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USGS2009

Coastal groundwater dynamics off Santa Barbara, California: combining geochemical tracers, electromagnetic seepmeters, and electrical resistivity

This paper presents repeat field measurements of 222 Rn and 223,224,226,228 Ra, electromagnetic seepage meter-derived advective fluxes, and multi-electrode, stationary and continuous marine resistivity surveys collected between November 2005 and April 2007 to study coastal groundwater dynamics within a marine beach in Santa Barbara, California. The study provides insight into magnitude and dynamics of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) and associated nutrient loadings into near-shore coastal waters, where the predominant SGD drivers can be both spatially and temporally separated. Rn-222 and 223,224,226,228 Ra were utilized to quantify the total and saline contribution, respectively, of SGD. The two short-lived 224,223 Ra isotopes provided an estimate of apparent near-shore water mass age, as well as an estimate of the Ra-derived eddy diffusion coefficient, K h ( 224 Ra = 2.86 ± 0.7 m 2 s −1 ; 223 Ra = 1.32 ± 0.5 m 2 s −1 ). Because 222 Rn ( t ½ = 3.8 day) and 224 Ra ( t ½ = 3.66 day) have comparable half-lives and production terms, they were used in concert to examine respective water column removal rates. Electromagnetic seepage meters recorded the physical, bi-directional exchange across the sediment/water interface, which ranged from −6.7 to 14.5 cm day −1 , depending on the sampling period and position relative to the low tide line. Multi-day time-series 222 Rn measurements in the near-shore water column yielded total (saline + fresh) SGD rates that ranged from 3.1 ± 2.6 to 9.2 ± 0.8 cm day −1 , depending on the sampling season. Offshore 226 Ra ( t ½ = 1600 year) and 222 Rn gradients were used with the calculated K h values to determine seabed flux estimates (dpm m −2 day −1 ), which were then converted into SGD rates (7.1 and 7.9 cm day −1 , respectively). Lastly, SGD rates were used to calculate associated nutrient loads for the near-shore coastal waters off Santa Barbara. Depending on both the season and the SGD method utilized, the following SGD-derived nutrient inputs were computed (mol per day per meter of shoreline): NH 4 + = 0.06–0.29 mol day −1 m −1 ; SiO 4 = 0.22–0.29 mol day −1 m −1 ; PO 4 3− = 0.04–0.17 mol day −1 m −1 ; [NO 2 − + NO 3 − ] = 0–0.52 mol day −1 m −1 ; dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) = 0.01–0.17 mol day −1 m −1 , and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) = 0.08–0.09 mol day −1 m −1 . Compared to the ephemeral nature of fluvial and marine inputs into this region, such SGD-derived loadings can provide a sustained source of select nutrients to the coastal waters off Santa Barbara, California that should be accounted for in mass balance estimates.

California↗

USGS2018

Best practices for elevation-based assessments of sea-level rise and coastal flooding exposure

Elevation data are critical for assessments of sea-level rise (SLR) and coastal flooding exposure. Previous research has demonstrated that the quality of data used in elevation-based assessments must be well understood and applied to properly model potential impacts. The cumulative vertical uncertainty of the input elevation data substantially controls the minimum increments of SLR and the minimum planning horizons that can be effectively used in assessments. For regional, continental, or global assessments, several digital elevation models (DEMs) are available for the required topographic information to project potential impacts of increased coastal water levels, whether a simple inundation model is used or a more complex process-based or probabilistic model is employed. When properly characterized, the vertical accuracy of the DEM can be used to report assessment results with the uncertainty stated in terms of a specific confidence level or likelihood category. An accuracy evaluation has been conducted of global DEMs to quantify their inherent vertical uncertainty to demonstrate how accuracy information should be considered when planning and implementing a SLR or coastal flooding assessment. The evaluation approach includes comparison of the DEMs with high-accuracy geodetic control points as the independent reference data over a variety of coastal relief settings. The global DEMs evaluated include SRTM, ASTER GDEM, ALOS World 3D, TanDEM-X, NASADEM, and MERIT. High-resolution, high-accuracy DEM sources, such as airborne lidar and stereo imagery, are also included to give context to the results from the global DEMs. The accuracy characterization results show that current global DEMs are not adequate for high confidence mapping of exposure to fine increments (<1 m) of SLR or with shorter planning horizons (<100 years) and thus they should not be used for such mapping, but they are suitable for general delineation of low elevation coastal zones. In addition to the best practice of rigorous accounting for vertical uncertainty, other recommended procedures are presented for delineation of different types of impact areas (marine and groundwater inundation) and use of regional relative SLR scenarios. The requirement remains for a freely available, high-accuracy, high-resolution global elevation model that supports quantitative SLR and coastal inundation assessments at high confidence levels.

