Final results and statistical summary of analyses of geochemical samples from the Medfra quadrangle, Alaska
No abstract available.
Alaska↗
SEARCH · Search USGS
Results for “Final Report”
Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Analysis of local slopes at the InSight landing site on Mars
To evaluate the topography of the surface within the InSight candidate landing ellipses, we generated Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) at lander scales and those appropriate for entry, descent, and landing simulations, along with orthoimages of both images in each stereopair, and adirectional slope images. These products were used to assess the distribution of slopes for each candidate ellipse and terrain type in the landing site region, paying particular attention to how these slopes impact InSight landing and engineering safety, and results are reported here. Overall, this region has extremely low slopes at 1-meter baseline scales and meets the safety constraints of the InSight lander. The majority of the landing ellipse has a mean slope at 1-meter baselines of 3.2°. In addition, a mosaic of HRSC, CTX, and HiRISE DTMs within the final landing ellipse (ellipse 9) was generated to support entry, descent, and landing simulations and evaluations. Several methods were tested to generate this mosaic and the NASA Ames Stereo Pipeline program dem_mosaic produced the best results. For the HRSC-CTX-HiRISE DTM mosaic, more than 99 % of the mosaic has slopes less than 15°, and the introduction of artificially high slopes along image seams was minimized.
Space Science Reviews↗
An isotope-dilution standard GC/MS/MS method for steroid hormones in water
An isotope-dilution quantification method was developed for 20 natural and synthetic steroid hormones and additional compounds in filtered and unfiltered water. Deuterium- or carbon-13-labeled isotope-dilution standards (IDSs) are added to the water sample, which is passed through an octadecylsilyl solid-phase extraction (SPE) disk. Following extract cleanup using Florisil SPE, method compounds are converted to trimethylsilyl derivatives and analyzed by gas chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Validation matrices included reagent water, wastewater-affected surface water, and primary (no biological treatment) and secondary wastewater effluent. Overall method recovery for all analytes in these matrices averaged 100%; with overall relative standard deviation of 28%. Mean recoveries of the 20 individual analytes for spiked reagent-water samples prepared along with field samples analyzed in 2009–2010 ranged from 84–104%, with relative standard deviations of 6–36%. Detection levels estimated using ASTM International’s D6091–07 procedure range from 0.4 to 4 ng/L for 17 analytes. Higher censoring levels of 100 ng/L for bisphenol A and 200 ng/L for cholesterol and 3-beta-coprostanol are used to prevent bias and false positives associated with the presence of these analytes in blanks. Absolute method recoveries of the IDSs provide sample-specific performance information and guide data reporting. Careful selection of labeled compounds for use as IDSs is important because both inexact IDS-analyte matches and deuterium label loss affect an IDS’s ability to emulate analyte performance. Six IDS compounds initially tested and applied in this method exhibited deuterium loss and are not used in the final method.
Book chapter↗
The influence of subcolony-scale nesting habitat on the reproductive success of Adélie penguins
Group-size variation is common in colonially breeding species, including seabirds, whose breeding colonies can vary in size by several orders of magnitude. Seabirds are some of the most threatened marine taxa and understanding the drivers of colony size variation is more important than ever. Reproductive success is an important demographic parameter that can impact colony size, and it varies in association with a number of factors, including nesting habitat quality. Within colonies, seabirds often aggregate into distinct groups or subcolonies that may vary in quality. We used data from two colonies of Adélie penguins 73 km apart on Ross Island, Antarctica, one large and one small to investigate (1) How subcolony habitat characteristics influence reproductive success and (2) How these relationships differ at a small (Cape Royds) and large (Cape Crozier) colony with different terrain characteristics. Subcolonies were characterized using terrain attributes (elevation, slope aspect, slope steepness, wind shelter, flow accumulation), as well group characteristics (area/size, perimeter-to-area ratio, and proximity to nest predators). Reproductive success was higher and less variable at the larger colony while subcolony characteristics explained more of the variance in reproductive success at the small colony. The most important variable influencing subcolony quality at both colonies was perimeter-to-area ratio, likely reflecting the importance of nest predation by south polar skuas along subcolony edges. The small colony contained a higher proportion of edge nests thus higher potential impact from skua nest predation. Stochastic environmental events may facilitate smaller colonies becoming “trapped” by nest predation: a rapid decline in the number of breeding individuals may increase the proportion of edge nests, leading to higher relative nest predation and hindering population recovery. Several terrain covariates were retained in the final models but which variables, the shapes of the relationships, and importance varied between colonies.
