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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2020

Mapping stream and floodplain geomorphic characteristics with the Floodplain and Channel Evaluation Tool (FACET) in the Mid-Atlantic Region, United States

Quantifying channel and floodplain geomorphic characteristics is essential for understanding and modeling sediment and nutrient dynamics in fluvial systems. The increased availability of high-resolution elevation data from light detection and ranging (lidar) has helped improve methods for extracting these metrics at a greater accuracy across regional scales. The Floodplain and Channel Evaluation Tool (FACET) was developed as an open source tool to calculate a suite of geomorphic metrics describing channel and floodplain geometry from high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs), providing estimates of channel width, bank height, cross-sectional area, and floodplain extent. Field data from sites in the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds were used to calibrate and validate FACET within five physiographic provinces in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Stream banks were identified using either a slope-threshold method at cross sections which are automatically generated at a user-defined interval along the delineated stream network, or by applying a curvature-threshold method for grid cells within a buffered distance from the stream network. The floodplain extent was mapped using a height above nearest drainage (HAND) grid and empirical regression models built for each physiographic province relating the HAND threshold to drainage area. Other user-defined input parameters within FACET control the sensitivity of calculations to DEM resolution, relief, and stream order, allowing for the ability to optimize FACET at multiple scales and/or regions if field survey data are available for calibration. Geomorphic metrics derived from FACET are currently being used to develop predictive models to estimate bank erosion and floodplain deposition to enhance our understanding of watershed sediment and nutrient budgets.

Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylv↗
USGS2014

Understanding how lake populations of arctic char are structured and function with special consideration of the potential effects of climate change: A multi-faceted approach.

Size dimorphism in fish populations, both its causes and consequences, has been an area of considerable focus; however, uncertainty remains whether size dimorphism is dynamic or stabilizing and about the role of exogenous factors. Here, we explored patterns among empirical vital rates, population structure, abundance and trend, and predicted the effects of climate change on populations of arctic char ( Salvelinus alpinus) in two lakes. Both populations cycle dramatically between dominance by small (≤300 mm) and large (>300 mm) char. Apparent survival (Φ) and specific growth rates (SGR) were relatively high (40–96 %; SGR range 0.03–1.5 %) and comparable to those of conspecifics at lower latitudes. Climate change scenarios mimicked observed patterns of warming and resulted in temperatures closer to optimal for char growth (15.15 °C) and a longer growing season. An increase in consumption rates (28–34 %) under climate change scenarios led to much greater growth rates (23–34 %). Higher growth rates predicted under climate change resulted in an even greater predicted amplitude of cycles in population structure as well as an increase in reproductive output ( R o ) and decrease in generation time ( G o ). Collectively, these results indicate arctic char populations (not just individuals) are extremely sensitive to small changes in the number of ice-free days. We hypothesize years with a longer growing season, predicted to occur more often under climate change, produce elevated growth rates of small char and act in a manner similar to a “resource pulse,” allowing a sub-set of small char to “break through,” thus setting the cycle in population structure.

Oecologia↗
USGS2023

Long-term trends in Arctic riverine chemistry signal multi-faceted northern change

Rivers integrate processes occurring throughout their watersheds and are therefore sentinels of change across broad spatial scales. River chemistry also regulates ecosystem function across Earth’s land–ocean continuum, exerting control from the micro- (for example, local food web) to the macro- (for example, global carbon cycle) scale. In the rapidly warming Arctic, a wide range of processes—from permafrost thaw to biological uptake and transformation—might reasonably alter river water chemistry. Here we use data from major rivers that collectively drain two-thirds of the Arctic Ocean watershed to assess widespread change in biogeochemical function within the pan-Arctic basin from 2003 to 2019. While the oceanward flux of alkalinity and associated ions increased markedly over this time frame, nitrate and other inorganic nutrient fluxes declined. Fluxes of dissolved organic carbon showed no overall trend. This divergence in response indicates the perturbation of multiple processes on land, with implications for biogeochemical cycling in the coastal ocean. We anticipate that these findings will facilitate refinement of conceptual and numerical models of current and future functioning of Arctic coastal ecosystems and spur research on scale-dependent change across the river-integrated Arctic domain.

