Publications
Listed here are publications, reports and articles by the Land Change Science Program in the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area.
Filter Total Items: 1284
Human land-use and soil change Human land-use and soil change
Soil change refers to the alteration of soil and soil properties over time in one location, as opposed to soil variability across space. Although soils change with pedogensis, this chapter focuses on human caused soil change. Soil change can occur with human use and management over long or short time periods and small or large scales. While change can be negative or positive; often soil...
Authors
Skye A. Wills, Candiss O. Williams, Michael C. Duniway, Jessica Veenstra, Cathy Seybold, DeAnn Pressley
Effect of N fertilization and tillage on nitrous oxide (N2O) loss from soil under wheat production Effect of N fertilization and tillage on nitrous oxide (N2O) loss from soil under wheat production
Nitrous oxide (N2O-N) is one of the most important gases in the atmosphere because it is 300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in its ability to trap heat, and is a key chemical agent of ozone depletion. The amount of N2O-N emitted from agricultural fields can be quite high, depending on the complex interplay between N fertility and residue management, plant N uptake, microbial...
Authors
Sheel Bansal, Ezra Aberle, Jasper Teboh, Szilvia Yuja, Mark Liebig, Jacob Meier, Alec Boyd
Drivers of Holocene sea-level change in the Caribbean Drivers of Holocene sea-level change in the Caribbean
We present a Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) database for the Caribbean region (5°N to 25°N and 55°W to 90°W) that consists of 499 sea-level index points and 238 limiting dates. The database was compiled from multiple sea-level indicators (mangrove peat, microbial mats, beach rock and acroporid and massive corals). We subdivided the database into 20 regions to investigate the influence...
Authors
Nicole Khan, Erica Ashe, Benjamin P. Horton, Andrea Dutton, Robert E. Kopp, Gilles Brocard, Simon E. Engelhart, David F. Hill, W.R. Peltier, Christopher H. Vane, Fred N. Scatena
Geochemical evidence for a complex origin for the Kelso dunes, Mojave National Preserve, California USA Geochemical evidence for a complex origin for the Kelso dunes, Mojave National Preserve, California USA
The Kelso Dune field in southern California is intriguing because although it is of limited areal extent (~ 100 km2), it has a wide variety of dune forms and contains many active dunes (~ 40 km2), which is unusual in the Mojave Desert. Studies over the past eight decades have concluded that the dunes are derived primarily from a single source, Mojave River alluvium, under a dominant...
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs, Nicholas Lancaster, Gary L. Skipp
Hydrologic modeling in a marsh-mangrove ecotone: Predicting wetland surface water and salinity response to restoration in the Ten Thousand Islands region of Florida, USA Hydrologic modeling in a marsh-mangrove ecotone: Predicting wetland surface water and salinity response to restoration in the Ten Thousand Islands region of Florida, USA
At the fringe of Everglades National Park in southwest Florida, United States, the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge (TTINWR) habitat has been heavily affected by the disruption of natural freshwater flow across the Tamiami Trail (U.S. Highway 41). As the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) proposes to restore the natural sheet flow from the Picayune Strand...
Authors
B.D. Michot, E.A. Meselhe, Ken W. Krauss, Surendra Shrestha, Andrew S. From, Eduardo Patino
Emulation of long-term changes in global climate: application to the late Pliocene and future Emulation of long-term changes in global climate: application to the late Pliocene and future
Multi-millennial transient simulations of climate changes have a range of important applications, such as for investigating key geologic events and transitions for which high-resolution palaeoenvironmental proxy data are available, or for projecting the long-term impacts of future climate evolution on the performance of geological repositories for the disposal of radioactive wastes...
Authors
Natalie S. Lord, Michel Crucifix, Daniel J. Lunt, Mike C. Thorne, Nabila Bounceur, Harry J. Dowsett, Charlotte L. O’Brien, A. Ridgwell
A simple rubric for Stratigraphic Fidelity (β) of paleoenvironmental time series A simple rubric for Stratigraphic Fidelity (β) of paleoenvironmental time series
The Pliocene, specifically the late Pliocene, has been a focus of paleoclimate research formore than 25 years. Synoptic regional and global reconstructions along with high-resolution time-series have produced nuanced conceptual models of paleoenvironmental conditions and enhanced our understanding of climate variability and climate sensitivity from the Late Pliocene, the most recent...
Authors
Harry J. Dowsett, Marci M. Robinson, Kevin M. Foley
Temporary wetlands: Challenges and solutions to conserving a ‘disappearing’ ecosystem Temporary wetlands: Challenges and solutions to conserving a ‘disappearing’ ecosystem
Frequent drying of ponded water, and support of unique, highly specialized assemblages of often rare species, characterize temporary wetlands, such as vernal pools, gilgais, and prairie potholes. As small aquatic features embedded in a terrestrial landscape, temporary wetlands enhance biodiversity and provide aesthetic, biogeochemical, and hydrologic functions. Challenges to conserving...
Authors
Aram J.K. Calhoun, David M. Mushet, Kathleen P. Bell, Dani Boix, James A. Fitzsimons, Francis Isselin-Nondedeu
GDGT and alkenone flux in the northern Gulf of Mexico: Implications for the TEX86 and UK137 paleothermometers GDGT and alkenone flux in the northern Gulf of Mexico: Implications for the TEX86 and UK137 paleothermometers
The TEX86 and molecular biomarker proxies have been broadly applied in down-core marine sediments to reconstruct past sea surface temperature (SST). Although both TEX86 and have been interpreted as proxies for mean annual SST throughout the global ocean, regional studies of GDGTs and alkenones in sinking particles are required to understand the influence of seasonality, depth...
Authors
Julie N. Richey, Jessica E. Tierney
Modeling the effects of tile drain placement on the hydrologic function of farmed prairie wetlands Modeling the effects of tile drain placement on the hydrologic function of farmed prairie wetlands
The early 2000s saw large increases in agricultural tile drainage in the eastern Dakotas of North America. Agricultural practices that drain wetlands directly are sometimes limited by wetland protection programs. Little is known about the impacts of tile drainage beyond the delineated boundaries of wetlands in upland catchments that may be in agricultural production. A series of...
Authors
Brett Werner, John Tracy, W. Carter Johnson, Richard A. Voldseth, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Bruce Millett
Increasing aeolian dust deposition to snowpacks in the Rocky Mountains inferred from snowpack, wet deposition, and aerosol chemistry Increasing aeolian dust deposition to snowpacks in the Rocky Mountains inferred from snowpack, wet deposition, and aerosol chemistry
Mountain snowpacks are a vital natural resource for ∼1.5 billion people in the northern Hemisphere, helping to meet human and ecological demand for water in excess of that provided by summer rain. Springtime warming and aeolian dust deposition accelerate snowmelt, increasing the risk of water shortages during late summer, when demand is greatest. While climate networks provide data that...
Authors
David W. Clow, Mark W. Williams, Paul F. Schuster
Case study: 2016 Natural glide and wet slab avalanche cycle, Going-to-the-Sun Road, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA Case study: 2016 Natural glide and wet slab avalanche cycle, Going-to-the-Sun Road, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA
The Going-to-the-Sun Road (GTSR) is the premier tourist attraction in Glacier National Park, Montana. The GTSR also traverses through and under 40 avalanche paths which pose a hazard to National Park Service (NPS) road crews during the annual spring snow plowing operation. Through a joint collaboration between the NPS and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), a forecasting program primarily...
Authors
Jacob Hutchinson, Erich H. Peitzsch, Adam Clark