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USGS1994

Lake Michigan's late Quaternary limnological and climate history from ostracode, oxygen isotope, and magnetic susceptibility

The limnology of Lake Michigan has changed dramatically since the late Pleistocene in response to the expansion and contraction of continental glaciers, to differential isostatic rebound, and to climate change. The lake sediment's stratigraphic trends, magnetic susceptibility, δ 18 O, and ostracode species abundance ratios provide criteria to identify the lake's response to glacial ice and to differential isostatic rebound. The latter phenomena dominate the lake's late Pleistocene and early Holocene history. The lake's hydrological budget provides the primary linkage between the lake and climate, particularly effective moisture. Dissolved salts were stored in the lake's water column when the lake's output shifted toward evaporation, but were flushed when output shifted toward outflow. The lake's salt storage history may be interpreted from some ostracode, δ 18 O, and magnetic susceptibility records found in sediment cores. Climate change influenced the entire lake's limnological history, but became the primary limnological driver from about the middle-Holocene to the present. The complex limnological history of Lake Michigan resulted in substantial changes in the ostracode species assemblages; from about 12,000 ka to about 5,500 ka, five ostracode intervals can be identified. These ostracode intervals provide a within-lake biostratigraphy and a stratigraphic reference for reconstruction of the paleoenvironmental dynamics of the lake.

Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin↗

USGS2015

Spatial occupancy models for predicting metapopulation dynamics and viability following reintroduction

The reintroduction of a species into its historic range is a critical component of conservation programmes designed to restore extirpated metapopulations. However, many reintroduction efforts fail, and the lack of rigorous monitoring programmes and statistical models have prevented a general understanding of the factors affecting metapopulation viability following reintroduction. Spatially explicit metapopulation theory provides the basis for understanding the dynamics of fragmented populations linked by dispersal, but the theory has rarely been used to guide reintroduction programmes because most spatial metapopulation models require presence–absence data from every site in the network, and they do not allow for observation error such as imperfect detection. We develop a spatial occupancy model that relaxes these restrictive assumptions and allows for inference about metapopulation extinction risk and connectivity. We demonstrate the utility of the model using six years of data on the Chiricahua leopard frog Lithobates chiricahuensis , a threatened desert-breeding amphibian that was reintroduced to a network of sites in Arizona USA in 2003. Our results indicate that the model can generate precise predictions of extinction risk and produce connectivity maps that can guide conservation efforts following reintroduction. In the case of L. chiricahuensis , many sites were functionally isolated, and 82% of sites were characterized by intermittent water availability and high local extinction probabilities (0·84, 95% CI: 0·64–0·99). However, under the current hydrological conditions and spatial arrangement of sites, the risk of metapopulation extinction is estimated to be <3% over a 50-year time horizon. Low metapopulation extinction risk appears to result from the high dispersal capability of the species, the high density of sites in the region and the existence of predator-free permanent wetlands with low local extinction probabilities. Should management be required, extinction risk can be reduced by either increasing the hydroperiod of existing sites or by creating new sites to increase connectivity. Synthesis and applications . This work demonstrates how spatio-temporal statistical models based on ecological theory can be applied to forecast the outcomes of conservation actions such as reintroduction. Our spatial occupancy model should be particularly useful when management agencies lack the funds to collect intensive individual-level data.

Arizona, New Mexico↗

USGS2018

Efficient delineation of nested depression hierarchy in digital elevation models for hydrological analysis using level-set method

In terrain analysis and hydrological modeling, surface depressions (or sinks) in a digital elevation model (DEM) are commonly treated as artifacts and thus filled and removed to create a depressionless DEM. Various algorithms have been developed to identify and fill depressions in DEMs during the past decades. However, few studies have attempted to delineate and quantify the nested hierarchy of actual depressions, which can provide crucial information for characterizing surface hydrologic connectivity and simulating the fill‐merge‐spill hydrological process. In this paper, we present an innovative and efficient algorithm for delineating and quantifying nested depressions in DEMs using the level‐set method based on graph theory. The proposed level‐set method emulates water level decreasing from the spill point along the depression boundary to the lowest point at the bottom of a depression. By tracing the dynamic topological changes (i.e., depression splitting/merging) within a compound depression, the level‐set method can construct topological graphs and derive geometric properties of the nested depressions. The experimental results of two fine‐resolution Light Detection and Ranging‐derived DEMs show that the raster‐based level‐set algorithm is much more efficient (~150 times faster) than the vector‐based contour tree method. The proposed level‐set algorithm has great potential for being applied to large‐scale ecohydrological analysis and watershed modeling.

