality assure, plot, summarize, interpolate, and extend groundwater-level information—Examples for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer Methods to quality assure, plot, summarize, interpolate, and extend groundwater-level information—Examples for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer
Large-scale computational investigations of groundwater levels are proposed to accelerate science delivery through a workflow spanning database assembly, statistics, and information synthesis and packaging. A water-availability study of the Mississippi River alluvial plain, and particularly the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer (MRVA), is ongoing. Software (visGWDBmrva) has been...
Authors
William H. Asquith, Ronald C. Seanor, Virginia L. McGuire, Wade Kress
Characterizing the diverse hydrogeology underlying rivers and estuaries using new floating transient electromagnetic methodology Characterizing the diverse hydrogeology underlying rivers and estuaries using new floating transient electromagnetic methodology
The hydrogeology below large surface water features such as rivers and estuaries is universally under-informed at the long reach to basin scales (tens of km+). This challenge inhibits the accurate modeling of fresh/saline groundwater interfaces and groundwater/surface water exchange patterns at management-relevant spatial extents. Here we introduce a towed, floating transient...
Authors
John W. Lane, Martin A. Briggs, PK Maurya, Eric A. White, JB Pedersen, Esben Auken, Neil Terry, Burke J. Minsley, Wade Kress, Denis R. LeBlanc, Ryan F. Adams, Carole D. Johnson
Oases of the future? Evaluating springs as potential hydrologic refugia in drying climates Oases of the future? Evaluating springs as potential hydrologic refugia in drying climates
Springs in water-limited landscapes are biodiversity hotspots and keystone ecosystems, disproportionately influencing surrounding landscapes despite their often small areas. Some springs served as evolutionary refugia during previous climate drying, supporting relict species in isolated habitats. Understanding whether springs will provide hydrologic refugia from future climate change is...
Authors
Jennifer M. Cartwright, Kathleen A. Dwire, Zach Freed, Samantha J. Hammer, Blair McLaughlin, Louise W. Misztal, Edward J. Schenk, John R. Spencer, Abraham E. Springer, Lawrence E. Stevens
Combining physical and species‐based approaches improves refugia identification Combining physical and species‐based approaches improves refugia identification
Climate‐change refugia – locations likely to facilitate species persistence under climate change – are increasingly important components of conservation planning. Recent approaches for identifying refugia at broad scales include identifying regions that are projected to experience less severe changes (climatic exposure), that contain a diversity of physical and topographic features...
Authors
Julia Michalak, Diana Stralberg, Jennifer M. Cartwright, Joshua J. Lawler
Disturbance refugia within mosaics of forest fire, drought, and insect outbreaks Disturbance refugia within mosaics of forest fire, drought, and insect outbreaks
Disturbance refugia – locations that experience less severe or frequent disturbances than the surrounding landscape – provide a framework to highlight not only where and why these biological legacies persist as adjacent areas change but also the value of those legacies in sustaining biodiversity. Recent studies of disturbance refugia in forest ecosystems have focused primarily on fire...
Authors
Meg A. Krawchuk, Garrett Meigs, Jennifer M. Cartwright, Jonathan D. Coop, Raymond J. Davis, Andres Holz, Crystal A. Kolden, Arjan J.H. Meddens