Frontiers in Earth Science↗

USGS2008

Benthic invertebrates and periphyton in the Elwha river basin: Current conditions and predicted response to dam removal

The impending removal of two dams on the Elwha River in Washington State offers a unique opportunity to study ecosystem restoration at a watershed scale. We examine how periphyton and benthic invertebrate assemblages vary across regulated and unregulated sections of the Elwha River and across different habitat types, and establish baseline data for tracking future changes following dam removal. We collected multiple years of data on physical habitat, water chemistry, periphyton, and benthic invertebrates from 52 sites on the Elwha River and a reference section on the Quinault River, a neighboring basin. We found that substrate in regulated river sections was coarser and less heterogeneous in size than in unregulated sections, and summer water temperature and specific conductivity higher. Periphyton biomass was also consistently higher in regulated than unregulated sections. Benthic invertebrate assemblage structure at sites above both dams was distinct from sites between and below the dams, due in large part to dominance of mayfly taxa compared to higher relative abundance of midges and non-insect taxa at downstream sites. Following dam removal, we anticipate that both periphyton and benthic invertebrate abundance and diversity will temporarily decrease between and below dams as a result of sediment released from behind the reservoirs. Over the long-term, increased floodplain heterogeneity and recolonization by anadromous fish will alter benthic invertebrate and periphyton assemblages via increases in niche diversity and inputs of marine-derived nutrients. The extended timeline predicted for Elwha River recovery and the complexities of forecasting ecological response highlights the need for more long-term assessments of dam removal and river restoration practices.

Northwest Science↗

USGS2012

U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, 2011 report of selected wildlife diseases

The National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) was founded in 1975 to provide technical assistance in identifying, controlling, and preventing wildlife losses from diseases, conduct research to understand the impact of diseases on wildlife populations, and devise methods to more effectively manage these disease threats. The impetus behind the creation of the NWHC was, in part, the catastrophic loss of tens of thousands of waterfowl as a result of an outbreak of duck plague at the Lake Andes National Wildlife Refuge in South Dakota during January 1973. In 1996, the NWHC, along with other Department of Interior research functions, was transferred from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), where we remain one of many entities that provide the independent science that forms the bases of the sound management of the Nation’s natural resources. Our mission is to provide national leadership to safeguard wildlife and ecosystem health through dynamic partnerships and exceptional science. The main campus of the NWHC is located in Madison, Wis., where we maintain biological safety level 3 (BSL–3) diagnostic and research facilities purposefully designed for work with wildlife species. The NWHC provides research and technical assistance on wildlife health issues to State, Federal, and international agencies. In addition, since 1992 we have maintained a field station in Hawaii, the Honolulu Field Station, which focuses on marine and terrestrial natural resources throughout the Pacific region. The NWHC conducts diagnostic investigations of unusual wildlife morbidity and mortality events nationwide to detect the presence of wildlife pathogens and determine the cause of death. This is also an important activity for detecting new, emerging and resurging diseases. The NWHC provides this crucial information on the presence of wildlife diseases to wildlife managers to support sound management decisions. The data and information generated also allows for further indepth analyses for determining the biological and ecological significance of disease events, detecting disease trends over time and space, as well as detecting any significant changes to how diseases manifest in the field. Moreover, this information allows us to gain insight into the significance of future wildlife disease events. The purpose of this report is to provide a sample of NWHC data that are available from our Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS). These data are presented in summary format with minimal statistical analysis and interpretation. The goal is to share these data with wildlife managers and other stakeholders, promote the use of NHWC data, and encourage the sharing of wildlife disease data to improve temporal and geographic surveillance coverage. Continued national surveillance for wildlife diseases is essential for providing early detection and warning of events that have the potential to result in harm to human health, economic losses, declines in wildlife populations, and subsequent ecological disturbances. Increased collaboration, coordination, and sharing of surveillance data will enhance this Nation’s ability to detect and respond to wildlife disease threats.