Scientific Reports↗
Range-wide population trend analysis for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus)—Updated 1960–2022
Greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ) are at the center of state and national land-use policies largely because of their unique life-history traits as an ecological indicator for health of sagebrush ecosystems. This updated population trend analysis provides state and federal land and wildlife managers with best-available science to help guide current management and conservation plans aimed at benefitting sage-grouse populations. This analysis relied on previously published population trend modeling methodology from Coates and others (2021, 2022a) and incorporated population lek count data through 2022. Bayesian state-space models estimated 2.9 percent average annual decline in sage-grouse populations across their geographical range, which varied among subpopulations at the largest scale of analysis, termed climate clusters (2.2–4.7). Cumulative declines were 40.9, 65.0, and 79.6 percent range-wide across short (19 years), medium (35 years), and long (55 years) temporal periods, respectively. These results indicate that the most recent nadir for range-wide populations occurred during 2021. However, growth during 2022 was modest, making 2021 a tentative final nadir at this point.
Data Report↗
Geologic maps of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the arm of the San Francisco Bay estuary that reaches into the Central Valley of California, differs from typical coastal-plain deltas in three important respects. First, rather than meeting the ocean individually and directly, all major waterways of this delta discharge via a single constricted outlet into a chain of estuarine bays and straits. Second, in the most common vertical sequence of deposits, peat and mud deposited in tidal marshes and swamps (tidal wetlands) directly overlie alluvium or eolian sand, a sequence recording a landward spread of tidal environments rather than the seaward migration of fluvial environments that is typical of coastal-plain deltas (Cosby, 1941, p. 43; Thompson, 1957, p. 12; Shlemon and Begg, 1975, p. 259; Atwater and Belknap, 1980). Finally, intensive human use has led to a peculiar set of conflicts involving rights to water and responsibilities for flood-control levees (Kockelman and other, 1982).
California↗
High-resolution seismic-reflection image of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia
A 1-kilometer-long (0.62-mile-long) seismic reflection and refraction profile collected at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., provides a detailed image of part of the annular trough of the buried, 35-million-year-old Chesapeake Bay impact structure. This profile passes within 5 meters (m; 16.4 feet (ft)) of a 635.1-m-deep (2,083.8-ft-deep), continuously cored and geophysically logged test hole at the Langley Center (the USGS-NASA Langley corehole). High-resolution seismic reflection images (having a common-depth-point spacing of 2.5 m (8.2 ft)) of the upper 1,000 m (3,281 ft) along the seismic profile were generated by using refraction velocities and corehole sonic velocities to convert from time sections to depth sections. Time-distance, unmigrated depth-distance, and migrated depth-distance images show lateral variations in the geologic units observed in the USGS-NASA Langley corehole. A high-amplitude reflection at 630 to 625 m (2,067 to 2,051 ft) depth on the migrated depth image correlates with the top of weathered granite (the Langley Granite) at 626.3 m (2,054.7 ft) in the Langley core. Additional high-amplitude reflections below that depth likely represent a weathering profile developed in the upper part of the granite. Diffractions on the unmigrated images suggest that the granite contains numerous inhomogeneities that may consist of mineral veins and mineralized faults and fractures, as seen in the granite cores. Above the granite, crater unit A (minimally to moderately disturbed sands and