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Five principal components are used to represent the climate variation in an original set of 12 composite climate variables reflecting complex precipitation and temperature gradients. The dataset provides coverage for future climate (defined as the 2040-2070 normal period) under the RCP4.5 emission scenarios. Climate variables were chosen based on their known influence on local adaptation in plants, and include: mean annual temperature, summer maximum temperature, winter minimum temperature, annual temperature range, temperature seasonality (coefficient of variation in monthly average temperatures), mean annual precipitation, winter precipitation, summer precipitation, proportion of summer precipitation, precipitation...
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Climate Distance Mapper is an interactive web mapping application designed to facilitate informed seed sourcing decisions and to aid in directing regional seed collections. Implemented as a shiny web application (Chang et al. 2017), Climate Distance Mapper is hosted on the web at: https://usgs-werc-shinytools.shinyapps.io/Climate_Distance_Mapper/. The application is designed to guide restoration seed sourcing in the desert southwest by allowing users to interactively match seed sources with restoration sites climatic differences – in the form of multivariate climate distance values – between restoration sites and the surrounding landscape. Climatic distances are based on a combination of variables likely to influence...
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Five principal components are used to represent the climate variation in an original set of 12 composite climate variables reflecting complex precipitation and temperature gradients. The dataset provides coverage for future climate (defined as the 2040-2070 normal period) under the RCP8.5 emission scenarios. Climate variables were chosen based on their known influence on local adaptation in plants, and include: mean annual temperature, summer maximum temperature, winter minimum temperature, annual temperature range, temperature seasonality (coefficient of variation in monthly average temperatures), mean annual precipitation, winter precipitation, summer precipitation, proportion of summer precipitation, precipitation...
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During a multi-year demographic study of Agassiz’s desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) at the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area (Natural Area), in the western Mojave Desert, USA, we recorded evidence of evidence of mesocarnivores that commonly prey on desert tortoises on a 7.77 square-kilometer study area. The study area included land inside and outside the fenced boundary of the Natural Area. We recorded locations, condition and recency of sign, and type of sign present at burrows, dens, and den complexes used by desert kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis), coyotes (Canis latrans), American badgers (Taxidea taxus), and bobcats (Lynx rufus). We also recorded scat piles by species using them, amount, and relative ages...
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These data were compiled for a networked field-trial restoration experiment (RestoreNet) that spans the southwestern US, including 21 distributed field sites. The objective of our study was to understand the environmental factors and restoration practices (including seed mixes and soil manipulation) that increase plant establishment and survival to ultimate improve restoration outcomes in dryland environments. These data represent point-in-time plant density and height measurements at our field sites at the time of monitoring. These data were collected at 21 arid and semi-arid sites, located throughout Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and California. These data were collected by USGS Restoration Assessment and Monitoring...
Categories: Data; Tags: Arizona, Botany, California, Chihuahuan Desert, Climatology, All tags...
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Passive seismic data collection was done northwest of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Edwards Air Force Base using the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) technique. HVSR surveys were done at 43 locations between May and September 2018 to refine the understanding of the bedrock-alluvial aquifer transition zone downgradient from the AFRL. Specifically, the data were collected to help determine the depth to bedrock. The HVSR method is a passive seismic technique that uses a three-component seismometer to measure the vertical and horizontal components of ambient seismic noise. Seismic noise in the range of ~0.1 to 1 Hertz (Hz) is caused by ocean waves, large regional storms, and tectonic sources....
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The U.S. Geological Survey collected groundwater samples from 48 grid wells and 11 understanding wells screened in aquifers used for domestic supply in San Bernardino County, California, in 2018. The sites were sampled for the Mojave Basin (MOBS) Shallow Aquifer Study Unit of the California State Water Resources Control Board Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program Priority Basin Project’s assessment of the quality of groundwater resources used for domestic and small system drinking water supplies. The MOBS study unit covered the Upper, Middle, and Lower Mojave River groundwater basins, El Mirage groundwater basin, and part of the Harper Valley groundwater basin [California Department of Water...
