In science news this week: Research finds discrepancies between satellite and global model estimates of land water storage; USGS geologists Join Efforts in Montecito to Assess Debris-Flow Aftermath; New report on the state of the California current; CW3E Launches Interactive AR Rain Versus Snow Forecast Maps and Watershed Plots; Longfin smelt, dabbling ducks in the Pacific Flyway, and pupfish in the Amargosa River highlighted in the latest issue of California Fish and Game; When octupuses thrived in San Francisco Bay; Birds of a feather prey together; Study shows wetlands provide landscape scale reduction in nitrogen
Research finds discrepancies between satellite and global model estimates of land water storage: “Research led by The University of Texas at Austin has found that calculations of water storage in many river basins from commonly used global computer models differ markedly from independent storage estimates from GRACE satellites. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Jan. 22, raise questions about global models that have been used in recent years to help assess water resources and potentially influence management decisions. The study used measurements from GRACE satellites from 2002 to 2014 to determine water storage changes in 186 river basins around the world and compared the results with simulations made by seven commonly used models. … ” Read more from UT News here: Research finds discrepancies between satellite and global model estimates of land water storage
USGS geologists Join Efforts in Montecito to Assess Debris-Flow Aftermath: “Days after fatal debris flows devastated Southern California’s Montecito community, a team of U.S. Geological Survey geologists joined county, state, and federal partners to survey and evaluate the aftermath. Commonly known as mudslides or mudflows, debris flows are slurries of water, rock, soil, vegetation, and boulders with the consistency of wet concrete that can move rapidly downhill and down channel. USGS geologists from the Landslide Hazards Program and Earthquake Science Center deployed to Santa Barbara County to support a geohazard assessment of the Montecito area; lead by the California Geological Survey, with the support of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE). … ” Read more from the USGS here: USGS geologists Join Efforts in Montecito to Assess Debris-Flow Aftermath
Flood survivors make a comeback: “Wielding a hiking stick because of an old injury, Dr. Patrick Kelly, head of the Endangered Species Recovery Program at Stanislaus State University, wades through a tall mass of brush and weedy vegetation on Christman Island, part of the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge about 15 miles west of Modesto, California. He and student assistant Antonio Garcia, on this clear early January day, are headed to two infrared trail cameras that were deployed the previous week to monitor the endangered riparian brush rabbit, a species Kelly knows well. He’s been studying the elusive small critters since the early part of the century. “This is why they call it ‘riparian’ brush rabbit,” said Kelly, a recipient of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Recovery Champion Award in 2008. “The thick riparian habitat helps them hide from their many predators.” … ” Read more from the US FWS here: Flood survivors make a comeback
New report on the state of the California current: “The California Current Integrated Ecosystem Assessment is an interdisciplinary research effort led by NOAA scientists along the U.S. West Coast. Its goal is to provide science support for ecosystem-based management of the California Current Ecosystem, a large, complex marine ecosystem in which natural and human systems are inextricably linked. The CCIEA team analyzed the most recent data (from 2016 and early 2017), and a newly published NOAA Technical Memorandum summarizes its findings. … ” Read more from NOAA here: New report on the state of the California current
CW3E Launches Interactive AR Rain Versus Snow Forecast Maps and Watershed Plots: “CW3E has launched a new forecast tool designed to visualize the impacts of the freezing level (and thus the rain versus snow partitioning in mountain watersheds) during atmospheric river storms over the U.S. West Coast. The interactive map shows whether the NOAA NCEP global forecasting ensemble predicts rain, snow, or uncertainty (some models predicting rain, some snow) downscaled to a 1 km resolution, and out to 7 days forecast lead times. For major watersheds in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada time series of the forecasted freezing levels, precipitation amounts, and fractions falling as rain versus snow are also available. The tool is designed to be of used for operational stakeholders for regions that are sensitive to the impacts of precipitation phase on hydrology, infrastructure, and public safety. This tool was developed by Jason Cordeira (Plymouth State University) and Brian Henn (CW3E) and is available on the CW3E Interactive Maps webpage.”
Longfin smelt, dabbling ducks in the Pacific Flyway, and pupfish in the Amargosa River highlighted in the latest issue of California Fish and Game: “The latest issue of California Fish and Game, 103-3, makes a significant contribution to the body of research related to longfin smelt in California. A paper titled, “
Historic and contemporary distribution of Longfin Smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys) along the California coast (PDF)” analyzes and presents observation data for this species from a variety of published and unpublished sources dating from 1889 to 2016. ... ” Read more from the Department of Fish and Wildlife here: California Fish and Game
When octupuses thrived in San Francisco Bay: “In the summer of 1955 a giant octopus climbed out of the Bay, terrorized the San Francisco shoreline, and rudely dismantled a section of the Golden Gate Bridge. This occurred on the big screen in It Came From Beneath the Sea. Only a lucky few, however, have actually seen an octopus in San Francisco Bay. It was easier 150 years ago. William Gabb, a geologist whose name graces the state’s 11th highest peak, was also an expert on cephalopods; in 1862 he reported that octopuses were “common in the neighborhood of San Francisco.” Naturalist W.N. Lockington counted seven octopuses on a rocky beach south of Hunter’s Point one morning in 1878. One was impaled on a stick carried by “an old Frenchman” who said he was “taking it for a treat to his wife and family.” Lockington noted that Spaniards, Italians and Chinese also relished these “devil-fish,” which suggests that they were regularly collected from the Bay. … ” Read more from Bay Nature here: When octupuses thrived in San Francisco Bay
Birds of a feather prey together: “Fish are food for a wide array of species in rivers and lakes. As noted in our testimony before members of Congress, predation by nonnative fishes is an understudied source of stress on salmon and trout populations, particularly in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. However, as some are quick to point out, birds are other predators that can also take a bite out of threatened fish populations, both inland and along the coast. We’ve previously described research on the impacts of Western gulls (Larus occidentalis) on young steelhead, but a number of other birds have also been studied for their salmonid snacking tendencies, including Caspian terns (Hydroprogne caspia), common murres (Uria aalge), and double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus). These examples illustrate how salmon face a diverse array of threats from above and below the water line. ... ” Read more from FishBio here: Birds of a feather prey together
Study shows wetlands provide landscape scale reduction in nitrogen: “In agricultural regions such as the U.S. Midwest, excess nitrate from crop fertilizer makes its way into rivers and streams through subsurface drainage channels and agricultural ditches. High nitrate concentrations in waterways can be harmful to ecosystems and human health, contaminating drinking water and eventually flowing downstream far enough to increase the size of the Gulf of Mexico’s “dead zone.” A study published today in the journal Nature Geoscience by National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded researchers offers new insights into this problem: Multiple wetlands, or “wetland complexes” in a watershed, are extremely effective at reducing nitrate levels in rivers and streams. … ” Read more from the National Science Foundation here: Study shows wetlands provide landscape scale reduction in nitrogen
Maven’s XKCD Comic Pick of the Week …
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About Science News and Reports: This weekly feature, posted every Thursday, is a collection of the latest scientific research and reports with a focus on relevant issues to the Delta and to California water, although other issues such as climate change are sometimes included. Do you have an item to be included here? Submissions of relevant research and other materials is welcome. Email Maven
