A Decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, entered June 7, 1954, established the position of Delaware River Master within the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, the Decree authorizes diversion of water from the Delaware River Basin and requires compensating releases from certain reservoirs, owned by New York City, to be made under the supervision and direction of the River Master. The Decree stipulates that the River Master will furnish reports to the Court, not less frequently than annually. This report is the 59th annual report of the River Master of the Delaware River. It covers the 2012 River Master report year, the period from December 1, 2011 to November 30, 2012.
During the report year, precipitation in the upper Delaware River Basin was 43.35 inches or 97 percent of the long-term average. Combined storage in the Pepacton, Cannonsville, and Neversink Reservoirs remained high through late May, declined from then until mid-September, decreasing below 80 percent of combined capacity in late August, increased in late October, and decreased slightly in November 2012. Delaware River Master operations during the year were conducted as stipulated by the Decree and the Flexible Flow Management Program.
Diversions from the Delaware River Basin by New York City and New Jersey were in full compliance with the Decree. Reservoir releases were made as directed by the River Master at rates designed to meet the flow objective for the Delaware River at Montague, New Jersey, on 52 days during the report year. Interim Excess Release Quantity and conservation releases, designed to relieve thermal stress and protect the fishery and aquatic habitat in the tailwaters of the reservoirs, were also made during the report year. An agreement was signed on October 25, 2012, to increase discharge mitigation releases from the Neversink Reservoir due to potential impacts from Hurricane Sandy.
The quality of water in the Delaware River estuary between Trenton, New Jersey, and Reedy Island Jetty, Delaware, was monitored at various locations. Data on water temperature, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, and pH were collected continuously by electronic instruments at four sites.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20211095","usgsCitation":"DiFrenna, V.J., Andrews, W.J., Russell, K.L., Norris, J.M., and Mason, R.R., Jr., 2022, Report of the River Master of the Delaware River for the period December 1, 2011–November 30, 2012: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2021–1095, 101 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20211095.","productDescription":"x, 101 p.","numberOfPages":"101","onlineOnly":"N","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-123829","costCenters":[{"id":466,"text":"New England Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":509,"text":"Office of the Associate Director for Water","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":516,"text":"Oklahoma Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":395538,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2021/1095/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":395539,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2021/1095/ofr20211095.pdf","text":"Report","size":"4.69 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2021-1095"},{"id":501528,"rank":3,"type":{"id":36,"text":"NGMDB Index Page"},"url":"https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_112444.htm","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"}}],"country":"United States","state":"New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -76.66259765625,\n 39.67337039176558\n ],\n [\n -73.65234375,\n 39.67337039176558\n ],\n [\n -73.65234375,\n 42.52069952914966\n ],\n [\n -76.66259765625,\n 42.52069952914966\n ],\n [\n -76.66259765625,\n 39.67337039176558\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Delaware River Master
Office of the Delaware River Master
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120 Route 209 South
Milford, PA 18337
The San Antonio Creek Valley watershed (SACVW) is located in western Santa Barbara County, about 15 miles south of Santa Maria and 55 miles north of Santa Barbara, California. The SACVW is about 135 square miles and encompasses the San Antonio Creek Valley groundwater basin; the SACVW is separated from adjacent groundwater basins by the Casmalia and Solomon Hills to the north, and the Purisima Hills to the south. At the western, downstream part of the valley, uplifted, consolidated rocks cause groundwater to discharge at land surface at Barka Slough. Since the late 1800s, groundwater has been the primary source of water for agricultural, military, municipal, and domestic uses. Groundwater withdrawal by pumping exceeded the amount of water replenishing the aquifer system during water years 1948–2018, causing groundwater-level declines of more than 150 feet in parts of the valley and reducing base flow at Barka Slough. Reliance on groundwater for agricultural water use (primarily for the irrigation and frost protection of vineyards, and fruit and berry crops) continues to strain the sustainability of the groundwater system.
Through a cooperative agreement, the Santa Barbara County Water Agency and Vandenberg Space Force Base invited the U.S. Geological Survey to address declines in groundwater levels, develop a better understanding of the hydrogeologic system, and provide tools to help evaluate and manage the effects of future development of the San Antonio Creek Valley groundwater basin within the encompassing San Antonio Creek Valley watershed (SACVW). The objectives of this study were to (1) refine the hydrogeologic framework of the San Antonio Creek Valley watershed, (2) quantify the hydrologic budget of the valley, and (3) develop hydrologic modeling tools to evaluate and aid in managing the groundwater resource. This report focuses on the first and second objectives to construct a hydrogeologic framework and characterize the historical and present-day hydrologic conditions of the SACVW during water years 1948–2018. As part of the second objective, work included quantifying the hydrologic budget and evaluating the hydrogeologic system using a combination of existing data and geologic and hydrologic data collected for this study.
The groundwater-flow system in the SACVW consists of five hydrogeologic units. These separate water-bearing units were identified based on hydrogeologic properties, such as sediment grain size, vertical-head differences in multiple-depth, monitoring-well sites, long-term groundwater level responses to pumping and climate, and the chemical character of groundwater and groundwater age in the mostly semi-consolidated to unconsolidated basin-fill sediments. The hydrogeologic units that comprise the different aquifers vary in their lithologic composition. The upper and lower aquifers (upper Paso Robles Formation, and lower Paso Robles Formation and Careaga Sandstone, respectively) are relatively coarse grained and are comprised of sand, gravel, and clay; the middle confining unit (the middle Paso Robles Formation) is relatively fine grained and is comprised of primarily clay, silt, and sand. The Pezzoni-Casmalia and Los Alamos faults, which are inferred to transect the SACVW between the western and eastern areas of the valley floor, do not appear to substantially affect the groundwater system.
Present-day recharge to the study area occurs primarily as infiltration from precipitation and streams in the upland areas of the Casmalia Hills and Solomon Hills, and along the main channel of San Antonio Creek. Reported estimates of annual natural recharge during water years 1948–2018 generally ranged from about 5,000 acre-feet to more than about 30,000 acre-feet. Stable and radioactive isotopes show that groundwater from the lower aquifer is old and probably was recharged as infiltration from precipitation and streams in the eastern upland areas of the Solomon Hills; however, the infiltration and recharge from these sources probably does not occur under present-day climatic conditions. Anthropogenic recharge, from sources such as return flow from agricultural irrigation, municipal water systems, and wastewater effluent, was estimated to range from about 600 acre-feet in 1948 to about 6,600 acre-feet in 2018. The average annual amount of groundwater removed from the SACVW by pumping during 1948–2018 was estimated to be about 17,200 acre-feet per year, increasing from about 3,000 acre-feet in 1948 to about 32,600 acre-feet in 2018. Estimates of annual pumpage generally exceeded estimates of annual recharge beginning in the mid-1970s and continuing through 2018. The predominant direction of groundwater flow under historical and present-day conditions was from the eastern uplands in the Solomon Hills to the west along San Antonio Creek to the discharge area in Barka Slough, and from the northern uplands in the Casmalia Hills south to San Antonio Creek.
Pumpage since the early 1900s and the subsequent groundwater-level declines have substantially reduced the amount of natural groundwater discharge at Barka Slough. Estimates of base flow to San Antonio Creek at the western, downstream extent of the SACVW have varied over time in response to changes in groundwater pumpage and climate; however, there was an overall decline in base flow during water years 1956–2018, decreasing from an average of about 1,700 acre-feet per year during 1956–69, to about 300 acre-feet per year during 2016–18. The long-term extraction of groundwater correlates with a decrease in groundwater levels by more than about 150 feet since the early 1940s in the eastern part of the basin near Los Alamos, and as much as about 50 feet in the upland areas and in the western part of the basin. At Barka Slough, groundwater levels have declined below land surface in some places, altering native riparian vegetation in and around the slough.
Surface-water quality in the SACVW varied depending on location and the time of year the samples were collected and on the amount of annual precipitation Most groundwater in the SACVW was calcium-bicarbonate-type water with total dissolved-solids concentrations of about 500–800 milligrams per liter generally representing water naturally recharged as infiltration from precipitation and streams. Total dissolved-solids concentrations in some wells ranged from 800 to 8,000 milligrams per liter, suggesting mixing of naturally recharged infiltrated water with water associated with oil-bearing geologic formations, agricultural products, or the evaporation of shallow groundwater. Concentrations of total dissolved solids and the chemical constituents chloride, nitrate plus nitrite (as nitrogen), calcium, and magnesium at selected wells generally increased during water years 1980–2018; increasing concentrations of these constituents may be associated with the expansion of agriculture in the watershed over time and the corresponding increase in the use of nitrates and calcium- and magnesium-based fertilizers and soil additives in modern agricultural practices.
The predominant direction of groundwater flow during historical and present-day conditions was from the eastern uplands in the Solomon Hills to the west along San Antonio Creek toward Barka Slough, and from the western uplands in the Casmalia Hills south to San Antonio Creek. The age of groundwater in the SACVW was evaluated using radioactive isotopes, and the flow of groundwater within the SACVW was evaluated using radioactive and stable isotopes. Modern groundwater (recharged after 1952) was generally found adjacent to San Antonio Creek and its tributaries in wells with perforated depths that averaged about 270 feet below land surface. Pre-modern groundwater (recharged before 1952) was found in wells that had average perforation depths of about 540 ft below land surface. Pre-modern groundwater identified in wells in the eastern upland area is interpreted to have had long, slow travel times to the western part of the SACVW where it was eventually discharged as base flow at Barka Slough or extracted as groundwater pumpage.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20225001","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with Santa Barbara County Water Agency and Vandenberg Space Force Base","programNote":"Groundwater Availability and Use Assessments","usgsCitation":"Cromwell, G., Sweetkind, D.S., Densmore, J.N., Engott, J.A., Seymour, W.A., Larsen, J.D., Ely, C.P., Stamos, C.L., and Faunt, C.C., 2022, Hydrogeologic characterization of the San Antonio Creek Valley watershed, Santa Barbara County, California: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2022–5001, 124 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20225001.","productDescription":"Report: xiv, 124 p.; Data Release","numberOfPages":"124","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-106483","costCenters":[{"id":154,"text":"California Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":395158,"rank":1,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P9AD7DL8","linkHelpText":"Data release of hydrogeologic data from the San Antonio Creek Valley watershed, Santa Barbara County, California"},{"id":395160,"rank":2,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2022/5001/covrthb.jpg"},{"id":395161,"rank":3,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2022/5001/sir20225001.pdf","text":"Report","size":"15 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"}},{"id":395162,"rank":4,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2022/5001/sir20225001.xml"},{"id":395163,"rank":5,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2022/5001/images"}],"country":"United States","state":"California","county":"Santa Barbara County","otherGeospatial":"San Antonio Creek Valley watershed","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -120.50079345703125,\n 34.71113805795655\n ],\n [\n -120.09292602539062,\n 34.71113805795655\n ],\n [\n -120.09292602539062,\n 34.854382885097905\n ],\n [\n -120.50079345703125,\n 34.854382885097905\n ],\n [\n -120.50079345703125,\n 34.71113805795655\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director,
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Bathymetric and velocimetric data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Transportation, near 9 bridges at 8 highway crossings of the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri, on August 13–14, 2019. A multibeam echosounder mapping system was used to obtain channel-bed elevations for river reaches about 1,550 to 1,660 feet longitudinally and generally extending laterally across the active channel from bank to bank during moderate flood-flow conditions. These surveys indicated the channel conditions at the time of the surveys and provided characteristics of scour holes that may be useful in developing predictive guidelines or equations for scour holes. These data also may be useful to the Missouri Department of Transportation as a low to moderate flood-flow assessment of the bridges for stability and integrity issues with respect to bridge scour during floods.
Bathymetric data were collected around every pier that was in water, except around the nose of one pier that was surrounded by a persistent debris raft. Scour holes were present at most piers for which bathymetry could be obtained, except those on banks or surrounded by riprap. The observed scour holes at the surveyed bridges generally were examined with respect to shape and depth.
Comparisons between bathymetric surfaces from previous surveys and this study do not indicate any consistent correlation in channel-bed elevations with streamflow conditions at the times of the surveys. The predominant overall scour observed between the various surveys implies the channel bed in the 2019 surveys might have been rebounding from more substantial scour caused by the high streamflow earlier in March and June 2019, which was the highest streamflow since 1993. Pier size and nose shape had a substantial effect on the size of the scour hole observed at a given pier. Many of the piers at the Kansas City area bridges have wide or blunt noses caused by exposed footings, seal courses, or caissons, which resulted in large, deep scour holes at most piers. Several of the structures had piers that were skewed to primary approach flow; and, at most of the structures, the scour hole was deeper and longer on the side of the pier with impinging flow than the leeward side, with some amount of deposition on the leeward side, as typically has been observed at piers skewed to approach flow.
