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Urban trees and cooling: A review of the recent literature (2018 to 2024) Urban trees and cooling: A review of the recent literature (2018 to 2024)

Urban trees mitigate extreme heat through shading and evapotranspiration, but cooling effectiveness varies with tree traits, spatial configurations, and climate. This systematic mapping review synthesizes findings from 115 studies (2018 to 2024) using RepOrting standards for Systematic Evidence Syntheses (ROSES) protocols. Studies were categorized based on geographic location, climate...
Authors
Michael Alonzo, Peter Christian Ibsen, Dexter Locke

Scoping decision-maker needs and science availability to support regional natural capital accounting in the U.S. Colorado River Basin Scoping decision-maker needs and science availability to support regional natural capital accounting in the U.S. Colorado River Basin

Natural capital accounting has the potential to yield important policy insights at multiple scales, but there remains a disconnect between regional-scale natural capital accounts and their use for informing policy. In this paper, we propose a roadmap that could lead to the creation of policy-relevant regional accounts, with steps split across an initial scoping phase and a subsequent...
Authors
Aaron Joey Enriquez, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Katharine G. Dahm, Alicia A. Torregrosa, Rudy Schuster

Monitoring visitor activity and informal trail disturbance in Yosemite Valley meadows to assess temporal changes in use and impacts Monitoring visitor activity and informal trail disturbance in Yosemite Valley meadows to assess temporal changes in use and impacts

Montane meadows provide vital habitat that supports ecosystems, regulate hydrological processes, and offer valuable recreational opportunities. Meadows account for 3 % of Yosemite National Park's area, including Yosemite Valley, and are particularly susceptible to human impacts such as formation of informal trails. We collected observational data on visitor activity and quantified social...
Authors
Sheri A. Shiflett, Jeffery S. Jenkins, Rachel F. Mattos, Kai Thiry, Peter Christian Ibsen, Melissa Booher, Angela Tricomi, Nicole D Athearn

Organic matter composition versus microbial source: Controls on carbon loss from fen wetland and permafrost soils Organic matter composition versus microbial source: Controls on carbon loss from fen wetland and permafrost soils

Wetland and permafrost soils contain some of Earth's largest reservoirs of organic carbon, and these stores are threatened by rapid warming across the Arctic. Nearly half of northern wetlands are affected by permafrost. As these ecosystems warm, the cycling of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and the opportunities for microbial degradation are changing. This is particularly evident as the
Authors
Sommer F. Starr, Kimberly Wickland, Anne M. Kellerman, Amy M. McKenna, Martin M. Kurek, Aubrey Miller, Ariana Karsaras, Thomas A. Douglas, Rachel Mackelprang, Ashley L. Shade, Robert G.M. Spencer

Finding the hidden orogeny – The Proterozoic polymetamorphic history of northern New Mexico Finding the hidden orogeny – The Proterozoic polymetamorphic history of northern New Mexico

Pressure–temperature–time-deformation histories provide key constraints on orogenic processes but can be affected by later overprinting. This is exemplified in the Proterozoic orogenic belts of southwestern Laurentia where competing tectonic models involve either a single progressive Mesoproterozoic event, the Picuris orogeny, or a polyorogenic history that also includes the ~1.65 Ga...
Authors
Ian William Hillenbrand, Michael L Williams, Amy K. Gilmer, Karl E. Karlstrom, Michael J. Jercinovic, Daniel J Young

One-hundred fundamental, open questions to integrate methodological approaches in lake ice research One-hundred fundamental, open questions to integrate methodological approaches in lake ice research

The rate of technological innovation within aquatic sciences outpaces the collective ability of individual scientists within the field to make appropriate use of those technologies. The process of in situ lake sampling remains the primary choice to comprehensively understand an aquatic ecosystem at local scales; however, the impact of climate change on lakes necessitates the rapid...
Authors
Joshua Culpepper, Sapna Sharma, Grant Gunn, Madeline Magee, Michael Frederick Meyer, Eric Anderson, Christoper D. Arp, Sarah Cooley, Wayana Dolan, Hilary Dugan, Claude R. Duguay, Benjamin C. Jones, Georgiy Kirillin, Robert Ladwig, Matti Lepparanta, Di Long, John J. Magnuson, Tamlin Pavelsky, Sebastiano Piccolroaz, Dale M. Robertson, Bethel Steele, Manu Tom, Gesa A. Weyhenmeyer, R. Iesytn Woolway, Marguerite A. Xenopoulos, Xiao Yang

An early Holocene wet period in the southwestern United States An early Holocene wet period in the southwestern United States