clays of the Cretaceous Potomac Formation) is characterized by semicontinuous, horizontal and moderately inclined reflections that are broken by pervasive, subvertical, small-offset faults. Sediments of the lower beds of crater unit A below 558.1 m (1,831.0 ft) in the core have horizontal bedding and are nearly pristine. Above that depth, the upper beds of crater unit A contain thick fluidized sand intervals and fractured clay-silt beds. The contact between the granite and crater unit A is essentially horizontal on the migrated depth profile and shows minor relief produced by a few steeply dipping faults. Above crater unit A, the lower beds of crater unit B are lithologically similar to the upper beds of crater unit A and display similar impact-generated deformation. In the migrated depth image, crater unit A and the lower beds of crater unit B are combined into one unit. A thin zone (0.3 m (1.0 ft) thick) of injected glauconitic sediment at the base of the lower beds (at 442.5 m (1,451.7 ft) depth) is the only occurrence of exotic material in the lower beds of crater unit B in the core. The upper beds of crater unit B (above 427.7 m (1,403.3 ft) depth) are represented by discontinuous, locally weak, isolated, or inclined reflections on the migrated depth image. In the core, the upper beds of crater unit B are divided into megablocks and megablock zones that consist of fragmented sediments of the Potomac Formation. The megablocks are separated by matrix zones that consist of smaller blocks of sediments of the Potomac Formation suspended in a matrix of native disaggregated sediments of the Potomac Formation and injected, exotic disaggregated, glauconitic Upper Cretaceous and lower Tertiary marine sediments. Angular relationships and offsets of reflections across the high-relief contact between the upper beds of crater unit B and the underlying combined crater unit A and the lower beds of crater unit B suggest that the contact is a dip-slip fault locally. Above a contact with crater unit B at a depth of 269.4 m (884.0 ft), the Exmore beds are represented by strong, continuous and discontinuous, overstepping reflections that suggest division of the Exmore into four laterally discontinuous depositional subunits. Two of these subunits are present near the Langley corehole on the seismic images and are recognized in the core (Gohn and others, this volume, chap. C). In the Langley core, the Exmore beds consist of clasts of Cretaceous and Tertiary preimpact sediments and cataclastic, shocked, pre-Mesozoic igneous rocks suspended in a matrix of calcareous, muddy, quartz-glauconite sand and granules that contains shocked quartz. The dipping, truncated, and disrupted reflections within crater units A and B are interpreted to represent a 550-m-wide (1,805-ft-wide), stratabound collapse structure. This structure does not affect the underlying basement granite or the lower beds of crater unit A, nor does it affect the base of the Exmore beds above crater unit B. The collapse structure is not bounded laterally by major normal faults. Instead, structural displace ments appear to be distributed among abundant short, smalloffset faults and intervals of fluidized sediment. Fluidized sands above 558 m (1,831 ft) depth in crater unit A are interpreted as a low-strength zone that accommodated the widespread, latestage, gravitational collapse of the impact structure. The pro posed Langley collapse structure may be analogous to stratabound grabens in the outer zone of the Silverpit crater (North Sea). The Exmore beds are interpreted as impact-generated, ocean-resurge deposits. The upper contact of the Exmore section is a wavy, semicontinuous reflection that may represent large bedforms produced by resurge currents or returning impact-generated tsunamis, or it may represent the unmodified blocky or hummocky top of the final Exmore debris flow. Typically continuous, nearly horizontal reflections characterize the upper Eocene to Pleistocene postimpact section of dominantly marine sediments.