Scientific Investigations Report↗

USGS2020

Eradication of peste des petits ruminants and the wildlife-livestock interface

Growing evidence suggests that multiple wildlife species can be infected with peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV), with important consequences for the potential maintenance of PPRV in communities of susceptible hosts, and the threat that PPRV may pose to the conservation of wildlife populations and resilience of ecosystems. Significant knowledge gaps in the epidemiology of PPRV across the ruminant community (wildlife and domestic), and the understanding of infection in wildlife and other atypical host species groups (e.g., camelidae, suidae, and bovinae) hinder our ability to apply necessary integrated disease control and management interventions at the wildlife-livestock interface. Similarly, knowledge gaps limit the inclusion of wildlife in the FAO/OIE Global Strategy for the Control and Eradication of PPR, and the framework of activities in the PPR Global Eradication Programme that lays the foundation for eradicating PPR through national and regional efforts. This article reports on the first international meeting on, “Controlling PPR at the livestock-wildlife interface,” held in Rome, Italy, March 27–29, 2019. A large group representing national and international institutions discussed recent advances in our understanding of PPRV in wildlife, identified knowledge gaps and research priorities, and formulated recommendations. The need for a better understanding of PPRV epidemiology at the wildlife-livestock interface to support the integration of wildlife into PPR eradication efforts was highlighted by meeting participants along with the reminder that PPR eradication and wildlife conservation need not be viewed as competing priorities, but instead constitute two requisites of healthy socio-ecological systems.

Frontiers in Veterinary Science↗

USGS2002

A portal for the ocean biogeographic information system

Since its inception in 1999 the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) has developed into an international science program as well as a globally distributed network of biogeographic databases. An OBIS portal at Rutgers University provides the links and functional interoperability among member database systems. Protocols and standards have been established to support effective communication between the portal and these functional units. The portal provides distributed data searching, a taxonomy name service, a GIS with access to relevant environmental data, biological modeling, and education modules for mariners, students, environmental managers, and scientists. The portal will integrate Census of Marine Life field projects, national data archives, and other functional modules, and provides for network-wide analyses and modeling tools.

Oceanologica Acta↗

USGS2016

Science to support aquatic animal health

Healthy aquatic ecosystems are home to a diversity of plants, invertebrates, fish and wildlife. Aquatic animal populations face unprecedented threats to their health and survival from climate change, water shortages, habitat alteration, invasive species and environmental contaminants. These environmental stressors can directly impact the prevalence and severity of disease in aquatic populations. For example, periodic fish kills in the upper Chesapeake Bay Watershed are associated with many different opportunistic pathogens that proliferate in stressed fish populations. An estimated 80 percent of endangered juvenile Puget Sound steelhead trout die within two weeks of entering the marine environment, and a role for disease in these losses is being investigated. The introduction of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) into the Great Lakes—a fishery worth an estimated 7 billion dollars annually—resulted in widespread fish die-offs and virus detections in 28 different fish species. Millions of dying sea stars along the west coast of North America have led to investigations into sea star wasting disease. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists are assisting managers with these issues through ecological investigations of aquatic animal diseases, field surveillance, and research to promote the development of mitigation strategies.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2015

Getting ocean acidification on decision makers' to-do lists: dissecting the process through case studies

Much of the detailed, incremental knowledge being generated by current scientific research on ocean acidification (OA) does not directly address the needs of decision makers, who are asking broad questions such as: Where will OA harm marine resources next? When will this happen? Who will be affected? And how much will it cost? In this review, we use a series of mainly US-based case studies to explore the needs of local to international-scale groups that are making decisions to address OA concerns. Decisions concerning OA have been made most naturally and easily when information needs were clearly defined and closely aligned with science outputs and initiatives. For decisions requiring more complex information, the process slows dramatically. Decision making about OA is greatly aided (1) when a mixture of specialists participates, including scientists, resource users and managers, and policy and law makers; (2) when goals can be clearly agreed upon at the beginning of the process; (3) when mixed groups of specialists plan and create translational documents explaining the likely outcomes of policy decisions on ecosystems and natural resources; (4) when regional work on OA fits into an existing set of priorities concerning climate or water quality; and (5) when decision making can be reviewed and enhanced.