Arctic↗
USGS2022

Documenting the multiple facets of a subsiding landscape from coastal cities and wetlands to the continental shelf

Land subsidence is a settling, sinking, or collapse of the land surface. In the southeastern United States, subsidence is frequently observed as sinkhole collapse in karst environments, wetland degradation and loss in coastal and other low-lying areas, and inundation of coastal urban communities. Human activities such as fluid extraction, mining, and overburden alteration can cause or exacerbate subsidence, which can result in damage to infrastructure and resources. Subsidence is a hazard that takes place throughout the United States; however, a systematic approach to recognize and develop informed responses to the drivers of subsidence has not yet been fully established. To address this problem, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Southeast Region (SER) funded the gathering of a team of interdisciplinary USGS scientists to promote scientific collaboration. Southeast Region scientists welcomed scientists from other regions (see table 1.1 in Appendix 1) in September 2018 at the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) in Florida for the first workshop of the Subsidence Flex Team (SFT) (see Appendix 2 for agenda). The SFT set out to review subsidence-related research and technology and develop a unifying framework for describing the processes and hazards associated with land subsidence. A more comprehensive understanding of subsidence hazards could help to inform regional vulnerability assessments that would prove invaluable to the public, community developers, policy makers, and resource managers in both inland and coastal states. The SFT analyzed USGS strengths and weaknesses to identify existing infrastructure and capabilities that could be leveraged to create a comprehensive and far-reaching subsidence-monitoring and mitigation program. Over the course of the 2-day workshop, interdisciplinary understandings of the processes and hazards related to subsidence were explored through individual presentations and group discussion. With all perspectives considered, the SFT recommended that subsidence-related research develop scientific approaches and metrics by which the subsidence component can be isolated and quantified in order to protect both the environment and human infrastructure from harm.

Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi↗
USGS1994

The Geology of Gaspra

The surface of Gaspra can be divided into several facets separated by ridges. Superimposed on the facets and ridges are two populations of craters. Type 1 craters are crisply defined and constitute a production function of impact origin. Type 2 craters are mostly irregular shallow depressions and probably of various origins. Some of the type 2 craters may have formed by impact and be remnants of a crater population that predates the type 1 population. The number of type 1 craters suggests that they started to accumulate 2 × 10 7 to 3 × 10 8 years ago. The freshest craters have a depth/diameter ratio of 1:7, as compared with 1:5 typically observed on other bodies. The craters appear to have become shallower with age at a rate of 10 -6 to 10 -7 m/year. The shallow depth of newly formed craters and the progressive degradation with age are ascribed to downslope movement of poorly coherent surface materials, the movement being aided by seismic shaking as a result of impact. The surface shows subtle color differences. The most prominent differences are observed around craters on ridges, where the surface has a stronger 1-μm absorption than elsewhere. The contrast is not observed around craters on the facets. The color differences are attributed to alteration of the materials brought to the surface. The unaltered material is estimated to be located at least 50 m below the surface on the facets. Only on the ridges is unaltered material at a shallow enough depth to be excavated by the observed craters. The rate of degradation of craters, the rounded form of the ridges, the depth of altered material on the facets, and the presence of old degraded craters all suggest that Gaspra is covered with a regolith a few tens to several tens of meters thick.

Icarus↗
USGS2023

Mapping stream and floodplain geomorphometry with the Floodplain and Channel Evaluation Tool

