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| Columbia Environmental Research Center |
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The USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center uses geospatial technologies for biological applications. By using geospatial technologies, remotely sensed data, and dynamic spatial models, scientists analyze current habitat conditions to understand changing environmental effects on the biological resources of the nation.
CERC Application of Geospatial Technologies The Columbia facility and CERC's field stations routinely use digital image processing, remote sensing, GIS and GPS technologies to:
Geographic Information Systems Remote Sensing/Digital Image Processing Global Positioning Systems
Lower Missouri River Ecosystem Initiative: In 1994, the Columbia Environmental Research Center (CERC) received three-year funding from the National Biological Service to provide GIS assistance to facilitate information transfer among the state and federal agencies involved in rehabilitating and managing the lower Missouri River and its floodplain. Several of the projects listed below were funded or partially funded by the Ecosystem Initiative. The funding allowed CERC to develop spatial analysis capabilities, establish Internet access, and create a Missouri River information clearinghouse, Missouri River InfoLINK (http://infolink.cr.usgs.gov/). Spatial data assembled by the Scientific Assessment and Strategy Team (SAST) on the 1993 flood and real-time hydrographs are also available. The CERC Environmental Technology Center (ETC) compiled a comprehensive bibliography for the Missouri River basin as part of the initiative. This bibliography includes a keyword index and references searchable through the CERC homepage.
Floodplain Geomorphology: The CERC ETC converted post-flood (1993) Missouri River scour hole (blue hole) bathymetry the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service collected, from AutoCAD (.dxf) to Arc/Info format. The Missouri Department of Conservation and the Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Unit used these data to evaluate the longevity of these off-channel habitats as part of a multi-year investigation into the benefits of habitats created as the result of the 1993 flood.
Land Cover: The CERC ETC developed a land cover layer for Missouri counties adjacent to the Missouri River, Kansas City to St. Louis, in support of Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge Environmental Impact Statement process.
Public Lands: The CERC ETC developed a public lands layer for the Missouri River within the state of Missouri for the Lower Missouri River Ecosystem Team of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Region 3). This information is used to aid in the Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge planning process. The project has been extended to the entire basin at the request of the Missouri River Natural Resources Committee.
Environmental Contaminants of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo: USGS staff at the Brazos Field Research Station in College Station, Texas, assessed contaminant stressors on biota of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo resulting from an effort of the Biomonitoring for Environmental Status and Trends (BEST) program, to implement pilot projects to evaluate environmental contaminants and their effects on ecosystems. This study resulted in a database of approximately 2,600 concentration values that were georeferenced for use with GIS such as ArcView. The data and common domain software as well as other layers of information were incorporated into a CD-ROM that wildlife managers and biologists could use to query and obtain information on contaminants in biota of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo. The database contains information on contaminants reported in the peer-reviewed and gray literature from 1965-1995. Most of the contaminants in water, sediments, and biota were organochlorine pesticides (OCs), polychlorinated biphenyls and trace elements. DDE (a metabolite of DDT) was the OC most commonly detected in water, sediments, and biota. Mercury (Hg) was one of the heavy metals most frequently reported; however, selenium (Se), arsenic (As), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn), were also very common. The highest concentrations of OCs and metals were reported predominantly in Lower Rio Grande Valley locations (68%) from Falcon Dam to the mouth of the river. Twenty six (20%) of the locations with maximum concentrations of contaminants in biota corresponded to portions of Llano Grande Lake and the Arroyo Colorado. New recent contaminant data from studies in the Rio Grande (i.e. results from the second phase of the binational study) were incorporated. We anticipate that this product will have a broad distribution and will be of interest to resource managers and scientists interested in contaminant issues of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Floodplain Restoration Planning: The CERC ETC and the Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Unit are investigating the use of historical land cover information to define the active channel zone on the Missouri River floodplain in Missouri. This information is generated to provide state and federal agencies involved in land acquisition with some indication of the management potential of floodplain lands based on historical geomorphology and hydrologic/hydraulic activity.