Virginia↗
Geologic Map of the Estes Park 30' x 60' Quadrangle, North-Central Colorado
The rocks and landforms of the Estes Park 30 x 60 minute quadrangle display an exceptionally complete record of geologic history in the northern Front Range of Colorado. The Proterozoic basement rocks exposed in the core of the range preserve evidence of Paleoproterozoic marine sedimentation, volcanism, and regional soft-sediment deformation, followed by regional folding and gradational metamorphism. The metasedimentary rocks of the Estes Park quadrangle are distinct within northern Colorado for preserving the complete metamorphic zonation from low-grade chlorite-muscovite phyllites, through middle greenschist-grade rocks with sequential aluminous porphyroblasts, to partially melted gneisses that contain high-grade cordierite and garnet in the non-melted residues. Regional and textural evidence shows that the widespread metamorphism was essentially concurrent with intrusion of the Boulder Creek Granodiorite and related magmas and with the peak of deformation in the partially melted high-grade rocks. The metamorphic thermal pulse arrived later following the peak of deformation in the physically higher, cooler, low-grade terrane. Mesoproterozoic time was marked by intrusion of biotite granite in the Longs Peak-St Vrain batholith, a complex, irregular body that occupies nearly half of the core of the Front Range in this quadrangle. The magma was dry and viscous as it invaded the metamorphic rocks and caused wholesale plastic folding of the wall rock structure. Steep metamorphic foliation that resulted from the Paleoproterozoic deformations was bowed upward and re-oriented into flat-lying attitudes as the crystal-rich magma rose buoyantly and spread out in the middle crust. Magma invaded the schists and gneisses along weak foliation planes and produced a characteristic sill-upon-sill intrusive fabric, particularly in the higher parts of the batholith. Broad, open arches and swales that are defined by the flow-aligned feldspar foliation of the granite, as well as by compositional banding in the intruded and included metamorphic rocks, formed late during batholith emplacement due to rising, buoyant magma and sinking, dense wall rocks. The Longs Peak-St Vrain batholith was intruded into crust that was structurally neutral or moderately extending in an east-northeast direction. A broad zone of mylonite, the Moose Mountain shear zone, formed within the batholith during the final stages of consolidation as a result of differential buoyancy between the magma and dense wall rock, not as a result of regional tectonic deformation.
Scientific Investigations Map↗
Estimation and comparison of 1-percent annual exceedance probability flood flows at Federal Emergency Management Agency flood insurance study flow locations across Pennsylvania
Flood-flow estimates were computed at over 5,000 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood insurance study (FIS) flow locations across Pennsylvania for the 1-percent annual exceedance probability flood event (1-percent AEP). Depending on a point of interest’s proximity to a streamgage, weighting techniques may be applied to obtain flood-flow estimates for ungaged flow locations using observed peak-flow data from a nearby streamgage. Following the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) published guidance, stream segments were identified where the drainage-area ratio method could be leveraged. Using updated regional regression equations and recently published flood-flow estimates at USGS streamgage locations following USGS Bulletin 17C guidelines, weighted and transferred flood flows were computed, where appropriate. For locations not applicable for the drainage-area ratio method, regression equations were used to compute flood-flow estimates. These flood-flow estimates were then compared to FEMA FIS 1-percent AEP flood-flow estimates. Percentage-difference values were computed for 3,599 FIS flow locations determined to be suitable for analysis, finding that USGS-derived flood-flow estimates were consistently lower than FEMA FIS flood-flow estimates with a statewide median percentage difference of −10.1 percent. The dataset was normally distributed with a standard deviation of 45.7 percent. Allegheny County was found to have 74 FIS flow locations with percentage-difference values greater than or equal to 67 percent or less than or equal to −67 percent. The flood-flow region in which Allegheny County is contained, Region 2, had a median percentage-difference value of −39 percent. Although removed from the final analysis, flow locations with drainage-area values above the recommended threshold for regression-based estimation (about 1,000 square miles [mi 2 ]) were observed to have consistently higher percentage-difference values; a reminder of the limitations of use for regression-based flood-flow estimates. This report, the comparisons within, and a companion data release are intended to serve as tools to FEMA in assisting with the ongoing assessment of FIS flow locations across Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania↗
Evaluating temperature regimes for protection of Smallmouth Bass
The success of smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) is affected by temperature regimes. Concepts are presented for evaluating the suitability of alternative temperature regimes through experimentally derived data, including ultimate incipient lethal temperatures and maximum weekly average, short-term maximum, and final preferendum temperatures. Also, concepts are described for basing evaluations on temperature tolerances for periods including spawning, egg and larval incubation, growth, and winter survival in the first year of life.