Limited additional bathymetric data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Clarkson Construction, near the main channel piers of the U.S. Highway 169 (Broadway) and the Interstate 435 (Randolph) bridges on August 17 and October 23, 2020, to determine the channel-bed conditions before and after installation of scour countermeasures near those piers. Survey results from before and after installation of these countermeasures show these features had a substantial effect on mitigating the observed scour at these piers, particularly when compared to piers at other sites without such features.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20215098","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Transportation and Clarkson Construction","usgsCitation":"Huizinga, R.J., 2022, Bathymetric and velocimetric surveys at highway bridges crossing the Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri, August 2019, August 2020, and October 2020: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2021–5098, 112 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20215098.","productDescription":"Report: xii, 112 p.; Data Release; Dataset","numberOfPages":"128","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-124626","costCenters":[{"id":36532,"text":"Central Midwest Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":395010,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P96TX8AE","text":"USGS Data Release","description":"USGS Data Release","linkHelpText":"Bathymetry and velocity data from surveys at highway bridges crossing the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri, in August 2019, August 2020, and October 2020"},{"id":395008,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5098/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":395013,"rank":6,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5098/images"},{"id":395012,"rank":5,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5098/sir20215098.XML","linkFileType":{"id":8,"text":"xml"},"description":"SIR 2021–5098 XML"},{"id":395011,"rank":4,"type":{"id":28,"text":"Dataset"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F7P55KJN","text":"U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System database","description":"USGS Dataset","linkHelpText":"— USGS water data for the Nation"},{"id":395009,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5098/sir20215098.pdf","text":"Report","size":"38.0 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIR 2021–5098"},{"id":502114,"rank":7,"type":{"id":36,"text":"NGMDB Index Page"},"url":"https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_112326.htm","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"}}],"country":"United States","state":"Missouri","city":"Kansas City","otherGeospatial":"Missouri River","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -94.68086242675781,\n 39.102357437817595\n ],\n [\n -94.48722839355467,\n 39.102357437817595\n ],\n [\n -94.48722839355467,\n 39.193948213963665\n ],\n [\n -94.68086242675781,\n 39.193948213963665\n ],\n [\n -94.68086242675781,\n 39.102357437817595\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Central Midwest Water Science Center
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The Interagency Ocean Observation Committee (IOOC) is chartered by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology (SOST). The purpose of the IOOC is to advise, assist, and make recommendations to the SOST on matters related to ocean observations via task teams such as the Biology - Integrating Core to Essential Variables (Bio-ICE) task team. The goal of the Bio-ICE task team is to advance the integration of biological observations from local, regional, and federal sources using best practices to inform national needs and ultimately feed seamlessly into the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), as appropriate. To accomplish this goal, and for the first time at the U.S. federal government level, a subgroup of the Bio-ICE task team focused on tropical, shallow-water (0-30 m) hard corals to identify commonalities between the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) core biological variable1 of “coral species and abundance,” the GOOS Essential Ocean Variable2 (EOV) “hard coral cover and composition,” the Group on Earth Observations Biological Observation Network (GEO BON) Essential Biodiversity Variables3 (EBVs), and the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Essential Climate Variables4 (ECVs) (Figure 1). The EOV data allows production of EBVs such as time series of maps of genetic composition, species populations, etc. Recognizing the complementarity of the different essential variable frameworks helps to promote best practices in observing and information management to facilitate data interoperability (Figure 1). The task team was charged with identifying where there are synergies in terms of spatial and temporal observing requirements and existing observation infrastructure and data delivery, including best practices and standard operating procedures. The task team also made suggestions to improve pathways for data flow for observations of these variables from Regional Associations of the U.S. IOOS, other nonfederal partners, and federal sources. The focus of the task team was on identifying and implementing best practices surrounding standardized data collection and data delivery to make continued progress toward adhering to the Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reuse (FAIR) and Collective benefit, Authority to control, Responsibility, and Ethics (CARE) data principles.
","language":"English","publisher":"Interagency Ocean Observation Committee (IOOC)","usgsCitation":"Towle, E.K., Benson, A., Biddle, M., Bingo, S., Brucker, K., Canonico, G., Chory, M., Desai, K., Edmondson, M., Figuerola, M., Horstmann, C., Jackson, S., Koss, J., Landrum, J., Lohr, K., Lorenzoni, L., Mayfield, A., Melzin, B., Muller-Karger, F., O’Conner, S., Santavy, D., Storlazzi, C.D., Toline, A., Torres-Perez, J., and Yates, K.K., 2022, Biology: Integrating core to essential variables (Bio-ICE) task team report for hard corals: Task Team Report, 30 p.","productDescription":"30 p.","ipdsId":"IP-136937","costCenters":[{"id":208,"text":"Core Science Analytics and Synthesis","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":520,"text":"Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":574,"text":"St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":409792,"rank":2,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"},{"id":409777,"rank":1,"type":{"id":15,"text":"Index Page"},"url":"https://www.iooc.us/task-teams/bio-ice/"}],"noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Towle, E. 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Anna","contributorId":299478,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Toline","given":"Anna","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":36245,"text":"NPS","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":857870,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":23},{"text":"Torres-Perez, Juan","contributorId":299479,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Torres-Perez","given":"Juan","affiliations":[{"id":38788,"text":"NASA","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":857871,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":24},{"text":"Yates, Kimberly K. 0000-0001-8764-0358","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8764-0358","contributorId":214349,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Yates","given":"Kimberly","email":"","middleInitial":"K.","affiliations":[{"id":574,"text":"St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":857872,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":25}]}} ,{"id":70227702,"text":"ofr20211123 - 2022 - Optimization of salt marsh management at the Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge of the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Maine, through use of structured decision making","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2026-03-25T17:53:23.031994","indexId":"ofr20211123","displayToPublicDate":"2022-01-27T12:50:00","publicationYear":"2022","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":18,"text":"Report"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":5,"text":"USGS Numbered Series"},"seriesTitle":{"id":330,"text":"Open-File Report","code":"OFR","onlineIssn":"2331-1258","printIssn":"0196-1497","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":5}},"seriesNumber":"2021-1123","displayTitle":"Optimization of Salt Marsh Management at the Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge of the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Maine, Through Use of Structured Decision Making","title":"Optimization of salt marsh management at the Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge of the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Maine, through use of structured decision making","docAbstract":"Structured decision making is a systematic, transparent process for improving the quality of complex decisions by identifying measurable management objectives and feasible management actions; predicting the potential consequences of management actions relative to the stated objectives; and selecting a course of action that maximizes the total benefit achieved and balances tradeoffs among objectives. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, applied an existing, regional framework for structured decision making to develop a prototype tool for optimizing tidal marsh management decisions at the Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge of the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex in Maine. Refuge biologists, refuge managers, and research scientists identified multiple potential management actions to improve the ecological integrity of two marsh management units within the refuge complex, totaling about 47 hectares, and estimated the outcomes of each action in terms of performance metrics associated with each management objective. Value functions previously developed at the regional level were used to transform metric scores to a common utility scale, and utilities were summed to produce a single score representing the total management benefit that could be accrued from each potential management action. Constrained optimization was used to identify the set of management actions, one per marsh management unit, that could maximize total management benefits at different cost constraints at the refuge scale. Results indicated that, for the objectives and actions considered here, total management benefits may increase consistently up to $9,545, and may continue to increase at a lower rate with further expenditures. Potential management actions in optimal portfolios at total costs less than or equal to $9,545 included removing dikes to restore tidal flow in the Gouldsboro Bay management unit and installing runnels to improve surface-water drainage in the Sawyers Marsh management unit. The potential management benefits were derived from expected increases in the numbers of tidal marsh obligate breeding birds and density of spiders (as an indicator of trophic health), reduced duration of flooding, and increased capacity of marsh elevation to keep pace with sea-level rise. The prototype presented here does not resolve management decisions; rather, it provides a framework for decision making at the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex that can be updated for implementation as new data and information become available. Insights from this process may also be useful to inform future habitat management planning at the refuge complex.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20211123","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service","usgsCitation":"Neckles, H.A., Lyons, J.E., Nagel, J.L., Adamowicz, S.C., Mikula, T., and Williams, S., 2022, Optimization of salt marsh management at the Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge of the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Maine, through use of structured decision making: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2021–1123, 27 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20211123.","productDescription":"Report: vi, 27 p.; Database","numberOfPages":"27","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-135555","costCenters":[{"id":531,"text":"Patuxent Wildlife Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":50464,"text":"Eastern Ecological Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":501535,"rank":6,"type":{"id":36,"text":"NGMDB Index Page"},"url":"https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_112158.htm","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"}},{"id":394950,"rank":5,"type":{"id":9,"text":"Database"},"url":"https://ecos.fws.gov/ServCat/Reference/Profile/121918","text":"U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service database","linkHelpText":"- Salt marsh integrity and Hurricane Sandy vegetation, bird and nekton data"},{"id":394949,"rank":4,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2021/1123/images/"},{"id":394948,"rank":3,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2021/1123/ofr20211123.XML"},{"id":394947,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2021/1123/ofr20211123.pdf","text":"Report","size":"3.08 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2021-1123"},{"id":394946,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2021/1123/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Maine","otherGeospatial":"Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -68.0438232421875,\n 44.36902359940364\n ],\n [\n -67.64556884765625,\n 44.36902359940364\n ],\n [\n -67.64556884765625,\n 44.570415145955515\n ],\n [\n -68.0438232421875,\n 44.570415145955515\n ],\n [\n -68.0438232421875,\n 44.36902359940364\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Eastern Ecological Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
11649 Leetown Road
Kearneysville, WV 25430
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Savannah Valley Utility District, evaluated the groundwater hydrology of the Valley and Ridge carbonate rock aquifer in northeastern Hamilton, southern Meigs, and northwestern Bradley Counties, Tennessee, from 2007 through 2009. The evaluation included, and built on, the results of test drilling conducted in the area in 1974 to determine the potential for groundwater as a source of public supply for the utility and the results of an investigation conducted to define recharge areas for wells used by groundwater-source public-supply water systems throughout Hamilton County in the early 1990s.
Groundwater-level data collected from wells open to the aquifer in the study area were used to prepare potentiometric-surface maps for fall 1992, spring and fall 1993, summer 2008, and spring 2009 conditions. Two primary groundwater basins were delineated from the maps—the larger of which coincides with the watershed of Savannah Creek in the southern part of the study area and the smaller of which coincides with the watershed of Gunstocker Creek in the northern part of the study area. Both basins are characterized by potentiometric surfaces that contain a central area of low-altitude groundwater levels and low gradients relative to the basin margins that reflect the orientation of enhanced permeability along dissolution-enlarged features that have developed parallel to strike in the aquifer. The recharge area of the Savannah Creek groundwater basin is estimated to be about 31 square miles, and the recharge area of the Gunstocker Creek groundwater basin is estimated to be about 17 square miles.
Recharge to the aquifer in the Savannah Creek and Gunstocker Creek groundwater basins primarily occurs in the uplands area along White Oak Mountain in the eastern part of the study area and along the western boundaries of the basins. Groundwater flows toward the potentiometric lows in each basin, discharging as base flow to the streams and to springs locally. Groundwater withdrawals for public supply by the utility influence the potentiometric low in the north-central part of the Savannah Creek groundwater basin and disrupt flow in the creek and nearby Anderson Spring, particularly during the summer and fall seasons. No large groundwater withdrawals currently occur in the Gunstocker Creek basin, but there is potential for groundwater supply development in the basin.
A conceptual model of the groundwater hydrology of the area developed from the evaluation indicates that Chickamauga Lake is the base-level control on groundwater discharge from the Savannah Creek and Gunstocker Creek basins and that lake stage affects the potentiometric surfaces and groundwater discharge in the most downgradient parts of the basins as a result of inferred hydraulic connection between the aquifer and the lake. The model also infers that captured surface water from sections of Savannah Creek and the Hiwassee River that are embayed by the lake could recharge the aquifer and serve as a source of water withdrawn by wells in each basin if the potentiometric surfaces were lowered to altitudes less than the stage of the lake, particularly under potential future groundwater-development scenarios in the Gunstocker Creek basin.
Geochemical analysis of samples collected from six wells for the study indicate that groundwater in the Valley and Ridge aquifer in the area generally is a calcium-magnesium-bicarbonate type, and although the water generally is hard, it is suitable for most uses. Trace-element concentrations were less than primary drinking-water criteria in all the samples.
Results of the investigation indicate that options are available for additional groundwater withdrawal in the study area. Water-level data collected since 1975 at the Savannah Valley Utility District Smith Road well site indicate that some additional amount of groundwater is available for withdrawal from the aquifer in the Savannah Creek groundwater basin. The potentiometric low within the Gunstocker Creek groundwater basin indicates that an area with enhanced permeability is present as a northeastern counterpart to the potentiometric low within the Savannah Creek basin. Because the Gunstocker Creek basin is about one-half the total area of the Savannah Creek basin, a commensurate decrease in available groundwater storage is likely. Furthermore, groundwater withdrawal locations in the Gunstocker Creek basin would be closer to—and possibly connected hydraulically to—the Hiwassee River, thus increasing the potential for induced surface-water recharge in the basin if sustained drawdown from pumping lowered groundwater levels to altitudes less than the stage of the river.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20215135","isbn":"978-1-4113-4435-8","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Savannah Valley Utility District","programNote":"Water Availability and Use Science Program","usgsCitation":"Carmichael, J.K., 2022, Groundwater hydrology in the area of Savannah and Gunstocker Creeks in northeastern Hamilton, southern Meigs, and northwestern Bradley Counties, Tennessee, 2007–09: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2021–5135, 31 p., 5 pls., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20215135.","productDescription":"Report: vii, 31 p.; Data Release; 5 Plates: 20.00 x 30.00 inches or smaller","numberOfPages":"44","onlineOnly":"N","additionalOnlineFiles":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-104265","costCenters":[{"id":24708,"text":"Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":394458,"rank":4,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P9QVHDI5","text":"USGS Data Release","linkHelpText":"Geospatial data for groundwater potentiometric-surface maps in northeastern Hamilton, southern Meigs, and northwestern Bradley Counties, Tennessee, fall 1992, spring and fall 1993, summer 2008, and spring 2009"},{"id":394455,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5135/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":394456,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5135/sir20215135.pdf","text":"Report","size":"3.43 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIR 2021–5135"},{"id":394457,"rank":3,"type":{"id":17,"text":"Plate"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5135/sir20215135_plates.pdf","text":"Plates 1–5","size":"2.29 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIR 2021–5135 Plates"}],"country":"United States","state":"Tennessee","county":"Meigs County, Bradley 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Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
640 Grassmere Park, Suite 100
Nashville, TN 37211
The Yucaipa groundwater subbasin (referred to in this report as the Yucaipa subbasin) is located about 75 miles (mi) east of of Los Angeles and about 12 mi southeast of the City of San Bernardino. In the Yucaipa subbasin, as in much of southern California, limited annual rainfall and large water demands can strain existing water supplies; therefore, understanding local surface water and groundwater conditions is essential for managing these resources. To better understand the hydrogeology and water resources in the Yucaipa subbasin, especially groundwater, the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District and the U.S. Geological Survey initiated a cooperative study to evaluate the hydrogeologic system of the Yucaipa subbasin and the encompassing Yucaipa Valley watershed. Previous studies of the area provided information on general geologic and hydrologic conditions, but this study provides the first comprehensive definition of the hydrogeology of the subsurface throughout the entire subbasin.