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Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys were done northwest of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Edwards Air Force Base. ERT surveys were done at four locations in May through June of 2018 to refine the understanding of the bedrock-alluvial aquifer transition zone downgradient from the AFRL. The ERT technique injects direct-current electricity with known voltage and current into the earth using a series of electrodes and measures the resulting resistivity. This technique is generally limited to investigations of aquifer properties less than 100 meters below land surface. Data from other geophysical techniques co-located with the ERT data, including time-domain electromagnetics and horizontal-to-vertical...
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The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is about 7 kilometers southwest of Boron, California, and covers 320 square kilometers of Edwards Air Force Base. The AFRL consists of 12 facilities for testing full-size rocket engines, engine components, and liquid and solid propellants. The historical release of contaminants from rocket test stands, evaporation ponds, burn pits, catch basins, and leaking waste-collection tanks has contaminated groundwater in the AFRL. Groundwater aquifers near the AFRL are mostly restricted to fractured granitic bedrock, but previous studies indicate that groundwater and associated contaminants have moved into alluvium to the north and northwest. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the...
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Time-domain electromagnetic (TEM) surveys were done northwest of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Edwards Air Force Base. TEM surveys were done at 33 locations between May and October 2018 to refine the understanding of the bedrock-alluvial aquifer transition zone downgradient from the AFRL. TEM surveys (also called transient electromagnetic surveys) provide 1D resistivity soundings of the subsurface, which can be related to lithology and hydrogeology. In the TEM method, electrical current is cycled through a transmitter loop (Tx) wire, which in turn produces a primary magnetic field. When the current is abruptly terminated, a secondary magnetic field is induced in the earth, and it moves downward and...
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During the five-survey years at the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area in the western Mojave Desert of California, 1,645 sightings of 13 species of avian predators were collected. Eleven species occurred both inside and outside the fenced Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area, and two species, the short-eared owl and great horned owl, occurred only inside the fence. The most abundant predator was the common raven with more observations outside the fence than inside the fence in most years. Ravens are hyper-predators of the desert tortoise and, at the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area, are one of four drivers of population decline. This species also inhibits recovery because of the high numbers (Berry et al....
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These data were compiled for the creation of a continuous, transboundary land cover map of Bird Conservation Region 33, Sonoran and Mojave Deserts (BCR 33). Objective(s) of our study were to, 1) develop a machine learning (ML) algorithm trained to classify vegetation land cover using remote sensing spectral data and phenology metrics from 2013-2020, over a large subregion of the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts BCR, 2) Calibrate, validate, and refine the final ML-derived vegetation map using a collection of openly sourced remote sensing and ground-based ancillary data, images, and limited fieldwork, and 3) Harmonize a new transboundary classification system by expanding existing land cover mapping resources from the United...
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This Data release presents results for pesticide constituents in 460 samples collected from domestic and public-supply wells in August 2013-May 2018 for the California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program Priority Basin Project (GAMA-PBP). The samples were analyzed for 225 pesticide constituents on USGS National Water Quality Laboratory analytical schedule 2437. Results from quality-control samples collected with the environmental samples and results from laboratory quality-control samples were used to re-process the data to meet project data-quality objectives. The data release includes the final approved results tabulated by result and by sample, the original and final values for results affected...
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Edwards Air Force Base (EAFB) is located in Kern County, CA, approximately 35 kilometers (km) northeast of Lancaster and 9 km south of California City. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is situated on EAFB, approximately 7 km southwest of Boron, CA. Release of contaminants from the AFRL facilities have contaminated local groundwater, which is mostly restricted to fractured granitic bedrock, but studies indicate that the groundwater and contaminant plumes have moved into alluvial deposits to the north and northwest (AECOM, 2014). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC) entered into a cooperative agreement in 2017 to develop a hydrogeologic framework model to help determine...
