Observations of air and ground temperatures collected between 1993 and 2004 from Emigrant Pass Geothermal Climate Observatory in northwestern Utah are analyzed to understand the relationship between these two quantities. The influence of surface air temperature (SAT), incident solar radiation, and snow cover on surface ground temperature (SGT) variations are...
Borehole temperature profiles provide a record of ground surface temperature (GST)
change at the decadal to centennial time scale. GST histories reconstructed from boreholes
are particularly useful in climate reconstruction if changes in GST and surface air
temperature (SAT) are effectively coupled at decadal and longer time periods and it...
In 2006–2010, effects of four different cattle stocking rates (0, 14.4, 28.8, and 43.2 animal unit months) were compared, representing 0%, 20%, 32%, and 46% utilization of vegetation by domestic livestock, on vegetation structure (as indexed by visual obstruction), and songbird population and apparent nest density, community composition, and diversity...
Canopy gaps created by tree mortality can affect the speed and trajectory of vegetation growth, species’ population dynamics, and spatial heterogeneity in mature forests. Most studies focus on plant development within gaps, yet gaps also affect the mortality and growth of surrounding trees, which influence shading and root encroachment into...
Knowledge of frictional resistance along faults is important for understanding the
mechanics of earthquakes and faulting. The clearest in situ measure of fault friction
potentially comes from temperature measurements in boreholes crossing fault zones within a
few years of rupture. However, large temperature signals from frictional heating on faults
have...
Understanding groundwater conditions in the upland parts of volcanic island aquifers is critical for sustainable groundwater development in these resource-limited environments. Yet groundwater conditions in such settings are generally difficult to characterize because of sparse well drilling (high cost and/or limited access). Information needed for resource evaluation includes upland depth...
Across the western US, the two most prevalent native forest insect pests are mountain pine beetle (MPB; Dendroctonus ponderosae; a bark beetle) and western spruce budworm (WSB; Choristoneura freemani; a defoliator). MPB outbreaks have received more forest management attention than WSB outbreaks, but studies to date have not compared their...
Characterizing the vigor of magmatic activity in Yellowstone requires knowledge of the mechanisms and rates of heat transport between magma and the ground surface. We present results from a heat flow study in two vapor dominated, acid-sulfate thermal areas in the Yellowstone Caldera, the 0.11 km² Obsidian Pool Thermal Area...
The thermal structure of convergent margins provides information related to the tectonics, geodynamics,
metamorphism, and fluid flow of active plate boundaries. We report 176 heat flow measurements
made with a violin bow style probe across the Costa Rican margin at the Middle America Trench. The
probe measurements are collocated with...