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Rapid 3-D analysis of rockfalls

Recent fatal and damaging rockfalls in Yosemite National Park indicate the need for rapid response data collection methods to inform public safety and assist with management response. Here we show the use of multiple-platform remote sensing methods to rapidly capture pertinent data needed to inform management and the public following a several large rockfalls from El Capitan cliff in Yosemite Val
Authors
Greg M. Stock, A. Guerin, Nikita N. Avdievitch, Brian D. Collins, Michel Jaboyedoff

Against the current— The Mojave River from sink to source: The 2018 Desert Symposium field trip road log

The Mojave River evolved over the past few million years by “fill and spill” from upper basins near its source in the Transverse Ranges to lower basins. Each newly “spilled into” basin in the series? sustained a long-lived lake but gradually filled with Mojave River sediment, leading to spill to a yet lower elevation? basin. The Mojave River currently terminates at Silver Lake, near Baker, CA, but
Authors
David M. Miller, R.E. Reynolds, Krishangi D. Groover, David C. Buesch, H. J. Brown, Geoffrey Cromwell, Jill N. Densmore, A.L. Garcia, D. Hughson, J.R. Knott, Jeffrey E. Lovich

World distribution of uranium deposits

Deposit data derived from IAEA UDEPO (http://infcis.iaea.org/UDEPO/About.cshtml) database with assistance from P. Bruneton (France) and M. Mihalasky (U.S.A.). The map is an updated companion to "World Distribution of Uranium Deposits (UDEPO) with Uranium Deposit Classification, IAEA Tech-Doc-1629". Geology was derived from L.B. Chorlton, Generalized Geology of the World, Geological Survey of Cana
Authors
M. C. Fairclough, J. A. Irvine, L. F. Katona, W. L. Simmon, P. Bruneton, Mark J. Mihalasky, M. Cuney, M. Aranha, O. Pylypenko, K. Poliakovska

Assessing rockfall susceptibility in steep and overhanging slopes using three-dimensional analysis of failure mechanisms

Rockfalls strongly influence the evolution of steep rocky landscapes and represent a significant hazard in mountainous areas. Defining the most probable future rockfall source areas is of primary importance for both geomorphological investigations and hazard assessment. Thus, a need exists to understand which areas of a steep cliff are more likely to be affected by a rockfall. An important analyti
Authors
Battista Matasci, Greg M. Stock, Michael Jaboyedoff, Dario Carrea, Brian D. Collins, Antoine Guérin, G. Matasci, L. Ravanel

Integrating adaptive management and ecosystem services concepts to improve natural resource management: Challenges and opportunities

Executive Summary—OverviewNatural resource managers must make decisions that affect broad-scale ecosystem processes involving large spatial areas, complex biophysical interactions, numerous competing stakeholder interests, and highly uncertain outcomes. Natural and social science information and analyses are widely recognized as important for informing effective management. Chief among the systema
Authors
Rebecca S. Epanchin-Niell, James W. Boyd, Molly K. Macauley, Lynn Scarlett, Carl D. Shapiro, Byron K. Williams

Crustal structure and quaternary acceleration of deformation rates in central Washington revealed by stream profile inversion, potential field geophysics, and structural geology of the Yakima folds

Post‐Miocene tectonic uplift along fault‐cored anticlines within central Washington produced the Yakima Fold Province, a region of active NNE‐SSW shortening in the Cascadian backarc. The relative timing and rate of deformation along individual structures is coarsely defined yet imperative for seismic hazard assessment. In this work, we use geomorphic and geophysical mapping, stream profile inversi
Authors
Lydia M. Staisch, Richard J. Blakely, Harvey Kelsey, Richard Styron, Brian L. Sherrod

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Susitna Basin, southern Alaska, 2017

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in the Susitna Basin of southern Alaska. Using a geology-based methodology, the USGS estimates that mean undiscovered volumes of about 2 million barrels of oil and nearly 1.7 trillion cubic feet of gas may be found in this area.
Authors
Richard G. Stanley, Christopher J. Potter, Kristen A. Lewis, Paul G. Lillis, Anjana K. Shah, Peter J. Haeussler, Jeffrey D. Phillips, Zenon C. Valin, Christopher J. Schenk, Timothy R. Klett, Michael E. Brownfield, Ronald M. Drake, Thomas M. Finn, Seth S. Haines, Debra K. Higley, David W. Houseknecht, Phuong A. Le, Kristen R. Marra, Tracey J. Mercier, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Stanley T. Paxton, Ofori N. Pearson, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Cheryl A. Woodall, Margarita V. Zyrianova

Supporting natural resource management—The role of economics at the Department of the Interior—A workshop report

The first U.S. Department of the Interior Economics Workshop was held April 5–7, 2017 in Washington, D.C., to identify, highlight, and better understand needs and opportunities for economic analysis to support the Department of the Interior’s mission. The Economics Workshop, jointly convened by the Department of the Interior Office of Policy Analysis and the U.S. Geological Survey Science and Deci
Authors
Emily J. Pindilli, Christian S.L. Crowley, Sarah A. Cline, Anthony J. Good, Carl D. Shapiro, Benjamin M. Simon

A time-lapse gravity survey of the Coso geothermal field, China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, California

We have conducted a gravity survey of the Coso geothermal field to continue the time-lapse gravity study of the area initiated in 1991. In this report, we outline a method of processing the gravity data that minimizes the random errors and instrument bias introduced into the data by the Scintrex CG-5 relative gravimeters that were used. After processing, the standard deviation of the data was esti
Authors
Geoffrey Phelps, Collin Cronkite-Ratcliff, Kelly Blake

New geologic mapping of the northwestern Willamette Valley, Oregon, and its American Viticultural Areas (AVAs)—A foundation for understanding their terroir

A geologic map of the greater Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area is planned that will document the region’s complex geology (currently in review: “Geologic map of the greater Portland metropolitan area and surrounding region, Oregon and Washington,” by Wells, R.E., Haugerud, R.A., Niem, A., Niem, W., Ma, L., Evarts, R., Madin, I., and others). The map, which is planned to be published as a U.S. G
Authors
Ray E. Wells, Ralph A. Haugerud, Alan Niem, Wendy Niem, Lina Ma, Ian Madin, Russell C. Evarts

Disentangling the effects of low pH and metal mixture toxicity on macroinvertebrate diversity

One of the primary goals of biological assessment of streams is to identify which of a suite of chemical stressors is limiting their ecological potential. Elevated metal concentrations in streams are often associated with low pH, yet the effects of these two potentially limiting factors of freshwater biodiversity are rarely considered to interact beyond the effects of pH on metal speciation. Using
Authors
Riccardo Fornaroli, Alessio Ippolito, Mari J. Tolkkinen, Heikki Mykrä, Timo Muotka, Laurie S. Balistrieri, Travis S. Schmidt

James Dwight Dana and John Strong Newberry in the US Pacific Northwest: The roots of American fluvialism

Recognition of the power of rivers to carve landscapes transformed geology and geomorphology in the late nineteenth century. Wide acceptance of this concept—then known as “fluvialism”—owes to many factors and people, several associated with exploration of western North America. Especially famous are the federal geographic and geologic surveys of the US Southwest with John Wesley Powell and Grove K
Authors
Jim E. O'Connor