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The U.S. Geological Survey collected groundwater samples from 49 wells used for domestic and small system drinking water supplies and 10 monitoring wells in San Bernardino County, California in 2018. The wells were sampled for the Mojave Basin (MOBS) Shallow Aquifer Study Unit of the California State Water Resources Control Board Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program Priority Basin Project’s assessment of the quality of groundwater resources used for domestic and small system drinking water supplies. Domestic and small-system wells commonly are screened at shallower depths than public-supply wells. The MOBS study unit covered the Upper, Middle, and Lower Mojave River groundwater basins, the...
We assessed the impacts of co-occurring invasive plant species on fire regimes and postfire native communities in the Mojave Desert, western USA by analyzing the distribution and co-occurrence patterns of three invasive annual grasses known to alter fuel conditions and community structure: Red Brome (Bromus rubens), Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), and Mediterranean grass (Schismus spp.: Schismus arabicus and Schismus barbatus), and an invasive forb, red stemmed filaree (Erodium cicutarium) which can dominate postfire sites. We developed species distribution models (SDMs) for each of the four taxa and analyzed field plot data to assess the relationship between invasives and fire frequency, years postfire, and the impacts...
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The late Pleistocene was a climatically dynamic period, with abrupt shifts between cool-wet and warm-dry conditions. Increased effective precipitation supported large pluvial lakes and long-lived spring ecosystems in valleys and basins throughout the western and southwestern U.S., but the source and seasonality of the precipitation are debated. Here we present stable carbon and oxygen isotope data from tooth enamel of late Pleistocene herbivores recovered from paleowetland deposits at Tule Spring Fossil Beds National Monument in the Las Vegas Valley of southern Nevada, as well as modern herbivores from the surrounding area, to investigate whether winter or summer precipitation was responsible for driving the wet...
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These data were compiled to investigate the evolutionary history of Hilaria jamesii, Hilaria mutica, and Hilaria rigida. The data release consists of two tab delimited text files that may be used to infer population structure (viva_structure.stru) or relationships among sampling localities (viva.phylip). Files record genetic variation on an individual (.stru) or sampling locality (.phylip) level. These files may be opened and edited in a text editor program, such as Notepad ++ (PC) or BBEdit (Mac). The .phylip file can be uploaded to phyML or SVDQuartets to generate a tree-based visualization of relationships ( http://www.atgc-montpellier.fr/phyml/ or https://paup.phylosolutions.com, repectively). The .stru file...
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Selected evapotranspiration data were collected from 7/5/2011 to 1/1/2017 at the Amargosa Desert Research Site (ADRS, https://nevada.usgs.gov/adrs/) in support of ongoing research to improve the understanding of hydrologic and contaminant-transport processes in arid environments. The data presented in this data release includes 30-minute and daily evapotranspiration and associated energy-balance fluxes, precipitation, soil water content, air and soil temperature, wind speed and direction, humidity, and photosynthetically active radiation. Data methods follow those described in Moreo and others (2017). This is the third in a series of three releases of evapotranspiration data, which has been measured continuously...
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These data were acquired from 7 study sites distributed across the range of Gopherus agassizii. Data were collected from 1997 to 2002 as part of three separate studies, although data were not collected at all sites in each year. Radio-transmitters were attached to the carapace of 151 females and VHF radio-telemetry was used to relocate animals to assess reproductive status. Egg production was determined from X-radiographs taken weekly/biweekly intervals (depending on the study) using a portable X-ray machine between April and July or August of each year. In addition, the mean carapace length (MCL) of each tortoise was measured at each time of capture or recapture using calipers (mm). A nesting event was recorded...
