Rex Sanders (Former Employee)
Science and Products
Material failure and caldera collapse: Insights from the 2018 Kilauea eruption
The Failure Forecast Method (FFM) was introduced as an empirical model for forecasting catastrophic material failures related to natural hazards, such as landslides and volcanic eruptions, with mixed success. During the 2018 eruption of Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, the draining of the summit magma reservoir into the Lower East Rift Zone resulted in...
Tepp, Gabrielle Investigation of land surface phenology detections in shrublands using multiple scale satellite data
Shrublands occupy about 13% of the global land surface, contain about one-third of the biodiversity, store about half of the global terrestrial carbon, and provide many ecosystem services to a large amount of world's human population and livestock. Because phenology is a sensitive indicator of the response of shrubland ecosystems to climate change...
Peng, Dailiang; Wang, Yan; Xian, George Z.; Huete, Alfredo R; Huang, Wenjiang; Shen, Miaogen; Wang, Fumin; Yu, Le; Liu, Liangyun; Xie, Qiaoyun; Liu, Lingling; Zhang, Xiaoyang Photoperiodic regulation of pituitary thyroid-stimulating hormone and brain deiodinase in Atlantic salmon
Seasonal timing is important for many critical life history events of vertebrates, and photoperiod is often used as a reliable seasonal cue. In mammals and birds, it has been established that a photoperiod-driven seasonal clock resides in the brain and pituitary, and is driven by increased levels of pituitary thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and...
Irachi, Shotaro; Hall, Daniel J.; Fleming, Mitchell S; Maugers, Gersende; Bjornsson, Bjorn; Dufour, Sylvie; Uchida, Katsuhisa; McCormick, Stephen D. Free-roaming horses disrupt greater sage-grouse lekking activity in the Great Basin
Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, sage-grouse) and free-roaming horses (Equus caballus) co-occur within large portions of sagebrush ecosystems within the Great Basin of western North America. In recent decades, sage-grouse populations have declined substantially while concomitant free-roaming horse populations have...
Munoz, Diana A.; Coates, Peter S.; Ricca, Mark A. Seasonality of acarological risk of exposure to Borrelia miyamotoi from questing life stages of Ixodes scapularis collected from Wisconsin and Massachusetts, USA
Measures of acarological risk of exposure to Ixodes scapularis-borne disease agents typically focus on nymphs; however, the relapsing fever group spirochete, Borrelia miyamotoi can be transmitted transovarially, and I. scapularis larvae are capable of transmitting B. miyamotoi to their hosts. To quantify the...
Han, Seungeun; Hickling, Graham J.; Ogden, Nicholas H.; Ginsberg, Howard S.; Kobbekaduwa, Vishvapali; Rulison, Eric L.; Beati, Lorenza; Tsao, Jean I. Trends in nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment concentrations and loads in streams draining to Lake Tahoe, California, Nevada, USA
Lake Tahoe, a large freshwater lake of the eastern Sierra Nevada in California and Nevada, has 63 tributaries that are sources of nutrients and sediment to the lake. The Tahoe watershed is relatively small, and the surface area of the lake occupies about 38% of the watershed area (1313 km2). Only about 6% of the watershed is urbanized or...
Domagalski, Joseph L.; Morway, Eric D.; Alvarez, Nancy L.; Hutchins, Juliet; Rosen, Michael R.; Coats, Robert Hydrocarbons to carboxyl-rich alicyclic molecules: A continuum model to describe biodegradation of petroleum-derived dissolved organic matter in contaminated groundwater plumes
Relationships between dissolved organic matter (DOM) reactivity and chemical composition in a groundwater plume containing petroleum-derived DOM (DOMHC) were examined by quantitative and qualitative measurements to determine the source and chemical composition of the compounds that persist downgradient. Samples were collected from a transect down...
Podgorski, David C.; Zito, Phoebe; Kellerman, Anne M.; Bekins, Barbara A.; Cozzarelli, Isabelle M.; Smith, Donald F.; Cao, Xiaoyan; Schmidt-Rohr, Klaus; Wagner, Sasha; Stubbins, Aron; Spencer, Robert G. M. Exposure of an early to middle Noachian valley network in three dimensions on Mars
We document a set of channels in a section of the Martian cratered highlands located between crustal massifs northeast of Hellas Planitia that are visible in cross section and planview >200 m below the surface. The morphometry and spatial distribution of the outcrops provide concrete geological evidence of a dynamic aqueous system in a...
Skinner, James A.; Fortezzo, Corey M.; Mouginis-Mark, Peter J. Weed-suppressive bacteria effects differ in culture compared to in soils and with or without microbial competition and separation of active ingredient
Weed-suppressive bacteria (WSB), specifically the D7 and ACK55 strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens, were previously reported to selectively inhibit growth of invasive annual grasses (IAGs) that have caused severe ecosystem degradation across much of the western US. However, recent studies show highly mixed evidence for WSB effectiveness in...