Journal of the American Water Resources Associatio↗

USGS2007

Increased baseflow in Iowa over the second half of the 20th Century

Historical trends in annual discharge characteristics were evaluated for 11 gauging stations located throughout Iowa . Discharge records from nine eight-digit hydrologic unit code (HUC-8) watersheds were examined for the period 1940 to 2000, whereas data for two larger river systems (Cedar and Des Moines Rivers) were examined for a longer period of record (1903 to 2000). In nearly all watersheds evaluated, annual baseflow , annual minimum flow, and the annual baseflow percentage significantly increased over time. Some rivers also exhibited increasing trends in total annual discharge, whereas only the Maquoketa River had significantly decreased annual maximum flows. Regression of stream discharge versus precipitation indicated that more precipitation is being routed into streams as baseflow than as stormflow in the second half of the 20th Century . Reasons for the observed streamflow trends are hypothesized to include improved conservation practices, greater artificial drainage, increasing row crop production, and channel incision. Each of these reasons is consistent with the observed trends, and all are likely responsible to some degree in most watersheds.

Iowa↗

USGS2010

Targeting land-use change for nitratenitrogen load reductions in an agricultural watershed

The research was conducted as part of the USDA's Conservation Effects Assessment Project. The objective of the project was to evaluate the environmental effects of land-use changes, with a focus on understanding how the spatial distribution throughout a watershed influences their effectiveness.The Soil and Water AssessmentTool (SWAT) water quality model was applied to the Squaw Creek watershed, which covers 4,730 ha (11,683 ac) of prime agriculture land in southern Iowa. The model was calibrated (2000 to 2004) and validated (1996 to 1999) for overall watershed hydrology and for streamflow and nitrate loadings at the watershed outlet on an annual and monthly basis. Four scenarios for land-use change were evaluated including one scenario consistent with recent land-use changes and three scenarios focused on land-use change on highly erodible land areas, upper basin areas, and floodplain areas. Results for the Squaw Creek watershed suggested that nitrate losses were sensitive to land-use change. If land-use patterns were restored to 1990 conditions, nitrate loads may be reduced 7% to 47% in the watershed and subbasins, whereas converting row crops to grass in highly erodible land, upper basin, and floodplain areas would reduce nitrate loads by 47%, 16%, and 8%, respectively. These SWAT model simulations can provide guidance on how to begin targeting land-use change for nitrate load reductions in agricultural watersheds.

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation↗

USGS2019

The potential role of very high-resolution imagery to characterise lake, wetland and stream systems across the Prairie Pothole Region, United States

Aquatic features critical to watershed hydrology range widely in size from narrow, shallow streams to large, deep lakes. In this study we evaluated wetland, lake, and river systems across the Prairie Pothole Region to explore where pan-sharpened high-resolution (PSHR) imagery, relative to Landsat imagery, could provide additional data on surface water distribution and movement, missed by Landsat. We used the monthly Global Surface Water (GSW) Landsat product as well as surface water derived from Landsat imagery using a matched filtering algorithm (MF Landsat) to help consider how including partially inundated Landsat pixels as water influenced our findings. The PSHR outputs (and MF Landsat) were able to identify ~60–90% more surface water interactions between waterbodies, relative to the GSW Landsat product. However, regardless of Landsat source, by documenting many smaller (<0.2 ha), inundated wetlands, the PSHR outputs modified our interpretation of wetland size distribution across the Prairie Pothole Region.

Prairie Pothole Region↗

USGS2010

Constructing an interdisciplinary flow regime recommendation

It is generally agreed that river rehabilitation most often relies on restoring a more natural flow regime, but credibly defining the desired regime can be problematic. I combined four distinct methods to develop and refine month-by-month and event-based flow recommendations to protect and partially restore the ecological integrity of the Cache la Poudre River through Fort Collins, Colorado. A statistical hydrologic approach was used to summarize the river's natural flow regime and set provisional monthly flow targets at levels that were historically exceeded 75% of the time. These preliminary monthly targets were supplemented using results from three Poudre-specific disciplinary studies. A substrate maintenance flow model was used to better define the high flows needed to flush accumulated sediment from the river's channel and help sustain the riparian zone in this snowmelt-dominated river. A hydraulic/habitat model and a water temperature model were both used to better define the minimum flows necessary to maintain a thriving cool water fishery. The result is a range of recommended monthly flows and daily flow guidance illustrating the advantage of combining a wide range of available disciplinary information, supplemented by judgment based on ecological principles and a general understanding of river ecosystems, in a highly altered, working river. ?? 2010 American Water Resources Association.

