Publications
These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.
Filter Total Items: 16739
Self-recognition in corals facilitates deep-sea habitat engineering Self-recognition in corals facilitates deep-sea habitat engineering
The ability of coral reefs to engineer complex three-dimensional habitats is central to their success and the rich biodiversity they support. In tropical reefs, encrusting coralline algae bind together substrates and dead coral framework to make continuous reef structures, but beyond the photic zone, the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa also forms large biogenic reefs, facilitated by...
Authors
Sebastian J Hennige, Cheryl L. Morrison, Armin U. Form, Janina Buscher, Nicholas A. Kamenos, J. Murray Roberts
Stream water temperature limits occupancy of salamanders in mid-Atlantic protected areas Stream water temperature limits occupancy of salamanders in mid-Atlantic protected areas
Stream ecosystems are particularly sensitive to urbanization, and tolerance of water-quality parameters is likely important to population persistence of stream salamanders. Forecasted climate and landscape changes may lead to significant changes in stream flow, chemical composition, and temperatures in coming decades. Protected areas where landscape alterations are minimized will...
Authors
Evan H. Campbell Grant, Amber N. M. Wiewel, Karen C. Rice
Studying seafloor bedforms using autonomous stationary imaging and profiling sonars Studying seafloor bedforms using autonomous stationary imaging and profiling sonars
The Sediment Transport Group at the U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center uses downward looking sonars deployed on seafloor tripods to assess and measure the formation and migration of bedforms. The sonars have been used in three resolution-testing experiments, and deployed autonomously to observe changes in the seafloor for up to two months in seven field
Authors
Ellyn T. Montgomery, Christopher R. Sherwood
Chromic and iron oxides as fecal markers to identify individual whooping cranes Chromic and iron oxides as fecal markers to identify individual whooping cranes
The whooping crane (Grus americana) is listed as endangered under the IUCN Red List, the United States Endangered Species Act, and the Canadian Species at Risk Act (BirdLife International 2012, CWS and USFWS 2007). A major focus of recovery efforts for this endangered species is reintroduction to establish new populations (CWS and USFWS 2007). Captive populations are critical as a source...
Authors
Megan E. Brown, Robert Doyle, Jane N. Chandler, Glenn H. Olsen, John B. French, David E Wildt, Sarah J. Converse, Carol L Keefer, Nucharin Songsasen
Basin-scale phenology and effects of climate variability on global timing of initial seaward migration of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) Basin-scale phenology and effects of climate variability on global timing of initial seaward migration of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)
Migrations between different habitats are key events in the lives of many organisms. Such movements involve annually recurring travel over long distances usually triggered by seasonal changes in the environment. Often, the migration is associated with travel to or from reproduction areas to regions of growth. Young anadromous Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) emigrate from freshwater nursery...
Authors
Jaime Otero, Jan Henning L’Abee-Lund, Theodore Castro-Santos, Kjell Leonardsson, Geir O. Storvik, Bror Jonsson, J. Brian Dempson, Ian C. Russell, Arne J. Jensen, Jean-Luc Bagliniere, Mélanie Dionne, John D. Armstrong, Atso Romakkaniemi, Benjamin H. Letcher, John F. Kocik, Jaakko Erkinaro, Russell Poole, Ger Rogan, Hans Lundqvist, Julian C. MacLean, Erkki Jokikokko, Jo Vegar Arnekleiv, Richard J. Kennedy, Eero Niemela, Pablo Caballero, Paul A. Music, Thorolfur Antonsson, Sigurdur Gudjonsson, Alexey E. Veselov, Anders Lamberg, Steve Groom, Benjamin H. Taylor, Malcolm Taberner, Mary Dillane, Fridthjofur Arnason, Gregg E. Horton, Nils A. Hvidsten, Ingi R. Jonsson, Nina Jonsson, Simon McKelvey, T. F. Naesje, Oystein Skaala, Gordon W. Smith, Harald Saegrov, N. C. Stenseth, Leif Asbjørn Vøllestad
Response to L. Land comment on Bricker, Rice, Bricker (2014) From Headwaters to Coast: Influence of human activities on water quality of the Potomac River Estuary. Aquatic Geochemistry 20: 291-324 Response to L. Land comment on Bricker, Rice, Bricker (2014) From Headwaters to Coast: Influence of human activities on water quality of the Potomac River Estuary. Aquatic Geochemistry 20: 291-324
Overabundance of nutrients is considered one of the top challenges to most populated coastal water bodies, including Chesapeake Bay (Executive Order 13508). As scientists, one of our responsibilities is to contribute to the discussion and evaluation of management actions that have the potential to decrease pollution with concomitant improvement of water quality. Results of our science...