Multiple generations of spring-fed streams traversed ∼800 km2 of the Las Vegas Valley in southern Nevada between ca. 10.9 ka and 8.5 ka, depositing an extensive tufa network. The scale of this network and diversity of tufa morphologies is novel in North America and offers an opportunity to obtain quantitative paleoclimate data for the region during the early Holocene. We determined...
Authors
Kathleen B. Springer, Adam M. Hudson, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Katharine W. Huntington, Andrew J. Schauer

Anatectic origin of Mississippian spodumene-bearing pegmatites in western Maine during orogenic plateau collapse Anatectic origin of Mississippian spodumene-bearing pegmatites in western Maine during orogenic plateau collapse

Spodumene pegmatites are an important lithium source, but the processes and tectonic settings in which they form are poorly understood. The Rumford pegmatite district surrounding Plumbago Mountain, western Maine, is host to numerous spodumene pegmatites, including the Plumbago North pegmatite (a world-class spodumene resource). Competing petrogenetic models for these spodumene pegmatites...
Authors
Myles M Felch, Ian William Hillenbrand, J. Dykstra Eusden, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Dwight C. Bradley, Amber T.H. Whittaker, Michael J. Jercinovic, Michael L. Williams, Laura Pianowski

New evidence for eolian activity and mammoths on Santa Rosa Island prior to the Last Glacial Maximum New evidence for eolian activity and mammoths on Santa Rosa Island prior to the Last Glacial Maximum

Sea-level fluctuations due to the growth and decay of continental ice sheets of the Quaternary exert a strong influence on geologic processes along coastlines. The California Channel Islands are no exception to this, and many studies have been conducted that focus on the extremes of these glacial-interglacial cycles, such as the last glacial period (marine isotope stage [MIS] 2) and the...
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Nathan Melling

U.S. Geological Survey 2024 Rocky Mountain Region Science Exchange—Showcasing cutting-edge science to adapt to extreme weather events and stakeholder needs U.S. Geological Survey 2024 Rocky Mountain Region Science Exchange—Showcasing cutting-edge science to adapt to extreme weather events and stakeholder needs

Introduction The Rocky Mountains and the Colorado River Basin in the Western United States are complex, interconnected systems that sustain a large variety of species, including tens of millions of humans. These regions face risks from drought, wildfires, invasive plant and animal species, and habitat reduction. Working with many stakeholders, scientists can help to characterize these...
Authors
William J. Andrews, Timothy N. Titus, Lauren Ellissa Eng, Kristine L. Zellman, Patrick J. Anderson, Jeremy C Havens

A nationwide evaluation of crowd-sourced ambient temperature data A nationwide evaluation of crowd-sourced ambient temperature data

Growing concerns about heat in urban areas paired with the sparsity of weather stations have resulted in individuals drawing on data from citizen science sensor networks to fill in data gaps. The PurpleAir are the most widely-used low-cost air quality sensors in the contiguous United States with 14,777 deployed between 1 Jan 2017 and 20 July 2021. Although the air quality data from...
Authors
Priyanka deSouza, Peter Christian Ibsen, Daniel M. Westervelt, Ralph Kahn, Benjamin Zaitchik, Patrick Kinney

The North American greenhouse gas budget: Emissions, removals, and integration for CO2, CH4, and N2O (2010–2019): Results From the Second REgional Carbon Cycle Assessment and Processes Study (RECCAP2) The North American greenhouse gas budget: Emissions, removals, and integration for CO2, CH4, and N2O (2010–2019): Results From the Second REgional Carbon Cycle Assessment and Processes Study (RECCAP2)

Accurate accounting of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions and removals is central to tracking progress toward climate mitigation and for monitoring potential climate-change feedbacks. GHG budgeting and reporting can follow either the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change methodologies for National Greenhouse Gas Inventory (NGHGI) reporting or use atmospheric-based “top-down” (TD)...
Authors
Benjamin Poulter, Guillermo Murray-Tortarolo, Daniel J. Hayes, Philippe Ciais, Robbie M. Andrew, Ana Bastos, Brendan Byrne, David Butman, Josep G. Canadell, Abhishek Chatterjee, Grant Domke, Andrew F. Feldman, Kelsey Foster, Neha Hunka, Robert B. Jackson, Werner A. kurz, Ayia Lindquist, Maodian Liu, Ingrid Luijkx, Arnaud Mialon, Anna M. Michalak, John Miller, Wolfgang A. Obermeier, Naiqin Pan, James T. Randerson, Peter A. Raymond, Pierre Regnier, Laure Resplandy, Gerard Rocher-Ros, Nemesio Rodriquez-Fernandez, Judith A. Rosentreter, Julio Cesar Salazar-Neira, Suzanne E. Tank, Hanqin Tan, Rodrigo Vargas, Yohanna Villalobos, Jonathan A. Wang, Xinyuan Wei, Kimberly Wickland, Christopher J. Williams, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Christopher W. Woodall, Qing Ying, Zhen Zhang
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