Tag Archives: marcia mcnutt

Climate and Drought Lessons from Ancient Egypt

By Guest PostAugust 16, 2012Culture, Environment, Scienceachilles heel, ancient egypt, babylonian, benjamin horton, charcoal, christopher bernhardt, climate, climate change, drought, egypt, egyptian history, evolution of societies, geological record, giza, great pyramid, human history, jean daniel stanley, marcia mcnutt, microscopic charcoal, middle east, modern iraq, nile basin vegetation, nile delta, nile delta sediment, old kingdom, pollen, pyramid building time, spinx, syrian kingdom, ugarit kingdom, university of pennsylvania, uruk kingdom

Using Fossil Pollen to Augment Historical Records

Ancient pollen and charcoal preserved in deeply buried sediments in Egypt’s Nile Delta document the region’s ancient droughts and fires, including a huge drought 4,200 years ago associated with the demise of Egypt’s Old Kingdom, the era known as the pyramid-building time.

“Humans have a long history of having to deal with climate change,” said Christopher Bernhardt, a researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey. “Along with other research, this study geologically reveals that the evolution of societies is sometimes tied to climate variability at all scales – whether decadal or millennial.” (more…)

Underwater Ecosystem Inundated by Sediment Plume

By Guest PostJuly 28, 2012Environmentelwha klallam tribe, elwha river, elwha river dams, glines canyon dam, juan de fuca, kate kelly, marcia mcnutt, mouth, pre dam state, reg reisenbichler, scuba diver, sediment plume, steve rubin, strait, underwater ecosystem, washington sea grant

Dive Teams Continue Underwater Study at Mouth of Elwha River

PORT ANGELES, Wash. — Scuba-diver scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, with support teams from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, and Washington Sea Grant, are returning to the mouth of Washington’s Elwha River this week to explore and catalogue the effect of released sediment on marine life following the nation’s largest dam removal effort.

The underwater survey is taking place downstream of the Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams, which are nearing the one-year anniversary of the start of their removal, a gradual process that officials expect to be finished in 2013. The dive survey is helping scientists understand how underwater plant and animal life react and adapt to the downstream effects of dam removal and providing scientists a more detailed and complete picture of the ecological restoration. (more…)

New Findings of Endangered Birds at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge Give Hope to Recovery Efforts

By Guest PostJune 27, 2012Environment, Natureakiapolaau, american people, avian disease, avian malaria, awehi stream, carter t atkinson, climate change, endangered birds, endangered species, extinction, forest bird survey, forest habitat, hakalau forest, hawaii akepa, hawaii creeper, hawaii island, hawaiian forest birds, high elevation rainforest, marcia mcnutt, mauna kea, mosquito, pacific island ecosystems, plants, pox virus, robyn thorson, steve kendall, U.S. Geological Survey, usgs, wildlife, wildlife refuge

HAWAI’I ISLAND, Hawai‘’— Three of Hawai’i Island’s rarest endangered forest birds have been detected at lower elevations of Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge for the first time in 30 years.

The rediscovery of the three endangered species at lower elevations than expected was part of a joint U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey project on the potential impact of climate change on avian disease. All three species are believed to be highly susceptible to mosquito-transmitted diseases, limiting their distribution to the cooler, higher elevations of the refuge. These new observations significantly extend the current known range of these species at the refuge. (more…)

Landmark Volcano Study Brings to Life Huge Alaska Eruption on its Centennial

By Guest PostMay 27, 2012Environmentair quality, alaska eruption, alaska peninsula, ash, centennial, chronology, fumarole plumes, judy fierstein, katmai national park, kodiak, magnitude, marcia mcnutt, mediterranean sea, molten rock, mount katmai, municipal anchorage, novarupta, novarupta katmai centennial, novarupta volcano, scientific expedition, united states, volcanic complexes, volcanic eruption, volcanic event, volcano, volcanology, wes hildreth

MENLO PARK, Calif. – 100 years ago, in June 1912, the most powerful volcanic eruption of the 20th century took place in what is now Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve. This massive volcanic event once again comes alive for scholars and enthusiasts in a new centennial volume by two U.S. Geological Survey scientists whose work has made major contributions to volcano science.