Journal of the American Water Resources Associatio↗

USGS2006

Research plan and preliminary results: A field research site for emerging contaminants in Iowa

Research has recently documented the prevalence of a wide variety of pharmaceuticals and other emerging contaminants (ECs) in streams across the United States. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been found to be an important source and collection point of ECs to streams as many ECs are incompletely removed during treatment. To investigate the complex in-stream processes (e.g., dilution, sorption, degradation, dispersion, etc.) that can affect ECs following their input from a WWTP and determining if such input is having an effect on the aquatic ecosystem requires the integration of multi-disciplinary efforts at a carefully selected field site. Preliminary work has identified an 8-km reach of Fourmile Creek in central Iowa as an ideal research site to investigate such important research questions pertaining to ECs. Unique aspects of Fourmile Creek included: (1) it single source effluent-dominated stream, (2) background data document the input of a wide variety of ECs from WWTP discharge, (3) small basin size, (4) relatively simple flow system, (5) background data suggest that undefined processes are taking place decreasing the level of select ECs during stream transport, (6) the WWTP uses a treatment technology (activated sludge) typical of many towns in Iowa and the United States (7) a hydrogeologic setting of a low-gradient, small stream (average discharge less than 1.41 m³/s) in glacial drift is typical of many areas in Iowa and across the Midwest, and (8) the existence of a low-head clam approximately 2 km upstream of the WWTP outfall allowing more accurate "above WWTP" and "below WWTP" comparisons in aquatic ecosystems. Furthermore, the WWTP is scheduled to close by 2011 providing a unique opportunity to determine how stream hydrology, water chemistry and aquatic biota react to the removal of the primary source of flow and ECs in this system. This will allow a novel "before" and "after" assessment not previously available in EC research. Research to date at the site has included installation of a streamflow gauging station, dye-tracing tests (to determine water travel times), Lagrangian water-quality sampling at two flow/water temperature regimes, and sampling for ECs in bed sediment. Selected fish have been collected for analysis and identification. In addition, basic fish community and fish health assessment for different seasons and spawning conditions are being analyzed. The research "framework" is unique at Fourmile Creek for investigating the important question of how ECs are transported through the environment and if the presence of such compounds is having a deleterious effect on aquatic ecosystems.

Iowa↗

USGS2007

Isotope hydrology dynamics of riverine wetlands in the Kankakee Watershed, Indiana

Wetland restoration activities may disturb shallow ground-water flow dynamics. There may be unintentional sources of water flowing into a constructed wetland that could compromise the long-term viability of a wetland function. Measurement of naturally-occurring isotopes in the hydrosphere can provide an indication of provenance, flow paths or components, and residence times or ages of wetland ground-water flow systems. Hydraulic head measurements may not provide sufficient detail of shallow flow disturbances and can be complemented by analyzing isotopes in waters flowing through the wetland. Two north-central Indiana wetlands in the Kankakee watershed are being studied to determine the adequacy of wetland restoration activities. The native LaSalle wetland and the restored Hog Marsh wetland have contrasting ground-water flow regimes. The conservative water isotopes 18 O, 2 H, and 3 H, and selected solute isotopes 13 C, 14 C, 15 N, 34 S, 87 Sr, and 206–208Pb, demonstrate the complexity of ground-water flow in Hog Marsh compared to the established flow regime at the LaSalle wetland.

Indiana↗

USGS2011

Bias-adjusted satellite-based rainfall estimates for predicting floods: Narayani Basin

In Nepal, as the spatial distribution of rain gauges is not sufficient to provide detailed perspective on the highly varied spatial nature of rainfall, satellite-based rainfall estimates provides the opportunity for timely estimation. This paper presents the flood prediction of Narayani Basin at the Devghat hydrometric station (32 000 km2) using bias-adjusted satellite rainfall estimates and the Geospatial Stream Flow Model (GeoSFM), a spatially distributed, physically based hydrologic model. The GeoSFM with gridded gauge observed rainfall inputs using kriging interpolation from 2003 was used for calibration and 2004 for validation to simulate stream flow with both having a Nash Sutcliff Efficiency of above 0.7. With the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Centre's rainfall estimates (CPC_RFE2.0), using the same calibrated parameters, for 2003 the model performance deteriorated but improved after recalibration with CPC_RFE2.0 indicating the need to recalibrate the model with satellite-based rainfall estimates. Adjusting the CPC_RFE2.0 by a seasonal, monthly and 7-day moving average ratio, improvement in model performance was achieved. Furthermore, a new gauge-satellite merged rainfall estimates obtained from ingestion of local rain gauge data resulted in significant improvement in flood predictability. The results indicate the applicability of satellite-based rainfall estimates in flood prediction with appropriate bias correction.