Report↗
Drought prediction and water availability: A report on the 2022 USGS-NIDIS National Listening Session Series
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) conducted a series of four Listening Sessions in 2022 – each with a different application or topical focus – to seek input on priorities and needs related to predicting water availability changes under drought conditions at national and regional scales. This input was gathered to help inform the USGS Drought Program, regional and national drought efforts at NIDIS, and other national drought efforts. The series started with a February 2022 kick-off that introduced the series of Listening Sessions being held from March through September 2022. This kickoff also provided an overview of the USGS Drought Program’s work to characterize hydrological (e.g., streamflow and groundwater) drought, drought variability, drivers, and trends over the past century. Participants in these Listening Sessions included diverse stakeholder representation and perspectives. The first of the four Listening Sessions focused on streamflow (March 3, 2022), and included a short introduction to the USGS national streamflow drought research, the properties of a national drought prediction system, as well as presentations by other agencies on different drought prediction and forecasting efforts. The second session focused on groundwater (May 5, 2022), and included presentations on groundwater drought, sustainable groundwater management, and improving our understanding of soil moisture, groundwater, and surface water drought. The third session focused on water use (July 14, 2022), and included a discussion of the different drought types, as well as an introduction to several key projects, including the USGS Upper Colorado River Basin Study, the Ogallala Data Directory project, and a multi-agency drought prediction partnership in Oklahoma. The fourth and final Listening Session focused on water availability prediction for ecosystems (September 8, 2022), and included presentations on the development of a national capacity for eco-hydrological and drought science, building climate resilience, and actionable ecodrought resources.
Report↗
Estimating annual Ceratonova shasta mortality rates in juvenile Scott and Shasta River coho salmon that enter the Klamath River mainstem
The impacts of Ceratonova shasta on Klamath River salmonids have been the focus of tremendous research and monitoring over the past decade. Knowledge gained from the various studies has resulted in a growing suite of decision support tools that can be used to predict the prevalence of infection and mortality that can be expected from varying exposure concentrations to C. shasta waterborne spores, exposure durations, and water temperatures. More recent efforts have shown that when coupled with estimates of abundance and temporal migration timing, these tools can be used to predict population-level rates of annual mortality due to ceratomyxosis. In this report, we apply those tools to estimate annual mortality rates of juvenile Coho Salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch originating from the Scott and Shasta rivers that result from exposure to C. shasta in the mainstem Klamath River. Additionally, we simulate how a water management flow regime targeted to reduce disease risk may translate into differing estimates of mortality rates. In general, we found large variation among annual mortality rate estimates, ranging from 0% to 68% across both rivers and across all years considered in this investigation. Further, we estimate that fish from the Shasta River experienced higher mortality rates owning to their prolonged exposure history. Finally, our simulations suggest that the flow regime targeting reduced disease risk could be effective at reducing annual Coho Salmon mortality rate estimates, with the extent of the estimated reductions related to the timing of the onset of measurable in-river waterborne spore concentrations and the overlap with the Klamath River residence for each source population.