Oceanography↗

USGS2019

One hundred pressing questions on the future of global fish migration science, conservation, and policy

Migration is a widespread but highly diverse component of many animal life histories. Fish migrate throughout the world's oceans, within lakes and rivers, and between the two realms, transporting matter, energy, and other species (e.g., microbes) across boundaries. Migration is therefore a process responsible for myriad ecosystem services. Many human populations depend on the presence of predictable migrations of fish for their subsistence and livelihoods. Although much research has focused on fish migration, many questions remain in our rapidly changing world. We assembled a diverse team of fundamental and applied scientists who study fish migrations in marine and freshwater environments to identify pressing unanswered questions. Our exercise revealed questions within themes related to understanding the migrating individual's internal state, navigational mechanisms, locomotor capabilities, external drivers of migration, the threats confronting migratory fish including climate change, and the role of migration. In addition, we identified key requirements for aquatic animal management, restoration, policy, and governance. Lessons revealed included the difficulties in generalizing among species and populations, and in understanding the levels of connectivity facilitated by migrating fishes. We conclude by identifying priority research needed for assuring a sustainable future for migratory fishes.

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution↗

USGS2004

The Cottage Lake aeromagnetic lineament: A possible onshore extension of the southern Whidbey Island fault, Washington

The northwest-striking southern Whidbey Island fault zone (SWIF) was mapped previously using borehole data and potential-field anomalies on Whidbey Island and marine seismic surveys beneath surrounding waterways. Abrupt subsidence at a coastal marsh on south-central Whidbey Island suggests that the SWIF experienced a MW 6.5 to 7.0 earthquake about 3000 years ago. Southeast of Whidbey Island, a hypothesized southeastward projection of the SWIF would make landfall between the cities of Seattle and Everett. As part of systematic, ongoing studies by the U.S. Geological Survey, University of Washington, and other earth science organizations to evaluate potentially active faults and other earth hazards throughout the Puget Lowland, we test this hypothesis using aeromagnetic, lidar, and borehole data. Linear, northwest-striking magnetic anomalies traversing the mainland region project southeastward toward the communities of Woodinville and Maltby, Washington. All of these magnetic anomalies are low in amplitude and best illuminated in residual magnetic fields. The most prominent of the residual magnetic anomalies extends at least 16 km, lies approximately on strike with the SWIF on Whidbey Island, and passes near Crystal and Cottage Lakes, about 27 km southeast of downtown Everett. In places, this magnetic anomaly is associated with topographic lineaments, but spectral analysis indicates that the source of the anomaly extends to depths greater than 2 km and cannot be explained entirely by topographic effects. The Alderwood #1 oil exploration well located on strike with the Cottage Lake aeromagnetic lineament shows evidence of deformation over a total depth range of 3000 m; some beds within this interval exhibit intense fracturing and shearing, although deformation within the well can only be constrained as post-early Oligocene and pre-Pleistocene. Boreholes acquired as part of a wastewater tunnel project show evidence of soil disturbance at locations where some topographic and aeromagnetic lineaments cross the tunnel alignment. Some of the disturbance is likely tectonic in origin, although other explanations are possible. Some of the soil disturbance demonstrably predates the 15-13 ka Fraser glaciation of the Puget Lowland; other samples have inconclusive ages and may be younger. Subtle scarps in Pleistocene surfaces are visible on high-resolution lidar topography at a number of locations along the Cottage Lake aeromagnetic lineament. Collectively, the scarps are parallel to the trend of the aeromagnetic lineament and extend a total distance of 18 km. In the field, scarps exhibit 1 to 5 m of north-side-up offset. The scarps provide targets for future paleoseismic trenching studies to test the hypothesis that they have a tectonic origin.