The Yucaipa subbasin is located between the northwest trending San Andreas fault zone and San Jacinto fault. Several northeast-trending dip-slip faults dissect the Yucaipa subbasin, providing the mechanism for structural relief within the sediment-filled subbasin and between the subbasin and surrounding mountains and highlands. Several of these dip-slip faults have been previously identified as potential barriers to groundwater flow. This report provides a synthesis of previous studies and a discussion of the geologic interpretations that were used as the foundation for hydrogeologic classification of the Yucaipa subbasin. Notably, this report (1) adopts the recently named and classified sedimentary deposits of Live Oak Canyon geologic formation and extends the mapped distribution of the formation into the Yucaipa subbasin, and (2) adopts the interpretation that activity along the Banning fault predates the deposition of most basin-fill sedimentary materials in the Yucaipa subbasin.
Four hydrogeologic units were classified in the Yucaipa subbasin: (1) crystalline basement, (2) consolidated sedimentary materials, (3) unconsolidated sediment, and (4) surficial materials. The crystalline basement unit forms the bottom boundary of the aquifer system, and the three other units comprise the basin-fill aquifer system. The four hydrogeologic units vary in extent, thickness, and structural relief across the subbasin, with the unconsolidated sediment unit serving as the primary aquifer unit. A three-dimensional hydrogeologic framework model was developed for the Yucaipa subbasin and surrounding area to characterize the thickness, extent, and hydrogeologic variability of the aquifer system. Geologic maps, borehole geophysical logs, drillers’ lithology logs, and depth-to-basement gravity data were used to map and interpolate the subsurface extent and structure of the hydrogeologic units within the subbasin. Faults and structures of geologic and (or) hydrogeologic importance were included in the model for future evaluation of their potential effects on groundwater flow. The resulting hydrogeologic framework is consistent with existing geologic concepts and the tectonic and structural history of the Yucaipa subbasin and surrounding area. The framework is also suitable for use in basin-scale hydrogeologic investigations.
Director,
California Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
6000 J Street, Placer Hall
Sacramento, California 95819
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management, established a long-term water-quantity and water-quality monitoring program in 2012 to monitor and analyze the hydrologic and water-quality conditions of 15 watersheds in DeKalb County, Georgia—an urban and suburban area located in north-central Georgia that includes the easternmost part of the City of Atlanta. This report synthesizes the watershed characteristics and monitoring data collected for the first 5 years of the program, 2012 through 2016. The study area was predominantly medium-density residential (43.9 percent), commercial/industrial/institutional (21.4 percent), forest/park/agriculture (13.6 percent), and high-density residential (11.5 percent) land uses. Land-surface slope averaged 8.7 percent, imperviousness averaged 25.3 percent, and population density averaged 2,936 people per square mile. Watershed imperviousness ranged from 8.7 to 36.6 percent.
In the study area for 2014 to 2016 (when streamflow data were available for all watersheds), runoff represented 40.9 percent of precipitation. Hydrograph separations indicated that 43 percent of runoff occurred as base flow, whereas the remainder occurred as stormflow. Higher watershed imperviousness was significantly related to higher amounts of runoff (Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient [r] = 0.517), higher runoff ratios (r = 0.646), and lower amounts (r = −0.637) and proportions (r = −0.898) of base-flow runoff. Stormwater best management practices have been implemented in the study watersheds; however, these practices do not appear to fully mitigate the effects of urban development and land use on stream hydrology.
Total copper, lead, and zinc concentrations in base-flow and stormflow samples exceeded the national recommended aquatic life criteria for chronic and acute conditions, respectively, to varying degrees. Escherichia coli density predictive regression models indicated that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Beach Action Value was exceeded at individual watersheds between 44.6 and 100 percent of the time. Exceedance of the Beach Action Value indicates possible unsafe conditions for primary contact recreation and could be used for timely notification of the potential health risks. Annual loads and yields were estimated for 15 constituents. Loads were typically higher for years with higher runoff while variations among watershed yields appear associated with watershed and land use characteristics. The lowest yields for almost all constituents occurred in the Stone Mountain Creek watershed—likely the result of the retention of sediment and reduction of nutrients in Stone Mountain Lake and two smaller downstream reservoirs within the watershed. The Little Stone Mountain Creek watershed also had some of the lowest yields for most constituents, likely due to the lack of many pollutant sources associated with its predominantly medium-density residential land use (95.5 percent), but had the highest total nitrate plus nitrite yields. The Intrenchment Creek watershed consistently had some of the highest yields across all constituents except for total nitrate plus nitrite. The high yields may be related to its high percentage of impervious area (36.0 percent) and high amount of heavily developed land use (high-density residential, 29.9 percent and commercial/industrial/institutional, 26.0 percent). Mean watershed constituent yields in this study were significantly higher than those from a similar analysis of 13 suburban to urban watersheds in adjacent Gwinnett County for 6 of the 10 constituents compared.
This study provides a thorough assessment of watershed characteristics, hydrology, and water-quality conditions of the 15 study watersheds and can be used to identify possible factors that affect runoff and water quality. Watershed managers can use these data and analyses to inform management decisions regarding the designated uses of streams, minimization of flooding, protection of aquatic habitats, and optimization of the effectiveness of best management practices.
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South Atlantic Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
1770 Corporate Drive, Suite 500
Norcross, GA 30093
The Des Moines River alluvial aquifer is an important source of water for Des Moines Water Works, the municipal water utility that provides residential and commercial water resources to the residents of Des Moines, Iowa, and surrounding municipalities. As an initial step in developing a better understanding of the groundwater resources of the Des Moines River alluvial aquifer, the U.S. Geological Survey constructed a steady-state numerical groundwater flow model in cooperation with Des Moines Water Works to simulate water-table elevations in the Des Moines River alluvial aquifer near Prospect Park in Des Moines under winter low-flow conditions.
A simple conceptual model consisting of a hydrogeologic framework, water budget, and inferred water-table elevation map was developed for the model area. The inferred water-table elevation map was constructed based on general knowledge of hydrogeology within the model area and was used to set calibration targets for numerical model calibration. A steady-state numerical model was constructed based on the conceptual model using MODFLOW-NWT to simulate an area of about 15 square kilometers near Prospect Park in Des Moines. Parameter ESTimation software was used for model calibration to assess and optimize performance of the horizontal hydraulic conductivity and recharge parameters. The numerical groundwater flow model and supporting data are available in the USGS data release associated with this report, which contains the model archive.
Performance of the calibrated steady-state model was assessed by comparing observed and simulated water-table elevations, as well as estimated and simulated contributions to streamflow within the model area. The difference between observed water-table elevations and simulated water-table elevations was −0.1 meter at the majority of calibration targets, with the negative value indicating an overestimation of the simulated water-table elevation value compared to the observed water-table elevation value, and the root mean square error was 0.13 meter, which represents about 20 percent of the difference in observed water-table elevations. The simulated value of contributions to streamflow within the model area was considered similar to the estimated value, increasing confidence in the ability of the model to accurately represent the groundwater flow system in the Des Moines River alluvial aquifer in the model area during winter low-flow conditions.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20211110","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with Des Moines Water Works","usgsCitation":"FitzGerald, K.M., Ha, W.S., Haj, A.E., Gruhn, L.R., Bristow, E.L., and Weber, J.R., 2022, A steady-state groundwater flow model for the Des Moines River alluvial aquifer near Prospect Park, Des Moines, Iowa: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2021–1110, 20 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20211110.","productDescription":"Report: vii, 20 p.; Data Release; Dataset","numberOfPages":"20","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-130288","costCenters":[{"id":351,"text":"Iowa Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":36532,"text":"Central Midwest Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":501532,"rank":5,"type":{"id":36,"text":"NGMDB Index Page"},"url":"https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_112070.htm","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"}},{"id":393916,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2021/1110/ofr20211110.pdf","text":"Report","size":"2.45 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2021-1110"},{"id":393915,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2021/1110/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":393917,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P9F3CKLC","text":"USGS data release","linkHelpText":"MODFLOW-NWT model used to simulate groundwater levels in the Des Moines River alluvial aquifer near Des Moines, Iowa"},{"id":393918,"rank":4,"type":{"id":28,"text":"Dataset"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F7P55KJN","text":"USGS National Water Information System database","linkHelpText":"- USGS water data for the Nation"}],"country":"United States","state":"Iowa","city":"Des Moines","otherGeospatial":"Prospect Park","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -93.65175247192383,\n 41.611463744813506\n ],\n [\n -93.61836433410645,\n 41.611463744813506\n ],\n [\n -93.61836433410645,\n 41.63019942878951\n ],\n [\n -93.65175247192383,\n 41.63019942878951\n ],\n [\n -93.65175247192383,\n 41.611463744813506\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Central Midwest Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
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Statistical analysis of the observational record from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgaging stations and other historical information provides an informative means of estimating flood flow frequency. Flood flow frequency is defined by values or quantiles of discharge for selected annual exceedance probabilities (AEPs) (England and others, 2018). The annual peak discharge data as part of systematic operation of a streamgaging station provides the foundation for a detailed analysis of peak discharge, but additional historical information pertaining to peak discharges also can be used. An annual peak discharge is defined as the maximum instantaneous discharge for a streamgaging station for a given water year, and annual peak discharge data for USGS streamgaging stations can be acquired through the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) database (USGS, 2018). The statistical analyses are based on water-year increments. A water year is the 12-month period from October 1 of a given year through September 30 of the following year designated by the calendar year in which it ends.
For the statistical hydrology portion of the multi-layered analysis, InFRM team members from the USGS analyzed annual peak discharge records for the 15 USGS streamgaging stations (gages) shown on Figure A.1. Information on the period of record data for those USGS gages are listed in Table A.1.
","language":"English","publisher":"Interagency Flood Risk Management","collaboration":"U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Emergency Management Agency","usgsCitation":"Wallace, D., 2022, Interagency Flood Risk Management (InFRM) watershed hydrology assessment for the Neches River basin. Appendix A: Statistical hydrology: Interagency Flood Risk Management Report, 64 p.","productDescription":"64 p.","ipdsId":"IP-101867","costCenters":[{"id":48595,"text":"Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":427112,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"},{"id":396304,"rank":1,"type":{"id":15,"text":"Index Page"},"url":"https://webapps.usgs.gov/infrm/#ha"}],"country":"United States","state":"Texas","otherGeospatial":"Neches River basin","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -96,\n 32\n ],\n [\n -96,\n 30\n ],\n [\n -94,\n 30\n ],\n [\n -94,\n 32\n ],\n [\n -96,\n 32\n ]\n ]\n ],\n \"type\": \"Polygon\"\n }\n }\n ]\n}","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Wallace, David S. 0000-0002-9134-8197","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9134-8197","contributorId":205198,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Wallace","given":"David S.","affiliations":[{"id":583,"text":"Texas Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":835668,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1}]}} ,{"id":70226494,"text":"70226494 - 2022 - Downhill from Austin and Ely to Las Vegas: U-Pb detrital zircon suites from the Eocene–Oligocene Titus Canyon Formation and associated strata, Death Valley, California","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2021-11-22T12:31:58.451448","indexId":"70226494","displayToPublicDate":"2021-11-19T06:29:17","publicationYear":"2022","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":2,"text":"Article"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":10,"text":"Journal Article"},"seriesTitle":{"id":1727,"text":"GSA Special Papers","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":10}},"title":"Downhill from Austin and Ely to Las Vegas: U-Pb detrital zircon suites from the Eocene–Oligocene Titus Canyon Formation and associated strata, Death Valley, California","docAbstract":"","language":"English","publisher":"Geological Society of America","doi":"10.1130/2021.2555(14)","usgsCitation":"Miller, E.L., Raftrey, M., and Lundstern, J., 2022, Downhill from Austin and Ely to Las Vegas: U-Pb detrital zircon suites from the Eocene–Oligocene Titus Canyon Formation and associated strata, Death Valley, California: GSA Special Papers, v. 555, no. 14, 20 p., https://doi.org/10.1130/2021.2555(14).","productDescription":"20 p.","ipdsId":"IP-120514","costCenters":[{"id":318,"text":"Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":449529,"rank":0,"type":{"id":41,"text":"Open Access External Repository Page"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.1130/spe.s.16850284","text":"External Repository"},{"id":391968,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -124.4091796875,\n 31.052933985705163\n ],\n [\n -108.544921875,\n 31.052933985705163\n ],\n [\n -108.544921875,\n 42.4234565179383\n ],\n [\n -124.4091796875,\n 42.4234565179383\n ],\n [\n -124.4091796875,\n 31.052933985705163\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","volume":"555","issue":"14","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Miller, Elizabeth L. 0000-0002-6190-4826","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6190-4826","contributorId":269348,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Miller","given":"Elizabeth","email":"","middleInitial":"L.","affiliations":[{"id":55934,"text":"Stanford University Department of Geological Sciences","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":827104,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Raftrey, Mark","contributorId":269420,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Raftrey","given":"Mark","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":55934,"text":"Stanford University Department of Geological Sciences","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":827105,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Lundstern, Jens-Erik 0000-0003-0000-8013","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0000-8013","contributorId":264189,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Lundstern","given":"Jens-Erik","email":"","affiliations":[{"id":318,"text":"Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":827106,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3}]}} ,{"id":70226450,"text":"70226450 - 2022 - Late Quaternary deglaciation of Prince William Sound, Alaska","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2023-11-06T16:08:22.943696","indexId":"70226450","displayToPublicDate":"2021-07-23T06:31:17","publicationYear":"2022","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":2,"text":"Article"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":10,"text":"Journal Article"},"seriesTitle":{"id":3218,"text":"Quaternary Research","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":10}},"title":"Late Quaternary deglaciation of Prince William Sound, Alaska","docAbstract":"To understand the timing of deglaciation of the northernmost marine-terminating glaciers of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet (CIS), we obtained 26 10Be surface-exposure ages from glacially scoured bedrock surfaces in Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska. We sampled six elevation transects between sea level and 620 m and spanning a distance of 14 to 70 km along ice flow paths. Most transect age–elevation patterns could not be explained by a simple model of thinning ice; the patterns provide evidence for lingering ice cover and possible inheritance. A reliable set of 20 ages ranges between 17.4 ± 2.0 and 11.6 ± 2.8 ka and indicates ice receded from northwestern PWS around 14.3 ± 1.6 ka, thinned at a rate of ~120–160 m/ka, and retreated from sea-level sites at 12.9 ± 1.1 ka at a rate of 20 m/yr. The retreat rate likely slowed as glaciers retreated into northern PWS. These results are consistent with the growing body of reported deglacial constraints on collapse of ice sheets along the Alaska margin indicating collapse of the CIS soon after 17 ka. These data are consistent with paleotemperature data indicating that a warming North Pacific Ocean caused catastrophic collapse of this part of the CIS.