California, Oregon↗
Map showing slope movements in the Oak Forest Quadrangle, Greene County, southwestern Pennsylvania
This map is the first example in the eastern United States of a 1:24,000-scale 7.5– minute quadrangle map that identifies areas with slope—stability problems in detail. Such a map enables the user to make a rapid evaluation of the potential for mass movement. Furthermore, detailed slope movement inventory of this type can serve as a framework for statistical analyses of several factors that cause slope failures, such as the effects of bedrock lithology, soil and slope characteristics, and precipitation. Planners, engineers, soil scientists, geologists, and elected officials should find the map useful in the assessment of slope hazards and planning for future land use. Final evaluation of any site within the quadrangle should be based on an examination by a soils engineer or an engineering geologist. Field investigations in the springs of 1981 and 1982 and the fall of 1981 involved nearly 60 days of traverses. The foot traverses were supplemented by the interpretation of the land surface on vertical black-and-white aerial photography flown in January and February of 1973 at a scale of nearly 1:24,000. Earlier aerial photography flown in June and July 1939 at a scale of 1:20,000 and more recent but significantly smaller scale photography (1:80,000) flown in June 1977 supplied additional documentation. More than 1,200 active or recently active and 900 older slope movements were identified. The geologic map of the Oak Forest quadrangle (Roen, 1972) is one of several geologic maps at a scale of 1:24,000 in eastern and central Greene County. Stone (1932) wrote an earlier report of the geology and mineral resources of Greene County. A series of reconnaissance landslide maps at 1:24,000 scale based mainly on aerial photographic interpretation included Greene and adjacent counties (Hackman and Thomas, 1978). Selection of the Oak Forest quadrangle for a more comprehensive study of the slope movements was based on the existence of a recent geologic map (Roen, 1972), sizeable tracts of both forested and non-forested land, nearby precipitation record stations, a large number of pipelines which could offer pertinent data, and good accessibility of terrain from secondary roads. Finally, Hackman and Thomas (1978) showed that the area was representative of any quadrangle in the northern part of the Dunkard basin in its distribution and density of slope movements. The quadrangle is located about 65 km southwest of Pittsburgh, Penn. (fig. 1). Three distinct drainage systems (north, east, and south trending) are represented within the quadrangle (fig. 2).
Pennsylvania↗
A reassessment of Chao2 estimates for population monitoring of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
The Yellowstone Ecosystem Subcommittee (YES) asked the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST) to re-assess a technique used in annual population estimation and trend monitoring of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). This technique is referred to as the Chao2 approach and estimates the number of females with cubs-of-the-year (hereafter, females with cubs) and, in association with other demographic data, is used by the IGBST to produce annual population estimates. Females with cubs are an easily recognizable population segment, and trends for this reproductive segment of the population are assumed to be representative of trend for the entire population. The overarching objective of the analyses presented in this report was to provide a more accurate representation of the GYE grizzly bear population using the current methodologies in place. Specifically, we addressed two limitations of the current Chao2 approach: 1) underestimation bias associated with a distance criterion used to differentiate annual sightings of females with cubs into unique individuals and 2) limitations of the model-averaging approach to effectively distinguish among potential future population trajectories (decline, stability, and growth). The first issue addressed in this report is the underestimation bias associated with the rule set that Knight et al. (1995) developed to differentiate sightings of females with cubs into unique individuals (i.e., unique family groups). The rule set was originally designed to be conservative by reducing the risk of identifying more females with cubs than actually existed, primarily through use of a distance criterion of 30 km to separate sightings of unique females. This approach resulted in an underestimation bias, and previous research demonstrated that this bias increases with increasing number of females with cubs. Using location data from radio-marked females with cubs, we evaluated alternative distance criteria by simulating scenarios with varying numbers of true females with cubs and sightings. Findings from these analyses demonstrate that bias in estimates of females with cubs can be substantially reduced by changing the 30-km distance criterion in the rule set to 16 km, which produced relatively unbiased estimates. Findings also indicate, however, the importance of adaptability with regard to the distance criteria because of the complex relationships and biases among the various parameters involved in estimation of unique females with cubs. The total number of annual sightings and the