Washington↗

USGS1965

Low deuterium content of Lake Vanda, Antarctica

Lake Vanda in Victoria Land, Antarctica, is permanently ice-covered and permanently stratified, with warm, salty water near the bottom. Deuterium analyses of lake water from several levels indicate that the lake has a low deuterium content, and that it is stratified with respect to this isotope. This low deuterium content supports the evidence from the lake's ionic content that the saline layer is not of marine origin, and it indicates that evaporation from the ice surface has taken place. The stratification of the lake with respect to deuterium suggests that the upper and lower layers of water were formed at different times from different sources of glacial melt water.

Science↗

USGS2021

Consequences of changing water clarity on the fish and fisheries of the Laurentian Great Lakes

Human-driven environmental change underlies recent changes in water clarity in many of the world’s great lakes, yet our understanding of the consequences of these changes on the fish and fisheries they support remains incomplete. Herein, we offer a framework to organize current knowledge, guide future research, and help fisheries managers understand how water clarity can affect their valued populations. Emphasizing Laurentian Great Lakes findings where possible, we describe how changing water clarity can directly affect fish populations and communities by altering exposure to ultraviolet radiation, foraging success, predation risk, reproductive behavior, or territoriality. We also discuss how changing water clarity can affect fisheries harvest and assessment through effects on fisher behavior and sampling efficiency (i.e., catchability). Finally, we discuss whether changing water clarity can affect understudied aspects of fishery performance, including economic and community benefits. We conclude by identifying generalized predictions and discuss their implications for priority research questions for the Laurentian Great Lakes. Even though the motivation for this work was regional, the breadth of the review and generality of the framework are readily transferable to other freshwater and marine habitats.

Great Lakes↗

USGS2026

Strengthening ties between the U.S. Geological Survey and Interstate Fisheries Commissions

Fish inhabiting marine coastal and Great Lakes waters of the United States forage, migrate, and reproduce without regard to human-made boundaries. In the mid-20th century, the 32 states along the U.S. coasts and Great Lakes recognized the growing need for coordinated, interjurisdictional fisheries management and formed four interstate or international fisheries commissions through federal legislation. While distinct in their authorities, each commission shares functions to support their regional partners, including coordinating fisheries science and supporting information sharing. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is a federal bureau focused exclusively on science with substantial fisheries research capacity. This empowers USGS to serve as an independent broker of scientific information, which is greatly appreciated by decision-making agencies. The USGS does not maintain broad infrastructure for engaging partners across regions. Therefore, collaboration between the USGS and fisheries commissions ensures that USGS fisheries science helps address the most pressing interjurisdictional management priorities. The USGS has worked with fisheries commissions for decades to a greater or lesser extent in each of the four coastal regions: Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf, and Great Lakes. In 2020, the USGS began efforts to cohesively strengthen these partnerships across the regions. In 2024, leadership from four USGS fisheries science centers and headquarters met with the four fisheries commissions in person for the first time during the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting. During the gathering, the new Interstate Fisheries Commissions–USGS Partnership developed coordination mechanisms and identified shared science priorities where the USGS capacity best aligns with the science needs of the commissions. Here we describe the history of collaboration between the USGS and fisheries commissions and the emerging interregional partnership.

Fisheries↗

USGS2025

U.S. Geological Survey science strategy to address highly pathogenic avian influenza and its effects on wildlife health 2025–29

