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Publications

These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.

Filter Total Items: 16727

Application of a regional climate model to assess changes in the climatology of the Eastern US and Cuba associated with historic landcover change Application of a regional climate model to assess changes in the climatology of the Eastern US and Cuba associated with historic landcover change

We examine the annual, seasonal, monthly, and diurnal climate responses to the land use change (LUC) in eastern United States and Cuba during four epochs (1650, 1850, 1920, and 1992) with ensemble simulations conducted with the RegCM4 regional climate model that includes the Biosphere Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (BATS1e) surface physics package (Dickinson et al., 1993). We derived the...
Authors
Steven W. Hostetler, R Reker, Jay R. Alder, Thomas Loveland, Debra A. Willard, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Eric T. Sundquist, Renee L. Thompson

Organic petrography of Leonardian (Wolfcamp A) mudrocks and carbonates, Midland Basin, Texas: The fate of oil-prone sedimentary organic matter in the oil window Organic petrography of Leonardian (Wolfcamp A) mudrocks and carbonates, Midland Basin, Texas: The fate of oil-prone sedimentary organic matter in the oil window

To better understand evolution of oil-prone sedimentary organic matter to petroleum and expulsion from source rock, we evaluated organic petrographic features of Leonardian Wolfcamp A repetitive siliceous and calcareous mudrock and fine-grained carbonate lithofacies cycles occurring in the R. Ricker #1 core from Reagan County, Midland Basin, Texas. The objectives of the petrographic...
Authors
Paul C. Hackley, Tongwei Zhang, Aaron M. Jubb, Brett J. Valentine, Frank T. Dulong, Javin J. Hatcherian

Baseline environmental monitoring of groundwater, surface water, and soil at the Ammonium Perchlorate Rocket Motor Destruction Facility at the Letterkenny Army Depot, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, 2016 Baseline environmental monitoring of groundwater, surface water, and soil at the Ammonium Perchlorate Rocket Motor Destruction Facility at the Letterkenny Army Depot, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, 2016

Letterkenny Army Depot in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, built an Ammonium Perchlorate Rocket Motor Destruction (ARMD) facility in 2016. The ARMD Facility was designed to centralize rocket motor destruction and contain or capture all waste during the destruction process. Ideally, there would be no contaminant transport to air, soil, or water from the facility, but the Code of Federal...
Authors
Daniel G. Galeone

Real-time assessments of water quality—A nowcast for Escherichia coli and cyanobacterial toxins Real-time assessments of water quality—A nowcast for Escherichia coli and cyanobacterial toxins

Threats to our recreational and drinking waters include disease-causing (pathogenic) organisms from fecal contamination and toxins produced by some species of cyanobacteria (cyanotoxins) that can cause acute and (or) chronic illnesses. Because traditional laboratory methods for detecting these threats take too long for prompt public health protection, tools for real-time assessments are...
Authors
Donna S. Francy, Amie M.G. Brady, Tammy M. Zimmerman

Assessing the hydrologic impact of historical railroad embankments on wetland vegetation response in Canaan Valley, WV (USA): The value of high-resolution data Assessing the hydrologic impact of historical railroad embankments on wetland vegetation response in Canaan Valley, WV (USA): The value of high-resolution data

The recovery of natural ecological processes after disturbance is poorly understood. Some disturbances may be so severe as to set ecosystems onto a new trajectory. The Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge in West Virginia protects a unique high-altitude wetland that was heavily disturbed by logging 100 years BP and has since transitioned to a new ecological state (shrub wetland)...
Authors
John A. Young, Daniel Welsch, Sarah Deacon

Morphodynamic modeling of the response of two barrier islands to Atlantic hurricane forcing Morphodynamic modeling of the response of two barrier islands to Atlantic hurricane forcing

The accurate prediction of a barrier island response to storms is challenging because of the complex interaction between hydro- and morphodynamic processes that changes at different stages during an event. Assessment of the predictive skill is further complicated because of uncertainty in the hydraulic forcing, initial conditions, and the parameterization of processes. To evaluate these
Authors
Marlies van der Lugt, Ellen Quataert, Ap van Dongeren, Maarten van Ormondt, Christopher R. Sherwood