true number of females with cubs play particularly important roles. Whereas these analyses remind us that there is no perfect approach to estimating the number of females with cubs from sightings under various scenarios, they provide us with new tools to determine when and how to adapt the monitoring program. The second issue we were tasked to investigate was the potential for improvement of the technique referred to as model-averaging, which serves to smooth relatively high variation in annual estimates. This technique was chosen by YES as the basis for monitoring the Yellowstone grizzly bear population, as described in the 2016 Conservation Strategy. This choice was made in part because the technique has been well documented and population estimates derived from counts of females with cubs are conservative. Using simulations of population trends, we demonstrate why the model-averaging technique currently used cannot distinguish between plausible future trend scenarios. As a suitable alternative to model averaging, we propose the use of generalized additive models (GAMs). Using a suite of simulated trend dynamics relevant to management, we demonstrate GAM performance for tracking trends in females with cubs within the context of the annual monitoring program. We demonstrate the ability to not only document directional changes in population trend but also patterns of stabilization or resiliency after such changes. Furthermore, the proposed monitoring framework provides objective measures useful for early detection of directional changes in trend. The new framework is flexible, allowing retrospective analysis of Chao2-based estimates and future applications to time series of other population metrics, such as vital rates. The aforementioned updates provide us with new tools to determine when and how to adapt the monitoring program. Within the context of current monitoring protocols and effort, and considering the full suite of simulations presented in this report and previous studies, the IGBST plans to incorporate the following changes to the population monitoring protocol: 1) modify the distance criterion, starting with 16 km under current sampling conditions and 2) revise the population monitoring framework using GAMs as the basis for smoothing of annual estimates and detecting trends and changes in trend. Implementation of the 16-km distance criterion combined with use of GAM techniques would affect some of the population metrics (e.g., annual population size and uncertainty, population trend, mortality rates) used to inform management responses. A primary consideration is that the 16-km distance criterion results in total population estimates derived from the Chao2 estimates that are greater than those we have reported in the past. This increase is due to a change in the implementation of the technique and more accurately represents the number of females with cubs in the GYE grizzly bear population. Additionally, interpretation of retrospective trend patterns may change due to the combination of a different distance criterion and enhanced trend monitoring based on the GAM approach we present here. Implementation will require relatively minor changes in the monitoring protocols described in Appendices B and C of the 2016 Conservation Strategy. Finally, we note that the IGBST has ongoing investigations into the merits of an Integrated Population Model (IPM), for which annual Chao2-based estimates are important input data. The IGBST plans to continue those investigations using the 16-km distance criterion to derive Chao2 estimates.
Idaho, Montana, Wyoming↗
Saturn's icy satellites investigated by Cassini-VIMS. I. Full-disk properties: 350-5100 nm reflectance spectra and phase curves
Saturn's icy satellites are among the main scientific objectives of the Cassini-VIMS (Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer) experiment. This paper contains a first systematic and comparative analysis of the full-disk spectral properties of Dione, Enceladus, Epimetheus, Hyperion, Iapetus, Mimas, Phoebe, Rhea and Tethys as observed by VIMS from July 2004 to June 2005. The disk integrated properties (350-5100 nm reflectance spectra and phase curves at 550-2232 nm) and images of satellites are reported and discussed in detail together with the observed geometry. In general, the spectra in the visible spectral range are almost featureless and can be classified according to the spectral slopes: from the bluish Enceladus and Phoebe to the redder Iapetus, Hyperion and Epimetheus. In the 1000-1300 nm range the spectra of Enceladus, Tethys, Mimas and Rhea are characterized by a negative slope, consistent with a surface largely dominated by water ice, while the spectra of Iapetus, Hyperion and Phoebe show a considerable reddening pointing out the relevant role played by darkening materials present on the surface. In between these two classes are Dione and Epimetheus, which have a flat spectrum in this range. The main absorption bands identified in the infrared are the 1520, 2020, 3000 nm H2O/OH bands (for all satellites), although Iapetus dark terrains show mostly a deep 3000 nm band while the 1520 and 2020 nm bands are very faint. In this spectral range, the Iapetus spectrum is characterized by a strong reddening. The CO2 band at 4260 nm and the Fresnel ice peak around 3100 nm are evident only on Hyperion, Phoebe and Iapetus. The phase curves at 550 and at 2232 nm are reported for all the available observations in the 0??-144?? range; Rhea shows an opposition surge at visible wavelengths in the 0.5??-1.17?? interval. The improvement on the retrieval of the full-disk reflectance spectra can be appreciated by a direct comparison with ground-based telescopic data available from literature. Finally, data processing strategies and recent upgrades introduced in the VIMS-V calibration pipeline (flat-field and destriping-despiking algorithm) are discussed in appendices. ?? 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Icarus↗