Broad-scale mapping of stream channel and floodplain geomorphic metrics is critical to improve the understanding of geomorphic change, biogeochemical processes, riverine habitat quality, and opportunities for management intervention. The Floodplain and Channel Evaluation Tool (FACET) was developed to provide an open-source tool for automated processing of digital elevation models (DEMs) to generate regional-scale estimates of bank height, channel width, floodplain width, and a suite of other fluvial geomorphic dimensions that can be summarized at the stream reach- or catchment-scale. FACET was tested on 3-m DEMs covering the Delaware River watershed and 85% of the Chesapeake Bay watershed in the United States (U.S.) and on 1-m DEMs for a subset of the study area. Accuracy was assessed from data collected at 67 field sites in the study area. FACET successfully measured geomorphometry for over 270,000 stream reaches (88% of streams attempted) in the study area. Factors that reduced the ability of FACET to accurately estimate geomorphic metrics included errors in DEM hydro-conditioning, gradually sloping banks, incised stream channels, and the use of fixed input parameters to define buffer lengths. Even with these limitations, FACET was able to map regional patterns in stream and floodplain geomorphometry providing a robust dataset that can enhance modeling and management efforts throughout the mid-Atlantic region, U.S.

Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Pennsylv↗
USGS2014

The rock abrasion record at Gale Crater: Mars Science Laboratory results from Bradbury Landing to Rocknest

Ventifacts, rocks abraded by wind-borne particles, are found in Gale Crater, Mars. In the eastward drive from “Bradbury Landing” to “Rocknest,” they account for about half of the float and outcrop seen by Curiosity's cameras. Many are faceted and exhibit abrasion textures found at a range of scales, from submillimeter lineations to centimeter-scale facets, scallops, flutes, and grooves. The drive path geometry in the first 100 sols of the mission emphasized the identification of abrasion facets and textures formed by westerly flow. This upwind direction is inconsistent with predictions based on models and the orientation of regional dunes, suggesting that these ventifact features formed from very rare high-speed winds. The absence of active sand and evidence for deflation in the area indicates that most of the ventifacts are fossil features experiencing little abrasion today.

Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets↗
USGS2026

Long-term aridity shapes grassland drought resistance and modulates the roles of plant diversity and functional composition

Understanding the drivers of plant community stability is crucial for predicting ecosystem responses to extreme drought events. In grasslands, drought resistance supports the maintenance of key functions such as above-ground primary productivity, making the identification of resistance drivers essential to guide management under climate change. Proposed factors contributing to grassland stability include multiple diversity facets, functional traits and long-term climate, but most assessments focus on temporal invariability under historical disturbance regimes, leaving mechanisms of extreme drought resistance and their variation across climatic contexts relatively underexplored. Here, we analysed data from 54 grassland sites of the International Drought Experiment to examine the resistance of above-ground net primary productivity to a short-term (i.e. 1 year) extreme drought. We investigated the relative importance and joint influence of functional composition (i.e. community-weighted means of leaf and root traits), plant diversity facets (taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic) and climate (aridity and rainfall variability) on drought resistance. We used structural equation models to disentangle direct, indirect, and moderating pathways linking these drivers to drought resistance. Long-term aridity appeared as one of the most important drivers of grassland resistance to drought, with more arid sites showing lower resistance. Moreover, aridity impacted resistance through indirect effects by shaping functional composition and plant diversity, and by moderating the influence of plant diversity and functional composition. Functional composition related to dehydration avoidance and dehydration tolerance was also positively associated with resistance, while diversity had a weaker relationship with resistance, mostly through functional and phylogenetic facets. Interannual rainfall variability also influenced resistance, with different effects in more arid versus humid and less arid sites. Synthesis . Widely studied stability drivers such as plant diversity and functional composition have only partial explanatory power for short-term drought resistance of above-ground productivity in grasslands at a global scale. The abiotic context, particularly long-term aridity, is crucial for understanding ecosystem responses to rainfall variation and can improve predictive models for advancing the study of ecosystem resistance to drought. Along with management practices that target high species diversity or specific traits, restoration and conservation practices should support vulnerable sites experiencing high aridity

Journal of Ecology↗
USGS1945

Solution effects on elevated limestone terraces

Limestone terraces on a number of islands in the southwest Pacific show a well-developed wall or rampart along their seaward edges that apparently is formed by solution. Such rimmed terraces resemble, on a much enlarged scale, the solution facets developed on flat-lying joint blocks of limestone, recently described by Smith and Albritton (1941). In an attempt to check the interpretation of field observations, a rimmed facet was produced experimentally in the laboratory. The artificial structure appears to be very similar to the natural facets on joint blocks and in many ways closely resembles the much larger rimmed terraces of the Pacific islands. It is believed that rimmed terraces with a profile similar to that of the island of Eua, Tonga, indicate island uplift accompanied by tilting. © 1945, The Geological Society of America, Inc.

