Publications
Listed here are publications, reports and articles by the Land Change Science Program in the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area.
Filter Total Items: 1284
Tidal and seasonal variations in calving flux observed with passive seismology Tidal and seasonal variations in calving flux observed with passive seismology
The seismic signatures of calving events, i.e., calving icequakes, offer an opportunity to examine calving variability with greater precision than is available with other methods. Here using observations from Yahtse Glacier, Alaska, we describe methods to detect, locate, and characterize calving icequakes. We combine these icequake records with a coincident, manually generated record of...
Authors
T.C. Bartholomaus, Christopher F. Larsen, Michael E. West, Shad O’Neel, Erin C. Pettit, Martin Truffer
North Pacific deglacial hypoxic events linked to abrupt ocean warming North Pacific deglacial hypoxic events linked to abrupt ocean warming
Marine sediments from the North Pacific document two episodes of expansion and strengthening of the subsurface oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) accompanied by seafloor hypoxia during the last deglacial transition1, 2, 3, 4. The mechanisms driving this hypoxia remain under debate1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. We present a new high-resolution alkenone palaeotemperature reconstruction from the...
Authors
Summer K Praetorius, Alan C. Mix, Maureen H. Davies, Matthew D Wolhowe, Jason A. Addison, Frederick G Prahl
Mercury in stream water at five Czech catchments across a Hg and S deposition gradient Mercury in stream water at five Czech catchments across a Hg and S deposition gradient
The Czech Republic was heavily industrialized in the second half of the 20th century but the associated emissions of Hg and S from coal burning were significantly reduced since the 1990s. We studied dissolved (filtered) stream water mercury (Hg) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations at five catchments with contrasting Hg and S deposition histories in the Bohemian part of the...
Authors
Tomáš Navrátil, James B. Shanley, Jan Rohovec, Filip Oulehle, Pavel Kram, Sarka Matouskova, Miroslav Tesar, Maria Hojdová
Growth responses of five desert plants as influenced by biological soil crusts from a temperate desert, China Growth responses of five desert plants as influenced by biological soil crusts from a temperate desert, China
In almost all dryland systems, biological soil crusts (biocrusts) coexist alongside herbaceous and woody vegetation, creating landscape mosaics of vegetated and biocrusted patches. Results from past studies on the interaction between biocrusts and vascular plants have been contradictory. In the Gurbantunggut desert, a large temperate desert in northwestern China, well-developed lichen...
Authors
Yuanming Zhang, Jayne Belnap
Predictions of future ephemeral springtime waterbird stopover habitat availability under global change Predictions of future ephemeral springtime waterbird stopover habitat availability under global change
In the present period of rapid, worldwide change in climate and landuse (i.e., global change), successful biodiversity conservation warrants proactive management responses, especially for long-distance migratory species. However, the development and implementation of management strategies can be impeded by high levels of uncertainty and low levels of control over potentially impactful...
Authors
Daniel R. Uden, Craig R. Allen, Andrew A. Bishop, Roger Grosse, Christopher F. Jorgensen, Theodore G. LaGrange, Randy G. Stutheit, Mark P. Vrtiska
Global climate simulations at 3000-year intervals for the last 21 000 years with the GENMOM coupled atmosphere–ocean model Global climate simulations at 3000-year intervals for the last 21 000 years with the GENMOM coupled atmosphere–ocean model
We apply GENMOM, a coupled atmosphere–ocean climate model, to simulate eight equilibrium time slices at 3000-year intervals for the past 21 000 years forced by changes in Earth–Sun geometry, atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs), continental ice sheets, and sea level. Simulated global cooling during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is 3.8 ◦C and the rate of post-glacial warming is in overall...