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, catalogued aquifers and closed depressions in a karst-prone area between Albany and Buffalo, New York to provide resource managers information to more efficiently manage and protect groundwater resources. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has been working with the agricultural industry to raise awareness of karst aquifer contamination susceptibility and how to reduce effects on surface water and groundwater resources, especially in karst areas. There is also a need to make industries, State and local regulators, planners, and the public aware of New York’s karst resources to properly protect and manage these resources and the quality of surface water and groundwater that flows through the karst aquifer.
Publicly available geospatial data were identified, collated, and analyzed for a region of karst terrain extending from Albany to Buffalo. The region was divided into 10 subareas. A series of geospatial datasets were assembled to determine the location and extent of karstic rock; bedrock geology and depth to bedrock; average water-table configuration; surficial geology; soil type, thickness, and hydraulic conductivity; land cover; and closed depressions in the land surface.
Repeated glaciation and recession across New York have left the landscape pockmarked with closed depressions, which may or may not be related to the underlying bedrock. Closed depressions in areas where carbonate or evaporite karst are present are of primary concern to this study because of the increased potential of karst aquifer contamination from focused recharge. Closed depressions present in areas not associated with karst bedrock can also be evaluated to better understand their ability to transmit surface water to the groundwater system. Information on closed depressions can be used to develop land-management plans to protect local and regional water resources.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20215094","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation","usgsCitation":"Sporleder, B.A., Fisher, B.N., Keto, D.S., Kappel, W.M., Reddy, J.E., and DeMott, L.M., 2021, Methods of data collection and analysis for an assessment of karst aquifer systems between Albany and Buffalo, New York (ver. 2.0, July 2022): U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2021–5094, 8 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20215094","productDescription":"Report: vi, 8 p.; Data Release","numberOfPages":"8","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-120497","costCenters":[{"id":474,"text":"New York Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":389881,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P9AYMP94","text":"USGS data release","linkHelpText":"Geospatial data to assess karst aquifer systems between Albany and Buffalo, New York"},{"id":389878,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5094/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":389879,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5094/sir20215094.pdf","text":"Report","size":"2.81 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIR 2021-5094"},{"id":389883,"rank":5,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5094/images/"},{"id":389882,"rank":4,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5094/sir20215094.XML"},{"id":390035,"rank":6,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/sir20215094/full","text":"Report","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"}},{"id":502113,"rank":8,"type":{"id":36,"text":"NGMDB Index Page"},"url":"https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_111818.htm","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"}},{"id":404517,"rank":7,"type":{"id":25,"text":"Version History"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5094/versionHist.txt","text":"Version History","linkFileType":{"id":2,"text":"txt"}}],"country":"United States","state":"New York","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -73.71826171874999,\n 42.76314586689492\n ],\n [\n -74.53125,\n 42.97250158602597\n ],\n [\n -76.4208984375,\n 42.94033923363181\n ],\n [\n -77.9150390625,\n 42.90816007196054\n ],\n [\n -78.85986328125,\n 42.98857645832184\n ],\n [\n -78.9697265625,\n 42.71473218539458\n ],\n [\n -78.75,\n 42.52069952914966\n ],\n [\n -77.80517578125,\n 42.52069952914966\n ],\n [\n -76.39892578125,\n 42.58544425738491\n ],\n [\n -74.77294921875,\n 42.66628070564928\n ],\n [\n -73.67431640625,\n 42.65012181368022\n ],\n [\n -73.71826171874999,\n 42.76314586689492\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","edition":"Originally posted October 18, 2021; Revised July 29, 2022","contact":"Director, New York Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
425 Jordan Road
Troy, NY 12180–8349
Land disposal of sewage wastewater through septic systems and cesspools is a major cause of elevated concentrations of nitrogen in the shallow coastal aquifers of southern New England. The discharge of nitrogen from these sources at the coast is affecting the environmental health of coastal saltwater bodies. In response, local, State, and Federal agencies are considering expensive actions to mitigate these effects, including installing municipal sewer systems. To increase the understanding of the effects of municipal sewering on groundwater quality discharging to coastal surface waters, a network of multilevel monitoring wells was established in a densely developed coastal neighborhood on the Maravista peninsula, Falmouth, Massachusetts, which was undergoing conversion from onsite septic disposal to municipal sewering.
The geohydrology of the study area on the peninsula is generally characterized as consisting of fine to coarse, well-sorted sands containing 2.9 to 9.3 meters of fresh groundwater and a flow system characterized by a groundwater divide slightly west of the center of the peninsula. The magnitude of hydraulic gradients at the water table is gently sloping, ranging from 0.000032 to 0.00059, and affected by daily and bimonthly tidal fluctuations from adjacent coastal ponds. On the western side of the divide, upgradient from Little Pond, average linear groundwater velocities and traveltimes along shallow flow paths, estimated from observed hydraulic gradients and estimated aquifer hydraulic conductivity and effective porosity, range from 0.076 to 0.094 meters per day and 7.8 to 9.7 years, respectively.
The groundwater monitoring network consists of 14 profile sites on the peninsula that each include a multilevel sampler for water-quality data collection and a shallow monitoring well for groundwater-level measurements. The study area encompasses about 230 residences that transitioned from onsite septic disposal to municipal sewering between spring 2017 and summer 2019. An additional multilevel sampler that was in a residential coastal setting but not undergoing sewering also was sampled periodically as a reference site.
Elevated nitrogen, as compared to typical uncontaminated, fresh groundwater in the Cape Cod aquifer, predominately as nitrate, was measured in 15 water-quality profiles at nitrate concentrations as great as 26.2 milligrams per liter as nitrogen (n=749; mean and median values were 5.1 and 4.1 milligrams per liter as nitrogen, respectively). At all 14 profile sites and the reference profile site on a nearby peninsula, wastewater effects were denoted by increased nitrate, boron, and specific conductance, and by decreased pH and dissolved oxygen. The highest concentrations of nitrate typically occurred in the deepest one-half of the freshwater zone and in intervals of suboxic and oxic groundwater.
Thickness-weighted mean and maximum nitrate concentrations, and total nitrate mass from four sampling rounds, provided a metric to evaluate expected changes at the 14 profile sites on the peninsula. Nitrate concentrations varied moderately by site between sampling rounds through both the presewering (June 2016 and April 2017) and transitional periods (April 2018 and June 2019). Nitrate concentrations greater than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maximum contaminant level for nitrate in drinking water (10 milligrams per liter as nitrogen), were detected at 9 of the 14 profile sites and at the reference site. The average of the mean thickness-weighted nitrate concentrations for the four full sampling rounds was greater than 5.0 milligrams per liter as nitrogen at 8 sites (7 profile sites and the reference site) and greater than 8 milligrams per liter as nitrogen at 3 profile sites. The total nitrate mass per square meter of land area at each profile site ranged from 1,830 to 36,800 milligrams per square meter. Nitrate mass flux, across a 500-meter-long section upgradient from Little Pond and covering about 15 percent of the total pond shoreline length, ranged from 124.3 to 192.6 kilograms per year for the four full sampling rounds under three groundwater-flow conditions.
The expected improvements in groundwater quality in the freshwater zone should be characterized by decreases in concentrations of dissolved total and inorganic nitrogen and common ions such as boron, chloride, and fluoride. A statistical analysis using the Regional Kendall test for sampling points grouped in specific depth ranges confirmed that water-quality changes were statistically significant in at least one depth group during the 3-year sampling period (nitrate: −0.76 milligram per liter per year; specific conductance: −12.1 microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius per year; dissolved oxygen: 0.82 milligram per liter per year); however, the rate at which the water-quality improvements will result in decreases in nitrate mass loads to the coastal ponds primarily depends on groundwater traveltimes and the rate of flushing of wastewater constituents from the aquifer.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20215130","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Southeast New England Program","usgsCitation":"McCobb, T.D., Barbaro, J.R., LeBlanc, D.R., and Belaval, M., 2021, Evaluating the effects of replacing septic systems with municipal sewers on groundwater quality in a densely developed coastal neighborhood, Falmouth, Massachusetts, 2016–19: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2021–5130, 39 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20215130.","productDescription":"Report viii, 39 p.; Data Release; Dataset","numberOfPages":"39","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-126300","costCenters":[{"id":466,"text":"New England Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":393105,"rank":6,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5130/images/"},{"id":393103,"rank":4,"type":{"id":28,"text":"Dataset"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F7P55KJN","text":"USGS National Water Information System database","linkHelpText":"- USGS water data for the Nation"},{"id":393102,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P9GEMMN6","text":"USGS data release","linkHelpText":"Baseline groundwater-quality data from a densely developed coastal neighborhood, Falmouth, Massachusetts (2016–2020) (ver. 3.0, April 2021)"},{"id":393101,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5130/sir20215130.pdf","text":"Report","size":"8.63 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIR 2021-5130"},{"id":393100,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5130/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":393104,"rank":5,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5130/sir20215130.XML"}],"country":"United States","state":"Massachusetts","city":"Falmouth","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -70.65788269042969,\n 41.52245918082221\n ],\n [\n -70.39627075195312,\n 41.52245918082221\n ],\n [\n -70.39627075195312,\n 41.725205507257016\n ],\n [\n -70.65788269042969,\n 41.725205507257016\n ],\n [\n -70.65788269042969,\n 41.52245918082221\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, New England Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
10 Bearfoot Road
Northborough, MA 01532
Flow management is complex in the Willamette River Basin where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers owns and operates a system of 13 dams and reservoirs (hereinafter Willamette Project), which are spread throughout three large tributaries including the Middle Fork Willamette, McKenzie, and Santiam Rivers. The primary purpose of the Willamette Project is flood-risk management, which provides critical protection to the Willamette Valley, but flow managers must also consider factors such as power generation, water-quality improvement, irrigation, recreation, and protection for aquatic species such as U.S. Endangered Species Act-listed Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (O. mykiss). Flow-management decision-making in the basin can benefit from models that allow for flow-scenario comparisons and a wide range of modeling methods are available. For this study, we examined existing datasets and modeling efforts in the basin and provided an overview of available options. Most previous studies used Physical Habitat Simulation System, habitat data were collected from a series of transects within modeled reaches, and habitat suitability indices were obtained from the literature, or using expert opinion. These studies provide information for specific reaches of the Willamette River Basin, which limits their ability to provide broad-scale predictive capability. Recent efforts to develop a two-dimensional hydraulic model in the mainstem Willamette River, and in specific reaches of primary tributaries downstream from Project dams, have bolstered modeling capabilities in the basin. This work has developed spatially continuous water depth and velocity data in more than 250 kilometers (km) of river downstream from Project dams and has predictive capability throughout the year at flows up to normal peak levels. Additionally, other methods are described for estimating habitat availability, which include habitat suitability criteria, logistic regression, occupancy and abundance modeling, and energetic based approaches. There are strengths and weaknesses to each approach and selection of the preferred approach in the Willamette River Basin will depend on the desired metrics of interest and the risk tolerance of managers and stakeholders in the basin.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20211114","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers","usgsCitation":"Kock, T.J., Perry, R.W., Hansen, G.S., White, J., Stratton Garvin, L., and Wallick, J.R., 2021, Synthesis of habitat availability and carrying capacity research to support water management decisions and enhance conditions for Pacific salmon in the Willamette River, Oregon: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2021–1114, 24 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20211114.","productDescription":"vii, 24 p.","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-127909","costCenters":[{"id":518,"text":"Oregon Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":654,"text":"Western Fisheries Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":393073,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2021/1114/ofr20211114.pdf","text":"Report","size":"20 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2021-1114"},{"id":393072,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2021/1114/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Oregon","otherGeospatial":"Willamette River","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -123.33251953125,\n 43.41302868475145\n ],\n [\n -121.59667968749999,\n 43.41302868475145\n ],\n [\n -121.59667968749999,\n 45.79050946752472\n ],\n [\n -123.33251953125,\n 45.79050946752472\n ],\n [\n -123.33251953125,\n 43.41302868475145\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Western Fisheries Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
6505 NE 65th Street
Seattle, Washington 98115-5016
Lake Eucha is a source of water for public supply and recreation for the residents of Tulsa and other municipalities in northeastern Oklahoma. Beaty Creek and Spavinaw Creek flow into Lake Eucha and drain about 388 square miles of agricultural and forested land in northeastern Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas. Beginning in the 1990s, eutrophication of Lake Eucha characterized by excessive algal blooms resulted in taste and odor problems associated with lake water when it is used for public supply. The predominant sources of phosphorus in the Eucha-Spavinaw drainage area were identified by previous investigators as runoff from fertilized agricultural areas (nonpoint sources) and treated effluent from a wastewater-treatment plant (point source). To further evaluate the transport of nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended sediment in the Eucha-Spavinaw drainage area, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with the City of Tulsa, estimated the loads and computed temporal trends of these constituents from water-quality and streamflow data collected at five USGS streamgages in the Beaty Creek and Spavinaw Creek subbasins.
