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Physical Climate Forces Physical Climate Forces

Key Findings The coasts of the U.S. are home to many large urban centers and important infrastructure such seaports, airports, transportation routes, oil import and refining facilities, power plants, and military bases. All are vulnerable to varying degrees to impacts of global warming such as sea-level rise, storms, and flooding. High Confidence. Physical observations collected over the...
Authors
S.J. Williams, D. Atkinson, A. R. Byrd, H. Eicken, T. M. Hall, Thomas G. Huntington, Y. Kim, T.R. Knutson, J.P. Kossin, M. Lilly, J. M. Marra, J Obeysekera, A. Parris, J. Ratcliff, T. Ravens, D. Resio, P. Ruggiero, E. Robert Thieler, James G. Titus, T.V. Wamsley

Calcareous nannofossil assemblage changes across the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum: Evidence from a shelf setting Calcareous nannofossil assemblage changes across the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum: Evidence from a shelf setting

Biotic response of calcareous nannoplankton to abrupt warming across the Paleocene/Eocene boundary reflects a primary response to climatically induced parameters including increased continental runoff of freshwater, global acidification of seawater, high sedimentation rates, and calcareous nannoplankton assemblage turnover. We identify ecophenotypic nannofossil species adapted to low pH...
Authors
Jean M. Self-Trail, David S. Powars, David K. Watkins, Gregory A. Wandless

Ages of pre-rift basement and synrift rocks along the conjugate rift and transform margins of the Argintine Precordillera and Laurentia Ages of pre-rift basement and synrift rocks along the conjugate rift and transform margins of the Argintine Precordillera and Laurentia

New geochronologic data from basement rocks support the interpretation that the Argentine Precordillera (Cuyania) terrane was rifted from the Ouachita embayment of the Iapetan margin of Laurentia. New data from the Ozark dome show a range of ages in two groups at 1466 ± 3 to 1462 ± 1 Ma and 1323 ± 2 to 1317 ± 2 Ma, consistent with existing data for the Eastern Granite-Rhyolite province...
Authors
William A. Thomas, Robert D. Tucker, Ricardo A. Astini, Rodger E. Denison

Effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Louisiana black bear habitat Effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Louisiana black bear habitat

The Louisiana black bear (Ursus americanus luteolus) is comprised of 3 subpopulations, each being small, geographically isolated, and vulnerable to extinction. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts in 2005, potentially altering habitat occupied by this federally threatened subspecies. We used data collected on radio-telemetered bears from 1993 to 1995...
Authors
Joseph D. Clark, Jennifer L. Murrow

Reproductive endocrine disruption in smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) in the Potomac River basin: spatial and temporal comparisons of biological effects Reproductive endocrine disruption in smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) in the Potomac River basin: spatial and temporal comparisons of biological effects

A high prevalence of intersex or testicular oocytes (TO) in male smallmouth bass within the Potomac River drainage has raised concerns as to the health of the river. Studies were conducted to document biomarker responses both temporally and spatially to better understand the influence of normal physiological cycles, as well as water quality and land-use influences. Smallmouth bass were...
Authors
Vicki Blazer, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Holly Henderson, Patricia M. Mazik, Jill A. Jenkins, David A. Alvarez, John A. Young

Digital outcrop model of stratigraphy and breccias of the southern Franklin Mountains, El Paso, Texas Digital outcrop model of stratigraphy and breccias of the southern Franklin Mountains, El Paso, Texas

This chapter reviews and synthesizes the lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy, chronostratigraphy, and breccia types of the southwestern part of the great American carbonate bank in the southern Franklin Mountains (SFM), El Paso, Texas. Primary stratigraphic units of focus are the Lower Ordovician El Paso and Upper Ordovician Montoya Groups. These groups preserve breccias formed by...
Authors
Jerome A. Bellian, Charles Kerans, John E. Repetski

Experimental and environmental factors affect spurious detection of ecological thresholds Experimental and environmental factors affect spurious detection of ecological thresholds

Threshold detection methods are increasingly popular for assessing nonlinear responses to environmental change, but their statistical performance remains poorly understood. We simulated linear change in stream benthic macroinvertebrate communities and evaluated the performance of commonly used threshold detection methods based on model fitting (piecewise quantile regression [PQR]), data
Authors
Jonathan P. Daily, Nathaniel P. Hitt, David Smith, Craig D. Snyder

The effect of diagenesis and fluid migration on rare earth element distribution in pore fluids of the northern Cascadia accretionary margin The effect of diagenesis and fluid migration on rare earth element distribution in pore fluids of the northern Cascadia accretionary margin

Analytical challenges in obtaining high quality measurements of rare earth elements (REEs) from small pore fluid volumes have limited the application of REEs as deep fluid geochemical tracers. Using a recently developed analytical technique, we analyzed REEs from pore fluids collected from Sites U1325 and U1329, drilled on the northern Cascadia margin during the Integrated Ocean Drilling...
Authors
Ji-Hoon Kim, Marta E. Torres, Brian A. Haley, Miriam Kastner, John W. Pohlman, Michael Riedel, Young-Joo Lee

Holocene aridification of India Holocene aridification of India

Spanning a latitudinal range typical for deserts, the Indian peninsula is fertile instead and sustains over a billion people through monsoonal rains. Despite the strong link between climate and society, our knowledge of the long‐term monsoon variability is incomplete over the Indian subcontinent. Here we reconstruct the Holocene paleoclimate in the core monsoon zone (CMZ) of the Indian...
Authors
C. Ponton, L. Giosan, T.I. Eglinton, D.Q. Fuller, J.E. Johnson, P. Kumar, Timothy S. Collett

Magnetostratigraphy susceptibility for the Guadalupian Series GSSPs (Middle Permian) in Guadalupe Mountains National Park and adjacent areas in West Texas Magnetostratigraphy susceptibility for the Guadalupian Series GSSPs (Middle Permian) in Guadalupe Mountains National Park and adjacent areas in West Texas

Here we establish a magnetostratigraphy susceptibility zonation for the three Middle Permian Global boundary Stratotype Sections and Points (GSSPs) that have recently been defined, located in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, West Texas, USA. These GSSPs, all within the Middle Permian Guadalupian Series, define (1) the base of the Roadian Stage (base of the Guadalupian Series), (2) the...
Authors
Bruce R. Wardlaw, Brooks B. Ellwood, Lance L. Lambert, Jonathan H. Tomkin, Gordon L. Bell, Galina P. Nestell

Passage of American shad: paradigms and realities Passage of American shad: paradigms and realities

Despite more than 250 years of development, the passage of American shad Alosa sapidissima at dams and other barriers frequently remains problematic. Few improvements in design based on knowledge of the swimming, schooling, and migratory behaviors of American shad have been incorporated into passage structures. Large-scale technical fishways designed for the passage of adult salmonids on...
Authors
Alex Haro, Theodore Castro-Santos

The Middle Ordovician Knox unconformity in the Black Warrior Basin The Middle Ordovician Knox unconformity in the Black Warrior Basin

Analysis of well core and cuttings from the Black Warrior Basin in Mississippi reveals the presence of a Middle Ordovician (Whiterockian) erosional unconformity interpreted to be equivalent to the well-known Knox-Beekmantown unconformity in eastern North America. The unconformity occurs at the top of a peritidal dolostone unit known informally as the upper dolostone, whose stratigraphic...
Authors
Gary S. Dwyer, John E. Repetski
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