map background search result map search result map Selected Evapotranspiration Data, Amargosa Desert Research Site, Nye County, Nevada, 7/5/2011-1/1/2017 Principal components of climate variation in the Desert Southwest for the future time period 2040-2070 (RCP 4.5) Climate Distance Mapper R Script Groundwater-Quality Data in the Mojave Basin Shallow Aquifer Study Unit, 2018: Results from the California GAMA Priority Basin Project Study Boundary and Grid Cells for the Mojave Basin Shallow Aquifer Study Unit Surface geophysics investigations at Edwards Air Force Research Laboratory, Antelope Valley, California, 2018 Ground-Based Time-Domain Electromagnetic Data Collected at Edwards Air Force Research Laboratory, Antelope Valley, California, 2018 Electrical Resistivity Tomography Data at Edwards Air Force Research Laboratory, Antelope Valley, California, 2018 Select borehole data for Edwards Air Force Base and vicinity, Antelope Valley, CA Principal components of climate variation in the Desert Southwest for the future time period 2040-2070 (RCP 8.5) Invasive Plant Cover in the Mojave Desert, 2009 - 2013 (ver. 2.0, April 2021) 'Viva' native plant material data in support of restoration and conservation Horizontal-to-Vertical Seismic Ratio Passive-Seismic Data Collected at Edwards Air Force Research Laboratory, Antelope Valley, California, 2018 Pesticide constituent data from the California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program Priority Basin Project (GAMA-PBP), August 2013 - May 2018, schedule 2437 constituents Observations of Potential Avian Predators of Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) at the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area, eastern Kern County, California, in Late Winter and Spring of 1989, 1993, 1997, 2002, and 2012 Evidence of Mammalian Carnivores at the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area, Western Mojave Desert, USA, between 1989 and 2012. Mojave Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) Morphometrics and Egg Data from Seven Sites across the Mojave, (1997-2002) RestoreNet subplot data for 21 sites within major dryland ecoregions throughout the southwestern United States, 2018 - 2021 Data release for Seasonality of precipitation in the southwestern United States during the late Pleistocene inferred from stable isotopes in herbivore tooth enamel Random forest classification data developed from multitemporal Landsat 8 spectral data and phenology metrics for a subregion in Sonoran and Mojave Deserts, April 2013 – December 2020 Observations of Potential Avian Predators of Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) at the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area, eastern Kern County, California, in Late Winter and Spring of 1989, 1993, 1997, 2002, and 2012 Evidence of Mammalian Carnivores at the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area, Western Mojave Desert, USA, between 1989 and 2012. Select borehole data for Edwards Air Force Base and vicinity, Antelope Valley, CA Data release for Seasonality of precipitation in the southwestern United States during the late Pleistocene inferred from stable isotopes in herbivore tooth enamel Study Boundary and Grid Cells for the Mojave Basin Shallow Aquifer Study Unit Selected Evapotranspiration Data, Amargosa Desert Research Site, Nye County, Nevada, 7/5/2011-1/1/2017 Groundwater-Quality Data in the Mojave Basin Shallow Aquifer Study Unit, 2018: Results from the California GAMA Priority Basin Project Invasive Plant Cover in the Mojave Desert, 2009 - 2013 (ver. 2.0, April 2021) Mojave Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) Morphometrics and Egg Data from Seven Sites across the Mojave, (1997-2002) Random forest classification data developed from multitemporal Landsat 8 spectral data and phenology metrics for a subregion in Sonoran and Mojave Deserts, April 2013 – December 2020 Pesticide constituent data from the California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program Priority Basin Project (GAMA-PBP), August 2013 - May 2018, schedule 2437 constituents 'Viva' native plant material data in support of restoration and conservation RestoreNet subplot data for 21 sites within major dryland ecoregions throughout the southwestern United States, 2018 - 2021 Climate Distance Mapper R Script Principal components of climate variation in the Desert Southwest for the future time period 2040-2070 (RCP 4.5) Principal components of climate variation in the Desert Southwest for the future time period 2040-2070 (RCP 8.5)