Geology topics

Katherine V. Ackerman

Publications and source records attributed to Katherine V. Ackerman.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2009

An introduction to global carbon cycle management

Past and current human activities have fundamentally altered the global carbon cycle. Potential future efforts to control atmospheric CO 2 will also involve significant changes in the global carbon cycle. Carbon cycle scientists and engineers now face not only the difficulties of recording and understanding past and present changes but also the challenge of providing information and tools for new management strategies that are responsive to societal needs. The challenge is nothing less than managing the global carbon cycle.

Book chapter↗

USGS2009

RESIS-II: An Updated Version of the Original Reservoir Sedimentation Survey Information System (RESIS) Database

The Reservoir Sedimentation Survey Information System (RESIS) database, originally compiled by the Soil Conservation Service (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service) in collaboration with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, is the most comprehensive compilation of data from reservoir sedimentation surveys throughout the conterminous United States (U.S.). The database is a cumulative historical archive that includes data from as early as 1755 and as late as 1993. The 1,823 reservoirs included in the database range in size from farm ponds to the largest U.S. reservoirs (such as Lake Mead). Results from 6,617 bathymetric surveys are available in the database. This Data Series provides an improved version of the original RESIS database, termed RESIS-II, and a report describing RESIS-II. The RESIS-II relational database is stored in Microsoft Access and includes more precise location coordinates for most of the reservoirs than the original database but excludes information on reservoir ownership. RESIS-II is anticipated to be a template for further improvements in the database.

Data Series↗

USGS2009

Rapid assessment of U.S. forest and soil organic carbon storage and forest biomass carbon sequestration capacity

This report provides results of a rapid assessment of biological carbon stocks and forest biomass carbon sequestration capacity in the conterminous United States. Maps available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture are used to calculate estimates of current organic carbon storage in soils (73 petagrams of carbon, or PgC) and forest biomass (17 PgC). Of these totals, 3.5 PgC of soil organic carbon and 0.8 PgC of forest biomass carbon occur on lands managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI). Maps of potential vegetation are used to estimate hypothetical forest biomass carbon sequestration capacities that are 3–7 PgC higher than current forest biomass carbon storage in the conterminous United States. Most of the estimated hypothetical additional forest biomass carbon sequestration capacity is accrued in areas currently occupied by agriculture and development. Hypothetical forest biomass carbon sequestration capacities calculated for existing forests and woodlands are within ±1 PgC of estimated current forest biomass carbon storage. Hypothetical forest biomass sequestration capacities on lands managed by the DOI in the conterminous United States are 0–0.4 PgC higher than existing forest biomass carbon storage. Implications for forest and other land management practices are not considered in this report. Uncertainties in the values reported here are large and difficult to quantify, particularly for hypothetical carbon sequestration capacities. Nevertheless, this rapid assessment helps to frame policy and management discussion by providing estimates that can be compared to amounts necessary to reduce predicted future atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

Open-File Report↗