Changes in event‐based streamflow magnitude and timing after suburban development with infiltration‐based stormwater management Changes in event‐based streamflow magnitude and timing after suburban development with infiltration‐based stormwater management

Green stormwater infrastructure implementation in urban watersheds has outpaced our understanding of practice effectiveness on streamflow response to precipitation events. Long‐term monitoring of experimental urban watersheds in Clarksburg, Maryland, USA, provided an opportunity to examine changes in event‐based streamflow metrics in two treatment watersheds that transitioned from...
Authors
Kristina G. Hopkins, Aditi S. Bhaskar, Sean Woznicki, Rosemary M. Fanelli

Influence of land use and hydrologic variability on seasonal dissolved organic carbon and nitrate export: Insights from a multi-year regional analysis for the northeastern USA Influence of land use and hydrologic variability on seasonal dissolved organic carbon and nitrate export: Insights from a multi-year regional analysis for the northeastern USA

Land use/land cover (LULC) change has significant impacts on nutrient loading to aquatic systems and has been linked to deteriorating water quality globally. While many relationships between LULC and nutrient loading have been identified, characterization of the interaction between LULC, climate (specifically variable hydrologic forcing) and solute export across seasonal and interannual...
Authors
Erin Seybold, Arthur J. Gold, Shreeram P. Inamdar, Carol Adair, W.B. Bowden, Matthew Vaughan, Soni M. Pradhanang, Kelly Addy, James B. Shanley, Andrew W. Vermilyea, Delphis F. Levia, Beverley Wemple, Andrew W. Schroth

Water for Long Island: Now and for the future Water for Long Island: Now and for the future

Do you ever wonder where your water comes from? If you live in Nassau or Suffolk County, the answer is, groundwater. Groundwater is water that started out as precipitation (rain and snow melt) and seeped into the ground. This seepage recharges the freshwater stored underground, in the spaces between the grains of sand and gravel in what are referred to as aquifers. Long Island has three...
Authors
John P. Masterson, Robert F. Breault

Regression models for estimating sediment and nutrient concentrations and loads at the Iroquois River near Foresman, Indiana, March 2015 through July 2018 Regression models for estimating sediment and nutrient concentrations and loads at the Iroquois River near Foresman, Indiana, March 2015 through July 2018

In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Iroquois River Conservancy District, deployed continuous water-quality monitors and began collecting representative discrete water-quality samples at the Iroquois River near Foresman, Indiana, streamflow-gaging station (U.S. Geological Survey station 05524500). By relating continuously monitored water-quality data and discrete...
Authors
Timothy R. Lathrop, Aubrey R. Bunch, Myles S. Downhour, Daniel M. Perkins

Deer do not affect short-term rates of vegetation recovery in overwash fans on Fire Island after Hurricane Sandy Deer do not affect short-term rates of vegetation recovery in overwash fans on Fire Island after Hurricane Sandy

1. Coastal resilience is threatened as storm-induced disturbances become more frequent and intense with anticipated changes in weather patterns. After severe storms, rapid recovery of vegetation, especially that of dune-stabilizing plants, is a fundamental property of coastal resilience. Herbivores may affect resilience by selectively foraging palatable plant species in disturbed areas...
Authors
Chellby R. Kilheffer, H. Brian Underwood, Jordan Raphael, Lindsay Ries, Shannon Farrell, Donald J. Leopold

Decline of the North American avifauna Decline of the North American avifauna

Species extinctions have defined the global biodiversity crisis, but extinction begins with loss in abundance of organisms that can result in extreme compositional and functional changes of ecosystems. Using multiple and independent monitoring networks, we report major population losses across much of the North American avifauna, including in once common species and from nearly every...
Authors
John R. Sauer, Kenneth V. Rosenberg, Adriaan M. Dokter, Peter J. Blancher, Adam C. Smith, Paul A. Smith, Jessica C. Stanton, Arvind O. Panjabi, Laura Helft, Michael J. Parr, Peter P. Marra
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