Data

Sea star wasting disease (SSWD) is a suite of poorly described non-specific clinical signs including abnormal posture, epidermal ulceration, and limb autotomy (sloughing) causing mortalities of over 20 species of sea stars and subsequent ecological shifts throughout the northeastern Pacific. While SSWD is widely assumed to be infectious with environmental conditions facilitating disease

This field activity is part of the effort to map geologic substrates of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary region off Boston, Massachusetts. The overall goal is to develop high-resolution (1:25,000) interpretive maps, based on multibeam sonar data and seabed sampling, showing surficial geology and seabed sediment dynamics. This cruise was conducted in collaboration with the...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted research to quantify bathymetric changes along the Florida Reef Tract (FRT) from Miami to Key West within a 939.4 square-kilometer area. USGS staff calculated changes in seafloor elevation and volume from 2016 to 2019 using light detection and ranging (lidar)-derived digital elevation models...

The Seafloor Elevation Change Analysis Tool (SECAT) is a Python script intended to be run as a script tool by ArcMap or ArcGIS Pro that automates their intricate methodology.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted research to quantify bathymetric changes in the Upper Florida Keys (UFK) from Triumph Reef to Pickles Reef within a 242.4 square-kilometer area. USGS staff calculated changes in seafloor elevation from 2002 to 2016 using light detection and ranging (lidar)-derived data acquired by the USGS in...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted research to quantify bathymetric changes along the Florida Reef Tract (FRT) from Miami to Key West within a 982.4 square-kilometer area. USGS staff calculated changes in seafloor elevation from the 1930s to 2016 using digitized historical hydrographic surveys (H-sheets) acquired by the U.S. Coast...

Wind energy represents an important alternative to oil and gas extraction to meet increasing energy demands, but it has the potential to disrupt wildlife populations. Because behavioral adjustments, such as altered habitat selection, are a primary way that long-lived species respond to novel disturbances, USGS scientists evaluated effects of wind energy development on pronghorn...

Three-dimensional numerical models were used to determine the permeable pathways between the HANDLEY underground nuclear test and downgradient boreholes ER-20-12 and PM-3, Pahute Mesa, southern Nevada. The SEAWAT code was used to couple MODFLOW and MT3DMS models, where the coupled model simulated groundwater-flow and tritium migration from the HANDLEY test for 50 years, from the date of...

Three groundwater flow models, using MODFLOW-2000, SEAWAT, and SHARP model codes, were used to evaluate plans to supply potable and non-potable water to residents and businesses of Cape May County, New Jersey until at least 2050. The ideal plan would meet projected demands and minimize adverse effects on currently used sources of potable, non-potable, and ecological water supplies. The U...

Three existing groundwater flow models, using MODFLOW-2000, SEAWAT, and SHARP model codes, were used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to determine the effects of increased withdrawals, and shifts of withdrawals between 2 aquifers, on the limited water resources in the Cape May County, New Jersey. Saltwater intrusion and declining water levels have been a water-supply problem in Cape...

We developed a second iteration of habitat suitability models for Lesser Prairie Chicken leks, across their range. The first modeling iteration used lek data collected from 2002 to 2012, land cover data ranging from 2001 to 2013, and anthropogenic features from 2011. Our second iteration model used occurrence points from new lek surveys (2015 to 2019) and updated predictor layers to...

Methylmercury (MeHg) is a globally pervasive contaminant that biomagnifies in food webs and can reach toxic concentrations in consumers at higher trophic levels, including wildlife and humans. The production of MeHg, and its subsequent entry and biomagnification in food webs, is governed by a complex suite of biogeochemical, physical, and ecological processes, resulting in spatial...