Journal of Flood Risk Management↗

USGS2013

Emerging methods for the study of coastal ecosystem landscape structure and change

Coastal landscapes are heterogeneous, dynamic, and evolve over a range of time scales due to intertwined climatic, geologic, hydrologic, biologic, and meteorological processes, and are also heavily impacted by human development, commercial activities, and resource extraction. A diversity of complex coastal systems around the globe, spanning glaciated shorelines to tropical atolls, wetlands, and barrier islands are responding to multiple human and natural drivers. Interdisciplinary research based on remote-sensing observations linked to process studies and models is required to understand coastal ecosystem landscape structure and change. Moreover, new techniques for coastal mapping and monitoring are increasingly serving the needs of policy-makers and resource managers across local, regional, and national scales. Emerging remote-sensing methods associated with a diversity of instruments and platforms are a key enabling element of integrated coastal ecosystem studies. These investigations require both targeted and synoptic mapping, and involve the monitoring of formative processes such as hydrodynamics, sediment transport, erosion, accretion, flooding, habitat modification, land-cover change, and biogeochemical fluxes.

International Journal of Remote Sensing↗

USGS2023

Climate vulnerability for a desert fish: Integrating hydrologic exposures, adaptive capacity, and growth potential

Climate vulnerability can be evaluated by multiple organismal responses. We developed a climate vulnerability framework focused on growth potential of redband trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss newberri). We employed a bioenergetics model to evaluate spatial variability in growth potential in relation to constraints on body size imposed by stream flow, physiological responses linked to variable thermal regimes, and variation in physiological adaptive capacity inferred from field respirometry. Results indicate that maximum size (g) of redband trout increases with stream discharge. Growth potential is strongly linked to body size, with smaller individuals performing better relative to larger fish in cooler thermal regimes. Annual patterns of growth varied among sites and were related to body size and physiological adaptive capacity. Putatively cold-adapted fish were more likely to exhibit bimodal growth with peaks in spring and autumn, whereas warm-adapted fish exhibit a summer peak in growth potential. These findings offer insights into how climate vulnerability of stream-living fish can be conditioned on both stream flow and thermal regimes, and the potential for physiological adaptive capacity to influence vulnerability.

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences↗

USGS2014

Response of plant community structure and primary productivity to experimental drought and flooding in an Alaskan fen

Northern peatlands represent a long-term net sink for atmospheric CO 2 , but these ecosystems can shift from net carbon (C) sinks to sources based on changing climate and environmental conditions. In particular, changes in water availability associated with climate control peatland vegetation and carbon uptake processes. We examined the influence of changing hydrology on plant species abundance and ecosystem primary production in an Alaskan fen by manipulating the water table in field treatments to mimic either sustained flooding (raised water table) or drought (lowered water table) conditions for 6 years. We found that water table treatments altered plant species abundance by increasing sedge and grass cover in the raised water table treatment and reducing moss cover while increasing vascular green area in the lowered water table treatment. Gross primary productivity was lower in the lowered treatment than in the other plots, although there were no differences in total biomass or vascular net primary productivity among the treatments. Overall, our results indicate that vegetation abundance was more sensitive to variation in water table than total biomass and vascular biomass accrual. Finally, in our experimental peatland, drought had stronger consequences for change in vegetation abundance and ecosystem function than sustained flooding.

Alaska↗

USGS2002

Spatial and statistical differences between 1:250,000- and 1:24,000-scale digital soil databases

In this study, 1:250,000- and 1:24,000-scale digital soil databases for Kansas were compared statistically and spatially. The soil attributes used in this comparison were soil permeability, percent clay, and hydrologic group. Results indicate that, although the two databases were correlated, the potential exists for substantial site-specific variability between them. The largest differences between the two databases typically are in and along the stream networks. With distance away from the stream networks, the mean differences generally stabilize. The results also indicate the possibility of systematic bias between the two databases that varies with landscape position. For applications using mean soil attribute values, the two soil databases usually yield similar values for the three soil attributes analyzed, especially for areas of 25 km2 (9.7 mi2) or larger. However, for applications where more detailed information on soil variability and the spatial pattern of soil properties within the landscape is required, such as for studies focused on small areas or areas in and along stream networks, the two soil databases are sufficiently different such that using one or the other may result in substantially different results.