Estimates and comparisons of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads from the Beaty Creek and Spavinaw Creek subbasins to Lake Eucha during 2011–18 were made by using different types of regression equations. The first type of regression equation is referred to as “daily mean load regression equations” and was developed from water-quality data obtained from periodic water-quality samples and daily mean streamflow data collected at five USGS streamgages. The second type of regression equation is referred to as “instantaneous continuous load regression equations.” In addition to water-quality data obtained from periodic water-quality samples, continuous real-time (every 15 minutes) measurements of physicochemical properties (specific conductance, water temperature, and turbidity), and continuous streamflow data were used to estimate instantaneous continuous loads of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and suspended sediment at two of the same five streamgages where daily mean loads were estimated. The use of these two types of regression equations was documented by previous investigators who estimated loads of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and suspended sediment in the study area by using data collected during 2002–10.
The regression equations used to estimate constituent loads that were based on water-quality data obtained from periodic water-quality samples and continuous water-quality and streamflow data (instantaneous continuous load regression equations) better described the temporal variance in constituent loads compared to the regression equations based only on periodic water-quality data and daily mean streamflows (daily mean load regression equations). Estimates computed using instantaneous continuous load regression equations showed that mean annual loads of 1,844,000 pounds of total nitrogen, 150,300 pounds of total phosphorus, and 78,735,000 pounds of suspended sediment were transported into Lake Eucha from the Beaty Creek and Spavinaw Creek subbasins. Most of the estimated mean annual loads from the Beaty Creek and Spavinaw Creek subbasins entered Lake Eucha during runoff conditions, including about 80 percent of total nitrogen, 95 percent of total phosphorus, and 98 percent of suspended sediment.
Daily, annual, and mean annual load estimates varied substantially, depending on streamflow conditions and the independent variables used to develop the regression equations. Daily and annual loads estimated from instantaneous continuous load regression equations that included specific conductance, water temperature, turbidity, and streamflow described the variability in the field data better than did loads estimated from daily mean load regression equations that included streamflow, seasonality, and time. Loads estimated from the instantaneous continuous load regression equations generally were greater than those estimated from the daily mean load regression equations.
Temporal trends in total nitrogen concentrations showed statistically significant (probability value less than or equal to 0.05) downward trends during both base-flow and runoff conditions at all five USGS streamgages except for the streamgage 07191179 Spavinaw Creek near Cherokee City, Ark. Temporal trends in total phosphorus concentrations were not consistent between streamgages over the study period, showing upward and downward trends throughout the Eucha-Spavinaw drainage area. Total phosphorus concentrations during base-flow and runoff conditions showed statistically significant upward trends at USGS streamgages 07191160 Spavinaw Creek near Maysville, Ark., and 07191222 Beaty Creek near Jay, Okla. Total phosphorus concentrations showed a statistically significant downward trend during base-flow conditions at USGS streamgage 071912213 Spavinaw Creek near Colcord, Okla., and in both base-flow and runoff conditions at USGS streamgage 07191179 Spavinaw Creek near Cherokee City, Ark. Temporal trends in suspended-sediment concentrations were not consistent between streamgages over the study period and were similar to temporal trends in total phosphorus concentrations.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20215105","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the City of Tulsa, Oklahoma","usgsCitation":"Paizis, N., Becker, C., and Lockmiller, K., 2021, Load estimation and trend analysis for nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended sediment in the Eucha-Spavinaw drainage area, northeastern Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas, 2011–18: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2021–5105, 57 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20215105.","productDescription":"Report: x, 57 p.; Dataset","numberOfPages":"72","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-127112","costCenters":[{"id":48595,"text":"Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":392369,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5105/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":392370,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5105/sir20215105.pdf","size":"2.28 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIR 2021–5105"},{"id":392371,"rank":3,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5105/images"},{"id":392372,"rank":4,"type":{"id":28,"text":"Dataset"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F7P55KJN","text":"U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System database","linkHelpText":"— USGS water data for the Nation"}],"country":"United States","state":"Arkansas, Oklahoma","geographicExtents":"{\"type\":\"FeatureCollection\",\"features\":[{\"type\":\"Feature\",\"geometry\":{\"type\":\"Polygon\",\"coordinates\":[[[-94.076,36.4991],[-93.9071,36.4983],[-93.8977,36.4983],[-93.8697,36.4982],[-93.8698,36.4324],[-93.8698,36.3871],[-93.8695,36.3758],[-93.8693,36.3467],[-93.8695,36.3073],[-93.8697,36.2918],[-93.8697,36.2705],[-93.8697,36.2669],[-93.87,36.2347],[-93.8883,36.2353],[-93.9893,36.2373],[-94.0024,36.238],[-94.0127,36.2382],[-94.0131,36.2305],[-94.013,36.2083],[-94.021,36.2086],[-94.154,36.2108],[-94.174,36.2114],[-94.1785,36.2113],[-94.2504,36.2127],[-94.279,36.2135],[-94.2819,36.2139],[-94.3349,36.2147],[-94.3352,36.1856],[-94.3367,36.1425],[-94.3561,36.1426],[-94.3891,36.1433],[-94.3889,36.0988],[-94.4071,36.0994],[-94.4242,36.0995],[-94.4447,36.0995],[-94.4624,36.1001],[-94.4801,36.1006],[-94.5274,36.1019],[-94.5433,36.102],[-94.5498,36.1027],[-94.5537,36.1258],[-94.56,36.1623],[-94.583,36.1623],[-94.7959,36.1618],[-95.0114,36.1629],[-95.0119,36.2501],[-95.0039,36.2503],[-95.0072,36.5114],[-95.006,36.6003],[-95.0008,36.6001],[-95.001,36.6723],[-94.6187,36.6694],[-94.6185,36.6004],[-94.6182,36.4984],[-94.4355,36.4997],[-94.3816,36.4996],[-94.1651,36.4996],[-94.076,36.4991]]]},\"properties\":{\"name\":\"Benton\",\"state\":\"AR\"}}]}","contact":"Director, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
1505 Ferguson Lane
Austin, TX 78754-4501
Aquatic systems in and around the Long Island Sound (LIS) provide a variety of ecological and economic benefits, but in some areas of the LIS, aquatic ecosystems have become degraded by excess nitrogen. A substantial fraction of the nitrogen inputs to the LIS are transported through the groundwater-flow system. Because groundwater travel times in surficial aquifers can exceed 100 years, multiyear lags are introduced between inputs at the water table in recharge areas and discharge to inland or coastal receiving waters. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Long Island Sound Study, developed a steady-state groundwater model of the watersheds draining from the northern shore of the LIS for the purpose of calculating groundwater budgets and travel times to coastal waters.
The model was developed by using the MODFLOW–NWT software and existing spatial data on aquifers, river networks, land-surface altitudes, land cover, groundwater recharge, and water use. Coastal waters were delineated on the basis of the National Wetland Inventory; all non-coastal waters were collectively termed “inland waters.” A coarse-resolution model was calibrated by using the PEST++ software, long-term records of water levels in 65 wells, stream altitudes from 477 streams, base-flow records for 14 streamgages that are relatively unaffected by withdrawals, and error metrics based on incorrectly simulated flooding and incorrectly simulated dry streams. The calibrated values were used in a fine-resolution model in which the mean absolute residuals were 4.5 meters for groundwater levels, 1.3 meters for stream altitudes, and 7,200 cubic meters per day (2.9 cubic feet per second) for base flow. About 89 percent of the terrestrial cells were correctly simulated with the water table below land surface, and nearly 90 percent of the cells representing streams were correctly simulated as having the water table above the stream bottom. Together, these metrics suggest that this model is robust for simulating regional-scale groundwater patterns.
Simulated groundwater budgets were compiled for the entire study area, for each HUC12 (Hydrologic Unit Code no. 12) watershed and its adjacent coastal waters, if applicable, within the study area, and for 14 coastal-embayment watersheds. Most groundwater (90.6 percent of inflows) discharged to inland waters, with smaller fractions to coastal waters (7.0 percent) and well withdrawals (2.4 percent). When computed for HUC12 watersheds with coastal discharge, the portions of groundwater discharging to coastal waters ranged from 0.02 to 66 percent of groundwater outflows, with a median of 13 percent. Within priority-embayment watersheds, the portions of groundwater discharging to coastal waters ranged from 2 to 56 percent, with a median of 15 percent.
Groundwater travel times also were simulated for the entire study area, for each HUC12 watershed and its adjacent coastal waters, if applicable, within the study area and for 14 priority coastal embayments. Within the entire study area, the median groundwater travel time was 1.9 years, with an interquartile range of 0.1 to 5.9 years. Sensitivity analysis of groundwater travel times within a subbasin in the study area indicates that the travel times are a function of the grid resolution, with coarser grids resulting in shorter median travel times. Travel times for groundwater discharging to coastal waters were similar to travel times for groundwater discharging to inland waters, with a median of 1.9 years. Median travel times for the HUC12 watersheds ranged from 0.9 to 53.5 years, with a median of 1.8 years. Among HUC12 watersheds that include coastal areas, travel times for groundwater discharging to coastal waters ranged from less than 1 to 61.6 years, with a median of 2.8 years. The HUC12 watersheds with the longest simulated travel times were in the urban area near New York City where the model performance is less accurate. Median travel times for groundwater discharging to coastal waters within the priority-embayment watersheds ranged from less than 1 to 18.6 years, with a median of 2.3 years.
A more focused analysis was conducted for the Niantic River watershed to demonstrate the applicability of the regional model to local-scale nitrogen-transport analyses by using nitrogen-input and -attenuation rates from literature sources. Nitrogen inputs were estimated by using land-cover-based loading factors, and attenuation was estimated by using attenuation factors based on geologic zones and soil properties. Based on this analysis, groundwater transports an estimated 22,000 kilograms of nitrogen per year (2.9 kilograms of nitrogen per hectare per year) to streams, rivers, and coastal waters within the Niantic River watershed. Approximately 36 percent of discharging nitrogen is from atmospheric-deposition sources, 38 percent is from fertilizers, and 26 percent is from septic systems. Most of the groundwater-transported nitrogen (88 percent) discharges first to streams and rivers, with only 12 percent discharging directly to coastal waters. Travel times for groundwater-transported nitrogen ranged from less than 1 day to more than 100 years, with a median of 1.6 years.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20215116","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Long Island Sound Study and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection","usgsCitation":"Barclay, J.R., and Mullaney, J.R., 2021, Simulation of groundwater budgets and travel times for watersheds on the north shore of Long Island Sound, with implications for nitrogen-transport studies: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2021–5116, 84 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20215116.","productDescription":"Report: x, 84 p.; 2 Data Releases","numberOfPages":"84","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-117840","costCenters":[{"id":466,"text":"New England Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":391933,"rank":4,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P91TQ895","text":"USGS data release","linkHelpText":"Summary data on groundwater budgets and travel times for watersheds on the north shore of Long Island Sound"},{"id":391932,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P9BLHPIT","text":"USGS data release","linkHelpText":"MODFLOW–NWT and MODPATH groundwater flow models of steady-state conditions in coastal Connecticut and adjacent areas of New York and Rhode Island, as well as a nitrogen transport model of the Niantic River watershed"},{"id":391931,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5116/sir20215116.pdf","text":"Report","size":"30.6 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIR 2021-5116"},{"id":391930,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5116/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island","otherGeospatial":"Long island Sound","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -73.9324951171875,\n 40.826280356677124\n ],\n [\n -71.45782470703125,\n 40.826280356677124\n ],\n [\n -71.45782470703125,\n 41.50857729743935\n ],\n [\n -73.9324951171875,\n 41.50857729743935\n ],\n [\n -73.9324951171875,\n 40.826280356677124\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, New England Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
10 Bearfoot Road
Northborough, MA 01532
The Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge is located in the southern part of Altar Valley, southwest of Tucson in southeastern Arizona. The primary water-supply well at the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge has experienced a two-decade decrease in groundwater levels in the well, as have other wells in the southern part of Altar Valley. In part to understand this trend, a study was undertaken by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to summarize what is known about the geohydrologic system on the refuge and analyze groundwater-level trends and precipitation-groundwater correlations. In addition, available data were compiled where possible on the climate, land cover, soils, geology, and hydrology to provide a foundation for future modeling of the system.
Altar Valley is a sedimentary basin bounded by a mixture of Paleozoic to Tertiary sedimentary, volcanic, granitic, and metamorphic rocks. The valley fill is undifferentiated Tertiary to Quaternary sediments underlain by middle Miocene to Pliocene rocks that consist of moderately to strongly consolidated conglomerate and sandstone. Surface water, when present in the predominantly ephemeral streams of the valley, flows from south to north. Arivaca Creek has a cienega (or wetland) where groundwater surfaces before it flows as a short perennial reach out of Arivaca Basin. Groundwater maps compiled between 1934 and 2016 showed groundwater flowing from south to north. Before the 1980s, temporal patterns of groundwater levels in wells in Altar Valley varied substantially from one well to another. In the mid-1980s, comparatively high levels of precipitation occurred: the 1980s median value was 15.3 inches, whereas the median for the period of record was 13.2 inches. In addition, apparently corresponding groundwater level increases were seen in nearly all wells studied. After this initial increase, two different groundwater-level trends began to be observed in two spatially distinct sets of wells: in the northern part, groundwater levels were relatively steady, whereas in the southern part, groundwater levels declined from 10 to 20 feet between 1990 and 2019. Annual groundwater pumpage declined substantially in the northern part of the valley beginning in the early 1980s, but it began to increase again in the 1990s. Pumpage in the southern part has remained low and relatively steady compared to the northern part. Although the precise reasons for the declining groundwater levels in the southern part remain unclear, groundwater levels may be affected by factors such as climate cycles, long-term drought, and temperature-induced declines in recharge, resulting in increased evapotranspiration.