Executive Summary Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is an ecologically and economically important animal disease that can also directly affect humans (a “zoonotic” disease). HPAI was once limited almost exclusively to domestic poultry but has rapidly adapted to diverse animal hosts. Viruses causing HPAI now appear to be maintained and dispersed by wild birds largely independent of poultry, though HPAI continues to cause considerable economic losses and supply chain disruptions in the domestic poultry trade. Coincident with the adaptation of HPAI viruses to wild birds, particularly waterfowl and gulls, increasingly diverse wild bird hosts are becoming exposed to HPAI, often resulting in disease and death. More sporadically, HPAI has caused mass mortality events, particularly among seabirds. Furthermore, viral spillover to wild and domestic mammals has become more common. Spillover to wild mammals has resulted in mortality among diverse terrestrial and marine taxa, including episodic losses of such scale as to represent potential conservation challenges. Since approximately March 2024, HPAI has also affected dairy cows, which represents a new threat to the agricultural economy. Lastly, HPAI has increasingly affected humans through domestic animal exposures, exemplifying the considerable implications of this disease beyond animal health. Rapid changes in the ecology of HPAI are currently outpacing research efforts. For example, it is not entirely clear which newly established hosts may become reservoirs for HPAI viruses (in other words, capable of maintaining HPAI viruses within a broad population indefinitely) and how this may influence viral evolution and dissemination. As a result, there are considerable information gaps regarding HPAI in wildlife that, if filled, would improve the ability of scientists, managers, agricultural industry representatives, and healthcare professionals to understand and to anticipate the effects of HPAI on wild animal, domestic animal, environmental, and human health (“One Health”). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is the lead Federal agency providing scientific research on avian influenza viruses (AIVs), including HPAI viruses, that affect wildlife for which the Department of the Interior (DOI) has management authority. States have jurisdiction over wildlife on Federal lands within their borders (43 CFR § 24.3), so the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area (EMA) coordinates with State natural resource management agencies. The EMA focuses its research on HPAI through priorities identified by the USGS Avian Influenza Science Team ( app. 1 ). Priorities identified by the USGS Avian Influenza Science Team are based on Administration priorities, Congressional direction, and discussions with State, Federal, and Tribal natural resource management agencies that identify specific scientific gaps that need to be filled to inform sound wildlife management decisions. Notable non-DOI Federal partners include the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the lead for the HPAI regulatory response in poultry and livestock, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the lead agency for the HPAI response pertaining to human health. The USGS offers unique expertise and capacity pertaining to research on diseases affecting free-ranging wildlife populations. This expertise has been critical to interjurisdictional surveillance and capacity-building efforts, including programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the CDC. The USGS also provides resources, guidance, and tools to inform surveillance and interventions conducted by natural resource management agencies. More specifically, the USGS EMA provides objective and rigorous scientific data for inferring (1) the utility of new methods to detect and characterize AIVs, including those maintained in wildlife and the environment; (2) effects of HPAI on wildlife; (3) spatiotemporal patterns of wildlife host and AIV dispersal; (4) the presence and persistence of AIVs in the environment; (5) how HPAI in wildlife influences consumptive and nonconsumptive utilization of wildlife; (6) how new tools and scientific methods may promote sound management decisions for HPAI-affected wildlife, particularly species of conservation concern; and (7) the combined effects of HPAI and other stressors on ecosystem health and resiliency. This science strategy builds upon research outlined in a previous USGS science strategy for HPAI (2016–20) by Harris and others (2016) . This strategy also details research priorities identified by the Administration (for example, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2025 ) and others based on USGS Avian Influenza Science Team discussions with natural resource management agencies to address HPAI and wildlife health over the next 5 years (2025–29). This strategy presents 7 goals and 26 objectives that focus USGS and partner efforts on priorities that will fill data gaps regarding the effects of HPAI on wildlife managed by or co-managed with the U.S. Department of the Interior such that agencies and partners might anticipate or limit adverse effects on public resources. This strategy also identifies research priorities intended to address HPAI in wildlife and wildlife habitat that are anticipated to support interjurisdictional One Health efforts.

Circular↗

USGS2023

A new deglacial climate and sea-level record from 20 to 8 ka from IODP381 site M0080, Alkyonides Gulf, eastern Mediterranean

Records of relative sea-level rise for the last deglaciation are mostly limited to coral reef records and geophysical model estimates, but observational data from regions with temperate climates is sparse. We present a new relative climatic and regional sea-level rise record for glacial Termination 1 (Marine Isotope Stages [MIS] 2–1) based on ostracode paleoecology from the upper 8 m of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Site M0080 collected on Expedition 381, in the Gulf of Alkyonides, eastern Corinth basin of the Mediterranean Sea. Results show a series of major faunal transitions from lacustrine (Ponto-Caspian, Lake Corinth) glacial-age assemblages to fully marine (Mediterranean) interglacial assemblages between 20 and 8 ka. During glacial and early deglacial intervals, the Gulf of Alkyonides was characterized by non-marine lacustrine conditions with episodic sediment input from coastal, saline lake environments. Relatively stable lake shoreline conditions marked by the distinctive Tuberoloxoconcha sp. Existed from ∼17.5 to 15 ka. During the peak deglacial interval, the BØlling-AllerØd (B-A, ∼15–13.5 ka), rapid sea-level rise is indicated by a fully marine ostracode fauna colonization, which persisted from 13.5 to 7.5 ka (Late Pleistocene-Early to Middle Holocene).

