Publications
Listed here are publications, reports and articles by the Land Change Science Program in the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area.
Filter Total Items: 1145
Moving from generalisations to specificity about mangrove-saltmarsh dynamics Moving from generalisations to specificity about mangrove-saltmarsh dynamics
Spatial and temporal variability in factors influencing mangrove establishment and survival affects the distribution of mangrove, particularly near their latitudinal limit, where mangrove expansion into saltmarsh is conspicuous. In this paper the spatial variability in mangrove distribution and variability in factors influencing mangrove establishment and survival during the Quaternary...
Authors
Kerrylee Rogers, Ken Krauss
Flushing of the deep Pacific Ocean and the deglacial rise of atmospheric CO2 concentrations Flushing of the deep Pacific Ocean and the deglacial rise of atmospheric CO2 concentrations
During the last deglaciation (19,000–9,000 years ago), atmospheric CO2increased by about 80 ppm. Understanding the mechanisms responsible for this change is a central theme of palaeoclimatology, relevant for predicting future CO2 transfers in a warming world. Deglacial CO2 rise hypothetically tapped an accumulated deep Pacific carbon reservoir, but the processes remain elusive as they...
Authors
Jianghui Du, Brian Haley, Alan Mix, Maureen Walczak, Summer Praetorius
Global and Arctic climate sensitivity enhanced by changes in North Pacific heat flux Global and Arctic climate sensitivity enhanced by changes in North Pacific heat flux
Arctic amplification is a consequence of surface albedo, cloud, and temperature feedbacks, as well as poleward oceanic and atmospheric heat transport. However, the relative impact of changes in sea surface temperature (SST) patterns and ocean heat flux sourced from different regions on Arctic temperatures are not well constrained. We modify ocean-to-atmosphere heat fluxes in the North...
Authors
Summer Praetorius, Maria Rugenstein, Geeta Persad, Ken Caldeira
Lake sediment fecal and biomass burning biomarkers provide direct evidence for prehistoric human-lit fires in New Zealand Lake sediment fecal and biomass burning biomarkers provide direct evidence for prehistoric human-lit fires in New Zealand
Deforestation associated with the initial settlement of New Zealand is a dramatic example of how humans can alter landscapes through fire. However, evidence linking early human presence and land-cover change is inferential in most continental sites. We employed a multi-proxy approach to reconstruct anthropogenic land use in New Zealand’s South Island over the last millennium using fecal...
Authors
Elena Argiriadis, Dario Battistel, David McWethy, Marco Vecchiato, Torben Kirchgeorg, Natalie Kehrwald, Cathy Whitlock, Janet Wilmshurst, Carlo Barbante
Lake levels in a discontinuous permafrost landscape: Late Holocene variations inferred from sediment oxygen isotopes, Yukon Flats, Alaska Lake levels in a discontinuous permafrost landscape: Late Holocene variations inferred from sediment oxygen isotopes, Yukon Flats, Alaska
During recent decades, lake levels in the Yukon Flats region of interior Alaska have fluctuated dramatically. However, prior to recorded observations, no data are available to indicate if similar or more extreme variations occurred during past centuries and millennia. This study explores the history of Yukon Flats lake origins and lake levels for the past approximately 5,500 years from...
Authors
Lesleigh Anderson, Bruce Finney, Mark Shapley
Improving understanding of soil organic matter dynamics by triangulating theories, measurements, and models Improving understanding of soil organic matter dynamics by triangulating theories, measurements, and models
Soil organic matter (SOM) turnover increasingly is conceptualized as a tension between accessibility to microorganisms and protection from decomposition via physical and chemical association with minerals in emerging soil biogeochemical theory. Yet, these components are missing from the original mathematical models of belowground carbon dynamics and remain underrepresented in more recent
Authors
Joseph Blankinship, Susan Crow, Asmeret Berhe, Jennifer Druhan, Katherine Heckman, Marco Keiluweit, Corey Lawrence, Erika Marin-Spiotta, Alain Plante, Craig Rasmussen, Christina Schadel, Joshua Schmiel, Carlos Sierra, Aaron Thomson, Rota Wagai, William Weider
Limits to ponderosa pine regeneration following large high-severity forest fires in the United States Southwest Limits to ponderosa pine regeneration following large high-severity forest fires in the United States Southwest
High-severity fires in dry conifer forests of the United States Southwest have created large (>1000 ha) treeless areas that are unprecedented in the regional historical record. These fires have reset extensive portions of Southwestern ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Lawson & C. Lawson var. scopulorum Engelm.) forest landscapes. At least two recovery options following high-severity fire...