Authors
Suzanne B. Bricker, Karen C. Rice, III Owen Bricker
Comparison of mineral weathering and biomass nutrient uptake in two small forested watersheds underlain by quartzite bedrock, Catoctin Mountain, Maryland, USA Comparison of mineral weathering and biomass nutrient uptake in two small forested watersheds underlain by quartzite bedrock, Catoctin Mountain, Maryland, USA
To quantify chemical weathering and biological uptake, mass-balance calculations were performed on two small forested watersheds located in the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province in north-central Maryland, USA. Both watersheds, Bear Branch (BB) and Fishing Creek Tributary (FCT), are underlain by relatively unreactive quartzite bedrock. Such unreactive bedrock and associated low chemical...
Authors
Karen C. Rice, Jason R. Price
USGS geologic Mapping and karst research in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Missouri, USA USGS geologic Mapping and karst research in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Missouri, USA
The Ozark National Scenic Riverways (ONSR) was created in 1964 to protect 134 miles of the Current River and its major tributary, the Jacks Fork, that are located in south-central Missouri (fig. 1). The park includes numerous large karst springs including Big Spring, by flow volume this is the largest spring in the National Park system. The National Park Service (NPS) administers a...
Authors
David J. Weary, Victoria M Grant
Sources and sinks of carbon in boreal ecosystems of interior Alaska: a review Sources and sinks of carbon in boreal ecosystems of interior Alaska: a review
Boreal regions store large quantities of carbon but are increasingly vulnerable to carbon loss due to disturbance and climate warming. The boreal region, underlain by discontinuous permafrost, presents a challenging landscape for itemizing current and potential carbon sources and sinks in the boreal soil and vegetation. The roles of fire, forest succession, and the presence (or absence)...
Authors
Thomas A. Douglas, Miriam C. Jones, Christopher A. Hiemstra
Observations from borehole dilution logging experiments in fractured crystalline rock under variable hydraulic conditions Observations from borehole dilution logging experiments in fractured crystalline rock under variable hydraulic conditions
Identifying hydraulically active fractures in low permeability, crystalline-bedrock aquifers requires a variety of geophysical and hydrogeophysical borehole tools and approaches. One such approach is Single Borehole Dilution Tests (SBDT), which in some low flow cases have been shown to provide greater resolution of borehole flow than other logging procedures, such as vertical...
Authors
Philip T. Harte, J. Alton Anderson, John Williams
Mineral resource of the month: Strontium Mineral resource of the month: Strontium
Strontium occurs commonly in nature, ranking as the 15th most abundant chemical element on Earth. Only two minerals contain sufficient strontium, however, to be used commercially to produce strontium compounds: Strontianite (strontium carbonate) has a higher strontium content, but celestite (strontium sulfate) is by far the most abundant strontium mineral.
Authors
Joyce A. Ober
Exchange of nitrogen and phosphorus between a shallow lagoon and coastal waters Exchange of nitrogen and phosphorus between a shallow lagoon and coastal waters
West Falmouth Harbor, a shallow lagoon on Cape Cod, has experienced a threefold increase in nitrogen load since the mid- to late 1990s due to input from a groundwater plume contaminated by a municipal wastewater treatment plant. We measured the exchange of nitrogen and phosphorus between the harbor and the coastal waters of Buzzards Bay over several years when the harbor was experiencing...
Authors
Melanie Hayn, Robert W. Howarth, Neil K. Ganju, Peter Berg, Kenneth H. Foreman, Anne E. Giblin, Karen McGlathery