Preliminary analyses of two wells, one selected from each part of the valley, using linear regression and lag correlation to investigate correlation between annual precipitation and groundwater levels, showed a maximum correlation at a lag of about 17 years in the southern part of the valley and about 25 years in the northern part, indicating that, although variable sources and traveltimes of recharged water may be needed to propagate to each location, the strongest correlation at each well is with precipitation that was recharged 17 and 25 years prior to the groundwater response in that well. Assuming a constant flow of groundwater from the southern to the northern part of the valley, a decrease in recharge is expected to lead to a decrease in aquifer storage. As to the comparatively stable groundwater levels in the northern part, pumpage is still only about one-half what it was in the early 1980s, even though pumpage has increased there since the 1990s. Water levels in most wells in the northern part were drawn down prior to the decrease in pumping in the early 1980s, possibly owing to a combination of pumping and the nearly 20-year midcentury drought that occurred between 1940 and 1960. Water levels were in the process of recovering when the increase in pumping occurred in the 1990s. Because the water levels were recovering (increasing) instead of remaining static, the increased pumping may have only limited the recovery rather than causing a decrease in water levels, as a new quasi-equilibrium state may have been reached. Additional possible causes for the stable groundwater levels include (1) upgradient aquifer transmissivity that was high enough to offset pumping, (2) a low-permeability barrier, such as bedrock or clay, at the north end of the valley that caused groundwater pooling, (3) higher lateral inflow of groundwater in the northern part of the valley, (4) a delay in the effect of storage declines propagating from the south, or (5) some combination thereof.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20215050","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service","usgsCitation":"Owen-Joyce, S.J., Callegary, J.B., and Rosebrough, A.E., 2021, Preliminary geohydrologic assessment of Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, Altar Valley, southeastern Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2021–5050, 29 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20215050.","productDescription":"Report: viii, 29 p.; Data Release","numberOfPages":"29","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-118417","costCenters":[{"id":128,"text":"Arizona Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":391517,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5050/sir20215050.pdf","text":"Report","size":"6 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"}},{"id":391518,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P9QST8OX","linkHelpText":"Groundwater well data and annual groundwater pumpage data (1984–2019) in Altar Valley, Arizona"},{"id":391516,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5050/covrthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Arizona","otherGeospatial":"Altar Valley, Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -111.56341552734375,\n 31.459125370764387\n ],\n [\n -111.34780883789062,\n 31.459125370764387\n ],\n [\n -111.34780883789062,\n 31.81864727496152\n ],\n [\n -111.56341552734375,\n 31.81864727496152\n ],\n [\n -111.56341552734375,\n 31.459125370764387\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director,
Arizona Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
520 N. Park Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85719
The Partridge River Basin (PRB) covers 156 square miles in northeastern Minnesota with headwaters in the Mesabi Iron Range. The basin is characterized by extensive wetlands, lakes, and streams in poorly drained and often thin glacial material overlying Proterozoic bedrock. To better understand the interaction between these extensive surface water features and the groundwater system, a three-dimensional, steady-state, groundwater-flow model of the PRB was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission using the finite-difference computer code MODFLOW-NWT. The model simulates steady-state base flow in streams and groundwater interactions using the streamflow routing (SFR2) package. Existing mining features including tailings basins, stockpiles, pumped mine pits, and flooded mine pits were simulated using either high hydraulic conductivity zones or the drain (DRN) package. The unsaturated zone flow (UZF) package was used to better represent the groundwater system in areas with a high water table and for wetlands often associated with such areas. UZF typically is used to represent unsaturated zone processes but also can simulate the rejection of recharge and groundwater discharge to the land surface when the water table is near land surface. The steady-state model used data from the 2011 to 2013 period when 2011 high-resolution land surface (light detecting and ranging [lidar]) data were available that reflected land-surface and water elevations from mining activity in the basin. The parameter-estimation software suite PEST_HP was used to obtain a best fit of the modeled to measured groundwater levels, streamflow, pit inflow rates, and mapped peat deposits. The PEST calibration used the target residuals from two models with the same model parameters and targets from two separate periods: (1) a 1995–2015 calibration model, which provided a larger number of calibration targets, and (2) a 2011–2013 mining conditions model, which included calibration targets that reflected conditions consistent with the modeled mine-workings topography.
Calibration of the PRB model resulted in ranges of glacial horizontal hydraulic conductivity parameters that generally agreed with literature values and other models of the region. Horizontal hydraulic conductivity of the bedrock was higher in the upper bedrock layers where numerous and continuous fractures have been observed and lower in the deeper bedrock layers. Average basin-wide calibrated infiltration was 5.3 inches per year. An average of 4.6 inches per year of infiltration crosses the water table and becomes recharge and 0.7 inch per year is rejected by UZF due to saturated conditions at the land surface. Simulated groundwater runoff (the sum of rejected recharge and groundwater seepage to the land surface) can either be routed to streams or removed from the model as evapotranspiration. The calibrated model indicates relatively shallow groundwater-flow paths dominating and approximately 50 percent of the stream base flow coming from groundwater runoff.
The 2011–2013 mining conditions model was then used to develop five model scenarios simulating the response of the groundwater and surface-water system to potential hydrologic stress. The purpose of these mine pit scenarios is to present a possible workflow to quantify a model’s uncertainty for a given model forecast and serve as a possible guide for initial data collection that may improve a future model’s ability to make such a forecast. The scenarios included one scenario with the currently existing Peter Mitchell pit at final buildout and flooded to an elevation of 1,500 feet, and four scenarios with a hypothetical, new mine pit plus the flooded Peter Mitchell at final buildout. The five model scenarios were used to forecast streamflow at six locations in the PRB, pit inflow rates for the new mine pits and the flooded Peter Mitchell pit, and the average depth to water in 12 wetlands. A linear uncertainty analysis was performed using information from the PEST calibration and tools in the PyEMU python package to assess model uncertainty propagation to the model forecasts. Streamflows generally were reduced with future mining and the greatest streamflow reductions occurred from the flooded Peter Mitchell Pit, probably due to its large size. Average depth to groundwater in wetlands was most affected the closer the wetland was to a new mine pit.
Linear uncertainty methods were also used to evaluate data worth, which is the ability for potential new groundwater elevation observations to reduce the uncertainty in scenario forecasts. Data worth was performed for a grid of new hydraulic head observations. Overall, areas with nonnegligible data worth generally corresponded to wetland areas with no groundwater seepage to land surface from UZF. These model behaviors indicated that the land-surface boundary condition simulated by the UZF package was pinning the groundwater elevations to the land surface in areas with groundwater seepage (33 percent of the 2011–2013 base conditions model) such that the sensitivity to new observations in these areas was minimal. Therefore, representing wetlands as boundary conditions minimized the usefulness of data worth calculations because wetland areas were present over a large part of the model domain.
Probabilistic capture zones were estimated for each of the mines in the model scenarios. A capture zone represents the area contributing recharge to a model feature, like a well or a mine pit, and can be calculated by forward tracking particles from the water table. By using Monte Carlo techniques, it is possible to generate estimated capture zones that include the probability of recharge capture given the uncertainty present in the model. Monte Carlo techniques use randomly generated model parameter sets sampled from a plausible parameter range to create many possible realizations. The resulting capture zone arrays were calculated by tallying the total number of realizations in which a particle from a model cell was captured by the feature. Probabilities from the Monte Carlo runs ranged from 1 (captured in 100 percent of the runs) near the pits to 0 (captured in 0 percent of the runs) at the edges of the capture zone. Capture zones were not always spatially continuous; for example, the capture zone for the proposed mine pits south of the flooded Peter Mitchell pit was discontinuous with capture surrounding the proposed mine pit and north of the flooded Peter Mitchell pit. This northern section represents deeper groundwater flow paths that originate in the topographic high, move under the flooded pit, and discharge into the proposed pit. This pattern of capture indicates the possibility of some deeper flow through the upper fractured bedrock when the shallow groundwater flow system is modified. These results underscore that future site-specific applications of the base condition model require the input of site-specific data and recalibration to focus on the site of interest.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20215038","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission","usgsCitation":"Haserodt, M.J., Hunt, R.J., Fienen, M.N., and Feinstein, D.T., 2021, Groundwater/surface-water interactions in the Partridge River Basin and evaluation of hypothetical future mine pits, Minnesota: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2021–5038, 94 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20215038.","productDescription":"Report: ix, 87 p.; Data Release; Dataset","numberOfPages":"102","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-123210","costCenters":[{"id":37947,"text":"Upper Midwest Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":391131,"rank":5,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5038/sir20215038.xml","text":"Report xml","size":"277 kB","linkFileType":{"id":8,"text":"xml"},"description":"SIR 2021–5038 xml"},{"id":391130,"rank":4,"type":{"id":28,"text":"Dataset"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F7P55KJN","text":"U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System database","linkHelpText":"— USGS water data for the Nation"},{"id":391132,"rank":6,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5038/images"},{"id":391129,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P9VODOU8","text":"USGS Data Release","description":"USGS Data Release","linkHelpText":"MODFLOW-NWT and MODPATH models, capture zones and uncertainty data analysis for the Partridge River Basin, Minnesota"},{"id":391127,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5038/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":391128,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5038/sir20215038.pdf","text":"Report","size":"69.3 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIR 2021–5038"}],"country":"United States","state":"Minnesota","otherGeospatial":"Partridge River basin","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -92.25,\n 47.4\n ],\n [\n -91.75,\n 47.4\n ],\n [\n -91.75,\n 47.8\n ],\n [\n -92.25,\n 47.8\n ],\n [\n -92.25,\n 47.4\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Upper Midwest Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
1 Gifford Pinchot Drive,
Madison, WI 53726
As the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America in 1607, Jamestown Island, Colonial National Historical Park (COLO), Virginia, contains a rich archaeological record that extends from the Paleoindian period (15,000 to 8,000 years ago) through the 20th century. The island is located on the lower James River near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. Jamestown Island vegetation is dominated by upland forests surrounded by tidal, freshwater-to-oligohaline marshes. Along the Virginia coast, relative sea-level rise was more than 2.5 times the global average during the 20th century. Consequently, the National Park Service (NPS) has identified COLO as one of the 25 national parks most threatened by climate change.
Surface waters across the island are hydraulically connected to the laterally continuous Surficial aquifer. The land-surface altitude of the island is low, with two-thirds of the island less than 5 feet (ft) above the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88). Consequently, sea-level rise, combined with tides and storm surges, threatens the island and its resources as surface-water and groundwater levels rise, saltwater enters the Surficial aquifer, and groundwater chemistry changes. The impact of sea-level rise on the island’s surface-water resources has been well studied, but groundwater effects have been largely ignored. Quantifying the effects of tides, storm surges, and sea-level rise on groundwater levels and chemistry is essential to developing an effective strategy for managing climate-induced changes. The first step in developing a response strategy includes a parkwide general risk assessment for archaeological sites on the island, so that sites can be prioritized for management actions. The U.S. Geological Survey and the NPS began a study in 2015 to develop a long-term groundwater-monitoring program to evaluate this risk and to develop an updated management strategy.
The groundwater-monitoring program consists of 45 wells and piezometers in two individual clusters and three transects across the island in different hydrologic and chemical settings. Samples for water quality were collected from the wells and piezometers from October 2015 through September 2018 at variable time intervals. Results of the monitoring identified disparate hydrologic and chemical responses to saltwater intrusion across the island. Specific conductance (an indicator of salinity) of groundwater beneath several marshes responded differently to changes in James River salinity. Groundwater response to changes in James River specific conductance appeared to be controlled by land-surface altitude and slope, differences in lateral and vertical sediment characteristics, distance from surface waters, and the degree of surface water/groundwater connectivity between channels and the aquifer.
Groundwater chemistry data from monitoring wells at Black Point, a low-altitude, upland setting, are in contrast with conditions observed in Island House observation wells, a high-altitude, upland setting. Specific conductance (less than 200 microsiemens per centimeter [μS/cm]) and pH (greater than 5.0) of groundwater beneath much of the uplands that characterize the Island House observation wells are typical of groundwater in noncarbonate sedimentary aquifers recharged by precipitation. At Black Point, specific conductance ranged from 2,490 to 15,200 μS/cm, and pH ranged from 3.1 to 6.6 standard units. At the Black Point observation wells, the most saline and dense water was at the water table rather than deeper in the aquifer, causing a density inversion that persisted throughout the study. The density inversion likely resulted from differences in permeability between the shallow clay and fine-grained sands and the deeper coarse-grained sand and gravel. Groundwater with the lowest pH was at the water table. As saline groundwater flows through organic sediment beneath the marshes, bacterial biodegradation of organic matter creates anoxic conditions. Continued biodegradation concomitantly reduces iron-oxide minerals in the sediment and sulfate in saline water. When oxygen is reintroduced into groundwater, iron and sulfur can reoxidize to form sulfuric acid, locally lowering the pH of the water.