Geological Society of America Bulletin↗
USGS1978

Geometry and rates of change of fault-generated range fronts, north-central Nevada

Characteristic features of fault-generated range fronts, such as those on the Humboldt and Tobin Ranges, include sets of elongate basins extending normal to the range crest, interbasin spurs having crests sloping 10° to 20° toward the range front, spur facets having slopes of 25° to 35°, basin headwalls having slopes of 20° to 30°, and a basal fault scarp. The basal fault scarp is rejuvenated by vertical movements recurring at intervals on the order of 10 000 years. Fault scarps in colluvium that lie within a few tens of meters of the base of faceted spurs remain clearly recognizable for only a few tens of thousand years. Initial fault-scarp slopes of 50° to 90° are replaced by debris-controlled slopes of 30° to 37° within a few thousand years. In fractured bedrock, slope angles in the range of 25° to 35° remain relatively stable for hundreds of thousands of years and account for the relative stability of facets on spurs. Piedmont slopes are greatly affected by tectonic tilting or warping toward or away from the range front. The formation of pediments is believed to result from a low ratio of uplift relative to downcutting. A few million years is required for the development of a pediment a few kilometers wide.

Nevada↗
USGS2017

A framework for modeling connections between hydraulics, water surface roughness, and surface reflectance in open channel flows

This paper introduces a framework for examining connections between the flow field, the texture of the air-water interface, and the reflectance of the water surface and thus evaluating the potential to infer hydraulic information from remotely sensed observations of surface reflectance. We used a spatial correlation model describing water surface topography to illustrate the application of our framework. Nondimensional relations between model parameters and flow intensity were established based on a prior flume study. Expressing the model in the spatial frequency domain allowed us to use an efficient Fourier transform-based algorithm for simulating water surfaces. Realizations for both flume and field settings had water surface slope distributions positively correlated with velocity and water surface roughness. However, most surface facets were gently sloped and thus unlikely to yield strong specular reflections; the model exaggerated the extent of water surface features, leading to underestimation of facet slopes. A ray tracing algorithm indicated that reflectance was greatest when solar and view zenith angles were equal and the sensor scanned toward the Sun to capture specular reflections of the solar beam. Reflected energy was concentrated in a small portion of the sky, but rougher water surfaces reflected rays into a broader range of directions. Our framework facilitates flight planning to avoid surface-reflected radiance while mapping other river attributes, or to maximize this component to exploit relationships between hydraulics and surface reflectance. This initial analysis also highlighted the need for improved models of water surface topography in natural rivers.

Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface↗
USGS2002

Science and management of Rocky Mountain grizzly bears

The science and management of grizzly bears ( Ursus arctos horribilis ) in the Rocky Mountains of North America have spawned considerable conflict and controversy. Much of this can be attributed to divergent public values, but the narrow perceptions and incomplete and fragmented problem definitions of those involved have exacerbated an inherently difficult situation. We present a conceptual model that extends the traditional description of the grizzly bear conservation system to include facets of the human domain such as the behavior of managers, elected officials, and the public. The model focuses on human-caused mortality, the key determinant of grizzly bear population growth in this region and the interactions and feedback loops among humans that have a major potential influence on bear mortality. We also briefly evaluate existing information and technical methods relevant to understanding this complex human-biophysical system. We observe not only that the extant knowledge is insufficient for prediction (and in some cases for description), but also that traditional positivistic science alone is not adequate for dealing with the problems of grizzly bear conservation. We recommend changes in science and management that could improve learning and responsiveness among the involved individuals and organizations, clarify some existing uncertainty, and thereby increase the effectiveness of grizzly bear conservation and management. Although adaptive management is a promising approach, we point out some key—as yet unfulfilled—contingencies for implementation of a method such as this one that relies upon social processes and structures that promote open learning and flexibility in all facets of the policy process.

Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Washin↗
USGS2005

Host diversity begets parasite diversity: Bird final hosts and trematodes in snail intermediate hosts

An unappreciated facet of biodiversity is that rich communities and high abundance may foster parasitism. For parasites that sequentially use different host species throughout complex life cycles, parasite diversity and abundance in ‘downstream’ hosts should logically increase with the diversity and abundance of ‘upstream’ hosts (which carry the preceding stages of parasites). Surprisingly, this logical assumption has little empirical support, especially regarding metazoan parasites. Few studies have attempted direct tests of this idea and most have lacked the appropriate scale of investigation. In two different studies, we used time-lapse videography to quantify birds at fine spatial scales, and then related bird communities to larval trematode communities in snail populations sampled at the same small spatial scales. Species richness, species heterogeneity and abundance of final host birds were positively correlated with species richness, species heterogeneity and abundance of trematodes in host snails. Such community-level interactions have rarely been demonstrated and have implications for community theory, epidemiological theory and ecosystem management.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sci↗
USGS1987

Petrologic and experimental evidence for the etching of garnets by organic acids in the upper Jurassic Morrision Formation, northwestern New Mexico

The upper Jurassic Morrison Formation in the southern part of the San Juan Basin contains uniquely etched detrital garnets characterized by smooth, crystallographically controlled faceted surfaces. The etched garnets occur in relatively homogeneous Morrison sandstones in discrete stratigraphic zones that are bounded above and below by sandstones bearing unetched garnets. Diagenetic alterations associated with etched garnets include etched staurolite, skeletal plagioclase, regularly interstratified illite-smectite, iron-rich chlorite, ankerite, albite, diagenetically altered (organic-poor) uranium ore, and extensive secondary porosity. Etching of garnets and partial to complete dissolution of other aluminosilicate minerals were caused by high concentrations of organic acids generated during the maturation of epigenetic organic matter (predominantly type-III kerogen) in the Morrison Formation. The presence of authigenic phases that form near 100 degrees C indicates that temperatures were high enough during diagenesis to cause the thermal degradation of kerogen. The subsequent release of reactive organic acids promoted a variety of water-rock reactions. This hypothesis was corroborated by experiments in which dicarboxylic acid solutions created facets on garnets identical to those developed on naturally etched Morrison garnets. The excellent complexing ability of organic acid anions accounts for the characteristic lack of alteration products on etched surfaces.

Journal of Sedimentary Petrology↗
USGS2010

On the specification of structural equation models for ecological systems

The use of structural equation modeling (SEM) is often motivated by its utility for investigating complex networks of relationships, but also because of its promise as a means of representing theoretical concepts using latent variables. In this paper, we discuss characteristics of ecological theory and some of the challenges for proper specification of theoretical ideas in structural equation models (SE models). In our presentation, we describe some of the requirements for classical latent variable models in which observed variables (indicators) are interpreted as the effects of underlying causes. We also describe alternative model specifications in which indicators are interpreted as having causal influences on the theoretical concepts. We suggest that this latter nonclassical specification (which involves another variable type—the composite) will often be appropriate for ecological studies because of the multifaceted nature of our theoretical concepts. In this paper, we employ the use of meta‐models to aid the translation of theory into SE models and also to facilitate our ability to relate results back to our theories. We demonstrate our approach by showing how a synthetic theory of grassland biodiversity can be evaluated using SEM and data from a coastal grassland. In this example, the theory focuses on the responses of species richness to abiotic stress and disturbance, both directly and through intervening effects on community biomass. Models examined include both those based on classical forms (where each concept is represented using a single latent variable) and also ones in which the concepts are recognized to be multifaceted and modeled as such. To address the challenge of matching SE models with the conceptual level of our theory, two approaches are illustrated, compositing and aggregation. Both approaches are shown to have merits, with the former being preferable for cases where the multiple facets of a concept have widely differing effects in the system and the latter being preferable where facets act together consistently when influencing other parts of the system. Because ecological theory characteristically deals with concepts that are multifaceted, we expect the methods presented in this paper will be useful for ecologists wishing to use SEM.

Ecological Monographs↗