Authors
Collin Haffey, Thomas Sisk, Craig Allen, Andrea Thode, Ellis Margolis
Drivers and mechanisms of tree mortality in moist tropical forests Drivers and mechanisms of tree mortality in moist tropical forests
Tree mortality rates appear to be increasing in moist tropical forests (MTFs) with significant carbon cycle consequences. Here, we review the state of knowledge regarding MTF tree mortality, create a conceptual framework with testable hypotheses regarding the drivers, mechanisms and interactions that may underlie increasing MTF mortality rates, and identify the next steps for improved
Authors
Nate McDowell, Craig Allen, Kristina Anderson‐Teixeira, Paulo Brando, Roel Brienen, Jeff Chambers, Brad Christoffersen, Stuart Davies, Chris Doughty, Alvaro Duque, Fernando Espirito-Santo, Rosie Fisher, Clarissa Fontes, David Galbraith, Devin Goodsman, Charlotte Grossiord, Henrik Hartmann, Jennifer Holm, Daniel J. Johnson, Abd. Kassim, Michael Keller, Charles Koven, Lara Kueppers, Tomo’omi Kumagai, Yadvinder Malhi, Sean McMahon, Maurizio Mencuccini, Patrick Meir, Paul Moorcroft, Helene Muller-Landau, Oliver Phillips, Thomas Powell, Carlos Sierra, John Sperry, Jeff Warren, Chonggang Xu, Xiangtao Xu
International Society for Aeolian Research Distinguished Career Award, 2018 Joseph M. Prospero, Dr. Professor Emeritus, University of Miami International Society for Aeolian Research Distinguished Career Award, 2018 Joseph M. Prospero, Dr. Professor Emeritus, University of Miami
It is a pleasure and an honor to present Dr. Joseph M. Prospero of the University of Miami with the International Society for Aeolian Research(ISAR) Distinguished Career Award for 2018. Joe was born at home in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, one of three sons of Italian immigrant parents. He got interested in science, and particularly chemistry, not only out of curiosity, but also because of “...
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs
Linking transit times to catchment sensitivity to atmospheric deposition of acidity and nitrogen in mountains of the western United States Linking transit times to catchment sensitivity to atmospheric deposition of acidity and nitrogen in mountains of the western United States
Transit times are hypothesized to influence catchment sensitivity to atmospheric deposition of acidity and nitrogen (N) because they help determine the amount of time available for infiltrating precipitation to interact with catchment soil and biota. Transit time metrics, including fraction of young water (Fyw) and mean transit time (MTT), were calculated for 11 headwater catchments in...
Authors
David Clow, M. Mast, James Sickman
Icebergs in the Nordic Seas throughout the Late Pliocene Icebergs in the Nordic Seas throughout the Late Pliocene
The Arctic cryosphere is changing and making a significant contribution to sea level rise. The Late Pliocene had similar CO2 levels to the present and a warming comparable to model predictions for the end of this century. However, the state of the Arctic cryosphere during the Pliocene remains poorly constrained. For the first time we combine outputs from a climate model with a...
Authors
Yvonne Smith, Daniel Hill, Aisling Dolan, Alan Haywood, Harry Dowsett, Bjorg Risebrobakken
Scale dependence of diversity in alpine tundra, Rocky Mountains, USA Scale dependence of diversity in alpine tundra, Rocky Mountains, USA
Drivers of alpine plant community composition have been observed to vary with scale. Diversity of alpine tundra across four regions of the Rocky Mountains and among plots within one region was examined relative to temperature and precipitation variables. For regional scale analyses, averages of three metrics of plot-level species diversity relative to environmental variables and regional...
Authors
George Malanson, Daniel Fagre, Dale Zimmerman