Land Use and Aquatic Habitat Quality, Buffalo National River and Ozark National Scenic Riverways: This project was initiated through the USGS Natural Resources Preservation Program to help National Park Service managers evaluate the impacts of recent land-use changes on river habitat conditions. Using habitat surveys and a GIS, the project characterizes watershed physiography, land use patterns, and habitat quality and investigates associations between land use and habitat degradation. GIS serves as an important tool, enabling inventory of many watershed-scale factors that influence streams. The GIS and habitat data gathered in this project will serve as a foundation for fisheries studies beginning in the parks in 2000.
Limnology: Surfer 7 software is used to map bathymetry and limnological variables (i.e., hydrogen sulfide) at Elephant Butte Reservoir, New Mexico. These data and the resulting maps were instrumental in determining the sources of hydrogen sulfide. A sonde is used to record GPS coordinates and data simultaneously. The sonde is towed to generate longitudinal continuous readouts of several water quality variables (including chlorophyll content of the water). This will be used in future reservoir work at Fort Cobb, Oklahoma, and Elephant Butte, New Mexico, to increase the accuracy of new maps as opposed to maps generated from points collected by anchoring at individual sites. This is especially true for a well mixed reservoir like Fort Cobb, where surface to bottom profiles of most variables show virtually no variation, although differences do occur longitudinally and between branches.
Statewide Land Cover Mapping, Missouri: CERC participates in the development of state-wide land cover data through participation in the Missouri Resource Assessment Partnership (MoRAP). A land cover layer is currently under development using Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite data. To complete this process, a hierarchical unsupervised classification approach has been adopted. Level I in this hierarchy includes `Open Water,' `Urban,' `Cropland,' `Grassland,' and `Forest.' Level I was completed in April, 1999. Work on a Level II classification, including up to 30 or more classes, has been initiated. The land use/land cover database will serve the needs of Gap Analysis and other initiatives. Current users of the land cover data include the Missouri Department of Conservation, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the USDA U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and regional planners. New initiatives for 1999 include a joint venture with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and USEPA to determine the utility and cost effectiveness of identifying wetlands using several different sensors (SPOT, TM, photos/photogrammetry, Indian satellite data), and a project with the University of Missouri-Columbia, designed to determine the utility of photogrammetry for developing high accuracy (horizontal and vertical) digital elevation models for watershed applications.
Endangered Species - Pallid Sturgeon: CERC is using hydrographic survey data and side scan sonar to assess habitats used by pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) in the lower Missouri River. Pallid sturgeon were implanted with ultrasonic telemetry transmitters. The ultrasonic receivers equipped with directional hydrophones allowed investigators to pinpoint the location of sturgeon in the river to within 2-3 meters of their actual position. Using submeter GPS equipment, investigators accurately recorded the coordinates of the fish's position and the prevailing habitat conditions. Habitats used by pallid sturgeon will be surveyed using the hydrographic survey system. The data will be processed and a three-dimensional visual representation of the data is produced. Coordinates corresponding to the location of the sturgeon are then placed on the resulting map. The final product allows biologists to obtain information about the fish's surrounding environment, information which is not available when collecting only habitat information at the point where fish are located. Aside from being a tremendous visualization tool, hydrographic data can now be incorporated into classification systems and spatial models that relate habitat use and physical habitat features.
Hydro-Acoustic Sediment Mapping and Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP): The deep, fast, and muddy Lower Missouri River presents particular challenges to quantifying aquatic habitat. Through the River Corridor Habitat Dynamics Project at CERC capabilities to measure, log, and map aquatic habitat at scales relevant to ecology and management of the Lower Missouri River were developed. This system incorporates a sub-meter differential global positioning system, a precision echo sounder, a bed-material classification system, and an acoustic Doppler current profiler. Information collected from the sensors is logged on two ruggedized laptop computers, and georeferenced using commercial navigation software. The system is housed on 19’ R/V John L “Slim” Funk, a boat named to honor one of the first scientists to quantify habitat loss on the Lower Missouri River. This system is being used by CERC scientists to quantify habitats in support of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service habitat rehabilitation projects, and to quantify habitats associated with navigation structures in partnership with the Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Research Association and Missouri Department of Transportation.