This report describes the groundwater monitoring network design, rationale for site selection, monitoring approach, and results of monitoring from October 2015 through September 2018. Maps of inundation at selected water-level altitudes are included to identify the risk to archaeological, cultural, and ecological resources. The monitoring results of the hydrology and chemistry data are interpreted, and the different hydrologic and chemical settings are described. The implications of the study results for management decisions are presented, and suggestions for improving the monitoring network are included.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20215117","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the National Park Service","usgsCitation":"McCoy, K.J., Rice, K.C., Rickles, E., Frederick, D., Cramer, J., and Geyer, D., 2021, Groundwater hydrology and chemistry of Jamestown Island, Virginia—Potential effects of tides, storm surges, and sea-level rise on archaeological, cultural, and ecological resources: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2021–5117, 50 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20215117.","productDescription":"Report: x, 50 p.; Data Release","numberOfPages":"50","onlineOnly":"N","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-115948","costCenters":[{"id":37280,"text":"Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center ","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":391337,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P9K7X61F","text":"USGS data release","linkHelpText":"Field parameters and water levels from monitoring sites at Jamestown Island, Virginia, 2016 - 2018"},{"id":391336,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5117/sir20215117.pdf","text":"Report","size":"14.5 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIR 2021-5117"},{"id":391335,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5117/coverthb2.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Virginia","otherGeospatial":"Jamestown Island","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -76.86309814453125,\n 37.16797725379289\n ],\n [\n -76.48544311523436,\n 37.16797725379289\n ],\n [\n -76.48544311523436,\n 37.36033397019125\n ],\n [\n -76.86309814453125,\n 37.36033397019125\n ],\n [\n -76.86309814453125,\n 37.16797725379289\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Center Director, Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
1730 East Parham Road
Richmond, VA 23228
In the San Francisco Estuary (SFE), the effects of freshwater flow on the aquatic ecosystem have been studied extensively over the years and remains a contentious management issue. It is especially contentious with regards to the Delta Smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus), a species endemic to the SFE that has been listed as threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act and endangered by the State of California. Early studies of Delta Smelt distribution within the SFE suggested that Delta Smelt habitat is determined largely by freshwater flow; however, the exact mechanisms and processes producing such benefits remained unclear. In the summer of 2017, the Flow Alteration Management, Analysis, and Synthesis Team (FLOAT-MAST) was established to analyze, synthesize, and summarize the data collected from the various flow-related monitoring and special studies occurring in 2017(see Table Intro 4). This report will focus on the 2017 summer-fall status of Delta Smelt and its habitat following a record wet year.
There has been a long-term decline in the abundance of Delta Smelt associated with a decline in other pelagic fishes. Investigators concluded that the decline has likely been caused by the interactive effects of several causes, including changes in both physical and biotic habitats, many of which are tied to amount and timing of freshwater flow. For this report, we formulated a number of basic predictions about the likely effects of high flows in 2017 on Delta Smelt and their habitat (Table 3). We use a qualitative weight of evidence approach to evaluate whether these predictions were supported by available data. Data sources included a variety of long-term monitoring surveys conducted by Interagency Ecological Program (IEP) agencies, as well as model outputs.
Delta Smelt population, health, and life history metrics rarely responded as predicted. Water temperature appears to have a stronger effect on Delta Smelt growth rate and some metrics of life history diversity than outflow or X2 position. Other life history diversity attributes varied but did not appear to be driven by outflow or temperature. Health status was difficult to interpret. Low prevalence of lesions and improved nutritional condition during the drought was contradicted by declining overall population levels. Because of the sparse catches of Delta Smelt in the post-POD years, we consider the data insufficient to reach firm conclusions about the predictions concerning range and distribution of Delta Smelt, especially in the fall. The prediction of high survival was not supported. The 2017 Delta Smelt year class began with poor recruitment in spring of 2017 and below average survival for spring to summer and summer to fall. Thus, low production and low survival led to low abundance of all life stages. During the fall to winter period survival improved, yet the resulting adults were low in number. Foraging success of the fish captured, as measured by stomach fullness, was high for juveniles and adults in 2017 relative to recent years associated with the higher densities of common zooplankton prey that occurred in 2017.
The stratigraphy, water-bearing zones, and quality of groundwater were characterized in a 1,400-ft-deep test hole drilled during 2013 in fractured bedrock in Sullivan County, Pa., by collection and analysis of measurements made during drilling, geophysical logs, and depth-specific hydraulic tests and water samples. The multidisciplinary characterization of the test hole was a cooperative effort between the Pennsylvania Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Geological Survey (BGS), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The study provided information to aid the bedrock mapping of the Laporte 7.5-minute quad-rangle by BGS to help quantify the depth and character of fresh and saline groundwater in an area of shale-gas exploration (described in this report), which could help gas operators protect groundwater resources.
The Laporte test hole was drilled with air-hammer methods in an upland setting in the headwaters of Loyalsock Creek in the Glaciated High Plateau section of the Appalachian Plateaus physiographic province. Bedrock residuum and till were penetrated from land surface to 8.5 ft, the Huntley Mountain Formation of Mississippian and Devonian age was penetrated from 8.5 to 540 ft, and the Catskill Formation of Devonian age was penetrated from 540 to 1,400 ft. Fractures, determined from optical televiewer, acoustic televiewer, and video logs, were commonly encountered to 200 ft bls (below land surface), then decreased exponentially with depth, except at a highly fractured zone from 637 to 644 ft bls. Most fractures were along bedding planes and had a strike of about 243 degrees and dip about 4 degrees to the northwest, consistent with the test-hole location on the north limb of the Muncy Creek anticline. Few fractures were noted below 650 ft.
The depths of fresh and saline water-bearing fracture zones were identified in the test hole by geophysical-log analysis and were verified by pumping samples from zones isolated with packers and by collecting samples in the open hole with a wire-line point sampler. Six water-bearing zones associated with single or multiple fractures were identified at depths of 130–135, 180, 267–275, 425, 637–644, and 1,003 ft bls. Under ambient conditions, fresh water entered the hole from fractures at 130-135 and 180 ft bls, flowed downward and exited at fractures from 267–275, 425, and 637–644 ft. When pumped at 16.2 gal/min, most of the water from the open test hole was contributed from the fracture at 180 ft bls. Transmissivity, estimated from analysis of the specific-capacity data and flowmeter logs, is about 850 ft2/d for the entire open hole, and about 60 percent of the transmissivity is contributed from the fracture zone at 180 ft bls. The hydraulic heads in the deep water-bearing zones at 425 and 637–644 ft were about 100 ft lower than hydraulic heads in shallow water-bearing zones at 180 ft bls and above, indicating a large downward vertical hydraulic gradient.
Water samples pumped from fracture zones isolated by packers at and above the water-bearing zone at 450 ft bls were fresh with dissolved-solids contents of 105 mg/L or less. The sample isolated at 637–644 ft bls was probably affected by leakage around packers, but the specific-conductance samples collected during drilling that were believed to be representa-tive of the fracture zone at 637–644 ft bls indicated slightly saline water. Below the 637–644 ft zone, a flowmeter log in the open hole did not detect any vertical flow, and the temperature log approached the geothermal gradient, indicating little ambient fluid flow and minimal fracture transmissivity below this depth. A petrophysical-log analysis using estimates of formation water resistivity from Archie’s Equation indicated an apparent transition from fresh to saline water in the sandstones occurs between 450 to 900 ft bls, with saline water indicated below 900 ft.
Small seeps of saline water were delineated at 958, 989, and 1,003 ft bls by a time series of specific-conductance logs, and a discrete-point water sample at 990 ft bls with total dissolved-solids concentration of 19,900 mg/L verified that highly saline water was present below 900 ft bls. Occurrence of saline water at a depth of about 900 ft bls is below altitude of streams within 3 to 5 miles of the test hole but is about 930 ft above the altitude at the mouth of Loyalsock Creek where is enters the West Branch Susquehanna River at Montours-ville, Pa. The depth to saline water in this test hole is close to depths estimated at two other deep test holes drilled by the BGS in upland settings in Bradford and Tioga Counties in north-ern Pennsylvania.
The saline water from 990 ft bls had a chemical composition similar to Appalachian Basin brines that had been diluted with fresh water. Predominant ions in the saline water were sodium, chloride, and calcium. Trace constituents of strontium, bromide, barium, lithium, and molybdenum were all more than 5,000 times greater than in freshwater samples from 167 or 270 ft bls. Methane concentration in the saline water sample from 990 ft was 120 mg/L. The concentration ratios of methane to higher-chain hydrocarbon gases and isotopic ratios of 13C/12C and 2H/1H of methane indicate that the gases are likely of thermogenic origin. In the sample from 990 ft bls, the 13C/12C of methane was less negative (-34.81 per mil) than 13C/12C of ethane (-37.1 per mil). Isotopic reversals such as this are generally found in gases from rocks older than the Catskill Formation, so its recognition in a natural upland setting at relatively shallow depth could be important when interpreting isotopic results to identify the origin of stray gas in the area.
","language":"English","publisher":"Pennsylvania Geological Survey","usgsCitation":"Risser, D.W., Williams, J., and Bierly, A.D., 2021, Geohydrologic and water-quality characterization of a fractured-bedrock test hole in an area of Marcellus Shale gas development, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania: Open-File Report OFMI 21-02.0, xii, 56 p.","productDescription":"xii, 56 p.","ipdsId":"IP-107313","costCenters":[{"id":532,"text":"Pennsylvania Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":393593,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg"},{"id":393564,"type":{"id":15,"text":"Index Page"},"url":"https://maps.dcnr.pa.gov/publications/Default.aspx?id=995"}],"country":"United States","state":"Pennsylvania","county":"Sullivan County","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -76.61453247070312,\n 41.28967402411714\n ],\n [\n -76.37832641601562,\n 41.28967402411714\n ],\n [\n -76.37832641601562,\n 41.46742831254425\n ],\n [\n -76.61453247070312,\n 41.46742831254425\n ],\n [\n -76.61453247070312,\n 41.28967402411714\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","noUsgsAuthors":false,"publicationStatus":"PW","contributors":{"authors":[{"text":"Risser, Dennis W. 0000-0001-9597-5406 dwrisser@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9597-5406","contributorId":898,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Risser","given":"Dennis","email":"dwrisser@usgs.gov","middleInitial":"W.","affiliations":[{"id":532,"text":"Pennsylvania Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":829528,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":1},{"text":"Williams, John 0000-0002-6054-6908 jhwillia@usgs.gov","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6054-6908","contributorId":1553,"corporation":false,"usgs":true,"family":"Williams","given":"John","email":"jhwillia@usgs.gov","affiliations":[{"id":474,"text":"New York Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"preferred":true,"id":829529,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":2},{"text":"Bierly, Aaron D.","contributorId":270527,"corporation":false,"usgs":false,"family":"Bierly","given":"Aaron","email":"","middleInitial":"D.","affiliations":[{"id":16182,"text":"Pennsylvania Geological Survey","active":true,"usgs":false}],"preferred":false,"id":829530,"contributorType":{"id":1,"text":"Authors"},"rank":3}]}} ,{"id":70225634,"text":"sim3481 - 2021 - Elevation and elevation-change maps of Fountain Creek, southeastern Colorado, 2015-20","interactions":[],"lastModifiedDate":"2021-11-01T11:47:09.108555","indexId":"sim3481","displayToPublicDate":"2021-10-29T11:15:00","publicationYear":"2021","noYear":false,"publicationType":{"id":18,"text":"Report"},"publicationSubtype":{"id":5,"text":"USGS Numbered Series"},"seriesTitle":{"id":333,"text":"Scientific Investigations Map","code":"SIM","onlineIssn":"2329-132X","printIssn":"2329-1311","active":true,"publicationSubtype":{"id":5}},"seriesNumber":"3481","displayTitle":"Elevation and Elevation-Change Maps of Fountain Creek, Southeastern Colorado, 2015–20","title":"Elevation and elevation-change maps of Fountain Creek, southeastern Colorado, 2015-20","docAbstract":"The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Colorado Springs Utilities, has collected topographic data annually since 2012 at 10 study areas along Fountain Creek, southeastern Colorado. The 10 study areas were located between Colorado Springs and the terminus of Fountain Creek at the Arkansas River in Pueblo. The purpose of this report is to present elevation maps based on topographic surveys collected in 2020 and to present maps of elevation change that occurred between 2015 and 2020 at all 10 study areas. Elevation and elevation-change maps were developed in Global Mapper, R, and ArcGIS from topographic surveys collected at each study area during the winters of 2015 and 2020. Topographic surveys in 2015 were completed using real-time kinematic Global Navigation Satellite Systems. Topographic surveys in 2020 were completed using both real-time kinematic Global Navigation Satellite Systems and light detection and ranging. Elevation-change maps were created using propagated uncertainties associated with the 95-percent confidence limit. Study areas along Fountain Creek underwent a range of geomorphic responses between 2015 and 2020 that were often related to the dominant channel planform pattern of the study area. The results of this ongoing monitoring effort can be used to assess long-term changes in land-surface elevation and to advance understanding of the geomorphic response to possible changes in flow conditions on Fountain Creek.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston VA","doi":"10.3133/sim3481","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with Colorado Springs Utilities","usgsCitation":"Hempel, L.A., Creighton, A.L., and Bock, A.R., 2021, Elevation and elevation-change maps of Fountain Creek, southeastern Colorado, 2015–20: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3481, 10 sheets, 12-p. pamphlet, https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3481.","productDescription":"Report: vii, 12 p.; 10 Sheets: 12.19 x 13.44 inches or smaller; Data Release; Read Me; Related Work","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-124273","costCenters":[{"id":191,"text":"Colorado Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":391163,"rank":16,"type":{"id":22,"text":"Related Work"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3456","text":"Elevation and Elevation-Change Maps of Fountain Creek, Southeastern Colorado, 2015–19"},{"id":391154,"rank":9,"type":{"id":26,"text":"Sheet"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3481/sim3481_sheet7.pdf","text":"Elevation (2015, 2020) and Elevation-Change (2015−20) Map—Study Area 07","size":"1.51 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIM 3581 Sheet 7","linkHelpText":"Download file and view it in Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Reader DC to access interactive layers."},{"id":391153,"rank":8,"type":{"id":26,"text":"Sheet"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3481/sim3481_sheet6.pdf","text":"Elevation (2015, 2020) and Elevation-Change (2015−20) Map—Study Area 06","size":"1.47 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIM 3581 Sheet 6","linkHelpText":"Download file and view it in Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Reader DC to access interactive layers."},{"id":391157,"rank":12,"type":{"id":26,"text":"Sheet"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3481/sim3481_sheet10.pdf","text":"Elevation (2015, 2020) and Elevation-Change (2015−20) Map—Study Area 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Map—Study Area 03","size":"1.38 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIM 3581 Sheet 3","linkHelpText":"Download file and view it in Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Reader DC to access interactive layers."},{"id":391155,"rank":10,"type":{"id":26,"text":"Sheet"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3481/sim3481_sheet8.pdf","text":"Elevation (2015, 2020) and Elevation-Change (2015−20) Map—Study Area 08","size":"1.59 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIM 3581 Sheet 8","linkHelpText":"Download file and view it in Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Reader DC to access interactive layers."},{"id":391156,"rank":11,"type":{"id":26,"text":"Sheet"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3481/sim3481_sheet9.pdf","text":"Elevation (2015, 2020) and Elevation-Change (2015−20) Map—Study Area 09","size":"1.28 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIM 3581 Sheet 9","linkHelpText":"Download file and view it in Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Reader DC to access interactive layers."},{"id":391159,"rank":13,"type":{"id":26,"text":"Sheet"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3481/sim3481_sheets1to10.pdf","text":"Elevation (2015, 2020) and Elevation-Change (2015−20) Map—Study Areas 1- 10","size":"8.40 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIM 3581 Sheets 1-10","linkHelpText":"Download file and view it in Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Reader DC to access interactive layers."},{"id":391162,"rank":15,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P98J7DRO","text":"USGS data release","linkHelpText":"Elevation Data from Fountain Creek between Colorado Springs and the Confluence of Fountain Creek at the Arkansas River, Colorado, 2020 (ver 2.0, May 2021)"},{"id":391090,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3481/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":391091,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3481/sim3481_pamphlet.pdf","text":"Report","size":"2.61 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2020) and Elevation-Change (2015−20) Map—Study Area 05","size":"1.46 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIM 3581 Sheet 5","linkHelpText":"Download file and view it in Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Reader DC to access interactive layers."}],"country":"United States","state":"Colorado","otherGeospatial":"Fountain Creek","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -105.0567626953125,\n 38.09998264736481\n ],\n [\n -104.2108154296875,\n 38.09998264736481\n ],\n [\n -104.2108154296875,\n 38.9807627650163\n ],\n [\n -105.0567626953125,\n 38.9807627650163\n ],\n [\n -105.0567626953125,\n 38.09998264736481\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Colorado Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
Box 25046, MS-415
Denver, CO 80225-0046
The Cimarron River is a free-flowing river and is a major source of water as it flows across Oklahoma. Increased demand for water resources within the Cimarron River alluvial aquifer in north-central Oklahoma (primarily in Payne County) has led to increases in groundwater withdrawals for agriculture, public, irrigation, industrial, and domestic supply purposes. The Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma (Pawnee Nation) is particularly concerned about the sustainability of the Cimarron River alluvial aquifer and whether the aquifer will continue to be a viable water resource for future generations of Tribal members and residents. To better understand current (2021) water resources and possible future water availability in the Pawnee Nation Tribal jurisdictional area, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, compiled available hydrogeologic data and developed conceptual and numerical groundwater-flow models for the Cimarron River alluvial aquifer in Payne County, north-central Oklahoma, including a focus area in the Pawnee Nation Tribal jurisdictional area for the 2016–18 study period.