Authors
Jay R. Alder, Steven W. Hostetler
Engagement with indigenous peoples and honoring traditional knowledge systems Engagement with indigenous peoples and honoring traditional knowledge systems
The organizers of the 2014 US National Climate Assessment (NCA) made a concerted effort to reach out to and collaborate with Indigenous peoples, resulting in the most comprehensive information to date on climate change impacts to Indigenous peoples in a US national assessment. Yet, there is still much room for improvement in assessment processes to ensure adequate recognition of...
Authors
Julie Maldonado, Bull Bennett, Karletta Chief, Patricia Cochran, Karen Cozetto, Bob Gough, Margaret M. Hiza-Redsteer, Kathy Lynn, Nancy Maynard, Garrit Voggesser
Projected future vegetation changes for the northwest United States and southwest Canada at a fine spatial resolution using a dynamic global vegetation model. Projected future vegetation changes for the northwest United States and southwest Canada at a fine spatial resolution using a dynamic global vegetation model.
Future climate change may significantly alter the distributions of many plant taxa. The effects of climate change may be particularly large in mountainous regions where climate can vary significantly with elevation. Understanding potential future vegetation changes in these regions requires methods that can resolve vegetation responses to climate change at fine spatial resolutions. We...
Authors
Sarah Shafer, Patrick J. Bartlein, Elizabeth M. Gray, Richard T. Pelltier
Linking microbial community structure and microbial processes: An empirical and conceptual overview Linking microbial community structure and microbial processes: An empirical and conceptual overview
A major goal of microbial ecology is to identify links between microbial community structure and microbial processes. Although this objective seems straightforward, there are conceptual and methodological challenges to designing studies that explicitly evaluate this link. Here, we analyzed literature documenting structure and process responses to manipulations to determine the frequency...
Authors
R.L. Bier, Emily S. Bernhardt, Claudia M. Boot, Emily B. Graham, Edward K. Hall, Jay T. Lennon, Diana R. Nemergut, Brooke B. Osborne, Clara Ruiz-Gonzalez, Joshua P. Schimel, Mark P. Waldrop, Matthew D. Wallenstein
Taking a systems approach to ecological systems Taking a systems approach to ecological systems
Increasingly, there is interest in a systems-level understanding of ecological problems, which requires the evaluation of more complex, causal hypotheses. In this issue of the Journal of Vegetation Science, Soliveres et al. use structural equation modeling to test a causal network hypothesis about how tree canopies affect understorey communities. Historical analysis suggests structural...
Authors
James B. Grace
On the reconstruction of palaeo-ice sheets: Recent advances and future challenges On the reconstruction of palaeo-ice sheets: Recent advances and future challenges
Reconstructing the growth and decay of palaeo-ice sheets is critical to understanding mechanisms of global climate change and associated sea-level fluctuations in the past, present and future. The significance of palaeo-ice sheets is further underlined by the broad range of disciplines concerned with reconstructing their behaviour, many of which have undergone a rapid expansion since the...
Authors
Chris R. Stokes, Lev Tarasov, Robin Blomdin, Thomas M. Cronin, Timothy G. Fisher, Richard Gyllencreutz, Clas Hattestrand, Jakob Heyman, Richard C. A. Hindmarsh, Anna L. C. Hughes, Martin Jakobsson, Nina Kirchner, Stephen J. Livingstone, Martin Margold, Julian B. Murton, Riko Noormets, W. Richard Peltier, Dorothy M. Peteet, David J. W. Piper, Frank Preusser, Hans Renssen, David H. Roberts, Didier M. Roche, Francky Saint-Ange, Arjen P. Stroeven, James T. Teller
Adaptive invasive species distribution models: A framework for modeling incipient invasions Adaptive invasive species distribution models: A framework for modeling incipient invasions
The utilization of species distribution model(s) (SDM) for approximating, explaining, and predicting changes in species’ geographic locations is increasingly promoted for proactive ecological management. Although frameworks for modeling non-invasive species distributions are relatively well developed, their counterparts for invasive species—which may not be at equilibrium within...
Authors
Daniel R. Uden, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler, Lucia Corral, Kent A. Fricke