Lazarus, Brynne E.; Feris, Kevin; Germino, Matthew Complexity of groundwater age mixing near a seawater intrusion zone based on multiple tracers and Bayesian inference
Aquifer flow systems near seawater interfaces can be complicated by density-driven flows and the formation of stagnation zones, which inevitably introduces uncertainty into groundwater age-dating. While age-dating has proved effective to understand the seawater intrusion and aquifer salinization process in coastal aquifers, further efforts are...
Ju, YeoJin; Massoudieh, Arash; Green, Christopher; Lee, Kang-Kun; Kaown, Dugin Movement of synthetic organic compounds in the food web after the introduction of invasive quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis) in Lake Mead, Nevada and Arizona, USA
Introductions of dreissenid mussels in North America have been a significant concern over the last few decades. This study assessed the distribution of synthetic organic compounds (SOCs) in the food web of Lake Mead, Nevada/Arizona, USA and how this distribution was influenced by the introduction of invasive quagga mussels. A clear spatial...
Goodbred, Steven L.; Rosen, Michael R.; Patino, Reynaldo; Alvarez, David; Echols, Kathy R.; King, Kerensa; Umek, John
Analysis of remedial scenarios affecting plume movement through a sole-source aquifer system, southeastern Nassau County, New York
A steady-state three-dimensional groundwater-flow model based on present conditions is coupled with the particle-tracking program MODPATH to assess the fate and transport of volatile organic-compound plumes within the Magothy and upper glacial aquifers in southeastern Nassau County, New York. Particles are forward tracked from locations within...
Misut, Paul E.; Walter, Donald; Schubert, Christopher; Dressler, Sarken
Rising Seas and Storms Could Seriously Damage California’s Coast within 30 Years
In less than 30 years the combination of sea-level rise plus an extreme storm along California’s coast could flood more than 150,000 residents and impact over $30 billion in property value. By 2100, up to 600,000 people and $150 billion in property could be at risk from coastal flooding.
Recent Coastal and Marine Fieldwork - December 2018-January 2019
Recently USGS scientists visited 10 coastal and offshore locations, studying tsunami and hurricane deposits in Hawai‘i, monitoring Cape Cod estuary health, testing technology in Tampa Bay, and much more. Here’s a quick overview of some fieldwork by our researchers.
Added Funding Aids Recovery from 2017 Hurricanes and Wildfires
In 2017, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria caused roughly $265 billion in damage and killed more than 3,000 people in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The same year, California wildfires killed 47 people, burned over a million acres of land, and destroyed or damaged more than 10,000 buildings.
News Briefs - December 2018-January 2019
Coastal and marine news highlights from across the USGS
This article is part of the December 2018-January 2019 issue of the Sound Waves newsletter.
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Moving Mountains: Elwha River Still Changing Five Years After World’s Largest Dam-Removal Project
Starting in 2011, the National Park Service removed two obsolete dams, the world’s largest dam-removal project to date. Over the next five years, water carrying newly freed rocks, sand, silt, and old tree trunks reshaped more than 13 miles of river and built a larger delta into the Pacific Ocean.
A Tale of Two Tsunamis—Why Weren’t They Bigger? Mexico 2017 and Alaska 2018
Why do some earthquakes trigger large tsunamis, and others don’t? Learn how earthquakes produce tsunamis, how scientists predict tsunami size and arrival times, and the differences in two recent small tsunamis.
Pacific Missile Tracking Site Could Be Unusable in 20 Years Due to Climate Change
Living and working on the Pacific islands hosting a key missile tracking site soon could be almost impossible due to the impacts of climate change.
Open House Welcomes Enthusiastic Visitors to Santa Cruz Office
Scientists at the USGS offices in Santa Cruz, California participated in the Open House on Saturday, December 9, 2017, excited to share their science with the community.
Scientists Inspiring Students
Several USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center women scientists assembled a panel to discuss their exciting and fulfilling careers at Pacific Elementary School, with the goal of inspiring younger girls to stay engaged in science, technology, engineering, and math, and to pursue these professions.
Bob Rosenbauer Retires as Science Center Director
On January 7, 2017, Robert (Bob) Rosenbauer retired from the USGS after more than 42 years of public service.
New Director of Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
On January 9, 2017, Guy Gelfenbaum took over as director of the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in Santa Cruz and Menlo Park, California. Gelfenbaum replaced Robert (Bob) Rosenbauer, who led the center for more than six years until his retirement.
New Director of Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
Rob Thieler is the new director of the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center in Massachusetts.