A conceptual water budget was created to establish estimates of groundwater fluxes into and out of the aquifer through hydrologic boundaries and groundwater withdrawals for use in the numerical groundwater-flow model. The conceptual water budget focuses on the alluvial aquifer, meaning that inflows include sources of water to the aquifer and that outflows include sources of water out of the aquifer, such as base-flow contributions to the Cimarron River. The conceptual water budget was constructed by using data from 2017 (the most complete year of record for each data type included in the model) for the Pawnee Nation subdomain of the Cimarron River alluvial aquifer model extent (Pawnee Nation subdomain).
Groundwater withdrawals were estimated from groundwater-withdrawal rate information for permanent and temporary permitted wells that was obtained from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. One-half of each annual permitted groundwater-withdrawal rate allotted was used as the estimated annual groundwater-withdrawal amount. Halving the permitted groundwater-withdrawal rate was done because permitted withdrawal rates are the maximum permitted rate and actual groundwater withdrawals are generally appreciably lower than the maximum permitted rate. Total groundwater withdrawals were estimated as 1,300 acre-feet per year for the Pawnee Nation subdomain. Various hydrogeologic data were measured to assist with model development, including depth to bedrock and water-table altitude data. In support of the model development, analyses pertaining to groundwater flow, groundwater/surface-water interactions, base flows in the Cimarron River, and lithological interpretations in the Pawnee Nation Tribal jurisdictional area were used to compute a conceptual water budget applicable to the 2016–18 study period. A numerical groundwater-flow model was developed using the hydrogeologic framework of the Cimarron River alluvial aquifer and the conceptual water budget. The numerical model consists of a single layer representing alluvium and terrace deposits within the alluvial aquifer model area. Hydraulic conductivities were estimated and modeled for the alluvium and terrace deposits in the alluvial aquifer. Base-flow values were estimated using the base-flow index from streamflow data collected at U.S. Geological Survey streamgages. Stream seepage values were derived from the mean 2017 base-flow index between certain streamgages. Hydraulic conductivities were specified an initial (before calibration) value of 120 feet per day for the alluvium deposits and 16 feet per day for the terrace deposits.
The simulated inflows in the numerical groundwater-flow model of the Pawnee Nation subdomain were higher than the inflows of conceptual water budget, and the simulated outflows were lower than the outflows of the conceptual water budget. Overall, simulated base flows matched closely to observed base flows for the 2016 and 2017 stress periods. Simulated streamflow tended to match better with the observed streamflow for 2017, which was the period with the most data for the Cimarron River alluvial aquifer model.
Streamflow capture analysis was applied to the steady-state simulation to identify areas of the aquifer where base flows in the Cimarron River were most sensitive to groundwater withdrawals. The initial base-flow value was assigned the value obtained from streamflow-routing software used to simulate stream outflow for the calibrated steady-state base model. Subsequent simulations were run in each active cell in the Pawnee Nation subdomain for a specified groundwater-withdrawal rate of 180,000 cubic feet per day. The study area that includes the Pawnee Nation subdomain is in the upper Arkansas River Basin. A groundwater-withdrawal rate of 180,000 cubic feet per second per day represents a 34 percent increase compared to the highest permitted groundwater-withdrawal rate for the study area, which corresponds to the estimated 34 percent increase in groundwater withdrawals predicted by 2060 for the upper Arkansas River Basin. Simulated streamflow capture was highest in the alluvium deposits adjacent to the Cimarron River; that is, base flow in the Cimarron River decreased the most for simulated groundwater withdrawals in the alluvium deposits adjacent to the Cimarron River. Streamflow capture increased as the distance of a well from the Cimarron River decreased in the simulation. The northeastern part of the Pawnee Nation subdomain showed greater streamflow capture in a broader area; streamflow in that part of the Pawnee Nation subdomain is likely more sensitive to groundwater withdrawals compared to other parts of the Pawnee Nation subdomain.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20215073","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma","usgsCitation":"Paizis, N.C., and Trevisan, A.R., 2021, Cimarron River alluvial aquifer hydrogeologic framework, water budget, and implications for future water availability in the Pawnee Nation Tribal jurisdictional area, Payne County, Oklahoma, 2016–18: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2021–5073, 49 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20215073.","productDescription":"Report: x, 49 p.; Data Release; Dataset","numberOfPages":"64","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-119627","costCenters":[{"id":48595,"text":"Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":390181,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5073/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":390182,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5073/sir20215073.pdf","text":"Report","size":"7.46 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIR 2021–5073"},{"id":390184,"rank":4,"type":{"id":28,"text":"Dataset"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F7P55KJN","text":"U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System database","description":"USGS Dataset","linkHelpText":"— USGS water data for the Nation"},{"id":390183,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P9WZGYQF","text":"USGS Data Release","description":"USGS Data Release","linkHelpText":"MODFLOW-NWT model used for the simulation of the Cimarron River alluvial aquifer in the Pawnee Nation Tribal jurisdictional area in Payne County, Oklahoma, 2016–17"}],"country":"United States","state":"Oklahoma","county":"Payne County","geographicExtents":"{\"type\":\"FeatureCollection\",\"features\":[{\"type\":\"Feature\",\"geometry\":{\"type\":\"Polygon\",\"coordinates\":[[[-96.9277,36.246],[-96.8216,36.245],[-96.8212,36.1593],[-96.6245,36.1605],[-96.6228,35.9427],[-97.1428,35.9442],[-97.1423,35.9641],[-97.1557,35.9485],[-97.1729,35.9428],[-97.1872,35.9426],[-97.2013,35.9469],[-97.2163,35.9576],[-97.2252,35.9677],[-97.236,35.9683],[-97.2461,35.9721],[-97.2523,35.9744],[-97.2734,35.9734],[-97.2841,35.9767],[-97.2863,35.9795],[-97.2862,35.9835],[-97.2883,35.9931],[-97.2927,36.0004],[-97.2982,36.0091],[-97.3055,36.011],[-97.3203,36.0108],[-97.3329,36.0078],[-97.3359,36.0024],[-97.34,35.9947],[-97.3475,35.9885],[-97.3556,35.9841],[-97.3569,36.1583],[-97.1426,36.1588],[-97.1417,36.245],[-96.9277,36.246]]]},\"properties\":{\"name\":\"Payne\",\"state\":\"OK\"}}]}","contact":"Director, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
1505 Ferguson Lane
Austin, TX 78754-4501
School Branch in Hendricks County in central Indiana, is a small stream with a variety of agricultural and suburban land uses that drains into the Eagle Creek Reservoir, a major source of drinking water for Indianapolis, Indiana. The School Branch watershed has become the focus of a collaborative partnership of Federal, State, and local agencies; a university research center; and agricultural producers to understand the effects of land use and management practices on water quality and water quantity in the watershed. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, contributed to the School Branch partnership with the operation of three streamgages (03353415 School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg, Indiana; 03353420 School Branch at County Road 750 North at Brownsburg, Indiana; and 03353430 School Branch at Noble Drive at Brownsburg, Indiana) and the operation of a continuous water-quality gage (also known as a supergage) at County Road 750 North that measured dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, specific conductance, turbidity, nitrate, and orthophosphate. Additional efforts included the use of passive samplers to identify wastewater indicators; assessment of fish and macroinvertebrate communities and stream habitat to identify ecological impairment; sampling for nutrients and sediment to estimate loads; and using major ions, stable isotopes and nested groundwater monitoring wells at County Road 750 North to determine hydrologic connectivity between the groundwater and surface water. The objectives of this study were to collect surface and groundwater data to analyze the hydrology and water quality within the watershed. Total nitrogen yields were highest at the upstream site, Maloney Road, and indicated a mixture of nitrogen sources in the watershed. Differences found in total nitrogen loading patterns throughout the watershed may be linked to differences in hydrology and land-use management from site to site. The groundwater and surface water were shown to be highly connected, and except for some low-flow periods, the water was flowing from groundwater to the stream for most of the study period. Fish and macroinvertebrate communities show improvement from upstream to downstream, with increases in diversity, richness, and species sensitive to poor water quality and habitat. These increases were most likely due to improved habitat quality at the downstream station.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/sir20215061","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management","usgsCitation":"Bunch, A.R., McCausland, D.R., and Bayless, E.R., 2021, Hydrologic and ecological investigations in the School Branch watershed, Hendricks County, Indiana—Water years 2016–2018: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2021–5061, 61 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20215061.","productDescription":"Report: x, 61 p.; Data Release","numberOfPages":"74","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-114931","costCenters":[{"id":35860,"text":"Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":390195,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5061/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":390196,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2021/5061/sir20215061.pdf","text":"Report","size":"4.62 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"SIR 2021–5061"},{"id":390197,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P9QCIDBV","text":"USGS Data Release","description":"USGS Data Release","linkHelpText":"Data and rloadest models for daily total nitrogen load for the School Branch watershed, Hendricks County, Indiana—Water years 2016–2018"}],"country":"United States","state":"Indiana","county":"Hendricks County","geographicExtents":"{\"type\":\"FeatureCollection\",\"features\":[{\"type\":\"Feature\",\"geometry\":{\"type\":\"Polygon\",\"coordinates\":[[[-86.3267,39.9238],[-86.325,39.8662],[-86.328,39.8662],[-86.3281,39.8526],[-86.3268,39.6318],[-86.4648,39.6297],[-86.4642,39.6006],[-86.574,39.6002],[-86.6546,39.6001],[-86.6522,39.6087],[-86.6463,39.6128],[-86.6403,39.6201],[-86.6404,39.6305],[-86.6654,39.6305],[-86.6858,39.63],[-86.6853,39.6884],[-86.6849,39.7773],[-86.6845,39.8648],[-86.6929,39.8643],[-86.6937,39.9228],[-86.3267,39.9238]]]},\"properties\":{\"name\":\"Hendricks\",\"state\":\"IN\"}}]}","contact":"Director, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
5957 Lakeside Boulevard
Indianapolis, IN 46278