Quaternary Science Reviews↗

USGS2010

Marine-target craters on Mars? An assessment study

Observations of impact craters on Earth show that a water column at the target strongly influences lithology and morphology of the resultant crater. The degree of influence varies with the target water depth and impactor diameter. Morphological features detectable in satellite imagery include a concentric shape with an inner crater inset within a shallower outer crater, which is cut by gullies excavated by the resurge of water. In this study, we show that if oceans, large seas, and lakes existed on Mars for periods of time, marine-target craters must have formed. We make an assessment of the minimum and maximum amounts of such craters based on published data on water depths, extent, and duration of putative oceans within “contacts 1 and 2,” cratering rate during the different oceanic phases, and computer modeling of minimum impactor diameters required to form long-lasting craters in the seafloor of the oceans. We also discuss the influence of erosion and sedimentation on the preservation and exposure of the craters. For an ocean within the smaller “contact 2” with a duration of 100,000 yr and the low present crater formation rate, only ˜1–2 detectable marine-target craters would have formed. In a maximum estimate with a duration of 0.8 Gyr, as many as 1400 craters may have formed. An ocean within the larger “contact 1-Meridiani,” with a duration of 100,000 yr, would not have received any seafloor craters despite the higher crater formation rate estimated before 3.5 Gyr. On the other hand, with a maximum duration of 0.8 Gyr, about 160 seafloor craters may have formed. However, terrestrial examples show that most marine-target craters may be covered by thick sediments. Ground penetrating radar surveys planned for the ESA Mars Express and NASA 2005 missions may reveal buried craters, though it is uncertain if the resolution will allow the detection of diagnostic features of marine-target craters. The implications regarding the discovery of marine-target craters on Mars is not without significance, as such discoveries would help address the ongoing debate of whether large water bodies occupied the northern plains of Mars and would help constrain future paleoclimatic reconstructions.

Meteoritics and Planetary Science↗

USGS2012

Over 100 years of environmental change recorded by foraminifers and sediments in a large Gulf of Mexico estuary, Mobile Bay, AL, USA

The marine microfauna of Mobile Bay has been profoundly influenced by the development and expansion of the primary shipping channel over the last ∼100 years. Foraminifers and sediments from seven box cores with excess lead-210 chronology document that channel dredging and spoil disposal have altered circulation, reduced estuarine mixing, changed sedimentation patterns, and caused a faunal turnover within the bay. Beginning in the late 1800s, changes in estuarine mixing allowed for greater low-pH freshwater influence in the bay, and ultimately began environmental changes that resulted in the loss of calcareous foraminifers. By the early 1900s, box cores throughout Mobile Bay record a ∼100-year trend of increasing calcareous test dissolution that continues to the present. Since the completion of the current shipping channel in the 1950s, restricted tidal flushing and increased terrestrial organic matter, documented by carbon-to-nitrogen ratios, stimulated an increase in agglutinated foraminiferal densities. However, in deeper areas of the bay, hypoxic water has negatively impacted the marine microfauna. Comparisons of the present-day foraminiferal assemblage with foraminifers collected in the early 1970s indicate that the continued biologic loss of calcareous foraminifers in the bay has allowed the introduction of a new agglutinated foraminiferal species into the bay.

Alabama↗

USGS2015

Science foundation Chapter 5 Appendix 5.1: Case study Forester's tern ( Sterna forsteri ) and California least tern ( Sternula antillarum browni )

This case study considers two tern species that breed within the San Francisco Bay Estuary, Forster’s Terns ( Sterna forsteri ) and California Least Terns ( Sternula antillarum browni ). Forster’s Terns are medium-sized (140 g) terns that breed in coastal and interior marshes of North America. Forster’s Terns can exploit ephemeral habitats, and colony locations often move among years with change in habitat suitability and resource availability. Least Terns are smaller-sized (45 g) terns that breed along beaches and major interior rivers of North America, and winter along marine coastlines in Central and South America. Forster’s Terns and California Least Terns breeding in San Francisco Bay tend to use the same nesting colony locations each years.

California↗