Publications

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative aims to protect and restore the nation’s largest freshwater resource, in part, by furthering our understanding of the effects of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) and chemical mixtures on aquatic and terrestrial organisms. To address this goal, an interagency team conducted field studies at sites along the Maumee River in Ohio, USA, in 2016...

As climate change accelerates, understanding which species are most vulnerable and why they are vulnerable will be vital to inform conservation action. Climate change vulnerability assessments (CCVAs) are tools to assess species' responses to climate change, detect drivers of vulnerability, and inform conservation planning. CCVAs are commonly composed of three elements: exposure...

Soil carbon is an important component of the terrestrial carbon cycle and could be augmented through improved soil management to mitigate climate change. However, data gaps for numerous regions and a lack of understanding of the heterogeneity of biogeochemical processes across diverse soil landscapes hinder the development of large-scale representations of soil organic matter (SOM)...

Because of similarities between locating an earthquake with seismic stations and locating a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver from satellites, the Bancroft algorithm developed for GPS processing can be used to locate earthquakes. Such an approach to earthquake location differs from the conventional method of choosing an initial or trial solution and then iteratively improving the...

Although rainfall-triggered landslides are initiated by subsurface hydro-mechanical processes related to the loading, weakening, and eventual failure of slope materials, most landslide early warning systems (LEWS) have relied solely on rainfall event information. In previous decades, several studies demonstrated the value of integrating proxies for subsurface hydrologic information to...

Underwater image enhancement is often perceived as a disadvantageous process to object detection. We propose a novel analysis of the interactions between enhancement and detection, elaborating on the potential of enhancement to improve detection. In particular, we evaluate object detection performance for each individual image rather than across the entire set to allow a direct...

Aircraft anti-icers and pavement deicers improve the safety of airport operations during winter precipitation events. Runoff containing these products can contribute elevated biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) to receiving streams. We monitored runoff from Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport at one upstream site, three outfall sites, and one downstream site from 2005 to 2022 for BOD...

Historic copper mining left a legacy of metal-rich tailings resulting in ecological impacts along and within Torch Lake, an area of concern in the Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan, USA. Given the toxicity of copper to invertebrates, this study assessed the influence of this legacy on present day nearshore aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. We measured the metal (Co, Cu, Ni, Zn, Cd) and...

Understanding migratory connectivity, or the linkage of populations between seasons, is critical for effective conservation and management of migratory wildlife. A growing number of tools are available for understanding where migratory individuals and populations occur throughout the annual cycle. Integration of the diverse measures of migratory movements can help elucidate migratory...

Protection of critically endangered species requires identification of factors limiting their survival and growth. Previous studies have demonstrated that unionid mussels are sensitive to some chemicals and the sensitivity was similar among different taxonomic families and tribes of mussels. However, common species of mussels were generally used in these previous studies; little is known...

Coastal marsh wetlands experience variations in vertical gains and losses through time, which have allowed them to infill relict topography and record variations in drivers. The stratigraphic unit associated with the development of the marsh also reflects the long-term importance of key ecosystem services supplied by the marsh environment, including carbon storage and storm mitigation...

Ongoing anthropogenic activities and analytical advancements yield continuously expanding lists of environmental contaminants. This represents a challenge to environmental managers, who must prioritize chemicals for management actions (e.g., restriction, regulation, remediation) but are often hindered by resource limitations. To help facilitate prioritization efforts, this study presents...