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation↗

USGS1994

Hydrologic hazards in the lower Drift River basin associated with the 1989-1990 eruptions of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska

The eruptions of Redoubt Volcano between December 14, 1989 and April 26, 1990 triggered flows of snow, ice, water, sediment, and debris that traveled down the Drift River as far as its mouth, about 40 km downstream. A major explosive eruption and dome collapse on January 2, 1990 produced the largest flow. The peak discharge of this flow at a location 22 km downstream from the volcano was estimated to be between 12,000 and 60,000 m3 per second. The estimated peak discharge of this event is more than 100 times larger than the 100-year meteorologically generated flood estimated for the Drift River. Pyroclastic flows and hot meltwater scoured the surface of Drift Glacier on the north flank of the volcano and were transformed into multipulsed, multiphased debris flows. Several other significant flows were generated by eruptions during this period: the two largest of these occurred on December 15, 1989 and February 15, 1990. Subsequent channel changes threatened the Drift River Oil Terminal built on an alluvial fan near the mouth of the Drift River. ?? 1994.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗

USGS2007

Development and application of a spatial hydrology model of Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia

The model described herein was used to assess effects of the Suwannee River sill (a low earthen dam constructed to impound the Suwannee River within the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge to eliminate wildfires) on the hydrologic environment of Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia. Developed with Arc/Info Macro Language routines in the GRID environment, the model distributes water in the swamp landscape using precipitation, inflow, evapotranspiration, outflow, and standing water. Water movement direction and rate are determined by the neighborhood topographic gradient, determined using survey grade Global Positioning Systems technology. Model data include flow rates from USGS monitored gauges, precipitation volumes and water levels measured within the swamp, and estimated evapotranspiration volumes spatially modified by vegetation type. Model output in semi-monthly time steps includes water depth, water surface elevation above mean sea level, and movement direction and volume. Model simulations indicate the sill impoundment affects 18 percent of the swamp during high water conditions when wildfires are scarce and has minimal spatial effect (increasing hydroperiods in less than 5 percent of the swamp) during low water and drought conditions when fire occurrence is high but precipitation and inflow volumes are limited.

Georgia↗

USGS2021

Developing a strategy for the national coordinated soil moisture monitoring network

Soil moisture is a critical land surface variable, affecting a wide variety of climatological, agricultural, and hydrological processes. Determining the current soil moisture status is possible via a variety of methods, including in situ monitoring, remote sensing, and numerical modeling. Although all of these approaches are rapidly evolving, there is no cohesive strategy or framework to integrate these diverse information sources to develop and disseminate coordinated national soil moisture products that will improve our ability to understand climate variability. The National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network initiative has developed a national strategy for network coordination with NOAA's National Integrated Drought Information System. The strategy is currently in review within NOAA, and work is underway to implement the initial milestones of the strategy. This update reviews the goals and steps being taken to establish this national-scale coordination for soil moisture monitoring in the United States.

Vadose Zone Journal↗

USGS2021

Lagged wetland CH4 flux response in a historically wet year

While a stimulating effect of plant primary productivity on soil carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions has been well documented, links between gross primary productivity (GPP) and wetland methane (CH 4 ) emissions are less well investigated. Determination of the influence of primary productivity on wetland CH 4 emissions (FCH 4 ) is complicated by confounding influences of water table level and temperature on CH 4 production, which also vary seasonally. Here, we evaluate the link between preceding GPP and subsequent FCH 4 at two fens in Wisconsin using eddy covariance flux towers, Lost Creek (US-Los) and Allequash Creek (US-ALQ). Both wetlands are mosaics of forested and shrub wetlands, with US-Los being larger in scale and having a more open canopy. Co-located sites with multi-year observations of flux, hydrology, and meteorology provide an opportunity to measure and compare lag effects on FCH 4 without interference due to differing climate. Daily average FCH 4 from US-Los reached a maximum of 47.7 ηmol CH 4 m −2 s −1 during the study period, while US-ALQ was more than double at 117.9 ηmol CH 4 m −2 s −1 . The lagged influence of GPP on temperature-normalized FCH 4 ( T air -FCH 4 ) was weaker and more delayed in a year with anomalously high precipitation than a following drier year at both sites. FCH 4 at US-ALQ was lower coincident with higher stream discharge in the wet year (2019), potentially due to soil gas flushing during high precipitation events and lower water temperatures. Better understanding of the lagged influence of GPP on FCH 4 due to this study has implications for climate modeling and more accurate carbon budgeting.

Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences↗