Missouri River Bed Form: CERC is using OPTIMAS software to produce digital images of Missouri River bed form produced by Lowrange chart recorders collected during the Missouri River Benthic Fish Study. The Missouri River Benthic Fish Study was a system-wide cooperative effort undertaken by the Missouri River Benthic Fish Consortium consisting of six USGS Cooperative Research Units in states along the Missouri River (Montana, Idaho, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri), Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks, and USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center to produce a baseline against which to evaluate future changes in Missouri River operating criteria. The objective was to evaluate population structure and habitat use of benthic fishes along the entire main stem Missouri River, exclusive of reservoirs. One important habitat measure collected synchronously with fish collections during this study was bed form. The goal of this bed form analysis is to develop and evaluate various statistics-based measures for describing the bed form of the Missouri River main channel that can be related to benthic fish distributions throughout the Missouri River.
Microscale Image Analysis: The Histology Laboratory of the Biochemistry/Physiology Branch at CERC has developed a microscopic image analysis capability. Equipment consists of an inverted Nikon Diaphot microscope with motorized stage and CCD video camera. An additional feature is the low light (night scope) adapter that is with a xenon light source for fluorescence measurements. The hardware is integrated through customized software such that stage movement, wavelength selection, and image capture can be controlled from one computer screen allowing for complete automation. Image analysis is provided through Optimus software. Currently, research conducted using these capabilities includes cellular effects of chemical induction of apoptosis (programmed cell death) and the effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on sexual differentiation of primary germ cells in newly hatched fish.
Endangered Species--Neosho Madtom: CERC is assessing the effects of anthropogenic factors on ecosystems supporting the Neosho madtom (Noturus placidus). The objective is to determine the extent to which anthropogenic factors such as reservoir operation, low-head dams, gravel mining, and historical mining and site remediation may influence the distribution of Neosho madtom, a federally-listed threatened species. CERC is using Rockwell PLGRs to locate gravel bars from which abiotic and biotic data are collected. The information collected with the PLGRs is used to reference the sites in space and time.
Trout Distribution and Movement: CERC staff from the Jackson Field Research Station are investigating movement patterns and habitat use of native Snake River cutthroat trout (SRCT) in the upper Snake River, Wyoming, including Grand Teton National Park. Resource managers are concerned with the effects of winter conditions and low stream flows on habitat availability and behavior of SRCT in this tailwater fishery. USGS-BRD researchers use radio telemetry to monitor the movements and habitat use by adult SRCT. The results of this study will provide resource managers, including the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Teton County Natural Resource District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the National Park Service with information necessary for the continued maintenance of this fishery and for implementing habitat improvement projects. Fish locations are fixed using precision GPS units and these locations are compiled to create detailed maps of individual fish during the study period. Jackson Field Research Station staff investigate the distribution of trout in the Firehole River with radio telemetry and spawning and population surveys. An extensive survey of the water quality in the Firehole River is performed and the physiological status of resident trout are studied. GPS and GIS technologies is used extensively in this project. Precision GPS units will be used to accurately fix fish positions during the telemetry study; fix sites for water quality, trout population, and stream habitat measurements, and document spawning redd locations. These data will be compiled in a GIS system to create maps of fish movements, hyrdogeochemical maps of the Firehole River, habitat and population distributions, and spawning redd distributions. These products will be critical in analyzing how the trout population responds to trends in the geochemical regime of the drainage.
Sediment: The CERC Marine Ecotoxicology Research Station uses GPS in all sediment quality assessment surveys and plans to use GIS technology to map and assess the data from these same surveys.
GPS Base Station: CERC operates a Trimble 12-channel community base station that provides access to cooperating partners and agencies within a 300-mile radius of Columbia, Missouri. Access to the compressed hour data files is provided through modem as well as through the CERC homepage.
Inventory and Monitoring: CERC is using differentially corrected GPS data (Trimble Pro-XL) to map channel changes (land-water interface) and bathymetry along a newly formed Missouri River chute at Lisbon Bottom, Missouri (River Mile 213). High-resolution benchmark data also have been acquired at Lisbon Bottom using survey-grade differential and kinematic GPS measurements in partnership with the USGS Mid-Continent Mapping Center, Rolla, Missouri; and Water Resources, Independence, Missouri. High-resolution GPS benchmark data are used to determine elevation of surface water and ground water measurement gages. In conjunction with the detailed measurements of physical changes, CERC scientists study flood-plain fish communities, invertebrate assemblages, birds, and vegetation at this site.
Geographic Information Systems Remote Sensing/Digital Image Processing Global Positioning Systems
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