Microgravity change during the 2008-2018 Kı̄lauea summit eruption: Nearly a decade of subsurface mass accumulation
Results from nine microgravity campaigns from Kı̄lauea, Hawaiʻi, spanning most of the volcano's 2008–2018 summit eruption, indicate persistent mass accumulation at shallow levels. A weighted least squares approach is used to recover microgravity results from a network of benchmarks around Kı̄lauea's summit, eliminate instrumental drift, and restore suspected data tares. A total mass of 1.9 × 10 11 kg was determined from these microgravity campaigns to have accumulated below Kı̄lauea Caldera during 2009–2015 at an estimated depth of 1.3 km below sea level. Only a fraction of this mass is reflected in surface deformation, and this is consistent with previously reported discrepancies between subsurface mass accumulation and observed surface deformation. The discrepancy, amongst other independent evidence from gas emissions, seismicity, and continuous gravimetry, indicate densification of magma in the reservoirs below the volcano summit. This densification may have been driven by degassing through the summit vent. It is hypothesized that during the final years of the summit eruption, magma densification resulted in a buildup of pressure in the reservoirs that may have contributed to the lower East Rift Zone outbreak of 2018. The observed mass accumulation beneath Kı̄lauea could not have been detected through other techniques and illustrates the importance of microgravity measurements in volcano monitoring.
Hawai'i↗
Climate and reproduction of grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park
Controversy surrounds the conflicts between the requirements of human safety and the preservation of grizzly bears ( Ursus arctos horribilis ) in western North America. It has been difficult to separate the effect of factors such as the closure of garbage dumps from that of the climate. It has also proved difficult to relate climatic data to changes in the populations of large mammals. I report here a correlation of climatic change with fluctuations in the sizes of litters of grizzly bears born in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, during 1958–1976. The decrease in litter sizes observed since the closure of garbage dumps seems to be largely a consequence of unfavourable weather during the periods of the final fattening of the mother, winter sleep, birth, lactation and early spring foraging. This study represents one of the few times that the effects of climate have been demonstrated for large omnivorous or carnivorous mammals.
Wyoming↗
Management-driven science synthesis: An evaluation of Everglades restoration trajectories
The Synthesis of Everglades Restoration andEcosystem Services (SERES) Project was funded in 2010 by the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) through the Critical Ecosystem Studies Initiative (CESI) and established to synthesize the ever-growing body of Everglades scientific information with the goal of addressing topics that have hampered restoration since the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) was passed in 2000. A distinguishing characteristic of this synthesis effort was that the target end-user was a management/ decision-maker audience. Specifically, the aim was to address the questions of the water managers and other decision leaders in a way that would illuminate and inform but not constrain or specify decisions. Since its inception, the SERES Project has been managed by the Everglades Foundation; however, a core group of scientifc experts from agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector have contributed to the project (see list on page 4). We began the project by interviewing key officials, including resource managers, decision-makers, and heads of agencies and environmental organizations. The objective of these interviews was to establish the Key Science Management Questions that needed to be addressed in order to advance restoration of the Everglades. The resulting questions led to the organization of project teams focused on Hydrology, Water Quality, Soils, Trophic Dynamics, and Landscape Pattern. In order to establish the technical basis for the project, we conducted in depth reviews of the recent scientifc literature, evaluation tools and models, and available data in each of these core areas. Finally, we developed a suite of restoration options that would aid us in addressing the Key Questions and evaluated their relative performance from hydrological, ecological, and economic perspectives. General fndings of the SERES Project are described in subsequent sections, and technical reviews and results of analyses supporting this document are available in reports on the project website.
Florida↗