“The Novarupta-Katmai Eruption of 1912 – Largest Eruption of the Twentieth Century: Centennial Perspectives,” by Wes Hildreth and Judy Fierstein, is the most comprehensive study of a geographically remote but huge and devastating volcanic event. The eruption’s dynamics mystified researchers for decades. Today, study of Novarupta and Katmai volcanoes sheds light on how future events in Alaska’s volcanic regions could affect air quality and air-transportation safety locally and across the globe. (more…)

Sediment Chemicals in Coastal Rivers Overall Lower in U.S. than Worldwide Averages

By Guest PostApril 8, 2012Environmentarthur j horowitz, atlantic, blackwater stream, carbon, chemical concentration, climate change, coastal zone, economic resource, elements, environmental quality, gulf coast, gulf of mexico, heavy metal, inorganic carbon, major, marcia mcnutt, mississippi river basin, nitrogen, nutrient, nutrient phosphorus, ocean, organic carbon, organic matter, pacific, sediment, sulfur, suspended sediment, toxic, trace, urbanization, usgs

Almost all the sediment-associated chemical concentrations found in 131 of the nation’s rivers that drain to the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf Coasts are lower than worldwide averages, according to a new study by the USGS. These coastal rivers are a significant pathway for the delivery of sediment-associated chemicals to the world’s coastal zones and oceans.

“I hope that the results of this new study will remind everyone that it is not only river water that can transport chemicals and pollutants, but also the associated sediment load,” said USGS Director Marcia McNutt. “Our citizens expect high environmental quality as compared with worldwide averages, but clean water alone will not suffice if river sediments are host to toxic heavy metals and concentrated organics that can produce dead zones.” (more…)

Mapping Grasslands for Biofuel Potential

By Guest PostMarch 31, 2012Environmentalternative, america, biofuel crop, cell wall, cellulosic, energy, environmental impact, fertilizer, fossil fuel, grassland, irrigation water, marcia mcnutt, miscanthus, municipal wastes, nebraska, non food crop, north american, overgrazing, plant, platte river basin, prairie, switchgrass, tallgrass, united states, usgs, woody biomass

USGS scientists have developed a new method for mapping grasslands that demonstrate high potential for growing biofuel crops with relatively little energy input and environmental impact.

The pioneering investigation used remote sensing data from satellites to identify detailed areas of the Greater Platte River Basin (most of Nebraska, parts of adjacent states) that are best suited for producing cellulosic (from the cell walls of plants) biofuel derived from hardy switchgrass, a native plant that grows wild or is easily cultivated. (more…)

Another Vertebrate Species Reported Extinct from the Hawaiian Islands

By Guest PostMarch 22, 2012Naturearchipelago, blue tailed skink, chris brown, cnrs, copper striped, cryptic extinction, emoia impar, extinction, hawaiian islands, ivan ineich, kauai, lizard, marcia mcnutt, maui, napali coast, oahu, oryx, Paris, robert fisher, skink, species, tropical, tropical pacific, united states, vertebrate species

HONOLULU – A species of lizard is now extinct from the Hawaiian Islands, making it the latest native vertebrate species to become extirpated from this tropical archipelago.

The copper striped blue-tailed skink (Emoia impar) — a sleek lizard with smooth, polished scales and a long, sky-blue tail — was last confirmed in the Na’Pali coast of Kauai in the 1960s. But repeated field surveys on Kauai, Oahu, Maui and Hawai’i islands from 1988 to 2008 have yielded no sightings or specimens. (more…)

First Geologic Map of Jupiter’s Moon Io Details an Otherworldly Volcanic Surface

By Guest PostMarch 21, 2012Scienceapollo moon, arizona state university, david a williams, david williams, europa, galileo, galileo orbiter, ganymede, geologic map, image mosaic, io, jovian satellite, jupiter, ken herkenhoff, ken tanaka, marcia mcnutt, mars, moon, NASA, solar system, spacecraft, usgs, volcanic activity, voyager 1

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – More than 400 years after its discovery by Galileo, the innermost large moon of Jupiter – Io – can finally rest on its geologic laurels. A group of scientists led by Dr. David A. Williams of Arizona State University has produced the first global geologic map of the Jovian satellite. The map, which was published by the U. S. Geological Survey, technically illustrates the geologic character of some of the most unique and active volcanoes ever documented in the solar system.

Since its discovery in January 1610, Io has been the focus of repeated observation, first by Earth-based telescopes, and later by fly-by and orbiting spacecraft. These studies depict an otherworldly celestial body whose gravitational relationships with Jupiter and sister moons Europa and Ganymede cause massive, rapid flexing of its surface and interior. This flexing generates tremendous heat in Io’s interior, which is relieved through surface volcanism, resulting in 25 times more volcanic activity than occurs here on Earth. (more…)