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1. Exploring Variations in High-Resolution Downstream Hydraulic Geometry of the Logan River

   Benitez, G V (May 2025, USU Digital Commons)

   Rivers are dynamic systems that change shape due to natural events like floods, landslides, and wildfires, as well as human-made structures like bridges. These changes create unique and complex river patterns. However, measuring these changes accurately is challenging because traditional field surveys are time-consuming and often focus on easily accessible areas, which may not represent the whole river. Thanks to new high-resolution mapping technology and detailed river flow records, we can now see these changes in greater detail than ever before. In this study, we focused on the Logan River, which flows through a canyon with a mix of rocky and sediment-filled areas. Using advanced mapping tools, we measured the river's width along a 45 km stretch and checked these measurements against field surveys to ensure accuracy. This approach allows us to identify sections of the river that show consistent patterns and those that deviate due to factors like incoming streams or human impacts like roads. Understanding these variations helps us to better plan for infrastructure projects, river restoration, and managing natural hazards. Our method provides a new way to understand how changes in the environment affect rivers, which can lead to smarter, more resilient design and planning. 

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2. Moist convection drives an upscale energy transfer at Jovian high latitudes

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-021-01458-y  

   Siegelman, Lia; Klein, Patrice; Ingersoll, Andrew P.; Ewald, Shawn P.; Young, William R.; Bracco, Annalisa; Mura, Alessandro; Adriani, Alberto; Grassi, Davide; Plainaki, Christina; et al (January 2022, Nature Physics)

   Abstract Jupiter’s atmosphere is one of the most turbulent places in the solar system. Whereas observations of lightning and thunderstorms point to moist convection as a small-scale energy source for Jupiter’s large-scale vortices and zonal jets, this has never been demonstrated due to the coarse resolution of pre-Juno measurements. The Juno spacecraft discovered that Jovian high latitudes host a cluster of large cyclones with diameter of around 5,000 km, each associated with intermediate- (roughly between 500 and 1,600 km) and smaller-scale vortices and filaments of around 100 km. Here, we analyse infrared images from Juno with a high resolution of 10 km. We unveil a dynamical regime associated with a significant energy source of convective origin that peaks at 100 km scales and in which energy gets subsequently transferred upscale to the large circumpolar and polar cyclones. Although this energy route has never been observed on another planet, it is surprisingly consistent with idealized studies of rapidly rotating Rayleigh–Bénard convection, lending theoretical support to our analyses. This energy route is expected to enhance the heat transfer from Jupiter’s hot interior to its troposphere and may also be relevant to the Earth’s atmosphere, helping us better understand the dynamics of our own planet. 

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3. Joint Inversion of GNSS and GRACE for Terrestrial Water Storage Change in California

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JB023135  

   Carlson, G.; Werth, S.; Shirzaei, M. (March 2022, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth)

   Abstract Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) vertical displacements measuring the elastic response of Earth's crust to changes in hydrologic mass have been used to produce terrestrial water storage change (∆TWS) estimates for studying both annual ∆TWS as well as multi‐year trends. However, these estimates require a high observation station density and minimal contamination by nonhydrologic deformation sources. The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) is another satellite‐based measurement system that can be used to measure regional TWS fluctuations. The satellites provide highly accurate ∆TWS estimates with global coverage but have a low spatial resolution of ∼400 km. Here, we put forward the mathematical framework for a joint inversion of GNSS vertical displacement time series with GRACE ∆TWS to produce more accurate spatiotemporal maps of ∆TWS, accounting for the observation errors, data gaps, and nonhydrologic signals. We aim to utilize the regional sensitivity to ∆TWS provided by GRACE mascon solutions with higher spatial resolution provided by GNSS observations. Our approach utilizes a continuous wavelet transform to decompose signals into their building blocks and separately invert for long‐term and short‐term mass variations. This allows us to preserve trends, annual, interannual, and multi‐year changes in TWS that were previously challenging to capture by satellite‐based measurement systems or hydrological models, alone. We focus our study in California, USA, which has a dense GNSS network and where recurrent, intense droughts put pressure on freshwater supplies. We highlight the advantages of our joint inversion results for a tectonically active study region by comparing them against inversion results that use only GNSS vertical deformation as well as with maps of ∆TWS from hydrological models and other GRACE solutions. We find that our joint inversion framework results in a solution that is regionally consistent with the GRACE ∆TWS solutions at different temporal scales but has an increased spatial resolution that allows us to differentiate between regions of high and low mass change better than using GRACE alone. 

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4. Annual time-series 1-km maps of crop area and types in the conterminous US (CropAT-US) during 1850-2021

   https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.22822838.v1  

   Ye, Shuchao; Cao, Peiyu; Lu, Chaoqun (May 2023, figshare)

   By integrating multi-source cross-scale inventories and satellite-based datasets, we reconstructed the annual crop density and crop type map (excluding summer idle/fallow, cropland pasture) in the contiguous US at 1km×1km resolution from 1850 to 2021. The annual crop density map depicts the distribution and fraction of cultivated land, while the crop type map displays the corresponding crop type. The developed datasets fill the data gap in lacking of crop type extent and type maps, which can support the environmental assessment and socioeconomic analysis related to agricultural activities. (Supplement to: Shuchao, Ye et al. (2023): Annual time-series 1-km maps of crop area and types in the conterminous US (CropAT-US): cropping diversity changes during 1850-2021.) 

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5. Monthly Crop Water Consumption of Irrigated Crops in the United States From 1981 to 2019

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2024WR038334  

   Lamsal, Gambhir; Marston, Landon_T (February 2025, Water Resources Research)

   Abstract Irrigated agriculture depends on surface water and groundwater, but we do not have a clear picture of how much water is consumed from these sources by different crops across the US over time. Current estimates of crop water consumption are insufficient in providing the spatial granularity and temporal depth required for comprehensive long‐term analysis. To fill this data gap, we utilized crop growth models to quantify the monthly crop water consumption ‐ distinguishing between rainwater, surface water, and groundwater ‐ of the 30 most widely irrigated crops in the US from 1981 to 2019 at 2.5 arc min. These 30 crops represent approximately 95% of US irrigated cropland. We found that the average annual total crop water consumption for these 30 irrigated crops in the US was 154.2 km³, 70% of which was from irrigation. Corn and alfalfa accounted for approximately 16.7 and 24.8 km³of average annual blue crop water consumption, respectively, which is nearly two‐fifths of the blue crop water consumed in the US. Surface water consumption decreased by 41.2%, while groundwater consumption increased by 6.8%, resulting in a 17.3% decline in blue water consumption between 1981 and 2019. We find good agreement between our results and existing modeled evapotranspiration (ET) products, remotely sensed ET estimates (OpenET), and water use data from the US Geological Survey and US Department of Agriculture. Our data set and model can help assess the impact of irrigation practices and water scarcity on crop production and sustainability. 

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